December 27th, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed
Tags: CAM, Chai-Yok, Complementary And Alternative Medicine, Douche, Douching, Dr. Peggy Polaneczky, Female Reproductive Cycle, Fertility Aid, Folk Remedies, Folklore Medicine, Getting Pregnant, Herbal Remedy, Infertility, Korea, Menstrual Cycle, Menstrual Disorders, Mugwort, Natural Remedies, Naturopathy, OB/GYN, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Pelvic Infections, Reproductive Health, Spa Medicine, TBTAM, The Blog That Ate Manhattan, Urinary Tract Infection, UTI, V-Steam, Vaginal Infections, Vaginal Steam Baths, Women's Health, Yeast Infection
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A spa in California is offering vaginal steam baths, in which spa-goers squat or sit on open stools over a tub of hot steam, as a cure-all for menstrual, digestion, and mood disorders:
The V-Steam: Inspired by an ancient ritual practiced for many years in Korea. The steam from the herbal tea rises and absorbs into your skin & orifice. This steaming treatment stimulates the production of hormones to maintain uterine health, aids regular menstrual cycles, helps correct digestive disorders while soothing the nervous system. The natural antibiotic and anti-fungal properties are said to help maintain internal health as well as keeping your skin looking young. (30 min: $50. Series of 6: $180.)
It’s a douche, folks. A $50 douche made with mugwort and 13 other herbs and having a fancy Korean name: Chai-Yok. True, the water gets up there as steam, and if you don’t squat just right over the steam bath, I imagine it may not get up there at all. But in the end, it’s a douche.
We docs strongly advise against douching since we know that women who do it have higher rates of vaginal and pelvic infections. Not to mention that the vaginal mucosa is highly-absorptive surface, meaning anything you put in there is likely to end up in the rest of your body. And so I ask: What herbs are they using, at what doses, and what side effects might they have? Not to mention what might be growing in those wooden tubs they have you squatting over? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at tbtam*
December 27th, 2010 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion, Quackery Exposed
Tags: Cosmetic Products, Dermatology, Dr. John Di Saia, False Claims, Healthcare Consumerism, Medical Product Claims, Medical Product Effectiveness, Misleading Healthcare Consumers, OTC, Over-The-Counter Medications, Plastic Surgery, Scar Formation, Scar Prevention, Scarguard, Truth in Cosmetic Surgery
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I saw a Scarguard product on sale at a drugstore locally. The claims on the packaging were over the top as usual:
1. “Guards against new scars forming” – Difficult to prove.
2. “Flattens and shrinks old scars” – Not really.
3. “Scarguard is the #1 choice of plastic surgeons” – Really? Nobody asked me.
Scar treatment is pretty simple. Avoid wounding if you can. If you have plastic surgery, seek a skilled surgeon who will spend the time to do the best. After surgery avoid sunlight and smoking, and consider scar massage as directed by your surgeon. This “Scarguard” product is not going to make a bad scar much better unless it is applied early, and even then the results are debatable.
– John Di Saia, M.D.
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
December 26th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: Age-Related Macular Degeneration, AMD, Archives of Ophthalmology, Blindness, Diet and Exercise, Dr. Toni Brayer, Everything Health, Eye Conditions, Eye Health, Good Vision, Healthy Diet, Healthy Eyes, Healthy Lifestyle, Loss of Central Vision, Lost Eyesight, Regular Exercise, Vision Impairment
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We now have another condition that may be prevented by eating a healthy diet, exercising, and abstaining from smoking: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Macular degeneration causes a loss of central vision and makes it difficult to recognize faces and read small print. The macula degenerates with age and severe macular degeneration causes blindness. Treatment is costly and doesn’t work very well.
A new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology looked at 1,313 women aged 55 to 74 years. They reviewed their diet and exercise habits. Eating a “healthy diet” meant 3.5 servings of fruit and vegetables, 2.3 servings of dairy, 2.7 ounces of meet and 3.5 servings of grain a day. Exercise habits and smoking history were also monitored. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
December 26th, 2010 by Glenn Laffel, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dr. Glenn Laffel, Emily Holmes, Emotional Health, Flashbacks, Health-Related Video Games, Memory, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Oxford University, Pizaazz, PLoS ONE, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Psychiatry and Psychology, PTSD, Tetris, Traumatic Experience, Unwanted Mental Images, Video Games and Health
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Flashbacks are vivid, recurring, intrusive, and unwanted mental images of a past traumatic experience. They are a sine qua non of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although drugs and cognitive behavioral interventions are available to treat PTSD, clinicians would prefer to utilize some sort of early intervention to prevent flashbacks from developing in the first place.
Well, researchers at Oxford University appear to have found one. Remarkably, all it takes is playing Tetris. Yes, Tetris!
The team responsible for the discovery was led by Emily Holmes. The writeup appears in the November issue of PLoS ONE. Holmes and colleagues had reasoned that the human brain has a limited capacity to process memories, and that memory consolidation following a traumatic experience is typically complete within six hours after the event. Holmes’ team also knew that playing Tetris involved the same kind of mental processing as that involved with flashback formation. So they figured if they had people play Tetris during that six-hour window after the traumatic event, it might interfere with memory consolidation of the traumatic experience. That, in turn, would reduce or eliminate the flashbacks. The idea worked like a charm. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Pizaazz*
December 24th, 2010 by PeterWehrwein in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr. Daniel Solomon, Drug Overdose, Drug Safety, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health Letter, Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, NSAIDs, Opioid Analgesics, Opioid Dependence, Opioid Pain Relievers, Opioids, Pain Management, Painkillers, Patient Safety, Peter Wehrwein, Prescription Pain Medication
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Perhaps as many as one in every five American adults will get a prescription for a painkiller this year, and many more will buy over-the-counter medicines without a prescription. These drugs can do wonders — getting rid of pain can seem like a miracle — but sometimes there’s a high price to be paid.
Remember the heavily marketed COX-2 inhibitors? Rofecoxib, sold as Vioxx, and valdecoxib, sold as Bextra, were taken off the market in 2004 and 2005, respectively, after studies linked them to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like aspirin, ibuprofen (sold as Advil and Motrin), and naproxen (sold as Aleve) seem like safe bets. But taken over long periods, they have potentially dangerous gastrointestinal side effects, including ulcers and bleeding. Kidney and liver damage are possible, too. More recently, some of the NSAIDs have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Low doses of aspirin (usually defined as 81 mg) is an exception and is often prescribed to lower the risk of heart and stroke.
Even acetaminophen, which is often viewed as the safest pain drug and a low-risk alternative to the NSAIDs because it doesn’t have their gastrointestinal side effects, comes with a caution about high doses possibly causing liver failure. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
