Recent Blog Articles
New urine test may help some men with elevated PSA avoid biopsy
Dupuytren's contracture of the hand
Why play? Early games build bonds and brain
Moving from couch to 5K
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals
Tick season is expanding: Protect yourself against Lyme disease
What? Another medical form to fill out?
How do trees and green spaces enhance our health?
A muscle-building obsession in boys: What to know and do
Harvard Health Ad Watch: New drug, old song, clever tagline
Cold & Flu Archive
Articles
Do antibacterial soaps really work?
Soaps with added “antibacterial” chemicals are not better at protecting people against infection and illness. The added chemicals may be harmful.
Is it too late to get a flu shot?
The best time to get an annual flu shot is in mid-October. However, it’s not too late to get the shot in December, since people are still at risk of getting flu for several more months.
Irrigation better than steam in relieving nasal symptoms
Nasal irrigation using a neti pot was more effective than inhaling steam in relieving chronic sinus symptoms in a large randomized study.
Flu vaccine offers benefits to patients with heart failure
New research found that heart failure patients who had a flu shot had a 30% lower risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular disease, 16% lower risk of hospitalization for respiratory infections, and a 4% lower risk of hospitalization in general.
A bummer for kids: Nasal flu vaccine not effective
For years, many kids could skip the traditional flu “shot” — along with the tears — and still be protected by the nasal spray vaccine also known as the LAIV (live attenuated influenza vaccine). But not this year. Studies now show that the nasal vaccine is quite ineffective, and pediatricians are starting to change their flu recommendations from a nose squirt to a shot.
Hold off before taking antibiotics for respiratory infections, study suggests
A Spanish clinical trial of 400 people—two-thirds of whom were women—has indicated that waiting to fill an antibiotic prescription may be a good idea for people with sniffles, coughs, sore throats, and other respiratory symptoms.
Researchers recruited volunteers who sought care for respiratory symptoms in primary care clinics throughout Spain. The volunteers were randomly assigned to four equal groups. One was given antibiotics and told to take them immediately. Another was sent home without antibiotics but told to return to the clinic if they hadn't improved after several days. The two remaining groups were told to wait to take antibiotics—one was asked to return to the clinic to get their mediation after three days; the other group was given an antibiotic, but told to take the medication only if their symptoms hadn't improved after five to 10 days.
What you should know about antiviral drugs
Flu season still has a few months left, and it is not too late to get a flu shot if you have not done so already.
Image: Thinkstock
They may help reduce symptoms of the flu, but they're not for everyone.
In the journals: Flu-fighting drugs don't prevent spread to others
If you start taking an antiviral medication after catching the flu, will it keep your family members from catching the bug, too? Maybe not, according to a study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The prescription antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) can cut a case of the flu short by suppressing the virus's overpowering urge to copy itself inside you. Less viral "shedding" by the body could, hypothetically, make it less likely that people who live in the same house will also get sick.
Kids and flu shots: Two common myths
“Last time I got the flu shot, it actually made me sick!” “My kids are perfectly healthy. They’ll be fine.” You’ve probably heard a version of these two before. These flu shot myths are so persistent that they prevent countless numbers of people from getting vaccinated each year. We’ve debunked these claims here to help you make your flu shot decision based on facts — not myths.
Recent Blog Articles
New urine test may help some men with elevated PSA avoid biopsy
Dupuytren's contracture of the hand
Why play? Early games build bonds and brain
Moving from couch to 5K
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals
Tick season is expanding: Protect yourself against Lyme disease
What? Another medical form to fill out?
How do trees and green spaces enhance our health?
A muscle-building obsession in boys: What to know and do
Harvard Health Ad Watch: New drug, old song, clever tagline
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