Ride-hailing trips increase the number of crashes for motorists and pedestrians at pick-up and drop-off locations, reports a new study from researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The research is the first to use data for individual ride-hailing trips, rather than comparing cities where ride-hailing is…
Why Face Masks Are Crucial Now in the Battle Against COVID-19
As confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, the CDC is recommending that everyone wear a cloth mask when they go out in public. Experts say the homemade masks won’t protect someone from getting sick, but they can help prevent the spread of the disease by those with the virus….
It Can Take Up To 10 Minutes For Disinfectant Wipes To Work
Everything from hand sanitizer to rubber gloves to cleaning sprays has been flying off the shelves lately. Another cleaning product in crazy-high demand? Disinfectant wipes. But now more than ever, there are also lots of claims and conflicting info being thrown around about what products are most effective when it…
A new antiviral drug heading into clinical trials offers hope for COVID-19 treatment
Scientists are hopeful that a new drug—called EIDD-2801—could change the way doctors treat COVID-19. The drug shows promise in reducing lung damage, has finished testing in mice and will soon move to human clinical trials. As of April 3, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 had infected more than 1 million people…
Type 2 diabetes: The cooking oil proven to lower blood sugar levels
Type 2 diabetes develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin or when the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin. This hormone has a moderating effect on blood sugar, a type of sugar you absorb through eating food. Left to its own devices, blood sugar will increase in the…
People on steroids for chronic illness may be more at risk of COVID-19
People taking a type of corticosteroid may be more likely to contract the virus that is causing COVID-19 and may have worse symptoms if they do. An editorial of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) has suggested that people who take the class of steroid hormones known as…
Coronavirus may put ICU beds in short supply—but that doesn’t mean the elderly shouldn’t get them
Although recent encouraging news suggests the rate of new coronavirus cases in Australia is slowing, our medical facilities could still be overwhelmed at some point. One modeling study has suggested that, if public health measures are not observed or do not work, demand for the existing 2,200 intensive care unit…
Coronavirus has sped up Canada’s adoption of telemedicine. Let’s make that change permanent.
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how doctors provide health care. This public health crisis has shifted the paradigm on how Canadians access medical care and has ushered in the new era of telemedicine. Almost overnight, patients have stopped walking into their doctors’ offices and are instead receiving medical care through…
Abused children and family, people with mental illness are more vulnerable in quarantine
Tens of millions of Americans fit that description—the poor, the homeless, immigrants, the detained and incarcerated, the precariously employed and the uninsured. Nearly one-quarter of adult Americans do not have access to medical benefits, paid sick leave or access to medical care. Already, the virus has revealed the faults, cracks…
Hydroxychloroquine is not effective for treating coronavirus, according to small trial
On Saturday the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of two antimalarial drugs, hydroxychloroquine and a related medication, chloroquine, for emergency use to treat COVID-19. The drugs were touted by President Trump as a “game changer” for COVID-19. However, a study just published in a French medical journal provides…