Health category, Page 118
Smiles From Sean brings emojis to UPMC Children’s Hospital
These emojis are aimed at creating real smiles. Bright yellow pillows, cinch bags, stress balls and key chains decorated with smiling faces will be given to kids at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in Lawrenceville. Sean Rovers, 11, of Bethel Park came up with the idea to create happiness for...
The ‘fourth wave’ of the opioid crisis: Feds warn of a rise in meth use
WASHINGTON — Federal drug enforcement agents are alarmed that the opioid epidemic is fueling a spike in methamphetamine use. Across the country, meth overdose deaths and federal seizures from drug busts and border raids paint a stark picture of an increase in the drug’s proliferation. Demand for meth now poses...
Proposed law aims to increase vaccination rate in Pennsylvania
State Reps. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, and Bridget Kosierowksi, D-Lackawanna, announced Tuesday the introduction of legislation to increase the vaccination rate of Pennsylvania children. The bill would require parents who seek nonmedical exemptions for their children meet with a doctor every year to learn about the risks of not getting...
Health Happenings – Aug. 20, 2019
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: — 1-5:30 p.m. Wednesday, BPO Elks Lodge 777, 151 Pittsburgh St., Scottdale — 1-5:30 p.m. Friday, North Huntingdon Town House, 11279 Center Highway — 12:30-6 p.m. Friday, Trinity Lutheran Church, 331 Weldon St., Latrobe — 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday,...
On-site pampering glams up HealthPlex mammograms
Although most women understand its importance, scheduling their annual mammogram is not something they anticipate in the way they might a relaxing massage or a soothing paraffin hand treatment. One area hospital is looking to change that. Women who make an appointment for the upcoming HealthPlex Imaging “Mamm & Glamm”...
Will there be a universal flu vaccine?
A better, more effective flu vaccine is a matter of when — not if — says Dr. Gregory Poland, director of Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group. The National Institutes of Health is testing an experimental universal flu vaccine with the goal of providing high-efficacy, long-lasting protection against influenza viruses. “The...
The hazards of ‘Running While Female’
The thrill of hitting the trail at full stride and the exhilaration of the fabled “runner’s high” is often replaced by fear and trepidation for female runners in the area, across the country and around the world. Aug. 21 marks one year since the discovery of the body of 20-year-old...
Allegheny Health Network acquires Grove City Medical Center
Allegheny Health Network will acquire Grove City Medical Center, the network announced Monday. The Mercer County facility will be AHN’s ninth owned hospital and will extend the network’s reach to the north of Pittsburgh. Pending government approval, AHN plans to seal the deal in the next few months. The amount...
Those who use more emojis have more sex, study says
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is an emoji worth? Perhaps a really good sex life. According to a pair of studies conducted by The Kinsey Institute (yeah, that one), texters who used emojis more often tended to have more dates, more romance, and more sex....
Backers of rural dental care find something to smile about
AUGUSTA, Maine — It can be hard to keep smiles healthy in rural areas, where dentists are few and far between and residents often are poor and lack dental coverage. Efforts to remedy the problem have produced varying degrees of success. The biggest obstacle? Dentists. Dozens of countries, such as...
Pitt professor wants to put student-athletes to sleep
Pitt professor Chris Kline wants college students and athletes to wake up to the fact many of them are “notoriously sleep-deprived.” Kline, an assistant professor in Pitt’s Department of Health and Physical Activity, served on an NCAA Task Force on sleep and wellness in 2017, co-authoring a paper that recommends...
Woman thought she had kidney stones, gave birth to tripletsVideo
A South Dakota woman who recently gave birth to triplets says she didn’t find out about her pregnancy until she went to the hospital with what she thought were kidney stones. KOTA-TV reports Dannette Giltz, of Sturgis, gave birth to the healthy triplets on Aug. 10. Giltz says that despite...
