health Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Ah, Shuck: Oysters, Cherries, Other Northwest Ag Products Back Up As Coronavirus Quarantines Trade

By Anna King February 18, 2020

Amy Skillings of Oysterville, Washington, wheels the day's shucked oysters into a large cooler to await pickup. The oysters will be flown quickly across the country and to China.

Right now, all sorts of products aren’t reaching the U.S. because of the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China. Reciprocally, many U.S. agricultural and forestry products aren’t shipping back into China and other Pacific Rim countries. Global trade watchers say backed-up trade is building up on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Read More

Lax Regulations And Vulnerable Residents ‘A Recipe For Problems’ In Eldercare Homes

By NPR News February 17, 2020

A family photo of Marilyn Kelly outside Our House Too. Courtesy of June Kelly

Assisted living-type facilities often are subject to less scrutiny than nursing homes. Investigations in Vermont and elsewhere have revealed patterns of poor care and deaths.Read More

5 Years After Indiana’s Historic HIV Outbreak, Many Rural Places Elsewhere Remain At Risk

By NPR News February 16, 2020

Ethan Howard was among 235 people in the southern Indiana community of Austin, Ind., to be infected with HIV in an outbreak that hit in 2015. It was fueled by injection drug use. CREDIT: Luke Sharrett/Kaiser Health News

Fewer than a third of the 220 counties deemed by the federal government as vulnerable to similar outbreaks have active syringe exchange programs which can stop the spread of the infection.Read More

Taking Zinc Can Shorten Your Cold. Thank A 91-Year-Old Scientist For The Discovery

By NPR News February 10, 2020

Your body needs trace amounts of zinc for cell division and other basic biology. Nobody's sure how it works to shorten colds. Karl Tapales/Getty Images

Dr. Ananda Prasad first turned up zinc's benefits to human growth back in the 1960s. Years later, his study and others found that the right dose of zinc can cut a cold's duration by days.Read More

Why The World Seemingly Cares More About The New Coronavirus Than The Flu

By NPR News February 3, 2020

Employees of the Egyptian Quarantine Authority prepare to scan the body temperature of incoming travelers at Cairo International Airport. AFP via Getty Images

Every year, viruses like influenza kill hundreds of thousands worldwide — yet countries don't respond with lockdowns or airport screenings. Here's why they're doing so over the coronavirus outbreak.Read More

U.S. Restricts Travelers From China Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

By PBS Newshour February 1, 2020

The U.S. airlifted 195 Americans from Wuhan, China, after a spike in reported deaths and illnesses were linked to the virus. CREDIT: Mike Blake/Reuters

The U.S. declared the novel coronavirus a public health emergency Friday, banning non-U.S. citizens who traveled to China from entering the country and imposing new screenings and quarantine on U.S. citizens flying back from China.Read More

Several ‘Best’ U.S. Hospitals Penalized Over Too-High Rates Of Infection, Injury

By NPR News January 31, 2020

$Under the law, Medicare is mandated each year to punish the 25% of general care hospitals that have the highest rates of patient safety issues. The assessment is based on rates of infections, blood clots, sepsis cases, bedsores, hip fractures and other complications that occur in hospitals and might have been prevented. Morsa Images/Getty Images$

Medicare is cutting payments to 786 hospitals with the highest infection and complication rates. The list includes a third of the hospitals proclaimed as the nation's "best" in one prominent ranking.Read More

Face Masks: What Doctors Say About Their Role In Containing Coronavirus

By NPR News January 29, 2020

A surgical mask and an N95 respirator. Officials in China are urging citizens to wear masks in public to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But can a mask really keep you from catching the virus? Science Photo Library/ Getty Images; South China Morning Post/Getty Images

Can a mask really keep you from catching the virus? To answer that, it helps to clarify which kinds of masks we're talking about.Read More

Washington State Response To 1st Coronavirus Case In U.S. Draws On Lessons From Measles Outbreak

By NPR News January 29, 2020

Tove Skaftun, the chief nursing officer for the Community Health Center of Snohomish County, points out a sign warning people who could have been exposed to the new coronavirus from China to identify themselves. CREDIT: Will Stone for NPR

When the first U.S. case of a new coronavirus spreading throughout China was confirmed last week in Washington state, public health workers were well prepared to respond, building on lessons learned during the outbreak of measles that sickened 87 people in the state in 2019.Read More

