Better Health: Smart Health Commentary

Featured

Should Surgery Be Considered For A Persistently Hoarse Voice?

August 14th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Health Tips, Opinion

Tags: Aging, Alcohol Use, Bowed Vocal Cords, Collagen Injections, Cosmetic Surgery, Cysts, Elderly, Hoarse Voice, Muscle Tension Dysphonia, Old, Paralysis, Plastic Surgery, Polyp, Reflux, Surgery, Tobacco Use, Treatment, Vocal Cord Cancer, Voice Lift, Voice Therapy

I was informed about this interesting concept on ABC news…

With many aging baby boomers tapping into cosmetic surgery in order to look younger, some are taking it a step further to “sound” younger as well with a “voice lift”.

For some, it’s not right to look 10-20 years younger after a facelift but still sound like 70 years old.

A hoarse voice with aging is not unusual, but a surgical “voice-lift” is not necessarily the first step that should be taken.

First things first… Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*

Should You Consider Surgery To Improve A Scar?

August 14th, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Health Tips, Opinion

Tags: Cosmetic Surgery, Cream, Healing, Laser Treatment, Local Anesthesia, Plastic Surgery, Scar Edges, Scar Improvement, Scar Revision, Scar Tissue, Surgery, Wound

I have a wide scar on my leg that I got years ago. I have tried creams and stuff. When is surgery a good idea to improve a scar? Can a cream or a laser make it thinner?

Scar improvement has several phases and the condition of your body and how the wound occurred have parts to play. Early on after wounding there is the question of whether or not to have surgery to repair the wound. If the edges are clean and close together, then surgery is not always beneficial. If they are apart or the wound is dirty a proper medical evaluation and/or surgery can make things better down the line. When in doubt, get that evaluation.

Once the wound has started healing, Read more »

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

Why This Diabetic Isn’t Concerned About Her Insulin Pump Being Hacked

August 14th, 2011 by KerriSparling in Interviews, Opinion

Tags: Attacks, Black Hat Security Conference, Diabetes, FDA Approval of medical devices, Glucose Meter, Hacking, Insulin Pump, Jay Radcliffe, Panic, People With Diabetes, PWD, Remote Hacking, Sensationalism, Technological Terrorism, Type 1 Diabetes, Vulnerability, Wireless Medical Devices

Jay Radcliffe is a fellow type 1 diabetic, and I remember reading his diabetes blog way back in the day, when I first started blogging.  We read and commented on each other’s posts, and we were both part of the blogosphere when the DOC first started to grow.  I knew he was married, had children, and did the day-to-day diabetes stuff that I did.

Which is why when I read the mainstream media’s take on his pump-hacking research (this article, Insulin Pumps Vulnerable to Hacking, for example), I reached out to him immediately.  “Can I just tell you that my mother sent me this article about your research?  Do you have time to talk?”

Jay was out in Las Vegas this morning, attending the Black Hat security conference, but he and I had a chance to hash it out over the phone.

“I know you!  And I know you as a diabetic, not as this guy who hacks insulin pumps and has a billion articles floating around about it on the web right now.  I have a few questions.  Starting with, why did you decide to hack into your own insulin pump?”
 Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*

New York Times Reports On Very Atypical Case Of Schizophrenia

August 14th, 2011 by Dinah Miller, M.D. in Opinion, True Stories

Tags: Benedict Carey, Delusions, Hallucinations, High Functioning, Joe Holt, Mental Health, Mental Illness, New York Times, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychotic Medications, Schizophrenia, Traumatic Childhood, Voices

Benedict Carey is a New York Times mental health reporter.  In last Sunday’s Times, he wrote about Joe Holt, a man with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.  Mr. Holt was dealt a particularly tough deck of cards: in addition to a diagnosis of schizophrenia, he had a horrible and traumatic childhood with much loss, placement in a facility where he was physically abused, and periods of homelessness as a teenager.  He now has a stable marriage, has adopted children and keeps numerous foster children, and holds two jobs, one as a computer consultant and another as a therapist (if I read that correctly).  He struggles with his emotional life, but my take on this was that this is one extremely resilient man who has waged a successful battle against many demons and his story is inspirational.

So Benedict Carey often writes stories that are skeptical, if not outright critical, of the mental health field.  This story did not have that tone.  I found it interesting, though, that he chose a person with a diagnosis of schizophrenia who’s life was not “typical.”  What did I find not typical? Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

New Regulations To Be Placed On The Dietary Supplement Industry

August 13th, 2011 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Health Policy, Opinion

Tags: ABC, American Botanical Council, Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, Dietary Supplements, Documentation, DSHEA, Effectiveness of Dietary Supplements, FDA, Fish Oil, Food and Drug Administration, L-theanine, Legal, Manufacturers, NDI, New Dietary Ingredient, Prescription Drugs, Regulations

A rumble of discontent is being heard across the dietary supplement industry since a draft guidance document was published last month by the US Food and Drug Administration. In response to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act signed into law in January by President Obama, the FDA was required to produce documents requiring dietary supplement and foods companies to submit safety information on any new dietary ingredient (NDI) placed into products after 1994.

The guidance document is open for comments from industry but, when issued, a final rule will require dietary supplement products to file a claim of a New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) for any supplement component that was not part of the diet before 1994. What seems to be riling up the industry is that any change in supplement composition after 1994 will require filing of a NDI disclosure. That is, if you as a manufacturer add more DHA to your fish oil supplement, you have to file a NDI notification.

Stepping back, the goal of the FSMA makes perfect sense: Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*