Skip to Content

CNN – Health

Americans have already been ditching spirits and beer. Alcohol companies are future proofing themselves

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Friday’s warning from the US surgeon general that alcohol is a “well-established, preventable cause of cancer” is perhaps a wakeup call for millions of Americans, but it’s the worst-case scenario that many beer and spirits companies have been preparing for over the years. Major brewers, including Molson

Continue Reading

Some patients want to take a holiday pause on diabetes or weight-loss drugs. Here’s what doctors say they need to know

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Around the holidays, when many people are baking cookies for Santa, enjoying cocktail parties or having festive family feasts, some adults who use popular medications for diabetes or weight loss explore skipping doses for a week or two. These medications can suppress appetite or sometimes cause uncomfortable side effects

Continue Reading

Deck the halls (extra carefully): Common Christmas injuries, illustrated

By Amy O’Kruk, CNN Anyone who’s seen December classics like “Home Alone” or “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” knows that holiday decor can pack a punch: Tree baubles turn to glass-shard booby traps, and string lights become tripwires. While neither movie landed any characters in the hospital, in reality, Christmas decor debacles send thousands of Americans

Continue Reading

An experimental drug drove people to lose 23% of their body weight. It’s still seen as a disappointment

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — Since Ozempic blasted onto the stage in 2017 with its approval for type 2 diabetes, drugmakers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been battling to leapfrog each other with newer and more effective medicines to turbo-charge diabetes and weight-loss results with the class known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. Novo

Continue Reading

How do people catch bird flu?

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — As bird flu infections rise in dairy cattle and chickens, human cases are ticking up too, leaving many people to wonder whether they might be at risk from this recently arrived virus. Bird flu infections are rare in people. Sixty-one human cases have been confirmed in the US this

Continue Reading

Popular vitamin won’t prevent a fall or fracture in older adults, health panel says. Here’s what can help

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Vitamin D and calcium are essential for overall health but don’t reduce the risk of falls or fractures in generally healthy older adults, according to a new draft recommendation from the US Preventive Services Task Force. When it comes to lowering this risk, the task force recommends against relying

Continue Reading

Routine prenatal test revealed her ‘hidden cancer.’ A study suggests what doctors should watch for

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — What should have been one of the most joyous times of Dr. Naseem Khorram’s life turned into one of the most terrifying. The Los Angeles-based nephrologist was getting routine bloodwork during her second pregnancy, standard testing to screen for any chromosome abnormalities in the fetus, such as Down syndrome.

Continue Reading

Toxic chemical in black plastic utensils and toys is being allowed to proliferate by EPA, lawsuit alleges

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — The US Environmental Protection Agency is failing to protect the public from a dangerous flame retardant — decabromodiphenyl ether, or decaBDE — according to a lawsuit filed this week on behalf of indigenous people in Alaska and California and consumer protection organizations. DecaBDE has been found in black plastic

Continue Reading

Herbal compresses have been used for thousands of years. Researchers in Thailand are exploring the science behind them

By Rebecca Cairns, CNN (CNN) — The scent of fragrant lemongrass mingles with earthy ginger and tangy tamarind, punctuated by the sharp, menthol-like aroma of camphor. It’s a familiar smell for spa-goers: a traditional Thai herbal compress. The treatment combines herbs in a cotton cloth, which is wrapped into a compact ball and steamed for

Continue Reading

In Biden administration’s final days, FDA advances proposal to set a nicotine limit on tobacco products

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — As the Biden administration winds down, the US Food and Drug Administration has submitted a proposed rule that could significantly lower the amount of nicotine in tobacco products and potentially prompt more people to quit smoking. The FDA has been signaling its intentions to limit nicotine levels at least

Continue Reading

Most women in the US aren’t accessing family planning services, even as abortion restrictions grow

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Most women in the United States haven’t received birth control prescriptions or other family planning services in recent years, a new report suggests, even as abortion restrictions have grown. Family planning – including birth control, emergency contraception, sterilization and counseling for these services – is an important part of

Continue Reading

Some patients in mysterious outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo have malaria, early testing reveals

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — A mysterious illness outbreak that has sickened at least 416 people and killed 31 in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of Congo may be at least partly caused by malaria, health officials said Tuesday. Information on the situation is still limited. World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros

Continue Reading

HPV testing preferred over Pap for cervical cancer screening starting at age 30, task force’s draft recommendation says

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Testing for high-risk human papillomaviruses every five years – even with a self-collected sample – is the “preferred screening strategy” for cervical cancer starting at age 30, according to a new draft recommendation from the US Preventive Services Task Force. Traditionally, many women have been screened for cervical cancer

Continue Reading

Microplastics are in many of your body’s organs and tissues. Why they’re so bad and what you can do to stay healthier

By Andrea Kane, CNN Editor’s note: The podcast Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the medical science behind some of life’s mysteries big and small. You can listen to episodes here. (CNN) — We are very much living in the Plastic Age. Whether it’s our food supply and how it’s packaged, our dwellings, furnishings

Continue Reading

How measles, whooping cough, and worse could roar back on RFK Jr.’s watch

By Arthur Allen, KFF Health News (KFF Health News) — The availability of safe, effective covid vaccines less than a year into the pandemic marked a high point in the 300-year history of vaccination, seemingly heralding an age of protection against infectious diseases. Now, after backlash against public health interventions culminated in President-elect Donald Trump’s

Continue Reading

More than half of Americans say ‘alone time’ is essential to their mental well-being, survey finds

By Julianna Bragg, CNN (CNN) — Holiday gatherings have a way of amplifying everyone’s quirks. I was looking forward to hosting my parents for a week during Thanksgiving, but in the limited space of a one-bedroom apartment, navigating everyone’s differences was rather challenging. My mom, who once poured herself into creating elaborate holiday traditions, has

Continue Reading