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Mayo Clinic Minute: Tips to help a frozen shoulder

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Pain and stiffness in your shoulder can make every activity, including sleep, difficult. Worsening shoulder pain, especially at night, could mean you have a frozen shoulder, says Dr. Christopher Camp, a Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon.

"The scientific name that we give it is adhesive capsulitis, and, basically, it's a condition when the shoulder...Read more

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These programs put unused prescription drugs in the hands of patients in need

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — On a recent November evening, Angie Phoenix waited at a pharmacy here in Colorado’s second-largest city to pick up prescription drugs to treat her high blood pressure and arm seizures.

But this transaction was different from typical exchanges that occur every day at thousands of pharmacies across the United States....Read more

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Waiting in fear: A migrant mother struggles to find health care in Chicago

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Esperanza Mendez worries she may be dying, though she doesn’t say it out loud to her two young children.

There is a cyst on her neck, which she said feels like it’s putting pressure on her brain and causing pain in her head. The lump has been growing for three years, and now her whole body aches, especially her arms and legs. She has ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Q and A: Managing medication for loved ones

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My elderly mom has recently been told she needs to take a bunch of different medications every day due to her health conditions. It's gotten pretty overwhelming, and I'm worried about things like her missing doses or drug interactions. I just want to make sure she's safe and healthy. Do you have tips on how to handle my mom's ...Read more

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Ask the Pediatrician: What should I know about lead in cinnamon applesauce pouches?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Every so often, parents hear scary news that lead or other metals have been found in baby foods made with rice, fruit or vegetables. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people not to eat certain brands of cinnamon applesauce pouches because they had lead in them.

As of Nov. 22, at ...Read more

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Doctors on (video) call: Rural medics get long-distance help in treating man gored by bison

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

GANN VALLEY, S.D. — Rural medics who rescued rancher Jim Lutter after he was gored by a bison didn’t have much experience handling such severe wounds.

But the medics did have a doctor looking over their shoulders inside the ambulance as they rushed Lutter to a hospital.

The emergency medicine physician sat 140 miles away in a Sioux Falls, ...Read more

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Desperate families search for affordable home care

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

It’s a good day when Frank Lee, a retired chef, can slip out to the hardware store, fairly confident that his wife, Robin, is in the hands of reliable help. He spends nearly every hour of every day anxiously overseeing her care at their home on the Isle of Palms, a barrier island near Charleston, South Carolina.

Robin Lee, 67, has had ...Read more

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What to know about home care services

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Most older Americans want to live at home as long as they can, but finding and affording the help they need often isn’t easy. There are severe shortages of home health aides in many parts of the country. Hiring them is costly. And most middle-class people will have to pay for home care themselves if it’s needed for the long haul.

Here’s ...Read more

Doctors say RSV is again sending people to the hospital

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Doctors near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have noticed a surge in patients coming into hospitals with RSV, a common virus with cold-like symptoms.

Respiratory syncytial virus is among a handful of respiratory viruses to tick up in the winter months. Last year saw what experts called a "tripledemic," as COVID-19, influenza and RSV surged together, ...Read more

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Colorado blames Biden team and drugmakers for delaying Canadian imports

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Colorado officials say their plan to import cheaper medicines from Canada has been stymied by opposition from drugmakers and inaction by the Biden administration, according to a state report obtained by KFF Health News.

The Dec. 1 report, prepared for the state legislature by Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy & Financing, says that ...Read more

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Feds fix loophole preventing soldiers from getting 9/11 health care

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The federal government is fixing a mistake that excluded members of the U.S. armed services who worked at Sept. 11 crash sites and came down with a 9/11 illness from getting pivotal health coverage, the New York Daily News has learned.

Additions to the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act will now allow soldiers and sailors, other ...Read more

First gene therapies to treat sickle cell disease get FDA approval

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The Food and Drug Administration approved two gene therapies for the treatment of sickle cell disease Friday, including a CRISPR gene-editing therapy to treat the disease, the first treatment approved in the U.S. using CRISPR technology.

Casgevy and Lyfgenia, the gene therapy treatments, will be available for patients 12 and older for treatment...Read more

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Consumer Health: Flu vaccination and cancer

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

It's especially important that you get a flu shot if you have cancer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Mayo Clinic recommend a yearly flu vaccination for everyone 6 months and older, with rare exceptions. Vaccination is your best defense against flu. If you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, now's the time.

For most people, ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Q and A: Health benefits of volunteering

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My neighbor recently retired, and I've been trying to convince her to volunteer at the library with me. She's not swayed by my stories of feeling good from helping others. Can you share some other benefits of dedicating her time and energy to a cause?

ANSWER: Thank you for volunteering in your community and for trying to ...Read more

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Many would-be kidney donors are ineligible because of their weight or smoking habits. This project helps them qualify

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

CHICAGO -- More than 70 kidney transplants were performed every day in the United States last year. Rachel Watson wanted to be one of the donors, but was told she didn’t qualify — at first.

Watson, a 27-year-old digital marketer living in Warrenville, Illinois, had been moved by a news story about a local politician in need of a kidney. In ...Read more

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The rainbow of urine colors: What's typical, what's not

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Regular urine color varies but usually ranges from clear to pale yellow. The exact hue depends on how much water you drink. Fluids dilute the yellow pigments in urine. So the more you drink, the clearer your urine looks. When you drink less, the yellow color becomes stronger.

Some foods and medications can change the color of urine. For example...Read more

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Many people of color worry good health care is tied to their appearance

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Many people from racial and ethnic minority groups brace themselves for insults and judgments before medical appointments, according to a new survey of patients that reaffirms the prevalence of racial discrimination in the U.S. health system.

The KFF survey of nearly 6,300 patients who have had care in the past three years found that about 55% ...Read more

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Not getting a COVID-19 vaccine could lead to preterm birth in pregnant women, new study shows

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

COVID-19 infection can lead to preterm birth, a study published last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows, but getting vaccinated protects against it.

Researchers found a serious adverse effect on preterm birth from COVID infection during pregnancy, a risk that had plummeted to zero by fall 2022, following ...Read more

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Biden wants states to ensure Obamacare plans cover enough doctors and hospitals

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The Biden administration plans to push states to boost oversight of the number of doctors, hospitals and other health providers insurers cover in Obamacare plans, under rules proposed in November.

The annual regulatory proposal, known as the payment parameters rule, also seeks to expand access to adult dental coverage in Affordable Care Act ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Do you need more vitamin D in the winter?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Vitamin D is a nutrient your body needs to keep your bones healthy and strong. It also has properties that support your immune system and neuromuscular health.

Dr. Jesse Bracamonte, a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician, says one of the main ways your body gets vitamin D is through direct sunlight on the skin. And during winter in the ...Read more