
Chicago Health Blog
239 FOLLOWERS
Chicago Health Magazine is your resource for the best health care options, best doctors and best hospitals in and around the Chicago area. Through local stories and informative features, Chicago Health provides the latest public health and medical news so readers can make informed decisions about the health issues that matter to them.
Chicago Health Blog
8M ago
Lead water pipes created a health disaster in Flint, but replacing them with cheaper plastic — as some cities are doing — carries hidden costs
Above image: Plastic water pipes may be cheaper, but they also come with risks.
Mark Bernard/iStock/Getty Images Plus
By Rajpreet Grewal, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Laodong Guo, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Melissa Scanlan, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Flint, Michigan, made headlines in 2015 when tests revealed dangerously high lead levels in its drinking water. The city had switched its water supply to the Flint R ..read more
Chicago Health Blog
8M ago
Little Apothecary plants the seed of ‘people’s medicine’ in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood
In the middle of a community garden in Englewood sits a red box, labelled “free medicine.” Inside the box is a treasure trove of herbs and salves: mugwort, beeswax, yaro, and other natural ointments for various conditions.
This Free Little Apothecary is the brainchild of Loyola University medical student and community farming advocate Sharmain Siddiqui. She says she hopes that the project showcases a sustainable and preventative model of medicine.
Plants have a “deeply medicinal power,” Siddiqui says ..read more
Chicago Health Blog
8M ago
Food is a central issue in climate change mitigation. Our dietary choices and consumption patterns are critical to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which greatly impact the food supply chain.
Every day our climate tells the tale of extremes — whether it’s the hottest summer on record or a polar vortex sweeping the nation. Humans in these situations can feel helpless, out of control. But how you choose to eat and even how you prepare your food can make a big difference on the climate.
“Sustainable eating practices, such as reducing food waste and supporting local and seasonal produce, can help ..read more
Chicago Health Blog
9M ago
Chicago police officer undergoes first-ever double-lung transplant due to Covid-19 and cancer
The last time Arthur Gillespie spoke to his cousin was on his front porch in Beverly, but he didn’t realize they would never seen each other again. It was February 2020, and his cousin was experiencing Covid-19 symptoms.
Within weeks, his cousin had passed away, says Gillespie, a police captain with the University of Chicago Police Department. “It was frightening and at the beginning of the pandemic when we weren’t getting a lot of information. I knew people were going to the hospital and not coming h ..read more
Chicago Health Blog
9M ago
Animals self-medicate with plants − behavior people have observed and emulated for millennia
By Adrienne Mayor, Stanford University
Main image: A goat with an arrow wound nibbles the medicinal herb dittany.
O. Dapper, CC BY
When a wild orangutan in Sumatra recently suffered a facial wound, apparently after fighting with another male, he did something that caught the attention of the scientists observing him.
The animal chewed the leaves of a liana vine – a plant not normally eaten by apes. Over several days, the orangutan carefully applied the juice to its wound, then covered it with a pa ..read more
Chicago Health Blog
9M ago
Pets give companionship, cuddles and joy – and also unavoidable stresses
By Emily Hemendinger, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Main image: Pets can bring joy and companionship, as well as financial worries, loss and logistical challenges.
Dann Tardif/Stone via Getty Images
Owning a pet can be a roller coaster. There are the highs, like when your dog greets you with a full-body wiggle when you return home, or when your cat purrs loudly as you cuddle next to one another. Then there are the lows, like stressful trips to urgent care, waking up to that unpleasant vomiting noise, or m ..read more
Chicago Health Blog
10M ago
Most people don’t connect their hearing ability with falling. But what you hear — and don’t hear — directly affects your balance.
Research shows that even a small decrease in hearing triples your risk of falling, and the worse your hearing gets, the more likely you are to fall.
So how are the two connected, and why is your hearing so important to your balance?
First, both our sense of balance and our sense of hearing are contained in the inner ear. They share the same nerve pathway to the brain.
Both hearing and balance start to decline in our 40s. More than one-third of Americans over age 40 ..read more
Chicago Health Blog
10M ago
Chicago Health Editor-in-Chief moderates opening panel at the Executives’ Club of Chicago annual Health Equity Summit
In its second annual Health Equity Summit held this past Wednesday, The Executives’ Club of Chicago welcomed thought leaders from throughout the city to shed light on the profound disparities in healthcare services across the Chicago metro area. The core concern that many of the panelists work to address: Residents in poorer neighborhoods have significantly shorter life expectancy compared to those in wealthier areas.
“We are at an incredible moment in this country,” sai ..read more
Chicago Health Blog
11M ago
We asked readers on social media and in our weekly newsletter to share their thoughts about their most worrisome health concerns. What is one disease or medical issue for which you would most like to see a cure?
Ovarian cancer. I have lost two friends to this horrible disease. The time between diagnosis and death for my two friends was a total of four weeks. —Elizabeth C. Birch, founder & CEO, Home Care Angels II
Cancer. —Loretta Facchini, Riverwoods, Illinois
Hashimoto’s disease, because it affects so many people, and they have to manage daily symptoms.” —B ..read more
Chicago Health Blog
11M ago
One of the greatest advancements in women’s rights, equality, and healthcare was born in Chicago
  ..read more