Reacting to an upsurge in abuse of benzodiazepine sedatives such as Valium, Xanax and Ativan, U.S. officials on Wednesday added a “Boxed Warning” to the drugs’ labels, cautioning about the danger. Benzodiazepines are tranquilizers commonly prescribed to help ease issues such as anxiety, seizures, insomnia and panic disorders. But “while benzodiazepines are important therapies for… read on >
THURSDAY, Sept. 24, 2020 (Healthday News) — The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a Senate committee on Wednesday that 90% of Americans are still at risk of contracting the virus. “The preliminary results in the first round [of a very large, ongoing CDC study] show that a majority of… read on >
The loss of a pet may be a child’s first encounter with death, and new research suggests no one should underestimate the psychological trauma that the loss can bring. Previous studies have found that kids form deep emotional attachments to their pets and having a furry companion in your youth has been linked to greater… read on >
If you sing indoors without a face mask, you run the risk of spreading COVID-19 through tiny airborne particles known as aerosols. That’s the conclusion researchers reached after studying a choir practice. In Skagit Valley, Wash., one person with mild symptoms of COVID-19 attended a 2.5-hour-long indoor choir practice on March 10. Over the next… read on >
Many heart attack survivors worry that resuming sex too soon afterwards might trigger another attack. But new research suggests the opposite may be true. Research out of Israel finds that resuming a normal sex life in the months after a heart attack may actually boost survival. Lead researcher Yariv Gerber believes part of the benefit… read on >
Millions of Americans pop zinc supplements at the first sign of the common cold. Now, new research suggests the nutrient might play a role in COVID-19 outcomes, too. Researchers from Spain reporting at a European coronavirus conference found that hospitalized COVID-19 patients with low blood levels of zinc tended to fare worse than those with… read on >
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 23, 2020 (Healthday News) — The U.S. coronavirus death toll reached the tragic milestone of 200,000 on Tuesday, with at least 22 states now reporting a rise in new cases. Just last Monday, only nine states were reporting increases in new COVID-19 cases, CNN reported. For the most part, the case spikes are… read on >
Four in 10 health care workers who test positive for COVID-19 don’t have symptoms, which means they could unknowingly spread the disease to co-workers and patients, researchers say. For the new study, the research team reviewed 97 studies that included more than 230,000 health care workers in 24 countries. Rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the… read on >
Women diagnosed with an early, highly treatable form of breast cancer still face a higher-than-normal risk of eventually dying from the disease, a large new study finds. The study looked at women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), where cancer cells form in the lining of the milk ducts but have not yet invaded the… read on >
TUESDAY, Sept. 22, 2020 (Healthday News) — While health officials worry about a potential “twindemic” of COVID-19 and the flu this winter, a new study finds that hospital patients who were infected with both viruses were more than twice as likely to die as those infected only with the new coronavirus. British government scientists conducted… read on >
