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Fairfax Co. issues alert after rabid skunk, raccoon attacks 10/05/2018 04:18am • WASHINGTON — The Fairfax County Health Department is urging residents to steer clear of wild animals and report animal attacks immediately, after three skunks and a raccoon tested positive for rabies. Four incidents involving rabid animals have happened in Centreville and Fairfax between Sept 14 Myths and Misconceptions About the Flu Vaccine 10/01/2018 08:00pm • The flu vaccine is surrounded by myths and misconceptions. In his more than 20 years working as a certified physician assistant, Eric Amoh has heard many patients recite a multitude of myths about the flu vaccine. Among the misconceptions: The vaccine can give you the flu, you don't need it if you n Seniors: Traveling Abroad? Consider These Recommendations 09/27/2018 08:00pm • Retirement brings many opportunities to enjoy leisure time. Americans spend a tremendous amount of time visiting family and friends and taking in sights around and out of this country. For many individuals, these are times that bring fond memories and are extremely enjoyable. To keep the good times What to Do About Walking Pneumonia 09/26/2018 08:00pm • It comes on like a nagging cold and cough -- and it won't quit. You're half-surprised because cold and flu season isn't in full swing yet, though the flu vaccine is available. Also, you're able to be up and around, but still the symptoms are no joke, and you're not sure what to make of them. While West Nile numbers up dramatically -- and mosquito season still isn't over 09/21/2018 03:20pm • WASHINGTON — Cases of West Nile virus are up dramatically this year in the D.C. area, and the season for mosquito bites that spread the disease is still going strong. "It's been a heck of a year for mosquitoes. Their populations have been booming," said University of Maryland entomologist Mike What Is Gastroenteritis? 09/19/2018 08:00pm • Whether it was during an international vacation-gone-wrong or after touring day care places for your tot, if you've ever had gastroenteritis -- aka the stomach flu -- you probably remember it clearly, but wish you didn't. "Most of the time, the worst part of norovirus is the front end, and that's Exclusions: Adding Complexity for Patients With Rare Diseases 09/18/2018 08:00pm • For patients struggling with rare disease, finding care and navigating the disease is not often easy. Complexities abound, from potentially long time periods between initial symptoms and diagnosis to locating doctors knowledgeable in the disease and starting on therapy (assuming a drug for the cond Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease Is Spreading Again 09/18/2018 08:00pm • This season alone, hand, foot and mouth disease took three MLB pitchers temporarily off the mound, so baseball fans may wonder just what's going on at that position. However, it's just a coincidence, experts say, and not surprising with this highly contagious condition. With seeping blisters on the Why Are Older Men Bailing Out on Testosterone Therapy? 08/28/2018 08:00pm • If you're an older man thinking about testosterone therapy to improve your mood, energy and sex drive, there's an important distinction to be made: Do you actually have low testosterone levels, confirmed by blood tests? Or do you have normal or low-normal testosterone levels but want to try treatme Measles emerge in DC area, but 'no national outbreak,' CDC says 08/27/2018 11:55am • WASHINGTON — Despite measles cases reported this week in Loudoun County, Virginia, and earlier in Maryland and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the growing number of people being diagnosed with measles does not constitute a national outbreak. " Fairfax County to spray for mosquitoes in two parks to help fight the bite 08/24/2018 04:14pm • WASHINGTON — Exterminators will be spraying for mosquitoes Monday in a few Northern Virginia parks, where the West Nile virus has been found to be in a particularly aggressive species. "Even though we have been seeing West Nile virus in our Culex mosquitoes this season, we did see this addition 12 Medical Emergencies You Need to Address Right Away 08/21/2018 08:00pm • Help is as close as your phone.You're talking with your father and his speech suddenly slurs. Your usually energetic mother complains of fatigue and mysterious arm pains. Your allergic friend just got stung by a bee. Your toddler is playing with a now-empty pill vial. You have sharp abdominal pains Does Having Allergies or Asthma Increase My Risk of Lung Cancer? 08/19/2018 08:00pm • The human immune system is an incredibly complex web of cells, tissues and organs that defend the body by responding to pathogens -- outside invaders that could harm the body. When a virus, bacteria, fungus or other foreign agent enters the body, the immune system leaps in to fight off the threat. I Arlington reports first case of West Nile virus this year 08/19/2018 12:41pm • WASHINGTON — With summer winding down, Arlington County, Virginia, has reported its first case of West Nile virus this year. The county's health division said in a release on Friday that this serves as a reminder that West Nile is present in the community and around the region. "West Nile vi Why Measles Protection Absolutely Still Matters 08/09/2018 08:00pm • You've seen the images: hundreds of tiny red dots clumped so closely on the skin that they merge into blazing swaths on a child's face, back, torso and limbs. Although startling, these photos of measles may seem almost retro, like illustrations from a 1950s medical textbook. In 2000, health official