For 17 harrowing days in November 2018, the deadliest wildfire in the California’s history swept across the northern region of the state. Officially dubbed the Camp Fire (named after its origin point at Camp Creek Road in Butte County), the fire continued to spread for several weeks, capturing national attention. Scientists and environmental experts recognized it as a sign of the increasing impacts of climate change on the West Coast wildfire season: As global temperatures rise, California’s already fire-prone landscape becomes more susceptible to dangerous blazes with each passing year.
For locals, the Camp Fire’s effects have long outlasted that initial media frenzy. Three years later, and many Californians are still working to rebuild their homes and lives. But disasters like this permeate deeper than the immediate economic damage they also have a long-term impact on human health. A new study in
It may be hard to imagine that someone whose job is to be in the media spotlight could have anxiety in social situations, but this can and does happen.
New research finds a 40% drop in asthma attacks among Black and Hispanic Americans.
May 26, 2021
May 26, 2021
Around one in 13 Americans live with asthma that’s 25 million people in total. This chronic respiratory condition affects everyone from adults to young children, but it carries a deeply unequal burden: Black and Puerto Rican Americans are 1.5 and 2 times more likely (respectively) than white Americans to have asthma. Minority groups are also more susceptible to severe consequences from it, including emergency room visits, extended hospitalization, and death.
Asthma rates in the United States have been steadily increasing for years now… that is, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring 2020. You might not associate the rise of COVID with a change in the prevalence of asthma (we wouldn’t have guessed this either), but new research is revealing a surprising correlation: An April 2021 study in the
“Put an ice pack on it!” If you grew up playing sports (or have kids who play them), this is a familiar refrain, repeated whenever someone gets injured. Sometimes, the quickest way to ease the pain from a sprained ankle or torn muscle is to cover the area with ice. It’s a short-term solution that doesn’t take the place of medical care when you need it but in a pinch, ice can be a real lifesaver.
Heat therapy can also be a useful tool for soothing pain. People with arthritis often rely on warm baths or compresses to ease morning stiffness and help their joints move freely. But heat isn’t a foolproof treatment, either, and it can be detrimental when used on an acute injury (like a soccer game sprain) or active infection.
“Which one did you get?”
“Did you have any side effects?”
“When will you be fully vaccinated?” We are all going through this vaccination experience together and learning new things in real time. And though the COVID vaccine rollout in the U.S. has been nothing short of a miracle, it has also presented some major challenges: On April 28, the
New York Times reported that 8% of people who got the first dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines missed their second dose, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
That’s around five million Americans who haven’t completed the two-dose series of the mRNA vaccines, due to personal choice, lack of access, or logistical errors within the supply chain. If you or a loved one missed out on the second shot, you likely have concerns about this. Can someone be considered fully vaccinated if they only got one dose? Are they even protected at all?