November 18th, 2010 by StevenWilkinsMPH in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Cell Phone Use, Cellphones and Health, mHealth, Mind The Gap, Mobile Health Apps, Mobile Phones and Personal Health, Personal Technology and Health, Pew Internet & American Life Project, Searching For Health Information On The Internet, Steven Wilkins MPH
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What do cell phones and health-information seeking have in common? Very little, at least among the chronically ill (e.g., the folks who are driving healthcare use and cost). An American Medical News article about the latest Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project study on mobile phone use caught my eye. The introduction to the article reads:
Despite the proliferation of cell phones in the United States, the number of people using them to access health information is low. But experts believe the sheer number of people using mobile phones and wireless devices means that health information eventually will get more mobile as well.
According to the study, 85 percent of Americans use mobile phones, but only 17 percent of cell phone owners have used them to look up health information. Nine percent of Americans have downloaded a health-related app on their cell phone.
Get this: The highest use of cell phone health-information seeking and downloading cell phone health apps was among 18- to 29-year olds at 29 percent and 15 percent respectively. With the exception of accidents, 18- to 29-year-old adults are generally among the most healthy demographic. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Mind The Gap*
November 18th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: Calorie Content of Foods, Daily Nutrient Intake, Dieters, Dieting Tools, Dr. Bertalan Mesko, Dr. Mark Boguski, Food and Nutrition, Food Journal, Harvard Medical School, Health Apps, Healthy Diet, Nutrition and Health, Personal Technology and Health, PhotoCalorie, Picture Your Diet, Science Roll, Tracking Your Diet, Weight Loss, Weight Management, WolframAlpha
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Although I can check the calorie content of any food on WolframAlpha, it’s good to have a site that focuses only on this issue:
PhotoCalorie is an application inspired by the ideas of Dr. Mark Boguski of Harvard Medical School, who realized that the current methods available to track your daily nutrient intake are monotonous and simply too complicated. As a result, people would lose interest in tracking their diet or stop the diet all together. Our mission is to create the easiest food journal on the planet to help dieters lose weight and monitor their diet with ease.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
November 18th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Bacteria, Color-Changing Dressings, Dermatology, Fraunhofer Research Institute for Modular Solid State Technologies EMFT, Healing Process, Healthcare Technology, Healthy Skin, Infectious Disease, Medgadget, Medical Technology, Open Wounds, University of Regensburg, Wound Care, Wound Healing, Wound Infection, Wound Site
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When using dressings to speed up the healing process of an open wound, it is necessary to periodically remove the dressing to check for infection. However, removing this protective covering creates an opportunity for bacteria to enter the wound site.
To remedy this problem, researchers at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Modular Solid State Technologies EMFT have developed dressings which change color if the wound becomes infected. Early tests have shown promise, and the scientists now plan to test their invention in the field at the University of Regensburg’s dermatology clinic. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
November 18th, 2010 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research, True Stories
Tags: Biological Clock, Birth-Related Complications, Blood Clot, Cardiomyopathy, Donor Eggs, Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway, Enlarged Heart From Pregnancy, Fetal Health, Heart Disease, Hemorrhage, High Blood Pressure, High Risk Pregnancy, Hypertension, In Vitro Fertilization, IVF, Maternal Health, Maternal-Fetal Specialist, Neonatal Health, OB/GYN, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Older Pregnant Woman, Pregnancy After Age 45, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Pregnancy-Related Deaths, Pregnancy-Related Infection, Premature Baby, Reproductive Health, Reproductive Outcomes, Stroke, Women's Health
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As more older women attempt to beat the biological clock and conceive, they are at greater risk for developing birth-related complications. For women over 45, there is less than a 1 percent chance of getting pregnant using their own eggs. Successful pregnancy for women over 45 is nearly always the result of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and the use of an egg donor.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University reviewed birth records from 2000 to 2008, specifically looking at the records of 177 women who gave birth at the age of 45 and beyond. The majority of the women had IVF and received donor eggs, and 80 percent of the babies were delivered via cesarean section (C-section).
Despite their celebrity, Kelly Presley (age 47), Celine Dion (age 42), and Mariah Carey (age 40), are older pregnant women who are at risk. The premature birth of Celine Dion’s twin sons did not surprise me at all. Women over 35, and especially those over 45 with underlying medical problems, should be treated prior to becoming pregnant. I cannot emphasize this enough. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
November 18th, 2010 by David H. Gorski, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research, True Stories
Tags: CAM, Complementary And Alternative Medicine, Dana Ullman, Dr. David Gorski, Fibromyalgia, Homeopathy, Huffington Post, Medical Quackery, Pseudomedicine, SBM, Science Based Medicine, Woo
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Over the weekend, my wife and I happened to be in the pharmacy section of our local Target store. We happened to be looking for one of our favorite cold remedies, because both of us have been suffering from rather annoying colds, which have plagued both of us for the last week or two.
As we perused the Cold and Flu section of the pharmacy, we were struck at how much shelf space was taken up by Airborne (which was “invented by a schoolteacher.“) Nearly three years ago Airborne had to settle a case brought against it alleging false advertising to the tune of $23 million. Despite that, Airborne is still being sold, and there are even a whole bunch of knock-off products copying it.
Then, as we continued to look for our favored cold remedy, we noted that, sitting right next to the extensive shelf space devoted to the various flavors and types of Airborne supplements, I saw Boiron’s homeopathic remedy for colds containing oscillococcinum, which is derived from duck liver and heart and diluted to 200C (a 10400-fold dilution). Yes, I was a bit depressed after that. Now I know what my skeptical friends in the U.K. go through every time they walk into a Boots pharmacy.
Still, even though homeopathy is not as popular in the U.S. as it is in the U.K. and the rest of Europe, it’s obviously making some inroads if it’s being sold in Target. Steve Novella made a point at a panel at TAM8 in July to point out that it’s also being sold in Walmart, but since I rarely, if ever, shop at Walmart, I hadn’t noticed, although I had noticed various dubious concoctions being sold at Walgreens and CVS, two large pharmacy chains here in the U.S. Its relative popularity in different parts of the world aside, ever since I learned what homeopathy is and what its precepts are, I’ve always been fascinated how it can possibly be taken seriously. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
