The Guardian Health

Social media ban: saving kids or punishing them? | Letters

Dr Rory Conn says the ban is long overdue to protect children from harm, but 16-year-old Clara O‘Grady says social media is not an isolated section of teenagers’ lives that can easily be removed. Plus letters from Dr Peter Jarrett and Tony SideThis week marks a positive moment for public health and for the wellbeing of children and adolescents. Hearing Keir Starmer’s announcement proposing a ban on social media for under-16s, I felt an optimism I have not experienced for years regarding the ment

health  Jun 18, 2026

The Guardian Health

Irish parliament votes to remove three-day abortion wait

Waiting period before receiving medication was included in draft law to gain support for abortion ban in 2018 referendumIreland’s parliament has voted to remove a mandatory three-day wait for abortion during early pregnancy after campaigners said the rule was an unnecessary restriction.The Dáil passed the bill on Wednesday night, clearing a path for the legislation to go to a parliamentary committee and become law later this, or next, year. Continue reading...

health  Jun 18, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘The masturbation scene wasn’t a big deal’: Théodore Pellerin on tackling his new film Nino’s challenges

Locked out of his apartment, a cancer-stricken Parisian is caught in a race against time to freeze his sperm. The rising star who plays him explains how he tackled a very initimate questJust six months after the world rallied to defend poor Paul Dano, vulnerability may now be a hot commodity for an actor. What is “weak sauce” for Quentin Tarantino, who attacked Dano, can be mighty savoury for others. So it’s good timing that Théodore Pellerin, with his gangly frame and huge eyes, exudes that qua

health  Jun 18, 2026

The Guardian Health

NHS patients face worst drug shortages on record, say pharmacists and GPs

Supply problems pose risk to health, with common painkillers, epilepsy medication and HRT affectedBritons are facing some of the “most severe” shortages of NHS medicines on record including common painkillers, epilepsy drugs and HRT, health leaders have warned, even forcing some patients with impaired digestive systems to skip meals.The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned that medicine shortages pose a “serious risk to patient safety”. Continue reading...

health  Jun 18, 2026

The Guardian Health

HPV jabs cut risk of dying from cervical cancer before 30 to almost zero

Study reveals positive news, but experts say deaths and cases may rise again as fewer teenagers get vaccinatedWomen who received an HPV vaccine in early adolescence have virtually zero risk of dying from cervical cancer before the age of 30, according to a groundbreaking study, but falling vaccination rates could see a rise in avoidable deaths.Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, according to the World Health Organization, and high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) cause 99

health  Jun 17, 2026

WHO News

WHO issues comprehensive guidelines on filovirus disease, including Ebola and Marburg disease

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo is battling an Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first comprehensive guidelines for the clinical management of filovirus disease which include all types of Ebola and Marburg viruses. The new guidelines highlight the importance of early supportive care to improve patient survival and health outcomes, outlining 16 evidence-based recommendations.

health  Jun 17, 2026

The Guardian Health

I had a blood clot. An AI diagnosis may have saved my life | Gleb Tsipursky

An AI tool is no replacement for a doctor, and regulation is essential. But together, physicians and AI could prove beneficialA calf cramp should not be a brush with death. Mine almost was.For five days, I had what felt like a stubborn muscle spasm in my left calf. It was tender, swollen and getting worse. I assumed it was a muscle problem and went to my chiropractor, who treated it as a muscle issue.Gleb Tsipursky, PhD, serves as the CEO of the future-of-work work consultancy Disaster Avoidance

health  Jun 17, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘Addiction is proof there is a devil. Recovery is proof there is a God’: Irish rockers Bleech 9:3 on struggle, sobriety and their stunning debut

After two friends sponsored each other in Alcoholics Anonymous, they started making music. As they gear up for a summer of 40 festivals, the band tell their harrowing yet uplifting storyOn stage in a Camden pub, Barry Quinlan, frontman of Irish rockers Bleech 9:3, shares the intensity of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis. He hunches and jerks around the mic stand and his eyes bore a hole in the back wall as jubilant teenagers expand and contract in a circle pit. The gig in mid-May has the same I-was-the

health  Jun 17, 2026

The Guardian Health

Has a sick person you love gone down a medical conspiracy wormhole? Here’s what to do

My cousin died two days after a risky and unproven procedure overseas. So I went digging for answersFor women, starting around your mid-30s, it’s par for the course to discuss the latest wellness trends and treatments with female friends and family. Talking about symptoms such as gas and bloating, brain fog, migraines and varying degrees of crippling period pain over dinners, coffee, voice memos and long walks becomes part of a shared quest for better health. With medical biases and discriminati

health  Jun 17, 2026

The Guardian Health

Caraway review: I tested the nonstick and nontoxic cookware – the good, bad and some cheaper alternatives

