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TUESDAY, Dec. 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Hiking and skiing in the mountains may wreak havoc on the blood sugar levels of those with type 1 diabetes, new research suggests.Exercise offers many benefits -- such as improved heart health, better insulin sensitivity and quality of life -- for people with diabetes and is often recommended by their doctors. However, it can also trigger hypoglycemia -- low blood sugar -- in people with diabetes during and after a workout. "These findings suggest that exercise performed shortly after exposure to high altitude may increase the risk of exercise-mediated hypoglycemia," said study author Cory Dugan, from the University of Western Australia. A severe drop in blood sugar requires quick action because there's a risk that the person will suffer...

MONDAY, Dec. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The Omicron variant continued to keep flights grounded on Monday as airlines canceled at least 2,400 more flights around the world, including 900 in the United States.Several airlines acknowledged that COVID-19 was contributing significantly to the cancellations, not just the usual bad weather and maintenance issues, the New York Times reported.A JetBlue spokesman said that the airline had "seen an increasing number of sick calls from Omicron," the newspaper reported. As people return to air travel, some for the first time in a couple of years, airlines were forced to cancel 2,300 flights in the United States on Saturday and Sunday alone, according to data service FlightAware.To keep it in perspective, these flights are just a small percentage...

MONDAY, Dec 27, 2021 (HealthDay News)-- When fully vaccinated cancer patients develop a breakthrough case of COVID-19, most will become seriously ill and end up hospitalized, a new study finds.The conclusion stems from the experience of 54 cancer patients who developed COVID-19.Sixty-five percent were hospitalized following infection, while nearly 1 in 5 (19%) were placed on a mechanical ventilator for breathing assistance. In all, 13% died."We hoped that the vaccines would be highly protective — at least that was our theory," said study author Dr. Jeremy Warner. "So yes, we were surprised and disappointed to see that patients were still getting pretty sick and, sometimes, dying."Still, the findings reflect a seven-month stretch beginning in November of last year.That, the study team...

MONDAY, Dec. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Ketamine, once most famous as a "club" drug, can rapidly improve hard-to-treat depression and curb suicidal thoughts, a new review confirms.In recent years, ketamine has emerged as something of a wonder drug for some people who do not get better with standard antidepressants.For those patients, who may have tried multiple conventional medications, ketamine can quickly ease depression symptoms -- even within a day. Experts say that speedy response is especially critical for people at risk of self-harm.The new review, published recently in the British Journal of Psychiatry Open, pulls together all published research on ketamine as a treatment for psychiatric disorders. And it found that for treatment-resistant depression and suicidal thoughts,...