Opposition parties warn new natural health product regulations could drive up costs

Natural health products

Opposition parties want to hold parliamentary committee hearings to probe Health Canada’s new natural health product regulations when the House of Commons gets back to work after its summer break, CBC News has learned.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/QHCvEyc

Prescribed fentanyl helps this man manage his addiction. Experts want more access to safe supply

David Keeler

Experts and drug users are highlighting a need for safer alternatives to street drugs, more drug checking services, and other harm reduction measures to be expanded, as hundreds die each month due to an increasingly toxic street drug supply.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/ECW6vk4

Hamilton hospital network has reported 5 cases of staff 'snooping' to privacy watchdog this year alone

HHS

In the latest case, Hamilton Health Sciences staff accessed private health records for 4,000 patients. "My trust is compromised," one patient from Kitchener says. Ontario's privacy office is looking into several reported breaches.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/ZHDpUni

More than 20 types of energy drink now included in Canadian recall

Prime Energy Drink

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has widened its recall or energy drinks to include more than 25 brands, warning the products might not be safe because of their caffeine content.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/B6WI8gK

Neurosurgeon plucks live worm from woman's brain after months of mysterious symptoms

Worm

A neurosurgeon investigating a woman's mysterious symptoms in an Australian hospital says she plucked a wriggling worm from the patient's brain.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/q34UpPG

B.C. sets new record with 1,455 drug deaths in 1st 7 months of 2023

OVERDOSE STATUE

Another 198 British Columbians died from toxic drugs in July, according to data released Tuesday by the B.C. Coroners Service, bringing the death toll in the first seven months of the year to 1,455 — the most since a public health emergency was declared in 2016.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/kbdMv0V

As the fentanyl crisis deepens in this part of downtown Ottawa, overwhelmed residents plead for help

Lowertown

Lowertown residents living in the struggling heart of the nation’s capital say their community is on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis. 



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/jcN5Th4

Barriers like racism, distrust may be main cause of health-care disparities for Indigenous women, study says

Cheryl Whiskeyjack

Compared with non-Indigenous women across Canada, Indigenous women who live outside reserves face several systemic barriers for accessing health care, particularly during pregnancy, a new study has found.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/1xZvXyk

'She can survive now': Sask. girl who became TikTok sensation recovers from life-saving bowel transplant

Bella Thomson

A young girl from Swift Current, Sask., had waited three years for a life-saving bowel transplant. Just over a week ago, she got it. Her positivity became an overnight sensation on TikTok in 2021, after her mother posted a video of her drawing a fox for a short story.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/KCgUvNV

Why the air quality index needs an upgrade to better measure wildfire smoke

aqhi

In a summer of historic wildfires, Canadians have undoubtedly found themselves checking the air quality more than usual. But the way that number is calculated varies by province — and experts say it will need to be changed.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/wTxQofR

Quebec woman with rare cancer will get out-of-province treatment after research fund steps up to cover costs

‘Stuck in a technicality’: Woman is dying of cancer and Quebec won’t cover part of costs for out-of-province trial Image 1

The Quebec health research fund will cover the costs for a cancer treatment that is a 31-year-old’s last hope after Quebec’s health insurance board refused to cover part of the cost associated with the treatment.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/oDnU9tR

Do exercise, nature and socializing make people happier? Research suggests we don't really know

Guy riding a bike

Researchers at UBC decided to look into whether there is robust evidence to support the effectiveness of so-called happiness-boosting strategies. After reviewing dozens of studies, they found there’s not a lot of rigorous research to prove that activities like exercise or expressing gratitude make us happier.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/Q9vrYR8

Want a COVID-19 booster? Experts say most Canadians should wait for updated shots

COVID-19 vaccines Toronto San Romanoway apartments

Experts say most Canadians who want a COVID-19 booster shot this fall can safely wait for updated versions to become available. But the guidance isn't one-size-fits-all.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/2KupQGl

AI brings researchers one step closer to restoring speech in people with paralysis

Ann

New research shows how a computer avatar can speak the words that someone with a brain injury was thinking. While years away from commercial application, the researchers and others consider it a significant development in forming words quickly — and out loud — by interpreting brain signals.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/eELIZ8D

Lung cancer patient says hospital COVID protection 'all wrong' after testing positive

Glenda Senack

Masking and physical distancing policies at The Ottawa Hospital are "all wrong," says a pneumonia and lung cancer patient who tested positive for COVID-19 while receiving care at the hospital.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/014hQCt

Highly mutated COVID virus variant BA.2.86 showing up in multiple countries

coronavirus sars-cov-2

A highly mutated variant of the virus behind COVID-19 has popped up in multiple countries, but scientists aren't yet sure whether it will fuel a fall wave of infections or simply fizzle out.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/cfw7mKu

ERs in rural Northern Ontario are on the brink of collapse, doctors warn

Hospital blur

Doctors with the Ontario College of Family Physicians say remote northern emergency rooms are on the brink of closing this fall. They say there are mounting pressures on rural family doctors and are calling on the province to provide relief.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/zXeq9Vt

Woman's last hope for rare cancer is out-of-province trial, but Quebec won't cover part of costs

‘Stuck in a technicality’: Woman is dying of cancer and Quebec won’t cover part of costs for out-of-province trial Image 1

Stéphanie Alain is hoping Quebec’s health insurance board will reverse its decision and cover part of the cost associated with an experimental treatment that could save her life. Her oncologist says there’s no other option for the 31-year-old mom.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/JtSI7z3

Shortage of diabetes, weight-loss drug Ozempic expected in Canada, says manufacturer

Ozempic Diabetes Weight Loss Drug

The manufacturer of diabetes drug Ozempic, which is used off-label for weight loss, says it is expecting a shortage in Canada.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/ZitDgHM

Early signs suggest fall COVID-19 wave starting in Canada — before updated boosters are available

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/VACCINES-BOOSTERS

Early signals point to Canada entering a fall COVID-19 wave. How big that surge becomes will largely hinge on the country’s level of population immunity, experts say, as well as the timing of fall booster shots that aren’t yet approved in either Canada or the U.S. 



