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“Wait. I can catch Covid twice?” my 50-year-old patient asked in disbelief. It was the beginning of July, and he had just tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, for a second time — three months after a previous infection. While there’s still much we don’t understand about immunity to this new illness, a small but growing number of cases like his suggest the answer is “yes.” Covid-19 may also be much worse the second time around. During his first infection, my patient experienced a mild cough and sore throat. His second infection, in contrast, was marked by a high fever, shortness of breath, and hypoxia, resulting in multiple trips to the hospital. Recent reports and conversations with physician colleagues suggest my patient is not alone. Two patients ...

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When coronavirus first hit in March, the freelance production manager paid about $30 for a three-month premium subscription on the dating app Hinge -- and he figured he'd just keep swiping until that ended. Like many, the 29-year-old used dating apps like Hinge as a way to connect with others, especially since making in-person connections had become nearly impossible with Covid-19 shutdowns. He went on one Facetime date -- the girl, he said, seemed like she was "just going through her matches ... like on a spreadsheet." But on May 29, he had plans to meet up with a different match -- this time in person. A 28-year-old nurse named Brooke, with whom he would hike Runyon Canyon -- Los Angeles' picturesque, influencer-ridden trail. It was in the middle of their approximately three-mile hike, ...

Restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus, are hampering efforts to cope with seasonal outbreaks of dengue, an incurable, mosquito-borne disease, doctors have warned. Also known as “breakbone fever” for its severely painful symptoms, at least 1.1 million cases of dengue and nearly 400 deaths from the disease have been reported in Brazil, where there are over 1.6 million COVID-19 infections. Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Indonesia have also dealt with concurrent outbreaks of dengue and coronavirus this year. Cases are likely to rise soon with the start of seasonal rains in Latin American countries like Cuba, Chile and Costa Rica, as well as the South Asian countries of India and Pakistan. Dengue typically isn’t fatal, but severe cases may require hosp...

Ultraviolet light has been used to stop pathogens in their tracks for decades. But does it work against SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the pandemic? The short answer is yes. But it takes the right kind of UV in the right dosage, a complex operation that is best administered by trained professionals. In other words, many at-home UV-light devices claiming to kill SARS-CoV-2 likely aren't a safe bet.  UV radiation can be classified into three types based on wavelength: UVA, UVB and UVC. Nearly all the UV radiation that reaches Earth is UVA, because most of UVB and all of UVC light is absorbed by the ozone layer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it's UVC, which has the shortest wavelength and the highest energy, that can act as a disinfectant.  Related: What...

Yes, you learn by trial and error how to pinch the wire across the bridge of your nose so that your breath doesn’t shoot out the top of the mask and fog your glasses. You wear a mask because, in the operating room, contamination is a no-no. You wear a mask because if you don’t, the most vulnerable person in the room — the patient — might get an infection because of you. Recently, I was the patient. I underwent a simple hernia repair under local anesthetic. Being the patient, I didn’t have to wear a mask. Being a surgeon, I felt more awkward being in an operating room without a mask than being there without my pants. I asked for one, and the understanding nurse anesthetist got me one. While members of the operating team, the physicians and scrub nurses, do not have to maintain social dis...