Your Health

Michael Pollan gave up caffeine entirely for three months while working on his audiobook, Caffeine. "I recommend it," he says of his time without the drug. "I had some great sleeps." But he didn't realize that a temporary "loss of confidence" and lack of

Michael Pollan Explains Caffeine Cravings (And Why You Don't Have To Quit)

4:51pm February 10, 2020

by Terry Gross

When Pollan decided to write about caffeine, he gave it up — cold turkey. "I just couldn't focus," he says. "I was irritable. I lost confidence." Caffeine reshapes the brain in surprising ways.

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A spoonful of honey makes the medicine...irrelevant. That's because honey works better than cough syrups to help with kids' coughs.

For Kid's Coughs, Swap The Over-The-Counter Syrups For Honey

9:28am February 08, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

For parents desperate to calm a kid's hacking cough, so the whole family can get some sleep, turns out there's evidence that a common kitchen ingredient works better than OTC medicine.

A delivery person wears a protective mask and suit as he delivers packages by bicycle on Saturday in Wuhan, China.

Does The New Coronavirus Spread Silently?

7:30pm February 05, 2020

by Richard Harris

Scientists are trying to figure out how often people without symptoms can transmit the novel coronavirus. If it happens a lot, that could complicate the response to the outbreak.

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"It's not going to be transported on a box," Dr. Michael Ison, an infectious disease specialist at Northwestern University, says of your chances of contracting the novel coronavirus from packages shipped from China.

No, You Won't Catch The New Coronavirus Via Packages Or Mail From China

6:01pm February 03, 2020

by Allison Aubrey

Experts in infectious disease say viruses such as the novel coronavirus don't survive long on surfaces, and there's no evidence from similar outbreaks that anyone got infected by handling a package.

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Sure, you can shoot your doctor an email, or hit the urgent care clinic when you have a sore throat. But those convenient alternatives may be less likely than regular visits to a primary provider to catch symptoms that ebb and flow, yet might signal a lar

Health & Safety

As Out-Of-Pocket Health Costs Rise, Insured Adults Are Seeking Less Primary Care

5:22pm February 03, 2020

by Elena Renken

When's the last time you checked in with your primary care provider? U.S. adults under age 65 made nearly 25% fewer visits to primary care providers in 2016 than in 2008, a big study finds.

The Institut Pasteur lab in Paris analyzes patient tests for respiratory viruses, including coronaviruses.

Your Questions About Wuhan Coronavirus, Answered

5:05pm January 30, 2020

Does the virus have an official name yet? Can I get the disease from touching goods shipped from China? How worried should we be in the U.S.? We answer questions from our readers.

Joshua Bates, a technical recruiter for a staffing firm, who lives in Charlotte, N.C., was "balance billed" by an out-of-network hospital after an emergency appendectomy.

Health & Safety

A $41,212 Surgery Bill Compounded A Patient's Appendicitis Pain

9:10pm January 29, 2020

by Julie Appleby

A young man averted disaster after a friend took him to the nearest hospital just before his appendix burst. But more than a year later, he's still facing a huge bill for his out-of-network surgery.

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Making sure to frequently give your hands a thorough scrub — with soap and for about as long as it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song a couple of times — can significantly cut your chances of catching the flu or other respiratory virus.

Worried About Catching The New Coronavirus? In The U.S., Flu Is A Bigger Threat

8:02pm January 29, 2020

by Allison Aubrey

At least 8,000 people have died from the flu in the U.S. this season. The good news: Easy steps you can take now to protect against the flu may also help you steer clear of the new coronavirus.

A surgical mask and an N95 respirator. Officials in China are urging citizens to wear masks in public to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But can a mask really keep you from catching the virus?

Face Masks: What Doctors Say About Their Role In Containing Coronavirus

2:03pm January 29, 2020

by Maria Godoy

Can a mask really keep you from catching the virus? To answer that, it helps to clarify which kinds of masks we're talking about.

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A Chicago woman in her 60s is the second U.S. citizen to become infected with the dangerous new coronavirus, health officials said.

Health & Safety

2nd U.S. Case Of Wuhan Coronavirus Confirmed

7:38pm January 24, 2020

by Rob Stein

Health officials announced that a second person in the United States is infected with the dangerous new coronavirus and that 50 more possible cases in the U.S. are under investigation.

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