I was fairly surprised to read of a new partnership between Sermo and the American Medical Association.  For those of you who don’t know what Sermo is:

Sermo is an “online physician community” where doctors are asked to weigh in on hot topics in medicine, especially pharmaceutical issues.  It is pitched as a peer forum where physicians can speak candidly to one another about their personal views and clinical experiences.  Sounds great, except the monetization strategy is troublesome to me.  Physician opinions are sold to hedge fund managers on Wall Street, and the doctors are occasionally paid $20-$500 for opinions that are deemed particularly enlightening.  So let’s say that investors in GSK want to figure out if doctors are going to stop prescribing Avandia (and hence reduce the stock value of that company).  They get Sermo to pose the question, “Would you stop prescribing Avandia based on the recent New England Journal of Medicine meta-analysis?”  A group of docs (probably young, financially strapped residents looking for some easy cash) will give their opinion, Sermo collates them and presents a report to the company that hired them (a sort of “dipstick” of medical opinion) for thousands upon thousands of dollars, and kicks a hundred or so back to the docs who answered the questions.

Now, I don’t know how other docs feel about a forum where big brother is watching you, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable providing opinions for Wall St. speculators under the guise of
being involved in an exciting new online community.

Does anyone else have any thoughts about Sermo?This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.

Here’s a copy of the Press Release, for those interested…

As an experienced June bride myself, I can tell you that
your wedding may be one of the happiest times of your life, but for a number of
reasons, health problems can crop up on and around this special day.  But with some advance planning,
you can make sure that you and your guests remember the day for the right
reasons, and not the wrong ones.

1.      Beat the Heat – Many June weddings are
planned months in advance (at a cooler time of year), when the prospect of
being outdoors is inviting.  But when
June arrives, wedding guests find themselves spending hours exposed to peak sun,
heat, and humidity.  And since weddings
often involve older relatives and younger children, the risk from sun and heat
exposure is higher than many expect.  If
you’re getting married outdoors, keep an eye on the heat, especially for your
oldest and youngest guests.  Have
sunscreen and plenty of water available.
Consider moving older guests to a shaded area.  To recognize the signs of heat exhaustion, visit:
Recognize
symptoms and find treatments for heat exhaustion.

2.      The Size is Right – Many brides buy
their wedding dress a size smaller, with ambitious plans of weight loss – or
perhaps the dress fit well when it was bought, but  run up to the wedding (with the related stress),
has led to a slight weight gain.  Either
way, too many brides try crash dieting in the days and weeks before the wedding
to squeeze into that gown – and find failure, anxiety, and health problems.  If you want to lose weight for your wedding,
start in advance, and stick with a healthy, safe weight loss plan.  Crash diets are fittingly named:
you smack into a wall and find yourself worse off than before.  Brides also should keep an ear tuned to
bridesmaids engaged in crash dieting, and try to talk their friends out of such
bad habits.   Find
smart strategies for healthy weight loss.

3.      Sober Dialing – While many people don’t
think of drunk driving as a “health issue,” drinking and driving is one of our
county’s leading preventable causes of death.
A healthy wedding is one where the guests get home safe and sound.  Wedding planners should ensure that everyone
has a designated driver, arrange with a cab company to have a certain number of
cabs available at the end of the evening.
Or you can arrange for transportation to take guests back to their
hotel.  That way no one has to worry
about drinking and driving.  And make
sure you have plenty of non-alcoholic beverages for any guests who have alcohol
dependency issues.

4.      Celebrate with a Healthy Meal –
Everyone wants to treat their guests to a wedding meal to remember – but make
sure it is remembered fondly.  If you’re
holding your wedding outside, make sure that food, like potato salads and
shrimp, are properly cooled or kept on ice.  I know of a wedding where five of the guests got food poisoning from
this type of mistake.
And consider a lighter, healthier meal:
your guests will appreciate the chance to celebrate with you (without
needing to go on a diet the next week), and will find themselves feeling less
weighed down during the celebration.  Learn
about food poisoning and how to handle food safely.

5.      Get the Glow – Every bride wants to
look perfect on her wedding day.  But
that “glowing, radiant” skin can’t be had via makeup:  healthy choices make a big difference.  Try to keep your stress under control to
avoid an
acne breakout.  And drink plenty of
water on the day before and the day of your wedding to keep your skin looking
great and your body feeling great. Check
here for more information on the importance of staying well-hydrated.

6.      Dealing With Family Issues – Weddings
pose challenges not just to physical health, but emotional well-being,
too.  Unresolved family
issues have a not-so-funny way of erupting at a wedding, exacerbated by the
stress of the event and intensified by the gathering of relatives who may
not often encounter one another.  Ask a
trusted relative to try to resolve these disputes before the wedding day, and if
you suspect they may nonetheless erupt at the wedding, have a “designated
diffuser” – a relative who can soften family conflicts or at least keep them
from ruining the celebration.