Pittsburgh rehab center worker celebrates 70 years of serviceVideo
Nora Morant was ready to quit her job after the first day. Instead she stayed for 70 years. Morant has worked seven decades for the Jewish Association on Aging. She hasn’t finished the job yet. “Cheers to 70 years!” was a fitting theme on Friday at Charles Morris Nursing and...
Mt. Lebanon business owner saves life thanks to Narcan training
Last Sunday, Shannon Rugh was taking a leisurely drive through a small town in northern Virginia when she decided to stop for a cup of coffee. For Rugh, 42, of Mt. Lebanon, it ended up being a fateful decision. Though she had visited the town before, she took a wrong...
These mannequins aren’t for fashion. They’re for medical training
Lying on the table, surrounded by two nurses, a woman shrieks in pain, “There’s something horribly wrong!” She’s in labor, and nurse Shanti Fernandez is helping to deliver her baby. While another nurse assures her that everything will be fine, Fernandez pulled out a healthy baby boy — made of...
Health Happenings – Aug. 13, 2019
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: — 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, Star Auto Mall, Route 30, Hempfield — 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday, St. Vincent Parish Grove, 320 Monastery Drive, Unity — 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Friday , New Alexandria Senior Center for Active Adults, 207 W....
Cold medicines are not for little kids, experts say
Experts agree that little kids, especially babies, should not be given over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. But studies have reached conflicting conclusions about whether doctors have been following or flouting that guidance. Now, a national study by Rutgers University researchers suggests doctors have curbed their use of most, but not...
Early study results suggest 2 Ebola treatments saving lives
WASHINGTON — Two of four experimental Ebola drugs being tested in Congo seem to be saving lives, international health authorities announced Monday. The preliminary findings prompted an early halt to a major study on the drugs and a decision to prioritize their use in the African country, where a yearlong...
CMU study: Football players can still have brain damage from hits without concussionVideo
Football players can still experience brain damage from repeated hits to the head even if they don’t result in a concussion, according to a study released Wednesday involving researchers from Carnegie Mellon. The news comes as teams across the country prepare to begin their football seasons this month. The study,...
Trump administration moves to enforce abortion restriction
WASHINGTON — Moving ahead despite objections, the Trump administration on Friday set a timetable for federally funded family clinics to comply with a new rule that bars them from referring women for abortions. The move is part of a series of efforts to remake government policy on reproductive health to...
Cryotherapy experts baffled by Antonio Brown’s frostbitten feet
The picture circulating on social media of Antonio Brown’s feet is reportedly the result of a cryotherapy session gone very wrong. From heel to toe, the bottoms of Brown’s feet are one big blister, with yellowish dying skin giving way to a shade of raw pink. Local cryotherapy experts wonder...
Boom in overdose-reversing drug is tied to fewer drug deaths
NEW YORK — Prescriptions of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone are soaring, and experts say that could be a reason overdose deaths have stopped rising for the first time in nearly three decades. The number of naloxone prescriptions dispensed by U.S. retail pharmacies doubled from 2017 to last year, rising from...
Sunburn tattoos? Don’t put your skin at risk, dermatologists sayVideo
Even if it’s not a good idea, somebody is bound to try it. Witness this summer’s social media buzz around “sunburn tattoos.” To create sunburn tattoos, tanners cover a portion of skin with a decal, stencil or sunscreen and then head out into the sun with the rest of their...
Does vitamin B-1 repel mosquitos?
As I sit here scratching a mosquito bite, I’m suddenly interested in a recent question from a patient. Do vitamin B1 supplements repel mosquitos? Here’s what I learned: Mosquitos transmit several diseases, including malaria and West Nile virus. And they find their hosts (you and me) mostly by their sense...
5 threats to heart health
Many people can recite the major risk factors for heart disease, the stuff of posters, public service ads and dire warnings: smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, lack of exercise. But what about air pollution, loneliness, lack of green space, lack of sleep and stress? They’re elements of...
