There’s no avoiding risk in life – or even on an ordinary day. When you get in the shower, you could slip. If you text when you drive, you could hit the car in front of you. 

These are the sorts of risks we are willing to take (or not take) without hesitation, without anxiety, without calling others for advice. After all, most falls among people 65 and older happen in the bathroom, yet most seniors aren’t afraid to shower.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began a year ago, a lot of pundits, experts and epidemiologists have been talking about herd immunity. Herd immunity occurs when a high percentage of a population achieves immunity to a disease, either through exposure or vaccination, making spread of the disease unlikely, even among those who are not immune.
We hope that if we can achieve herd immunity, we’ll be able to go back to normal. But some scientists are uncertain that herd immunity is achievable for this coronavirus and a lot is up for a lot of debate.

It was March 11 last year when the World Health Organization first announced that the coronavirus had reached pandemic stage. At the time, there were 118,000 cases in 114 countries. A year later and there are more than 114 million cases and 2.5 million deaths worldwide.

If you have asthma, there’s a good chance that you’ll be prescribed a steroidal medication to ease airway constriction, coughing and wheezing. However, taking steroid inhalers or tablets to manage asthma or treat flare-ups raises your risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures, according to a study published in Thorax.

Now that there are three vaccines approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, you may be tempted to shop around to find a particular one. Some people may want the convenience of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose shot and its low rate of side effects. Others may be interested in the extremely high efficacy of the Pfizer and Moderna two-shot mRNA vaccines. 

If you’ve had one of the three coronavirus vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has some good news for you: You can get together with small groups of other people who have been fully vaccinated and ditch some precautions. That’s right: No mask, no social distancing.

Can Stress Cause Gray Hair?

The answer to this question is YES.

Most of us appreciate the wisdom that comes with age, but not the gray hair. Age and genes are probably the most widely accepted reasons for hair color loss. But thyroid conditions and low vitamin B12 levels also can play a role, as can stress, according a study published in Nature.   

Putting on a cloth mask over a surgical or medical mask can help reduce the spread of the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. 

How to Get Screened for Cancer & When: Talk to Your PCP

“You have cancer” are three words you never want to hear. The dreaded disease is associated with grueling treatments and claims more than 600,000 American lives each year. But there is some good news: United States cancer deaths rates fell by 2.4 percent between 2017 and 2018. This is a record amount and contributes to an overall 31 percent plummet since 1991, which equals about 3.2 million fewer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society's 2021 Cancer Statistics report. 

How Often are Dietary Guidelines Updated?

Every five years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Agriculture join forces to release the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.