Latest Health News

3Jul
2023

More Teens Worldwide Are Underestimating Their Weight

More Teens Worldwide Are Underestimating Their WeightMONDAY, July 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Fewer teens consider themselves overweight and more underestimate what they weigh, a perception concerning to experts worried about childhood obesity.These trends could reduce the effectiveness of public health interventions meant to help young people lose weight, researchers warn. Their findings were published July 3 in the journal Child and Adolescent Obesity."Young people who underestimate their weight and therefore do not consider themselves to be overweight may not feel they need to lose excess weight and, as a result, they may make unhealthy lifestyle choices,” lead author Anouk Geraets said in a journal news release. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Luxembourg.For the study, researchers reviewed 2002-2018 data...

Your Bond With Ticks Is Electric, Study Suggests

3 July 2023
Your Bond With Ticks Is Electric, Study SuggestsMONDAY, July 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Could eliminating the static electricity that humans naturally give off lower the chances of a tick bite?Yes, claims new British research that demonstrates that while ticks can’t jump, they can land on a host to bite by using that static electricity.Lowering the ability of ticks to attach to people and animals would reap a huge social and economic benefit, according to the study. That’s because ticks carry a variety of illnesses, including Lyme disease, which can wreak havoc on people’s lives. “We knew that many animals, including humans, can accumulate quite significant electrostatic charges,” explained lead author Sam England, from the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences.An example of this is rubbing a balloon...

Stay Independent of Allergies, Asthma This July Fourth

2 July 2023
Stay Independent of Allergies, Asthma This July FourthSUNDAY, July 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- As outdoor gatherings begin for the Fourth of July holiday, a leading asthma and allergy group is offering suggestions on how to avoid those seasonal symptoms. “The Fourth of July is a great time to gather with friends and family and celebrate summer,” said Dr. Kathleen May, president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). “But as with any outdoor holiday, July Fourth festivities mean those with allergies and asthma need to take a few extra precautions to make sure their holiday is safe, and sneeze- and wheeze-free. "Those with asthma need to be cautious at events where smoke will be featured. Smoke in any form -- from fireworks, bonfires or campfires -- should be avoided as it can cause asthma to flare,” she...

Fireworks for the 4th? Here's Your Safety Checklist

1 July 2023
Fireworks for the 4th? Here`s Your Safety ChecklistSATURDAY, July 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) – It's been said many times, but it deserves repeating: Use caution when handling fireworks.The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is repeating the message to try to help people avoid injuries to the fingers, hands, arms and face."It may be a tradition to let children and teens oversee fireworks, but parents should always be cautious. Fireworks-related injuries can have long-term and sometimes devastating effects," said orthopedic hand surgeon Dr. Tyler Steven Pidgeon, a spokesman for the AAOS. "Common fireworks, such as bottle rockets and hand sparklers, may seem tame, but the high temperatures of these devices can result in third-degree burns down to the bone or even loss of limbs."Fireworks injuries jumped 25% between 2006 and...

Mosquitoes Test Positive for Malaria in Florida

30 June 2023
Mosquitoes Test Positive for Malaria in FloridaFRIDAY, June 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Public health authorities are continuing to investigate malaria cases in Florida and Texas, gathering mosquitoes for tests.Multiple mosquitoes from Sarasota County in Florida have tested positive for malaria at a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab, CBS News reported.So far all mosquitoes tested in Texas have been negative for the disease, according to a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health.The testing follows discovery of four locally acquired cases of malaria in Florida and one in Texas -- the first known cases of the illness being transmitted inside the United States since 2003, CBS News reported. In Florida, Sarasota County Mosquito Management Services said it had found three mosquitoes that were carrying...

WHO Experts Take Another Look at Aspartame's Safety

30 June 2023
WHO Experts Take Another Look at Aspartame`s SafetyFRIDAY, June 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The artificial sweetener aspartame is in the hot seat once more.Two separate committees made up of health experts from around the world will soon offer advice on consuming aspartame, a popular sugar substitute that is added to sodas, cough drops, desserts and gum.The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is analyzing whether the ingredient is a carcinogen. Meanwhile, the WHO’s Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives will offer guidance on an acceptable daily intake of aspartame.Both are expected to issue their reports on July 14, according to leaked WHO documents, CNN reported. Aspartame continues to have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a safe product. Not only that, but U.S....

AHA News: Are You Getting Enough Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

30 June 2023
AHA News: Are You Getting Enough Omega-3 Fatty Acids?FRIDAY, June 30, 2023 (American Heart Association News) -- Omega-3 fatty acids play an important role in heart and brain health. They've been linked to a stronger immune system, reduced inflammation and lower blood pressure and triglycerides, reducing the risk for heart disease and cognitive decline.But most people in the U.S. don't include enough omega-3s in their diets."Intakes in the U.S. are abysmally low," said Ann Skulas-Ray, an assistant professor in the School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness at the University of Arizona in Tucson.There are three main types of omega-3 fatty acids: alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA; docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA; and eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA. The human body can convert small amounts of ALA into EPA and DHA, but the main way people increase...

Soaring Misuse of Horse Tranquilizer Xylazine Is Worsening Opioid Crisis

30 June 2023
Soaring Misuse of Horse Tranquilizer Xylazine Is Worsening Opioid CrisisFRIDAY, June 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Drug overdose deaths involving a powerful horse tranquilizer called xylazine have skyrocketed in the United States, rising 35-fold in just a handful of years, federal health researchers say.The number of xylazine-involved OD deaths nationwide rose from just 102 in 2018 to 3,468 in 2021, according to a new study released Friday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The findings come a day after another CDC study, which found that by June 2022 xylazine was involved in nearly 11% of all fatal fentanyl overdoses. That's a nearly fourfold increase from January 2019, when it was present in almost 3% of such cases. The drug not only increases OD risk, but also causes severe, hard-to-treat skin wounds in users, experts...

FDA Approves First Gene Therapy for Severe Hemophilia A

FRIDAY, June 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a costly single-dose gene therapy for patients with severe hemophilia A, a life-threatening...

Science Brings New Insight Into Origins of OCD

FRIDAY, June 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- California psychiatrist Dr. Carolyn Rodriguez once had a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who washed his hands so often that he had to...
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