Drug To Prevent Premature Birth Divides Doctors, Insurers And FDA Experts

By NPR News January 25, 2020

Roughly 1 in 10 infants were born prematurely in the U.S. in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The drug Makena is widely prescribed to women at high risk of going into labor early, though the latest research suggests the medicine doesn't work. CREDIT: Luis Davilla/Getty Images

An expert panel convened by the FDA says the drug Makena should be withdrawn from the market because a review of its effectiveness shows it doesn't work. But OB-GYNS who prescribe the drug disagree.Read More

1st Case Of New Coronavirus In U.S. Found In Everett Man Who Traveled Through Sea-Tac Airport

By Paige Browning January 21, 2020

Staff in biohazard suits hold a metal stretcher on Tuesday by the inpatient department of Wuhan Medical Treatment Center, where some people infected with a novel coronavirus are being treated in China. CREDIT: Dake Kang/AP

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that a patient in Washington state is the first U.S. case of a new strain of coronavirus. The virus has already prompted concerns with health officials after an outbreak in Wuhan, China.Read More

‘I’ve Been A Pretty Lucky Guy’: At 102, A WWII Veteran And Indiana’s Oldest State Worker Is Retiring

By NPR News January 18, 2020

Bob Vollmer, seen in a 2016 photograph provided by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, shows the now-102-year-old at work. The state's oldest employee plans to retire next month, after nearly six decades on the job. CREDIT: John Maxwell/Indiana Department of Natural Resources via AP

Bob Vollmer, a land surveyor for nearly six decades, tells NPR he's got new projects in mind — like building a pool. And he's got some advice: "If anybody does anything for you ... say thank you."Read More

Get Artsy For Health And Science: How Making Art Helps Your Brain

By NPR News January 12, 2020

Making art is fun. But there's a lot more to it. It might serve an evolutionary purpose — and emerging research shows that it can help us process difficult emotions and tap into joy.Read More

Hope, Happiness And Social Connection: Hidden Benefits Of Regular Exercise

By NPR News January 4, 2020

If ever there was a time to up your fitness game, the arrival of the new year and the new decade is it. But after the allure of the new gym membership wears off, our sedentary habits, more often than not, consume our promise of daily workouts. It doesn't have to be this way, says health psychologist and author, Kelly McGonigal, PhD.Read More

Federal Government Cracks Down On Some Flavored Vaping Products

By NPR News January 2, 2020

Most flavored e-cigarette cartridges will have to be pulled from the market in a move the government is stressing is not a ban. CREDIT: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The federal government is taking action to pull many flavored products popular with kids off the market. Public health advocates say the move doesn't go far enough.Read More

Why Certain Poor Shepherds In Nativity Scenes Have Huge, Misshapen Throats

By NPR News December 29, 2019

A horn player (left) in this detail from a 1694 altar carving by Francesco Antonio d'Alberto in Piedmont, Italy, clearly has a swollen neck that signifies goiter, medical historians say. The thyroid condition was a sign of poverty in those days. Renzo Dionigi Shepherds

In some historical Nativity scenes, the shepherds have grossly enlarged thyroid glands — also known today as goiter. It's an apparent symbol of their poverty and iodine-deficient diet.Read More

This Opera Singer’s Mom Was Lost In Dementia’s Fog. Singing Christmas Carols Brought Her Back

By NPR News December 25, 2019

Nancy Gustafson (right), an opera singer, used singing to reconnect with her mother, Susan Gustafson, who had dementia and was barely talking. She says her mom started joking and laughing with her again after they sang together. CREDIT: Emily Becker/Songs by Heart

A woman had become barely verbal, an effect of dementia. Her daughter, an opera singer, decided to try singing Christmas songs with her, and they reconnected.Read More

CDC Confirms A THC Additive, Vitamin E Acetate, Is The Culprit In Most Vaping Deaths

By NPR News December 22, 2019

The CDC is still trying to understand the mechanism by which Vitamin E acetate, an additive in some vapes, injures lung tissue. It may interfere with a natural fluid in the lung called surfactant, which helps make lung tissue stretchy. Or a byproduct may be a toxic chemical. CREDIT: Jelacic Valentina/EyeEm/Getty Images

The spate of more than 2,500 acute vaping-related lung injuries tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the decline, epidemiologists say, and the number of deaths has slowed.Read More

Samoa Arrests Anti-Vaccination Activist As Measles Death Toll Rises

By NPR News December 7, 2019

Red flags hang outside homes in Apia, Samoa, indicating that the residents have not been vaccinated for measles. CREDIT: Getty Images

Government officials say anti-vaccination advocates have complicated their efforts to turn the tide on an epidemic that has killed at least 63 people, most of them children.Read More

