As family well-being declines, so does children ’s behavior
The COVID-19 pandemic is bad not only for our physical health, but our mental health as well. It has killed thousands of people and disrupted our lives in terrible ways. So it’s not surprising that a recent survey finds that parents in the US are having a hard time.
Researchers did a national survey in June of 2020 of more than 1,000 parents with children under the age of 18, asking questions about mental health, insurance coverage, food security, child care, and use of health care. They found that compared to before March of 2020,
27% reported worsening mental health for themselves
17% reported worsening behavioral hea...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 6, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Behavioral Health Children's Health Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
How to cope when a loved one is depressed, suicidal, or manic
If you aren’t sure how to cope when a loved one is depressed, suicidal, or manic, it may be time to learn.
The number of people reporting depression symptoms shot up when the pandemic began, with a recent study suggesting depression tripled among Americans this past spring. The greater burden fell on people with fewer resources, socially and economically, and more exposure to stressful situations, such as job loss. Ongoing surveys are finding that 25% of respondents still report feeling depressed every day.
These kinds of struggles are heart-wrenching to witness. The following suggestions can help you both.
Ways to help ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 5, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Heidi Godman Tags: Anxiety and Depression Caregiving Health Mental Health Source Type: blogs
New guidelines for aches, pains, and strains
We’ve all been there before. A minor injury leads to a sore ankle, achy shoulder, or sore neck. You could do nothing, try to ignore it, and see if it gets better. Or you may be tempted to take something, especially if significant discomfort prevents you from doing your usual activities or keeps you up at night.
So, what’s the best initial treatment? For minor injuries, your options are many, including:
Home remedies. Common approaches are the “RICE” treatments — Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation: applying cold to the sore area, wearing an elastic wrap to compress the sore area, rest, and elevation (such as p...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Bones and joints Exercise and Fitness Health Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Staying positive during difficult times
To say we’re living through challenging times sounds like both a cliché and an understatement. In recent months, news about the pandemic, economic woes, and bitter political debates have triggered tremendous anxiety and sadness for many Americans.
But when people look back on their lives, it is usually the most difficult challenges that gave them a new perspective or caused them to grow the most. Of course, in the midst of a crisis, it doesn’t feel that way. But there are steps you can take to cope during difficult times, using techniques from the field of positive psychology.
How can positive psychology help in tryin...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 1, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Julie Corliss Tags: Behavioral Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Mental Health Source Type: blogs
Whole grains or no grains? Food labels can be misleading
Food labels contain a wealth of information: calories, serving size, and the amounts of fat, sugar, vitamins, and fiber contained in a food, among other things. But do consumers know how to effectively use this information? A recent study showed that some consumers are struggling, especially when it comes to understanding whole grains.
Recent study highlights consumer confusion
For the study, published in Public Health Nutrition, researchers conducted two experiments to examine consumer understanding of whole grains on food labels. The research, which focused on food labels on bread, cereal, and crackers, was done online a...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 30, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Katherine D. McManus, MS, RD, LDN Tags: Health Healthy Eating Nutrition Source Type: blogs
Sick child this school year? Planning for the inevitable during a pandemic
Children get sick; it’s part of life. They catch colds, they get fevers, they throw up and get diarrhea. Most of the time, it’s nothing at all. But this year, as we struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic, every sniffle will be complicated.
The problem is, the symptoms of COVID-19 can be not just mild, but similar to the symptoms of all the common illnesses kids get all the time. Symptoms can include
fever, even a mild one
cough (that you don’t have another clear reason for)
breathing difficulty
sore throat or runny nose (that you don’t have another clear reason for)
loss of taste or smell
headache (if with other s...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Cold and Flu Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Source Type: blogs
Treating mild hypothyroidism: Benefits still uncertain
Your thyroid, a tiny, butterfly-shaped gland located in front of your windpipe (trachea) and below your voice box (larynx) can have a profound impact on your health and well-being. Throughout life, your thyroid is constantly producing hormones that influence your metabolism. These hormones affect your mood, energy, body temperature, weight, heart, and more.
A brief overview of hypothyroidism
Your thyroid produces two kinds of thyroid hormones: T4, or thyroxine, and T3, or triiodothyronine. These hormones influence every cell, tissue, and organ in your body, from your muscles, bones, and skin to your digestive tract, brain,...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 28, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jeffrey Garber, MD, FACP, MACE Tags: Drugs and Supplements Heart Health Thyroid Disorders Source Type: blogs
Managing the new normal: Actively help your family weather the pandemic
When the pandemic first began earlier this year, it seemed like if we could just hunker down until perhaps summer, things would get better and we’d be able to get back to life as usual (or at least something similar to life as usual). We were in survival mode: we cut corners and made do, broke some parenting rules, and otherwise made choices we would never usually make. Because that’s what you do when you are in survival mode.
