Pet therapy with a twist: Capybara, kinkajou and owls soothe stressed students

What if you replaced that therapy dog with a 100-pound giant rodent? The results may surprise you.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2qinntS

Second Opinion: A dietary dust-up over saturated fat story

Second Opinion is our round-up of the week’s interesting and eclectic news in health and medical science from reporter Kelly Crowe and Darryl Hol at CBC Health.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pjnLqH

Killer curiosity: PTSD risks associated with watching graphic videos

A prominent Ottawa forensic psychiatrist is warning people about the traumas watching on screen violence after a video surfaced linked to the death of Manitoba teenager, Serena McKay.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2qpEyGl

Patient advocate 'deeply disappointed' budget won't cover cancer meds taken at home

The provincial Health Department covers the cost of cancer treatments administered intravenously in a hospital setting. But patients who take oral medication at home are responsible for the costs.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oQQ1gL

Pharmacare advocates hope Ontario plan will push Trudeau to act

Supporters of a national pharmacare program say Ontario's plan to cover drug costs for young people has raised hopes that Ottawa will be pressured to adopt a national drug program — but one expert says he doesn't think Ontario's move is enough to get the federal government on board.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2qi519I

Glyphosate labels to change, Health Canada announces

Health Canada says the potential risk to human health and the environment from pesticides containing glyphosate remains acceptable.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oHnX4i

'The enemy of my enemy is my friend:' Couple turns to virus to beat back superbug

With her husband sliding close to death after falling ill while on vacation, a Canadian infectious-disease specialist desperately turned to an alternative treatment: She spearheaded an international effort to find bacteria-attacking viruses that would infect her husband.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oH56X3

'In complete distress': deaf man dies without help in hospital as Canadian Hearing Society strike drags on

86-year-old Ernest Guillemette died alone in hospital without any way to communicate with doctors or nurses. His interpreter was on the picket lines.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pGrMqN

Mystery deaths in Liberia linked to funeral: WHO

Eleven people have died and five are in hospital, Liberian officials said on Friday, after contracting a mystery illness the World Health Organisation (WHO) said was linked to attendance at the funeral of a religious leader.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2qeBopE

Ontario budget 2017: Free prescription drugs for anyone under 25, a first of its kind, Liberals say

All Ontario children and adults younger than 25 will have their full prescription drug costs covered by a new provincial pharmacare program, regardless of family income or whether they already have private insurance.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pmXQg2

DIY braces trend makes B.C. orthodontists grit their teeth

A U.S. report found nearly 13 per cent of orthodontists are seeing patients who have tried DIY teeth straightening using things like rubber bands, dental floss, fishing line and paper clips.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pB63jF

Fatal fentanyl overdose data lacking from across Canada, federal health minister says

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott says she's aiming to release statistics on overdose deaths in Canada but is frustrated with provinces and territories that haven't provided data in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2ppC1yO

Medical marijuana middlemen: How specialty clinics cash in on legal prescriptions

Clinics that prescribe legal medical marijuana have become a specialty business across Canada — a phenomenon that has raised a few ethical concerns.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2ozcHXP

Energy drink's non-caffeine ingredients may affect heart

Healthy adults who drank two cans of energy drinks showed short-term changes in electrical activity of their hearts compared with drinking the same amount of caffeine.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oKChUU

Province, city to compensate North Battleford, Sask., tainted water victims

The Government of Saskatchewan and the City of North Battleford are set to compensate young people who became sick in the city's 2001 tainted water scandal.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2q88aeQ

E. coli outbreak at Edmonton bakery prompts national recall

Various brands of pie and tart shells are being recalled due to the presence of E. coli.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pldmv0

'We felt like screaming': Wife says crowded hospital failed her dying husband

A Halifax woman says overcrowding at the city's largest hospital left her husband suffering a series of indignities and delayed care during his last days of life.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2osAgkY

Pass the butter: Cutting saturated fat does not reduce heart disease risk, cardiologists say

The belief that saturated fat in foods such as butter and cheese clogs arteries is "just plain wrong," say cardiologists with a broader lifestyle focus on how to stay healthy.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2q4rmKz

Scientists simulate mom's womb in tiny lambs to try to help preemies

Researchers are creating an artificial womb to improve care for extremely premature babies — and remarkable animal testing suggests the first-of-its-kind watery incubation so closely mimics mom that it just might work.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2q4JCmS

Air pollution in Toronto's subways like 'a typical day in Beijing,' highest of Canada's 3 major systems

Toronto's subway stations and trains had the highest levels of air pollution of Canada's three major rapid transit systems, following by Montreal's Metro and Vancouver's Skytrain systems, a newly released study has found.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2qa1WaQ

Sex selection in Indian community persists despite years spent in Canada, researchers find

Contrary to what researchers expected, the length of time Indian immigrants have lived in Canada has no effect whatsoever on the practice of sex selection in favour of boys.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pbWqVQ

Calgary mother hopes photo of dying son will deter others from doing fentanyl

A Calgary mother is hoping a photo of her lying on a hospital bed with her dying son will help steer others away from using the deadly drug fentanyl.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oWCxDO

Broad Hepatitis C screening of Canadian adults not supported by evidence, task force concludes

Healthy Canadian adults who don’t have risk factors for curable, chronic hepatitis C infection don’t need to be screened, according to new guidelines for family physicians.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oow4mh

3 African countries chosen to test 1st malaria vaccine

Ghana, Kenya and Malawi will begin to test the world's first malaria vaccine, the World Health Organization says.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oE7EkU

Let's be friendly to people with dementia

The best way for Canada to cope with rising rates of dementia is to build a friendly community for those most affected. @NightshiftMD explains this new approach.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oCQa8l

