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FRIDAY, Feb. 12, 2021, (HealthDay News) -- Former President Donald Trump was much more ill than was let on when he came down with COVID-19 in early October, sources close to Trump have told The New York Times.At one point, his blood oxygen levels plunged to the 80s -- a level in the low 90s is considered dangerous. There was also talk of the 74-year-old Trump perhaps needing a ventilator as he had trouble breathing, the Times said. The new revelations come from "four people familiar with his condition" at the time, the newspaper said, and are at odds with much of what was said at the time about Trump's illness by his personal physician, Dr. Sean Conley. Conley went to lengths to minimize concerns over the president's health after Trump first was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Oct. 1, just...

FRIDAY, Feb. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- When choosing a face mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, it seems like the choices are endless.To make the decision a little easier, researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, tested several styles in 41 types of fabric.The upshot: A mask made of two layers of low-thread-count quilting cotton paired with a three-ply dried baby wipe as a filter is just as effective as a commercial non-surgical mask at stopping particles. And it's almost as breathable.These cloth masks filtered out up to 80% of three-micron particles, and more than 90% of 10-micron particles, the study found."We focused on particles larger than one micron because these are likely most important to COVID-19 transmission," said lead author...

FRIDAY, Feb. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Valentine's Day is Sunday and even amid a pandemic the search for love continues. When dating, will potential suitors think you're a prince or a frog? That may depend on how genuinely happy you are with yourself and how well you present yourself, new research shows. The new study from McGill University says first impressions during a first date can accurately assess another person's personality, though it may be tougher than it is in casual settings.Researchers wanted to figure out if people could form an accurate impression of a potential suitor in a first-date situation, so they invited 372 people to speed-dating events in Montreal in 2017 and 2018. First, they had participants complete a questionnaire assessing their personality and...

FRIDAY, Feb. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Giving blood thinners to COVID-19 patients soon after they're hospitalized could reduce their risk of dying.That's the conclusion of a new study that analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on nearly 4,300 patients, average age 68, who were hospitalized with COVID between March 1 and July 31.Of those, more than 84% received blood thinners within 24 hours of admission -- a step called prophylactic anticoagulation.In the 30 days after admission, the overall death rate was 14.5%. The death rate was 14.3% among patients who received the blood thinners and 18.7% among those who did not.The benefit appeared to be greater among patients who weren't admitted to intensive care within 24 hours of hospitalization.Researchers said they...