Health category, Page 106
Older adults susceptible to pertussis, vaccine may be warranted
Dear Mayo Clinic: Why is my health care provider recommending that I get the Tdap vaccine now to prevent whooping cough, even though I am in my late 70s? Doesn’t whooping cough usually affect young children? Answer: While it’s true that babies are most at risk of pertussis infection and...
What to do if your home health care agency ditches you
Craig Holly was determined to fight when the home health agency caring for his wife decided to cut off services. The reason he was given by an agency nurse? His wife was disabled but stable, and Medicare was changing its payment system for home health. Euphrosyne “Effie” Costas- Holly, 67, has...
Health Happenings: Week of Feb. 10
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: — Noon-5:30 p.m. today, Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Unity — 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday , Seton Hill University McKenna Center, Seton Hill Drive, Greensburg Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome Classes/programs • Tours of the Family...
More high school students than ever are coming out, but their despair remains acute
PHILADELPHIA — The proportion of high school students who identify as a sexual minority — lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning— doubled in the past several years, according to a new study published Monday. Yet those greater numbers have not necessarily meant they have found greater acceptance or peace. The study,...
Drugs fail to slow decline in inherited Alzheimer’s disease
Two experimental drugs failed to prevent or slow mental decline in a study of people who are virtually destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease at a relatively young age because they inherited rare gene flaws. The results announced Monday are another disappointment for the approach that scientists have focused on for...
Drugs fail to slow decline in inherited Alzheimer’s disease
Two experimental drugs failed to prevent or slow mental decline in a study of people who are virtually destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease at a relatively young age because of rare gene flaws. The results announced Monday are another disappointment for the approach that scientists have focused on for years...
Hempfield baby first to benefit from breathing aid, donated milk at Greensburg hospitalVideo
Newborn Ayla Wirth’s arrival early Tuesday and continued presence at Excela Westmoreland Hospital was a blessing for her parents and a major advance on more than one front for the Greensburg facility’s Special Care Nursery. Ayla weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces when she was delivered just before 5 a.m. —...
Utah sends employees to Mexico for lower prescription prices
SALT LAKE CITY — Ann Lovell had never owned a passport before last year. Now, the 62-year-old teacher is a frequent flier, traveling every few months to Tijuana, Mexico, to buy medication for rheumatoid arthritis — with tickets paid for by the state of Utah’s public insurer. Lovell is one...
Doctor’s death unleashes mourning, fury at Chinese officialsVideo
BEIJING — The death of a doctor who was reprimanded for warning about China’s new virus triggered an outpouring Friday of praise for him and fury that communist authorities put politics above public safety. In death, Dr. Li Wenliang became the face of simmering anger at the ruling Communist Party’s...
Beyond burnout: Doctors decry ‘moral injury’ from financial pressures of health care
Dr. Keith Corl was working in a Las Vegas emergency room when a patient arrived with chest pain. The patient, wearing his street clothes, had a two-minute exam in the triage area with a doctor, who ordered an X-ray and several other tests. But later, in the treatment area, when...
Pittsburgh’s Chinese population postpones parade to focus on helping coronavirus victims
The Chinese community in Pittsburgh would normally be celebrating this time of year, but the outbreak of the coronavirus in parts of China has spurred officials with the area’s Asian Pacific American advocacy group to postpone a planned Lunar New Year Parade. It was set for Sunday in the city’s...
FDA crackdown on vaping flavors has blind spot: disposables
WASHINGTON — The federal government Thursday began enforcing restrictions on flavored electronic cigarettes aimed at curbing underage vaping. But some teenagers may be one step ahead of the rules. Parents, researchers and students warn that some young people have already moved on to a newer kind of vape that isn’t...
Senators urge rapid implementation of measures to combat tick-borne illness
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is urging the nation’s Department of Health & Human Services to quickly implement measures in the Kay Hagan Tick Act, aimed at improving research, prevention, diagnostics and treatment of tick-borne illnesses. The legislation is named in honor of former Sen. Kay Hagan, who died...
China opens new hospitals for virus patients, deaths top 560Video
BEIJING — China on Thursday finished building a second new hospital to isolate and treat patients of a virus that has killed more than 560 people and continues to spread, disrupting travel and people’s lives and fueling economic fears. A first group of patients was expected to start testing a...
American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women encourages wearing of red
Days before she was to board a Walt Disney Cruise Line with her family two years ago, Rachel Brecht was told she couldn’t go. She needed heart surgery. “I said to my cardiologist, I am leaving for a cruise,” said Brecht, 44, from Bethel Park. “And he said, ‘No you’re...
Allegheny County records 2 more flu-related deaths
Two more Allegheny County residents have died from flu complications, bringing the county’s total flu-associated deaths this season to seven, the Allegheny County Health Department said Wednesday. Department spokesman Ryan Scarpino said one of the residents was in their 60s, while the other was in their 40s. The Health Department...
Italy, Turkey screen all arriving passengers for coronavirusVideo
ROME — Italy and Turkey said Wednesday they were taking the temperatures of all arriving airline passengers in new prevention measures aimed at halting the spread of a virus outbreak that has killed hundreds of people in China. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said thermal cameras installed at Turkish airports...
Pennsylvania flu deaths increase by 7, cases up 24%
Pennsylvania recorded another increase in flu-associated deaths in a season that has hit Southwestern Pennsylvania particularly hard. As of the week ending Feb. 1, flu-associated deaths increased by seven for a total of 40 this flu season, according to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Health. Most of...
Girl’s fall into grease pit prompts W.Va. bill to hike fines
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After a 5-year-old girl fell into a restaurant grease pit and was rescued, West Virginia’s Senate has passed legislation that would toughen fines for restaurants that have unsecured lids on the containers. The state Senate passed the bill Tuesday, 33-0. One member was absent. It now goes...
Health Happenings: Week of Feb. 3
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: —1-5:30 p.m. Feb. 7, North Huntingdon Town House, 11279 Center Highway, North Huntingdon — Noon-4:30 p.m. Feb. 10, Excela Square Norwin, 8775 Norwin Ave., North Huntingdon — Noon-5:30 p.m. Feb. 11, Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Unity...
Cervical cancer is almost 100% preventable. And Chicago is making a move to eradicate it
CHICAGO — “It happens when you least expect it. … It was my last semester before it was time for me to graduate. That’s when I found out.” Morgan Park, Ill., resident Angela Williams was 40 years old in 2015 when she received a diagnosis of cervical cancer following a...
Sepsis: A team response to a potential killer
Our bodies are very good at fighting infection. The immune system reacts and attacks bacteria and viruses that make us sick. But sometimes the immune reaction is so strong that it damages the body. This is called a septic reaction or sepsis, and the mortality rate associated with it can...
What you may not know about carrots
How do you know when a carrot is dehydrated? Why should we care? I found the answer plus other interesting facts about my favorite vegetable in a recent article by registered dietitian Bethany Oxender in Food & Nutrition magazine, a publication of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I’ve highlighted...
Pennsylvania health department officials say ‘coronavirus threat remains low’
While China has accused the U.S. of causing panic in its response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, the Pennsylvania Department of Health is doing what it can to keep residents calm. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine reminded Pennsylvanians Monday that the threat from coronavirus remains low. There have been...
FDA approves first treatment for kids with peanut allergy
WASHINGTON — The first treatment for peanut allergies is about to hit the market, a big step toward better care for all kinds of food allergies — but still a long way from a cure. Friday’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration promises to bring some relief to families...
