Medical Notes: January 9, 2022
The Omicron variant may flame out as quickly as it rose. Then, a new study shows that traditional books are making a come-back. And finally, your microwave could be making your dog really anxious.
Public Health and Public Safety Sub-categories:
- Child Safety (37)
- Crisis Intervention (3)
- Distracted Driving (6)
- Drug Overdose (11)
- Drunk/Impaired Driving (7)
- Food Insecurity (8)
- Global Health Emergency (2)
- Harm Reduction (11)
- Obesity and Body Weight (42)
- Opioid Epidemic (33)
- Oral Health and Dental Hygiene (11)
- Public Health (492)
- Public Safety (195)
- Risk (322)
- Smoking (31)
- Vaping and E-cigarettes (12)
- Vulnerable Populations (294)
Hoarding Disorder: More Than Just Too Much Junk
Hoarding disorder affects at least five percent of Americans, and despite TV programs showing its effects, it is still widely misunderstood.
Dealing With Lifelong Disease
Life-threatening, lifelong chronic diseases from infancy are at the top of the list of medical challenges. A woman who has dealt with cystic fibrosis her entire life discusses how mindset is often the biggest factor in living a full life with such a disease, and sets out her recipe for shoring up one’s approach.
Advances That May Eliminate Scarring
Scars are a public health as well as aesthetic threat, as internal scars can compromise the function of organs and tissues. Scientists are now devising medications that promote healing without producing scars. One of the scientists on the front lines discusses how these medicines work and their possible uses.
Saving Preschool Education
Preschool teachers have left the profession in huge numbers, closing some schools and threatening others. With nowhere to safely leave their children, millions of people are unable to return to work, sabotaging economic recovery. An expert discusses the low wages behind the 10% (or more) drop in early educators and how current legislation may finally turn …
Medical Notes: December 26, 2021
Some theories claim that Covid-19 was created in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but a study now has turned up more evidence confirming the wet market theory. Plus, what restaurants and supermarkets you have in your neighbor can predict your health. And finally, if transmission of Covid is more likely inside than outside, does that mean the wind is protecting …
Easing the Opioid Epidemic: How to Respond
Drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 Americans in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, as pressures built and users sometimes had to get their fix from unfamiliar sources. Experts discuss how the pandemic cost lives beyond Covid, and how surgical painkiller drug substitutions are beginning to keep some people from going down the opioid path.
New Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Category
Many people who need hearing aids never get them, in part because they currently require a prescription and expensive treatment. An expert discusses the FDA’s new proposed category of over-the-counter hearing aids.
Medical Notes: December 19, 2021
Johns Hopkins says we're a lot better off than we were last year at this time. Plus, you may be getting a lot of gift cards as presents for the holidays due to supply chain issues. And finally, a study finds that you can decontaminate used face masks by popping them in the oven.
The Damage of Too Little Sleep
Getting less than six hours of sleep per night has long been known to be hazardous to health, but the discovery of the mechanisms behind those hazards is leading scientists to strengthen their warnings.
Building the Covid Vaccine
The vaccine for Covid-19 was developed with record speed while still following required safety protocols. A noted investigative reporter discusses the development process he uncovered for his exhaustive book and explains why the hundreds of interviews he did have reassured him that the vaccine is safe.
When TBI’s Change Personality
Traumatic brain injury can profoundly change the injured in personality and temperament, as well as physically and cognitively. Spouses bear the brunt of these changes to the point many feel like they’re living with a stranger. Two experts and the spouse of a TBI victim discuss the many ways life changes after an injury and what can help to get them through …
