March 13th, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
Tags: Birth Defects, Chemical Exposure, Child Development, Developmental Disabilities, Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway, Environmental Contaminants, Environmental Exposures, Environmental Health, Fetal Exposure, Fetal Health, Healthy Pregnancy, Malformations of the Unborn, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, OB/GYN, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, OTIS, Paint Exposure, Pregnant Women, Risks During Pregnancy, Smart Mother, Toluene
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I came across an article the other day about paint and pregnancy. Yes, that paint — the kind that you put on a canvas or slap on your walls. Did you know that paint is made of pigment particles in a liquid base called a medium? Oil paints are thinned or cleaned with paint thinners. Latex paints are thinned or cleaned with water. Most paint that’s used in the home is latex.
Can environmental forces affected pregnancy? The short answer is “yes,” according to the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS), whose mission is to study malformations of the unborn.
Regarding paint and pregnancy, the amount of exposure is important. A one-time household exposure causes fewer problems than ongoing exposure through a work setting. And there have been medical studies documenting babies being born with problems if their mothers abused toluene-containing paint in order to “get high.” Toluene is a paint thinner that can cause low birth weight, premature labor, small head size, and developmental delays. Again, these problems only occur if pregnant women have been exposed to very high levels of toluene — much higher levels than exposure based on a hobby or a professional painter.
According to OTIS, working as a painter doesn’t pose concrete risks to the pregnancy. However, any reduction in chemical exposure is always a good thing. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
March 13th, 2011 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Blood Sugar Control, Blood Sugar Low, Bolus, Diabetes and Motherhood, Diabetes and Parenting, Diabetes Management, Diabetic Mommy, Endocrinology, Family Health History, Insulin Regimen, Kerri Morrone Sparling, Living With Diabetes, Six Until Me, Type 1 Diabetes
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After a tough low this morning:
I want her to know that she was wanted so much, well before she arrived, and that her parents went to great lengths to make sure her arrival was as safe as they could manage.
I want her to know that those moments when she has to wait while I test, or while I bolus, or the times when I have to set her in her crib and gulp down grape juice while she stands there with her big, brown eyes staring at me while her mouth tugs into an impatient smile, that I love her and I just need to deal with diabetes for a few seconds so I can be the best mommy I can.
I want her to know that if my eyes don’t get better, it’s not her fault. It’s not my fault, either. The fault lies with diabetes.
I want her to know that the reason I’ll sometimes frown at a soggy diaper or a voracious pull from the bottle isn’t because she’s being “bad” or doing something wrong, but because I’m worrying.
I want her to know that just because I have it, and because some of her best buddies have it, doesn’t mean that she will have it. But I also want her to know that if a diagnosis of any kind ever touches her life, we’ll manage just fine and take the best care of one another that we can.
I want her to know that when she smiles at me, it’s like a thousand online communities inspiring me all at once. That the hope of her was once the biggest incentive to improve my health, only to be superseded by her arrival in my arms.
I want her to know that regardless of what she may hear about this “diabetes,” her mommy is going to be just fine. Just fine.
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
March 13th, 2011 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Research
Tags: Anesthesia & Analgesia, Anesthesia Medications, Anesthesiology, BIS, Bispectral Index Monitor, Closed-Loop Coadministration, General Anesthesia, General Surgery, Medgadget, Medical Technology, Pharmacology, Propofol, Remifentanil
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A team of French anesthesiologists has developed an automatic delivery system of propofol and remifentanil, which they recently tested in a multi-center trial involving 196 surgical patients. The researchers reported in Anesthesia & Analgesia that the system, which uses a Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor as a guide, performed better than manual administration:
We have developed a proportional-integral-derivative controller allowing the closed-loop coadministration of propofol and remifentanil, guided by a Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor, during induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. The controller was compared with manual target-controlled infusion.
The controller allows the automated delivery of propofol and remifentanil and maintains BIS values in predetermined boundaries during general anesthesia better than manual administration.
Abstract in Anesthesia & Analgesia: Closed-Loop Coadministration of Propofol and Remifentanil Guided by Bispectral Index: A Randomized Multicenter Study
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
March 12th, 2011 by Glenn Laffel, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Research
Tags: Automobile Accidents, Dr. Glenn Laffel, Driver Safety, Drivers' Privacy, Governors Highway Safety Association, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Pizaazz, Rear-End Collisions, Red-Light Cameras, Red-Light Running Car Crashes, Right-Angle Crashes, Safe Driving Behaviors, Safe Roads, Traffic Accidents, Traffic Fatalities, Traffic Safety
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Most people don’t like them. Privacy advocates abhor them. But, really– how many things can you name that save lives AND generate revenues for cash-strapped local and state governments? Red-light cameras are one such item.
A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has shown that red-light cameras saved 159 lives over a four-year period in the 14 large U.S. cities where the study took place. The scientists claimed that more than 800 traffic fatalities would have been prevented during the course of the study if the cameras had been deployed in all large U.S. cities.
The scientists compared fatal car crash rates in U.S. cities with populations of at least 200,000 for two four-year periods: 1992 to 1996 and 2004 to 2008. They excluded cities that had already deployed red-light cameras in the earlier period, and cities that instituted cameras during the later period.
In the 14 cities that used red-light cameras during 2004 to 2008, the rate of fatal red-light running crashes was 35 percent lower than in 1992 to 1996. The crash rate did drop in cities that never deployed camera programs, but only by 14 percent.
Based on these data, the scientists determined that the rate of fatal red-light running crashes was 24 percent lower in cities with cameras in 2004 to 2008 than it would have been had they not deployed the cameras. In fact, the benefits of red-light cameras were actually larger than this. The rate of all fatal crashes at intersections with signals (not just red light running crashes) dropped by 14 percent in cities that deployed red-light cameras, whereas it increased by 2 percent in other cities. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Pizaazz*
March 11th, 2011 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Bad Medical Marketing, Birth Control, Contraception, Dr. Peggy Polaneczky, Essure, FDA, Fertility and Sterility, Food and Drug Administration, Informed Medical Decision Making, Irresponsible Medical Marketing, Male Sterilization, Medical Advertising, Medical Device Industry, Men's Health, OB/GYN, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Reproductive Health, Sexual Health, Slick Marketing, Sterilization Device For Women, Sterilization Procedures, TBTAM, The Blog That Ate Manhattan, Vasectomy, Women's Health
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If ever a medical device company crossed a line with their marketing, this one has. Essure, which makes a sterilization device for women, is trying to scare men away from vasectomy in order to drive women to use their device.
“We made men watch footage of an actual vasectomy,” says the female voiceover — and then they proceed to show men’s reactions to watching a surgical procedure, with “That’s frickin’ gross, man” being the most memorable quote. The final tagline: “You can only wait so long for him to man up.” Yeah, and to be sure he doesn’t, they’ve created this ad.
The ad is slimy, harmful, obnoxious, and just plain stupid. A couple’s decision as to which sterilization procedure is best for them should be one informed by real information, not frat-boy marketing.
How dare they? The FDA should pull this ad — now.
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Addendum: I just emailed the FDA at BadAd@fda.hhs.gov. Feel free to copy my message below and send your own email:
To the FDA,
I find this ad for Essure both inflammatory and unethical. I am incensed at the impact this ad could have on couples’ informed choices about sterilization. I ask that you mandate that the company who makes Essure immediately pull this ad, both from the Web and from any media outlet where it’s playing.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog That Ate Manhattan*
