ALL ABOUT HEALTH -

13Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Monkeypox Update: Steep Drop in Cases, but America Is Still the Hotspot

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Friday, October 21, 1:52 P.M. EDTNew Monkeypox Cases Have Declined 88 Percent Since AugustLatest tracking from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that the seven-day daily average for monkeypox as of October 19 was 48 cases — an 88 percent drop from the 443 daily average on August 6 during the outbreak’s peak. LGBTQ Nation attributes the decline to several factors, including uptake of an effective monkeypox vaccine, men who have sex with men (MSM) reducing partners, and the virus’s self-limiting ability to spread (transmitting almost entirely through skin-to-skin contact).Gothamist on October 18 wrote that New York City has almost eliminated monkeypox, and in San Francisco, the local government announced that the public health emergency due to monkeypox will end on October 31 as cases there have…

13Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Midlife Weight Gain: The Latest Thinking From NAMS 2022

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Whoever coined the phrase “Don’t mess with success,” had probably never gone through the transition to menopause. Seemingly overnight, a diet and exercise routine that’s helped you maintain a healthy weight for most of your adult life isn’t working the way it once did.“Weight gain in midlife often surprises women,” says Stephanie S. Faubion, MD, the medical director of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). While the age at which women reach menopause varies, many start to experience the years-long transition — and the symptoms that come with it — in their forties.“I commonly have women come into my office saying, ‘I haven’t changed anything, and I’m gaining weight.’ My response is, ‘Exactly. If you haven’t changed anything, you will gain weight in midlife. The rules of your body have changed.’ It’s…

13Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Flu Season Looks to Be Off to an Early and Robust Start

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Editor’‎s NoteThis story has been updated to reflect the latest news. Source link

13Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Cannabis Users May Feel More Pain Post Surgery

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Using cannabis within the last month was associated with having more pain after surgery compared with not using cannabis recently, according to a study presented at the Anesthesiology 2022 annual meeting.“Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States and increasingly used as an alternative treatment for chronic pain, but there is limited data that shows how it affects patient outcomes after surgery,” said lead author Elyad Ekrami, MD, clinical research fellow of the outcomes research department at Cleveland Clinic’s Anesthesiology Institute, in a press release.It’s estimated that about 2.1 million Americans use medical cannabis, with 62 percent using it to treat chronic pain, according to U.S. Pharmacist.“Our study shows that adults who use cannabis are having more — not less — post-operative pain. Consequently, they have higher…

13Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Black Patients Still Have Less Access to Advanced Heart Failure Care

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Doctors have known for decades that Black people are more likely to develop and die of heart failure than white people. But a new study suggests that racial disparities persist in access to treatments that can help advanced heart failure patients live longer and have a better quality of life.For the study, researchers examined data on 100 Black patients and 277 white patients treated at one of 21 specialized heart failure centers in the United States. Overall, 11 percent of Black patients received a heart transplant or a mechanical heart pump known as a ventricular assist device (VAD), compared with 22 percent of white patients.This racial disparity in access to care persisted even after researchers accounted for heart failure severity and several so-called social determinants of health, such as whether…

12Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Bob Evans Recalls Sausage Due to Possible Contamination

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Bob Evans Farms Foods is pulling thousands of pounds of Italian pork sausage products from stores nationwide which may have been tainted with foreign matter, specifically bits of thin blue rubber, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).About 7,560 pounds of raw meat are being recalled. The products are all one-pound chubs (ground pork in packaging shaped like a large thick sausage). They are labeled “Bob Evans Italian Sausage” with a lot code XEN3663466 and a “USE/FRZ BY” date of 11/26/22. The items also have a time stamp between 14:43 and 15:25, and can be further identified by an establishment number “EST. 6785” inside the USDA mark of inspection.Because the packs of sausage were sent to retailers throughout the United States, customers who have bought Bob Evans pork products…

12Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Unilever Voluntarily Recalls Dry Shampoos Due to Potentially High Levels of Benzene, a Known Carcinogen

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Unilever United States issued a voluntary recall of 19 dry shampoo products because of potentially elevated levels of benzene, a known carcinogen, according to a release issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Dry shampoo aerosol products produced prior to October 2021 from brands including Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TIGI (Rockaholic and Bed Head), and TRESemmé are included in the recall.To date, there have been no reports of adverse events related to the products.Benzene Is Classified as a Human CarcinogenBenzene is classified as a known carcinogen, according the American Cancer Society. Substances that may cause cancer are classified as known, probable, and possible carcinogens.The chemical can occur naturally in the environment and is found in crude oil and gasoline. Benzene is also used to make some types of lubricants, detergents,…

12Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

New COVID-19 Subvariants Spark Concerns of Winter Outbreak

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Over the course of the pandemic, scientists have observed the COVID-19 coronavirus evolving. While some new variants and subvariants disappear, others spread.Using multiple surveillance systems, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) closely tracks new mutations and has identified two of particular concern: BQ.1 and BQ.1.1. The CDC refers to these BA.5 offshoots as “grandchildren of BA.5.”In the middle of September, the two BQ mutations together accounted for just over half a percent of infections in the United States. That proportion has rapidly increased. Now, data from the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker for the week ending October 22 show BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 make up more than 16 percent of cases in the United States.Meanwhile, BA.5 has dropped from almost 90 percent of infections in August to just over 62 percent.…

12Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Florida Sees Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases Rise in Wake of Hurricane Ian

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Hurricane Ian left behind more than a path of destruction and property damage in its wake. The Florida Department of Health reported this week that the state is now seeing a major increase in infections caused by flesh-eating bacteria, which can thrive in warm brackish flood waters — a mixture of fresh and sea water that is often found where rivers meet the sea.“Flood waters and standing waters following a hurricane pose many risks, including infectious diseases such as Vibrio vulnificus [the so-called ‘flesh-eating bacteria’],” said the Florida Department of Health.So far this year, 65 cases and 11 deaths from V. vulnificus bacteria have been recorded, compared with 34 cases and 10 deaths in 2021. The state health department notes that these numbers represent an abnormal increase due to the…

12Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Regular Consumption of Low Levels of Caffeine During Pregnancy Linked to Slightly Shorter Children

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Exposure to caffeine in the womb, even low amounts, may lead to shorter height in childhood, suggests a new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Children of women with low caffeine intake (including below the current recommendation of 200 milligrams [mg] per day) during pregnancy were slightly shorter than children born to women who consumed no caffeine while pregnant, and the gaps in height widened to 2 centimeters (cm) between ages 4 and 8 years old. The findings were published October 31 in JAMA Network Open.“Our findings suggest that even low caffeine intake during pregnancy can have long-term effects on child growth,” said the co-lead author, Katherine Grantz, MD, in a press release.It’s important to note that the observed height differences were small — less than an inch —…