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Should Steroids Be Used To Treat Sore Throats?

March 12th, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion

Tags: Emergency Medicine, ENT, Peritonsillar Abscess, Pharyngitis, Primary Care, Sore Throat, Steroids

RCentor has an interesting article on Sore Throats and Pharyngitis over at MedRants.  He writes:

There is a new trend in pharyngitis that has taken hold amongst emergency physicians – the use of steroids to provide symptom relief.

I too have noticed this, and I completely agree with Dr Centor that while this is a highly effective treatment, it needs to be used with some caution.  For our practice, this has been pushed by the ENTs.   It has been our experience that when we see someone with a really bad sore throat or even with a peritonsillar abscess, 100% of the time the instruction from the ENTs has been to administer steroids.  While the data is underwhelming (pain relief on average six hours quicker with steroids), the truth is that for a really bad case of tonsillitis, steroids work. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*

How To Make Your Own Sugar-Free Gummy Worms

March 9th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips

Tags: Diabetes, Diet, Gummy Worms, Jell-O, Jello, Nutrition, Pediatrics, Recipe, Sugar Free

OK, so this is not a medically brilliant post, but I thought I would share! For a low sugar snack, you can try making your own gummy worms! Thank you to whomever developed this fun treat!

Ingredients

• 2 packages sugar free Jell-O
• 2 packages plain gelatin
• 1 cup boiling water
• (optional) If you like sour gummies, you can add a packet of Kool-Aid to the ingredients

Directions Read more »

This post, How To Make Your Own Sugar-Free Gummy Worms, was originally published on Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..

Coffee And The Heart – Researchers Are Getting Paid Way Too Much To Rehash Old Data

March 9th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research

Tags: AHA, Caffeine, Cardiology, Coffee, EKG, Heart, Klatsky, Questionnaire

This week, coffee seems to be good for the heart:

“People who are moderate coffee drinkers can be reassured that they are not doing harm because of their coffee drinking,” said Arthur Klatsky, the study’s lead investigator and a cardiologist at Kaiser’s Division of Research.

These “surprising” data are to be presented at the AHA meeting March 5th. (You’ll have to wait until then to get the REAL scoop, it seems.)

But a quick Google search on Dr. Klatsky’s earlier studies using the same questionaire database shows the problems with using questionaire data to make such sweeping conclusions. Take, for instance, these findings from 1973: Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*

How To Care For Pressure Ulcers In Palliative Care Patients

March 5th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips

Tags: Care Tips, Decubitus Ulcers, Nursing, Plastic Surgery, Pressure Ulcers, PrU

I’d like to recommend this article (full reference below) to anyone involved in the care of palliative care patients, as well as anyone who does wound care.  It is a thoughtful and well written consensus paper from the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel.

The article begins by pointing out the difference in goals between palliative care patients and the usual patients with pressure ulcers (PrU).

Usual care of a PrU is designed to promote healing; however, healing or closing the ulcer in patients receiving palliative care is often improbable. Therefore, the focus of care is better directed to reduce or eliminate pain, odor, and infection and allow for an environment that can promote ulcer closure, as well as improve self-image to help prevent social isolation.

Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*

Teens Can Give College An Overnight Trial Run

March 4th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips

Tags: College, Dorms, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Psychology, teens

If your teen is seriously considering a college, I now highly recommend setting up an overnight visit with the admissions department. Here is our experience: while on this college visit my daughter spent the night as a guest with two sophomores at the college we are visiting. We thought it would be a great way to get a feel for what it is like to live on campus in this little town and really get a feel for whether or not she “fits in.”

Upon arrival, we read and signed the paper about the rules, she was given her itinerary, meal tickets, appointment with a faculty member in the department she was interested in, and information about the class she was going to visit the following morning. The two young women who were hosting her introduced themselves and off she went – not a glance back – into the next grand adventure. The admission director smiled at me knowing I was holding back the tears – excited for her and knowing my life would never be the same. That evening my younger daughter, her friend and I saw a movie, had dinner and my younger daughter congratulated me when I did not text her older sister to say goodnight. Read more »

This post, Teens Can Give College An Overnight Trial Run, was originally published on Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..