The whole point of health insurance is protection from financial ruin in case of catastrophic, costly health problems. But a recent survey of people facing such problems shows that it often fails in that basic function. The survey, of some of the country’s most seriously ill people, found that even with health insurance, more than…
Cromolyn sodium is an over-the-counter medication for treating nasal allergies. It comes as a nasal solution and works best when a person uses it before they come into contact with the substance that triggers their allergy. Allergic reactions occur when the body’s immune system mistakenly responds to harmless substances known as allergens. Allergies that affect…
The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland that sits in the lower part of the front of the neck. Thyroid gland removal is a surgical procedure that involves removing part or all of the thyroid. The thyroid plays an important part in the body’s functions. It produces hormones that circulate throughout the body, regulating a…
When Sophie Bille Brahe and her younger brother, Frederik, were growing up in Hellerup, a leafy suburb north of Copenhagen, Denmark, their parents had two unorthodox methods of keeping the house quiet when they wanted to sleep in on Sunday mornings. To distract Sophie, they permitted her to rummage through the bric-a-brac in the drawers…
Image Kathy Hourigan, who started at Knopf in 1963, in her office. She rose from secretary to her current role as vice president, managing editor of Knopf Doubleday.CreditDaniel Dorsa for The New York Times In 1963, on the Friday before Labor Day, Kathy Hourigan went to a Manhattan employment agency that specialized in publishing. The…
Image Yet another reason to drink coffee: A new study suggests it can be good for the complexion. Researchers studied the effect of coffee drinking on the risk for rosacea, a chronic skin disease that causes facial redness in about 5 percent of the population. The scientists used data on 82,737 women participating in a…
Fashion month is over and editors have had a few days to sort out the biggest trends to emerge from the four-city whirlwind. Marigold seems to be a frontrunner for the color next spring, while big voluminous ruffles, cargo pants, and acid wash denim (really!) are in. Also in? Electronic scooters. Irene Lara wearing a…
I’ve enjoyed some electric spikes of optimism and even some exhilaration over the past many months, but they’ve ended like junk-food highs; generally, I’ve found myself feeling uncommonly bleak. I try to tune it out, look to the light, but even the food pages have grown heavy. Where there used to be lively essays about…
Good morning. I had some pasta shells in the larder, a bunch of spicy Italian sausage in the fridge, some butter and a fistful of sage. I got water going on the stovetop for the pasta, and that was dinner right there, no-recipe-recipe-style: the sausages seared tight and then cut into coins, then fried again…
On the morning of the International Society for Astrological Research’s Certification of Astrological Proficiency (ISAR CAP) exam, which was held at a Marriott in Chicago on a balmy morning in May, the cosmic weather boded well. The moon was in Sagittarius, the most erudite of the signs, and the communication planet Mercury had just entered…