New study shows smartphone use in bathrooms could lead to hemorrhoids: Dr. Peter Lin
Could your smartphone be contributing to an uncomfortable problem? Dr. Peter Lin talks about a new study that shows why scrolling on the toilet isn't the best idea.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Who's at risk during B.C.'s first heat wave of 2025
A man cools off at a temporary misting station during a heat wave in Vancouver on Aug. 16, 2023. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press) While most of us will be enjoying the first heat wave of the year, health officials are warning that some British Columbians should watch for signs of trouble. Several health authorities published bulletins on Friday to urge the public to prepare for temperatures forecast to be in the mid-to-high twenties this weekend with plans to keep cool and hydrated. 'Though we haven't reached the criteria for a heat warning or an extreme heat emergency, there is some concern that people, especially those at higher risk, might be at increased risk,' said Dr. Michael Schwandt, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health. For example, seniors, young children and babies, those who are pregnant, diabetics, have heart or respiratory disease, have substance use disorder, have disabilities or cognitive impairments, and those living alone are at increased risk. Certain medications, like anti-psychotics and anti-depressants, as well as diuretics can make people more vulnerable. Anyone who's had heat stroke in the past is likely to have sensitivity to higher temperatures. Early season heat is different Though the temperatures will be significantly lower than the rare 2021 heat dome event, which saw 619 British Columbians die in record-shattering heat, this weekend's heat wave is still early in the year to see temperatures like those forecasted. 'Temperatures that might, by the end of the summer, not present much of a challenge can actually have a greater health impact early on in the summer,' explained Schwandt. 'This is because our bodies—although we can become acclimated to extreme heat quite quickly, actually in a matter of weeks—just haven't had that opportunity as we move from spring to summer.' The B.C. Centre for Disease Control says, 'Severe headache, confusion, unsteadiness, loss of thirst, nausea/vomiting, and dark urine or no urine are signs of dangerous heat-related illness.' SFU researchers urge long-term planning As public health leaders and municipalities urge people to take steps to respond to the heat on the horizon, researchers at Simon Fraser University want them to think about mitigating the risks for years to come with concrete action in the near-term. Associate professor in urban planning, Andreanne Doyon, analyzed more than 240 documents with her co-author and concluded there are gaps in planning for future events like the fatal heat dome of 2021, without a government agency – or even level of government – responsible for quarterbacking future planning. 'Every summer we're going to experience this, and our buildings and our neighborhoods have never been built with heat in mind because we're temperate place,' she said. While the BC Building Code was updated last year to include maximum acceptable temperatures for new home construction, retrofitting older buildings with air conditioning and the requisite power upgrades, or replacing windows and insulation are much more complicated and less feasible. Concrete jungles without tree canopy or shady areas were also identified as factors that built 'heat islands' and contributed to the death toll. 'I want people planning for heat in February, not July,' said Doyon. 'It should be something that we're always prepared for and always thinking about.'
CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Company that worked on ArriveCan app barred from government contracts for 7 years
Ottawa says it has banned the largest contractor that worked on the ArriveCan app from entering into contracts or real property agreements with the government for seven years. Public Services and Procurement Canada has announced that GC Strategies Inc. has been deemed "ineligible" after an assessment of the supplier's conduct. Last year, the department suspended the security status of GC Strategies, which the auditor general says was awarded more than $19 million for the project. That move followed an earlier decision to suspend the company from procurement processes within the department. The government also barred two other companies that contributed to the ArriveCan project, Dalian Enterprises and Coradix Technology Consulting, from participating in procurement opportunities. The federal government launched the app in April 2020 as a way to track health and contact information for people entering Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to digitize customs and immigration declarations. A report by Canada's Auditor General Karen Hogan found the government's record-keeping was poor and its reliance on outside contractors allowed the cost of the project to balloon to $60 million. The first ArriveCan contract was initially valued at just $2.35 million. On Tuesday, Hogan is set to deliver an audit focusing on whether the contracts awarded and the payments made to GC Strategies and other incorporated companies were "in accordance with applicable policy instruments" and were good value for money. Public Services and Procurement Canada says the government continues to take action to "strengthen the integrity of the procurement process." The Canadian Press has reached out to GC Strategies and to Public Services and Procurement Canada for comment. GC Strategies partner Kristian Firth was ordered to appear before the bar of the House of Commons last year after refusing to answer questions at a committee hearing. Firth was grilled by MPs for two hours, though Liberals opted out of questioning after a doctor's note provided to the clerk of the House recommended that he not appear because of mental-health issues. GC Strategies did not develop or manage the ArriveCan app, but it was tasked by the federal government to assemble a team to complete some parts of the project.
Globe and Mail
6 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
B.C. launches $5-million ad campaign to recruit American doctors, nurses
British Columbia has launched a six-week, $5-million campaign of targeted advertisements to recruit doctors and nurses in the United States, citing 'chaos' under the Trump administration to lure them north. The Ministry of Health said the campaign launched on Monday was being shown on thousands of advertising screens in Washington, Oregon and California, at locations within a 16-kilometre radius of health care facilities, as well as on podcasts and Netflix shows. B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne said at a news conference it was a step B.C. needed to 'take right now' to attract physicians, nurses and other health care workers, and the province would do everything in its power to ease their transition. 'This will help supercharge our overall recruitment campaign to attract U.S. health care workers to B.C.,' she said. Opinion: How to win a trade war Fentanyl czar focused on combatting opioid trade, despite tariff distraction In one of the ads, a disgruntled-looking woman in hospital scrubs listens to 'more news from Washington' before the scene cuts to outdoor views of British Columbia, and listeners are urged to 'follow your heart' to the province. Osborne said the campaign was expected to reach about 250,000 health care workers. She said B.C. was 'taking advantage of the uncertainty and chaos' in the United States after the election of President Donald Trump by reaching out to health workers who shared the values of the province's health care system. One ad says recruits can 'practice evidence-based care' in B.C., while another promises 'universal health care that puts people first.' Looming over these efforts is the question of whether B.C.'s public single-payer system offers sufficient financial incentives. Osborne said it was difficult to directly compare physician salaries in B.C. with those in the United States. 'But I can say that with some of the recent changes we've made, and how we pay family doctors, we know that we have competitive salaries,' she said. 'We also know that we offer very competitive salaries for nursing. We offer some of the highest nursing wages in Canada. We also know, though, that doctors are not just motivated by dollars and cents.' Osborne said nearly 1,600 health care providers had already expressed an interest in moving to B.C. even before the ads launched. These included 700 doctors and 500 nurses, but she could not say how many had made it to B.C. 'We're going to do everything we can to attract as many physicians and nurses as possible,' she said without giving a specific target number. 'Ultimately, the success is measured by what people experience in their communities,' she added. She said B.C. would eventually expand international recruitment to other jurisdictions, likening the process to hitting a target. 'We've got the U.S. right in the centre, the bull's eye, and then right outside in the next rings, are countries like the United Kingdom,' she said. 'That's where we'll be focusing our efforts next.'
