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Fatty Breath

Health Advice / Scott LaFee /

Engineers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have created a portable device that detects when the body starts burning fat while dieting or exercising.

The device detects the acetone content in exhaled breath nearly as accurately as a much larger mass spectrometer. Acetone is the byproduct of fat metabolism that is exhaled ...Read more

Matt Odom/KFF HEALTH/TNS

Many Medicare patients could lose access to remote monitoring devices

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Dianne Williams said she lost weight and lowered her blood pressure thanks to quarterly doctor appointments, monthly phone calls with a nurse, and a blood pressure cuff she uses at home that transmits data to her care team.

“It’s good to have somebody talk to you and tell you what your progress is like. And she’s a very nice person,” ...Read more

Widow Deals With Trauma After Her Husband Dies Of Suicide

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a sensitive issue I'd like to ask you about. I'm a 79-year-old woman who's dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety due to the recent suicide of my husband, the trauma of finding him, and all the trauma that followed. I'm in therapy, and I'm healthy and active. I don't take any prescribed medications.

I recently had my ...Read more

Cool it! Battling chronic inflammation to improve heart health

America is on fire -- and not just from wildfires. Almost 35% of the adult population contends with chronic inflammation that heats up their risk for metabolic diseases like Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease, gastrointestinal woes, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. But that's not all, according to experts at the UT Southwestern Medical ...Read more

Laura Dickinson/San Luis Obsipo Tribune/TNS

3 kids with E. coli are in ICU, as officials investigate California pumpkin patch

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Three California children are in serious condition after contracting E. coli — and health officials are investigating a farm as a potential source.

On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Health reported five total confirmed cases of E. coli throughout the county, potentially linked to ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

'A destination for transplant innovation': Northwestern launches new transplant institute

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Northwestern Medicine has consolidated its robust transplant program into a new Transplant Institute, with a focus on tech and innovation.

Spearheaded by transplant surgeon Dr. Satish Nadig, the announcement of the Northwestern Medicine Transplant Institute comes just a month after the hospital’s 3,000th liver transplant, according to a ...Read more

Michelle Marchante/Miami Herald/Miami Herald/TNS

New Miami-area group breaks organ recovery record. How it plans to change transplantation

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

MIAMI — The new group tasked with retrieving organs for transplantation across South Florida and the Bahamas is already breaking records, just months after taking over operations from a decades-old nonprofit that was ordered shut by the federal government over safety-related issues and other concerns.

The South Florida Donor Network ...Read more

When traveling abroad, asking your doctor ahead of time about treatments for minor ailments can help keep your trip on track. Nansan Houn/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Leave home with a plan: What to pack in your medical kit and when to seek care for symptoms abroad

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

When people prepare to see a doctor before an international trip, vaccines usually dominate the conversation.

And while vaccines are important, many of the health problems most likely to derail a trip cannot be prevented with a vaccine: Diarrhea, respiratory infections, motion sickness and flare-ups of existing medical conditions are ...Read more

Maria Fabrizio for WPLN/KFF Health News/TNS

More medications, more risks. If You're worried, start a deprescribing discussion

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

For nearly three years, Jonathan Bledsoe of Reading, Pennsylvania, took one prescription to stabilize his mood and one to keep his cholesterol in check, among a handful of other medications.

“You wouldn’t think you would have to be your own advocate and look out for yourself as far as managing your medications,” the Marine veteran said. �...Read more

Courtesy Kara Holden/KFF Health News/TNS

New arrivals in the ER? Georgia gears up to solve rural maternal health crisis

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

LAVONIA, Ga. — It had been a decade since Kara Holden last had a baby. But as the former obstetric nurse prepared for her fourth child, her head was swimming with contingency plans.

The labor and delivery unit where she used to work in this rural northeastern Georgia community is no longer open. So, she asked former co-workers to be on ...Read more

(Kristina Barker for KFF Health News and Tradeoffs)/KFF HEALTH/TNS

States are forcing hospitals to offer more people financial aid. In Oregon, it's working

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Four years ago, Oregon hospitals were under fire from state authorities and patient advocates. Hospitals, critics said, had made it too hard for patients to apply for and receive help paying their bills.

Within months, the state enacted a sweeping law that required hospitals to proactively screen patients and give financial aid to those who ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Mayo Clinic Q&A: How is breast cancer screening becoming more personalized?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I've always heard that women should begin getting mammograms at a certain age, but now I'm hearing that breast cancer screening can be based on a person's individual risk. How do healthcare professionals determine when and how someone should be screened? And are there newer screening options available for people at higher risk?...Read more

Are depression and anxiety eating away at you?

Around 51 million Americans say they're currently depressed or are being treated for the condition and another 42.5 million are affected by anxiety disorders every year. Unfortunately, up to half of folks with depression and as many with generalized anxiety disorder don't respond to treatment with medication and/or therapy.

Here's an ...Read more

Young Nursing Student Gets Sick Constantly And Has Gray Hairs

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 22-year-old daughter gets sick often. She's a nursing student and in the hospitals often for her clinicals, but she always tries to wash her hands often and takes a multivitamin. Are there any supplements she can take or anything she can do to boost her immunity?

She also has about 10 gray hairs. I didn't start going gray ...Read more

(Jackie Fortiér/KFF Health News)/KFF HEALTH/TNS

GOP congressman in California swing-district race defends vote for Medicaid cuts

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Ulises Hernandez has had health coverage through Medicaid for as long as he can remember. But he had never waited as long for care as he did in September after a dental crown slipped down his throat during a procedure. He spent eight hours in an emergency room waiting for care and more than two days without food.

Sitting...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Job-based health plan costs rise, with little relief in sight

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Rising healthcare costs aren’t a problem just for those who buy their own health insurance. Increases hit employers and their workers this year, too, and more are expected for 2027 plans — adding to growing concerns about affordability heading into the midterm elections.

Polls show that healthcare costs— and affordability, in general — ...Read more

Charly Triballeau/Getty Images North America/TNS

'Go to Canada': Trump touted Americans' access to cheaper drugs. A new rule threatens it

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Days before it was to go into effect, the Trump administration pushed back a U.S. customs rule threatening the supply of vital prescription drugs imported by millions of Americans.

Under the rule, Customs and Border Protection and the FDA will require coding on packages that makes it easier to know what’s in them. It is aimed at collecting ...Read more

Trump dangles rural health dollars to push states to change hospital laws

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The Trump administration has hinged federal funding for states on whether they end or loosen powerful but controversial laws that regulate the construction of new hospitals — with a handful of states poised to comply.

A chunk of the $50 billion available to states through the five-year Rural Health Transformation Program is partly contingent ...Read more

Chatbots can summarize complex health information in understandable ways, but it can be tricky to tell whether these summaries are accurate.   FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images

AI chatbots can be a valuable health resource for older adults – if they embrace ‘informed skepticism’

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

It’s easy to stereotype older adults as tech-averse or novice tech users. Yet a growing number of adults age 60 and older are embracing artificial intelligence, using it for entertainment, planning trips and even accessing health information.

I study how people interact with computers and technology – and specifically, how older ...Read more

'One in Four, One in Eight' is a multidisciplinary performance that joins the human side of infertility and pregnancy loss with the scientific side. Kathleen Pukinskis

I composed music about infertility and pregnancy loss, then performed it in a Pittsburgh hospital

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

It turns out you can rent a Steinway piano and have it delivered pretty much anywhere – including the lecture hall of a major working hospital.

In October 2025, I had one delivered to UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh for the premiere of “One in Four, One in Eight,” a 60-minute piece I composed about infertility and ...Read more