Health category, Page 138
The best prescription for teens addicted to vaping? No one knows
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top health authorities agree: Teen vaping is an epidemic that now affects some 3.6 million underage users of Juul and other e-cigarettes. But no one seems to know the best way to help teenagers who may be addicted to nicotine. E-cigarettes are now the top high-risk...
Snack drawers and other ways to teach kids to eat in moderation
Just as children need support when they learn to read, write or ride a bike, they need support learning to eat in moderation, especially during snack time. Snacks are usually the most challenging to moderate because children often prefer snack foods to what is served for dinner. Most kids can...
Lady Gaga puts spotlight on dealing with fibromyalgia
The one thing that can really irritate Lady Gaga is people not believing that the pain from her fibromyalgia is real. “People need to be more compassionate,” she told Vogue in an interview. With a hit movie and soundtrack for “A Star Is Born” and the recent premiere of a...
The whole truth? Patients often conceal details from doctors
A new medical study upholds an old truth about patients deceiving their health care providers: It happens a lot. The deception is, of course, mutual. In medical journals, it’s generally referred to as “nondisclosure” or “withholding.” On the TV drama “House,” it was called “lying” and the lead character, Dr....
‘Pete the Groin Crusher’ lauded for crushing 10,000 patients
PHILADELPHIA — Nobody ever warns the patients at Pennsylvania Hospital about Pete Schiavo, “The Groin Crusher.” The first time most people meet Schiavo, they’ve just come out of a coronary procedure and he’s explaining that after the catheters are pulled out of their femoral artery, he’s going to apply pressure...
U.S. flu season appears milder, one year after brutal one
NEW YORK — It’s early, but the current flu season is shaping up to be gentler than last winter’s unusually brutal one, U.S. health officials said. In most parts of the country, most illnesses right now are being caused by a flu strain that leads to fewer hospitalizations and deaths...
Tips to fight the winter bluesVideo
Tis the season for a bit of post-holiday letdown with the realization that spring is still several months away. For some people, those with symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), winter’s chilly temperatures and increased darkness can cause a type of depression, says Dr. Krista Boyer. A licensed psychologist with...
Scientists seek ways to finally take a real measure of pain
WASHINGTON — Is the pain stabbing or burning? On a scale from 1 to 10, is it a 6 or an 8? Over and over, 17-year-old Sarah Taylor struggled to make doctors understand her sometimes debilitating levels of pain, first from joint-damaging childhood arthritis and then from fibromyalgia. “It’s really...
U.S. medical marketing reaches $30 billion, drug ads top surge
Ads for prescription drugs appeared 5 million times in just one year, capping a recent surge in U.S. medical marketing, a new analysis found. The advertisements for various medicines showed up on TV, newspapers, online sites and elsewhere in 2016. Their numbers soared over 20 years as part of broad...
Pros and cons of mail-order pharmacies
CVS does it. Walgreens does it. Now Amazon is getting in on the act. They’re all dispensing drugs by mail. With nearly 3 in 5 American adults taking at least one prescription drug, odds are your health insurer has steered you toward a mail-order pharmacy. And, if they haven’t, they...
U.S. cancer death rate hits milestone: 25 years of decline
NEW YORK — The U.S. cancer death rate has hit a milestone: It’s been falling for at least 25 years, according to a new report. Lower smoking rates are translating into fewer deaths. Advances in early detection and treatment also are having a positive impact, experts say. But it’s not...
In Italy, UPMC will expand transplant facility, build 2nd hospital
UPMC’s hospital in Palermo, Italy, will be expanding and a new hospital is in the works as part of a 10-year renewal of the hospital’s partnership with the Region of Sicily. ISMETT, the UPMC-operated transplant hospital, will expand the number of beds from 78 to 114. Plans also include a...
Health Happenings – Jan. 8, 2019
Blood drives • American Red Cross blood drives: — 12:30-5 p.m. today, Westmoreland Manor, 2480 S. Grand Blvd., Greensburg — 1:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, St. Bruno’s Church, 1707 S. Poplar St., Greensburg — 12:30-5 p.m. Wednesday, Levin Furniture Store, Route 30, Hempfield — 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday, St. Vincent Parish Grove,...
Smoking at record low in U.S., but benefits aren’t shared equally
Cigarette smoking is at an all-time low in the United States, but the benefits of this public health achievement are not being shared equally by all Americans. A new analysis of health data from the nation’s 500 largest cities shows that the people who live in neighborhoods with the highest...
BeBalanced center to host free women’s health programs in Murrysville
A Lancaster-based women’s health franchise has opened the first of three locations in the Pittsburgh area. BeBalanced Hormone Weight Loss Center is now open in Murrysville, with additional locations planned for the Wexford and South Hills areas. “Like many women over age 35, an active lifestyle and closely monitoring calories...
Dry January: A time to reassess your relationship with alcohol
January is the time to put those resolutions into practice. New year, new you — right? One practice that’s come along in recent years is Dry January, a month for people to abstain from and reassess their relationships with alcohol. The idea is that even a brief time-out can benefit...
Detecting depression: Phone apps could monitor teen angst
Rising suicide rates and depression in U.S. teens and young adults have prompted researchers to ask a provocative question: Could the same devices that some people blame for contributing to tech-age angst also be used to detect it? The idea has sparked a race to develop apps that warn of...
Medications for blood pressure and heart failure recalled
A blood pressure medication is being recalled, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report, but patients prescribed the drug are advised to continue taking it until they talk to their doctor. Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. is conducting a voluntary recall of 80 lots of Amlodipine Valsartan Tablets USP,...
Low carb? Low fat? What the latest dieting studies tell us
NEW YORK — Bacon and black coffee for breakfast, or oatmeal and bananas? If you’re planning to try to lose weight in 2019, you’re sure to find a fierce debate online and among friends and family about how best to do it. It seems like everyone has an opinion, and...
Health Happenings – Jan. 1, 2019
Blood drives • American Red Cross blood drives: — 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Thursday, Westmoreland County Courthouse, Courthouse Square, 2 N. Main St., Greensburg — 12:30- 5 p.m. Thursday, Excela Square at Latrobe, 100 Excela Health Drive — Noon- 4:30 p.m. Friday, Excela Square at Frick, 508 S. Church St., Mt....
How Trib reporter Brian Rittmeyer dropped 65 pounds
I’m going to get right to the point: since May, I’ve lost about 65 pounds. My weight fell from 235 to around 170. How? Simply by changing my eating habits and walking in my neighborhood. That’s it. Yeah, it surprised the heck out of me, too. I had no idea...
