CNN – Health

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN A flu season that hit the United States early and hard is showing the first signs of slowing in parts of the country. For the first time this season, flu hospitalizations have dropped week-over-week. The week after Thanksgiving was the season’s worst yet, but data published Friday by the US Centers

By Brenda Goodman, CNN Although the updated Covid-19 vaccines don’t offer complete protection against a trip to the hospital or urgent care, they do offer important defense against the virus, particularly for seniors, two new studies show. “Both studies show that there’s quite an important benefit from the bivalent booster that it’s adding quite a

By Melanie Radzicki McManus, CNN There are more than 600 muscles in the human body, and it’s impossible to strengthen each and every one. Yet there are plenty whose power you can enhance, and doing so is key to enjoying a healthy, active life. Strong muscles help combat diabetes, boost cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and mental health,

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN More than a third of US parents say that vaccinating children against measles, mumps and rubella should be an individual choice and not a requirement to attend public school, even if that may create health risks, according to survey data published Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That’s a notable increase

By Jen Christensen, CNN Just when you thought it was safe for a holiday visit with your Auntie Mary and her fragile health, RSV and the flu reared their heads — and now Covid-19 numbers are creeping up again. Health officials are emphasizing the availability of the protective measures, tests and treatments that they say

By Nadia Kounang, CNN A new study finds that nearly 6% of the estimated 130 million people who go to US emergency rooms every year are misdiagnosed, which translates to about 1 in 18 patients getting the wrong diagnosis. The report, published Thursday by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare

By Jen Christensen, CNN Humans weren’t the only ones that lost their lives after being exposed to an aromatherapy spray linked to fatal cases of a rare tropical disease. The disease also killed a family’s pet raccoon in Texas. Exposure to a room spray containing “gemstones” that was sold at Walmart last year led to

By Martha Shade, CNN Meira Va’a Nelson is a champion surfer who has known more trauma in her life than most people will ever experience. When she was just seven years old her mother died of breast cancer. On the day of her mother’s funeral, her father, unable to deal with his own grief, left

By Kristen Rogers, CNN Suicide is a leading cause of death among children and adults, but spotting risk factors and warning signs isn’t easy. Nearly 46,000 people in the United States died by suicide in 2020, which is about one death every 11 minutes, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide,

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN A small proportion — 14.1% — of all diagnosed cancers in the United States are detected by screening with a recommended screening test, according to a new report. The remaining diagnosed cancers tend to be found when someone has symptoms or seeks imaging or medical care for other reasons, suggests the

By Jen Christensen, CNN More than 55% of people involved in serious or fatal road accidents tested positive for drugs or alcohol, according to a new study. Impaired driving is one of the leading causes of fatal crashes in the United States. Alcohol and drugs can impair a person’s reaction time, thinking and physical ability

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Drug overdose deaths in the United States have slowed in recent months after reaching record levels earlier this year. New data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 107,735 people died of a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending in July. That’s about 2,500