When people talk about “normalising” something in 2024, it’s often with a positive slant. On social media and off, I’ve seen calls to normalise everything from postpartum bodies to having mental health conversations at work. The idea, of course, is to break down taboos that can be unhelpful, even dangerous. But there’s another kind of […]
Category: Personal
It’s Official! CDC say’s Covid is now just a Flu
COVID-19 is becoming more like the flu and, as such, no longer requires its own virus-specific health rules, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday alongside the release of a unified “respiratory virus guide.” In a lengthy background document, the agency laid out its rationale for consolidating COVID-19 guidance into general guidance for […]
Massive Covid-19 study finds new adverse effects
A new study on COVID-19 vaccines that looked at nearly 100 million vaccinated individuals affirmed the vaccines’ previously observed links to increased risks for certain adverse effects including myocarditis and Guillain-Barré syndrome. The study was conducted by the Global COVID Vaccine Safety project and took into account 99,068,901 vaccinated individuals across eight countries: Argentina, Australia, […]
Pesticide found in Cheerios & Quaker Oats
A little-heard-of pesticide linked to infertility in animals is showing up in the overwhelming majority of oat-based foods sold in the United States, including popular cereal brands Quaker Oats and Cheerios. The chemical, chlormequat, was detected in 77 of 96 urine samples taken from 2017 and 2023, with levels increasing in the most recent years, […]
Have Covid? CDC says you can go to work now
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to shift its Covid-19 isolation guidance this spring to say that people no longer need to isolate once they have been fever-free for 24 hours and their symptoms are mild or improving, according to the Washington Post. The Post cited four unnamed agency officials and […]
Syphilis cases in U.S., highest since the 1950s
The number of syphilis cases in the U.S. are on the rise. According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases increased by nearly 80% to more than 207,000 between 2018 and 2022. Rates increased among all age groups, including newborns, and in all regions of the country. In 2022, […]
Elite in Davos warn about ‘Disease X’ pandemic
World leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday to discuss Disease X, a hypothetical virus 20 times deadlier than COVID-19. While such a virus isn’t known to currently exist, researchers, scientists and experts are hoping to proactively come up with a plan of action to combat such a […]
New zombie drug may contain human bones
A deadly new drug is spreading across countries in West Africa, wreaking havoc in local communities. The drug, known as “kush,” causes users to walk around like zombies, falling over and injuring themselves as they fall asleep on foot, with a dozen dying every week and thousands being hospitalized. The drug is mostly taken by […]
Young Americans are dying in huge numbers
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf recently took to X to mourn the “catastrophic” decline in U.S. life expectancy. But his post, which hit on smoking, diet, chronic illness and health care, ignored the obvious: People are dying in abnormally high numbers even now and long since COVID-19 waned. Yet public health agencies and […]
Popular artificial hips are snapping in half
Bradley Little, a physical education teacher in Arizona, was leading his class through a school hallway in 2017 when he collapsed. Little feared he was having a stroke. Or, in a sign of the times, that he’d been shot. He tried to stand, but his leg wouldn’t move. A student ran for help. Firefighters arrived […]
Is ‘Obamacare’ really saving us money?
Remember Obamacare? The fight is far from over on the future of the Obama-era health insurance overhaul. Republicans are making a list-ditch effort this year to turn the program and the money over to the state. This isn’t full Obamacare repeal, but would make a world of sense because states would be free to experiment […]
Do Cold medicines actually work?
When you stroll down the cold and flu aisle in a drugstore, it’s easy to get lost in the dizzying array of products promising to clear sinus pressure, dry up sniffles and stop plaguing coughs. Some concoctions even offer it all in one magical pill. But doctors say the science behind some of those claims […]