Latest Health News

SUNDAY, Sept. 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- If you’re planning to have oral surgery, be prepared, not scared, an expert suggests — and stay off YouTube.“I tell all of my patients, ‘The more you know, the better it’s going to be.’ As health professionals, we’re not trying to scare patients with information; it’s just that when you’re prepared for something, when you know what’s going to happen, it reduces the anxiety level, and it goes more smoothly,” said Dr. Maria Papageorge. She is head of the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, in Boston.Papageorge said many patients, if not most or all, are scared when faced with oral and maxillofacial surgery. The many reasons for these types of surgery include...

SATURDAY, Sept. 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Though it's not clear how diabetes may be related to hearing loss, many people experience both conditions simultaneously.About 37 million Americans have diabetes, estimates the American Diabetes Association. Meanwhile, about 34.5 million of them also have some type of hearing loss. Experiencing hearing loss is twice as common in people with diabetes as it is in those who don't have the condition, according to a recent study. Even for the 133 million people with prediabetes, the rate of hearing loss is 30% higher than in those with normal blood sugar. The reason may be that high blood sugar levels may damage the small blood vessels in the inner ear, the association suggests. This would be similar to the way in which diabetes can damage the...

FRIDAY, Sept. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Telehealth flourished during the pandemic, and now a new study shows it saved lives: The practice meant more people struggling with opioid addiction stayed in treatment longer and thereby lowered their risk of dying from an overdose.For the study, researchers analyzed data among nearly 176,000 Medicare beneficiaries from September 2018 to February 2021. The analysis looked at telehealth services, medications for opioid use disorder, and medically treated overdoses among patients starting a new round of care before the pandemic compared to those during the pandemic.“Strategies to increase access to care and medications for opioid use disorder receipt and retention are urgently needed, and the results of this study add to the growing research...

FRIDAY, Sept. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Up to 9% of American teens say they've engaged in what's known as "digital self-harm" -- anonymously posting negative comments about themselves on social media.As is the case with acts of physical self-harm such as cutting, this "virtual" self-harm is associated with a higher risk for thinking about or attempting suicide, according to a startling new study. It found that teens who engaged in digital self-harm were up to seven times more likely to have considered suicide and as much as 15 times more likely to have made an attempt."We can't say that one causes the other, but we do know they are connected in some way," said lead author Justin Patchin. He's co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Eau...