Health

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN Contrary to what internalized stigma may tell you, a migraine isn’t just a headache. In people younger than age 50, chronic migraines are the leading cause of disability, according to a 2018 study. But many people who live with the condition can have a hard time recognizing its seriousness and getting

By Janelle Chavez, CNN US lawmakers are moving to classify xylazine, the animal tranquilizer that’s increasingly infiltrating illicit drugs, as a controlled substance. Bipartisan legislation introduced Tuesday in the House and Senate reflects growing concern over the highly dangerous sedative, commonly known as “tranq” or “tranq dope.” “Drug traffickers are going to great lengths to

By Carma Hassan and Helen Regan, CNN The World Health Organization’s vaccine experts have revised their global Covid-19 vaccination recommendations, and healthy kids and teenagers considered low priority may not need to get a shot. The updated roadmap is designed to prioritize Covid-19 vaccines for those at greatest risk of death and severe disease, according

By Nadia Kounang The biotech company BTNX says it is shipping out new test strips this week that detect the presence of xylazine, an animal sedative that officials say is increasingly being mixed with fentanyl. As with fentanyl test strips, these pieces of paper have a reagent that can help users detect whether a drug

By Kristen Rogers, CNN Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages worldwide, but the pendulum has swung back and forth about its benefits and drawbacks. New findings from a small study published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, suggest both upsides and downsides: Drinking at least a cup of coffee per day

By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN Four sea otters in California have died from a rare strain of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite that scientists said could pose a risk to human health. Researchers called the finding a “complete surprise” because this strain of T. gondii had never been reported in any aquatic animal or in coastal California.

By Jen Christensen, CNN Everyone benefits when there is less air pollution, but it pays off more for older communities with high poverty rates and those where larger populations of Black people live, regardless of income, a new study finds. The study, published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at the connection

By Sana Noor Haq, CNN As the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins, Habiba says she is “terrified” by the thought of fasting this year. After her disordered eating patterns spiraled into bulimia and binge eating disorder during her mid-teens, she says the ritual of abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset can

By Brenda Goodman, CNN Many of the first responders who helped fight the fire that erupted after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last month were ill-equipped and untrained to fight the massive chemical blaze that some now call “the hell fire.” In testimony Wednesday before the US Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee,

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN The rate of children diagnosed with autism in the United States has been growing steadily since 2000, but two new reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlight disparities in the types of children identified to have autism spectrum disorder and setbacks in early detection. In 2020, about

By Janelle Chavez, CNN People who are vaccinated or who take Paxlovid during a Covid-19 infection have a lower risk of developing long Covid, new research shows. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines long Covid as new, returning or ongoing health issues more than four weeks after an initial infection. According to

By Kyla Russell, CNN Black and Hispanic adults in the US are less likely than White adults to get statins, medications that prevent or treat common forms of heart disease, according to a new study. For the study, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Cardiology, the researchers analyzed data on more than 3,000 people ages

By Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News Consider three hypothetical women in their mid-70s, all living alone in identical economic circumstances with the same array of ailments: diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure. Ms. Green stays home most of the time and sometimes goes a week without seeing people. But she’s in frequent touch by phone

By Janelle Chavez, CNN Clinical cases of Candida auris, an emerging fungus considered an urgent threat, nearly doubled in 2021, according to new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There was also a tripling of the number of cases resistant to echinocandins, the first-line treatment for Candida auris infections. The research,

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN Are your birth control pills ruining your sex life? Maybe, experts say — but it’s complicated. When comedian Whitney Cummings joined Rachel Bilson during the March 13 episode of the actor’s “Broad Ideas” podcast, both women shared that they had never had an orgasm from sex until they stopped taking hormonal

By Janelle Chavez, CNN A rare strain of bacteria found in recalled eyedrops has been linked to dozens of infections, as well as cases of vision loss, surgical removal of eyeballs and one death. Global Pharma Healthcare’s Artificial Tears Lubricant Eye Drops, distributed by EzriCare and Delsam Pharma, were first recalled in early February. In

By Christina Zdanowicz, CNN Effie Schnacky was wheezy and lethargic instead of being her normal, rambunctious self one February afternoon. When her parents checked her blood oxygen level, it was hovering around 80% — dangerously low for the 7-year-old. Her mother, Jaimie, rushed Effie, who has asthma, to a local emergency room in Hudson, Wisconsin.

By Janelle Chavez, CNN Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted 16-1 on Thursday in support of full approval of Paxlovid, stating that the benefits outweigh the risks of the drug for treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in adults who are at high risk for severe disease, including hospitalization and death. Before

By Annette Choi and Will Mullery, CNN The Supreme Court on Friday protected access to a widely used abortion drug by freezing lower-court rulings that placed restrictions on its usage. A federal judge in Texas previously ruled to suspend the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, the first drug in the medication abortion process,