Better Health: Smart Health Commentary Better Health (TM): smart health commentary

Latest Posts

Website Offers Tips For Dealing With Stinging Insect Allergies

There is a site on the Internet named “Bee Aware” that provides information for patients and physicians about stinging insect allergies and venom immunotherapy. The quality of the information is good, so this website makes an excellent reference for the average person and can be reliably used by doctors and other health care providers to assist in educating their patients.

For instance:

“It is impossible, not to mention undesirable, to avoid going outdoors, but there are certain precautions that can be taken that will allow you to enjoy the outdoors while minimizing your chances of being stung.

It is important to remember that stinging insects do not seek out humans. The sting of these insects is only used against people for self-defense or in defense of their nest. This is why it is important to never approach or provoke an insect of this kind unnecessarily.

  • If a stinging insect approaches, remain calm and stay still.
  • Never Read more »

This post, Website Offers Tips For Dealing With Stinging Insect Allergies, was originally published on Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..

Plastic Surgeon Weighs In On Anti-Aging Medicine

Reader Question:

Do you do anti-aging medicine? I do not see it on your web site. If not, what is your opinion of it?

I am not a fan or follower of the anti-aging medicine fad in so much that it promotes what I believe to be a false concept. An older person cannot be made into a younger version of herself by boosting certain hormones. There is really no good evidence that it works. Patients don’t live any longer. It might also be found to be harmful in the long run.

Plastic surgeons will differ in their opinions as to what works with low risk to improve things. To me Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*

“Buzzy” Pain Relief For Kids

Buzzy Pain ReliefHere’s Buzzy, a reusable pain relief device developed by a pediatrician. It works based on the gate control theory of pain:

Buzzy is a newly developed reusable pain relief device that children can bring to the doctor’s office with them to help dull the pain of shots! As the brainchild of Pediatrician Amy Baxter, Buzzy rapidly reduces pain when pressed onto the skin. Buzzy is especially helpful for children who receive shots often, like those suffering from diabetes. Buzzy can also be used for the small things, like taking splinters out! Not only is Buzzy a kid-favorite, but it’s safe, effective immediately on contact, FDA compliant, and environmentally friendly, too.

*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

Read more »

How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

Read more »

See all interviews »

Latest Cartoon

See all cartoons »

Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

Read more »

The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

Read more »

Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

Read more »

See all book reviews »

Commented - Most Popular Articles