Thursday, 27 October 2022

'Rainbow fentanyl' is this year's Halloween boogeyman.

October 27, 2022 | VIEW IN BROWSER

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Concerns over a "triple-demic" of the flu, RSV and Covid rise as some hospitals are stretched to capacity. Plus, a billing expert shares tips on how to reduce your medical bill, and the 8 foods cardiologists say they never eat.

THE LATEST

'Triple-demic' concerns rise across the country, with RSV cases up and some hospitals running out of beds.

A combination of a surge in cases of the flu, RSV, particularly in children, has created an unprecedented surge for many hospitals across the country that are running out of open beds. In Texas, 91% of pediatric hospital beds are occupied, and Arizona is at 87% capacity. A Seattle children's hospital told NBC News it's at 200% capacity in the emergency room. While Covid cases are trending down, there are concerns about new variants converging with the flu and other cases of respiratory illness for a "triple-demic." Here's what parents need to know about RSV, plus how one mom with a 2-month-old son hospitalized with the respiratory illness recognized the signs that he needed medical attention.

💲 A billing expert investigated her husband's ER bill and was able to knock thousands off the charge. She shared tips to reduce your own bills.

When Dr. Bhavin Shah received a bill for $3,319.50 after insurance for a broken arm he suffered while skiing, his wife, Sunita Kalsariya, decided to scrutinize the charges. She found the Wisconsin hospital charged $7,000 for a procedure it never performed, and she eventually got the bill knocked down to $1,214.91. She shared 6 tips about how she reduced the bill, including requesting an itemized bill and medical records, as well as comparing the charges with those at other hospitals.

😞 A mom thought stress and her pregnancy were causing debilitating headaches. It was actually a massive aneurysm.

Mallory Wehage, 35, experienced headaches so intense she often struggled to get out of bed while pregnant with her third child in 2020. The Ohio mom kept feeling it in the same spot behind her ear to the back of her neck, particularly after exercising, so she went to get an MRI. It turned out to be a large brain aneurysm — a bulging blood vessel in the brain — and she underwent surgery 48 hours later. She opened up to us about her symptoms, fears over losing her baby and her story of recovery. "The lesson to me is listen to myself, make time for myself," she told us.

🎃 'Rainbow fentanyl' is the latest Halloween candy boogeyman. Parents shouldn't worry — here's why.

No, some monster won't be putting fentanyl pills that look like candy in kids' Halloween bags this year, experts say. Reports by the LAPD and DEA have warned of a case in which fentanyl pills that looked like candy were stored in candy boxes, but a toxicologist told us it's "illogical" that the pills would be given out as candy. "The use of candy packaging does not signify that these are being passed off as candy, and certainly does not imply that the drugs someone is (smuggling) would be given away for free rather than sold for profit," he said. Here's how to keep kids safe on Halloween, and what to know about the myth of drugs being given out as candy.

LIVE BETTER TODAY

Achieve your life goals with easy tips.

Cardiologists know what a bad diet can do to your heart because they see the results of it every day. We spoke to a pair of cardiologists about the 8 foods they try to avoid entirely or eat in moderation in order to maintain a healthy heart. From obvious recommendations like dialing it back on the bacon and sausage intake to more surprising ones like not overdoing it with protein, they share the foods and drinks that can be a problem. "There isn't a food that will save your life … and there isn't one that's going to kill you. It is about balance," Dr. Sharonne Hayes, professor of cardiovascular medicine and founder of the Women's Heart Clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, told us.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

Allow us to do the meal-planning for you.

Pizza + quesadilla = pizzadilla! This perfect combination of the two comfort foods (above) from chef and television personality Christopher Kimball can be made with ingredients that are probably already in your pantry. Just grab some flour tortillas, tomatoes, cheese, and olives, pop them in a skillet and you're done in minutes. If you're looking for something to warm you up on a chilly fall night, Christopher's bread and tomato soup with spinach and parmesan will do the trick.

DAILY DELIGHT

A little pick-me-up before you go.

A coal miner was determined to bring his 3-year-old son to the University of Kentucky's annual Blue-White basketball game on Oct. 22, even if it meant coming to the game still covered in soot from the job. A photo of Micheal Joe McGuire and his son, Easton, caught the eye of legendary Kentucky coach John Calipari, who tweeted it out and noted that his own grandfather was a coal miner in West Virginia. Calipari invited Micheal, his wife, Molly, and their two children to be VIP guests at a Kentucky game this season. "We tell him all the time ... we appreciate you and everything you do, but just to see everyone else sharing their appreciation, their stories, it's been wonderful," Molly told NBC affiliate WLEX about her husband. "It's hard work. It's a blessing."