Squeamish ceviche: chic raw fish dishes are tasty, but watch for worms

With raw seafood dishes growing in vogue, diners up the odds of meeting guests common in fresh fish — parasitic worms.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pTeEy6

Second Opinion: Million-dollar drug flops

Second Opinion is a vital dose of the week's news in health and medicine from reporters Kelly Crowe & Darryl Hol.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2ppSjby

'It's made a difference': How word clouds offer solace to family members as a loved one dies

An initiative developed by a McMaster University professor of medicine is offering families of patients in their last days of life a way to humanize the grieving process, particularly in the fast-paced, technology-focused hospital setting.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2ppImLi

Groups on both sides of assisted-death debate want more transparency

Advocates on both sides of the medically assisted dying debate say the Nova Scotia Health Authority should be more transparent about patients who apply to end their lives.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pPHlJm

Why food recalls may seem more frequent

Technological advances make it easier to spot DNA from food pathogens, but it takes an old-fashioned technique to tell if they're causing harm.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pP6Vhx

Miss Vickie's recalls jalapeno-flavoured chips due to salmonella risk

Miss Vickie’s is voluntarily recalling its jalapeno-flavoured, kettle-cooked potato chips due to the potential presence of salmonella in a seasoning used in the product.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2owcTmu

Canadian scientists stung by finding cuts have their own reasons to march this weekend

Even though scientists in 18 Canadian cities plan to block traffic, carry signs and behave like people demonstrating "against" something this Saturday, organizers of the March for Science are hesitant to call it a protest.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pOt0jo

New Brunswick 'totally unprepared' for fentanyl crisis, critic says

The New Brunswick government says it is taking the threat of a fentanyl overdose crisis seriously. But its plan to combat the crisis remains a mystery.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pk8eIp

'I feel quite abandoned': Woman facing worsening debilitation challenges medically assisted dying law

A fierce and deeply emotional legal battle is brewing as the "reasonably foreseeable" death requirement for medical assistance in dying is challenged in court. The government and disability advocates are vowing to preserve it.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pY7apS

Health, legal implications of weed still murky this 4/20

Revellers marking 4/20 this year celebrated the federal bill announced last week that will legalize marijuana — but others say the legal and health implications of the law remain hazy.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pJenhi

Canadian researchers find new compound to potentially fight antibiotic-resistant infections

Two scientists at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg have discovered a compound that they hope will eventually help in the fight against antibiotic-resistant infections.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2opOwac

How cycling to work could save thousands of lives a year

Commuters who cycle to work could cut their risk of cancer, heart disease and premature death substantially, U.K. researchers have found.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2o8IEpM

National panel recommends abortion pill should be free

An expert committee appointed by provincial and federal governments concludes the abortion drug should be paid for by the public health care system after a review of the efficacy and safety of Mifegymiso.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2p0g3C1

Can anything be done to prevent hospital misdiagnoses?

After a string of misdiagnosis cases in the news, The Current looks at how diagnostic errors happen in hospital ER rooms — and what to do about it.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pHc6jw

Abuse changes women's brains — but exactly how isn't known

Between 30 and 80 percent of women who survive intimate partner violence may have a traumatic brain injury — but there’s almost no research into how such an injury specifically affects women, according to Angela Colantonio, who helps lead an international task force on girls and women with acquired brain injury.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pGZ4CN

1,300 Canadians have died with medical assistance since legalization—here's one man's story

More than 1,300 people in Canada have chosen to end their lives since medically assisted dying became legal. Rob Rollins, a 56-year-old who lived in a rural village in eastern Ontario, was one of them.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oY9ZtP

Canadian doctor Rob Fowler recognized for life-saving treatment in Ebola outbreak

Out of Africa: Life and death lessons about the Ebola outbreak from a Canadian doctor who made a difference.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2o4m0ik

New prostate cancer survey examines range of factors affecting quality of life

A new survey of prostate cancer patients and survivors will look at the factors that contribute to quality of life.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pRmG6U

Bored of your Fitbit? Winnipeg researcher explains how motivations change over time

If you've purchased a fitness tracker in recent years, you may have personally experienced what one University of Winnipeg researcher calls the "attentional switch" from a positive outlook in the beginning to a fear of failure near the end.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2o2Cl6Y

Probiotic yogurt benefits vary, study finds

​Canadian consumers daunted by shelves of yogurt in a wide array of styles at the grocery store should keep in mind not all probiotic products are created equal.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pfDtEE

Woman calls on Nova Scotia to update rules on breast reduction surgery

MSI will only pay for breast reduction surgery if a patient's body mass index is 27 or less.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pwzPmx

How an oilsands facility became a makeshift hospital during the wildfire

Mavis Ure describes the experience as a "crazy, crazy, crazy day" when she and her newborn twins were forced to leave the hospital as a wildfire roared toward Fort McMurray nearly a year ago.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2pubeS2

Respiratory problems affect 1 in 5 firefighters after Fort McMurray wildfire

Nearly a year after a wildfire devastated Fort McMurray, many firefighters who worked to save the city are facing lingering health problems, according to preliminary findings of new research.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oHw3Xm

ENCORE: Hate the gym? History explains why the treadmill can feel like torture

If you dread the gym, it might not surprise you the treadmill was originally a device used to punish prison inmates. But how far have we really moved away from the idea of exercise as punishment?

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2oFgmQo

Women seem less likely to get surgery in war-torn countries

A new study questions why so many more medical procedures are performed on men than woman in war-torn countries, highlighting a possible inequity in access to health care.

from CBC | Health News http://ift.tt/2prArfU