Cannabis Edibles Are Triggering Poisonings Among Older Users

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

The legalization of cannabis and the popularity of its edible versions is having an unexpected effect: More seniors landing in emergency departments with overdoses.

A new Canadian study found "cannabis poisonings" in the province of Ontario tripled among older users afte...

A Matcha Mouthwash Might Fight Gum Disease

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

Matcha green tea has the potential to keep gum disease at bay, a new study finds.

Lab experiments show that matcha can inhibit the growth of Porphyromonas gingivalis, one of the main bacterial culprits behind gum disease.

Among a small group of 45 people ...

'Hungry Gut' Gene Test Shows Who'll Benefit Most From Wegovy

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

You've watched others shed pounds in a matter of weeks after taking one of the new blockbuster weight-loss drugs, so you decide to try one of the medications yourself, only to discover the needle on your bathroom scale barely budges.

Why? New research presented Monday a...

For Pregnant Women, Fluoridated Drinking Water Might Raise Risks for Baby: Study

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

Fetal exposure to fluoride from a mom-to-be's drinking water might raise the odds for physical and mental health issues in toddlers, new research suggests.

The study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, wasn't designed to prove cause-and-effect. ...

Vaping After Quitting Smoking Keeps Lung Cancer Risk High

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

If you've quit smoking and have switched to vaping instead, your odds for lung cancer won't fall as steeply as if you quit nicotine altogether, new research suggests.

“This is the first large population-based study to demonstrate the increased risk of lung cancer in e-...

To Boost Colon Cancer Screening, Give Patients Choices

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

Giving patients a choice between screening methods could help doctors detect colon cancer earlier, a new study shows.

More than double the number of patients underwent colon cancer screening if they were given a choice of the type of test they’d prefer, researchers re...

Quit-Smoking Drug Chantix May Also Help Folks Stop Vaping

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

A quit-smoking drug appears to help people drop their vaping addiction, a new study shows.

Vapers who took varenicline (Chantix) were significantly more likely to quit using e-cigarettes loaded with nicotine than those randomly assigned to receive a placebo, researchers ...

More Kids With Asthma Need Hospital Care on Very Hot Days

• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

Heat waves and heat domes are particularly dangerous to kids with asthma, a new study finds.

Daytime heat waves are associated with 19% increased odds that a child with asthma will wind up in the hospital, researchers discovered.

What’s more, heat waves that stre...

Deadly GallBladder Cancers Rising Among Black Americans

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

Gallbladder cancer rates are steadily increasing among Black Americans, even as they remain stable or decline for most other Americans, a new study warns.

Further, growing numbers of cases among Black people are not being diagnosed until later stages, according to the fi...

Repeat COVID Vaccination Could Shield Against Wide Range of Viruses

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

Powerful COVID vaccines could be setting people’s immune systems up to successfully fight off not just future COVID variants, but other types of coronaviruses as well, a new study shows.

People repeatedly vaccinated for COVID -- the initial shots, followed by boosters ...

What Can Cause Stomach Pain in Kids?

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

Many kids can get an occasional upset tummy, but what if your child's stomachaches are more persistent?

Dr. David Ziring, associate director of the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children's in Los Angeles, offers up possible diagnoses...

What to Expect During Rehab After Hip Replacement

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 21, 2024
• Full Page

Hip replacement is a major, arduous elective surgery, and rehabilitation afterwards takes time, according to an expert from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

It'll also take coordinated planning between yourself, your care team and your family and caregivers, said Dr....

Tracking Exercise by Steps or Minutes? Study Finds Either Method Boosts Health

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 20, 2024
• Full Page

Some folks like to count their daily steps, while others prefer exercising for a certain amount of time during a day or a week.

Luckily, either approach boosts health, a new study finds.

Exercise targets based on either step count or minutes are equally associated ...

Stomach Paralysis Risk May Rise in People Taking Ozempic and Similar Drugs

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• May 20, 2024
• Full Page

New, real-world research confirms that the blockbuster weight-loss drugs that millions of Americans have been taking to shed pounds can trigger stomach paralysis in some patients.

“Although these drugs do work and should be used for the right reason, we just want to ca...

In a Shift, Pediatricians' Group Says Breastfeeding Safe When HIV-Positive Mom Is Properly Treated

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 20, 2024
• Full Page

The nation’s top pediatrics group has reversed its decades-old position on HIV-positive mothers breastfeeding their infants.

The American Academy of Pediatrics now says it’s generally safe for moms with HIV to breastfeed or provide breast milk to babies if their infe...

Fertility Treatments Safe for Breast Cancer Survivors With Cancer-Linked Genes

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 20, 2024
• Full Page

Fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other methods don't boost the odds for tumor recurrence in young women who've survived breast cancer and carry the BRCA cancer genes, a reassuring, new report finds.

The issue had been in question because br...

1 in 4 Parents Say Their Teen Drinks Caffeine Daily

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 20, 2024
• Full Page

Many teens are spending their days buzzed on caffeine, with their parents mostly unaware of the potential risks, a new national poll says.

A quarter of parents reported that caffeine is basically part of their teen’s daily life, according to the University of Michigan ...

New Blood Test Could Spot Dangerous Type of Stroke

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 20, 2024
• Full Page

MONDAY, May 20, 2024 -- When a stroke hits, "time is brain," doctors say, with neurons beginning to die off in minutes.

Quickly figuring out which type of stroke a patient has been hit with is crucial. Now, an experimental blood test might speed that process along.

Blood Pressure Meds Raise Fracture Risks for Those in Nursing Homes

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 20, 2024
• Full Page

Blood pressure medications appear to more than double the risk of life-threatening bone fractures among nursing home residents, a new study warns.

The increased risk stems from the drugs’ tendency to impair balance, particularly when patients stand up and temporarily e...

Could Infertility Treatment Raise Postpartum Heart Risks?

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 20, 2024
• Full Page

Women treated for infertility were twice as likely as those who conceived naturally to be hospitalized with heart disease within a year of delivery, recent research shows.

They are particularly likely to land in the hospital with dangerously high blood pressure, with ris...