Health

2 hours agoNewsDuration 2:55Originally touted as a healthier option than cigarettes, statistics show vaping’s popularity is rising among young people in Quebec. Health experts say it’s now become a public health issue, and they’re trying to develop ways to help people stop. Source link

The health unit for Oxford County, Elgin County and the City of St. Thomas is dealing with almost half of the measles cases in Ontario with 228 people infected, predominantly in unvaccinated kids. The medical officer of health for Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) said Thursday that 28 new cases were reported this past week. He also debunked a misconception circulating in the community that getting the measles provides total immunity. "While getting measles can result in natural immunity, being infected with measles carries significant health risks, including pneumonia, brain infections and brain swelling," said Dr. Ninh Tran. "And for pregnant people, measles can cause low birth weight for the baby, preterm and miscarriage." There have been 470 measles cases since an outbreak began in Oct...

The Alberta government has issued a letter of apology to a former assistant chief medical examiner, with the province saying no miscarriages of justice resulted from his work and he was "treated unfairly." The apology comes more than a decade after Dr. Evan Matshes launched a $30-million lawsuit against the province, arguing he'd been the subject of a smear campaign intended to cause him reputational harm and ruin his career.Matshes worked as Alberta's assistant chief medical examiner in Calgary in 2010 and 2011."Dr. Matshes was treated unfairly in the events of these matters and the government of Alberta regrets the harm done to the reputation of Dr. Matshes," said the letter from the provincial justice ministry dated Feb 14.  "The government of Alberta unequivocally states that the alleg...

Much ADHD content on TikTok is inaccurate, and this has potentially influenced how young adults perceive the disorder, according to a recent UBC study. The study analyzed the 100 most viewed TikToks related to ADHD and found less than half the claims about symptoms actually align with clinical guidelines for diagnosing the disorder. And it found those who consumed more ADHD-related content were more likely to recommend the videos to others — and to overestimate the prevalence and severity of ADHD in the general population. "Most of them come from a really good place," said Vasilea Karasavva, a PhD student at UBC who led the study."But words have power. When you have a platform, you yield a certain amount of power, and you have to be a little careful about that."ADHD (attention deficit hype...

At the end of the fourth round in a six-round fight on Aug. 28, 2021, Jeanette Zacarias Zapata went into convulsions.A left uppercut and a right hook from her opponent were among the string of punches that had become too much to overcome for the 18-year-old Mexican boxer.Her trainer, on-site paramedics and a doctor assigned to the event rushed into the ring to assist her as she lay unconscious at Montreal's IGA stadium.It was Zapata's sixth — and last — professional fight. She died five days later at Sacré-Coeur-de-Montréal Hospital.Her death came three and a half months after she had suffered a concussion in a knockout loss in her home country."This interview is really difficult for me," Irene Zapata, the deceased boxer's mother, told Radio-Canada's Enquête investigative team, while sitti...

The provincial government has for years kept a hand in the contracting-out of private surgeries through Alberta Health Services, despite repeated comments by the premier and health minister that any potential issues with procurement are AHS's own responsibility.Multiple documents obtained by CBC News show direct interventions by Alberta's health minister into AHS contracting matters, as well as entities specifically set up to give the health ministry more oversight and influence in recruiting and dealing with private contractors.The RCMP, auditor general and the government itself have launched investigations into AHS contracting in the wake of allegations made by former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos, including those in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit.Statements of defence from both Health Min...

Bird flu is at a dangerous point in the United States: Nearly 167 million birds have been impacted by the H5N1 strain since 2022, and 70 people have been infected. Now, birds are flying our way for the spring migration season.A snow goose near Montreal, a great horned owl in southwestern Ontario, a Canada goose in Langley, B.C. — these are just some of the wild birds that have recently tested positive for H5N1 in Canada. But scientists are bracing for more, and are ramping up their efforts to monitor and curb the virus this season.This winter has seen more outbreaks of H5N1 than usual, said Dr. Manon Racicot, a veterinary epidemiologist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que."Now that the birds are coming back north for the migration, we don't really know w...

Marcie McIlveen never thought she'd work in a hospital.Due to her negative experiences in treatment for substance use disorder on about 14 occasions, "I hated health care, did not like it, wanted nothing to do with it," McIlveen said.What she endured, however, has led to the work she does today. McIlveen is a peer support supervisor of a new St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton project — it involves people who've experienced addiction offering support to patients in the substance use program.Peer supporters keep patients company, get them comfort items and talk through problems.So how did someone who loathed hospitals end up spearheading a pilot? It started with handing out lunches to people in need. About five years ago, McIlveen was sober and looking for work. She started a job giving out fo...

As astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams get their land legs back on Earth, the effects of being stranded in space for nine months — and their recovery — will give scientists a chance to improve preparations for eventual, and even longer, space flights, say experts.NASA aims to send humans to Mars as early as the 2030s; flights which, there and back, could take 21 months. "The extreme environment of space, the radiation, the lack of gravity, even just those confined spaces, it can really take a toll on our health," said Dr. Farhan Asrar, associate dean of clinical faculty relations at Toronto Metropolitan University's medical school, who researches space medicine."Literally I would say pretty much from head to toe it can cause issues."Without gravity, bodily fluids shift upward, leadi...

As concerns about measles grow, and case counts tick up, health-care workers are preparing for a surge and pleading with Albertans to ensure they're fully vaccinated.Alberta Health said there were 11 confirmed cases in the province as of Monday afternoon, including one in the Calgary zone, two in the Edmonton zone and eight in the north zone.One person is currently hospitalized with the highly contagious virus.The youngest Albertan confirmed with measles at this time is a baby under one year of age, and the oldest is an adult between the ages of 35 and 54. According to Alberta Health, the age breakdown is as follows: Under one: 1 case Ages 1-4: 3 cases Ages 5 -9: 4 cases Ages 10-14: 2 cases Ages 35-54: 1 case "I think we're just at the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Sidd Thakore,...