Health Glance
When Neil Brown got high on bath salts, he took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly. Brown survived, but authorities say others haven't been so lucky after snorting, injecting or smoking powders with such innocuous-sounding names as Ivory Wave, Red Dove and Vanilla Sky.
Some say the effects of the powders are as powerful as abusing methamphetamine. Increasingly, law enforcement agents and poison control centers say the bath salts with complex chemical names are an emerging menace in several U.S. states where authorities talk of banning their sale.
Officials fear bath salts are growing drug problem
Feds checking post-vaccine seizures in young kids
Government officials are investigating an apparent increase in fever-related seizures in young children after they got a flu shot. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said there have been 36 confirmed reports of seizures this flu season in children ages 6 months through 2 years.
The seizures occurred within one day after they were vaccinated with Fluzone, the only flu shot recommended in the United States for infants and very young children. Ten of the children were hospitalized, but all recovered.
Religious hospitals' restrictions sparking conflicts, scrutiny
In Texas, a Catholic bishop made two hospitals cease doing tube-tying operations for women who are not going to have more babies. In Oregon, another bishop cast a medical center out of his diocese for refusing to discontinue the same procedure.
In Arizona, a nun was excommunicated and the hospital where she works was expelled from the church after 116 years for allowing doctors to terminate a pregnancy to save a woman's life.
New Hospital Visitation Regulations for LGBT Families Go into Effect Tuesday
Moved by the tragic story of an LGBT family – Janice Langbehn, Lisa Pond and their children – who were kept apart as Lisa lay dying in a Miami hospital, President Obama issued a presidential memorandum in April 2010 directing the Department of Health and Human Services to develop regulations protecting hospital visitation rights. HRC has prepared a Hospital Visitation Guide.
Government finds up to half of Americans under 65 have preexisting conditions
As many as 129 million Americans under age 65 have medical problems that are red flags for health insurers, according to an analysis that marks the government's first attempt to quantify the number of people at risk of being rejected by insurance companies or paying more for coverage.
The secretary of health and human services released the study on Tuesday, hours before the House plans to begin considering a Republican bill that would repeal the new law to overhaul the health-care system.
Blood-thinning drug becomes risky after an injury
The blood-thinning drug warfarin is used by millions of people to prevent blood clots. However, people who suffer traumatic injuries while taking the medication are more likely to die.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University studied the outcomes of adults who were admitted to trauma centers. They found warfarin users were more likely to die from their injuries compared with non-warfarin users: 9.3% compared with 4.8%.
Drug used for male pattern baldness makes men impotent, grows man boobs
Here's a story that shows how the "cure" truly can be worse than the disease. Specifically, it's a true life horror story of how a Big Pharma drug prescribed frequently for totally benign conditions can produce serious, life altering side effects in men -- including loss of their sex drive, impotence, depression and even the growth of "man boobs".
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