Health Headlines - October 16

New Hope in the Fight Against Breast Cancer

Mammograms have become a rite of passage for 40-year-old American women, and a compulsory exercise for those over 40.

Binge Drinking May Be Bad for the Blood

Moderate alcohol use has been shown to be healthier for the heart than abstinence or heavy drinking, but consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time has been linked to higher death rates from all causes, including cardiovascular ones.

Malaria Vaccine Success Hailed as Breakthrough

It's been a long, tough fight, but researchers say results of a major malaria vaccine trial mean science may be winning the war against a disease that claims millions of lives each year.

Fertility Concerns Impact Breast Cancer Therapy

Concerns about infertility resulting from breast cancer therapy influenced treatment decisions in nearly one-third of young patients, according to a study published in the Oct. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Thousands Line Up for Dwindling Flu Shots

Seventy-year-old Homer Fink spent eight hours sitting next to a supermarket Halloween display for a flu shot that he wasn't able to get at five other places.

U.S. to Quit Inspecting Tobacco

Legislation just passed by Congress abolishes the requirement that the government inspect imported tobacco to ensure it is not laced with chemicals and pesticides banned in the United States but permitted elsewhere.

Experts: Fewer Take Statins Than Should

Perhaps no medicine today is so widely regarded as a wonder drug as the cholesterol-lowering statin. From Zocor to Lipitor to Pravachol, statins are top sellers in a country where half of American adults have high cholesterol.

The Truth About Colds and Flu

Even though they're common, there are still many misconceptions about colds and flu.

New York-Presbyterian Hospital offers some information to help you sort through the facts and fictions of colds and flu.

To begin, colds and flu are different. A cold is usually an upper respiratory tract infection. Symptoms include a sore throat, head congestion, sinus pain, and low-grade fever. Flu symptoms usually include a higher fever, a sore throat, cough and body aches.

A cold usually lasts two to three days while a flu can last as long as a week. Flu can lead to more serious health complications, especially in the elderly and people with asthma.

Now, here are some facts about colds and flu:

The best way to prevent a cold is to wash your hands and to avoid people with colds.

You can't catch a cold by staying outside in the cold too long. You catch a cold by touching something that's been touched by someone infected with a cold or by breathing in moisture that's been coughed out by someone with a cold. People get colds more often in the winter because they spend more time indoors in contact with one another.

Antibiotics cannot cure a cold or flu, which are caused by viruses. The best way to defend against the flu is to get a flu shot. There is no vaccine against the common cold.

If you have the flu, don't go to work. If you go to work, you'll expose your colleagues to flu infection. Stay home where you can rest and recover.

Flu shots cannot give you the flu. They may cause mild flu-like symptoms, but this is rare.