6 things you need to know about herpes tests, according to doctors who administer them
(Kaleigh Fasanella/ Allure) — In a perfect world, testing for STIs would be as simple as taking an online quiz. You’d plug in your answers, hit submit, and boom: Seconds later, you’d have your outcome. More importantly, the results would be accurate. Unfortunately, in the case of certain sexually transmitted infections …
WHO wants to strip trans fats from global food supply in five years
(ABC News) — The World Health Organisation (WHO) wants industrially-produced trans fats — linked with 500,000 deaths worldwide each year — stripped out of the global food supply within five years.
Margarine, ghee, and hardened vegetable fats often contain industrially produced trans fats — and as they are also present in many …
Alcohol, tobacco cause more health harm than illegal drugs
(Robert Preidt/ HealthDay News) — It’s smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol — and not taking illegal drugs — that pose the greatest risks to people’s health, a new international study contends.
Researchers found that alcohol and tobacco use combined cost more than a quarter of a billion disability-adjusted …
Early treatment for HIV infection helps halt brain damage
(Bill Hathaway/ Yale News) — Soon after an individual’s initial infection with HIV, damage to brain volume and cortical thickness progressively worsens until anti-retroviral treatment is started, a new study shows.
“We knew HIV could cause neurological damage, but we did not know it happened so early in the infection,” said …
Nasal vaccine suspends peanut allergies in mice. Could humans be next?
(Luke Dormehl/ Digital Trends) — Imagine a vaccine that can “turn off” peanut allergies, an allergic reaction which affects more than 3 million people in the United States alone. Thanks to research carried out at Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center at the University of Michigan, such a dream might become a reality.
Researchers …
So is it cool to drink on antibiotics or not?
(Christina Stiehl/ Thrillist) — Not drinking on antibiotics is one of those common-sense health rules that’s a fact just because, like waiting 30 minutes after eating to swim, or peeing on a jellyfish sting to make it better.
It’s also a great excuse to use if you don’t feel like going out one night; most people …
Sitting in cars for long hours can cause blood clots: 5 ways to prevent them
(Express Drives) — We’ve all at some point been confined within the limited space in a car or bus or airplane during a long haul journey. While this causes utter discomfort even at the thought of it, we’ve sadly got more bad news. According to a new study, sitting in a confined space for long hours may increase the risk of developing …
Smoking pot — or cigarettes — daily can increase psychosis risk, study finds
(David Railton/ Medical News Today) — Two new studies report an increased risk of psychosis among smokers of not only marijuana, but tobacco, too.
The tobacco study has now been published in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, and the marijuana study — which was conducted by the same team — has now been published …
Quiet rest after learning helps us to remember the fine details
(Ana Sandoiu/ Medical News Today) — Most of us know that without sleep, we are unable to create new memories. But is simply resting — without falling into the dreamy state — for only 10 minutes after learning something enough for us to memorize it in fine detail? Recent research suggests so.
Sleep and memory are loving bedfellows. …