October 24th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Pediatric Society, Baby's First Year, Bed Sharing, Better Sleep, Breastfeeding, British Mothers, Dr. Peter Blair, Dr. Toni Brayer, Everything Health, Family Bed, Good Sleep Habits, Healthy Baby, Infant Safety, Mom Sharing A Bed With Baby, New Moms, Newborn Care, Sleep Quality, Sleep Studies, Sudden Infant Death, United Kingdom, University of Bristol
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I’ve watched the pendulum swing back and forth on the wisdom of mom sharing her bed with a baby. The American Pediatric Society has come out against the practice, because of a higher incidence of sudden infant death. But nearly half of all British moms sleep with their baby at times, and one-fifth share a bed regularly during the first year.
According to a British study published in [the October 2010 issue of] Pediatrics, the value of breastfeeding should be considered before advising mothers not to share beds with their infants. The results showed that mothers who shared a bed with their newborns were better educated and of a higher socioeconomic status, and that those whose children routinely slept in their beds during the first 15 months of life reported a significantly greater incidence of breastfeeding.
“Both cross-sectional epidemiological and sleep laboratory studies showed close links between the frequency and duration of breastfeeding and the practice of bed sharing,” writes Peter Blair, PhD, Community-Based Medicine and Social Medicine, University of Bristol, United Kingdom, the author of the study. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
October 22nd, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor, News, Opinion
Tags: Doctor's Office Waiting Room, Dr. John Mandrola, General Medicine, Healthcare Crisis, Long Waits for Patients, Medical Complexity, Medical Humor, Practicing Quality Medicine, Time With The Patient, Wait Times, Waiting In Doctor's Office, Waiting Too Long, Wall Street Journal
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I have an easy solution to a vexing problem in today’s healthcare crisis. A problem so widespread that it’s worth hundreds of words in the Wall Street Journal: Long wait times at the doctor’s office.
But first, before I give my simple, pragmatic, master-of-the-obvious solution, let me say something truthful: I try. I try really hard — to run on time, that is.
I’ve been there myself — a patient in a gown, in a cold room with only big pharma-sponsored propaganda on the walls to stare at.
At the risk of a sounding like a…blogger, let it be said that practicing quality medicine in the current luxury of technology is much more complicated than it used to be. Such complexity devours our most precious treasure: Time with the patient. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
October 21st, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: Blog Action Day 2010, CharityWater.org, Clean Water, Contaminated Drinking Water, Disease Prevention, Dr. Ramona Bates, Improper Drug Disposal, International Water Treaty to Provide Clean Water Everywhere, Pharmaceutical Disposal, Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs, Restrictions on Water Use, Safe Drinking Water, Suture For A Living, Wasting Water, Water Conservation, Water Pollution, Water-Related Deaths
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This year’s topic for Blog Action Day [was] water. Many of us take clean water for granted, but even in the United States we are finding more and more that our drinking water is contaminated with prescription drugs. Dry years put our water reservoirs at risk and often result in mandatory restrictions on water use.
I am guilty of taking water for granted. I do try to use a full load when washing my clothes. I do turn off the water while brushing my teeth. I don’t water my lawn regularly. But I am still guilt of taking it for granted. I expect clean water to be there for me to drink and use for bathing.
Clean water is not the norm for many in the world. Nearly one billion people lack basic access to safe drinking water. That’s nearly 1 out of every 8 of us. Organizations like CharityWater.org are trying to bring clean wells to areas in Africa that lack clean water.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
October 21st, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
Tags: AccessDNA, Biological Relatives, Family Collaboration, Family Health History, Genetics, Hereditary Disease Risk, Inherited Health, Jordanna Joaquina, Lowering Health Risks, Medical History
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More than a year ago I wrote about AccessDNA, which now changed focus and became Inherited Health. Jordanna Joaquina, M.S., C.G.C., Director of Genetics and Co-Founder of Inherited Health, shared what kind of changes they implemented into the site:
— We have created an easy-to-use and secure tool that allows people and their biological relatives to collectively create and update their family health history together.
— We then analyze the family history information to create a personal health guide, which identifies hereditary disease risks and provide actionable guidance about how to lower these risks for each family member.
— We also provide a summary of the family health history that can be printed and shared with doctors and helps avoid repeatedly filling out health history forms at doctors office and improves the accuracy of the information provided because of collaborative family effort.
Click HERE to see an image of a whole health report, with all the details and disease risks.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
October 21st, 2010 by Harriet Hall, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research, True Stories
Tags: Dr. Harriet Hall, Dr. Mark Crislip, Dr. Steve Novella, Elderly Care, Fluzone, High-Dose Flu Vaccine, Immunization, Immunology, Influenza, Medicare, Older Adults, Patient Options for Preventive Care, Preventive Health, Preventive Medicine, SBM, Science Based Medicine, The Medical Letter, Vaccination, Vaccines
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Dr. Novella has recently written about this year’s seasonal flu vaccine and Dr. Crislip has reviewed the evidence for flu vaccine efficacy. There’s one little wrinkle that they didn’t address — one that I’m more attuned to because I’m older than they are.
I got my Medicare card last summer, so I am now officially one of the “elderly.” A recent review by Goodwin et al. showed that the antibody response to flu vaccines is significantly lower in the elderly. They called for a more immunogenic vaccine formulation for that age group. My age group. One manufacturer has responded. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
