Take These Steps to 'Fall-Proof' Your Home

SATURDAY, Sept. 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of falls increases in older age, and along with it, the risk for serious physical or psychological damage, but there are steps people can take to help prevent these accidents.

Each year, about 27% of adults 65 and older fall and about 10% of those are injured.

“If you'v...

FDA Will Begin to Regulate Thousands of Lab Tests

Faced with growing reports of inaccurate clinical lab tests, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced that it will for the first time regulate these vital diagnostic tools.

Many Americans might have assumed that the FDA already had oversight of all medical tests; it does not.

However, FDA Commissioner Dr. ...

Want a Healthy Old Age? Get Your Finances in Order Now

FRIDAY, Sept. 29, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Planning for your long-term financial future doesn’t just make good economic sense — it could also save your life.

People in both the United States and the United Kingdom have a higher risk of dying prematurely if they aren’t engaged in long-term financial planning, according to a r...

COVID Triggered More Cases of Deadly Sepsis During Pandemic Than Thought

The life-threatening infection sepsis was more common than once thought among COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic.

Massachusetts researchers linked SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, to about 1 in 6 sepsis cases at five Boston hospitals during the pandemic's first 2-1/2 years.

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital...

Jimmy Carter 'Happy' in At-Home Hospice Care as 99th Birthday Nears

FRIDAY, Sept. 29, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Former President Jimmy Carter turned quite a few heads last week when he made a surprise visit to the Plains Peanut Festival in Georgia.

Carter, who turns 99 on Sunday, decided back in February “to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instea...

Biden Administration Says Insurance Issues With COVID Shots Mostly Fixed

FRIDAY, Sept. 29, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Despite reports of trouble last week where some people may have been denied insurance coverage while seeking COVID shots at pharmacies, the Biden administration said Thursday those issues have been ironed out.

That issue is "largely, if not completely," resolved after U.S. Healt...

Getting COVID Shot During Pregnancy Helps Protect Newborns, CDC Study Finds

FRIDAY, Sept. 29, 2023 (HealthDay News) – When pregnant women get a COVID vaccine, it helps protect their newborns from the virus, a new government study shows.

"These findings indicate that maternal vaccination during pregnancy could help prevent COVID-19–related hospitalization in infants too young to be vaccinated,...

Most Older Americans Object to Cancer Screening Cutoffs Based on Life Expectancy: Poll

FRIDAY, Sept. 29, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- While guidelines for cancer screening have begun factoring in life expectancy, a new poll shows a majority of older adults disagree with age cutoffs based on how long a person is expected to live.

The University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging queried more than 2,500 adults age...

Childbirth Can Leave New Parents in Serious Medical Debt

New parents bringing home their bundle of joy often carry something else with them as they leave the hospital: medical debt.

That's according to new research from Michigan Medicine that found postpartum women are more likely to have medical debt than those who are pregnant.

The researchers studied this by evaluating collections among...

Brains of Patients With Post-Op Delirium Could Be More Vulnerable

Delirium is common after older patients have surgery and can cause serious complications and distress, but its cause has been a mystery.

New research has found that patients who develop postoperative delirium have increased openings in the blood-brain barrier, the layer of cells that prevent substances from entering the brain.

“The...

Kids With Eczema May Need Further Allergy Tests

FRIDAY, Sept. 29, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Some children who have a common form of eczema should also be tested for allergic reactions because they may have a second allergic-type eczema, a new study suggests.

While atopic dermatitis is common and usually develops by age 5, allergic contact dermatitis has similar symptom...

Megan Thee Stallion Urges Fans to 'Check on Friends' for Mental Health

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Megan Thee Stallion is urging you to check on your friends.

The rapper, whose offstage name is Megan Pete, is part of a new public service announcement called Seize the Awkward, a national campaign to encourage young people to talk to friends about mental health.

“It�...

Biden Administration Gives Funding Boost to Help Curb Suicides

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The Biden administration is allocating $232.2 million in grants to help stem suicides and improve behavioral health care for at-risk groups.

Suicide is happening at an “alarming” rate, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Last year alone, nearly...

Oregon Decriminalized Possession of Small Amounts of Drugs. Fatal ODs Didn't Skyrocket

Critics of a law that decriminalized drug possession in Oregon have blamed the policy for rising overdose deaths in the state, but a new study finds no evidence of that.

Researchers discovered that while drug overdose deaths have risen recently in Oregon, it appears the trend has no relation to a law popularly known as Measure 110.

...

Health Issue Has Bruce Springsteen Postponing Shows for the Rest of the Year

Rock star Bruce Springsteen announced Wednesday that he has postponed all of his remaining shows this year as he deals with peptic ulcer disease.

Springsteen said he’s continuing to “recover steadily from peptic ulcer disease over the past few weeks and will continue treatment through the rest of the year on doctor’s advice,” in a...

Heavy Marijuana Use May Harm the Heart

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- People who abuse marijuana may be setting themselves up for heart problems down the road, Canadian researchers report.

The new study found that people with so-called cannabis use disorder may have a 60% higher risk for a heart attack, stroke or other major heart-related event, compared ...

FDA Panel Says No to Experimental ALS Drug

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) – An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday voted resoundingly against recommending a stem cell-based experimental treatment for ALS.

Although the FDA isn't bound by the votes of its advisory panels, agency scientists have already penned a scathing review of the drug...

Is the First Cure for Advanced Rabies Near?

Rabies virus is incurable and almost always fatal once it has invaded the central nervous system, with the victim doomed to suffer a horrible death.

But researchers now think they’ve found an effective and simple treatment that can cure even advanced cases of rabies.

A monoclonal antibody injected into lab mice successfully protect...

Smoggy Days Raise Short-Term Odds for Stroke

Exposure to air pollution, even for just a short time, drives up your risk of having a stroke over the next few days, new research warns.

That conclusion stems from a review of 110 studies conducted across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Depending on the specific nature of the pollutant in question, stroke risk rose anywhere from 5% ...

Over a Third of Adults With Type 1 Diabetes Weren't Diagnosed Until After 30

Type 1 diabetes has long been viewed as a childhood disease, but a new study suggests it might be time to revise that thinking.

Investigators concluded that nearly 4 in 10 Americans with type 1 diabetes aren’t diagnosed with the blood sugar condition until they’re at least 30.

“Our research adds to a growing body of studies sho...