A new report links heavy smartphone use to an increased risk of heart disease, but the real cause might not be what you’d expect.
New study: Surprising early warning signs of COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, our understanding of the disease continues to grow. In the earlier months of 2020, health officials stressed the importance of sanitizing surfaces and washing our hands — but now we know the disease also spreads through respiratory droplets.
This is why the consensus on mask-wearing has grown over the last several months. When masks are worn, fewer viral particles can escape into the air to infect other people. Tap or click here to see the top 14 face masks ranked according to scientists.
Even though 2020 is winding down, COVID-19 hasn’t taken a break. High-profile patients like U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Trump have brought even more attention to the disease and its symptoms. If you’ve been feeling under the weather and want to know if you should get tested, these new early warning signs can help you make a decision.
Early warning signs that COVID patients may have missed
Almost everyone knows the basic symptoms of COVID-19: A dry cough, fever and shortness of breath. But these three symptoms are usually seen once the disease has fully set in. Early symptoms, like losing your sense of taste and smell, are less well defined and harder to pinpoint.
RELATED: Google Maps now shows COVID hotspots
But new research out of King’s College of London is shedding some light on the earliest stages of the deadly disease. Using data from the COVID Symptom Study app, researchers have put together a new list of the most common symptoms in the first seven days of illness.
Here’s how it worked: the app surveyed thousands of COVID patients about symptoms they felt during their illness. Information was collected and analyzed for common threads — with overlapping symptoms grouped together.
Thanks to this study, we now know two early warning signs of a COVID-19 infection: headache and fatigue. Based on survey data, 82% of new patients experienced a headache while 72% experienced fatigue across all age groups. Only 9% of COVID-positive adults did not experience these symptoms in the early stages.
Following headache and fatigue, fever and a loss of taste and smell were other common early symptoms.
Beyond these early indicators, here are the other most common COVID-19 symptoms we know of according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Fever and/or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or breathing difficulty
- Fatigue
- Body and/or muscle aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion and/or runny nose
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Diarrhea
Coronavirus germs can survive on your smartwatch - here's how to disinfect it
Coronavirus and COVID-19 have people around the world rethinking their hygiene habits. In 2018, a CDC study revealed only 31% of men and 65% of women wash their hands after using the restroom. Flash forward to today and you’ll be lucky to find any soap left in bathroom soap dispensers.
🙏 Holy shroud: A blood analysis of the Shroud of Turin might back the biblical story of Jesus’ crucifixion. An engineer used modern tech on samples from the 1970s and found signs of organ failure, trauma, disease and radiation. The blood contained earthen materials typically found in Jerusalem. Isn’t this amazing?!
Even more companies offer free work at home tools for coronavirus
The coronavirus epidemic has businesses across the company rethinking their Q2 strategies. Not only is the new disease dangerous, it’s highly transmissible. This means any workplace can easily become a petri dish given enough time.
3 times a week
How often you should snack on baby carrots. Researchers found that frequency “significantly increased” skin carotenoids, which are associated with less inflammation and lower risk of heart disease. Crunch on!
Apple Watch medical revolution
More and more healthcare professionals are using Apple’s tech as a way to treat illness and disease.
60% reduced risk
Of Alzheimer’s disease for regular caffeine drinkers. The sweet spot for most is no more than four cups a day (around 400 mg of caffeine), but cut that to two cups if you have high blood pressure. Fascinating read here.
23andMe caught in a lie: 23andMe made billions promising disease prevention based on genetic testing from a saliva swab. Really, all we got was that your family came from Eastern Europe or wherever. In 2023, the company reported a $522 million loss. What goes around comes around.