It’s now very clear that the pandemic is here for at least this school year, and survival mode is taking on a whole new meaning. It’s time to make new habits and routines specifically for the...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 25, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Behavioral Health Children's Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Lifestyle medicine for all: Healthy food comes first
“Lifestyle medicine is only for rich people, right?” a colleague asked me several years ago, questioning my involvement in this relatively new field of medicine that guides people toward healthy habits. This has been a common misperception, for sure.
But across the US, a revitalized brand of health activism is intent on bringing lifestyle medicine to a broader range of people. This is backed by a new effort from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine to engage communities most affected by chronic disease.
The first pillar of healthy lifestyle: Food is medicine
Lifestyle medicine is an evidence-based practice of hel...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 24, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Food as medicine Health Health care disparities Healthy Eating Source Type: blogs
CBD for chronic pain: The science doesn ’t match the marketing
If you ask health care providers about the most challenging condition to treat, chronic pain is mentioned frequently. By its nature, chronic pain is a complex and multidimensional experience. Pain perception is affected by our unique biology, our mood, our social environment, and past experiences. If you or a loved one is suffering from chronic pain, you already know the heavy burden.
People are looking for novel, nonaddictive ways to treat pain
Given the ongoing challenges of chronic pain management coupled with the consequences of the opioid epidemic, pain management practitioners and their patients are searching for eff...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 23, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Shafik Boyaji, MD Tags: Back Pain Marijuana Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Cough and cold season is arriving: Choose medicines safely
With the summer winding down and fall moving in, colder weather will arrive soon — along with cold and flu season. Millions of Americans get the common cold each year, often more than once. To counter coughs and runny noses, many will turn to over-the-counter (OTC) medications available for relief without a prescription.
Heading to the pharmacy for some relief? Read this first
While OTC medicines do not cure or shorten the common cold or flu, they can ease some symptoms. Finding a product that fits your needs, however, may not be so straightforward. A recent study evaluated brand-name OTC medications marketed as cold, al...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 22, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Katsiaryna Bykov, PharmD, ScD Tags: Cold and Flu Drugs and Supplements Health Infectious diseases Source Type: blogs
Discrimination, high blood pressure, and health disparities in African Americans
Over the past few months, we have all seen the results of significant disruption to daily life due to the COVID-19 pandemic, high levels of unemployment, and civil unrest driven by chronic racial injustice. These overlapping waves of societal insult have begun to bring necessary attention to the importance of health care disparities in the United States.
Direct links between stress, discrimination, racial injustice, and health outcomes occurring over one’s lifespan have not been well studied. But a recently published article in the journal Hypertension has looked at the connection between discrimination and increased ris...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 21, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Chester Hedgepeth, III, MD, PhD Tags: Health care disparities Hypertension and Stroke Source Type: blogs
Shorter dream-stage sleep may be related to earlier death
This study showed an association between reduced REM and increased mortality, but it did not demonstrate the cause of the association. REM deprivation could independently contribute to the development of numerous other diseases. The results apply more clearly to older adults, given that the age groups studied averaged in the 50s and 70s. Short REM may also be a marker of a sick or aging brain; less REM sleep has already been tied to a greater risk of dementia. Overall, ensuring adequate REM sleep is important to protecting your long-term health.
Getting better sleep in middle age and beyond
Maintaining good sleep should re...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 18, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Lawrence Epstein, MD Tags: Brain and cognitive health Fatigue Memory Sleep Source Type: blogs
Time for flu shots — getting one is more important than ever!
Wondering when to get your flu shot? The best time is before influenza (flu) starts circulating widely. For most people, September or October is ideal for protection through the whole flu season, as the immune response from the vaccine wanes over time. And while changes and restrictions due to COVID-19 may make getting a flu vaccine less convenient for some this year, the pandemic makes it more important than ever.
Why do I need to get a flu vaccine yearly?
Influenza A and Influenza B cause most cases of flu in humans. Both have many strains that constantly change, accumulating genetic mutations that disguise them from the...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 17, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Elise Merchant, MD Tags: Cold and Flu Coronavirus and COVID-19 Vaccines Source Type: blogs
Harvard Health Ad Watch: A feel-good message about a diabetes drug
This 60-second advertisement for Trulicity, a medication for diabetes, is one of the most feel-good medication commercials I’ve ever seen. The narrator never uses the scare tactic of so many other ads, listing the terrible things that could happen if you don’t take the treatment. Instead, from start to finish, music, images, and spoken words deliver empowering, encouraging messages focused on helping your body to do what it’s supposed to be doing despite having diabetes.
There’s a lot of good information here, but as in most direct-to-consumer health marketing there’s also some that’s missing. Let’s go throug...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 16, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Diabetes Drugs and Supplements Health Source Type: blogs
