The University of Costa Rica is building an innovative lab for minimally invasive surgery and cancer diagnosis. The laboratory will be dedicated to the training on minimally invasive surgery techniques, and will also offer Costa Ricans the opportunities to get tested for the early diagnose of different types of cancer, the ones of biggest incidence in the country such as breast cancer, prostat...

Doctors of the Hospital Mexico in Costa Rica removed a 34 kilogram tumor from the abdomen of a female patient. The amazingly large tumor, which could be the biggest recorded so far in the world was located in the abdomen of Sonia Lopez, a woman that resides in the area of Tibas, San Jose, Costa Rica. “The life of Sonia changed forever. A giant tumor of 34 kg in her ovaries was removed Monday...

There are two main reasons that people list when asked why they don’t go to the dentist as often as they should: 1. Costs: the majority of people especially in North America feel that dental treatments are too expensive 2. Fear: Fear of being in pain, of the instruments used, or even the sounds or smells of a dental clinic. Most people don’t look forward to dental appointments, just like...

The umbilical cord blood is stem-cell rich blood, stem cells which represent a hope for people who suffer blood illnesses (like leukemia or lymphomas) or those patients that require a stem cell transplant, among others. The San Juan de Dios Hospital in Costa Rica has now opened and equipped a public stem cell bank with everything necessary, thanks to a donation of $109 thousand from the Japan ...

The Strategy of Elimination of Malaria in Mesoamerica and Hispaniola Island (EMMIE) recognized the achievements of Costa Rica in the process of eradication of malaria in the country by awarding a prize of US $1.2 million to support these efforts. The Strategy of Elimination of Malaria in Mesoamerica and Hispaniola Island is a regional initiative financed by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuber...

The holiday celebrations sometimes help us reflect on our life, our self-destructing “habits” that have perhaps gotten out of control and taken over our life. A new year is also the perfect time to get help and change our life for the best. If you are dealing with substance abuse problems make the decision to take your life in a different direction, perhaps the guide you seek can be found in Costa...

There is certainly a lot to be said with regards to health insurance in the United States and what it covers, we are not getting into this subject except to say that it is not uncommon for health plans to not include dental coverage; and even when you choose a plan that does include dental or opt for a separate dental insurance the majority of times the coverage only applies for needed or basic tr...

The Hospital Mexico in Costa Rica has been applying a new oral treatment to patients of promyelocytic leukemia with positive results. The treatment involves oral doses of arsenic trioxide which is used in a few countries in Latin America and orally in less than ten countries worldwide. According to Dr. Willem Bujan, so far they have treated 7 patients with this treatment all of which have had a...

A group of students of the University of Costa Rica created a deodorant that slows down the growth of underarm hair. The product, which they named Nuvelo, has a natural component which helps in the long term weaken the hair follicle. The deodorant comes in roll-on presentation and it also moisturizes the skin leaving it soft, it was created by Pharmacy students, Maria Fernanda Chacon, Gabriela...

Back in September this year the Costa Rica Health Minister had declared a sanitary alert due to an outbreak of malaria in the neighboring Nicaragua. The alarm in Costa Rica has increased as the number of cases of this disease in Nicaragua has increased to close to 7000 cases. The large numbers of Nicaraguans who travel this time a year to visit their families raise the risk in Costa Rica. ...

The Costa Rican Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Health and PriceSmart Costa Rica, announced today through the local press and resolution RV-03-2017 that Gwaltney Harwood Smocked Slice Bacon of 1lb, lot number 7236, item 209235 and expiration date of December 22 was taken out of the shelves due to possible contamination. Apparently there is risk that the lot was con...

No, you are not reading that wrong, the National Geriatric Hospital in Costa Rica carried out a study with the participation of 31 patients who had cases of diarrhea caused by the bacteria Clostridium Difficile. The patients were treated  with an infusion of feces dissolved in saline solution. The study, carried out between 2015 and 2016 and which had an effectivity of 90% in a first and second...

Among the many medical services that are offered in Costa Rica cosmetic surgeries are one of the procedures that attracts more medical tourists; now a new service is added to the offer with the opening of the first clinic for vaginal redesign and rejuvenation. Vaginoplasty or vaginal rejuvenation is a procedure that helps correct vaginal relaxation, tightening the vagina to enhance sexual gra...

