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. Continue Reading Washington Read More
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. Continue Reading Air Ambulances Woo Rural Read More
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. Continue Reading Vitamin Read More
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
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. Continue Reading New Look For Read More
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
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 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. Continue Reading If We All Ate Read More
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. Continue Reading Mixing Alcohol And Sun? Beware, A Buzz Begets A Faster BurnRead More
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
As many as 50 million Americans annually suffer from food poisoning after eating something that wasn’t handled or cooked properly. Among those, about 130,000 people are hospitalized, and 3,000 people die from foodborne illnesses. Though the problem may seem unpredictable, it’s entirely preventable. Read More
Homelessness is often considered an urban phenomenon. But those who work on homeless issues say rural homelessness is a growing problem, too. That's true across the state and across the country. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NPR, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reported in May that one in three rural Americans say homelessness is a problem in their Read More
Health inequities are getting worse, according to new research. Factors like income, race and gender are playing a larger role in health outcomes than they did 25 years ago. Continue Reading The Gap Between Rich And Poor Americans’ Health Is Read More
"Dogs will get into anything and everything," says veterinarian Dorrie Black, of the veterinary clinic Animal Internal Medicine and Specialty Services. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia now have legalized pot in some form. Read More
Various kinds of ticks have been shown to carry at least 16 diseases in the U.S alone that can infect humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now add one more to the global list of ills that a tick bite can bring about, according to a study in the May 30 New England Journal of Medicine. Read More
To cut down on unnecessary procedures — and health costs — Walmart is pushing its workers to get more accurate diagnoses by using diagnostic imaging centers known for high quality, not low price. Continue Reading To Improve Read More
If there's a disease outbreak in Washington state, health officials want to be prepared.This week, the state's Department of Health is hosting a statewide drill to practice sending out medicine as quickly as possible.The simulation: the plague has spread across Washington. Read More
Coping with the financial fallout of cancer is exhausting — and nerve-wracking. But the worst part, one patient says, is that it's unexpected. Cancer patients are 2.65 times more likely to file for bankruptcy than those without cancer, and bankruptcy puts them at a higher risk for early death, according to research. Read More
Giving medication — and getting the dose right — can be more challenging than you might think. A recent industry-sponsored survey suggests most parents aren't as vigilant as they need to be when it comes to measuring. Continue Reading Giving Read More
Ethan Lindenberger is 18 years old, but had never received vaccines for diseases like hepatitis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, or the chickenpox. Lindenberger's mother, Jill Wheeler, is anti-vaccine. He said she has been influenced by online misinformation, such as a debunked study that claimed certain vaccines were linked with autism, or a theory that vaccines cause Read More
Amid a measles outbreak that has sickened more than 50 people in the Pacific Northwest, Washington lawmakers heard testimony Friday on a bill that would remove parents’ ability to claim a personal or philosophical exemption to opt their school-age children out of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Read More
As the number of cases and geographic reach expands in Southwest Washington’s measles crisis, state lawmakers are looking to revisit who can opt out of vaccinations. Continue Reading Amid Measles Outbreak, Washington Read More
The consumer-advocacy organization Consumer Reports tested 45 fruit juices, including apple, grape and juice blends, and found that 21 of them had "concerning levels" of cadmium, arsenic and/or lead, according to a new report. Juice samples came from 24 national and private-label brands. Read More
The maker of controversial e-cigarettes spent $750,000 on lobbying during the last three months of 2018, a dramatic increase over $210,000 it spent in the second quarter of the year. Continue Reading E-Cigarette Giant Juul Builds Lobbying Clout In WashingtonRead More
For the first time in U.S. history, a leading cause of deaths — vehicle crashes — has been surpassed in likelihood by opioid overdoses, according to a new report on preventable deaths from the National Safety Council. Continue Read More
The Environmental Health Disparities Map ranks neighborhoods from 1 to 10. Ten is coded in red, meaning a higher environmental risk while 1, being the lowest, is coded in blue. On that map, Yakima County is a big, red blemish. Read More
It's that time of year again. You wake up with a scratchy throat, stuffy nose, a little achy — maybe a fever. Is it a classic head cold, or do you need to be more concerned? Could it be the flu? Continue Reading Achy Body, Scratchy Throat, Read More
Is jogging in the cold this winter any better than hitting a treadmill in a warm gym? How about jumping into a frigid ocean for a swim? We asked some leading physiologists to weigh in. Continue Reading Could Read More
President Trump praised the ruling by a court in Texas as supporters of the ACA said they will appeal. Continue Reading Federal Judge Strikes Down Affordable Care Act As UnconstitutionalRead More
Many American teenagers try to put in a full day of school, homework, after-school activities, sports and college prep on too little sleep. As evidence grows that chronic sleep deprivation puts teens at risk for physical and mental health problems, there is increasing pressure on school districts around the country to consider a later start time. Read More
The Washington State Department of Health released its annual report on HIV and AIDS this week, pegged to the Dec. 1 World AIDS Day. According to the report, 14,000 people are HIV positive in Washington, on par with past years. Continue Read More
Angeles Pulido has been a nurse for 18 years, inspired to get trained and work with HIV/AIDS patients in Yakima after reading a Time magazine article. She remembers patients like one of her first: “Deep black, deep black. To see those eyes. I’ll always remember him. He was one of the first patients I had the opportunity to be with.”