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/mCJA4IL

Evacuations are stressful. Mental health professionals weigh in on how to manage that anxiety

Monte Lake wildfire

When someone knocks on your door telling you to leave right away, it can bring up some pretty intense emotions.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/d7wguP3

Some breast cancer patients may not need radiation, new Canadian research suggests

Dense Breasts Cancer

Older women with early, low-risk breast cancer may not need to receive radiation treatment, according to a new research finding that experts say could spare patients from some harmful side effects.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/BrAvyG5

Self-determination and inclusion central to Indigenous health in Sask., say experts

Dr. Alexandra King

Indigenous health research at the University of Saskatchewan is set to receive $1.25 million from the Royal University Hospital Foundation to enhance self-determination in Indigenous health and create further capacity to include different world views.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/pCqGtvc

Short bursts of intense exercise may be fine during pregnancy, a new study suggests

study participant

Canada is one of the only countries that allows research that allows research in pregnant people working out at a maximal heart rate, which makes the findings of the small new study important.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/qdjKGx3

COVID keeps evolving, but so does our immunity. Are we now at a 'stalemate' with this virus?

2nd Wave

After billions of global COVID-19 infections, millions of deaths, and countless lives upended by long-lasting health impacts, we’ve finally hit a point in this pandemic where SARS-CoV-2 isn’t the fearsome pathogen it used to be. That's thanks to how both the virus, and our immunity against it, are evolving.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/ThAlUJE

She went to Germany for a new brain cancer treatment. She wonders why she had to learn about it online

Aisha Uduman and Kaaya

Aisha Uduman, her family and some experts say patients in Canada should be made aware of novel or experimental treatments available outside the country, so they can make the decision themselves on whether to take the risk.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/0DJLIge

PHAC to deploy to New Brunswick over reports of mystery brain symptoms

Dr. Alier Marrero neurologist New Brunswick

The Public Health Agency of Canada is deploying two epidemiologists to New Brunswick in September to investigate reports from a neurologist in the province of a rising number of young patients displaying abnormal neurological symptoms.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/AqMUsfg

Immigration delays costing pregnant Edmonton woman thousands for health care

Liron Zamir

Liron Zamir, who lives in Edmonton, says she has been waiting more than two years for federal decisions on her immigration applications. While she waits, her health-care costs are adding up.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/Pl0oMLG

Canadian care-home provider Revera to 'transition out' of managing retirement homes

Revera Yorkton sask

Information distributed to unions suggests more than 80 seniors' residences are part of the proposed transfer, with more than half of that number in Ontario. The rest are in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/yV3dksI

What to know about EG.5, the latest Omicron subvariant in Canada

COVID 19 - Rapid test device

A new coronavirus subvariant on the rise in some parts of the world is an example of how the virus will continue to evolve, some experts say. But while this latest coronavirus strain, EG.5, appears to be more infectious and able to sneak past our immune defenses, experts aren't seeing evidence that it causes more severe illness.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/3FAeW2K

Health Canada approves 1st RSV vaccine for people 60 and older

Arexvy

Health Canada has approved the first vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for adults age 60 and over, but it may only be available in "limited" quantities for this fall's respiratory virus season.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/PX87Kso

Alberta will cover pricey drug believed to extend and enhance lives of ALS patients

Ralph Scott

Albertans living with ALS, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, have a new treatment option that can improve their quality of life and help them live longer, and the Alberta government will cover the estimated $18,500 a month per patient. 



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/UsPXDMb

Canada's latest anti-smoking push is a first — but global effort is lagging behind

Cigarette packaging

New Health Canada regulations will require warning labels on individual cigarettes — a global first. But as Canada works to tackle smoking prevalence, most other countries are struggling to keep up.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/4cOVEoI

Wildfire smoke in your eyes? Doctors say we need to do more to study its long-term impacts

Greece Wildfires Photo Gallery

Just like our lungs, our eyes absorb the fine particles found in wildfire smoke. And while the long-term health impacts of breathing in this pollutant are well-known, eye doctors say it's less clear what sorts of vision problems can result from frequent exposure.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/0DdMEwK

Quebec hits vaping industry with stricter product regulations

Vaping pens shown by London high school student

Starting Oct. 31, the government will enforce measures to make vaping less appealing to minors, including banning the sale of vaping products with a flavour or aroma other than tobacco.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/NoX581H

Surgery backlogs, staff shortages, no family doctor: New report highlights Canada's health-care crisis

Toronto-based trauma nurse Eram Chhogala

A new report shines a spotlight on Canada's health-care crisis, including major decreases in surgeries through the early years of the pandemic, ongoing staff shortages, and the roughly one in 10 Canadians who say they don’t have a regular provider.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/i9FSwBZ

New regulations mean warnings like 'poison in every puff' will soon be on every cigarette

Cigarette packaging

A fresh set of Health Canada regulations that will require warning labels on individual cigarettes is set to come into effect on Tuesday.



from CBC | Health News https://ift.tt/r6ghbIk