The People's Perspective on MedicineArticles categorized as Infection Health Concerns
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The People's Perspective on Medicine© 2026 The People's Pharmacy
All Rights Reserved
The People's Perspective on MedicineLoading articles..
The People's Perspective on Medicine© 2026 The People's Pharmacy
All Rights Reserved
The FDA has a designation for drug reactions it considers especially worrisome: BOXED WARNING. Do prescribers warn patients? Not always!
Major medical and pharma stories for 2-27-26 in our new HEALTH IN A HURRY section, with context on why this week’s health news matters.
Extra zinc may help improve immune system response for those who are low in this vital nutrient. Don't overdose!
With flu season raging and colds making people sick, it's time to strengthen your immune system. How about NEWSTART?
A reader reports recovering quickly from a common cold thanks to oil of oregano taken early. Is it contaminated with heavy metals?
Flu, norovirus and measles are on the move! Our latest OUTBREAK UPDATE blends national data with real stories from readers. What's spreading?
Evidence is mounting that infections trigger chronic diseases like heart problems or dementia. Evolutionary biology offers clues.
Cleaner indoor air is an important step to avoid viral infections. How can you achieve it at home or at work?
Dr. Robynne Chutkan describes the importance of healthy gut microbes in helping the immune system control pathogens from the inside out.
Public health experts in the US and around the world are concerned about nightmare bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics.
A type of gum infection may put the immune system into overdrive and trigger autoantibodies and the development of rheumatoid arthritis.
Research links pathogens to heart attacks, strokes, and cognitive decline. Rethinking heart disease prevention could start with vaccination.
The aerobiome contains uncounted microscopic organisms. Some of them are pathogens that pose hidden dangers in the air.
The CDC provides infectious disease info to health professionals and the public. Why is it having trouble with this task?
Bird flu, also known as avian influenza virus (AIV) or H5N1 influenza, can affect cats as well as cattle, poultry and humans. Will it spread?
Air quality is key for breathing better. We discuss pollution from smoke as well as trouble with infection and inflammation.
An outbreak of active tuberculosis infections in Kansas has public health experts worried. What do you need to know about TB?
Norovirus is extremely contagious and is surging in the US! You can catch norovirus by breathing in viral particles? How can you avoid it?
Bacteriophages are nature's viral warriors. They attack bacteria and can overcome even those that have developed resistance to antibiotics.
Several research papers link low vitamin D levels to infection rates. We need clinical trials to see if supplements help you avoid infection.
The CDC is considering a change in its guidelines for behavior after COVID. People wouldn't have to self-isolate if they feel good.
Overuse of drugs, especially for food production, has led to antimicrobial resistant infections. These could become a huge challenge.
When it comes to COVID-19, lots of people just want to say: tell me when it's over! What lessons have we learned for the next time?
A reader shares the details of her condiment recipe. It is full of hot peppers and garlic, which may help people fight off colds.
Vegetarian diets provide important immunity-boosting nutrients such as vitamin C or vitamin A that help people avoid infection.
How do we separate a symptom from an underlying illness? An elevated temperature is often a response to infection. Should we lower a fever?
COVID-19 and many other diseases are caused by airborne germs. Revisiting ventilation and improving filtration of indoor air can reduce them.
If scientists use wastewater monitoring carefully, it could give us advanced warning of the next pandemic or serious infectious outbreak.
Influenza was virtually nonexistent for the last three years. But now we could be facing a very bad flu season. Australia is being hit hard!
When we pay attention to fixing sick buildings, the people in them become happier, healthier and more productive.
New biomarker technology uses the immune system's response to pathogens to identify the cause of an infection.
With cases of several viral illnesses rising, pharmacies report shortages of children's fever medicines. Some limit purchase of these drugs.
Dr. Cassandra Quave travels the world in her quest for nature's next medicines. Her work in ethnobotany is producing medications from plants.
Our expert guests explain the basics of avoiding germs, along with some surprising finer points. Which rooms are most likely to be germy?
In Memoriam: Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health responded to the Ebola epidemic of West Africa. He died far too young.
Plants like thyme and oregano produce compounds that give them their special smell and taste. They also have medicinal uses.
Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague, describes the failure of international systems that should have contained COVID-19.
Drug-resistant germs could cause untreatable infections. Scientists find they may spread from pigs to humans.