Safety Problems Lead To Early End For Study Of ‘Abortion Pill Reversal’

By NPR News December 6, 2019

To reverse a medical abortion, some doctors have prescribed progesterone. A new study raises fresh doubts about the approach. Photo Researchers, Inc./Science Source

Three of the 12 women enrolled in a study of progesterone to reverse a medication-based abortion required ambulance transport to a hospital for treatment of severe vaginal bleeding. Read More

Yakima Seeks To Address Hepatitis A Cases In Vulnerable Groups Amid Larger Statewide Outbreak

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa December 5, 2019

Resident Danny Pellum gets ready to be vaccinated against Hepatitis A at the Yakima Union Gospel Mission shelter Wednesday. He says he decided to get the shot just to be safe. “I don’t want no surprises later in my life when I could have done something about it tonight,” Pellum said. CREDIT: Enrique Pérez de la Rosa/NWPB

An outbreak of Hepatitis A that’s been spreading throughout Washington state has reached Yakima County. It’s expected to grow over the winter, according to the county health district. The district has confirmed 18 cases of Hepatitis A since declaring an outbreak Nov. 7. The state Department of Health has confirmed 124 cases this year, mostly in King and Spokane counties.Read More

Yakima Medical Student’s Personal Opioid History Will Help Inform How He Prescribes

By NPR News November 26, 2019

Matthew Braun, a first-year medical student at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, Wash., says his personal history with opioids will help him care for patients. CREDIT: Jovelle Tamayo for NPR

One medical student was addicted to opioids. Another relied on them to control disabling pain. Both think their experiences will help them be better doctors when it comes to prescribing opioids.Read More

A Cancer Care Approach Tailored To The Elderly May Have Better Results

By NPR News November 23, 2019

Geriatric oncologist Supriya Gupta Mohile meets with patient Jim Mulcahy at Highland Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. "If I didn't do a geriatric assessment and just looked at a patient I wouldn't have the same information," she says. CREDIT: Mike Bradley for NPR

Geriatric assessment includes an evaluation by a physical therapist, a psychological assessment, a cognitive exam and a complete physical and medical history. The doctor takes all these factors into account and tallies a score for their patient to help guide their decision-making about the patient's treatment.Read More

Washington Health Regulators Place New Ban On Vitamin E Acetate In Vaping Products

By Paige Browning November 20, 2019

In this April 11, 2018 file photo, a high school student uses a vaping device near a school campus in Cambridge, Mass. CREDIT: STEVEN SENNE/AP

Health officials have not been able to determine what it is about vaping products that has caused hundreds of cases of severe lung disease in the nation. But this month, the Centers for Disease Control found that vitamin E acetate was present in all of the 29 patients they reviewed.Read More

StoryCorps: The Cancer Battle Was Second Nature For Uncle And Nephew Veterans

By NPR News November 10, 2019

Veterans Michael Menta (left) and his uncle, Sal Leone, in West Hartford, Conn., last month. Camila Kerwin for StoryCorps

Ever since he was a child, Michael Menta looked up to his uncle Sal Leone for becoming a Marine. Menta would eventually follow in Leone's footsteps to serve his country, enlisting in the Navy during his senior year of high school. Their shared veteranship brought them closer.Read More

Uptick In Washington Nursing Homes Closures Prompts Proposals To Raise Medicaid Rates

By Austin Jenkins November 10, 2019

Keiro Northwest Rehabilitation and Care Center is one of nearly 20 skilled nursing facilities to close in Washington over the past nearly three years.

In response to a rash of nursing home closures in Washington, a Republican state senator is calling for an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates and other steps to stave off additional closures. “We are in a crisis of skilled nursing facilities and beds,” said Sen. Steve O’Ban, a Pierce County Republican.Read More

CDC Finds Possible Culprit In Outbreak Of Vaping-Related Lung Injuries

By NPR News November 8, 2019

In every lung fluid sample tested from patients afflicted with lung injury, the scientists found traces of a chemical called vitamin E acetate. The discovery is seen as a breakthrough.Read More

Fast DNA Sequencing Can Offer Diagnostic Clues When Newborns Need Intensive Care

By NPR News October 28, 2019

Nathaly Sweeney, a neonatologist at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego and researcher with Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, attends to a young patient in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.