By Gabriela Mateo : Saturday December 3rd sixteen adventure driven paddle boarders from across the country crossed Costa Rica’s beautiful Gulf of Nicoya. The province of Puntarenas is separated in two by a 17 kilometer stretch of water that is typically crossed by ferry from ‘El Puerto’ to ‘Paquera’. The boat ride provides  beautiful scenery with a mix of blue water with some ripples and green ...

If you have hit bottom, don’t hesitate,  don’t think twice, seek help now!  Therapists always emphasize the importance for an addict to actually hit bottom and realize on their own that it is time to get help before any further damage is done. The World Health Organization defines substance abuse as the harmful and hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs, w...

As we reported in our article of November 17, foreigners seeking dental care in Costa Rica account for 40% of the total number of medical tourists; this is not a coincidence, dentists in the country are highly trained professionals who have made it a point to offer a great level of services with a balance of excellent quality and reasonable prices. The country has all necessary qualities to est...

A total of 979 Costa Ricans were diagnosed with HIV in 2016, the number of new patients has continued to grow in the last years, back in 2011 the number of cases was of approximately 700. According to Costa Rican Health Authorities, between 2002 and 2016 there were a total of 9,197 diagnosed patients, out of which 7,478 are male and 1,719 female. This December 1st is the World Aids Day, an ...

Problems of coordination and differences in the modalities of care of the National Child Care and Development Network affect the management and quality of the services provided, according to the latest State of the Nation Report 2017. During 2016, the Care Network benefited 52,190 children, with wide cantonal  dispersion. The national average of the population from 0 to 6 years that serves t...

Costa Rica has 5 active volcanoes, 1290 kilometers of coastlines, and 51.000 square kilometers of land, and Costa Rica’s National University, (UNA) in conjunction with the University of Costa Rica (UCR) have developed several observatories to help nationals and tourists safely enjoy the abundance of natural resources available here. In 1984, the UNA created the Volcanological and Seismological ...

Longer commutes, busier parents, lack of safe and accessible recreation, combined with ready access to junk food and fast foods has made life for Costa Rican school kids more sedentary and filled with greater risks for obesity, and later development of diabetes and other consequences. The 2017 School Weight and Height Survey, conducted by the Costa Rican Ministry of Health in conjunction with t...

Last week, it was potassium dichromate, and yesterday, it was bleach. Two toddlers in the past two weeks in Costa Rica nearly lost their lives due to mishandling of toxic chemicals in the home. Potassium dichromate is bright orange and it main victims of poisoning are young children who confuse it with soda pop or juice due to its bright orange color when diluted in water. It doesn't help th...

A family-owned business near Arenal Volcano on Costa Rica's North Atlantic plains has plans to build a mineral spring treatment center drawing on the region's famed volcanic waters. Ganadera Manoa de La Fortuna, S.A., owners of Hotel Manoa Arenal, a Trip Advisor traveller's choice hotel, submitted an application for an environmental feasibility study for the healing treatment center in August o...

The Ministry of Public Security (MSP) reported bringing in two people for treatment for heart problems following a 6.9 magnitude earthquake this evening, Sunday, November 12 at 8:28 p.m. south of Jacó off the Costa Rican central Pacific coast. The individuals, who were from the Jacó vicinity, were rushed to the regional Puntarenas Hospital but were declared deceased shortly after being admitted...

The World Meeting of Blue Zones will take place in Nicoya, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, from November 16 to the 18 and will have the presence of national and international guests that will be able to enjoy an agenda full of activities. Blue zones are geographic regions with an unusually high longevity. “A part of Costa Rica stands out worldwide as a "Blue Zone," which is characterized by the long...

A 41-year-old Costa Rican named Navarro Quesada pleaded guilty in the Pennsylvania Western District Court to the crimes of conducting mail fraud and money laundering. Navarro Quesada was arrested in February at the Adolfo Suárez-Barajas airport in Madrid following an alert sent to the International Police (Interpol) by U.S. authorities. The Costa Rican man admitted to having used a website d...

Over 13,000 teens in Costa Rica became mothers this year. Pregnancy in teens not only has increased health risks for young expectant women, but is a direct contributor to limited educational and economic opportunities for women throughout their lives. This and other data on the topic of teenage sexuality was recently presented at the National University (UNA) in Heredia. A new law that we...

