1Jun
2020
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- "Social distancing" is the watchword for keeping the new coronavirus at bay, but how far apart is enough? Researchers say they may have an answer.
While most public health officials recommend you put 6 feet between yourself and others, a new review of 172 studies from 16 countries concluded that keeping 3 feet apart might also protect you to some degree.
And while face masks and eye protection might add even more layers of protection, these precautions aren't 100% foolproof, the researchers added.
Still, the Canadian study found that face masks, eye protection and keeping at least 3 feet away from people gives you the best chance of avoiding infection.
"Our findings are the first to synthesize all direct information on COVID-19, SARS and...
1 June 2020
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The way they're treated by other people can cause young burn survivors more distress than their physical challenges, two surveys find.
In one, researchers asked 64 burn survivors between 17 and 25 years of age what they found hardest to deal with. The seven most common responses: people staring; being bullied; memories of being burned; needing more surgeries; self-consciousness about scars; unwanted questions; pain and itching.
In the second survey, 147 burn survivors between 10 and 16 years of age and 81 young adult survivors were asked about each of the seven issues.
More than 70% were bothered by staring and bullying. More than half reported issues with scars (65%), memories of being burned (52%), and pain and itching (50%). Scarring...
1 June 2020
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- There's an association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and celiac disease, according to a new research review.
Researchers analyzed dozens of studies published between 1978 and 2019 that included tens of millions of people in Europe, North America and Asia.
They found that people with a previous diagnosis of celiac disease had a ninefold increased risk of IBD, and IBD patients had an increased risk of celiac disease, but to a smaller extent.
"Clinicians have always suspected that IBD and celiac disease may be linked, however a clear association was never established," said first author Dr. Maria Ines Pinto-Sanchez. She's a gastroenterologist and associate professor of medicine at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.
"This is...
1 June 2020
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Talk to a teacher if you want an idea of how addicted teenagers can become using Juul and other pod-based e-cigarettes.
That's the suggestion of Patricia Folan, director of the Center for Tobacco Control at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y.
"We've had teachers tell us that once they confiscate a Juul from kids in school, the teens beg to get them back because they're so uncomfortable," Folan said. "The withdrawal symptoms appear to be pretty intense."
To her it's not surprising that a new evidence review has concluded many aspects of pod-based e-cigarettes like Juul are designed to addict people to nicotine.
The way they deliver nicotine represents a technological advance, allowing people to more comfortably imbibe huge doses of nicotine,...
1 June 2020
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Warning labels on sugary drinks may help people make healthier choices, a new study finds.
Sugary drinks are those with added sugar or sweeteners, including soda, sports drinks and fruit-flavored drinks.
"Our findings suggest that sugary drink warnings help consumers better understand products' healthfulness and encourage consumers to make healthier choices about what drinks to buy," said study leader Anna Grummon. She is a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston.
"These results highlight the potential usefulness of sugary drink warning policies in both informing consumers and reducing consumption of unhealthy beverages like sodas, energy drinks and fruit-flavored drinks," she said.
For the study,...
1 June 2020
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- As if the childhood obesity epidemic isn't bad enough, new research warns that over one million more American boys and girls stand to become obese if coronavirus-related school closures continue through the end of the year.
The culprit: a steep rise in sedentary behavior following the spring shutdown of school and afterschool sports and activities across all 50 states.
"If school closures continue to the end of 2020 -- due to unsubdued community transmission of COVID-19 -- the childhood obesity rate in the U.S. might further increase by 2.4%," said study author Ruopeng An. He's an assistant professor with the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
That translates into 1.27 million new childhood obesity cases by March 2021.
In...
1 June 2020
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Armadillo-like animals called pangolins may have played a role in the emergence in humans of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, but they weren't the only links in animal-to-human transmission, scientists say.
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, experts worldwide have called for the closure of such markets in China and elsewhere.
Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine, Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the University of Texas at El Paso and New York University are studying the virus that causes COVID-19, and their research sheds new light on how it...
1 June 2020
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Nearly ready to deliver her first child, Ashley Goette woke up at 5 a.m. to go to the bathroom and nudged her husband, who seemed to be snoring. Andrew made a scary, gargling sound, so Ashley ran to get his asthma inhaler.
When his only response was gasping for air, Ashley called 911, telling the operator she thought she needed to do CPR.
After a few questions, the dispatcher determined Andrew was in cardiac arrest and coached Ashley how to perform CPR. She continued compressions for five minutes until help arrived, and paramedics shocked Andrew's heart back to life.
"In my head I just kept thinking, 'This can't be happening. We are having a baby tomorrow. This can't be happening. There's no way this is happening,'" Ashley...
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A new study suggests the rate of COVID-19 among pregnant women without symptoms is much lower than previously reported.
Fewer than 3% of asymptomatic...
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The drug Tagrisso could offer hope to patients battling a form of lung cancer that typically hits people with little or no history of smoking, a new trial...