/oss/taxonomy/term/1680/all en /oss/article/covid-19-medical/potential-treatment-prevent-long-covid <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the</em> <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-a-potential-treatment-to-prevent-long-covid"><em>Montreal Gazette.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p>The cruelty of COVID is that many people recover only to be left with long-term symptoms. What we have taken to calling long COVID seems to affect about 10 per cent of people post infection. Symptoms tend to resolve slowly over months, if not years, but apart from suggesting patience there was not much medicine could offer. Until now.</p> Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9543 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-health/dont-fall-vaers-scare-tactic <p>The<a href="https://vaers.hhs.gov/"> Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System or VAERS</a> is being misused by anti-vaxxers to terrify the public. It’s a shame because VAERS plays a vital role in detecting important but rare reactions caused by vaccines. The weaponization of VAERS by anti-vaccine activists serves as a reminder that having access to more information does not always lead to better decisions. Information needs to be correctly interpreted to guide us in the right direction.</p> Fri, 18 Jun 2021 23:47:03 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8764 at /oss /oss/article/health/halitosis-how-it-happens-and-how-help <p>Halitosis or chronic bad breath is very common, affecting <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3633265/">up to 50% of the general population.</a> Unlike onion or morning breath, halitosis is a condition that persists and is not remedied by breath mints or mouthwash. Though the occasional bout is common, those with chronic halitosis may endure embarrassment, lack self-confidence and see social relationships suffer. Often, people are unaware of the problem with others reluctant to tell them lest causing discomfort.</p> Fri, 30 Apr 2021 21:10:05 +0000 Mark Grossman BSc, DDS, Contributor 8717 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/what-optimal-length-quarantine <p> </p> <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em><span> </span><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-the-risks-of-mixing-driving-and-cannabis">The Montreal Gazette<span>.</span></a></p> Thu, 24 Dec 2020 14:28:07 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8543 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/testing-covid-19 <p>Until there is an effective treatment or vaccine, the best strategy to win the war against COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) is to stop its spread through the population. This requires extensive tracking of infected individuals and those with whom they may have come in contact. Tracking and tracing is a major undertaking, fraught with problems and uncertainties. Being able to definitively determine whether an individual is infected or not is crucial for gaining insight into the spread of the infection and can form the basis of effective risk mitigation approaches.</p> Fri, 17 Apr 2020 16:00:00 +0000 Alaka Mullick PhD 8217 at /oss /oss/article/health/covid-science-express-vanished-sense-smell-viral-origins-and-vaccines <p>A weekly explanation of the emerging science behind COVID-19 and its infectious agent, SARS-CoV-2.</p> <p><b>Loss of smell and taste could be a symptom of COVID-19 but not a very specific one</b></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2020 14:56:45 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8199 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-health-history-toxicity/composers-deaths-left-many-questions-unanswered <p>Both Beethoven and Mozart were spectacular talents whose music will live forever. That’s a fact. But when it comes to the composers’ deaths, facts give way to theories, some reasonable, some outlandish. Posthumous investigation in face of a lack of sufficient evidence amounts to no more than conjecture, so why even bother? Because the theories do offer an opportunity to discuss some interesting science.</p> Fri, 16 May 2014 00:25:45 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2146 at /oss