SpiritRx Services Health Blog

Researchers found that various probiotics seemed to improve symptoms in patients with clinical depression — at least in the short term.

As COVID-19 cases rise rapidly throughout the South, some scientists believe there could be an important, but overlooked factor in the spread of the virus in the region–air conditioning.

CT scans have been proven to help spot lung cancer early and save lives. Now, updated expert recommendations could double the number of Americans who are eligible for the yearly screening.

Deep sleep is essential for good health, and too little of it may shorten your life, a new study suggests.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, anxiety and depression are striking many in the LGBTQ+ community for the first time, researchers say.

A new study suggests that two types of blood pressure drugs might do double-duty, helping blood pressure and keeping colon cancer away, too.

See which vaccines your child will need before heading back to school.

If you’ve hesitated to get a dog because your kids are very young, new research suggests that the preschool years might be a good time to add a furry friend to the family.

A case of brain-eating amoeba has been confirmed in the Tampa area, according to the Florida Department of Health.

With dirty door handles, heavily trafficked toilet bowls and proximity to strangers, how can you protect yourself from COVID-19 in a public bathroom?

One marker, called thrombomodulin, was linked with survival among all patients. Measuring thrombomodulin might help doctors better treat patients, the researchers say.

The American Pyrotechnics Association, which represents the fireworks industry, says overall sales are breaking records.

A majority of just over 1,000 respondents said they used some type of alternative therapy, including marijuana, vitamins, herbs and minerals, plus mind-body therapies like exercise, mindfulness, massage and various diets.

The FBI said fraudsters are also trying to get people’s personal information as well as personal health information

Face masks or other face coverings are especially important because research shows that people become contagious before they start having symptoms or feeling ill.

Only 18% of severely sleep-deprived men and women were able to bank enough sleep to make up for chronic weekday sleep deficiencies.

The products, which were shipped to stores in Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Texas, have the establishment number “P-20728” printed on individual retail packages as well as product cases.

As COVID-19 has brought anxiety, worry, and social distancing, it has also brought piles and piles of trash and waste.

COVID-19 is being diagnosed in Hispanic communities at a disproportionately high rate, a new study of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area shows.

New research found that only 13% of dog owners and about one-third of cat owners exclusively fed their pets conventional pet foods as their main meals all of the time.

Happy couples apparently make good bedfellows. New research says that when happy couples sleep together, they tend to have more — and less disrupted — rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

The CDC has updated the list of underlying health conditions that put a person at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19.

Despite intensive testing over a wide time period, none of the 51 study patients afflicted with the reddened, tender toes came up positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Dorina Cadar, lead researcher on the new study, said the goal is to identify risk factors that are influenced by lifestyle so steps can be taken to prevent mental decline.

Not only have women been more likely than men to lose their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, but they are also shouldering more child care responsibilities at home, new research shows.

Could a cancer drug spare hospital patients from the ravages of severe COVID-19?

Poverty and crowded living conditions increase the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, a new study suggests.

Doctors have long noted links between severe COVID-19 and heart trouble, but a new study helps quantify the magnitude of the problem.

A new nonopioid pain reliever could be welcome news for people who have difficult-to-treat back pain.

Turns out that swearing can significantly increase your pain tolerance — but only if you use real swear words, and not G-rated versions that mimic them, British researchers report.

This week, the father of three reunited with the medical team who saved him to thank them properly.

Months into a global pandemic, some groups of Americans simply don’t know enough about COVID-19 to protect themselves and others against the highly infectious respiratory virus, a new study reports.

HIV may not be the death sentence it was 20 or 30 years ago, but people who are HIV-positive still face much shorter lives than other adults — even if they’re treated with medications that make the virus undetectable.

For 5 weeks, 90-year-old Joyce Hoffman was separated from her husband, Don, as she recovered from the coronavirus.

Texas, one of the first states to ease social distancing rules, has become a new COVID hotspot as officials deal with rising cases.

COVID-19 continues to spread even in the humid heat of summer, so it’s important to keep wearing masks and maintaining social distancing to prevent transmission.

Scientists are testing antiviral antibodies that aim to block the virus from infecting our cells, a treatment that could be ready before a vaccine.

If a loved one is dealing with COVID-19 at home, there are several steps you can take to aid in their recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic may be stressing out most people, but it has had a surprising upside for college students: They’re sleeping better.

The drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, could reduce the antiviral effectiveness of remdesivir, the FDA warned Monday

About 1 in 5 people worldwide has a least one underlying health condition that puts them at increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness, researchers say.

One Chicago jail is linked with nearly 16% of COVID-19 cases in the city and in Illinois, a new study finds.

Your dental appointment will not be the same, with changes from the waiting room to the dental chair, dentists say.

As COVID-19 closed gyms and forced people to hunker down at home, “Quarantine-15” jokes flooded the internet, referring to the weight gain that many anticipated.

In fact, headaches, dizziness, strokes, weakness, decreased alertness or other neurological symptoms can appear before the more commonly known symptoms of infection with the new coronavirus (known as SARS-COV-2), the researchers said.

Shool officials are discussing several scenarios, including opening schools, keeping them closed and a combination of both.

New studies find a much more comfortable swab test, performed by patients themselves, works just as well.

The grosser someone sounds when they cough or sneeze, the more likely you are to suspect they have a contagious infection — even if it’s not true.

HIV can reside in brain cells and spread the AIDS-causing virus to the body, a new study in mice indicates.

Pregnant women with COVID-19 who deliver by cesarean section may be at greater risk for complications that affect them and their babies, new research suggests.

Parents have to be comfortable talking about disparities — not just differences — and these conversations need to happen early and often.

Social restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic can be especially hard for people who can’t visit loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease who are in nursing homes.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, many doctors’ offices and clinics have made changes to protect patients, care providers and staff.

People have certain qualities they look for in a mate, and now a new study finds that a woman’s eggs may be choosy about sperm, too.

Work done by American scientists involving high-tech scans of the bodies of almost 64,000 fit young men (and some women), finds that Leonardo got very close to anatomical measurements collected today.

Scientists studying the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus — which causes COVID-19 — believe they’ve discovered why face masks might help limit transmission of the virus.

Alcohol and drug use is more common among older adults who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual than among their straight counterparts, a new study finds.

Have questions about the current state of the coronavirus pandemic? We have answers.

Of the more than 100 vaccines in development, eight are already in early human trials.

Famotidine, sold under the brand name Pepcid, appeared to improve symptoms in a group of 10 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, researchers reported online June 4 in the journal Gut.

A new study finds a much more comfortable swab test, performed by patients themselves, works just as well.

Doctors are concerned that for some COVID-19 survivors, their senses of smell and taste will never get back to normal.

Domestic violence cases rose after Los Angeles and Indianapolis introduced stay-at-home rules to help stop the spread of COVID-19, researchers say.

Critics say the study failed to account sufficiently for things that may have influenced their results, including how severe different cases were.

In search of an answer, researchers at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Mass., studied the effects of temperature, precipitation and sunlight (UV index) on the number of COVID-19 cases across the United States during the spring.

A new poll shows the majority of Americans questioned in a recent poll said that curbing the coronavirus is more important than trying to restart the economy.

The model relied on body mass index and obesity data collected in a 2011 study that tracked weight patterns among more than 15,500 children, from kindergarten through 5th grade.

This widespread practice has raised concerns about overstating testing numbers.

Filtering the air, keeping surfaces clean and keeping people apart are some of the challenges managers face as they try to reopen offices.

The new study included 770 hospital patients who hadn’t previously been diagnosed with coronavirus infection. Of those, 30 tested positive for COVID-19. Of those who tested positive, 22 had no symptoms — meaning the rate of positive tests among asymptomatic women was 2.9%.

For men with advanced prostate cancer, a new hormone therapy pill works better than standard injections — and carries a much lower risk of heart attack or stroke.

The coronavirus pandemic has been catastrophic for homeless people, ripping through overcrowded shelters where many of the residents test positive.

Wearing face masks the same house was 79% effective at curbing transmission, but only before symptoms emerge.

Cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who are otherwise generally healthy can and do survive the coronavirus, but the news isn’t as good for those who also had other medical issues.

Lots of people are using medical marijuana to treat their arthritis and other muscle aches and pains, often without consulting their doctor, a new study reports.

Very few people with autism receive two recommended genetic tests, a new study finds.

The coronavirus pandemic can be especially difficult for children and adults with autism and their families, experts say.

A new cruise ship study suggests that the number of people who are infected with the new coronavirus but have no symptoms may be much higher than believed.

