A year of COVID-19 lockdown is putting kids at risk of allergies and autoimmune diseases
(Byram W. Bridle/ The Conversation) — “Eat dirt!” is a phrase I remember well. It was in the title of an article published by Harvard University environmental health professor, Dr. Scott T. Weiss, and it captured my attention while I was learning about an immunological concept known as the “hygiene hypothesis.”
The core …
Why don’t we have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease?
(Donald Weaver/ The Conversation) — As a researcher who studies Alzheimer’s disease and a neurologist who cares for people with Alzheimer’s, I share in the frustration, indeed anger, of people and families when I tell them that I have no cure to offer.
Over the past year, scientists have tackled COVID-19, a previously unknown …
The best apps for dealing with anxiety
(RK Pendergrass/ Popular Science) — Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems, affecting more than 40 million US adults each year, and COVID-19 is only making matters worse.
There are dozens of anxiety-related apps available, offering options that range from guided meditation to the digital
How living life on a screen during COVID-19 affects your eyes
(Langis Michaud/ The Conversation) — Léa hated 2020. She missed out on a high school graduation ceremony, a class trip to Spain and her graduation dance. She was also deprived of the excitement that came with starting college — the welcome parties, living her first moments of adult life, taking responsibility for her career …
I had COVID-19 and now I can’t sleep
(Vanessa Hrvatin/ Ottawa Sun) — I was a bad sleeper as a kid, but made up for it over the last 15 years. I’m quick to snooze in the aisle seat of a plane and I’m out like a light as soon as my head hits a pillow. I’m also good at staying asleep — I rarely wake up in the middle of the night and if I do it’s usually for no more than five minutes. …
Lockdown ‘survival mode’ leaves parents of young children struggling
(Lindsay Bird/ CBC News) — The long days of Alert Level 5 in eastern Newfoundland are testing the limits of some parents of young children, as one mom calls her current situation similar to “survival mode,” as she struggles to balance family, career, and mental health.
Her house is a noisy one, with three children …
Learning to live with ulcerative colitis
(Linda Rogers/ Health Central) — Megan Starshak, now 36, was in Florida in 2002 for spring break when she had her first ulcerative colitis (UC) attack. The high school senior had gone out for a half-hour run with a cross-country teammate.
“During that time, I had three very, very urgent bowel movements that came out of nowhere,” …
Domestic violence calls in Canada almost doubled during COVID-19 pandemic
(Al Donato/ Huffington Post Canada) Canadian social service agencies are fielding almost double the number of domestic abuse reports as they did a year ago.
When the pandemic began last March, anti-violence advocates warned that abusers worldwide would use confinement to isolate people.
“Those rates are going …
Are Black people more likely to get dismissed when seeking medical care?
(Noor Ibrahim/ Global News) — Chantal Phillips still remembers the pain she experienced back in 2000.
At three years old, her mother took her to a Toronto doctor’s office for a urinary tract infection. She says, at the time, trying to urinate was too painful.
Phillips and her mom were out the door the same day …