Health category, Page 99

The spread of the novel coronavirus is reaching communities across the country and experts say the cases of covid-19 will spike exponentially. What does community spread mean, and how do you stop it? Here’s what you need to know: Q: What is community spread? A: Community spread means that someone...

DENVER — Geoff Davis’ gray Kia sedan is chock-full of tampons and maxi pads. Davis, 50, volunteers as executive director of Period Kits, a Colorado nonprofit that provides a three-month bag of tampons and pads to people in need. On lunch breaks from his full-time job in community relations or...

The Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday reported three new deaths in the county from flu complications. Two of the people were in their early 70s. The third person was in his or her early 60s. All of them had underlying medical conditions, according to a statement from the health...

Allegheny Health Network is making changes to its visitation policy at area hospitals in response to the rising cases of the novel coronavirus across the United States. The temporary restrictions were announced Wednesday and limit the number of visitors for a patient to one person at a time in the...

Visitor access to at least two nursing homes in the Pittsburgh region has been restricted as a precaution against the potential spread of the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday. Wexford Healthcare Center in McCandless and Baldwin Health Center also are taking the temperatures of visitors who enter the home. A fever...

The number of flu-related deaths in Pennsylvania this season has reached 83, up by nine in the past week, according to data the state Department of Health released Tuesday. Most of the deaths, 56, were in those age 65 and older. Six of the new deaths were in that age...

1. How is the coronavirus different from the flu? Flu and the coronavirus are both respiratory viruses with similar signs and symptoms, according to Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease and critical care physician. Coronavirus symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. A stuffy nose is not common...

Bob Lancia has felt heartache twice. One time the hurt was healed — with a heart transplant last year at UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland. But the other pain will ache for the rest his life — grieving the loss of his oldest son, Zach, 30, in 2017. Lancia of West...

Spring may not have quite sprung, but the days are longer and many of us are eager to resume outdoor recreational activities. In an effort to encourage people to ramp up the “active” in their activity, Penn State Extension is offering “Everybody Walk Across PA.” Individuals of all ages and...

Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are the best way to help a child who has a cold feel better — right? Think again. Here’s practical advice from Dr. Jay L. Hoecker, an emeritus pediatrics specialist at Mayo Clinic. What’s the concern about cough and cold medicines for kids? Over-the-counter cough...

Those with high blood pressure or who are at risk may want to consider simply saying no to sodium. Dr. Amy Pollak, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, says 75% of the amount of salt you get in your day-to-day diet is from processed foods or going out to eat. A new...

Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: — Noon-5 p.m. today , Westmoreland Manor, 2480 South Grande Boulevard, Hempfield — 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday , Trinity Lutheran Church, 331 Weldon St., Latrobe Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome Classes/programs • Tour of the Family Additions Maternity...

How contagious are people? When are they spreading the virus? These are the questions scientists and public health officials are asking as the novel coronavirus outbreak spreads farther every day. Definitive answers remain unknown, but the virus appears to be easily passed and the two-week quarantine period that has become...

MIAMI — Two people who tested positive for the new coronavirus have died in Florida, marking the first deaths on the East Coast attributed to the outbreak in the U.S., health officials said Friday. Helen Aguirre Ferre, a spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, confirmed the deaths on Twitter, writing...

As cases of the new coronavirus surpassed 100,000 worldwide, people on a cruise ship tested positive, Tokyo Olympics organizers are adjusting for the torch’s arrival in Japan, migrants headed to Europe are facing added hardships and shoppers around the globe continue stocking up. These are some of the latest developments...

SEATTLE — The University of Washington announced Friday it was moving all instruction online for the next two weeks, keeping more than 50,000 students out of classrooms as the death toll from COVID-19 continued to rise. At least 16 public elementary and secondary schools in the state have also closed,...

ATLANTA — President Donald Trump almost didn’t make the trip to Atlanta to address his administration’s response to the coronavirus. But when he arrived at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s main Atlanta campus, he didn’t seem to want to leave. After initially scrapping the trip, the president...

SAN FRANCISCO — Twenty-one people aboard a mammoth cruise ship off the California coast tested positive for the new coronavirus and 19 of them are crew members, Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday, amid evidence the vessel was the breeding ground for a deadly cluster of more than 10 cases...

As travelers worldwide place their plans on hold because of the growing threat of the coronavirus, officials at Pittsburgh International Airport said Friday that things there are business as usual. Bob Kerlik, a spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said the airport has not received notice of flight reductions....

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. is encouraging residents to clean out their medicine cabinets this weekend to coincide with changing their clocks. “The beginning of daylight saving time is the perfect time for people to identify unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications in their homes, medications...

The Department of Health and Human Services stripped from a government website HIV/AIDS educational material that featured condoms, calling the images “unapproved,” according to official correspondence obtained by Kaiser Health News. The images had been included in a 2017 fact sheet posted by HHS’ Office on Women’s Health to mark...

Federal agencies warned patients and manufacturers this past week that a recently discovered problem with Bluetooth Low Energy communications may allow computer hackers to remotely disable or access pacemakers, glucose monitors, ultrasound devices and other medical systems. The FDA and Homeland Security Department said that while there have been no...