7.      Take Care of Yourself – You can’t have
a “healthy” wedding with an “unhealthy” bride.
Schedule some time to do things that help you relax.  Yoga, massage, a day trip, hiking or reading
a good book are all great ways to de-stress.
Learn
about other stress management tips.
As you prepare for your upcoming event, make sure you are getting 7-8
hours of sleep per night.  Being
well rested can help you avoid feeling irritable and anxious and can reduce
your chances of becoming ill.

8.      Countdown
…Check-up –  Maybe it’s not romantic,
but a comprehensive  physical exam is a
good idea for couples preparing for marriage.
Before you ask someone else to
say that they will love you “in sickness and in health,” you owe it to them to
know just where on that spectrum you stand.  Together you can plan to support one another
in long term, healthy lifestyle goals. Get a complete check up a few months
before the wedding, so you can understand and address any health issues before
you are at the altar.  Both women
and men
need complete and regular physicals.

9. A
Healthy Honeymoon – Ok, you’ve made it all the way through the wedding in
good health, and now comes “the fun part:” the honeymoon.  But a surprising number of brides and grooms
wind up too sick to enjoy this first taste of wedded bliss.  Key tips:
make sure you don’t overindulge in food and drink at the wedding; plan
for the honeymoon like you would any other trip (with sunscreen for warm places
and precautions about drinking safe water and eating safe food); and make sure
you’ve had all necessary vaccinations well in advance of the wedding so you
aren’t suffering from vaccine side effects on wedding day.  Learn
more about health and travel.  

10.  Waiting to Exhale – Take a deep breath
and remember that in the end, marrying the person you love is more important
than having a perfect ceremony or reception.
The wedding is just the start of the marriage – and hopefully, not the end.  The happiest and healthiest wedding is the
one that leads to a happy, healthy marriage.  Check out some great
tips for keeping your marriage strong long after the wedding’s over.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.

There’s a new contact lens solution scare this week.  Last year it was fungus, this year it’s parasites.  Apparently there has been an increase in amoebic infections in the eyes of those who use a type of moisturizing contact lens solution.  These amoebas are pretty common (and relatively harmless?) in the water supply, but put them in your eyes with a few moisturizing drops and you’ve got yourself a dangerous infection that can even result in blindness.  Scientists are puzzled as to why this mixture might increase the risk for infection - some speculate that the moisturizing chemical sticks to the amoebas and keeps them in the eye (rather than having them drop out in your tears).  But at this point, no one really knows why there have been increased infection rates, or what the contact lens solution has to do with it.

I guess my advice would be - never put tap water in your eyes or on your contact lenses, and switch to a different brand of contact lens solution than Advanced Medical Optics, Inc.’s Complete Moisture Plus until further notice.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.

The Revolution Health team recently asked me to weigh in with some medical advice for healthy weddings.  We’re going to publish the article in an upcoming press release, and I’m pretty excited about it.  For you faithful blog readers, I thought I’d give some further background.

Almost all weddings contain some sort of unanticipated snafu, and mine was no exception.  However, all things considered - I got off easy.  And this was by design.  I had only 15 guests at my wedding - and with so few “moving parts” the day was a fairly well oiled machine.

My wedding drama involved my hairdo.  Guys, you’re not going to understand this part too well - but you might keep reading just to help you appreciate what your wives/fiancees go through.  I had booked an appointment at a hair salon 30 minutes away from my wedding site (the Inn at Little Washington - which I highly recommend for anyone who likes impeccable service and world-class dining).  I had done my research and found the best salon in the area, booked a month in advance and confirmed 3 days prior.  And so when I arrived at the salon and was met with a blank stare from a gum-chewing receptionist (who said that my stylist had called in sick and all the others were fully booked) I was taken aback.

“But I’m a bride and my wedding is in 3 hours from now.  Surely someone can style my hair into a quick updo?”

The receptionist shrugged.  “The other stylists are fully booked.  Sorry”

I looked at her in disbelief.  How could she be so cold?

“Well, do you know of another salon nearby where I might find someone do do my hair?”

“I’m not from around here,” she said, starting to file her nails.  “I don’t know where you’d find another salon.”

So I left the salon and got into my Chevy rental car and drove around a small town in rural Virginia, looking for a hair dresser.  After 30 minutes of random cruising, I spotted a super-cuts type shop in a strip mall.  I drove up and jumped out of the car, anxiety levels rising…

I explained my predicament to the ladies in the salon, who told me that there was no one who could do my hair on such short notice.  I suppose that I looked completely crest fallen, because one young stylist overheard the story and said she’d squeeze me in right after her next client.  “I’ve done a lot of the prom hair lately,” she said, attempting to inspire confidence in her skills.

