Media Outlook News

On Media Outlook News:  Laughing so hard your sides split is one thing, but one woman has actually coughed so hard she broke a rib. When the 66-year-old woman, who has not been named in the report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, first went to see her doctor, it was thought she merely had the flu. She’d had a dry cough for two weeks and a pain in her right side, but the treatment she was given for the flu did nothing to ease her symptoms. When she went back to the doctor five days later, she lifted up her top to show a large dark mark on the right side of her torso, and it was clear there was another problem. The woman, from Massachusetts, underwent a CT scan which revealed that she had a displaced fracture of her ninth rib - the rib had broken and the two ends had separated. Further tests confirmed she had an infection with Bordetella pertussis, which causes whooping cough. This was despite the fact that she’d received a vaccine for the b...

On Media Outlook News:  The glossy-faced, dewy-skinned experts at  Glossier  just dropped a new addition to the skincare-as-makeup retailer’s collection that’s perfect for blemish-prone faces.  Aptly named “Solution,” this exfoliating skin perfector is Glossier’s answer to breakouts. Though it is the brand’s “most powerful formula yet,” it’s still surprisingly gentle for an exfoliator, using a light blend of acids to slough dead cells away rather than physical exfoliants like microbeads, grains and other harsh ingredients.   Instead, this concoction uses a combination of alpha hydroxy, beta hydroxy, and polyhydroxy acids that work together to break down the gluey bonds that stick dead skin cell to the healthy ones beneath them.  It’s used like a toner ― after cleansing, and before moisturizing. With daily use, Solution promises smaller pores, fewer blackheads and blemishes, and reduced redness after four weeks, in ad...

On Media Outlook News: W e expose the truth behind a ground-breaking pill that has many experts furious. Studies have revealed it boosts brain power by up to 89.2%, sharpens your mind and sky-rockets your energy levels. With such overwhelming evidence and media mention, the question is not whether the pill works, but whether it should be legal. Welcome To The Future  —  The use of a Legal Study Drug known as  Advanced IQ  has skyrocketed on college campuses across the US, Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and professional athletes since coming back on the market in April. It’s being touted as an Adderall replacement, and many students are taking full advantage of its availability to buy online without a prescription. There has been much controversy around this memory-enhancing pill, not only on college campuses, but also in the media. It first came into the spotlight when the movie became a box office hit and several blogs started comparing it to Advanced IQ. Sales of Advanc...

On Media Outlook News:  Obamacare   has returned to life in   Knoxville ,   Tennessee   ... at least for now. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee agreed Tuesday to return to the area's Obamacare exchange for 2018 -- if the state agrees to provide flexibility on several rules. The region had looked like it would be the first place in the country   Obamacare would fail after the last remaining insurer,  Humana   ( HUM ) , announced in February that it was pulling out. Had no other insurer stepped in, roughly 40,000 residents in the 16 counties around Knoxville would have been left with no choices on the exchange. The Trump administration and Congressional Republicans have pointed to Knoxville as an example of Obamacare's demise. Several insurers have followed Humana in withdrawing from selected markets nationwide, but so far, consumers in those areas would still have at least one carrier  ...

On Media Outlook News:  CITY HALL — The city and  Police Department   must do more to help Chicago police officers suffering from trauma suffered on the job after the Department of Justice investigation found that officers here commit suicide 60 percent more often than those in other departments, aldermen agreed Monday. Barbara West, the chief of the department's Bureau of Organizational Development, said officials are considering requiring officers to seek assistance from counselors after being involved in a "significant event" such as a shooting. However, West acknowledged that the Department of Justice investigation found that the department's employee assistance program was "understaffed and under-resourced" with just three clinicians to serve the Department’s roughly 13,500 sworn and unsworn personnel. By comparison, the Los Angeles Police Department, which is smaller than Chicago's force, has 11 clinicians, according Ald. Ed Burke (14th), ...

On Media Outlook News:  On a consistent basis, we all hear about the importance of healthy eating. Many people are making lifestyle changes in the form of their eating habits and are opting to go vegan or vegetarian. There has been criticism that a person being able to become a vegan or vegetarian has a lot to do with their access to food and the types of grocery stores in their area. Well, one young man is working to give more urban communities the option of healthy eating without having to depend on grocery stores. Robert “Rob Veggies” Horton is an urban farmer and community health activist who created the Trap Garden in February 2014. Horton is a native of St. Louis and moved to Nashville to attend Tennessee State University. While a student, he became frustrated with having to drive miles away from his home for a grocery store that had quality fresh products. He joined his alma mater’s community garden and thus the Trap Garden, a non-profit organization, was born. Wi...

When most people get a headache, a simple over-the-counter pain reliever and a few moments of quiet can usually do the trick. But for millions of Americans suffering from debilitating migraines, the pain can be so intense that relief may seem out of reach. Faced with a growing demand for solutions, researchers, drug companies and medical providers have sought out new treatment options. A widening class of medications, devices and alternative therapies is presenting those who suffer from moderate to severe migraines with various options to explore. A  study published  Monday in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine said acupuncture may be helpful in reducing the frequency of migraines and preventing attacks. How your mouth is linked to your migraines Researchers in China found that properly administered acupuncture therapy may reduce the frequency of the most common types of migraines. The research, which builds on a body of knowledge from smaller st...

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia health officials say there are now 40 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A that are connected to frozen strawberries used at Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations across the state, up from 28 cases less than a week ago. The Virginia Department of Health said in a news release Monday that about 55 percent of the infected residents have been hospitalized. There are more than 500 of the smoothie franchises across the country, and Virginia is not the only state affected All the potentially contaminated Egyptian-sourced berries were pulled from the 96 Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in Virginia no later than Aug. 8 or Aug. 9. Officials say more cases could emerge, since some symptoms take as many as 50 days to emerge. The Hepatitis A virus affects the liver.

Inherited differences in taste perceptions may help explain why some people eat more salt than recommended, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2016. "Genetic factors that influence taste aren't necessarily obvious to people, but they can impact heart health by influencing the foods they select," said lead author Jennifer Smith, B.S.N., R.N., a Ph.D. student at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. Previous research, according to the authors, showed that people who have one of the two most common variants of a gene (TAS2R38) that enhances bitter taste perception are likely to avoid heart-healthy foods with bitter properties, such as broccoli and dark leafy greens. In the current study, researchers sought to determine whether that bitter-enhancing genetic variations would also influence other food choices. Researchers analyzed the diet habits of 407 people (average age 51, 73 percent fem...

Welcome to Doctors’ Notes, our newest contribution from Urban Health correspondents and husband and wife physicians Dr. Rob and Dr. Karla Robinson.  The dynamic duo will be fielding questions about health, as it relates to African Americans.   Although it affects approximately 1 out of every 365 children born in the African-American community, sickle cell disease remains a health issue that is often misunderstood. As a 38-year-old female living with sickle cell disease, Ensia Yaisreal is on a mission to change that.  Once believing she would never live beyond 21 years of age, Yaisreal now knows she’s living a life of purpose to be a voice for those affected by this disease. Sickle cell disease, is a genetic condition that affects the shape and function of red blood cells. Red blood cells, normally round in shape, are responsible for carrying oxygen to the organs and tissues in the body. When people have sickle cell disease, their red blood cells...