There’s a lot of confusion about medications and COVID-19, so experts offer some answers. There are no proven drug treatments for the illness caused by the new coronavirus, so doctors sometimes use drugs approved for other conditions to treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients. This is called off-label use. One drug being investigated as a possible COVID-19 treatment is hydroxychloroquine, which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat malaria, but widely used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Hydroxychloroquine, often combined with the antibiotic azithromycin, has been touted as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Neither of the medications are antivirals, and the combination has been shown to cause heart problems in some patients. Some people wonder if they should take hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19. The answer is definitely no, said Chris Bland and Tim Brown, from the University of Georgia’s College of Pharmacy. “I don’t believe at this time that anybody outside of the hospital setting should be a candidate for these two medications used together for COVID-19,” Bland said in a university news release. “In the hospital, we can perform cardiac monitoring of these patients to ensure safety. There are very limited data for effectiveness with definite risk of cardiac toxicity,” Bland said. “That’s why we don’t recommend it to outpatients.” The experimental antiviral drug remdesivir shows…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the issuance of all green cards in the United States will be suspended for 60 days as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic. The halt will not stop temporary workers on nonimmigrant visas from entering the United States, the Washington Post reported. “I will be issuing a temporary suspension of immigration into the United States,” Trump said during a coronavirus media briefing. “By pausing, we’ll help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs.” Broad restrictions have already been placed on travel from Europe, China and other coronavirus hot spots. Meanwhile, a $484 billion deal to replenish a small business loan program that has run out of funding and to devote more money to hospitals and COVID-19 testing was passed by the Senate on Tuesday. The House is expected to approve the measure on Thursday, and Trump has said he would sign it into law. The legislation would add $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, the Post reported. It would also boost a separate small business emergency grant and loan program by $60 billion, and direct $75 billion to hospitals and $25 billion to a new coronavirus testing program. Coronavirus was circulating weeks earlier than thought In news that suggests the new coronavirus was circulating in the United States weeks earlier than thought, California health…  read on >

The coronavirus pandemic has supercharged the financial stress that already plagues many Americans, an expert says. About half of Americans lived paycheck to paycheck before the pandemic, according to a recent survey from First National Bank of Omaha, and now many have lost their jobs. “The pervasive financial stress the majority of Americans feel is now on steroids, as most Americans did not have savings before this crisis hit,” said Julie Kalkowski, executive director of the Financial Hope Collaborative at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. “Knowing that you are not in this alone is important to keep in mind as you move forward,” she added. Kalkowski manages a School of Business program that educates people about the psychology of money, tracking expenses, saving for emergencies and repairing credit. She offered this advice on how to reduce financial anxiety both during and after the coronavirus pandemic: Don’t panic. Don’t use credit cards or payday loans to deal with your debt. Their high interest rates can do long-term financial harm. Instead, seek out creative solutions such as contacting landlords, utilities and creditors to negotiate payment plans. And, don’t ignore bills. Doing so can make a bad financial situation worse. Beware of swindlers. Scams are proliferating right now. Thoroughly vet any offers by making additional calls and/or seeking out more information from trusted sources online. If an offer…  read on >

For those with heart problems, home-based rehab can take the place of hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation during the current coronavirus pandemic, heart experts say. “Home-based cardiac rehab is a solution to help provide cardiac rehabilitation to patients with heart disease in a home setting, and to help them survive and thrive during this challenging period of time,” said Dr. Randal Thomas. He’s a preventive cardiologist and medical director of the Mayo Clinic’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, in Rochester, Minn. “Home-based cardiac rehabilitation is much more than just going for a walk at home,” Thomas said in a clinic news release. “It is a structured, standardized, evidence-based approach to apply all therapies — lifestyle, medication and otherwise — that are known to help people with heart disease do better, feel better and live longer.” Mayo Clinic has used home-based cardiac rehab with a small number of patients over the years, but the coronavirus pandemic has made it necessary to transition all cardiac rehab to home-based settings in a matter of weeks. If you qualify for cardiac rehab, ask your care provider if at-home rehabilitation is an option for you as well. According to Thomas, there are many reasons why home-based cardiac rehab is so important right now. A big advantage of home rehab is that it keeps patients out of the hospital. Home rehab also ensures that patients…  read on >

If you’re one of the many people making your own cleaning products at home because you can’t find them in stores, you need to be sure what you make is safe and effective, an environmental medicine expert says. Do-it-yourself (DIY) cleaning products made from ingredients such as vinegar, essential oils and baking soda are safe, but they haven’t been shown to kill viruses or bacteria, said Robert Laumbach. He’s an associate professor at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University, in New Jersey. “It is essential to make a distinction between cleaning and disinfecting products. Cleaners remove dirt and some, but not all, germs. Disinfectants kill germs, including bacteria and viruses,” he said in a university news release. “The effectiveness of cleaners is usually readily apparent to the user. In contrast, verification of the ability of disinfectants to kill particular viruses and bacteria depends on laboratory tests such as those conducted by commercial product manufacturers,” said Laumbach. The only DIY disinfectant that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for killing the new coronavirus on frequently contacted surfaces is “a dilute solution of 1/3 cup [about 5 tablespoons] of bleach per gallon of water,” he noted. The coronavirus is more easily killed by disinfectants, so common U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-registered household disinfectants should be effective against the virus, according to…  read on >

Many health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic are struggling with sleep, a new study finds. The researchers also found that those with insomnia were more likely to have depression, anxiety and stress-based trauma. The study included nearly 1,600 health care workers who completed an online questionnaire between January 29 and February 3 at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Two-thirds (36%) reported insomnia symptoms. Overall rates of depression were much higher among those with insomnia (87%) than among those without insomnia (31%), and especially for moderate (23% versus 3%) and severe (17% versus 2%) depression. The percentages and differences between those with and without insomnia were similar for anxiety and stress-based trauma, according to the study published April 14 in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry. The most important factor associated with insomnia among health care workers was strong uncertainty about effective disease control among medical staff. Strong uncertainty was 3.3 times higher among those with insomnia than those without it, the findings showed. Lower levels of education were also associated with insomnia. Health care workers with a high school education or less were 2.7 times more likely to have insomnia than those with a doctoral degree, according to the report. Workers with less education may be more likely to be fearful, study co-author Bin Zhang, a professor at…  read on >

There’s no doubt about it: Staying at home, worrying about jobs and finances, is a recipe for depression during the coronavirus pandemic. But one expert offers some tips on how to maintain good mental health during this difficult time. “The current situation has many of us feeling helpless, fearful and adrift,” said Dr. Donna Anthony, chief medical officer at Gracie Square Hospital in New York City. “In order to get through this crisis, it is important to acknowledge these feelings and proactively manage stress, maintain your health, and find ways to cope when things seem darkest. We don’t know when our lives will return to a semblance of normality, but in the meantime, there are steps we can take to make ourselves feel better,” Anthony said in a hospital news release. People who already struggled with depression and anxiety may find it even more difficult now, and even those who haven’t faced those mental health challenges may feel anxious, afraid and lonely. Take a step back and examine your feelings, Anthony suggested. Be non-judgmental and compassionate toward yourself. Distract yourself from negative thoughts. If you’re bored, do something. If you’re lonely or frightened, call a friend. Your body is better able to fight stress if you take care of it. Eat healthy, well-balanced meals and get enough rest and sleep. Don’t try to relieve stress…  read on >