Admit it, you’ve probably put off doctor visits whenever possible during the pandemic, and getting back on track with your health care is a daunting prospect. Never fear, says an expert who offers some advice on resuming in-person health care visits. The first step is to push aside any shame about falling behind on regular…  read on >  read on >

Parents of kids with asthma and allergies should prepare a plan to keep them safe as schools reopen, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) says. Along with guarding against COVID-19, it’s important to protect against cold, flu and other viruses that pose a risk to children with asthma. That includes wearing masks,…  read on >  read on >

Spit and scan. That’s all you have to do, and in less than an hour, you can not only find out if you have COVID-19 but what variant you have, all without leaving your home. This is the hope and promise of a new saliva-based COVID-19 test that is currently under development. “Several at-home tests…  read on >  read on >

There are many factors that affect your longevity after experiencing a heart attack. And now, new research finds that your neighborhood could play a key role in your long-term survival. The researchers found that patients in poorer neighborhoods had a lower chance of survival over five years, and that Black patients in those neighborhoods had…  read on >  read on >

It’s long been know that polluted can damage the heart and lungs, but new research finds that it’s bad for your brain, too. A long-term study by a Seattle team linked exposure to higher levels of fine particulate air pollution to an increased risk of dementia. “We found that an increase of 1 microgram per…  read on >  read on >

Dispatching rapid-response medical teams to perform an emergency procedure on stroke patients significantly improves their chances of survival and a good recovery, according to a new study. Researchers assessed a pilot program in New York City where a mobile interventional stroke team (MIST) raced to ischemic stroke patients to perform a surgical procedure called endovascular…  read on >  read on >

A kind of ‘zap’ to the brain — a technique called noninvasive brain stimulation — may help hardcore smokers cut back, a new research review suggests. Nicotine can trigger changes in the brain that make it hard to quit, so researchers have been looking for ways to use noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques to counter…  read on >  read on >