Rapid genome decoding and analysis have made it possible to quickly diagnose some baffling rare diseases that make babies sick. Even when there's no cure, the information can help families cope.Read More

Working Americans Are Getting Less Sleep, Especially Those Who Save Our Lives

By NPR News October 28, 2019

More Americans have been getting less than seven hours of sleep a night in the past several years, especially in professions such as health care. CREDIT: ER Productions Limited/Getty Images

The number of workers getting less than seven hours of sleep a night is rising. Stress and our culture of constant connection may be to blame.Read More

Teen Vapers Who Want To Quit Look For Help Via Text

By NPR News October 23, 2019

Though there are websites, hotlines, therapists and coaches to help teens manage nicotine cravings, there's been little research to show what works best. Recently, some programs have turned to texting to help kids find resources specific to vaping cessation.

Starting to vape is easy, but quitting a nicotine habit can be tough, teens are finding. Some vaping cessation programs have begun to reach out to teens where they live — on their phones.Read More

Doctors Advise: Get Your Flu Shot Now, Especially If You’re Pregnant

By NPR News October 21, 2019

Though complications from the flu can be deadly for people who are especially vulnerable, including pregnant women and their newborns, typically only about half of pregnant women get the needed vaccination, U.S. statistics show. CREDIT: BSIP/Getty Images

The advice from federal health officials remains clear and consistent: Get the flu vaccine as soon as possible, especially if you're pregnant or have asthma or another underlying condition that makes you more likely to catch a bad case.Read More

Whistleblower Alleges Fraud At A Large Medicare Advantage Plan In Seattle

By NPR News October 18, 2019

As the Trump administration calls for expanding access to Medicare Advantage, a federal whistleblower lawsuit accuses a large Medicare Advantage plan of bilking Medicare out of $8 million.Read More

Why U.S. Cities Are Banning New Fast-Food Drive-Throughs

By NPR News October 11, 2019

More cities are passing legislation to ban the construction of drive-through windows in an attempt to curb emissions, reduce litter and improve pedestrian safety. The bans are also sometimes touted as a way to help fight obesity, but past studies suggest they don't have that effect. Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Most of the bans aim to curb emissions and protect pedestrians. The bans are also sometimes touted as a way to help fight obesity, but past studies suggest they don't have that effect.Read More

Study: Changing Diet Can Help Boost Mood And Tamp Down Depression

By NPR News October 11, 2019

Depression symptoms dropped significantly in a group of young adults who ate a Mediterranean-style diet for three weeks. It's the latest study to show that food can influence mental health. Read More

Is A Vaping-Linked Illness A Public Health Crisis? Depends On Who You Ask

By PBS Newshour October 9, 2019

Vaping has been linked to a cluster of hospitalizations in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. sestovic/Getty Images When Dylan Nelson

In a complex world surrounded by seemingly endless risks, why should one, like vaping e-cigarettes, become a problem that attracts so much national attention from health officials, politicians and the press?Read More

What Causes A Rare Disease That Paralyzes Kids? Researchers Home In On A Virus

By NPR News October 7, 2019

Evan Mazanec came down with AFM when he was 7, in 2014. It started with a fever and an ear infection, and lead to paralysis. He has since made a full recovery — he's back to playing baseball and living a full life.

It starts out like a common viral respiratory illness but leads to terrifying symptoms, including paralysis. Could a common virus be behind the illness?Read More

Are Developmental Disability Services A Constitutional Right In Washington?

By Austin Jenkins September 30, 2019

At St. Peter's Hospital in Olympia, Guinotte slept on the floor because he would use his bed frame to reach the ceiling tiles and knock them down. CREDIT COURTESY CAROLYN GUINOTTE

For years, families of the developmentally disabled in Washington and their advocates have been frustrated that services in an institution, like one of the state’s Residential Habilitation Centers (RHCs), are an entitlement, but services in the community are not.Read More

Jay Inslee Announces Washington Ban Of Flavored Vaping Products

By Paige Browning September 28, 2019

In this file video, the owner of a Spokane electronic cigarette store examines his display case. CREDIT: JESSICA ROBINSON / N3

In an executive order Inslee says "no one substance has been identified as the cause of these vaping-related lung injuries" in the state, and that it is imperative that the state respond "to address this public health crisis."Read More

Study: Climate Change Wildfire Health Impacts Cost Billions For Washingtonians

By Courtney Flatt September 18, 2019

Smoke-Kittitas-Valley-081718-Esmy-Jimenez

Climate change is causing people in Washington to spend billions of dollars in healthcare costs. That’s according to a new study that looked at how hospital visits and early deaths during a recent wildfire season.Read More