Caraway’s nonstick, ceramic pots and pans are undoubtedly viral. But are tools from its fry pan to trash can actually worth it – or are there better options?Caraway review: is this the best saute pan that money can buy?Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better thingsIf you’ve spent any time on social media in the last six years, you might have been targeted with ads for Caraway’s colorful nontoxic, nonstick cookware. Billed as a highly aesthetic and safer al

health  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

Getting into a lather over soap dispensers | Letters

Readers offer sound advice on how to tackle faulty soap containers, in response to an article by Adrian ChilesHaving experienced similar frustrations to Adrian Chiles with soap dispensers , I have discovered that they are usually just tightened too much when they are manufactured (Pump-action soap dispensers are a disgrace – and I won’t put up with them any longer, 10 June). If you remove the pump and grip the part just inside the bottle with a suitable implement (in my case a nutcracker from th

health  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

The peptide boom: how the US got hooked on unregulated ‘miracle’ drugs | On the Ground

Across the US, thousands of people are injecting themselves with unregulated peptides in pursuit of weight loss, muscle growth and younger-looking skin. Despite being labelled 'not for human consumption', the substances are readily available online and have surged in popularity among people disillusioned by traditional healthcare. To find out why so many Americans are willing to risk unknown side-effects for the promise of a quick fix, Adam Gabbatt meets the users and influencers driving the pep

health  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

Five-star service from mobility equipment firm saved our holiday

Wuva staff’s kindness and empathy means we are able to plan more trips awayMy husband has motor neurone disease (MND). For us to continue going away, we decided to buy a refurbished mobile hoist, which helps to get out of a bed, from the online mobility equipment company, Wuva.It arrived quickly, but had been damaged in transit and didn’t work. I contacted Wuva out of hours via WhatsApp, and within five minutes I received an extensive apology and advised an engineer would call me shortly. Contin

health  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

The old ‘warfare v welfare’ arguments are back – but it’s Britain’s real duty to spend on both | Frances Ryan

While we need protecting from foreign enemies, slashing benefits in favour of defence will make millions less, not more, safeAs the row over the military budget grows, Keir Starmer has spent much of the past few days insisting he’s spending huge sums of taxpayer money on defence. Every single government department has made cuts to fund next month’s defence investment plan (Dip), the prime minister promised, resulting in “the biggest sustained increase since the cold war”. On Sunday, the culture

health  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

It’s common to hear there’s ‘no money’ in healthcare. But sometimes it’s management that’s lacking | Ranjana Srivastava

A report into Melbourne’s Cohealth showed systemic problems were left unaddressed for a decade, while ideas from clinicians went ignoredOne cancer patient is advised to increase fluids, another sent an electronic script, and a third consoled. All have been saved from an emergency presentation by the timely intervention of a nurse – in just the first hour of the day.So, imagine my dismay when she warns me that her clinic will close for several weeks when she takes overdue leave. Thinking selfishl

health  Jun 15, 2026

The Guardian Health

Right now, we could be living through a hantavirus disaster. The world avoided that, and this is why | Devi Sridhar

As the isolation period comes to an end for those caught up in the outbreak on a cruise ship, let’s celebrate a good news storypassengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship where the hantavirus outbreak first occurred finished their isolation periods this past Sunday. This is a public health success story worth celebrating, because so many worse results were possible. We heard so much about what went wrong during Covid and the various systems that failed, so it’s good to recognise when things go ri

health  Jun 15, 2026

The Guardian Health

Familiar Touch review – Kathleen Chalfant is wonderful in subtle, sensual memory loss drama

Director Sarah Friedland brings impressive attention to detail to an audacious debut feature about a woman moved into a retirement communityProfoundly tender and yet untainted by the slightest trace of sentiment, this intimate and frankly sensual drama follows elderly Ruth (American stage icon Kathleen Chalfant) as she adjusts to a major change in circumstances. Told with an audacious economy that unveils key details only when absolutely necessary, the film hints at what’s going on when Ruth tre

health  Jun 15, 2026

WHO News

Open letter to leaders of G7, G20, BRICS and all nations on finalizing the WHO Pandemic Agreement’s Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex

Dear Leaders of the G7, the G20, BRICS and of all nations,We write to you together, from Geneva and from Brasília, with one shared conviction: that the world must finish what it started, and that you can help it do so.We begin not with an institution or an annex, but with a memory the whole world shares. Not so long ago, our hospitals overflowed. Families said goodbye to the people they loved through glass, or by telephone, or not at all. Children lost grandparents. Doctors and nurses, ex

health  Jun 15, 2026

The Guardian Health

A new start after 60: I fell out of love with my job when it went online. So I’m beginning again – in nursing

Nick Dowling spent decades in manufacturing and consultancy. The Covid pandemic opened his eyes to other possibilities, though he knew he’d be starting from scratchNick Dowling was the only person in the doctor’s waiting room when the practice nurse came out, glanced around and said to the receptionist with a confused look: “I was expecting to meet a student here.” Dowling raised his hand. At 60, he has undertaken an apprenticeship and hopes to qualify as a registered nursing associate this autu

health  Jun 15, 2026

The Guardian Health

The Guardian view on disability rights: the removal of legal safeguards brings risks | Editorial

Charities are right to be concerned about the supreme court’s decision to lessen oversight of care settingsThe UK supreme court has ended a system of safeguards around the human rights of disabled people that has been in place for over a decade, in its recent ruling on a legal question brought to it by the attorney general of Northern Ireland. In doing so, the judges have alarmed charities and disability advocates and pushed a little-discussed aspect of social care regulation into the spotlight.

health  Jun 14, 2026