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FRIDAY, Aug. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The death of a child in Nebraska was likely caused by an infection with a “brain-eating amoeba” that occurred after the child swam in a local river, state health officials announced this week.In a news release, officials said it was the first such death ever reported in the state's history. Known as Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba can cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a brain infection that is extremely rare, but nearly always fatal."Millions of recreational water exposures occur each year, while only 0 to 8 Naegleria fowleri infections are identified each year," state epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Donahue noted in the news release. "Infections typically occur later in the summer, in warmer water with slower flow, in July,...

FRIDAY, Aug. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday warned a maker of nicotine gummies to stop marketing what is an illegal product.In what is a first-of-its-kind warning, the agency said it considers these gummies particularly concerning because they resemble candy and can cause severe nicotine toxicity or death if young children eat them. "Nicotine gummies are a public health crisis just waiting to happen among our nation's youth, particularly as we head into a new school year," FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in an agency news release on the warning. "We want parents to be aware of these products and the potential for health consequences for children of all ages – including toxicity to young children and appeal of these addictive...

FRIDAY, Aug. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Many opioid abusers cite short-term, legitimate use of an opioid for relief of joint or dental pain as their "gateway" into addiction.Now, research done at one New York State clinic finds that dentists can cut their use of opioids down to zero, using other painkillers for patients instead. The end result: "No opioids were prescribed for dental pain from March 2021 to February 2022," reported a team of dentists at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "Considering that 1,800 patients received more than 20,000 opioid pills annually in our clinic before implementation of the opioid reduction strategy, eliminating opioid prescriptions may mean that approximately 105 individuals annually will not develop new and persistent opioid use...

FRIDAY, Aug. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Medieval monks were much more wormy than average folks, a new archaeological analysis has revealed.Those living in medieval Cambridge were nearly twice as likely to be infected by intestinal parasites as city dwellers, researchers found.Even though Augustinian friars had access to advanced sanitation for the time, nearly 60% were infested with worms, compared to about 30% of ordinary working people, according to the new report.“The friars of medieval Cambridge appear to have been riddled with parasites,” said study author Piers Mitchell, of the University of Cambridge’s department of archaeology. “This is the first time anyone has attempted to work out how common parasites were in people following different lifestyles in the same...