Fostering a shelter animal during the coronavirus pandemic could benefit both of you, an animal welfare group says. “Shelters are swamped in the best of times, and with more and more staff in every sector of American life self-quarantining and falling ill, animals already abandoned and without homes are going to be increasingly vulnerable,” said… read on >
Social distancing has become the new normal, with one-third of Americans now under stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic, but experts say that level of isolation can be hard on your health. “We don’t know for sure what the long-term health outcomes of widespread forced social isolation will be, but given what we know… read on >
Trying to find hand sanitizer to ward off coronavirus? You’re not alone. Hand sanitizer has been selling out across the country as the COVID-19 pandemic moves into more and more U.S. communities. People have rushed to stores looking for alcohol-based sanitizers containing at least 60% alcohol, the type recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease… read on >
Many Americans are choosing — or have been told — to self-quarantine to slow the spread of COVID-19. Doctors at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston break down what that is supposed to look like. Isolation separates sick people from those who are not sick, while quarantine restricts the movement of people… read on >
People often turn to music to boost their mood or relieve stress. And new research suggests there may be science supporting that practice. The study found that listening to 30 minutes of music a day eased chest pain and anxiety in people who had recently had a heart attack. “Based on our findings, we believe… read on >
Cholesterol-lowering statins are commonly used to help prevent heart disease. Now a new study hints that they could shield women’s hearts from the harms of certain breast cancer drugs. The study focused on women in Canada who’d been treated with either chemotherapy drugs called anthracyclines or the medication Herceptin. Though the treatments can be lifesaving,… read on >
Using past weather data to predict climate change-linked increases in extreme weather events may underestimate how often they’ll occur, with potentially serious consequences, a Stanford University study says. It found that predictions based solely on historical records underestimated by about half the actual number of extremely hot days in Europe and East Asia, as well… read on >
Considering a knee replacement? Plastic surgery? With a pandemic of new coronavirus cases looming, it’s probably time to postpone elective surgery if you can, a surgeons’ group says. In a statement, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) noted that as cases of severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalization rise, U.S. health care infrastructure and resources could be… read on >
Schools are closing. Sports and other activities have been cancelled. Everything is changing. In the midst of this chaos, how do parents keep kids from stressing too much? “For families, this is truly now hitting home,” said psychologist Robin Gurwitch, from Duke University and the Center for Child and Family Health, in Durham, N.C. “Families… read on >
The day paramedics rushed Jeramiah Parsons to the hospital, his lips were so sore and swollen he had trouble talking. A skin-picking habit related to his methamphetamine addiction had permitted a dangerous antibiotic-resistant infection to take up residence in his face. He had no health insurance and no doctor he could call. “It’s difficult to… read on >
