Latest Health News

MONDAY, Nov. 1, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- Fresh breath, a pretty smile and healthy teeth and gums – they're the reasons you brush your teeth each day and see a dentist twice a year.But what if brushing and flossing also helped to keep your brain – and the rest of your body – healthy, too?Experts say it might.There are at least 700 different kinds of bacteria living in the mouth, some of which cause gum disease and other infections. A growing body of evidence links those infections to chronic illnesses in other parts of the body, including the brain and heart. While researchers have long known about the link, it's been unclear which came first or why. But recent research reveals problems in the mouth exist decades before chronic illnesses surface elsewhere,...

MONDAY, Nov. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Emergency room nurse Grace Politis was catching up on paperwork during her shift when she suddenly realized her head hurt badly. Then she blacked out."Later on, I found out I was hit in the head twice with a fire extinguisher by a patient," said Politis, who works at Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, Mass.A disturbed man awaiting psychiatric evaluation had fractured Politis' skull, causing her head to bleed in two places and crushing one of her fingers.Workplace violence in health care facilities has been shockingly high for years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that a health care worker is five times more likely to suffer violence and injury on the job than workers overall.Now, the stress of the pandemic has made an already dangerous...

MONDAY, Nov. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A two-minute test can accurately detect vaginal bacteria associated with preterm birth, researchers have found, pointing to a possible way to identify pregnant women at increased risk of early delivery.In the United States, about one in 10 babies are born preterm, according to the nonprofit March of Dimes. Babies born preterm (before the 37th week of pregnancy) are at increased risk of health problems affecting the lungs, heart, brain and eyes — particularly if they are born very early.Often, the reason for preterm labor is unknown. But certain factors put pregnant women at greater risk.The new test focuses on one factor: the vaginal microbiome. The microbiome refers to the collection of trillions of bacteria and other microbes that normally...

MONDAY, Nov. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 5 million on Monday, and the more than 740,000 lives lost in the United States is the most of any nation, Johns Hopkins University data show."This is a defining moment in our lifetime," Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public Health, told the Associated Press. "What do we have to do to protect ourselves so we don't get to another 5 million?"Being a wealthy country provided little protection: The United States, Britain, Brazil and European Union account for one-eighth of the world's population, but nearly half of all reported COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began 22 months ago, the AP reported."What's uniquely different about this pandemic is it hit hardest...