It’s Not Just Insulin: Diabetes Patients Struggle To Get Crucial Supplies

By NPR News September 18, 2019

Ric Peralta and his wife Lisa are both able to check Ric's blood sugar levels at any time, using the Dexcom app and an arm patch that measures the levels and sends the information wirelessly. Allison Zaucha for NPR

Type 1 diabetes can be well managed with insulin if blood sugar is consistently monitored. But insurance rules can make it hard for patients to get the medical supplies their doctors say they need.Read More

Washington State Confirms 3rd Case Of Vaping-Related Lung Disease In Spokane County

By Paige Browning September 16, 2019

Health officials have confirmed two more cases of vaping-related lung disease in Washington state. It is now considered a state-wide outbreak, since the amount of cases is above historic levels.Read More

Air Ambulances Woo Rural Consumers With Memberships That May Leave Them Hanging

By NPR News September 14, 2019

Visitors and park rangers at historic Fort Scott check out a medevac helicopter operated by Midwest AeroCare during the Kansas town's Good Ol' Days festival. Sarah Jane Tribble/Kaiser Health News

State regulators and even one medevac company have raised doubts about prepaid subscriptions and promised benefits offered by air ambulance companies. Gaps in coverage can be a problem. Read More

Vitamin E Suspected In Serious Lung Problems Among People Who Vaped Cannabis

By NPR News September 5, 2019

The New York State Department of Health said Thursday that it is looking at vitamin E acetate as a potential cause of severe pulmonary illness cases in the state that have been associated with vaping. CREDIT: Daniel Becerril/Reuters

New York officials say tests found high levels of vitamin E in cannabis vaping products used by people who developed lung damage. But it's only one of many possible causes still under investigation.Read More

What’s Behind A Cluster Of Vaping-Related Hospitalizations?

By NPR News August 19, 2019

The cluster was first detected by Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee where eight previously healthy teenagers were hospitalized with severe lung damage. The rapid onset of symptoms included coughing, weight loss and significant breathing difficulties.Read More

New Look For Cigarettes? FDA Proposes Graphic Warnings On Packages And Ads

By NPR News August 16, 2019

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to require tobacco companies to include 13 health warnings on cigarette packaging and advertisements. U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The Food and Drug Administration has rolled out a proposed rule to require tobacco companies to include graphic warnings, depicting some of the lesser known health risks of smoking tobacco products. Read More

What’s The Toll Of Childhood Cancer? 11 Million Years Of Human Potential Every Year, Study Says

By PBS Newshour July 31, 2019

Four-year-old Niuniu, who has late-stage neuroblastoma, a malignant cancer of the nervous system, sits on a bench while his mother pays his medical bills after getting tested for his fifth round of chemotherapy at Shanghai Children's Hospital in 2013. CREDIT: ALY SONG/REUTERS

What does the world lose when a child gets cancer? Out of 2.2 billion children worldwide, more than 416,500 children are diagnosed and 142,300 are estimated to die from the disease each year. Now researchers have calculated the impact in more defined terms. Childhood cancer’s toll amounts to a total of more than 11 million lost healthy years each year.Read More

A Walk In The Park Is (Literally) Just What The Doctor Ordered

By Tom Banse July 26, 2019

Some area doctors are directing patients through a written prescription to spend more time in nature. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

Dozens of Northwest doctors are teaming up with a national nonprofit to write a different kind of prescription. Their "park prescriptions" direct patients with obesity, anxiety, depression or certain chronic conditions to spend more time outside.Read More

If We All Ate Enough Fruits And Vegetables, There’d Be Big Shortages

By NPR News July 18, 2019

If everyone around the globe began to eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, there wouldn't be enough to go around. That's the conclusion of a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.Read More

Mixing Alcohol And Sun? Beware, A Buzz Begets A Faster Burn

By NPR News July 15, 2019

Sun exposure is the leading risk factor for developing melanoma. And there's evidence that alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of skin cancer, too.Read More

Leaders From 13 States Urge Federal Court To Allow Supervised Injection Sites

By NPR News July 11, 2019

Supplies sit on a check-in desk at a model of a hypothetical injection site in San Francisco, pictured here in September 2018. Local leaders from San Francisco are among a dozen local officials urging a federal court to allow an effort to open a supervised injection site in Philadelphia. Eric Risberg/AP

A friend-of-the-court brief submitted Wednesday by leaders from five cities — Seattle, Ithaca, New York City, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco — says injection sites, widely used in parts of Canada and Europe, need to be part of the way cities respond to the opioid crisis.Read More