SATURDAY, Sept. 21, 2024 (Healthday News) — Workplace anxiety. Who hasn’t experienced it? However, if that anxiety is so strong that it hurts your performance or lingers for months, you might have a problem, one expert says. Dr. Asim Shah, executive vice chair in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor Colege…  read on >  read on >

The days of waiting for a flu shot at your doctor’s office or local pharmacy may be over: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved FluMist nasal spray as the first influenza vaccine that can be self-administered at home. It’s a “new option for receiving a safe and effective seasonal influenza vaccine potentially…  read on >  read on >

Controversial fentanyl lollipops and similar products will no longer be made by drug makers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced. Known as TIRF medications, these products contain fentanyl and are used to manage breakthrough pain in cancer patients who have become tolerant to around-the-clock opioid therapy, the FDA said in a statement released…  read on >  read on >

A cavalry of sorts can come to the rescue of combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new study says. Combat veterans who regularly care for horses experience an easing of their PTSD symptoms, as well as an overall improved mental outlook, researchers found. Focusing on a horse’s welfare can help a veteran…  read on >  read on >

Doctors sometimes turn to antidepressants as a means of easing older people’s physical pain, but a new expert review finds there’s little evidence to support the practice. Antidepressants may even come with hazards for seniors who don’t need them, said researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia. “Harms of antidepressant use in older people…  read on >  read on >

An arthritis sufferer’s joints start to get ornery when the weather turns colder, getting stiff and achy as the mercury drops. Cold weather doesn’t cause arthritis, but it can make it worse, experts say. “Our joints operate best in temperate weather,” said Dr. Mariko Ishimori, interim director at the Cedars-Sinai Division of Rheumatology in Los…  read on >  read on >

Would-be dads don’t have to worry that taking the epilepsy drug valproate will result in children with birth defects, a new review concludes. Valproate, an anti-seizure drug, is known to cause birth defects and developmental disorders when taken by pregnant women. But the drug does not appear to have the same impact on the fetus…  read on >  read on >