It's 'Kids to Parks Day': Get Out, Get Active

It's a good idea to get children outside every day, but especially on Kids to Parks Day, a national day of outdoor play on May 21.

"Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, outdoor time and nature exploration are safe for most kids," pediatrician Dr. Danette Glassy said in an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) news release.

"And ...

Mystery of Hepatitis Cases in Kids Deepens as CDC Probe Continues

Evidence continues to mount that a specific strain of adenovirus could be implicated in a wave of American children who've developed acute hepatitis of unknown origin, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said Friday.

"The evidence is accumulating that there's a role for adenovirus, particularly adenovirus 41," Dr. Jay...

Big Rise in Marijuana Vaping Among U.S. Teens

FRIDAY, May 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A growing number of U.S. teenagers are vaping marijuana -- a habit that in some ways may be more risky than old-fashioned pot smoking, a new study finds.

Researchers found that between 2017 and 2019, the percentage of teens who reported any marijuana use in the past month ticked u...

AHA News: She Was a Prime Candidate for a Heart Attack, If Only She'd Realized It

Just a few days after Dottie Lewis and her husband, Wayne, returned from vacation to their home in Plymouth, Massachusetts, she started feeling poorly.

This was 2019, a year before COVID-19 shut down travel and before face masks on planes. Dottie often caught a bug while flying. She figured it had happened again.

Dottie was looking f...

Global Warming Could Mean Less Sleep for Billions

Anyone who's tried to sleep on a hot summer night knows how hard it is to nod off when the mercury is rising.

So it's no surprise that global warming is likely to cost people more and more shut-eye as temperatures around the world rise.

By the end of this century, individuals could be subjected to at least two weeks of short sleep ea...

Senate OKs Bill to Overhaul Infant Formula Rules

A bill that would allow families in a U.S. government assistance program to buy whatever brand of baby formula they can find is on the way to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

The bill, which is meant to help families in the WIC program obtain baby formula in the midst of a nationwide shortage, was passed by the Senate on Thursday...

Risk Factors for Dementia May Change With Age

Dementia risk factors appear to shift with age, and experts say knowing that could help people make lifestyle changes to reduce their chances of developing the disease.

"Dementia is a complicated disease and risk prediction scores need to be tailored to the individual," said Emer McGrath of the National University of Ireland Galway, lead ...

Restful Night's Sleep More Likely for Men Than Women

For many women, having it all may mean forgoing a decent night's sleep.

Women in the United States are less likely to get a good night's sleep and more likely to report daytime sleepiness than men, a new survey shows.

The online poll of more than 2,000 U.S. adults found that women are 1.5 times more likely than men to rarely or neve...

How Long Do Teeth Survive After Root Canal?

If you've had a root canal, you can expect your tooth to survive for about 11 years, researchers say.

For a time, root canals can maintain teeth affected by cavities or other problems, but the tooth eventually becomes brittle and dies. To learn more about just how long that process might take, researchers analyzed data on more than 46,000 ...

C-Section Antibiotics Show No Link to Asthma in Childhood

Giving antibiotics to a woman just before a cesarean delivery does not increase her baby's risk of asthma or eczema, a new British study says.

C-section is common, but can put new mothers at increased of infection, so they're given preventative antibiotics.

"Maternal infections, such as wound infection, can be a risk in the period im...

Could Eye Trouble Bring Lower Scores on Seniors' Thinking Tests?

Poor eyesight makes it harder to read and easier to trip. But it can also lead to a misdiagnosis of mild mental decline in older people, according to a new, small study.

That can happen if someone's thinking abilities are assessed using vision-dependent tests, researchers explained.

They noted that as many as 1 in 4 people older th...

CDC Advisers Recommend Pfizer Booster Shot for Kids Ages 5 to 11

A panel of science advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevent recommended on Thursday that a single booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine can be given to 5- to 11-year-olds.

The move is expected be confirmed by a sign-off from CDC director Dr. Rochelle Wallensky, and follows on authorization from U.S. Food and Drug...

Closed Baby Formula Plant May Reopen by Next Week

A baby formula plant closed in February at the heart of the current U.S. shortage of the product could reopen as soon as next week, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf told House lawmakers on Thursday.

The Abbott Nutrition's Michigan formula plant is the largest in the nation, and it was closed due to cont...

Two-Drug Inhaler Could Reduce Asthma Attacks

Two drugs are better than one when it comes to stopping asthma attacks in progress, a new clinical trial has found.

The study, of more than 3,100 asthma patients, found that a two-drug "rescue" inhaler worked better than a standard inhaler in thwarting severe asthma exacerbations -- helping some patients avoid trips to the hospital.

...

Good News, Bad News on Black Americans and Cancer

A new report on how Black Americans are faring against cancer offers up a decidedly mixed picture.

The risk that a Black man or woman in America will die from cancer has steadily declined over the last two decades, the newly published research found.

Unfortunately, that risk still remains higher for Black Americans than for other rac...

AHA News: Falls Can Be a Serious, Poorly Understood Threat to People With Heart Disease

Falls pose a major risk to people with heart problems, and health experts need to do more to understand and prevent the danger, a new report says.

"Falls are very common," said Dr. Sarah Goodlin, senior author of the scientific statement from the American Heart Association. They are associated with serious injuries, and just the fear of fa...

U.S. Hospitals Are Facing Shortage of Dye Needed for Life-Saving Scans

U.S. hospitals are running low on contrast dye injected into patients undergoing enhanced X-rays, CT scans and MRIs.

The fluid, which makes the routine but potentially life-saving scans readable, helps doctors identify clots in the heart and brain. The shortage is expected to last until at least June 30, the American Hospital Association (...

U.S. Cases of Acute Hepatitis in Kids Keep Rising: CDC

The number of American children affected by acute hepatitis of unknown cause continues to grow, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.

So far, the agency's investigation has spotted 180 pediatric cases in 36 states and territories over the past seven months. That's an increase of 71 from the last time number...

1 in 3 Americans Now Live in Areas Where Indoor Masks Advised, CDC Says

Masks may not be required, but Americans should consider wearing one anyway if they live in an area where COVID-19 case numbers are high, federal health officials said Wednesday.

That advice currently applies to about one-third of Americans, all of whom now live in areas with high levels of community transmission, according to the U.S. Ce...

Biden Invokes Defense Act to Boost Supply of Infant Formula

Faced with mounting pressure to help desperate parents, President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the power of the wartime Defense Production Act to get more of the precious product into American homes.

Under the new powers, the federal government can use commercial aircraft or air cargo planes owned by the Defense Department to transport ...