Health Advice
/Health
/ArcaMax
How LA County is trying to remake addiction treatment -- no more 'business as usual'
LOS ANGELES -- Gary Horejsi wrestled with the decision before him, knowing a life could be in his hands.
It was the third time that the woman had used drugs or alcohol since coming to CRI-Help, which runs a 135-bed residential facility in North Hollywood where people are treated for substance use disorder.
CRI-Help needed to be a safe place ...Read more
Ask the Pediatrician: How to help your child avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism
Every parent wants their child to be successful in life. But young people sometimes set excessively high standards for themselves. If something they do isn't flawless, they may become overly self-critical. Their pursuit of perfection can become unhealthy and actually interfere with what they want to accomplish.
As adolescents face the ...Read more
What do you know about malaria?
Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus Plasmodium. The parasite is transmitted to humans most commonly through mosquito bites. The malaria parasites enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver. When the parasites mature, they leave the liver and infect red blood cells. This is when people typically develop malaria symptoms....Read more
Pathfinders for Autism helps people with autism, families navigate diagnosis
BALTIMORE -- One of Rebecca Rienzi’s favorite stories to tell about Pathfinders for Autism – the Baltimore County nonprofit where she has been executive director since 2010 – happened at the National Aquarium in the Inner Harbor.
Every year, the organization rents out the aquarium to give people with autism and their families the chance ...Read more
Unsheltered people are losing Medicaid in redetermination mix-ups
KALISPELL, Mont. — On a cold February morning at the Flathead Warming Center, Tashya Evans waited for help with her Medicaid application as others at the shelter got ready for the day in this northwestern Montana city.
Evans said she lost Medicaid coverage in September because she hadn’t received paperwork after moving from Great Falls, ...Read more
Detoxing decaf
We have written a lot about the many benefits of drinking coffee -- even decaf. But there's news about a risk from decaf that we haven't discussed before. It turns out that some decafs come with an unwelcome additive: a chemical called methylene chloride. In addition to stripping the caffeine out of the coffee bean, that chemical is (or was) ...Read more
After Taking Levofloxacin, Reader Experiences Painful Side Effects
DEAR DR ROACH: I'm writing in to warn readers of a possible side effect of an antibiotic known as levofloxacin. I was recently treated with this medication for a sinus infection that would not clear up with amoxicillin. After five days of taking the medication, my joints became very inflamed, especially my ankles, and it was painful. I ...Read more
This multiple sclerosis discovery could be a breakthrough
We’ve made significant progress in developing better treatments for multiple sclerosis over the last two decades. Yet the medical community still struggles to diagnose the neurological condition, let alone intervene or study it in its earliest stages, before damage has been done. What we need is a simple test that can definitively tell a ...Read more
The path to a better tuberculosis vaccine runs through Montana
A team of Montana researchers is playing a key role in the development of a more effective vaccine against tuberculosis, an infectious disease that has killed more people than any other.
The BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) vaccine, created in 1921, remains the sole TB vaccine. While it is 40% to 80% effective in young children, its efficacy is ...Read more
Bird flu confirmed in Colorado dairy cows as outbreak spreads
The U.S. Department of Agriculture found bird flu in northeast Colorado dairy cows this week, according to state officials.
This is the first time avian flu has been diagnosed in Colorado cattle, the state Department of Agriculture said in its announcement.
Bird flu in dairy cows has been confirmed in eight other states, the USDA said. Those ...Read more
Tick-borne Powassan virus reported in Massachusetts: 'The virus can invade the central nervous system'
BOSTON — A confirmed case of the tick-borne Powassan virus has been reported in the Bay State, according to officials who are warning residents to take precautions against the disease.
The Sharon Health Department has confirmed the town’s first case of Powassan virus — which like Lyme disease, is transmitted through infected ticks.
...Read more
Mental health problems come with an added ‘cost’ of poorer cognitive function – a neuropsychologist explains
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
All types of mental disorders come with a hidden cost in the form of cognitive dysfunction, including deficits in memory, attention, executive functions and processing speed, according to a comprehensive study that my colleagues and I published in June 2021 in the ...Read more
Know the signs of irritable bowel syndrome
April is IBS Awareness Month, which makes this a good time to learn about the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS.
Research suggests that about 12% of people in the U.S. have irritable bowel syndrome, and it's more common among women than men and in people younger than 50, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive ...Read more
Recognizing symptoms of Parkinson's disease
April is Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month, which make this a good time to learn about the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
An estimated 1 million people in the U.S. and more than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease, according to the American Parkinson Disease Association.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive ...Read more
On Nutrition: Counting calories
My husband and I mysteriously arrived back from our month-long trip to Texas with extra baggage. And it seems to be stuck to our waists.
We both had the same excuses. We really didn’t eat that much … except for a few Lone Star beers. And between riding our horses and dancing to great bands, we got plenty of exercise. Even so, when we got ...Read more
'Super Platelet Donor' Concerned About High Platelet Count
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 58-year-old female in reasonably good health. When I was young, I donated blood several times and would have continued to do so, had I not become ineligible due to living in England during the mad cow disease outbreak. I happened upon something recently stating that this particular disqualifier has been lifted -- so much ...Read more
How the mind and body work when you have heart disease
Between 20% and 30% of folks diagnosed with heart disease also contend with anxiety or depression, according to a study in Frontiers in Psychology. And in the first year after having a heart attack or stroke, for example, mental distress affects almost half of those folks. That's not surprising. It's troubling to contend with a potentially life-...Read more
Cancer cases in younger people are on the rise
ATLANTA — In the United States this year alone, there will be an anticipated 2,001,140 new cancer cases — leading to an estimated 611,720 related deaths. That’s 5,480 new cases and 1,680 deaths every day. And, according to a recent CNN report, cancer cases among younger people are rising sharply.
The American Cancer Society reported ...Read more
How worrying is bird flu's jump to dairy cows? Here's what experts say
ATLANTA -- Since 2022, a highly contagious strain of bird flu has spread across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate, resulting in the deaths of more than 90 million birds in commercial and backyard poultry flocks, plus thousands more in the wild.
Then, in late March, the virus made a jump to another species that surprised many scientists: cows.
...Read more
TikTok to crack down on content that promotes disordered eating and dangerous weight-loss habits
Saying it does not want to promote negative body comparisons, TikTok is cracking down on posts about disordered eating, dangerous weight-loss habits and potentially harmful weight-management products.
The wildly popular social media app updated its community guidelines last week, introducing a slate of new rules that it hopes will make the ...Read more
Inside Health Advice
Popular Stories
- Ask the Pediatrician: How to help your child avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism
- How LA County is trying to remake addiction treatment -- no more 'business as usual'
- Tick-borne Powassan virus reported in Massachusetts: 'The virus can invade the central nervous system'
- This multiple sclerosis discovery could be a breakthrough
- What do you know about malaria?