Panic buying of masks puts health care workers’ ‘lives at risk,’ WHO says

A doctor wearing a mask while working at El Alto International Airport in Bolivia. Photo by AIZAR RALDES/AFP via Getty Images A shortage of masks, gloves, and other protective gear “is putting lives at risk from the new coronavirus and other infectious diseases” warned the World Health Organization (WHO) in a statement on Tuesday. A frightened public has been buying up masks and other equipment, leaving limited supplies for health care workers who need the gear the most. Masks can be useful for people who are sick with a respiratory virus to keep…

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Getting tonsils removed puts you at risk of flu, asthma and pneumonia

If you have had your tonsils removed in childhood, you may want to read this. A new study by the University of Melbourne in Australia and University of Copenhagen in Denmark found that removing tonsils and adenoids in childhood increases the risk of diseases like asthma, influenza and pneumonia. The scientists examined the long-term effects of these common paediatric surgeries for the first time. The adenoids and tonsils are strategically positioned in the nose and throat respectively to act as the first line of defence, helping to recognise airborne pathogens like bacteria…

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Do your kids skip breakfast? Here’s how doing so puts their health at great risk

Is it “too early” to eat? Is there no time before school? Your children may be putting themselves at risk of malnutrition by skipping breakfast. A study by the King’s College London found that children who skip breakfast regularly may not be consuming the recommended daily amounts of key nutrients required for growth and development. Children who ate breakfast every day were deemed to have overall superior nutritional profiles compared to those who didn’t. While the study was unable to identify a causal link, these children were found to have…

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Here’s how leaky calcium puts epileptics at heart risk

Here’s how leaky calcium puts epileptics at heart risk (Keith Brofsky/Getty Images) Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) has long bedeviled doctors and now, a team of researchers may have found the cause of it. In a paper, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine reported how a mutation in a gene involved in the regulation of calcium inside brain cells can help trigger blackouts of the brainstem, the center that controls heartbeat and breathing, and increase the risk of sudden unexpected death. “SUDEP turns out to be the most common…

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