Health Advice
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Cosmetic surgeries led to disfiguring injuries, patients allege
A few days after a harrowing cosmetic surgery procedure, Erin Schaeffer said, she woke up with fluid leaking from an open wound in her stomach.
Schaeffer went on to spend a week in a Florida hospital battling a severe infection after a type of tummy tuck and liposuction at the Jacksonville branch of Sono Bello, a national cosmetic surgery chain...Read more

Fearing Medicaid coverage loss, some parents rush to vaccinate their kids
For two decades, Washington, D.C., pediatrician Lanre Falusi has counseled parents about vaccine safety, side effects, and timing. But this year, she said, the conversations have changed.
“For the first time, I’m having parents of newborns ask me if their baby will still be able to get vaccines,” Falusi said.
Throughout the country, ...Read more

Lawfully present immigrants help stabilize ACA plans. Why does the GOP want them out?
If you want to create a perfect storm at Covered California and other Affordable Care Act marketplaces, all you have to do is make enrollment more time-consuming, ratchet up the toll on consumers’ pocketbooks, and terminate financial aid for some of the youngest and healthiest enrollees.
And presto: You’ve got people dropping coverage; ...Read more

Environmental Nutrition: The sustainable diet index
Q: What is the sustainable diet index?
A: The Sustainable Diet Index (SDI) is used to assess the environmental, health, and social impacts of dietary choices. It helps measure how well a diet aligns with sustainability principles, balancing nutrition with ecological responsibility.
The SDI evaluates diets based on factors such as carbon ...Read more

10 health benefits of zucchini
Seasonal produce lovers know exactly when to reap all of the zucchini benefits. Both green and yellow zucchini offer so much in the way of nutrition. We caught up with a dietitian to talk about the health benefits of zucchini and how to add more of it to your diet. Here's what they had to say.
Top zucchini health benefits
In case you ...Read more

Salmonella is sneaky: Watch out
Pop quiz: what is salmonella? If you’ve ever had a run-in with this bacteria, you know it can cause a food-borne illness called salmonellosis, a form of food poisoning. But you may not know that salmonella bacteria sicken an estimated 1.35 million people every year in the United States. What’s more, it’s the leading cause of ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Q&A: What to know about cervical cancer
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My mom had a pap smear recently, and the results came back as abnormal. After further testing, we were shocked when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She didn’t have any symptoms. Now, her healthcare team is discussing surgery and medications. What should I know about her illness? As her daughter, should I be worried ...Read more

Commentary: Red states now lead the charge toward healthier living
Ever since Donald Trump rode down his golden escalator at Trump Tower in 2015, a political and cultural realignment has been underway in America, culminating in his second presidential victory. Many issues once considered the domain of the left seem to have been adopted by the new, right-leaning populist movement.
Nowhere is this more apparent ...Read more

California looked to them to close health disparities, then it backpedaled
Fortina Hernández is called “the one who knows it all.”
For more than two decades, the community health worker has supported hundreds of families throughout southeast Los Angeles by helping them sign up for food assistance, sharing information about affordable health coverage, and managing medications for their chronic illnesses. She’s ...Read more

Progress in gene therapy offers hope for long-term knee pain relief
For nearly three decades, Mayo Clinic researcher Christopher Evans, Ph.D., has pushed to expand gene therapy beyond its original scope of fixing rare, single-gene defects. That has meant systematically advancing the field through laboratory experiments, pre-clinical studies and clinical trials.
Several gene therapies have already received ...Read more

States pass privacy laws to protect brain data collected by devices
More states are passing laws to protect information generated by a person’s brain and nervous system as technology improves the ability to unlock the sensitive details of a person’s health, mental states, emotions, and cognitive functioning.
Colorado, California, and Montana are among the states that have recently required safeguarding ...Read more

Las Vegas mosquitoes test positive for West Nile virus, officials say
For the first time this year, a sample of mosquitoes in Las Vegas has tested positive for West Nile virus, the Southern Nevada Health District announced on Tuesday.
The health district said it identified mosquitoes in the 89123 ZIP code, in south Las Vegas north of Silverado Ranch Boulevard, that tested positive for the disease.
The ...Read more

COVID rising in California. How bad will this summer be?
COVID-19 is once again on the rise in California.
It remains to be seen whether this latest uptick foreshadows the sort of misery seen last year — when the state was walloped by its worst summertime surge since 2022 — or proves fleeting. But officials and experts say it's nevertheless a reminder of the seasonal potency of the still-...Read more

Republicans call Medicaid rife with fraudsters. This man sees no choice but to break the rules
MISSOULA, Mont. — As congressional Republicans finalized Medicaid work requirements in President Donald Trump’s budget bill, one man who relies on that government-subsidized health coverage was trying to coax his old car to start after an eight-hour shift making sandwiches.
James asked that only his middle name be used to tell his story so ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Q and A: Water fitness -- why aqua exercise works wonders
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: We have a new fitness facility nearby. The pool schedule shows a number of aqua exercise classes. I'd like to try a water fitness class to add variety to my regular fitness routine, but can I really get a good workout in water?
ANSWER: Regular exercise provides a wide range of benefits, including weight management, improved ...Read more

Medicaid cuts are likely to worsen mental health care in rural America
Across the nation, Medicaid is the single largest payer for mental health care, and in rural America, residents disproportionately rely on the public insurance program.
But Medicaid cuts in the massive tax and spending bill signed into law earlier this month will worsen mental health disparities in those communities, experts say, as patients ...Read more

Mayo, Nvidia launch AI supercomputer to diagnose diseases more quickly
Mayo Clinic has collaborated with the world’s most valuable company to launch the first supercomputer in a hospital using a new AI technology that could shorten the time to diagnosis and hasten treatment of deadly diseases.
It’s the first time AI chipmaker Nvidia’s technology will be used this way in a health care setting on a large scale...Read more

Ask the Pediatrician: Pool dangers and drowning prevention when it's not swimming time
Swimming pools can have a powerful pull on little children ― even when it's not swimming time. Those glistening turquoise-blue ripples may look especially inviting to an active toddler or an overly confident preschooler.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends several ways parents can help keep children safe around swimming pools and ...Read more

Editorial: Democrats for waste, fraud and abuse in health care
A slew of Democratic attorneys general has sued the Trump administration over changes to Obamacare enrollment policies intended to minimize fraud. Shocker alert: Nevada AG Aaron Ford is among the litigants.
The new rules make modest reforms to the health insurance marketplaces established in response to the Affordable Care Act. Among the ...Read more

$50B rural health 'slush fund' faces questions, skepticism
A last-minute scramble to add a $50 billion rural health program to President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending law has left hospital and clinic leaders nationwide hopeful but perplexed.
The Rural Health Transformation Program calls for federal regulators to hand states $10 billion a year for five years starting in fiscal year 2026.
...Read more