Health category, Page 105

Your skin doesn’t like winter. The combination of cold air outside and heated air inside often leads to dry, itchy, scaly skin. There’s plenty of advice on the web about what to do and plenty of heavily marketed products that claim they’ll solve this seasonal problem, often at a hefty...

Classes/programs • Unplug and Recharge is held between noon-12:45 p.m. Tuesdays in January at Excela Square at Frick; Wednesdays at Westmoreland Hospital and Thursdays at Latrobe Hospital. The sessions use exercise and yoga techniques. Details: excelahealth.org Meetings • Tour of the Family Additions Maternity Center is planned 2 p.m. Sunday...

WASHINGTON — Deaths from boozing and bingeing more than doubled in the past two decades, as alcohol consumption per person rose 8%, with sharp increases in the rate for women and the middle-aged. Men were three-quarters of the total but fatalities for women rose at a faster rate: 85% versus...

Research led by Mayo Clinic has solved a 2-decade-old mystery about why so many otherwise healthy children and young people in Amish communities have been dying from sudden unexplained cardiac deaths. Examining the DNA of four Amish siblings who suffered cardiac deaths while playing or exercising, researchers found they all...

Walmart announced Friday that low-cost flu shots will be available at wellness clinics in its stores on Saturday. The “Walmart Wellness Day” will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at all Walmart stores in Western Pennsylvania. The cash price for shots will start around $39, spokesman Keegan Gibson...

A 90-year-old Allegheny County woman with underlying medical conditions has died from flu complications, the county Health Department reported Wednesday. The woman is the county’s first flu fatality of the season, according to Dr. Kristen Mertz, an epidemiologist with the health department. The department said it could not release additional...

With a post-holiday, critical need for donations, the American Red Cross is asking donors to begin the new year by giving blood or platelets. As a sign of appreciation and a special incentive, those who donate blood or platelets through Jan. 19 will be entered in a chance to win...

Pennsylvania’s influenza epidemic claimed four more lives in the past week, including the first fatal case of the season involving a person younger than 50, according to data released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The number of laboratory-confirmed cases and flu-related hospitalizations surged over the past week, data...

Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: —Noon-5 p.m. today , Westmoreland Manor, 2480 South Grande Blvd., Hempfield — Noon-6:30 p.m. Monday, Charter Oak Church, 449 Fry Farm Road, Unity Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome • Vitalant (formerly Central Blood Bank) will host a blood...

The holiday parties are over, the New Year’s resolutions are in and many likely revolve around a healthier 2020. For those who may have been over-served during December’s festivities, or are just looking for a challenge, that could include cutting out the glass of wine with dinner or the cocktails...

The Food and Drug Administration has updated the nutrition facts label on packaged foods and beverages to reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases. Manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual sales were required to switch to the new label by Jan. 1. Angie...

When Kea Turner’s 74-year-old grandmother checked into Virginia’s Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital with advanced lung cancer, she landed in the oncology unit where every patient was monitored by a bed alarm. “Even if she would slightly roll over, it would go off,” Turner said. Small movements — such as...

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas appeals court on Friday agreed to delay a judge’s ruling that would have allowed a hospital to end life-sustaining treatment for an 11-month-old girl who doctors say is in pain and will not get better. The Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth ordered...

UPMC will present updates to its plans for a new 63-bed hospital that it hopes to build in Jefferson Hills to the borough’s planning commission in January. Residents for more than a year have fought plans for the new hospital and the zoning permit to allow the project to proceed...

WASHINGTON — Scientists think they’ve figured out how to make a century-old tuberculosis vaccine far more protective: Simply give the shot a different way. In a study with monkeys, injecting the vaccine straight into the bloodstream dramatically improved its effectiveness over today’s skin-deep shot, researchers reported Wednesday. “This offers hope,”...

The past week saw another sharp increase in confirmed influenza cases across Pennsylvania and two additional flu-associated deaths, according to data released Tuesday by the state Health Department. As of the week ending Dec. 28, a total of 17,349 laboratory-confirmed flu cases have been reported this season. That’s up 56%...

Gender pay equity in the field of medicine remains elusive. Gender-based pay differences have been shown to persist, even when controlling for experience, clinical productivity, academic rank and other factors. These inequities result in significantly lower lifetime earnings, job burnout and negative attitudes toward work, and adverse effects on the...

Question: I’ve heard that alkaline water is better at rehydrating your body than nonalkaline, or plain, water. Is this true? Answer: In short, for most people, plain water is better. But first, it’s important to understand the definition of alkaline water. Scientists use pH to describe how acidic or basic...

It’s New Year’s Eve — time once again to make a resolution to do something better in the new year. Starting with Halloween candy, continuing with the Thanksgiving feast and finishing off with holiday indulgences in December, it’s no wonder that many of our resolutions have to do with getting...

Classes/programs • Excela Health offers classes to aid people with diabetes in meal planning. Classes meet 1- 3 p.m. Jan. 7 in Excela Square at Latrobe. Details: 724-537-1049 • Excela Health fitness classes for the mind, body and spirit at Westmoreland Hospital, 532 W. Pittsburgh St., Greensburg, unless otherwise noted: —...

Greensburg-based MedCare Equipment Company is expanding its service area and adding about 20 employees through a new affiliation with Somerset Med Services. On Wednesday, the Greensburg firm, which provides home medical equipment and respiratory therapy services in affiliation with the local Excela Health health care system, is set to conclude...

Mel Babitz hopes drinkers will take a shot at attending an alcohol-free happy hour in Pittsburgh. Starting Jan. 15, and continuing every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday throughout the month, she’ll host a boozeless pop-up bar at Creative Coffee & Supply on Smithfield Street, Downtown. From 4 to 7 p.m., guests...

Whether we’re talking the end of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or the rise of Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty lingerie, 2019 will be remembered as the year of body positivity. Not only were fleshy frames regularly advertised in the once-skinny-only world of lacy unmentionables. They also were lauded at awards...