Dhaval Bhatt had been warned about hospital emergency rooms.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The contagious omicron variant is straining Florida hospitals. Last week, the state averaged nearly 41,300 infections a day. The vaccinated are less likely to suffer serious illness, but can still get infected.

January is Thyroid Awareness Month, which makes this a good time to learn about thyroid cancer risk factors.

The last couple of years have been a challenge, to say the least, and it looks like life will stay that way for a while. Rather than wallow in self-pity, which is very easy to do under our current circumstances, I am putting in a little extra energy to keep things in my orbit balanced.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a common misconception is that kids aren't affected much by COVID-19, and if they were to get sick, their symptoms would be mild. However, the pandemic is affecting children in many ways, physically and mentally.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thinking about intentionally exposing yourself to the coronavirus?

The next time we have a family game night I'm going to phone in sick. They're simply too exhausting. Everyone wants to play me. Grandkids jump up and down and yell, "I want to play Grandma! I'm next to play Grandma!"

I often go looking for parenting ideas that illustrate the difference between so-called “parenting” and mere child-rearing. They abound. My latest find came in the form of a 2018 article on fatherly.com by parent coach Dr. Stacy Haynes titled “I Never Say ‘No” to My Kids.”

The world was abuzz in late December of 2019 and early January 2020 with the news of human-to-human spread of COVID-19. It would not be named COVID-19 until Feb. 11, 2020, by the World Health Organization.

More than 800,000 rapid COVID-19 tests passed their expiration date recently in a Florida warehouse, prompting concerns that they would go to waste.

The U.S. hasn't yet reached a national peak in the surge of the omicron variant. But experts say it is coming soon. COVID-19 cases are beginning to plateau in certain parts of the country.

Be warned, fellow geezers: Someone may soon come for your keys. Or at least for that electronic gizmo that starts cars these days. 

In the first few weeks of the pandemic, when physicians were grappling with the unknown like everyone else, psychiatrist Angela Reiersen recalled that an old drug in her field, called fluvoxamine, affected the body in ways that went beyond improving mental health.

LOS ANGELES -- Kaelyn Hughes, 21, has wanted to teach since she was in third grade. For her, school has always been a place of solace — and she wants  to share what education has meant to her with other children.

As my kindergartner fumbled with his shoes, I stood at our door sifting through the mental parenting checklist newly lodged in my brain: backpack. Sweatshirt. Snacks. Sunscreen. Water bottle. KN95 mask. Vaccination card.

TAMPA, Fla. -- From the outside, the inviting space on Tampa’s Water Street looks like a real, fully-stocked grocery store. But come inside, and you’re entering the world of felt creations by British artist Lucy Sparrow.

January is National Blood Donor Month, which makes this a good time to become a blood donor.

LOS ANGELES -- When he has small slices of free time, wedged in between schoolwork and studying for academic quiz competitions, Arin Parsa scrolls through Reddit.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — People who use electronic cigarettes and test positive for COVID-19 have a higher frequency of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, compared to people who don't vape, according to new research from Mayo Clinic.

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: With COVID-19 continuing to be a concern, should I stock up on at-home COVID-19 tests so I don't have to wait in long lines to get tested elsewhere? What kind of tests are sold over the counter, and what should I know before purchasing them?

Lake Superior State University has done the nation a favor again and issued its annual list of banished phrases. Is it possible to use them in one paragraph? Let's try.

If you need to test for COVID-19, Mayo Clinic health experts remind you not to go to the emergency department for testing. Emergency departments are for patients with life-threatening health care needs.

Q: My 3-year-old is fearful of trying anything new, including things other kids his age love to do such as swinging on a swing, sliding down a slide and splashing in a pool. I feel like I should begin talking to him about what to do in case of a fire in our house and "stranger danger,” but h…

DEAR JOAN — I'm writing about my friend and her 5-year-old cat.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Shane Manier remembers finding the coffee shop nearly empty — the ideal place 10 years ago to perform a poem she’d written about her own suicidal thoughts.

