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Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald/TNS

Gov. Healey looks to close Massachusetts healthcare shortage with veteran military medics

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Veteran military medics could soon administer medications to patients at certain Massachusetts hospitals under a proposal by Gov. Maura Healey.

On the eve of Veterans Day, the governor revealed plans to advance new regulations to create a pathway for military medics to work in civilian healthcare settings, applying their training and experience...Read more

Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

US set to lose measles-free status this week

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The U.S. is expected to lose its measles-free status this week as the Pan American Health Organization meets to review measles outbreaks in the Western Hemisphere.

Measles elimination means a country has not had a continuous, locally transmitted outbreak for at least 12 months. The United States is experiencing multiple measles outbreaks, ...Read more

Your hemoglobin (or Hb for short) A1c level is a biomarker for diabetes.
              MarioGuti/iStock via Getty Images Plus

What are biomarkers? A biologist explains how doctors measure your health – and how combining cells from different people can find new markers

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A family of five is exposed to the flu virus, but only two of them get sick. A lifelong chain-smoker lives 100 years, while a professional athlete in their prime dies of an unexpected heart attack. A drug fails a clinical trial due to harmful side effects in a subset of patients despite showing good results in others.

Could any of ...Read more

An October 2026 policy allows the FDA to expand access to six peptides, including BPC-157. martin-dm/E+ via Getty Images

RFK Jr. loosens access to unapproved peptides: A health law scholar explains what consumers need to know

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Unregulated peptides for weight loss, muscle building, longevity and more are a roaring wellness fad – even though these substances have not been proved safe and effective and have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Until now, consumers were getting wellness peptides online through the so-called gray market,...Read more

Oona Zenda/KFF Health News/TNS

Expecting a baby? 5 tips to help you prepare for pregnancy costs

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

“This whole experience has me wondering (keeping me up at night, actually): Can we ever afford to have another child?”

— Grace Griffin, Calumet, Michigan

____

Grace and Daniel Griffin, both 26, knew money would be tight once they had their first child. So, even before the Calumet, Michigan, couple tried to conceive, they began crunching...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

States push short-term insurance as healthcare costs climb

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Earlier this year, Madison Harden-Stein and her colleagues at the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms posed as consumers interested in buying insurance as part of a secret shopper study.

They found that insurance brokers and sales representatives often pushed short-term health insurance plans with limited coverage, and used...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Mayo Clinic Minute: Surgical advances help preserve function after stomach cancer treatment

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Stomach cancer, also called gastric cancer, begins when cells grow abnormally in the stomach. More than 30,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with stomach cancer each year.

When stomach cancer is found early and has not spread, treatment can sometimes cure it. For cancer that has grown through the stomach wall or spread to other parts of the ...Read more

Halloween is over, so why do you have masked blood pressure?

You may feel happy that your blood pressure (BP) was healthy at your last doctor's appointment, but that could be misleading. For more than 10% of folks over age 50, that's not a good measure of their BP as they go about their day's activities. Apparently, being seated in a quiet examining room can mask their actual BP. But working, worrying, ...Read more

Diverticulosis Causes A Bleeding Episode In 70-Year-Old Man

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 70-year-old male who's active and healthy, and I eat a varied diet. I take the minimum dosages of levothyroxine and atorvastatin. Recently, I had a gastrointestinal bleed that was located in my ascending colon due to diverticulosis. There wasn't an infection or any pain at all. Just out of the blue, I had explosive, ...Read more

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images North America/TNS

Four superbugs are 'urgent' threats, CDC says. Here's how patients can help slow them

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The Center for Disease Control released its yearly Antimicrobial Threats Report in October, detailing illnesses that are becoming resistant to treatment. It listed four drug-resistant illnesses as urgent public health threats.

Candida auris, Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter and Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales are urgent public health ...Read more

Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury often experience increased stress and irritability in response to everyday challenges. Viktor Cvetkovic/E+ via Getty Images

For veterans with mild traumatic brain injury, a restaurant or other noisy environment can feel like a battlefield

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Imagine sitting down with your family at a restaurant. Conversations at your table overlap with those of patrons seated nearby. Utensils clink on plates. Waitstaff weave between tables. Music plays overhead.

Many people might find the bustle of such a scene a bit annoying. However, for veterans with chronic mild traumatic brain injury...Read more

A tiny amount of molecules containing sulfur is enough to stink up the gas bubbles that come out your bum. borchee/iStock via Getty Images

Why do farts smell so bad? A microbiologist explains the odors brewing in your gut

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Why do farts smell so bad? – Daisy, age 7, New York, New York

A healthy person farts about 14 to 20 times each day. All together, that’s enough gas to fill a super stinky...Read more

While a blood test may be relatively safe, the consequences of its results can be far riskier. Douglas Sacha/Moment

New blood test claims to detect 50-plus cancers before symptoms – but there’s no evidence it can reduce your risk of dying from cancer

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Cancer isn’t the leading cause of death in the United States; heart disease ranks first in that regard. But it’s cancer that strikes fear into the hearts of many Americans.

Cancer can take an excruciating toll on its millions of victims and their family members. Cancer treatments are often highly toxic, and the disease is ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Flu cases are rising early in Florida. Is it too late to get vaccinated?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

MIAMI — More people are getting influenza earlier in the season this year than in previous years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But you can still get vaccinated as the numbers pick up.

“As temperatures drop and people spend more time indoors with their loved ones and coworkers, respiratory viruses like flu ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Mayo Clinic Q&A: What does a pituitary tumor diagnosis mean?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My doctor says I have a pituitary tumor. What is the pituitary gland, where is it located, and what does this diagnosis mean?

ANSWER: The pituitary gland is a small, pea-sized gland located behind the nose at the base of the brain, near the nerves involved in vision. It produces hormones and sends signals that help regulate ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Ask the Pediatrician: How to plan a balanced Thanksgiving meal for picky eaters

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

As a parent, I know all too well the feeling of working hard on creating a meal that you think your children will enjoy, only to be let down by their refusal to eat more than a bite or two. With Thanksgiving being one of the most celebrated meals of the year, parents of picky eaters may have heightened apprehension about their kid’s response ...Read more

Beware of skin creams with undeclared, dangerous ingredients

In the U.S., 31.6 million people have eczema, about 8 million people have psoriasis and 5 million contend with hyperpigmentation. Many want to find an affordable over-the-counter solution and turn to skin creams that promise positive results. But buyer beware.

That's the message from a study that looked at 18 popular products to see if their ...Read more

Dmso Cream Isn't Recommended For Patient's Conditions

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: For several years, I've been dealing with lower back pain (lumbar facet arthritis, disc degeneration and spinal stenosis, as well as right-sided lumbar radiculopathy) and feet pain (plantar fasciitis in both feet). In addition to physical therapy, I've received cortisone shots in my feet and epidurals in my back that have ...Read more

A new implant surgery offers hope for people with thumb arthritis

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

For Roxanne Drake, something as simple as a high-five started to feel like torture.

The 71-year-old Thornville, Ohio, resident had spent years working with her hands, tending her 10-acre farm, driving a bus and working in food service at The Ohio State University.

But gradually, pain in her hands began interfering with nearly everything she ...Read more

Allison Mertzman/Allison Mertzman/TNS

IVF patients, doctors navigate fetal personhood laws' unknowns

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

In the summer of 2022, Allison Mertzman and her wife, Leanne, asked their fertility clinic to destroy their embryos.

The married couple were living in California but storing their nine embryos for $3,000 per year at the clinic in Michigan, where Mertzman had resided before. After having two daughters through in vitro fertilization, the couple ...Read more

 

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