There could soon be a cure for one of the most common allergies. FOX's Alex Hein with more in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. Peanut allergy sufferers may soon know the joy of peanut-butter flavored goodness after a study found effectiveness in an oral treatment. Researches gave children with the allergy a probiotic with a peanut protein daily for 18 months. A month later, 80 percent were able to tolerate peanuts without any symptoms. Four years later, 70 percent...

Could the amount of sleep you are getting have an impact on your weight? FOX's Alex Hein explains a new study in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. So, not only could skimping on your sleep hurt your mental health or give you bags under your eyes, but it could also add some pounds to your waistline. This new study, which followed 1600 adults who self reported sleeping habits, found that those who got an average of six hours of shuteye had a waist circumference three...

Scientists may be one giant step closer to a cure in the fight to end AIDS. FOX's Alex Hein explains in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. In a major reveal at an AIDS conference in Paris, researchers said a South African girl who was born with the AIDS virus has kept her infection suppressed for more than eight years after stopping anti-HIV medicines. They say the results are evidence that early treatment is capable of causing long-term remission. Currently, HIV...

Three dimensional printing technology may soon help people on long transplant wait-lists. FOX's Steve Rappoport with the details in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. The power of 3D printing continues to amaze us all, and now scientists have upped the ante yet again, creating a silicone heart that beats just like a human one. The group, based in Zurich, posted a video of their model which even has a fluid pumping through the heart just like a real organ. The only...

This is Housecall for Health. Though the face is the most common place for skin cancer to appear, on average we miss about 10 percent of it when applying sunscreen. University of Liverpool researchers asked 57 participants to apply sunscreen to their face with no further instructions or details on how to do it. Photos were taken of each person's face with a UV-sensitive camera before and after the application. The areas covered with sunscreen appeared black due to the camera. On average,...

This is Housecall for Health. The number of women giving birth in the U.S. has hit a historic low, causing some experts to warn about a potential national emergency. There is good news from this stat as the number of teen births in the country continued to fall. However, the number also decreased for women in their twenties, and while the number increased for women in their thirties and forties, it was not enough to prevent an overall decline. The low, which was tacked at one percent lower to...

Sick building syndrome? Is it a real thing? FOX's Alex Hein says yes, according to one study: This is Housecall for Health. Do you sneeze more while at work? Ever wonder how often they clean the air filters? Do you notice an achy feeling return when you head back to the office on Monday? Well, it turns out, you might be suffering from symptoms of sick building syndrome. According to a new study, toxins lurking behind your office's wallpaper might in turn be making you sick. The toxins can...

A life-like baby robot could help save lives. FOX's Alex Hein reports in this 'Housecall for Health': This is Housecall for Health. Sounds real doesn't it? The heart beat, spit up and blinking that comes with it does too, but the sounds are actually coming from Super Tory, a highly sophisticated robot meant to train doctors, nurses and EMT's on how to save the lives of real newborns. Super Tory is being hailed as the world's most advanced neonatal patient simulator and is the first that can...

As we gear up for summer, Doctors are advising us to be focused on staying cool. FOX's Joy Piazza reports in this 'Housecall for Health': This is Housecall for Health. With a lot of the country facing higher than normal temperatures and summer right around the corner, Doctors are advising folks to avoid getting heat stroke: (Dr. Marciniak) "If a person is in the heat too long, they may experience excessive sweating, they can get muscle cramping, they can feel faint." Dr. Alison Marciniak at...

Hot water or cold water for washing hands? It might not make a difference. FOX's Alex Hein explains in "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. Sure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends a minimum handwashing temperature of at least 100 degrees to kill harmful bacteria, but could we be scorching ourselves for no reason? Researchers at Rutgers University will have you thinking so, as their new findings suggest that washing hands in cold water is just as effective as...

Could a lack of sleep turn your brain... cannibalistic? FOX's Alex Hein has the details in this Housecall for Health: This is Housecall for Health. Skipping out on sleep may not only affect your mood contribute to those big bags under your eyes, but it could cause part of your brain to start eating other parts. While that sounds frightening, researchers say it may not be such a bad thing. The study, which focused on mice, found that in sleep-deprived mice, two types of glial cells, astrocytes...

The number of people contracting Alzheimer's Disease is on the rise and Baby Boomers pose a large risk. FOX's Alex Hein with details in your "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. With our increasing lifespan comes an increased risk of age-related diseases, and as Baby Boomers get older, more and more are being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. So much so, that the CDC reported a 54 percent jump from 1999 to 2014. Alzheimer's is currently the sixth leading cause of death in...

Tick season is approaching, so what can you do to avoid them? FOX's Alex Hein reports: This is Housecall for Health. Health officials have been warning about a dangerous tick season this summer, but what are some of the things you should do if you find one crawling on you? First off, remain calm. Just because you've been bitten doesn't automatically mean you'll get Lyme disease. Find a pair of tweezers to pull the full tick off of you, careful not to leave any pieces behind. Put the tick in a...