Getting a timely, accurate diagnosis is crucial for treatment. What questions should a patient ask to prevent diagnostic disasters?
Dr. Paul Ewald describes how microbes evolve and interact with our immune systems to become more or less virulent.
Noting President Trump's list of medications, readers wonder: can melatonin help in treating the coronavirus? It can help with sleep.
New research from Spain and Chicago indicates that people with very low vitamin D levels are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.
Can you prevent COVID-19 with a shot of MMR for adults? A new study will help answer this question, but we don't yet know.
You might imagine your immune system as an army fighting off invaders. What if it behaved more like a peacekeeping force to maintain harmony?
A study of SARS-2 antibodies in blood tests shows many more people were infected than tested. Yet the vast majority of us are still vulnerable to COVID-19.
How many people need to have antibodies to COVID-19 to offer herd immunity to others in their communities? We still have no answer to that question.
Our guests turned to bacteriophages to save a desperately ill, comatose patient infected with bacteria resistant to every known antibiotic.
A new study in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases says hydroxychloroquine worked. It saved lives! No, this wasn't a placebo-controlled trial.
A new H1N1 influenza virus from pigs can infect humans. Infectious disease specialists worry that this G4 virus could be a possible pandemic.
Dr. Tieraona Low Dog offers advice on vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements you can use to help keep your immune system strong and healthy.
When you flush the toilet, fine droplets become airborne. To reduce the risk that they will lead to infection, we all need to learn to close the lid.
A study of hamsters demonstrates that face masks can reduce transmission of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19.
Adequate sleep and taking several specific supplements could help you boost your resistance to infection. Don't overlook the probiotics.
Have you heard about the FDA recall of tetracycline made by Avet Pharmaceuticals? The capsules fail to dissolve as they should.
Focusing on for-profit health care rather than basic public health measures has left the US poorly prepared for a pandemic.
Proper hand-washing is critical in protecting you against a wide range of microbes, including C diff bacteria and COVID-19 viruses.
The WHO declared that the coronavirus spread has become a pandemic. People are panicking. The FDA is going after companies advertising unproven treatments.
Public health authorities acknowledge that it will be difficult to manage COVID-19. They urge us to prepare for significant disruption.
Cleaning your hands well is a crucial step in avoiding infection. Is hand sanitizer better for this purpose, or simply more convenient?
More cases of the coronavirus from Wuhan have been reported in the US. The center of the epidemic remains in China, though.
Wearing a face mask may help protect you from flu. What helps even more is for infected people to wear a mask if they can't stay at home.
The FDA objects to unproven claims that Purell hand sanitizers can disable dangerous viruses.
Public health experts are paying close attention to the spread of a new virus from Wuhan, China. It has already spread to many countries around the world.
Candida auris was virtually unknown a decade ago. Now it has acquired resistance to many antifungal medications and has caused infections around the world.
Herbal treatments for cough can help avoid overuse of antibiotics and prevent antibiotic resistance. Have you tried sage for sore throat & thyme for cough?
A surprising statin side effect has just been reported. How is it possible that after more than three decades we are still discovering statin side effects?
No one knows quite how many diagnostic errors doctors make each year, but the number is high. Some have serious or deadly consequences.
Would you be upset if your health professionals didn't wear white coats? Should they ditch their ties and jewelry? What about sterilizing the stethoscopes?
Drugs can't kill off many emerging superbugs. How can we protect ourselves from these lethal infections? Dalbavansin holds promise.
Privacy curtains, computer keyboards, soap dispensers and nebulizers could all be hiding places for drug-resistant germs like MRSA or Candida auris.
Good news–a three-step technique that takes 15 seconds works as well to get germs off hands as a 30-second six-step hand sanitizer routine.
Antibiotics can disrupt the balance of bacteria in the digestive tract. Will you recover from antibiotics more quickly if you take probiotics?
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose increasingly serious problems for health care providers. Some are turning to bacteriophage viruses to overcome them.
According to the CDC, chronic wasting disease (aka zombie deer disease) is spreading across the US. No human cases have been reported yet.
Norwegian scientists found a connection between infection and celiac disease among childre with genetic susceptibility to this autoimmune condition.
An unplanned pregnancy is life-changing. Why aren't women warned that antibiotics may interact with oral contraceptives? When 1+1=0 and 3!
