The disease spread quickly, killing thousands of Americans a day.
Doctors had no effective treatments. There was no vaccine.
Parts of the country were locked down. The economy ground to a halt. Politicians were divided on whether to enforce quarantines or go about business as usual.
The year was 1918. Spanish flu was ravishing the nation. Although today’s COVID-19 crisis seems unprecedented, it’s not.… Read More
Most of us understand by now that COVID-19 is a disease of the lungs. It kills by destroying lung function.
But what you may not know is that our lungs are not only under assault from the coronavirus…a second factor is at work here. The air we breathe is also damaging our health.
Two new studies reveal that air pollution in the U.S.… Read More
There’s one reason: It causes acute respiratory distress syndrome or ARDS.
What makes coronavirus so dangerous? Why does it kill so many more people than other viruses like the flu?
If you get COVID-19 and you can avoid ARDS, chances are you’ll survive. But patients who get ARDS often don’t make it.
One study found that 45% of COVID-19 patients who develop ARDS die.… Read More
When you go in for a checkup, one of the first things they do is take your blood pressure. If your numbers are over 130/80, chances are you’ll be prescribed a hypertension drug.
But if you are older, taking the medication could send you to an early grave.
That may sound alarmist. But it’s exactly what scientists found in a major new study of 415,980 people.… Read More
We recently told you about a strange early symptom of COVID-19. Patients were reporting that they had lost their sense of smell.
Since we brought you that article, loss of sense of smell has become one of the widely accepted symptoms that doctors use to diagnose coronavirus.
Now, COVID-19 patients are reporting another bizarre, possible early warning sign: foot sores. Doctors in Spain, Italy, and France have noted patients with purple, chicken pox-like lesions on their toes.… Read More
Suddenly masks are everywhere.
Americans are taking seriously the CDC’s revised guidelines to wear masks in public at all times. The problem is that many of us find them uncomfortable. So we tug on them. We pull them down so our noses are exposed. Or we pull them off completely to speak.
That’s exactly what you shouldn’t do.
“Wearing a mask takes some getting used to,” says anesthesiologist Dr.… Read More