MANSFIELD, Texas — On a recent Friday night at Lake Ridge High School in this suburb south of Arlington, Alex Hawkins sat by himself in the upper reaches of a gymnasium that, in the vernacular of the day, allowed plenty of social distancing.

No discourse on geezer health at this point in the 21st century would be complete without a word about COVID. 

Dispatches from the Fourth Quarter, Chapter 2

DEAR JOAN — Seven years ago, I lost both of my cats within weeks of each other. I took it very hard. They had been my constant companions for a number of years, and I just didn't think I could open my heart again.

Levi Moss, of Sonora, aspires to do big things with his life. 

CHICAGO -- As the super-contagious omicron variant sweeps Chicago, pushing case count graphs vertical, some people who assumed they were safe from infection after they got their vaccines are entering a new psychological stage of the pandemic: a sense that infection is unavoidable.

LOS ANGELES — The Red Cross is currently experiencing what it's calling "the worst blood shortage in over a decade."

My mother-in-law is going home to Europe after an extended stay, and I am going to really miss her. Since we’ve been living in COVID-world, life has been much less social, and having this very nice person around — even when we don’t speak the same language — just made life more pleasant.

As waves of the coronavirus battered the U.S., parents of young kids could comfort themselves with the knowledge that COVID-19 tends to have milder effects in children and that most — but not all — kids who get infected are fine.

No, flurona is not some scary new variant of the coronavirus. And — do we really need to say this? — it is not an actual scientific term.

DEAR JOAN — Our dog, an 8-year-old mix of German shepherd, pit bull, rottweiler and many others, keeps digging in the garden. She seems to be eating dirt.

SANTA MONICA -- Nearly 30 years after purchasing a modest two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Santa Monica, California, Michael Solomon and Naomi Lieberman turned their attention to their backyard, where they hoped to add a guesthouse that would accommodate the…

For decades, Americans have been urged to fill out documents specifying their end-of-life wishes before becoming terminally ill — living wills, do-not-resuscitate orders, and other written materials expressing treatment preferences.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Mayo Clinic study shows heart conditions such as coronary artery disease and cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes and high cholesterol have stronger association with decline in memory and thinking skills during midlife for women than men. That's despite a higher …

As many people test positive for COVID-19 amid the contagious omicron variant, here’s a guide to what to do after receiving a positive result.

Marvin Querry, 86, was on his tractor, planting rye on his 770-acre western Missouri farm, when the call came in early November.

Dispatches from the Fourth Quarter, Chapter 1

LOS ANGELES -- Is it possible to feel marooned in a wilderness hideaway in the middle of Los Angeles? It is if you are inhabiting the experimental home that architect Bernard Judge built for himself in the 1970s.

DEAR JOAN — I witnessed a very bizarre incident recently involving two hummingbirds, and I know you will be able to decipher this avian oddity.

Somewhere inside the intensive care unit at Mount Carmel Grove City, in Grove City, Ohio, on one recent morning, Morgan Sheehan and Holly Riegel stood beside a bed and helped the patient lying in front of them FaceTime with family one last time before the person would be intubated and lose t…

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have two children, ages 12 and 15. They are both good students, participate in athletics and enjoy spending time with friends. While both kids are back to in-person school after the COVID-19 pandemic, my oldest child seems to have less interest in activities. How do I kno…

Chris J. Hanson was preparing to leave his beachfront hotel on the last day of vacation when his mind started malfunctioning in a rare and mysterious way.

CHICAGO -- Some people look and act younger than they are. Others seem to age prematurely, acquiring wrinkles, gray hair and an assortment of health problems earlier than their peers.

CHICAGO — The pandemic has revealed some truths: A lack of mental health providers to sufficiently meet the needs of those in crisis (including providers of color); and the stress that COVID-19 has introduced is being felt by all ages, with mental health coping strategies being constructed t…

The highly-contagious omicron variant now accounts for most new cases in the United States. And with a surge in COVID-19 cases and intense demand for scarce at-home rapid tests — which don't differentiate between variants — Americans experiencing COVID-like symptoms are scrambling to figure …