Health category, Page 132
Measles outbreak leads lawmakers to rethink religion exemptions for vaccines
Recent measles outbreaks in states such as Washington, New York and New Jersey have cast a spotlight on a group of Americans who receive exemptions from immunizing their children on the grounds that the vaccines violate their religious freedoms. Now the states that suffered outbreaks are taking aim at those...
U.S. mining sites dump 50 million gallons of fouled wastewater daily
RIMINI, Mont. — Every day many millions of gallons of water loaded with arsenic, lead and other toxic metals flow from some of the most contaminated mining sites in the United States and into surrounding lakes and streams without being treated, the Associated Press has found. That torrent is poisoning...
Smoking can damage eyesight by age 35, study suggests
Smoking cigarettes has long been known for its ability to damage eyesight, on top of the harm it causes to the lungs, heart, and other organs. But a new study suggests that smoking can impair vision far earlier than is commonly thought. Heavy smokers with an average age of 35...
Understanding the depression gender gap
Women are nearly twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with depression and it can occur at any age. Some mood changes and depressed feelings occur with normal hormonal changes, but hormonal changes alone don’t cause depression. Other biological factors, inherited traits and personal life circumstances and experiences are...
Health happenings in Westmoreland County
Blood drives • American Red Cross blood drives: — 12:30-6 p.m. Friday , Norwin Christian Church, 9610 Barnes Lake Road, Irwin —9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday , St. Michael’s Orthodox Church, 1182 Ashland St., Greensburg — 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday, First Commonwealth, 111 S. Main St., Greensburg Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org;...
Doctors’ dilemma: To see or not to see unvaccinated kidsVideo
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate. It’s an issue that surfaces again and again, despite evidence on how effective immunizations are in disease control. The use of vaccines worldwide has eradicated smallpox and done nearly the same for polio. In the United States, diphtheria, bacterial influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus...
Ohio children’s hospital ends use of cats for medical procedure class
CINCINNATI — Cats will no longer be used by an Ohio children’s hospital for teaching doctors a method of examining human airways and lungs. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had complained to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center about practicing bronchoscopy procedure on cats. The animal rights group says...
Dave McElhinny: Having health care can be ‘bittersweet’
I don’t know about you, but I think “prejudiced people are all alike.” This is what’s known as an oxymoron, a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear together. I used to think oxymoron was a term to describe a dumb person who has acne. When I mentioned...
How bad is measles? Pediatrician who has seen it kill patients implores vaccinating
Measles is back. German measles and chickenpox will undoubtedly follow unless more people vaccinate their children. Some think they are “innocuous childhood diseases”, but if you had ever seen a child who was very sick with any of these vaccine-preventable diseases, you would know better. In 1977, I was a...
Cancer death racial gap narrows but still higher for blacks
NEW YORK — For a long time, blacks have died of cancer at higher rates than other Americans. But a new report says the gap is narrowing. Nearly 30 years ago, black men had a 47 higher cancer death rate than white men. Now it’s 19 percent higher. Black women...
Understanding secondary headache disorder
Dear Mayo Clinic: How can you tell when a headache requires additional diagnostic testing? Answer: Headaches come with a wide range of accompanying symptoms and severity. Most often, they are due to a primary headache disorder, such as a tension-type headache or migraine. In older adults, most headaches are still...
Morning or night? With food or without? Answers to your questions about taking supplements
Whether multivitamins and other dietary supplements are necessary for the general population is a source of debate. Supplements remain recommended for certain populations with specific conditions — such as pregnant women who should take folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, or children in developing countries whose...
Why millennial women are seeking out plastic surgeons: ‘Now it’s part of my routine.’
After her fourth child, Lisa Wilkie felt open to getting a little cosmetic work done. Feeling the toll having children had taken on her body, she made an appointment to discuss breast augmentation. After that procedure in 2017, Wilkie, 34, also began Botox, an appointment she’s made every 12 weeks...
Health happenings in Westmoreland County
Classes/programs • Tours of the Family Additions Maternity Center are planned at 2 p.m. Sunday at Excela Westmoreland Hospital, 532 W. Pittsburgh St., Greensburg. Details: 877-771-1234 • Childbirth and Beyond, a two-week class meets Wednesdays, 6:30-9 p.m. beginning Feb. 20 in Excela Westmoreland Hospital, 532 W. Pittsburgh St., Greensburg. Details:...
Even in best-case scenario, opioid overdose deaths will keep rising until 2022
In the nation’s opioid epidemic, the carnage is far from over. A new projection of opioid overdose death rates suggests that even if there is steady progress in reducing prescription narcotics abuse nationwide, the number of fatal overdoses — which reached 47,600 in 2017 — will rise sharply in the...
Telemedicine struggles to lure patients
Walmart workers can now see a doctor for only $4. The catch? It has to be a virtual visit. The retail giant recently rolled back the $40 price on telemedicine, becoming the latest big company to nudge employees toward a high-tech way to get diagnosed and treated remotely. But patients...
WVU research touts value of vegetarian diets for diabetes management
Pass the celery sticks, please. Our friends at West Virginia University are tackling wellness issues that cross state lines into Western Pennsylvania, specifically type 2 diabetes. Researchers at WVU have looked at the relationship between vegetarian diets and diabetes outcomes. And, surprise, they found that a diet based on whole...
Brush up on good oral hygiene for Children’s Dental Health Month
As if parents didn’t have enough to worry about. February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and it arrives with a warning from medical professionals that — yes, mom and dad — you are responsible for your kids’ good dental health habits. “The best way for kids to develop good...
Health Happenings – Feb. 5, 2019
• American Red Cross blood drives: — 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday, Seton Hill University, Seton Hill Drive, Greensburg — Noon-5:30 p.m. Monday, Excela Square Norwin, 8775 Norwin Ave., Irwin — Noon-5:30 p.m. Feb. 12, Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Unity Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome Meetings •...
Trump’s health care threats led to a boom in long-term birth control
Did the election of Donald Trump lead to a stampede of women getting IUDs? Well, maybe not a stampede. But there was a measurable uptick in women getting long-acting contraceptives, namely intrauterine devices and hormonal implants, according to a new analysis published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Trump’s vow to...
Trump health chief asks Congress to pass drug discount plan
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s top health official asked Congress on Friday to pass its new prescription drug discount plan and provide it to all patients, not just those covered by government programs like Medicare. The plan would take now-hidden rebates among industry players like drug companies and insurers and...
Infant Ibuprofen medicine added to recall
A recall of medicine for infants sold at three popular pharmacies has added to a recall of the medicine. New Jersey-based Tris Pharma initially recalled some of its Ibuprofen Oral Suspension Drops in November and expanded the recall this week to include six more batches. The medicine is sold at...
Nearly half of U.S. adults have heart or blood vessel disease
A new report estimates that nearly half of all U.S. adults have some form of heart or blood vessel disease, a medical milestone that’s mostly due to recent guidelines that expanded how many people have high blood pressure. The American Heart Association said Thursday that more than 121 million adults...
E-cigarettes outperform patches and gums in quit-smoking study
WASHINGTON — A major new study provides the strongest evidence yet that vaping can help smokers quit cigarettes, with e-cigarettes proving nearly twice as effective as nicotine gums and patches. The British research, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, could influence what doctors tell their patients and...
Insulin cost in focus as Congress opens drug price hearings
WASHINGTON — A senior Republican lawmaker said Tuesday that he plans to investigate the “unacceptable” cost of insulin, as Congress opened hearings on high prescription drug prices and how government might put the brakes on a pharmaceutical industry used to setting its own terms. “I have heard stories about people...
