Health Tips Line

I don’t know about you, but when I get a mosquito bite , I can’t help but immediately scratch. It feels so good … until it doesn’t. Am I imagining things—or does scratching end up prolonging the misery? “Scratching is a bad idea,” says Daniel Kaplan, MD, PhD, a professor of dermatology and immunology at the University of Pittsburgh. He should know: His research team published a 2025 study in Science that uncovered the unexpected reason why scratching itchy skin can make things worse. (I knew it!) Read on to learn why it’s a mistake to scratch, the wild science behind why scratching sometimes feels kind of great, and how to make your bites way less itchy and uncomfortable. It’s easier than you think—if you use the right tactic. Get  Reader’s Digest ’s  Read Up newsletter for more fun facts, life hacks, humor, cleaning, travel and tech all week long. Why do bug bites make us so itchy? When a mosquito bite...

As I was writing this story, a storm rolled through my neighborhood, and memories flooded back of summer afternoons spent reading by the window as the thunder rumbled after I’d rushed home from the pool before the skies opened up. Summer as a kid encompassed so many memories , from family vacations and swimming at the beach to riding bikes until dusk, catching fireflies and staying up late to watch movies. It all seemed like endless fun until September. As an adult, summers seem to go by so fast that we barely have a chance to enjoy them before we’re back-to-school shopping. And it’s not our imagination: There are scientific reasons why summer really did seem longer when you were a kid. Now that we’re grown-ups, is it possible to recapture that sense of an “endless” summer before the leaves start falling? I asked time-perception expert Martin Wiener, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at George Mason University and the principal investigator of...

Marvel fans, assemble! The first Avengers: Doomsday trailer is finally here, and it somehow lived up to all the hype. After months of cryptic teases and way too much overanalyzing every little Marvel post, we got our first real look at what could be one of the biggest superhero movies ever. As a lifelong X-Men fan, this trailer had me grinning from start to finish. Wolverine and Storm have always been two of my all-time favorite Marvel heroes , so seeing the X-Men finally sharing the spotlight with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes feels like something I’ve been waiting forever to see. (I may or may not have immediately replayed the trailer … more than once.) And if you’re anything like me, you probably finished watching with one thought: Wait … what did I just miss? Marvel loves hiding clues in plain sight, and this trailer is packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments. Whether you spotted a few clues or missed them all, read on for a breakdown of the...

When you think of the people currently serving in public office, at least nationally, “youthful” is not exactly what comes to mind. The average age of our current senators is 64; representatives clock in at a slightly more spry 57. And at 80, our current president is the oldest ever . So it’s fun when Washington welcomes a new baby to the mix—an event that’s as rare as it is exciting. This weekend, Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance welcomed their fourth child, a son named Alec Neel Vance. And it made us think: How many “White House babies” have we seen in our nation’s history? And how many of these babies were actually born in the White House? I’m telling you right now it’s fewer than you think. Any guesses? Our nation is now 250 years old , yet we can practically count the number of West Wing babies on our two hands and feet (give or take a few digits). Read on to discover just how many times our nation has li...

Sometimes I daydream about what it must have been like to go shopping when there was only one choice for everything. When you could just buy a shirt without wondering if it was moisture-wicking or hand-wash only, or eggs without concerns about whether the chickens were farm-raised or free-range. Honestly, that sounds delightful to me. But alas, and perhaps for the better, we now have much more information and many more choices when deciding which foods to eat and which products to use. Take food-storage containers. Turn them around or flip them over and you’ll likely find a row of little symbols, all of which tell you something about the material used to make the container and may influence your decision about whether you want to use it. There are a lot of different symbols—some with obvious meanings and some that are a bit more ambiguous. And that’s putting it nicely. So we’re here to clear it all up with a guide to what these symbols actually mean, courtesy o...

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Sometimes I feel like raccoons are following me. And I’m not just talking about my near-weekly sightings of the well-fed fellows who toddle around my neighborhood, peek over my fence and occasionally cool off in my pool. No, these are “professional” raccoons, aka ones that I get to write about. Just a few weeks ago, I learned that raccoons could be domesticating themselves , and this weekend, another fell into my lap: Jimothy, The Little Raccoon That Could. Jimothy, a delightful, if strangely shaped, raccoon from Seattle, has moved into our hearts and social media feeds—and, like my resident raccoon friends , shows no signs of vacating anytime soon. He’s a little different from other raccoons, and people can’t seem to get enough of Jimothy’s odd little body and plucky attitude. So why has this latest animal obsession taken over our lives? I mean, besides the obvious answer, which is that he is absolutely adorable. Read on to see what Jimothy...

Queen Elizabeth and Prince William had a special connection, and in many ways, they were just like a regular grandma and grandson . But let’s not kid ourselves: They were still royals, which means the idea of “spoiling your grandkids” was likely next-level. At least, that was definitely the case when it came to William’s favorite dessert. According to the queen’s ex-chef Darren McGrady, when the young prince wanted his preferred sweet treat, the queen had a magical way of indulging him. And let’s just say we are totally getting into Willy Wonka territory here. So what did Prince William crave as a kid, and how did his doting grandmother fulfill those wishes? Read on to find out. Get  Reader’s Digest ’s  Read Up newsletter for more royals, humor, cleaning, travel, tech and fun facts all week long. How did Queen Elizabeth indulge Prince William’s love of dessert? With the push of a button! Yes, it’s the stuff of dreams...