Latest Health News

MONDAY, Aug. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Golf after total knee replacement is apparently par for the course.Researchers say most golfers can return to the links within five months of surgery and play as well -- or as poorly -- as they did before."A lot of patients come to the office wondering when they're going to be able to play or if they are going to ever be able to play, and if they can expect to be better or worse at the game after the total knee replacement," said study lead author Dr. Joseph Tramer, a resident in orthopedic surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit."Patients can reliably get back to golf, but it does take a few months," he added.If taking a swing was limited by knee pain, a total knee replacement can help alleviate discomfort so players can take less pain...

MONDAY, Aug. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental gel has shown early promise in treating the most common form of skin cancer — hinting at a potential alternative to surgery in the future.Researchers tested the gel in 30 patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a skin cancer diagnosed in more than 3 million Americans each year. The tumors rarely spread and are highly curable, usually through surgical removal.Even so, non-surgical options are needed, said senior researcher Dr. Kavita Sarin, an associate professor of dermatology at Stanford University, in Redwood City, Calif.In some cases, for example, the skin cancer may be located in an area — like the face — where surgery could leave scarring that patients want to avoid. Plus, Sarin said, many people develop multiple...

MONDAY, Aug. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Vaccination is the best way parents can protect the health of kids 12 and older during the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Academy of Pediatrics says.AAP offers a checklist to prepare older kids and teens for the shot.To begin, tell their health care provider you're planning to have your child vaccinated against COVID. Ask questions and outline any concerns.Your child should be up to date on all routine immunizations. If not, make an appointment to get caught up. Once that's done, your child can immediately get a COVID-19 shot.To find a local vaccination site, go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's VaccineFinder. Or text GETVAX (438829) or VACUNA for Spanish (822862) to receive three vaccine sites on your phone within seconds....

MONDAY, Aug. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Gangrene. Throat cancer. A newborn on a feeding tube.Gruesome warning images like those on cigarette packs do indeed scare smokers, but they should be combined with other anti-smoking measures, a new study finds.These kinds of graphic warning labels were approved by U.S. lawmakers in 2009, but implementation has been stalled until legal challenges to the law by the tobacco industry are resolved."Graphic warning labels are used in more than 120 countries to counter marketing that promotes cigarette smoking. We wanted to know what effect such cigarette packaging would have on United States smokers," said study author David Strong. He's a professor in the School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at the University of California, San Diego...