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Eye Injuries From Household Cleaners Drop, But Kids Remain at Risk

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Having little ones visit for the holidays? Be sure to stow household cleaners safely out of their reach.

These products are a major source of reports to U.S. poison control centers, and exposures often involve the eyes. Though overall eye exposures have declined in the United States, the number...

Indoor Pollutants May Raise Allergy Risk in Toddlers

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Toddlers have an increased risk of allergies if they are exposed to multiple indoor pollutants in their first years of life, a new study finds.

It included 108 mother-child pairs. Researchers assessed exposures to various household pollutants such as pet dander and tobacco smoke while the women...

FDA Approves First Disposable Duodenoscope, Reducing Infection Risk

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Improperly cleaned duodenoscopes -- a type of endoscope used to diagnose illness in the pancreas and bile ducts -- have been linked to hundreds of cases of severe, sometimes fatal, infections in patients.

Now, U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the first disposable duodenoscope shoul...

Flu Cases Are Spiking Early, Suggesting Tough Season Ahead

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- The flu season is off to a fast and furious start, with a strain of the virus that normally arrives later in the season making a strong early appearance, U.S. health officials said Friday.

Flu is now widespread across many parts of the country, said Lynnette Brammer, leader of the domestic inf...

Patients, Not Hospitals, Most Important to Spinal Fusion Outcomes

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Individual patient characteristics -- not the quality of care provided by surgeons and hospitals -- account for most differences in spinal fusion surgery outcomes, according to a new study.

The study included 737 patients, average age 63, who had spinal fusion surgery at 17 U.S. hospitals betwe...

Could Carb-Heavy Meals Keep You From Good Sleep?

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Pasta, white bread, sugary candy and baked goods: Americans love them, but could all those "refined" carbohydrates and sugars be keeping people up at night?

About 30% of Americans have insomnia, and a new study finds carb-heavy diets may share part of the blame.

The study looked a...

'Prehab' Before Surgery Helps Speed Seniors' Recovery

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- "Training" for surgery can improve seniors' outcomes and reduce insurance costs, a new study says.

It included 523 Medicare patients in Michigan, average age 70, who exercised, ate a healthy diet and practiced stress reduction techniques for at least one week before a major operation. It's a pr...

ER Visits for Attempted Suicide Greatly Raise Odds for Future Tragedy

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- People who wind up in emergency rooms because they tried to kill themselves or contemplated it had a much higher risk of suicide within the year of the visit, new research suggests.

In fact, a study of people who went to California emergency rooms found that those who attempted suicide were 57 ...

AHA News: Lovely But Dangerous, Wood Fires Bring Health Risks

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- Decades ago, Nat King Cole gently crooned about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. But since then, scientists have uncovered some troubling truths about wood smoke.

Although the image of a log fire is often associated with the holidays, romance and cozy nights inside shielded...

New Study Shakes Up Thinking on Hormone Replacement Therapy

FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- The ongoing debate about postmenopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk may have turned even more muddy: A large, new study suggests that two different types of hormone therapy have opposite effects on women's long-term risk of the disease.

The researchers found that combined hormone rep...

A New Approach to Stop High-Risk Drunk Drivers

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- An individualized approach is needed to treat people at high risk of impaired (drunk) driving, a new report says.

Drunk driving accounted for 29% of U.S. motor vehicle deaths in 2018, the lowest percentage since 1982. But there was still an average of one alcohol-impaired driving death ev...

Differences Found in Brains of Kids Born to Depressed Parents

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- The brains of kids who have a high risk of depression because they have parents with depression are structurally different from other kids' brains, a new study finds.

Depression often first appears during adolescence. Having a parent with depression is one of the biggest known risk factors. T...

As Cases of Vaping-Linked Illness Rise, CDC Points to Certain Brands as Culprits

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- More than 2,400 Americans have now been hospitalized due to a severe lung injury tied to vaping, with certain brands most implicated, according to the latest update on the outbreak from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Across all 50 states, a total of 2,409 such cases have...

Secondhand Smoke Starts Kids on Path to Heart Disease: Study

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Secondhand smoke can harm children's arteries, a new study warns.

Researchers used ultrasound to examine the carotid artery in the neck, brachial artery in the upper arm, and abdominal aorta right above the belly button in 298 kids aged 8 to 18 who were not smokers.

Some had been e...

Special Handling Needed for Seniors in Cardiac ICU

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Seniors in cardiac intensive care units may suffer delirium and other problems if doctors only focus on their heart, a new American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement says.

Older adults in the cardiac ICU require different care from younger patients, according to the statement. They...

One Boy's Battle Back From Mysterious Polio-Like Illness

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Last October, 15-year-old Alec Woodruff developed a strange-sounding cough. Less than a week later, he was fighting for his life in the hospital, partially paralyzed and with a tube in his throat attached to a ventilator because just breathing was a task he could no longer do on his own.

Alec...

Radiation of Just Part of the Breast Can Stop Cancer's Return

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- A long-term study comparing two types of radiation treatment for early breast cancer found that accelerated partial breast radiation (APBI) appeared to do as well as standard whole breast radiation for keeping cancer at bay.

The study looked at 10-year recurrence rates. The findings mean the...

Changing Timing, Frequency of Meals May Help With Diabetes

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- When you eat and how often you eat can make a big impact on your weight and insulin needs if you have type 2 diabetes, new research suggests.

The study found that people who ate three meals a day instead of six smaller meals, and moved the timing of those meals to earlier in the day, needed ...

AHA News: Could Fish Oil Fight Inflammation?

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- Plentiful in foods like fish and flaxseed, omega-3 fatty acids have long been linked with cardiovascular health, and new research is looking at the biology behind how it might work.

A study published Thursday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation Research<...