Nothing calls to mind nonsensical treatments and bizarre religious healing rituals as easily as the notion of Dark Age medicine. “The Saturday Night Live” sketch Medieval Barber Theodoric of York…
Category: Anthropology
Endometriosis afflicts millions of women, but few people feel comfortable talking about it
Endometriosis causes physical, sexual and emotional pain. About 190 million people around the globe have endometriosis, including one in 10 American women, but there has historically been a deafening silence…
Violent and disturbing war images from the Mideast can stir deep emotions − a PTSD expert explains how to protect yourself and your kids from overexposure
The past few years have been filled with a seemingly endless stream of painful stories and images coming from across the globe, including the loss of more than 3 million…
White patients are more likely than Black patients to be given opioid medication for pain in US emergency departments
White people who visit hospital emergency departments with pain are 26% more likely than Black people to be given opioid pain medications such as morphine. This was a key finding…
FDA advisory panel’s conclusion that oral phenylephrine is ineffective means consumers need to think twice when buying cold and flu meds
The ramp-up to cold and flu season is a bad time for consumers to learn that some of their most trusted go-to products don’t actually work. An advisory committee to…
Does chicken soup really help when you’re sick? A nutrition specialist explains what’s behind the beloved comfort food
Preparing a bowl of chicken soup for a loved one when they’re sick has been a common practice throughout the world for centuries. Today, generations from virtually every culture swear…
Health care workers gain 21% wage increase in pending agreement with Kaiser Permanente after historic strike
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions reached a tentative agreement with its employer on a new four-year contract on Oct. 13, 2023. They agreed following the largest documented strike of…
New treatment for postpartum depression offers hope, but the stigma attached to the condition still lingers
Postpartum depression can affect anyone, and it often sneaks in quietly, like a shadow in the corners of a new mother’s life. It presents significant challenges for around 1 in…
COVID-19 vaccine mandates have come and mostly gone in the US – an ethicist explains why their messy rollout matters for trust in public health
Ending pandemics is a social decision, not scientific. Governments and organizations rely on social, cultural and political considerations to decide when to officially declare the end of a pandemic. Ideally,…
