July 12th, 2011 by admin in Health Tips
No Comments »
Feeling tired? If so, it’s not surprising. Fatigue is one of the most common problems people report to their doctors. The Health and Retirement Study of more than 17 million older people ages 51 and up reported recently that 31% said they feel fatigued.
Fatigue is a symptom, not a disease. Different people experience it in different ways. The tiredness you feel at the end of a long day or after a time zone change might feel similar to that resulting from an illness. But fatigue from stress or lack of sleep usually subsides after a good night’s rest, while disease-related lethargy is more persistent and may be debilitating even after restful sleep.
Finding the cause. How do you know if your low-energy is caused by an underlying illness or is the result of stress, poor diet, or lack of sleep? For example, could you have chronic fatigue syndrome? That is an unusual illness and an uncommon cause of persistent fatigue, says Anthony Komaroff, M.D., professor of medicine at Harvard, world-renowned expert on chronic fatigue syndrome, and medical editor of a new Harvard Special Health Report, Boosting Your Energy. About 4 to 8 of every 1,000 adults in the United States suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, which is about twice as common in women as in men. The causes of chronic fatigue syndrome are still unknown, and there is no accurate diagnostic test. However, scientists have found abnormalities in the brain and peripheral nervous system, in the immune system, and in energy metabolism in people with this syndrome. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
July 12th, 2011 by BobDoherty in Health Policy, Opinion
No Comments »
Watching the negotiations over the debt ceiling legislation is like watching an impending train wreck.
You see a train hurtling down the track, you see an unobservant trucker about to cross, you know that the train engineer and the truck driver have only a few moments to avert disaster, you try to yell and scream to get them to pay attention before disaster strikes—but you have this sinking feeling that your voice won’t be heard until it is too late.
Well, that is how I feel watching the collapsing negotiations over raising the debt ceiling. Responsible persons in both political parties know that a failure by Congress to authorize an increase in the debt ceiling will create incalculable harm to our country, even though some politicians seem to think that default would be no big deal.
But it would be a big deal, and here is why. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
July 12th, 2011 by EvanFalchukJD in Opinion
No Comments »
The New York Times says “In Medicine, New Isn’t Always Improved.”
Who can argue with this?
“In Dining, New Restaurants Aren’t Always Better.”
Yes, that’s true, too. But does it mean anything?
The article is about a type of hip that is apparently going to be the focus of a lawsuit. The story goes that a lot of people wanted the new hip when it came out, because it was thought to be better than the older ones. Unfortunately, the hip seems to have hurt some people, some of whom may have been better off getting the older one in the first place.
A doctor quoted in the article suggests it’s part of a uniquely American tic. We want all of the latest and greatest things for ourselves, it seems. This story is supposed to be a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when we do.
On the other hand, the latest and greatest things don’t appear out of nowhere. In America, when people demand something, there will be someone who supplies it. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
July 12th, 2011 by Emergiblog in Opinion, True Stories
1 Comment »
Ah, the benefits of sand therapy!
Time for little Bettina’s daily afternoon face plant!
Not only does it appear my colleague is about to lose her grip on her patient, I’m concerned about her choice of body mechanics.
I predict a lumbar strain in 3…2…1……
(This photo is from the Library of Congress collection.)
**********
I love my pediatric patients. While it is hard to see children feeling sick, they can be bright spots in occasionally hellacious shifts.
I’ve blogged before on my observation that the kids seem to be the adults in the some families.
- They don’t want to undress for an exam, so they fight the parents who are helpless in the face of taking a shirt off a three-year-old.
- They have to be restrained so they don’t run rampant in the ER, and they slap their parent across the face. The parent doesn’t respond.
- They are told they need to cooperate with a procedure and they answer their parent with a loud, clear, “F*** YOU!” At the age of five. The parent retreats. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
July 12th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Opinion, Research
No Comments »
Two news events got people talking recently. One was that Casey was deemed not guilty of killing little daughter Caylee ( “O.J. all over again”, I heard repeatedly). I must admit I was rather surprised….
The second was the results of two new studies that were published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. One of them stated that environmental factors during pregnancy might contribute as much as genetics in the development of autism spectrum disorders. The 2nd study conducted by Kaiser Permanente Northern California found a 3 times higher risk of autism if the mother took antidepressants in the first trimester of pregnancy.
With the incidence of autism disorders increasing over time to the current range of 3-6 per 1,000 births, these studies are of interest to millions of parents and professionals. Autism affects boys at a rate of three times more than girls, and is usually detected by the age of 3. The cause has been maddeningly unknown.
While genes certainly play a part (as they do in most every disorder) other theories and assertions have been disproven. It certainly does not have anything to do with “poor mothering” or “lack of maternal bonding”. Those theories did more harm than bloodletting in the 19th century! The link between autism and vaccines has been thoroughly debunked. If you believe in science and research, you must believe that vaccines are not the cause and finally leave that one in the dust. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
