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CNN – Health

Some ER patients are half as likely to receive IV fluids since disruptions from Hurricane Helene

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Patients visiting emergency departments for dehydration or nausea are half as likely to receive IV fluids now than they were before Hurricane Helene exacerbated supply shortages, according to an analysis of health records by Truveta Research. When the storm hit western North Carolina last month, flooding and other damage

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Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are everywhere and could have many health impacts, researchers say

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — A class of chemicals –– likely in products all over many homes in the United States –– could be impacting your hormone health. The question is how worried should people be about these endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as phthalates, BPA or bisphenol A, and brominated flame retardants? The scientific

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McDonald’s to resume selling Quarter Pounders in all restaurants after beef patties in Colorado test negative for E. coli

By Michelle Watson and Nadia Kounang, CNN (CNN) — McDonald’s will resume selling Quarter Pounders in all restaurants this week after considering new data regarding an E. coli outbreak linked to its famed burgers, the company announced Sunday. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert Tuesday warning that dozens of people had

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EPA finalizes stricter rules targeting ‘scourge’ of lead paint dust in homes, child-care facilities

By Katherine Dillinger, CNN (CNN) — Any level of lead paint dust in is considered hazardous, according to new requirements for identifying and cleaning up the harmful dust in certain homes and child-care facilities across the country, finalized Thursday by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Even low levels of lead exposure are known to be

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What experts say about taking psilocybin as an alternative treatment for depression

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — The matchup: Two doses of psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms,” against a six-week course of the popular antidepressant escitalopram, often sold as Lexapro or Cipralex. Escitalopram is one of a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. The projected winner: The drug that produces the

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Frozen waffles from Kodiak, Target, Walmart recalled due to potential listeria contamination

By Sam Tupper, CNN (CNN) — Dozens of frozen waffle products made by TreeHouse Foods, including waffles sold by Kodiak Cakes and Publix, Food Lion, Walmart and Target store labels, have been voluntarily recalled due to potential listeria contamination, according to a news release from the Oak Brook, Illinois, food processing company. TreeHouse Foods urges

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USDA names schools that may be affected by recall of 11.7 million pounds of meat and poultry over listeria concerns

By Katherine Dillinger, CNN (CNN) — A recall of ready-to-eat meat and poultry items made by BrucePac has been expanded to include nearly 1.8 million pounds of additional products, for a total of more than 11.7 million pounds of products recalled over possible listeria contamination, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says. The

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Immunotherapy improves survival in people with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma, study shows

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — An immunotherapy approach to treating advanced Hodgkin lymphoma may drastically increase patients’ chances of survival, including those as young as 12, according to a new clinical trial. The regimen, which involves the immunotherapy drug nivolumab along with three different chemotherapies, was found to result in a two-year progression-free survival

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IV fluid supply disruptions prompt Biden administration to invoke wartime powers to bolster recovery

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Disruptions from Hurricane Helene exacerbated shortages of critical intravenous fluids in the United States, and now the Biden administration has invoked the wartime powers of the Defense Production Act in the latest move to help speed recovery efforts. As the storm swept through western North Carolina last month, it

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Adolescents treated for obesity with GLP-1 drugs had lower risk of suicidal thoughts, study finds

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — A review of the medical records of thousands of adolescents treated for obesity found that kids who received the GLP-1 medications semaglutide or liraglutide were less likely to have suicidal thoughts or attempts than those treated with behavioral interventions. The study of about 7,000 children between ages 12 and

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Use of opioid overdose antidote by laypersons rose 43% from 2020 to 2022, study finds

By Sam Tupper, CNN (CNN) — After years of continuously rising opioid overdoses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that overdose deaths decreased 3% in 2023, the first annual decrease since 2018. A new study shows how the increased administration of naloxone by non-medical laypersons – or bystanders with little to no medical training – could be one

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With AI warning, Nobel winner joins ranks of laureates who’ve cautioned about the risks of their own work

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — When computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for his work on machine learning, he immediately issued a warning about the power of the technology that his research helped propel: artificial intelligence. “It will be comparable with the Industrial Revolution,” he said just after

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That online ‘pharmacy’ could kill you, feds warn

By Josh Campbell, CNN (CNN) — The order from an online “pharmacy” was for oxycodone, a powerful narcotic used to treat pain. The pills looked exactly like the real things, their true contents masked by meticulous counterfeiting. Days after receiving her online shipment, the woman who ordered them was dead from acute fentanyl poisoning. The incident is recounted in a new public

