Coronavirus is officially a pandemic, and Americans are adopting “social distancing” to prevent a surge in potential illnesses and death. So, what if you run a fever or experience shortness of breath? Should that send you running to an emergency room? Not necessarily, since most coronavirus cases are mild and there’s no need to panic, experts note. The first thing to do is match your symptoms to those experienced by COVID-19 patients, said Dr. William Jaquis, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Fever, a dry cough and shortness of breath are the three most common symptoms, Jaquis said. Headaches, body aches, sore throat and fatigue sometimes occur but are more often associated with the flu, medical experts say. A runny nose rarely occurs with COVID-19, and sneezing is not a symptom of the virus. Next, assess the severity of your symptoms. Don’t just rush to the hospital. If you can still breathe reasonably well or your fever responds to over-the-counter remedies like acetaminophen (Tylenol), you should call your family doctor to discuss your best options for care, experts say. According to Dr. Aimee Moulin, an emergency medicine physician with the University of California, Davis, “If your symptoms are mild, you can reach out to your primary care physician, and if you feel like you can manage at home, folks are advised to…  read on >

Vaccines protect you and your family against a number of diseases, so it’s crucial to keep them updated, health experts say. “It’s important to review your vaccination records with your health care provider,” said Libby Richards, associate professor of nursing at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. “Vaccinations aren’t just for kids. Adults need them, too.” Which shots adults need depends on age and health history. Vaccines help the immune system fight infections faster and more effectively. Common vaccinations include shingles, pneumonia, Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), influenza, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), hepatitis A and B and human papillomavirus (HPV), along with others. Flu vaccination is particularly important, especially in severe flu seasons, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You need a flu shot every year, Richards noted. Since October, at least 26 million Americans have had the flu, resulting in the deaths of at least 14,000 adults and 92 children. In its latest update on Feb. 14, the CDC said flu activity remains high in the United States. Even if you had other vaccines in childhood, their effectiveness can weaken over time, so you may no longer be protected, Richards said. “Pertussis — whooping cough — and tetanus vaccines are perfect examples of vaccines that require booster shots throughout one’s life,” she said in a university news release. Shingles vaccines…  read on >

More than 200,000 people in the United States have pulmonary fibrosis, but more than eight in 10 Americans don’t know the symptoms of the lung disease, a new survey finds. Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive disease that causes scarring of the lungs. Symptoms include persistent, dry cough, shortness of breath and fatigue. There is no known cure. An online survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults was conducted by the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, and found that 86% did not know the symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis. The most common form of pulmonary fibrosis is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which has no known cause. Certain people are at increased risk for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, including those older than 60 and those with a history of smoking. But the survey found that among respondents aged 60 and older, 91% didn’t know the symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis and 96% had never talked to their doctor about the disease. The rates among current or former smokers were more than 80% and 91%, respectively. People with a history of smoking were three times more likely to have pulmonary fibrosis or know someone affected by the disease, the findings showed. “Awareness of pulmonary fibrosis and its symptoms remains very low, and for many, the first time they hear of it is when they are diagnosed,” said William Schmidt, president and CEO of the…  read on >

Few heartbreaks are as devastating as when a beloved family dog falls ill with cancer. But a new research paper could spur development of more and better treatments for a canine companion who has a brain tumor — because it’s possible that those same therapies will help human kids, too. Dogs’ brain cancers are genetically akin to those found in children, a new study in the journal Cancer Cell reports. “These dog tumors were much more similar to the tumors we find in kids than the tumors we find in adults,” said senior researcher Roel Verhaak, associate director of computational biology at The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, Conn. “This is important because it means whatever results we find in preclinical experimental therapy studies involving canines is going to be most applicable — and maybe even only applicable — to children’s brain tumors,” he added. Striving to cure pet dogs with brain tumors and learning which therapies work best — and why — could inform cancer treatments for children with these tumors, the researchers concluded. It’s been thought for some time that family dogs might be better for testing experimental cancer drugs than lab animals like mice or monkeys, said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. That’s because dogs live tightly alongside humans, sharing the same exposures from home and…  read on >