Health Discovered

For years, experts have warned that feeling lonely and isolated was a problem with major health consequences for Americans. And for many people, the lockdowns and social distancing that were necessary during the COVID pandemic only made things worse. In this episode, we learn how feeling lonely can affect mental and physical health, and the role that everyone can play in fighting isolation and forging connections.

WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

As the world was grappling with the life-altering changes of the COVID pandemic, many people started noticing that something else was different -- their periods. Now, researchers are trying to understand the factors that could lie behind those changes -- stress, the virus, vaccines, or something else? And what can these changes teach us about the role the menstrual cycle plays in understanding your health?

WebMD is saddened to share that our guest in this episode, former WebMD Senior Vice President Kristy Hammam, died in December 2021. In this interview, recorded in October, she shared her story, what helped her through her cancer, and how she hoped to tap her experience to benefit others. 

As pediatric COVID cases rise, WebMD medical editor, Neha Pathak, MD, answers the question many parents are asking now: What's the hold-up on COVID shots for children under 12? Also, what to know about RSV, flu, and other illnesses as kids head back to classrooms.

Disclaimer: WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

We continue our caregiving series with Jane and Jerry Grillo, whose 20-year-old son Joe has cerebral palsy. They offer insight into caring for him while making time for their own careers -- and one another. Jane also discusses Transition Tuesdays With Jane and Joe, their vlog for the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership.

We all know we should exercise. If your doctor prescribed it, would that help? WebMD medical editor Neha Pathak, MD, tells us why working out is so good for us -- and so hard to do, even for her. 

Rx: Exercise

This new version of the coronavirus is changing the COVID pandemic in some big ways. Infectious disease expert William Schaffner, MD, tells us what the Delta variant means for people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated, what makes it so much more contagious, and the role that vaccine mandates might play in containing it. 

Photographic memory? Forget about it. You don't really need or want to remember every single thing. Learn about the balance between healthy and unhealthy forgetting from our conversation with Scott Small, MD, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Columbia University and author of the new book, Forgetting: The Benefits of Not Remembering. https://www.webmd.com