Latest Health News

13Oct
2021

'Extreme Heat' Days Have Tripled Since 1980s, and More Are Coming

`Extreme Heat` Days Have Tripled Since 1980s, and More Are ComingWEDNESDAY, Oct. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Urban dwellers around the globe are sweating through three times as many "extreme heat" days as their counterparts did in the 1980s, a new study suggests.The study is the latest to chart humans' growing exposure to dangerously high temperatures. Experts said it looked at what's happening in finer detail than previous research has -- and it suggests that exposure to extreme heat is more widespread than thought.By the researchers' estimates, 1.7 billion urban dwellers -- or almost one-fifth of the planet -- were exposed to a rising number of extreme heat days between 1983 and 2016.Those are the kinds of temperatures that raise the risk of heat illness even for healthy people if they are working or exercising outdoors.To the people living in...

Survey Finds Who's Most Likely to Give to Charity and How

13 October 2021
Survey Finds Who`s Most Likely to Give to Charity and HowWEDNESDAY, Oct. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults are more likely than younger ones to give to charity, but are more likely to support ones in their own country, an international study reveals."As countries, including the U.K., are announcing cuts to foreign aid budgets, there will be an increasing reliance on global charities," said senior author Patricia Lockwood, of the Center for Human Brain Health at the University of Birmingham in England. "Understanding the giving preferences and inclinations of different age groups could therefore be extremely important in planning campaigns and appeals," she said in a university news release.For the study, researchers in the United Kingdom and Austria gave 46,500 adults in 67 nations a hypothetical amount of money equivalent to the...

Cancer Care Costs U.S. $156 Billion Per Year; Drugs a...

13 October 2021
Cancer Care Costs U.S. $156 Billion Per Year; Drugs a Major FactorWEDNESDAY, Oct. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Private insurers paid out about $156.2 billion in 2018 for U.S. patients with the 15 most common cancers.Medication was the largest expense and drugs for breast, lung, lymphoma and colon cancers accounted for the largest chunk of those costs, according to a Penn State College of Medicine study."The public often hears that the U.S. spends an inordinate amount of money on health care, but no one has quantified exactly how big that number is and how that number [is] broken down for exactly what types of services," said study author Dr. Nicholas Zaorsky. He's an assistant professor of radiation oncology and public health sciences at Penn State Cancer Institute in Hershey, Pa. "We wanted to look at what private insurances are paying for each kind...

Pandemic Saw Rise in Kids Swallowing Magnets, Tiny Batteries

13 October 2021
Pandemic Saw Rise in Kids Swallowing Magnets, Tiny BatteriesWEDNESDAY, Oct. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- More kids swallowed small magnets and batteries in 2020 compared to previous years -- a worrisome surge that dovetailed with pandemic stay-at-home orders.An analysis of data from more than 100 U.S. hospitals found that the number of kids 17 and younger who were treated for swallowing foreign objects remained about the same from 2017 to 2021, but there was a large jump in incidents involving small magnets and batteries."Button batteries and small-rare-earth-magnet-sets represent the most dangerous objects a child can ingest," said Dr. Patrick Reeves, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Naval Medical Center at San Diego. "Due to their abilities to cause electromagnetic force discharge, these objects can tear through tissue, cause...

Helmets Can Saves Lives in ATV, Dirt Bike Crashes

13 October 2021
Helmets Can Saves Lives in ATV, Dirt Bike CrashesWEDNESDAY, Oct. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- New research provides further proof that helmets are essential for young users of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and dirt bikes.Wearing a helmet significantly reduces their risk of moderate or severe head injuries in crashes, and also lowers their risk of death, the study found."For neurosurgeons treating pediatric trauma patients, these findings are not at all surprising," said study co-author Dr. Aaron Yengo-Kahn, of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center in Nashville, Tenn. "What is startling is that the rate of helmet use for patients presenting to the emergency department has not really changed and the consequences are obvious."The study included 680 patients between the ages of 1 and 17 who were involved in recreational ATV or dirt bike...

Expert Panel Backs Off Recommendation for Aspirin to Prevent Heart Trouble

12 October 2021
Expert Panel Backs Off Recommendation for Aspirin to Prevent Heart TroubleTUESDAY, Oct. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Most people shouldn't bother taking daily low-dose aspirin to reduce their risk of a first heart attack or stroke, the nation's leading panel of preventive medicine experts announced Tuesday.The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a draft recommendation that essentially backs off its previous advice urging many folks to consider taking low-dose aspirin to prevent heart disease.If the proposal is adopted, the task force would recommend against low-dose aspirin use to prevent heart problems for people 60 and older.The choice for people between 40 and 59 would be between themselves and their doctor, but the task force warns that the "net benefit of aspirin use in this group is small.""Persons who are not at increased risk for...

Acupuncture During a Knee Replacement Could Lessen Post-Surgical Pain

12 October 2021
Acupuncture During a Knee Replacement Could Lessen Post-Surgical PainTUESDAY, Oct. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- After knee replacement surgery, many patients experience a level of pain that has them reaching for prescription opioid painkillers. Now new research suggests that using acupuncture during the operation may help reduce that pain without raising the risk of addiction."The opioid epidemic has been in the news and on our minds for years and has created an urgency for us to seek alternatives to postoperative pain, and acupuncture can be an attractive option," said study author Dr. Stephanie Cheng. She is an assistant attending anesthesiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery and an assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, both in New York City. Acupuncture may ease pain by stimulating the release of the body's...

Your Free Cancer Screen Shows Trouble: What If You Can't Afford the Follow-Up?

12 October 2021
Your Free Cancer Screen Shows Trouble: What If You Can`t Afford the Follow-Up?TUESDAY, Oct. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Just over a decade ago, the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) made many common cancer screenings free. But a pair of new studies caution that when those free tests turn up signs of trouble, important follow-up tests may be too pricey for some patients.The bigger concern: Some patients may forgo these expensive tests, even when they may prove lifesaving."With the Affordable Care Act provisions, any United States Preventative Services Task Force [USPSTF] Grade A or B recommendations are covered at no cost," explained Dr. Tina Tailor, lead author on one of the studies. "This includes a number of things, but some example of screening tests would include mammography, colon cancer screening, lung cancer screening and cervical...

Anti-Nausea Drug May Boost Survival for Some Cancer Patients

TUESDAY, Oct. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who undergo surgery for certain types of cancer may have better short-term survival if they receive a particular anti-nausea drug, a preliminary...

AHA News: A Guide For What Doctors and Parents Can Do As...

TUESDAY, Oct. 12, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- A medical school lecture taught Dr. Samuel Kung a vital lesson: He needed to see a cardiologist.As a toddler, Kung had Kawasaki disease,...
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