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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Among the many dangers the coronavirus pandemic has brought, parents really need to be on the lookout for one in particular: an increased risk of suicide among vulnerable teens. "We've seen an upsurge in really bad suicide attempts," and the pandemic is likely behind that increase, said Dr. Taranjeet Jolly, an adult and pediatric psychiatrist at Penn State Health's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Social isolation during the pandemic can push youngsters with underlying mental health issues "over the edge," Jolly said in a Penn State Health news release. Other factors include family dysfunction and long amounts of forced time with others. Even children in so-called healthy families can feel overwhelmed. Anxiety about pandemic...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Could it be that a strange-looking creature known as a pangolin was the conduit by which the new coronavirus jumped to humans and prompted an international pandemic? New research suggests the theory is a plausible one.Pangolins are sold for food in live-animal "wet markets" in China -- facilities that have long been suspected of being ground zero for the spread of viruses originating in animals to people. Since the pandemic began, experts worldwide have called for the closure of such markets in China and elsewhere.Many people believe that bats may have been the original source of the new coronavirus. In the new study, the researchers compared the structures of the spike proteins found on SARS-CoV-2 with the most similar bat coronavirus and...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A lack of ICU beds and other resources was linked to a higher rate of deaths among hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the early stages of the pandemic in the United States, researchers say.The investigators analyzed data collected from more than 4,400 hospitals nationwide from March 1 to July 26, 2020, and found that fewer resources per COVID-19 patient -- including intensive care unit (ICU) beds, intensivists or critical care physicians, emergency physicians, nurses and general hospital beds -- was associated with more deaths in April.The strongest association was with ICU bed availability. For every additional ICU bed per COVID-19 case, there was a one-fifth decrease in the death rate during April, according to the team from Yale University...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- If you have bleeding gums, you may need to increase the amount of vitamin C in your diet, a new study suggests.The American Dental Association says bleeding could be a sign of gingivitis, an early stage of gum disease. These new findings from University of Washington (UW) researchers suggest you should also check your vitamin C intake."When you see your gums bleed, the first thing you should think about is not, I should brush more. You should try to figure out why your gums are bleeding. And vitamin C deficiency is one possible reason," said study lead author Dr. Philippe Hujoel. He's a dentist and professor of oral health sciences at the UW School of Dentistry, in Seattle.For the study, the researchers analyzed results of 15 clinical trials...