Picture this: You’re at the drugstore, your throat is raw and irritated from a cold, and you’re looking for some fast relief. This is the perfect time to search for the best cough drops for a sore throat. While you’re walking down the cold and flu relief aisles of the store, you notice there are a ton of different cough drop brands and flavors to choose from. How do you know which is best for your symptoms?
Decades of National Suicide Prevention Policies Haven’t Slowed the Deaths
“When Pooja Mehta’s younger brother, Raj, died by suicide at 19 in March 2020, she felt “blindsided.”
Raj’s last text message was to his college lab partner about how to divide homework questions.
“You don’t say you’re going to take questions 1 through 15 if you’re planning to be dead one hour later,” said Mehta, 29, a mental health and suicide prevention advocate in Arlington, Virginia. She had been trained in Mental Health First Aid — a nationwide program that teaches how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness — yet she said her brother showed no signs of trouble.
Mehta said some people blamed her for Raj’s death because the two were living together during the covid-19 pandemic while Raj was attending classes online. Others said her training should have helped her recognize he was struggling.
But, Mehta said, “we act like we know everything there is to know about suicide prevention. We’ve done a really good job at developing solutions for a part of the problem, but we really don’t know enough.”
Raj’s death came in the midst of decades of unsuccessful attempts to tamp down suicide rates nationwide.”
What’s Behind Major Rise in Heart Failure Deaths?
Americans are dying of heart failure today at a higher rate than they did in 1999, reversing years of progress in reducing the death rate.
Telemedicine Usage Increased for Pediatric Asthma Following COVID-19 Pandemic
More pediatric patients with asthma have been using telemedicine since the COVID-19 pandemic and have been achieving similar outcomes, according to results of a study published in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: Global. Investigators also found this was particularly true for those with medical complexities and comorbidities, but at their institution, they found Black individuals were less likely to use telemedicine.
Ageism in Health Care is More Common Than You Might Think
“A recent study found that older people spend an average of 21 days a year on medical appointments. Kathleen Hayes can believe it.
Hayes lives in Chicago and has spent a lot of time lately taking her parents, who are both in their 80s, to doctor’s appointments. Her dad has Parkinson’s, and her mom has had a difficult recovery from a bad bout of Covid-19. As she’s sat in, Hayes has noticed some health care workers talk to her parents at top volume, to the point, she says, “that my father said to one, ‘I’m not deaf, you don’t have to yell.”
