Dozens of over-the-counter lubricating eyedrops and artificial tears faced recall in 2023, due to contamination and unsafe manufacturing practices. “This year, we’ve seen an especially large number of recalls in ophthalmologic products,” said Gary Novack, a clinical professor with the UC Davis Health Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences in Davis, Calif. People who regularly… read on > read on >
Kids with emotional problems or ADHD can find the holidays a very challenging time, as all the routines that provide a sense of order are jumbled in a whirl of activities. The kids are home from school and restless, their parents are hauling them along to Christmas shopping and holiday gatherings, and they’re eating lots… read on > read on >
A new treatment appears to reduce food allergies in children and teens, according to interim clinical trial results. A lab-made monoclonal antibody called omalizumab (Xolair) significantly increased the amounts of common foods that children could eat without sparking an allergic reaction, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported. The U.S. Food… read on > read on >
Kids are home for the holidays, but the wonders of the season can pose problems for children with asthma. Sources of joy like Christmas trees, a Yule log burning or Grandma’s pet dog can all be unexpected asthma triggers, warns the American Lung Association. Parents should talk with their kid’s doctor about creating an asthma… read on > read on >
What’s even more nerve-wracking than paying taxes? The holidays, according to a majority of Americans, who say it takes them weeks to recover from seasonal stress. “The holidays are an easy time to justify putting off healthy habits, but it’s important to manage chronic stress and other risk factors to stay healthy during the holiday… read on > read on >
The new COVID variant known as JN.1 was named a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization on Tuesday, which means health officials are now closely tracking its rapid spread across the globe. So far, the highly mutated variant has not been shown to trigger more severe illness than previous incarnations of the coronavirus.… read on > read on >
Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress are common among people caring for the victim of a recent stroke, a new study has found. Nearly 30% of caregivers of severe stroke patients experience stress and emotional problems during the first year after the patient leaves the hospital, according to a report in the journal Neurology. “This research… read on > read on >
Beyond a myriad of other consequences, childhood trauma appears to raise the specter of chronic pain in adulthood, new research shows. Researchers pored over 75 years’ worth of data involving more than 826,000 people. That included information on levels of neglect or physical, emotional or sexual abuse, plus other serious trauma of childhood. Their review… read on > read on >
Long left to the fringes of the recreational drug culture, psilocybin — the hallucinatory ingredient in “magic mushrooms” — has recently been making inroads as a legitimate (and fast-acting) antidepressant. Research published Dec. 18 in Cancer shows its benefits may extend to people battling cancer, who often experience the added burden of depression. “As an… read on > read on >
Exposure to a common chemical group found in many household products may delay or even prevent a woman from becoming pregnant, a new study says. Phthalates can lower a woman’s odds of becoming pregnant by up to 18% in any given month, researchers report in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Phthalates are chemicals found in… read on > read on >
