Health & Wellness

Dallas – September 11, 2026 -- FSA Store is marking its 16th anniversary with its largest FSA Day sale to date, running September 14-16, 2026, as the annual benefits open enrollment season begins.

The retailer, which sells only products and services eligible for flexible spending account funds, is opening the sale to the more than 35 million current FSA account holders in the U.S. Deals span OTC medicines, skincare and suncare brands, health trackers, and GLP-1 treatments available through the company's telehealth service, Patiently.

A sweepstakes offers 16 winners $500 in store credit

Ahead of the sale, FSA Store is running a Win Your Cart sweepstakes. Shoppers must build -- not purchase -- a cart by September 13 at 5:59 a.m. ET, with entries closing that day at 11:59 p.m. ET. Sixteen winners will be notified September 14 and receive $500 in store credit to spend on the items already in their cart.

Dublin – September 11, 2026 -- A new healthcare index finds that 47.5 percent of frequent and long-term travelers have delayed or skipped medical care while abroad, according to a study from eSIM provider Holafly.

The research also found that 20.3 percent of respondents said they were not confident they could find a healthcare provider they trust while traveling. Holafly analyzed 17 countries across seven factors -- including access to doctors and hospital beds, emergency care, healthcare quality, insurance requirements, language barriers, specialist wait times, and pharmacy access -- to build the Holafly Plans Healthcare Index 2026.

San Francisco – September 11, 2026 -- Medidojo, Inc. announced that chess grandmaster Anish Giri has joined Dojo, its AI meditation app for iOS, as a Founding Member of the company's new High Performance Team.

Giri brings elite tournament credentials to the partnership

Giri has competed at the top level of chess for more than a decade, winning the Tata Steel Masters and finishing runner-up at the 2026 Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, the strongest Candidates result of his career and one step from a world title match.

Chess players' hearts race even when their bodies don't move

Research published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that a single game of chess raises heart rate and suppresses heart rate variability, the same stress signature the body produces under physical exertion.

Virginia Beach, Va. – September 11, 2026 -- British Swim School has launched the Jump On In Sweepstakes, giving families across the U.S. and Canada a chance to win a full year of free swim lessons plus a swim gear prize package.

The sweepstakes runs from September 8 to September 30, 2026, as part of the company's "Back to Pool" campaign aimed at getting families back into the water for the fall season.

Two winners will be chosen, one child and one adult

Because British Swim School serves swimmers of all ages, organizers will select two winners: one entrant under 18 and one adult aged 18 or older.

Fairfax, Va. – September 11, 2026 -- Three in four adults believe fear of exposure stops people with substance use disorder from seeking treatment, according to a new survey from Inova Health System.

The survey polled more than 500 Northern Virginia adults

Inova's eighth annual Act on Addiction survey found stigma remains the top barrier to care in the region. Fewer than 20% of respondents knew that substance use is classified as a brain disorder, one that alters brain circuits governing reward, stress and self-control. Nearly 9 in 10 respondents said raising awareness of that fact would reduce stigma in their community.

Trust in community support varies sharply by group

Just 48% of respondents believed their community would be supportive if someone openly discussed their recovery journey. That confidence dropped among women (44%), Black respondents (45%), Hispanic respondents (47%) and rural Virginians (43%).

Los Angeles – September 11, 2026 -- Peptide Tracker, a free iOS and Android app for logging peptide protocols, has rolled out three updates -- versions 2.15.0 through 2.17.0 -- adding split-dose tracking, a fully custom compound library, and new organization tools at no cost.

The app now supports doses drawn from two separate vials

When a single vial doesn't hold enough liquid for a full dose, users can split the draw across two vials, with the app guiding them through each vial's own syringe markings. The dose history log then reflects the split accurately. The setup process also now asks how a dose is measured before showing matching units, reducing mix-ups between drug amount and syringe marks.

New York – September 11, 2026 -- Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit that administers the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, marked 988 Day on September 8 alongside the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, urging anyone struggling to call, text, or chat 988 for support.

This year's campaign, themed "988 Reasons: Your reason is reason enough," stresses that people don't need to be in an active crisis to reach out. Whether someone is overwhelmed, supporting a loved one, or just needs to talk, the Lifeline is positioned as available for any level of need.

The Lifeline has routed nearly 30 million contacts since 2022

Since transitioning to the three-digit 988 number in July 2022, the service has connected people with trained crisis counselors nearly 30 million times through calls, texts, and online chats nationwide.

Mainz – September 11, 2026 -- Constant background noise from white noise machines, audiobooks and headphones may be overwhelming children's hearing, according to Eberhard Schmidt, a certified hearing acoustician and president of Germany's Bundesinnung der Hörakustiker (biha).

Schmidt, who also specializes in pediatric hearing care, says ears are always "on" and cannot simply switch off. The real risk comes from a combination of high volume, close proximity to sound sources, and nonstop exposure -- not from sound itself.

Hearing develops before birth, around the fifth month of pregnancy

Unborn babies can perceive sound starting around the fifth month of pregnancy, Schmidt explains. While amniotic fluid and tissue reduce volume, loud repeated noise -- such as at concerts or noisy workplaces -- can still reach the fetus and should be limited during pregnancy.

Berlin – September 11, 2026 -- Diabetes can silently damage the eyes years before patients notice any change in their vision, yet new data show barely half of people with type 2 diabetes get the recommended eye exam. To close that gap, German health insurer mkk - meine krankenkasse now offers its members a free eye screening from Skleo Health at participating opticians and drugstores.

About seven million adults in Germany live with known or undiagnosed diabetes, according to the Robert Koch Institute. One serious complication is diabetic retinopathy, damage to the tiny blood vessels in the retina caused by diabetes duration, high blood sugar, and hypertension. Retinal changes can develop long before someone experiences blurred vision or other symptoms.

Bonn – September 10, 2026 -- The Deutsche Rheuma-Liga has released a free app called "Team Rheuma," available on the Apple App Store and Google Play since early September 2026. The app bundles the organization's digital services into one place, open to anyone interested regardless of membership status.

The app centralizes news, events, and patient connections

Users can access news, event listings, publications, and calls for clinical studies directly through the app. Push notifications alert users to new content so they don't have to check manually. Members can also read the association's magazine "mobil" within the app.

Corinna Elling-Audersch, President of the Deutsche Rheuma-Liga, said digital tools can meaningfully supplement in-person self-help efforts. She noted that staying in touch with fellow patients matters especially when in-person meetings aren't possible.