THURSDAY, June 23, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Even babies aren't immune from the effects of long COVID, Danish researchers report.Their study found that about one in three kids aged 14 and younger who tested positive for the virus were suffering from mood swings, trouble remembering or concentrating, and rashes as much as two months later. "Prolonged symptoms in children must be taken seriously, regardless of whether the parents turn to their own general practitioner or another health service," said lead author Selina Kikkenborg Berg, a clinical professor at Copenhagen University Hospital."Among children of all ages, long-term symptoms are more often seen in those who have had COVID than in those who have not," she said.Other studies have also investigated long COVID, but researchers...

THURSDAY, June 23, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel on Wednesday voted to recommend that Americans 65 and older get the new, more potent flu shots because the regular shot doesn't offer enough protection.The more powerful vaccines might also offer more or longer protection for seniors with weakened immune systems who don't respond as well to traditional shots. The choices include Fluzone High-Dose, Fluad with an immune booster and Flublok, the Associated Press reported. The CDC usually adopts the panel's recommendations. This is the first time the federal government has backed a preferred vaccine for older adults. The agency urges all Americans aged 6 months and older to get a flu shot every season.Flu vaccines aren't...

THURSDAY, June 23, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Hate crime laws that protect gay, lesbian and transgender people may have an unexpected benefit: fewer teen suicide attempts, among kids of all sexual orientations.That's the conclusion of a new study that looked at what happened in U.S. states that enacted hate crime laws with protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning individuals. It found that teen suicide attempts dipped by an average 16%, compared to rates before the laws.And the positive effect was seen among both LGBTQ and heterosexual teens.Why? The study cannot answer that, said researcher Aaron Kivisto, an associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Indianapolis.But, he said, passage of a hate crime law and the public conversation around...

THURSDAY, June 23, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Tension headaches can make you feel like a vice is squeezing your entire head, and if you're among the millions prone to these crushing headaches, a new study brings some welcome news.Acupuncture may help prevent tension headaches.Folks with chronic tension headaches who received 20 true acupuncture sessions over two months had fewer headache days than people who received a superficial acupuncture technique, and these improvements lasted for close to eight months.Exactly how acupuncture helps put the brakes on chronic tension headaches isn't fully understood, but researchers do have their theories. For one, "the acupuncture procedure provides relaxation to the patients with tension-type headaches, which helps to relax the scalp muscles,"...