Thanksgiving Day often involves family, friends, food and football, yet sometimes the cooking, eating and traveling frenzy over the holiday weekend can lead to an unexpected trip to the emergency room. “There is usually light volume on Thanksgiving Day, but post-Thanksgiving dinner is when we usually see a surge in the ER,” Dr. Poonam Desai, an […]
If you contract the chickenpox virus, also known as varicella-zoster, your illness will typically clear up in a week or two. However, this virus remains in your body even after you’ve recovered. When you first contract the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), you’ll get chickenpox. When you fight off this virus, your body creates immunity to it, so it’s […]
As more Americans are being diagnosed with multiple chronic health problems at younger ages, for the first time, the American Heart Association (AHA) is identifying a new medical condition that reflects the strong links among obesity, diabetes and heart and kidney disease. As NBC News reports, in an advisory released this month, the goal in […]
Last week, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that everyone ages 6 months and older should get the new COVID-19 vaccine this fall, and kids under 5 may be eligible to receive two doses of the new vaccine if they haven’t been vaccinated previously. The new COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are […]
Last week, health officials approved updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccines that protect against coronavirus strains that emerged more recently. And, as was the case in previous years, you’ll have the option to get this booster and your usual flu vaccine at the same appointment. As NBC‘s Today Show reports, summer’s COVID-19 resurgence has lingered into fall, and […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health alert warning people about the risks of flesh-eating bacteria across the U.S. East Coast after five people died following infection. One person in Connecticut, another in New York and three people in North Carolina, died between July and August this year as a result of infection with Vibrio vulnificus, a […]
By mapping the genetic code of particularly virulent strains of Lyme disease bacteria, scientists may have gotten a step closer to figuring out why symptoms persist for months, or even years, in some people. As NBC News reports, samples from hundreds of patients revealed that certain strains of the Lyme bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, have a protective outer layer […]
Masking has been a contentious topic in the U.S. ever since public health officials first recommended their use to prevent the spread of COVID-19 back in 2020. Mask mandates greatly increased the use of wearing masks during the height of the pandemic, but as the mandates went away, some people kept masking and others didn’t. Now, according […]
You might have recently heard that Bella Hadid is spreading awareness about Lyme disease. The supermodel told her nearly 60 million Instagram followers that she’s completed 100 days of treatment after suffering for nearly 15 years with the condition, posting photos of herself having a variety of tests and procedures, and even sharing some of […]
August is National Immunization Awareness Month, making this a great opportunity to remind everyone to get their appropriate vaccines. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), thousands of American adults get sick each year from devastating diseases that vaccines can easily prevent. Health.mil, the official website of the Military Health System and Defense […]