Health A-Z News & Features

Tampons, Sanitary Pads in Scotland Are Now Free Aug. 17, 2022 -- Scotland has become the world’s first country to offer tampons and sanitary pads for free to “anyone who needs them,” the government says.Menstrual products are available at drugs stores and community centers, after Parliament action in 2020. The law takes effect Aug. 15, 2022."Providing access to free period products is fundamental to equality and dignity, and removes the financial barriers to accessing them," Shona Robison, Social Justice Secretary, said.She said the action is “more important than ever” because of inflation.According to National Public Radio, Scotland

CDC Urges People With Monkeypox to Quarantine Pets Aug. 17, 2022 -- After the monkeypox virus has been found in a dog, U.S. health experts are expanding their quarantine recommendations.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging afflicted people to quarantine their pets for three weeks. The idea is to help curb the spread of the disease, following news that a dog in France tested positive.“Infected animals can spread Monkeypox virus to people, and it is possible that people who are infected can spread Monkeypox virus to animals through close contact, including petting, cuddling, hugging, kissing,

The White House announced today that the FDA will move forward with plans to make hearing aids available over the counter in pharmacies, other retail locations, and online.

Leeching was once quackery of the worst sort. But the leech has been quietly making a comeback in the field of reconstructive microsurgery

The WHO plans to rename the condition to eliminate any derogatory or racist connotations, a decision in alignment with current best practices for naming diseases.

Poliovirus detected in NYC wastewater put public health officials on high alert, but infectious disease experts say there's no need for families of fully vaccinated children to panic.

Discovery follows a report of a man in Rockland County stricken with polio and paralyzed. The last case of polio in the US was in 2013.

The metaverse is being pitched as a place where healthcare could be offered bridging the digital and physical world in a computer-generated space where people interact. But will they take that leap?

The United States has now recorded more than 10,000 confirmed monkeypox cases, according to data released by the CDC.

The U.S. will buy $26 million worth of SIGA Technologies Inc.’s IV version of the antiviral drug TPOXX to help with the monkeypox outbreak across the country, the company announced Tuesday.

The public health emergency declaration doesn't open up a path to easier prescribing through an emergency use authorization.

The FDA said that instead of a standard  subcutaneous injection, the new regimen will be given just under the skin (intradermally) at one-fifth the usual dose.

Climate hazards �� such as flooding, heat waves, and drought – have deepened the effects of more than half of the known infectious diseases in humans, including anthrax, cholera, and malaria, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change.

Is your laundry a way to spread monkeypox? Keeping your laundry clean is good for your health and might be especially important if you or someone close to you has monkeypox. Read on for expert advice on how to keep your laundry monkeypox-free.

New York state health officials issued a more urgent call on Thursday for unvaccinated children and adults to get inoculated against polio, citing new evidence of “potential community spread” of the debilitating virus.

Scientific skepticism is a global phenomenon. Social psychology researchers sought to find out why and what we can do about it.

Experts cautioned that much work remains. But they also described new findings as an "exciting" development against a major killer of children in developing countries.

The White House has declared monkeypox a national emergency Thursday and says Jynneos vaccine, used to treat monkeypox, will be administered through intradermal injections.

President Joe Biden announced a response team for the monkeypox outbreak on Tuesday, with top officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the CDC serving as the White House coordinators.

A walking crab and a swimming cylinder are among the newest developments in mini robotics, a field pursuing tiny machines that could someday perform medical jobs.

The monkeypox outbreak has led officials in states and cities to declare public health emergencies.

An adhesive wearable has provided steady, targeted ultrasound images for 2 days, potentially changing how we monitor and diagnose.

A potentially deadly bacteria has been found in U.S. soil and water samples for the first time, according to a new alert from the CDC.

Fauci Urges Fight Against Stigma of Monkeypox July 27, 2022 -- Dr. Anthony Fauci remembers the anti-gay stigma that dominated mainstream response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.And now he’s urging leaders to battle similar homophobia around the current monkeypox outbreak.Most of the monkeypox cases in the United States have been between men who have sex with other men.The country must “get rid of anything that even smacks a little bit of stigma” regarding the virus, Fauci told NPR’s “All Things Considered.”Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, was a leader in the fight against HIV and

The U.S. has one of the highest levels of reported monkeypox cases in the world, according to the latest CDC data.