TUESDAY, Jan. 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Secondhand vapor from electronic cigarettes is harmful to others, causing bronchitis symptoms and shortness of breath in young bystanders, a new study reports. Secondhand exposure to vapor increased teens’ risk of bronchitis symptoms by 40% and shortness of breath by 53%, according toContinue Reading

MONDAY, Nov. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Most prescriptions for the medication gabapentin are for unapproved uses — and many patients end up taking it along with drugs that create potentially dangerous interactions. That’s the conclusion of a new study that looked at “off-label” use of gabapentin. In the UnitedContinue Reading

FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Parent-collected nasal swab samples from kids could be as good at detecting respiratory infections such as COVID-19 as those taken by nurses, but that’s not the case with saliva samples, British researchers say. Respiratory infections such as colds and flu are among theContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The COVID-19 pandemic has offered some lessons on respiratory disease transmission, and now a new review suggests that hospitals could use those insights to create even smarter infection-control policies. The review, published Nov. 9 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that someContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Nov. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Many people pop a zinc supplement at the first sign of a cold, and there’s new evidence supporting the habit. Australian researchers found that the supplements appear to help shorten respiratory tract infections, such as colds, flu, sinusitis and pneumonia. Many over-the-counter coldContinue Reading

MONDAY, Oct. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A common group of bacteria may be causing deadly pneumonia or anthrax-like disease among metalworkers in the southern United States, health officials report. The bacteria, called Bacillus cereus (B. cereus), naturally occurs in soil and dust. B. cereus can cause food poisoning andContinue Reading

FRIDAY, Oct. 8, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Social distancing and mask mandates during the pandemic nearly eliminated cases of the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among children, a new study finds. “Numbers don’t lie. Face masking, and proper hygiene and isolation, can be effective means to protect the vulnerableContinue Reading