A scientist who studies aerosols says everything she reads about COVID-19 points to a pathogen that travels through the air.

Singer and actor Daveed Diggs answers 10 questions.

Part of the increased risk among people with dementia may owe to high rates of new coronavirus infections in nursing homes. But this study suggests genetics may also be a factor.

Many people with high blood pressure may have an unrecognized hormonal condition driving their numbers up, a new study suggests.

For parents hoping their “picky” eater will grow out of it, a new study may be unwelcome news.

No matter where you live, nursing homes and assisted living facilities are now lethal centers for COVID-19 in the United States.

With businesses beginning to reopen, the National Safety Council (NSC) has tips for doing it right.

COVID-19 hasn’t increased the risk for stroke, but when a stroke occurs it’s more likely to be fatal, a new study finds.

If there’s such a thing as a “new normal” during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s a constant state of stress.

Face coverings may reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19, a new study suggests.

Chemical sunscreens offer the best protection and beat out those with mineral or natural ingredients such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, a new review from Consumer Reports finds.

Some pregnant women with COVID-19 do become severely ill, and the risk may be elevated for those who were obese or had conditions like asthma before pregnancy, a new study suggests.

New research says people under stay-at-home orders turning to online yoga as a way to manage the stress may be onto something.

Nearly 36,000 American lives would have been spared if strict social distancing measures had been enacted across the country just one week earlier than they were, new estimates suggest.

The now-trendy keto diet is said to turn fat into fuel. But a new, small study says it may also change the vast array of microbes residing in your gut (the microbiome).

New research suggests that recommendations against routine prostate cancer testing may have come at a steep price — more men getting diagnosed with advanced prostate cancers.

John and Annie Glenn were married for 73 years. John Glenn died in 2016.

Researchers said that obese patients with COVID-19 may have nearly three times the risk of developing what is known as a pulmonary embolism.

The coronavirus pandemic has breathed new life into a decades-old technique that can zap viruses and bacteria: ultraviolet light.

It’s not just your imagination — with everyone avoiding travel, the air is cleaner these days. Daily global carbon emissions fell by about one-sixth during the coronavirus pandemic.

As the drive towards a vaccine against the new coronavirus accelerates, there’s some good news: People with COVID-19 have robust immune responses against the virus, scientists say.

More sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt tested positive for the coronavirus for a second time.

Roughly 16 million Americans have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but only a fraction have access to a lifesaving treatment called pulmonary rehabilitation.

Jails and prisons are hotbeds for the spread of COVID-19, endangering both the inmates held within as well as the wider community, public health experts warn.

Statewide stay-at-home orders appear to help slow the spread of COVID-19 above and beyond other steps.

A small study found that a three-drug regimen, containing an interferon, helped hospitalized COVID-19 patients go home a few days sooner.

COVID-19 hits smokers much harder than nonsmokers, according to a new review.

Despite the developments, one recent Harvard study found that fewer than 10 states have done enough testing to safely reopen. But more communities have testing sites now than they did in March.

As COVID-19 continues to spread, there is growing evidence that children may be vulnerable to a rare but serious complication triggered by the infection that has features of Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome.

Older Americans were going hungry even before the coronavirus pandemic short-circuited the nation’s food supply, a new poll finds.

The test may miss coronavirus infections up to 48% of the time, a study found.

Sense of smell most often diminishes by the third day of infection with the new coronavirus, and many patients also lose their sense of taste at the same time, a new study finds.

The new coronavirus isn’t just attacking the lungs: New research shows it’s causing harm to the gastrointestinal tract, especially in more advanced cases of COVID-19.

New research suggests that eating more fruits or drinking more tea or red wine might help protect your brain.

As coronavirus pandemic restrictions are lifted, many Americans will face physical and mental health challenges — including fear and anxiety — as they return to work.

Women who drink a lot of sodas, sweetened juices and other sugary drinks are at greater risk of developing heart disease, a new study finds.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, rates of hospital admission and death from COVID-19 have been significantly higher in men than women.

A cough or other respiratory symptoms aren’t the only early signs of COVID-19 in children, according to researchers.

New research shows that PTSD can strike nurses, and suggests the new coronavirus may make things even worse for those on the front lines of the pandemic.

An experimental vaccine seems to give monkeys extended protection from an HIV-like infection — by “waking up” an arm of the immune system that vaccines normally do not.