A small piece of chocolate isn't so bad for you once in awhile. FOX's Alex Hein explains: This is Housecall for Health. While so-called choc-o-holics may have gotten a bad rap over the years, a new study has found that eating a small amount of chocolate every week or so may decrease your risk of developing a serious type of irregular heart rhythm. AFib is a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications. In this case,...

Parents beware, could suntan lotion harm your child instead of protecting from UV rays? FOX's Alex Hein has details with your "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. A mother in Canada wants other parents to pay extra attention to the type of sunscreen they choose for their children after she claims her 14 month old daughter suffered second degree burns from an aerosol kids sunspray. Rebecca Cannon said she used Banana Boat Kids SPF 50 to protect her daughter Kyla and...

New research may give women faced with infertility new hope. FOX's Alex Hein reports: This is Housecall for Health. The magic of 3D printing has paved the way for medical miracles through the field of modern medicine. The latest involves a mouse, prosthetic ovaries and a healthy offspring. Being hailed as a landmark study, researchers believe the engineered ovaries made of gelatin, could one day help to restore fertility in human cancer survivors rendered sterile by radiation or chemotherapy....

Humans may have a better sense of smell than scientist originally thought. FOX's Alex Hein has details in you your "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. If you've ever been told you've got a nose like a hound, truth is, you do! A study in the Journal Science has concluded that humans can sniff just as well as puppers can, as well as other mammals who largely rely on their sense of smell, like rodents. The myth that animals can sniff better than you has persisted largely...

Swearing may actually be good for you. FOX's Alex Hein has the details in this 'Housecall for Health': This is Housecall for Health. If you've been told you've got a mouth like a sailor, we've got a study for you. Researchers said a good dose of foul language during physical activity, whether exercising or moving a heavy object, may actually help you get the job done. Psychologists instructed volunteers to swear before intense exercises and found that a burst of foul language led to improved...

Hearing a non-existent boom sounds terrifying, but many people suffer from this phenomenon. FOX's Alex Hein reports: This is Housecall for Health. Exploding head syndrome sounds like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, but in reality, it's a very real medical condition that thousands of people suffer from. Patients diagnosed with the condition can sense the sound of an object crashing to the ground or the sight of a bright flash of light, even though no such events really occurred. You see, for...

Researchers have successfully created an artificial womb. FOX's Alex Hein has the details: This is Housecall for Health. Can a plastic bag save the lives of premature newborns? That's what these researchers are banking on after creating an artificial womb that managed to keep baby sheep alive for four weeks. The creation, called a biobag, is a plastic bag filled with fluid to mimic the inside of a uterus. Hypothetically, tubes from a baby's umbilical cord would extend to an external device to...

A college professor may have discovered a vaccine that could take some of the stress out of the teenage years. FOX's Alex Hein has the details: This is Housecall for Health. Like music to a suffering teenager's ears, a U.C. San Diego professor said he's got an idea for a vaccine that could signal the end of dreaded acne. Eric Huang, who once worked on a biodefense vaccine to fight anthrax, told news outlets that a six-year study has the potential to lead to a vaccine that targets the bacteria...

You may want to cut back on those diet sodas. FOX's Alex Hein reports: This is Housecall for Health. Soda isn't the most nutritious thing for you, we all know that. But for those patting themselves on the back for making the switch to diet, hold off. A new study claims that daily dose of diet soda could put you at triple the risk for suffering a stroke. Researches found that diet fizz has a warning association with dementia too. The study looked at 10 years worth of data for more than 4,300...

A new study may disprove the myth that salty snacks make you thirsty. FOX's Alex Hein has the details in this 'Housecall for Health': This is Housecall for Health. Milk and cookies, peanut butter and jelly, chips and soda. Ever wonder how that last one came to be? Sure it's common to believe that salty snacks leave you thirsty, but new research says it's not really thirst you're trying to quench, but more hunger. In a recent simulated trip to Mars, scientists tested whether salty snacks led...

One hobby could prolong your life. FOX's Alex Hein reports: This is Housecall for Health. If you've been searching for a new hobby, this latest study suggests that picking up running could help you add years to life. Researchers said that even runners who smoke, drink or are overweight tend to outlive their non-runner friends by about three years. The study was conducted at the Cooper Institute in Dallas and found that pounding the pavement trumps all other forms of physical activity in terms...

Could your puppy be providing more than just companionship for your family? FOX's Alex Hein reports on a new study that says just that: This is Housecall for Health. There's more to the relationship between a dog and new baby than adorable photo shoots and constant companionship. In fact, a Canadian report has found that babies from pet-owning families possess more microbes linked with a lower allergy and obesity risk than their pet-less counterparts. The University of Alberta researchers...