Health and Fitness
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Ask the doctors: Stroke likely not caused by blood thinner, but worth reportingDec 05, 2025 9:54 am - Mother’s stroke after taking a prescribed blood thinner was probably caused by an underlying condition and not the medication. But it is OK to report the event to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration through its MedWatch program.
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US vaccine advisers say not all babies need a hepatitis B shot at birth
Dec 05, 2025 9:48 am - A federal vaccine advisory committee voted on Friday to end the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born.
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Along for the ride: Judson in Elgin named Bicycle Friendly UniversityDec 01, 2025 9:49 am - With holidays approaching, my annual book reviews offer suggestions for biking gift lists, your own or others. First, however, positive bicycling news: League of American Bicyclists recently awarded official Bicycle Friendly University status to three Illinois institutions on Nov. 13, including Elgin’s Judson University.
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Blaming some child deaths on COVID shots, FDA vows stricter vaccine rules
Nov 29, 2025 7:25 pm - The nation’s top vaccine regulator on Friday laid out a stricter approach for federal vaccine approvals, citing his team’s conclusion, without detailing the evidence, that coronavirus vaccines had contributed to the deaths of at least 10 children, according to an internal Food and Drug Administration email obtained by The Washington Post.
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Melodic medicine: Research shows music helps ease pain from surgery or illness
Nov 29, 2025 9:31 am - Nurse Rod Salaysay works with all kinds of instruments in the hospital: a thermometer, a stethoscope and sometimes his guitar and ukulele. “There’s often a cycle of worry, pain, anxiety in a hospital,” he said, “but you can help break that cycle with music.”
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Children’s health: How safe is that holiday gift for your kids?Nov 28, 2025 8:09 am - For many families, gift giving is one of the joys of the holiday season. Unfortunately, not all toys are as safe as they appear. Even popular, well-reviewed toys can pose serious safety risks, including choking or ingestion hazards that may lead to life-threatening complications.
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Ask the doctors: Strong bones aren’t built by calcium aloneNov 28, 2025 8:04 am - Calcium does not act alone in bone remodeling during perimenopause. It is tied to vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, phosphate and vitamin K — more specifically, vitamin K2.
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Patient advocate: New website is a medical library at your fingertipsNov 28, 2025 8:02 am - There’s a lot of medical misinformation out there, much of it promulgated by nonmedical individuals based on nothing more than assumptions and unwarranted conclusions. But what if you could find published, peer-reviewed answers to your medical questions, written in everyday language? Good news. You can!
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Trump administration says lower prices for 15 Medicare drugs will save taxpayers billions
Nov 26, 2025 8:10 pm - Pharmaceutical companies have agreed to slash the Medicare prices for 15 prescription drugs after months of negotiations, reductions that are expected to produce billions in savings for taxpayers and older adults, the Trump administration said.
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‘A rare breed’: At 90, this Arlington Heights runner is an ultramarathon manNov 23, 2025 8:58 am - Gene Bruckert, a 90-year-old Arlington Heights resident, has completed some 300 marathons and 300 ultramarathons since taking up long-distance running in retirement.