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Microplastics have been found in human stool samples from countries in many parts of the world, according to a small pilot study being presented this week at the 26th annual United European Gastroenterology conference in Vienna. Continue Reading Read More
The rate of cesarean sections around the world is increasing at an "alarming" rate, reported an international team of doctors and scientists. Continue Reading Rate Of C-Sections Rising At An ‘Alarming’ Rate, Report SaysRead More
They claim to help you sleep, make your hair grow, speed weight loss, improve your sex life and ward off the nasty cold going around the office. Though it's often impossible to tell if dietary supplements work, consumers generally feel certain they can't hurt. But they can. Read More
Despite improved safety standards over the years, more than 230,000 children under 15 months old were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to infant walkers from 1990 through 2014. Continue Reading Doctors Renew Call For Read More
Deaths related to air pollution from wildfires could double by the end of the century, according to newly published research into the links between climate change, wildfires and human health. Continue Reading Study: Fire-Filled Future Could Read More
A Texas Children's Hospital nurse allegedly described a young patient with the measles in a Facebook post affirming her opposition to vaccines. The hospital says patient privacy is a "top priority." Continue Reading Texas Nurse Read More
For the fourth year in a row, federal health officials report that there has been a sharp increase in sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallied nearly 2.3 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in 2017 — an increase of 200,000 cases over the previous year, and a record high. Read More
While the study's authors acknowledge moderate drinking may protect some people against heart disease, these potential benefits do not outweigh the risks of cancer and other diseases. Continue Reading No Amount Of Alcohol Is Good For Your Health, Read More
In a new study, researchers found that doctors are better at explaining the benefits of a common cancer screening that its potential downsides. But overtesting comes with risks and costs of its own. Continue Reading Should You Get Read More
You’ve probably seen and felt it this week: a blanket of grey haze over large parts of the region. Smoke from wildfires in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and California has led to poor air quality, causing health experts to caution: minimize your exposure. So how do people who work outdoors fare?
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Our region’s booming growth is also part of the problem. More overuse of fertilizers, pet waste, leaky septic tanks, people feeding ducks and geese — all give cyanobacteria the nutrients it needs to grow. Continue Reading What’s Up With The Algae Blooms Read More
Diseases like cancer involve changes that occur inside a cell — and usually out of sight. A new technology can reveal a cell's inner workings, using inexpensive graphics processors from video games. Continue Reading Artificial Intelligence Read More
As tick season reaches its peak in the Northwest, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control says diseases spread by tiny creatures like mosquitoes and ticks have tripled in the U.S. over the last 14 years. Continue Reading Northwest Tick Season Peaks As Health Read More
Most people think of asthma as a city kid problem — but it turns out rural kids are just as likely to have asthma. And the children of the people who grow our food are especially vulnerable. Researchers at the University of Washington and the Yakima Valley Farm Workers’ Clinic are working on a new approach to solving the problem. Read More
Research scientists say they want to define Alzheimer's by the biological changes it causes in the brain, rather than by symptoms like memory loss. Continue Reading Scientists Push Plan To Change How Researchers Define Alzheimer’sRead More
The Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington School of Medicine has been awarded $11.3 million to work on a universal flu vaccine. Continue Reading UW Medicine Gets Multi-Million Dollar Grant For Universal Flu Read More
Scientists have long been fascinated with whether dramatically restricting the amount of food we eat can help us live longer. New research suggests it might, but the question: Is it worth it? Continue Reading You May Live Longer By Severely Read More
Norovirus is that awful ailment that can make you barf and suffer from diarrhea. A new study tries to figure out the best way to stop it. Continue Reading What You Might Not Realize About The Benefits Of Hand-WashingRead More
