Ableism, or prejudice against people with disabilities, is an established problem in general healthcare. Now, a small study shows those same issues persist in mental healthcare. Sometimes, the barriers to care are physical, such as inaccessible entrances or a lack of reliable transit. Other times, the hurdles are informational, such as hard-to-use online patient portals.… read on > read on >
Canadian Rowan Ladd scratched her head when doctors said they might bank a blood donation from her at the start of her 2022 liver surgery, but she figured it couldn’t hurt. “You’re told before surgery that the liver is so full of blood vessels that there are risks of major bleeding,” Ladd, a 46-year-old Ottawa… read on > read on >
Women worried about losing their locks during chemotherapy can safely take hair-loss drugs during breast cancer care, a new study says. Minoxidil – the active ingredient in the over-the-counter Rogaine — is commonly prescribed for hair loss, but is also used to dilate blood vessels as a treatment for high blood pressure. Because of this… read on > read on >
In guidelines that may encourage more women to get screened for cervical cancer, a leading health task force has backed giving women over 30 the option to collect their own vaginal samples for testing. Instead of needing to have a complete pelvic exam, these women can now go to a doctor’s office and collect their… read on > read on >
Heavy smoke from wildfires more frequently chokes the skies over the Western United States, but cities farther to the east are no longer being spared, new research shows. Canada’s unusually intense 2023 wildfire season smothered American cities as far off as Baltimore and New York City, according to research presented Tuesday at the American Geophysical… read on > read on >
Robert Kennedy Jr. should not be confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over 75 Nobel laureates urged Monday. In a letter published by the New York Times, the esteemed scientists took issue with Kennedy’s lack of experience and controversial stands. “In addition to his lack of credentials or relevant experience… read on > read on >
People with diabetes who are taking GLP-1 meds such as Ozempic or Mounjaro may be getting an added bonus: Reductions in their odds for a dangerous blood clot, new research finds. The study found that folks with diabetes who were using the drugs lowered their odds for a form of clot called venous thromboembolism (VTE)… read on > read on >
Over 3 million Americans with asthma can’t afford to take their medications as prescribed, a new poll estimates. In total, about 1 in 6 folks with asthma are struggling to cover the costs of inhalers and other medications, according to survey results published Dec. 9 in the journal Thorax. The findings are troubling because people… read on > read on >
Inebriated e-scooter and e-bike users, many of them teens, are increasingly showing up in the nation’s emergency rooms, new research shows. Overall, rates of injuries from these “micromobility” devices have tripled in recent years — from close to 23,000 in 2019 to nearly 66,000 by 2022, the new study found. Alcohol use was a factor… read on > read on >
If you are middle-aged or older, you may often feel lonely and isolated as you deal with the strains of daily life. Now, a new survey suggests you are far from alone: More than one-third of middle-aged and senior Americans feel that way. The good news? That means that loneliness and isolation has mostly returned… read on > read on >