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‘Headspin hole’: Man develops scalp tumor after decades of breakdancing

By Jeffrey Kopp, CNN (CNN) — Researchers in Denmark have published a case report revealing an unexpected consequence of one of breakdancing’s most iconic moves: the headspin. Breakdancing, or breaking as it’s called by its athletes, made its debut as an official sport at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Breakers compete in battles judged on criteria like execution,

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Nearly 10 million pounds of meat recalled due to listeria concerns

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — BrucePac, a producer of ready-to-eat meat and poultry items, has recalled more than 9.9 million pounds of product due to possible listeria contamination, the US Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday. Dozens of recalled products have been distributed to restaurants and institutions nationwide. Affected products may have been used

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How psilocybin, the psychedelic in mushrooms, may rewire the brain to ease depression, anxiety and more

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Shrooms, Alice, tweezes, mushies, hongos, pizza toppings, magic mushrooms — everyday lingo for psychedelic mushrooms seems to grow with each generation. Yet leading mycologist Paul Stamets believes it’s time for fans of psilocybin mushrooms to leave such childish slang behind. “Let’s be adults about this. These are no longer

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US hospitals strained by IV fluid supply limits after Helene hit production site

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Hospitals across the United States are rationing critical intravenous fluids and postponing some surgeries as the national supply chain continues to reel from severe disruptions triggered by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago. Now more threats – including respiratory virus season and another hurricane – are looming. Baxter International’s North

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Covid-19 may increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and deaths for three years after an infection, study suggests

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — Covid-19 could be a powerful risk factor for heart attacks and strokes for as long as three years after an infection, a large new study suggests. The study was published Wednesday in the medical journal Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. It relied on medical records from roughly a quarter

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Certain arm positions commonly used for blood pressure checks may lead to inaccurate results. Here’s the right way to do it

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — A new study found that having your arm in the wrong position during blood pressure checks — either at home or the doctor’s office — can result in readings “markedly higher” than when your arm is in the recommended position: appropriately supported on a table with the middle of

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Fluoride in water prevents some cavities but concern about health risks raises questions about the tradeoffs

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — The public health practice of adding fluoride to water supplies faces new scrutiny as a few recent reports raise concerns about potential health risks and suggest the benefits may not be as significant as they once were. A new report from the Cochrane Collaboration, an independent group that systematically

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Required vaccine coverage among US kindergartners dips again, new CDC data shows

By Deidre McPhillips and Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — A record share of US kindergartners had an exemption for required vaccinations last school year, leaving more than 125,000 new schoolchildren without coverage for at least one state-mandated vaccine, according to new data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And another dip

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Breast cancer deaths in the US continue to fall, but new report warns of rise in cases among women younger than 50

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Despite a continuous decline in the rate of breast cancer deaths in the United States, the incidence of the disease has increased, especially among younger ages, and significant racial disparities remain, according to a new American Cancer Society report. The study, published Tuesday in CA: A Cancer Journal for

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A new Louisiana law requires abortion meds to be locked in a cabinet, even if needed for emergency care

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — Louisiana’s first-in-the-nation law listing the abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol as “controlled dangerous substances” took effect Tuesday, triggering fears among health-care providers and pharmacists that routine care may be worsened for women in the state. Beyond abortion, the medicines are used for miscarriage management and, in misoprostol’s case, to

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Black-colored plastic used for kitchen utensils and toys linked to banned toxic flame retardants

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Black-colored plastic used in children’s toys, takeout containers, kitchen utensils and grocery meat and produce trays may contain alarming levels of toxic flame retardants that may be leaching from electronic products during recycling, a study has found. “A product with one of the highest levels of flame retardants were

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More health-care workers in contact with Missouri bird flu patient report respiratory symptoms

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — Four more health-care workers who tended to a person hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu have revealed that they had respiratory symptoms after their exposures, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One health-care worker who had symptoms had what investigators consider high-risk contact with the patient,

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‘Chroming’ is killing some kids. Experts explain this trend

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — For the younger generation, “chroming” is the new huffing. The dangerous practice is a means of getting high via inhaling hydrocarbons by misusing a variety of legal products, including permanent markers, aerosol deodorant, nail polish, metallic paint, computer duster, carburetor cleaner, paint thinners, gasoline and hair spray, said Dr.

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