An analysis of patient records demonstrates that perhaps a quarter of antibiotic prescriptions in the US are for inappropriate antibiotics.
Respiratory syncytial virus can cause a nasty cough. We don't have drugs to treat this problem, but research indicates tea from Japanese honeysuckle helps.
Flu season has begun and there will soon be flu near you. CDC advises vaccinations, and there are also medications that can help.
At last the FDA is warning doctors and patients about a life-threatening side effect: fluoroquinolone antibiotics and aortic aneurysm. Did it take too long?
Dosage variation prompted a manufacturer to recall ibuprofen for treating infants' fevers.
According to the CDC, 90 cases of the polio-like illness called acute flaccid myelitis have been confirmed so far in 2018.
The CDC calls it acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). Others call it polio-like illness. That's because it can lead to paralysis. For personal reasons I'm worried.
Trays in the security line at the airport may be handled by hundreds of people an hour. A study shows they are loaded with viruses, so wash your hands before and after screening.
Bacteriophages, viruses that fight bacteria, may help physicians reduce the burden of antibiotic resistance by offering an alternative to overcome infection.
What would you do if your were stranded on a desert island? What about if the power went out for several months? What are the best drugs in such extreme situations?
Even hospitals that follow disinfecting protocols scrupulously cannot guarantee that every endoscope is free from bacterial contamination.
Studies suggest that drinking the fermented milk product kefir can benefit the immune system and help you recover from an infection more rapidly.
An extensive microbial study found "a vast, resilient reservoir" of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wastewater pipes beneath a hospital.
Even after receiving appropriate and complete antibiotic treatment, some patients recovering from babesiosis develop severe anemia.
Chances are very good that if you take any prescription medicines some will be generics. In recent years high prices for generic drugs have prompted inquiry
Could exposure to sunlight boost the activity of white blood cells? The blue wave lengths help T cells move more quickly to where they are needed.
It is unseemly to say we told you so, but we have been hinting for quite a while that there was a generic drug scandal brewing. Has there been price fixing?
Infectious disease experts tell doctors and nurses to wash hands to reduce infections. How about shoes? They are also source of hospital germs
Public health officials are worried about new cases of a polio-like illness causing paralysis and even death in youngsters in Washington state.
Cat scratch fever can result in serious illness more often than was previously appreciated. To reduce the risk, control fleas and keep kitty indoors.
Microbiologists have done an impressive scientific study of the "five-second rule" that if food falls on the floor is grabbed immediately, it's OK.
We are overwhelmed by medical statistics. Though hundreds of thousands die from health care harm it has very little impact. A story is far more compelling.
The CDC has issued a travel warning for a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. The agency is trying to stop the spread of Zika virus into other areas.
A new study found that rehab hospitals are dangerous places where mistakes are common. Anyone entering such a facility needs vigilance and help from family.
The Office of the Inspector General says there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to efficient recalls and keeping food safe.
Don't beg for an antibiotic for a cold or sinus infection; too many antibiotic prescriptions are inappropriate and contribute to resistance.
Jet air dryers are pitted against paper towels in public facilities; which is best to dry your hands?
Pregnant women are being urged not to travel from the US to South American or Caribbean countries where Zika virus is prevalent.
Doctors love a long white coat. For many it is a way to distinguish themselves. But white coats, ties, long sleeves and jewelry can spread germs.
The winners of the 2015 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine were studying natural products and their derivatives that work against harmful parasites.
Drug prices have been out of control for years but it took the 5000 percent increase in the cost of Daraprim to wake up the American public. What changed?
Inadequate cleaning of hospital rooms contributes to infections being shared among patients; unfortunately, there is no consensus on how best to clean.
Doctors and nurses often come to work even when they are sick, exposing their patients to germs.
Although Communion wafers could spread germs in theory, researchers have had difficulty identifying cases where this has happened.
Deficiencies in sterility and stability have prompted FDA to close a compounding pharmacy in Fayetteville, NC.
Everyone, especially those serving food or drink to the public, needs to pay close attention to hand washing.
Xylitol-containing gum can reduce the likelihood of an ear infection and as a bonus can also lower the risk of getting dental cavities.
Are air dryers less likely to spread germs than paper towels in a public restroom?
Hand washing is not just about good hygiene, it's about infection control.
