Deathcap Mushroom Season is here: Mushroom foragers should take extreme care

October 31, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Watch out, mushroom foragers. Fall rains bring blooms of Amanita phalloides, better known as the death cap mushroom. They are common in Western Washington, and were found recently on the University of Washington Seattle campus. The death cap mushroom has no distinctive odor or taste and resembles other nontoxic varieties. Consumption of the Amanita […]

Second case of lung illness in King County linked to vaping

September 20, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Public Health – Seattle & King County has confirmed a second case of severe lung disease associated with vaping in King County. The patient, a female in her thirties, was admitted to a King County hospital in mid-September with shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. The patient has since been released and is recovering. The […]

Survivor Tales: In Deep Water

September 13, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

If you lived through a natural disaster, what would you want others to know about the experience so that they would be better ready to get through something similar? With that question in mind, we talked to real-life survivors of disasters to capture their stories, with the help of Seattle comics artist David Lasky. For […]

First case of vaping-related lung illness confirmed in King County

September 11, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

As of September 20, 2019 – Public Health has identified a second case of vape-related illness. More information available here. Public Health – Seattle & King County has identified a confirmed case of severe lung disease associated with E-cigarette use in a King County teenager. The patient was hospitalized in August for fever, cough and […]

Public Health warns King County residents about severe lung disease associated with e-cigarette and use of THC products

August 30, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Updated as of September 11, 2019: We have updated this information on September 11, 2019 here. Public Health has confirmed one case of vaping-related severe lung disease. The blog post below was published on August 30, 2019. Health Alert from Dr. Jeff Duchin – Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County As […]

A wake-up call that will help you sleep better

July 12, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

Even if you slept through this morning’s 4.6 earthquake (like me), consider it Mother Nature’s kick-in-the-pants to update your readiness for the Big One. Or as our friends at King County Office of Emergency put it: Today’s earthquake was a literal “wake up” call. It’s true that our region has the potential for a major earthquake (remember that […]