“Ok great.” I said, sitting down in a black vinyl chair, imagining what prom hair in rural Virginia might look like.

The young woman went to work on my long hair with a curling iron and copious amounts of hair spray and bobby pins.  I did my best not to criticize her efforts, as it was kind of her to take me on with no notice.  But I did wonder why she was flattening the top of my hair and building a sort of conical structure on the back of my head.

At the end of the session I realized that my hair looked quite dreadful.  I thanked her and quickly left the salon, jumped in my Chevy and began driving back to my hotel trying to calculate how long it would take to jump in the shower, wash the goo out of my hair, and put it in a pony tail in time for the ceremony.

As I arrived at the Inn, my sister spotted me as I attempted to dash into my room.

“Hey, Val, that’s a wild hairdo.  You know, you kind of look like that creature from the movie Alien.  Your cone hair is kind of the same shape as…”

“Yeah,  yeah…  I know.  I’m going to hop in the shower.”  My vision of being a beautiful, glamorous bride were diminishing by the minute.

“Let me fix it!”  She said, following me into my bathroom suite.

Images of our childhood rushed back to me - she liked to play with Barbies (I preferred building blocks and books) and cut all of their long hair into short Mohawks.

“Um… do you think that’s a good idea?” I asked nervously.

“Sure, I can take the pins out, fluff it up and twist it into a rose shape.”

Suddenly my husband’s sister burst into the bathroom with her camera.  “I heard your hair looked terrible, and thought I’d get a photo!” she blurted.  Then stopped short to consider the style.  “Wow, you do look just like Alien!” she said, raising her camera and laughing out loud.

“Please don’t take a picture of this!” I pleaded, instructing my sister to escort her out of my bathroom.

Fortunately, no photos were taken - and my sister went to work removing the cone of blonde hair from the back of my head.

Much to my surprise, my sister’s hair styling skills had dramatically improved since Barbie days.  She was able to twist my locks into a lovely, elegant rose shaped bun with soft ringlets framing my face.  It was a miracle.

And so, with only minutes to spare, I arrived at the ceremony looking and feeling my best.  Almost no one knew what I’d just been through, and the rest of the evening was touching, intimate, and elegant.  It was a “perfect” wedding.

So, I guess my point is that weddings will always have their flaws and drama - but the most important thing to keep in mind is that you’re marrying the man you love.  The real secret to a healthy wedding is marrying a good person.  Someone who will adore you, cone head and all, through the long years to come.  I’m going to spend this Memorial Day weekend celebrating our second anniversary at the Inn with my dear hubby.  I’ll write my next post on Tuesday!  Have a great weekend.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.

Even though the gender gap in medicine is closing quickly (about 50% of medical students are female), young female physicians in practice are often viewed with suspicion.  Dr. Michelle Au, an anesthesiologist and graduate of my alma mater, is regularly asked if she’s “a real doctor” or if she’s the nurse or a student of some sort.  This week she blogged about her experiences, and there was a large volume of interesting responses.

I myself have had a rough time of it in the past (now I guess I look old enough to “be a real doctor”), and was routinely assumed to be a nurse, physical therapist, or even pharmaceutical rep.  I actually wasn’t that offended by being miscast - mostly because I took it as a compliment not to look like a doctor.  Although it’s somewhat unclear what a real doctor is supposed to look like, I have a feeling he’s older, balding, and paunchy.

But one day I was a little annoyed when my age and gender was equated with incompetence, which crosses the line for me.  Here’s how the conversation went between me and the parents of a toddler with a small cut on his forehead:

Me: “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. X, I’m Dr. Jones.  I see that Johnny bumped his head and will need a few stitches.” [Enter long history and physical discussion here].

Mrs. X: “Are YOU going to put in the stitches?” She asked nervously, scanning the ED for other physician suturing candidates.

Me: “Yes, I assure you I will be very careful.  I’ve sutured many similar lacerations.”

Mr. X: “Yeah, but don’t you think he needs a plastic surgeon?”

Me: Looking at the small cut that only required 2 or 3 sutures.  “I understand that you want the best possible cosmetic outcome for your son, but I assure you that this cut is so small that the plastic surgeon wouldn’t close it any differently than I would.”

Mrs. X: Spotting a tall, male intern fiddling with some bandages on a supply cart.  “Well, can’t he do it?”

Me: Viewing the clumsy medicine intern.  “Well, yes, he could.  Shall I ask Dr. Big Hands if he can come and suture your son’s forehead?  He’s never closed a lac before and has been dying to try one.”

Mrs. X: Um… Well, maybe you should just do it.

Outcome: I did a beautiful, delicate job of closing the small laceration, and the parents watched in awe as I used the tiniest needle and thread to create a seamless finish.

Mr. X: Thanks for your help.  You did a really great job.

Have any of you readers had similar experiences?This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.