WEDNESDAY, Jan. 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- How bad or how long this year's flu season will be remains to be seen. But one thing is already clear: It's proving to be an especially lethal season for infected children. Fueled by a strain of influenza that children may be especially vulnerable to, less than two months into flu season 39 children have already died, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behind that number lie tragedies like these: Just after New Year's Day, flu claimed the life of 15-year-old Lacie Rian Fisher of Canton, N.C. Fisher was a healthy, athletic teen with no known pre-existing medical issues, but she had not yet been inoculated with this year's flu vaccine, USA Today reported. She died just three days after first feeling...

TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- While health problems from childhood exposure to lead and mercury are on the decline, these and other toxic chemicals continue to take a toll, a new study reports. The progress likely owes to decades of restrictions on use of heavy metals. But researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City said that exposure to other toxic chemicals -- especially flame retardants and pesticides -- led to more than 1 million cases of intellectual disability in the United States between 2001 and 2016. Unlike the heavily restricted metals, toxic chemicals are subject to fewer limits, the researchers noted. "Our findings suggest that our efforts to reduce exposure to heavy metals are paying off, but that toxic exposures in general continue...

TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Many American cancer survivors struggle to pay for their medical care and have to cut back on spending, dip into their savings, or change their living situation. These problems are more common among those under 65 than among older survivors, a new survey reveals. Researchers focused on 401 cancer survivors, ages 18 to 64, and 562 who were 65 and older. Among the younger group, 54% had medical financial hardship as a result of their cancer diagnosis and treatment. The same percentage had made financial sacrifices in spending, savings or their living arrangements as a result. Nearly a quarter of these younger respondents said they had trouble paying medical bills, needed to borrow money, or filed for bankruptcy. More than 40% were worried...

TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Medical marijuana may not provide long-term relief of sleep issues in people battling chronic pain, a new study finds, mainly because users may develop a tolerance to the drug. The finding is important "considering the aging of the population, the relatively high prevalence of sleep problems in this population, along with the increasing use of medicinal cannabis," said an Israeli team led by Sharon Sznitman, from the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa. According to the study authors, chronic pain affects between 19% to 37% of adults in the developed world, many who have sleep problems. Some are turning to medical marijuana for help getting good shut-eye. But how well does it work? To find out, Sznitman's group assessed...