The Ochomogo, Cartago-based paint company, Celco, has developed a unique product that may help in the battle against potentially fatal mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and zika. Costa Rican chemists, biochemists and pharmacists joined together to create a paint formula that repels insects and interferes with their reproduction including the Aedes Aegypti mosquito that can carry...

The first mistake we all make when we think about drug and alcohol abuse is to see it as a “problem” that only affects “other people”, we erroneously think only those of low socioeconomic status or dysfunctional families could fall victim of this epidemic. The scary reality may be too much for some to accept, the fact that as with cancer or diabetes, drug and alcohol abuse could affect anyone reg...

Prisma Business Center in the western San José suburb of Escazú is home to the first kickboxing gym in Costa Rica thanks to 9Round's decision to set up here. The U.S. franchise offers a patented system of nine training stations created by a professional fighter. The system includes boxing and kickboxing circuits interspersed with functional, interval and cardiovascular training, according to th...

Taking adequate care of our teeth is important to our overall health, but not only is it important to make sure we have no cavities, gum disease or any other conditions, it is also necessary that we care for the appearance of our smile, since this plays an important role in our self-confidence. Years back, going to the dentist was not considered of importance, some would only go when a toothach...

In Costa Rica, the Foundation Pro Palliative Care Unit looks after an average of 1,600 children both in and outpatients and has expenses that add up to close to 42 million colones (Approximately $74,000) a month that includes attention to at least 48 inpatients every month, payroll, medicine, food, conferences to provide support for the families, funeral expenses, among others. This Foundation...

Believe it or not the city of San José, Costa Rica is ranked as the “least stressful city” to live in Latin America, according to British company Zipjet and its 2017 Global Least & Most Stressful Cities Ranking. Zipjet develops technology which aims to reduce stress in people’s lives; they carried out a study to find out how the most stressful cities around the world can benefit from the exampl...

The number of Costa Rican girls that are battling obesity is growing at an alarming rate a situation that is affecting practically every country in the world, a condition that is now considered a pandemic. A report by the Center for Non-Communicable Diseases and the World Health Organization (WHO) which analyzed 2,416 studies carried out from 1975 through 2016 that measured weight and height of...

The Costa Rican Children’s Hospital has been requesting the help of the general population to get enough diapers to satisfy the demand which is of close to 300 thousand diapers a year. The medical center provides assistance to an average 13,500 children annually with different conditions, an about a 70% use diapers. Some patients require constant diaper changes as is the case of children with ...

The Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS, in Spanish) said they will publish later this year a tender in order to select the company that will design, build and equip a 70,000 square meter hospital in Puntarenas, on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast. The new hospital will be located in Barranca, and will open in 2021 with a substantially larger and improved infrastructure, and more service...

For all of you readers who are tired of news saying to quit eating red meat, this story's for you. A recent study by researchers at the Center for Animal Nutrition Research (CINA) at the University of Costa Rica confirmed that beef produced in Costa Rica contains a significant amount of linoleic acid conjugate (LAC) or rumenic acid, a substance that can boost immunity, protect against cancer an...

Over the past decade, Costa Ricans are living on average an extra year, according to data from the Institute of Health Metrics at the University of Washington in the northwestern U.S., which analyzed health and longevity in 195 countries. The average life expectancy in Costa Rica is now 71.1 years versus 70 years a decade ago. While Costa Rican health authorities and others are working to en...

Taking care of your children’s teeth is as important as taking them to their regular pediatric visit; it will help your children maintain overall health, avoid cavities and rotten teeth, prevent problems with their nutrition, self-image, etc. Many times parents tend to not give too much thought or importance to the baby’s oral hygiene specially in the first years of life; there is in fact a mis...

Walmart stores in Costa Rica are launching a campaign starting September 30 and every weekend in October to help breast cancer patients in the country. Hair stylists will be present at each of the 11 locations the supermarket chain has and will cut the hair of all those willing to donate it to elaborate wigs for patients battling breast cancer. “An approximate 900 people contributed with th...

Experts alert that from August-December, when Costa Rica's crocodiles are breeding, there is often an uptick in attacks on humans. This is due to the fact that when males compete with other males for a mate, weaker males are often displaced from their usual habitats in and around river mouths and make forays into other areas such as oceans, beaches, canals, and mangroves. Sunday, September 2...