Health Advice
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Mayo Clinic Q and A: How breast cancer screening can save lives
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I'm about to turn 40, and I'm nervous about getting my first mammogram. I hear they can be uncomfortable or even painful. Is breast cancer screening really that important?
ANSWER: It can be a bit daunting at first, but breast cancer screening helps people live longer. Screening can catch cancer early, either in the ...Read more
Black Americans still suffer worse health. Here's why there's so little progress
KINGSTREE, S.C. — One morning in late April, a small brick health clinic along the Thurgood Marshall Highway bustled with patients.
There was Joshua McCray, 69, a public bus driver who, four years after catching COVID-19, still is too weak to drive.
Louvenia McKinney, 77, arrived complaining about shortness of breath.
Ponzella McClary ...Read more
How a proposed federal heat rule might have saved these workers' lives
On a sweltering afternoon in July 2020, Belinda Ramones got a call that her brother was in the hospital. The call was from a woman at the Florida landscaping business that he had joined that week, the Davey Tree Expert Co., Ramones said. By the time she arrived, she said, “My brother was swollen up from hands to toes.”
Two days later, her ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Minute: Tips for better sleep
No matter if you need five hours of sleep or eight, the key is getting good, refreshing rest. According to Dr. Virend Somers, a cardiologist who specializes in sleep disorders, how much sleep a person needs varies from person to person. However, there are some simple tips that everyone can use to get better sleep.
Different people need ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Minute: Boosting kids' health literacy
Health literacy refers to the ability of people to find, understand, and use information and services to make informed health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Angela Mattke, a pediatrician with Mayo Clinic’s Children’s Center, explains how Mayo Clinic is leading the way to enhance ...Read more
Could mRNA vaccines conquer another deadly infection? Researchers say yes
PHILADELPHIA — The same technology that saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic appears to hold promise against another scourge of infectious disease, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania.
Working with mice, hamsters, and nonhuman primates, Penn researchers found that a modified version of the mRNA COVID-...Read more
What's at stake: A pivotal election for six big health issues
In the final days of the campaign, stark disagreements between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump over the future of American health care are on display — in particular, in sober warnings about abortion access, the specter of future cuts to the Affordable Care Act, and bold pronouncements about empowering activists ...Read more
I’m a Muslim immigrant and a psychiatrist living in Michigan – I haven’t decided how to vote yet
My three daughters and I arrived in Michigan from Pakistan in 2000.
Moving here was my choice, and I followed the legal process. Before the move, I had often been to the United States. I was familiar with the culture and spoke fluent English, so I thought I was prepared.
Resuming my career as a physician in the U.S. was ...Read more
Influx of mobile methadone clinics bring treatment to the streets
There's a small line forming outside a plain white box truck in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood. A half-dozen folks are waiting on a gusty October morning for their turn to go inside and receive red liquid in a cup, medication that will help them get through the next 24 hours without opioids.
Or if they do use, to keep them alive.
It's life-...Read more
For people with opioid addiction, Medicaid 'unwinding' raises the stakes
CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — It was hard enough for Stephanie to get methadone treatment when she moved to Florida from Indiana last year. The nearest clinic was almost an hour’s drive away and she couldn’t drive herself. But at least she didn’t have to worry about the cost of care.
As a parent with young children who was unable to find a job ...Read more
Ask the Pediatrician: Baby walkers are a dangerous choice
Baby walkers send thousands of children to hospitals every year, pushing the AAP to call for a ban on the sale of baby walkers with certain features.
Read about why they are not safe and what you can do.
Children in baby walkers can:
Roll down the stairs, which often causes broken bones and severe head injuries. This is how most children ...Read more
Moore signs agreement for federal health care model to promote equity and affordable care
BALTIMORE — Gov. Wes Moore signed an agreement Friday pledging Maryland’s participation in a federal model to promote equitable and affordable health care for all Maryland residents.
With Moore’s signature, the state will participate in the federal States Advancing All-Payer Equity Approaches and Development Model, also known as the AHEAD...Read more
In Montana, conservative groups see chance to kill Medicaid expansion
Conservative groups are working to undermine support for Montana’s Medicaid expansion in hopes the state will abandon the program. The rollback would be the first in the decade since the Affordable Care Act began allowing states to cover more people with low incomes.
Montana’s expansion, which insures roughly 78,800 people, is set to expire...Read more
Paid sick leave is up for a vote in three states
ST. LOUIS — Voters in Missouri, Nebraska and Alaska will soon decide whether workers in those states should be entitled to paid sick leave.
If approved, the ballot measures would allow many workers to accrue paid time off, a benefit supporters say means workers — especially those with low-paying jobs — would no longer have to fear losing ...Read more
Trump wants Harris to pay a political price for generous immigrant health policies
Maria Sanchez immigrated to the Chicago area from Mexico about 30 years ago. Now 87, she’s still living in the U.S. without authorization. Like many longtime immigrants, she has worked — and paid taxes, including Medicare taxes — all that time.
But Sanchez never had health insurance, and when she turned 65, she couldn’t enroll in ...Read more
Florida medical device maker Exactech declares bankruptcy
Exactech, a Florida device manufacturer that faces more than 2,000 state and federal lawsuits from patients who allege the company sold defective hip and knee implants, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday.
The Gainesville-based company said in a statement it was restructuring and would be sold to an investor group of private equity and “...Read more
'Dreamers' can enroll in ACA plans this year -- but a court challenge could get in the way
When open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, starts nationwide this week, a group that had previously been barred from signing up will be eligible for the first time: The “Dreamers.” That’s the name given to children brought to the United States without immigration paperwork who have since qualified for the Deferred ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Minute: Stroke treatment
Each year, an estimated 15 million people around the globe experience stroke, according to the World Health Organization, with one-third resulting in death. That's why immediate stroke treatment is crucial.
When the symptoms of stroke present, calling 911 and seeking care immediately is the most crucial step to prevent disability or death.
“...Read more
Bridging the digital divide to help rural smokers quit
Rural adults are more likely to smoke than their urban counterparts. Enhancing digital literacy and improving access to the internet and digital devices may make it easier for rural smokers to quit. These are the findings of a randomized, controlled pilot clinical trial Mayo Clinic researchers published in Nature Communications Medicine.
...Read more
Overdose deaths are rising among Black and Indigenous Americans
The recent decline in overdose deaths hides a tremendous disparity by race: Deaths have fallen only among white people while continuing to rise among people of color, according to a new Stateline analysis of federal data.
Health experts in nonwhite communities say they’re finding strategies that work in their areas, but that they still ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Can I get bird flu from eating eggs? Drinking milk? We asked a California disease expert
- What's at stake: A pivotal election for six big health issues
- What new guidelines say to do to prevent a stroke
- Ask the Pediatrician: Baby walkers are a dangerous choice
- I’m a Muslim immigrant and a psychiatrist living in Michigan – I haven’t decided how to vote yet