Lead is a potent neurotoxin that causes severe health effects such as neurological damage, organ failure and death. Widely used in products such as paint and gasoline until the late 1970s, lead continues to contaminate environments...
Weight loss is one of the most common health and appearance-related goals. Women and teen girls are especially likely to pursue dieting to achieve weight loss goals even though a great deal of research shows that dieting doesn’t...
As people in the U.S. prepare to set their clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 10, 2024, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching...
Approximately 1 in 26 people develop epilepsy, a condition in which someone experiences recurring and unprovoked seizures. But experiencing a seizure does not always mean a person has epilepsy. Seizures can be provoked by acute head...
Does living near a hospital make you more likely to get the health care you need? Even though the federal government requires nonprofit hospitals to regularly assess the health needs of their surrounding communities and publicly post...
Have you ever been stunned into silence by an insult—only to think of the perfect witty comeback two hours too late?Of course you have, and there’s a physiological reason why. “When someone says something offensive or harmful...
As a Health journalist, I've written the phrase “the COVID-19 pandemic” more times than I care to count in the four years since the World Health Organization (WHO) first used that term on March 11, 2020. But lately, the word “pandemic”...
Equipped with the latest gear and a thirst for adventure, mountaineers embrace the perils that come with conquering the world’s highest peaks. Yet, even those who tread more cautiously at high altitude are not immune from the health...
By September 2020, just six months after COVID-19 triggered shutdowns across the U.S., it was clear that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had mutated from its original form. The question quickly arose whether existing rapid...
Rhode Island has lost an icon in local media – Ron St. Pierre. Ron died unexpectedly last night, March 11th, at home, as announced by Ron’s wife, Patti. Ron was 69. Ron and Jen Brien wrote a weekly commentary column...
When Karyn Bishof started experiencing Long COVID, there wasn’t a name yet for the symptoms that lingered after her infection in March 2020. “I had these continued, prolonged symptoms that I wasn't hearing about initially,” says...
“The Tale of Genji,” often called Japan’s first novel, was written 1,000 years ago. Yet it still occupies a powerful place in the Japanese imagination. A popular TV drama, “Dear Radiance” – “Hikaru kimi e” – is based...
At this point in the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly everyone has experienced the panic and uncertainty that come with having mild COVID-like symptoms – such as a cough and sore throat – only to test negative day after day. With cold...
Lindsey Vance carried medical debt for nearly half her life. The 41-year-old Denver resident said her debt began stacking up when she was around 19, when she stopped being covered under her parents’ health insurance and turned...
Special offer from region’s premier closeout retailer to give gift cards equal to 40% of $20+ purchase to all first responders and public safety workers from March 14th to March 20th Ocean State Job Lot (OSJL), the region’s...
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the 2024 Small Business Week award winners in Rhode Island. The nine award-winning small businesses and advocates are headlined by this year’s Small Business Person of the...
Soon after the first COVID-19 vaccines appeared in 2021, reports of rare cases of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, began to surface. In most instances, the myocarditis has been mild and responded well to treatment, though up to...
As cold and flu season ramps up, Health care experts are once again on high alert for the possibility of a tripledemic, or a surge brought on by the respiratory viruses that cause COVID-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus,...
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, policy was being made in crisis management mode. Decisions had to be made faster than usual, and there was limited ability to undertake wider consultation and impact analysis. Now the worst...
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia's GOP-controlled state Legislature voted Saturday to allow some students who don't attend traditional public schools to be exempt from state vaccination requirements that have long been held up as...
“The soldier above all others prays for peace,” the former American Military general Douglas MacArthur once said, “for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” But what about peace with...
