Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Therapy Dogs Can Bring Joy And Relief To Hospitalized Kids -- But They Can Also Bring Superbugs
The Associated Press: Therapy Dogs Can Spread Superbugs To Kids, Hospital Finds
Therapy dogs can bring more than joy and comfort to hospitalized kids. They can also bring stubborn germs. Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore were suspicious that the dogs might pose an infection risk to patients with weakened immune systems. So they conducted some tests when Pippi, Poppy, Badger and Winnie visited 45 children getting cancer treatment. (Stobbe, 10/5)
The Washington Post: Primary Care Doctors Aren't So Important To Millenials
Calvin Brown doesn’t have a primary care doctor — and the peripatetic 23-year-old doesn’t want one. Since his graduation last year from the University of San Diego, Brown has held a series of jobs that have taken him to several California cities. “As a young person in a nomadic state,” Brown said, he prefers finding a walk-in clinic on the rare occasions when he’s sick. (Boodman, 10/6)
The Washington Post: Flu Can Be A Killer, But Some Refuse To Take A Shot
Latasha Haynes was 34 when she almost died of the flu last year. What started as a little coughing and fatigue ended with two blood transfusions and a diagnosis of congestive heart failure weeks later. Flu had caused damage to her heart muscles and the saclike tissue around it. She survived, but just barely, and it took her months to recover. Haynes, who has a photography business in Tacoma, Wash., and came down with the flu in January 2017, was one of the estimated 30.9 million people who got the flu during the 2016-2017 season. (Correll, 10/6)
The Washington Post: Breast Feeding Offers Some Surprising Benefits For Babies And Mothers
A mother’s milk, rich in an exquisitely tailored mix of fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals, provides all the nutrition a helpless infant requires — and more. Breast milk is thought to protect against disease, set up a healthy digestive system and even influence a child’s behavior. And yet we know a lot less about this important substance than we could, says lactation researcher Katie Hinde of Arizona State University. (Wessel, 10/6)
The New York Times: Flashy Science Hub And Vaping Parties Fail To Win Friends At W.H.O. Tobacco Talks
Up in the convention center balcony on Day 1 of the World Health Organization’s tobacco treaty negotiations last week, two men posted invitations to a party on the lake. The event, called the “Nicotine Is Not Your Enemy Soirée,” was held at La Potinière, a posh restaurant with views of the city’s soaring Jet d’Eau fountain and the Alps beyond. (Kaplan, 10/7)
The Washington Post: Allergy Treatments Offer Fixes For Itching And Sneezing
If you’re like me, you’re spending portions of your day rubbing your eyes and blowing your nose. It’s fall, which means ragweed is releasing pollen into the air — and people with ragweed allergies are trying to cope. If you’re like me, you think that by taking an antihistamine every day, you are doing all you can to keep your symptoms at bay. But otherwise, you muddle through your days, tissues by your side, secretly hoping for a hard frost to kill all those pollen-producing weeds. (Adams, 10/7)
NPR: Many Apps Promise To Put You To Sleep, Some Help Curb Insomnia
Paige Thesing has struggled with insomnia since high school. "It takes me a really long time to fall asleep — about four hours," she says. For years, her mornings were groggy and involved a "lot of coffee." After a year of trying sleep medication prescribed by her doctor, she turned to the internet for alternate solutions. About four months ago, she settled on a mobile phone meditation app called INSCAPE. (Chatterjee, 10/8)
The Washington Post: Good Memory Can Be Trained These Wizards Find
Let’s start with a number that many have come across in math class: pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It begins with 3.14159 . . . and carries on forever. It is infinite and irrational, never ending and never repeating, and people are drawn into its orbit. To some, the attraction is spiritual; to others, the pull may be explained by the “because it’s there” reasoning of mountaineers. Memory athletes — so called because of their intensive training in games of the mind — in particular are drawn to the endlessness of pi. (Hooper, 10/7)
CNN: 4 Ways Your Work Schedule Could Help You Live Longer
The number of hours you log at work each week can have a significant impact on your health and your longevity -- especially if you overwork. Based on full- and part-time workers' hours, people in the United States work an average eight hours every week day, adding up to 40 hours per week, according to 2017 data from the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Howard, 10/8)
The New York Times: Amputations And Lacerations: Your Front Lawn Is A Jungle
The accident typically happens on a spring or summer weekend, mostly to men, and the results can be severe: lacerations, fractures and even amputations. From 2006 to 2013, an estimated 51,151 people were injured while mowing the lawn, and 12,243 of them wound up losing a body part. (Bakalar, 10/5)
The Mercury News: Four Foods That Fight Aches And Pains Naturally
Wake up this morning with a nagging pain in your head or neck or back? You’re not alone. Chronic pain impacts about 116 million American adults, which is more than a third of the U.S. population. With more and more folks reluctant to pop pills to make the pain go away, medical experts are offering some alternatives. Cherries or ginger sound good? There are many foods that can help you manage pain. They may not be magic bullets, but there are some potentially pain-relieving foods that are worth giving a try. (D'Souza, 10/4)
