There’s strong evidence that the steroid drug dexamethasone can significantly lower hospitalized patients’ risk of dying from COVID-19, but many who might benefit from it the most aren’t getting it. “Dexamethasone is a steroid that is used for the treatment of arthritis, inflammation and allergic reactions,” explained Hemalkumar Mehta, who studied its use in treating… read on > read on >
TUESDAY, Aug. 17, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — Linda and Clint Pilkinton had a healthy toddler when Linda got pregnant with their second child. They were eager to give Charlie a baby brother. The first trimester of her pregnancy proceeded much like it did with Charlie. Then came the standard 16-week ultrasound and another… read on > read on >
Twenty seconds. That’s how long you need to wash your hands to remove germs, a new physics study confirms. Typical hand-washing guidelines — including those from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — advise scrubbing your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds. To assess that recommendation, researchers used a mathematical model to… read on > read on >
The Biden administration plans to recommend that most Americans get a booster shot eight months after they received their second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, as the highly infectious Delta variant marches across the country. Officials could announce the decision as early as this week, with third shots becoming available to… read on > read on >
Masks are now required for all visitors, employees and contractors inside U.S. National Park Service (NPS) facilities and in crowded outdoor spaces, the service said Monday. The mandate applies regardless of people’s vaccination status or community transmission levels, and will be in effect until further notice, Forbes reported. “At a time when visits to America’s… read on > read on >
Avanti Frozen Foods has expanded its recall of various frozen cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp products that may be contaminated with salmonella. The more than two dozen products were sold under various brand names and distributed across the United States between November 2020 and May 2021, the company said in a news release. The initial… read on > read on >
While the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the United States has been dominating the news, an old viral enemy has been making a quieter comeback. In late spring, U.S. pediatric hospitals began reporting an unexpected rise in serious infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Unlike COVID-19, RSV is a long-established foe that normally emerges… read on > read on >
Infected babies and toddlers are more likely to spread COVID-19 to others in their homes than teens are, a new study indicates. It also found that very young children are less likely than teens to actually bring the virus into their homes, The New York Times reported. Researchers from Public Health Ontario in Canada analyzed… read on > read on >
The anesthesia drug ketamine and a related medicine called esketamine appear to be safe for tough-to-treat depression, researchers report. A number of studies have suggested that low doses of ketamine, which is also abused as a club drug under monikers that include “K” and “Special K,” provide rapid antidepressant effects, typically improving mood within 24… read on > read on >
Five years after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention retooled a guideline for prescribing opioid painkillers, research suggests the change is paying off. With the United States in the grip of an opioid overdose epidemic, the CDC released an evidence-based guideline in 2016 to help doctors treat patients’ pain while balancing the risks… read on > read on >
