ATLANTA - The average time that hospital emergency rooms patients wait to see a doctor has grown from about 38 minutes to almost an hour over the past decade, according to new federal statistics released Wednesday.
The increase is due to supply and demand, said Dr. Stephen Pitts, the lead author of the report by the [...]

Tourists walk on the Great Wall in Badaling, 78 kms north of Beijing, on August 5, 2008. China is likely to remove next year a ban blocking HIV/AIDS carriers from entering the country, state media reported Wednesday, citing a top health official.(AFP/File/Daniel Garcia)

BEIJING (AFP) -
China is likely to remove next year a ban blocking HIV/AIDS [...]

A couple tend to their child who is suspected to be infected with bird flu at a hospital in Medan. Three people have died and 13 have been admitted to hospital with symptoms of bird flu in Indonesia, a nurse treating the patients said Wednesday.(AFP)

MEDAN, Indonesia (AFP) -
Three people have died and 13 have been [...]

An HIV patient holds a sign during a demonstration at the Global Village in Mexico City on August 5, 2008 at the XVII International AIDS/HIV Conference. From Peru to Guatemala, hundreds of activists, from priests to transsexuals, travelled to the Mexican capital for the International AIDS conference this week, to voice their concerns to some [...]

Two hairdressers cut the hair of clients during an exibition of the “Hairdressers Against Aids” program at the Global Village in Mexico City on August 5, 2008, at the XVII International AIDS/HIV Conference.(AFP/Ronaldo Schemidt)

MEXICO CITY (AFP) -
With her immaculate face, cheekbones to die for and slim legs showcased by a slinky black microskirt, Dr. Safelove [...]

Former President of the republic of Botswana Festus Mogae speaks during the opening ceremony of XVII International AIDS conference, at the National Auditorium in Mexico City in August 3, 2008. Leading African figures led by Mogae launched an initiative here Tuesday to lobby African governments to do more to roll back the AIDS virus.(AFP/Luis Acosta)

MEXICO [...]

- WEDNESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) — You say tomato, I say
tomahto.

Which is all well and good as long as we're talking about fruits and
vegetables — but not so good if the nurse says “fentanyl” and the
hospital pharmacist hears “sufentanil,” as happened to one patient
preparing for an endoscopy.

The patient, given an opioid about 10 [...]

- (HealthDay News) — If you have trouble falling or staying
asleep, it's important to understand the reasons for your insomnia.

Here's a list of possible reasons for your sleepless nights, courtesy
of the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

Discomfort or illness.
Depression.
Stress or anxiety.
Drinking caffeine or alcohol, smoking, or taking certain medications
or illicit drugs.
An inappropriate sleep environment, including [...]

- (HealthDay News) — Your hands pick up all kinds of germs, so
keeping them clean can help reduce your risk of illness.

The Cleveland Clinic offers these suggestions to effectively wash your
hands:

Rinse your hands under running water, and apply soap evenly over both
of your hands. The whole process should take at least one minute.
Rub your [...]

- WEDNESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) — Medicinal marijuana helps relieve
neuropathic pain in people with HIV, says a University of California, San
Diego, School of Medicine study.

It included 28 HIV patients with neuropathic pain that wasn't
adequately controlled by opiates or other pain relievers. The researchers
found that 46 percent of patients who smoked medicinal marijuana reported
clinically [...]