June 6th, 2010 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
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A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that one in five U.S. high school students have taken a prescription drug that they didn’t get from their doctor.
According to the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) that was released today from the CDC, the survey asked more than 16,000 high school students if they’ve ever taken a prescription drug such as Oxycontin, Percoset, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin and Xanax. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
June 6th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
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Current methods of testing people for food allergies aren’t particularly precise, leaving many people to falsely think that they have a condition that they really don’t.
MIT chemical engineer Christopher Love is working on a new test based on cytokines that may prove to be substantially faster and more reliable. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
June 5th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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It seems that each year, I just miss National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which is the third full week of May. As you know, it’s June already. But can it ever hurt to review such important information?
More than 4.7 million people a year receive bites from man/woman’s best friend. If you have read this blog for very long, you know I dearly love my dogs — deceased ones (Columbo, Ladybug, and Girlfriend) and the living one, Rusty. I have no illusions that dogs bite, and given the right provocation I think mine would (although most of the time they are totally harmless and would just invite you in to rob me).
Most dog bite-related injuries occur in children 5 to 9 years of age. Almost two thirds of injuries among children 4 years or younger are to the head or neck region. Dog bites are a largely preventable public health problem, and adults and children can learn to reduce their chances of being bitten. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
June 5th, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Humor, Medical Art, Opinion
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Here is another blogger’s take on the ubiquitous hospital pain scales. You’ve probably seen some version of this chart before. You may also have noticed how inadequate it is at helping you. Based on the faces, this is my interpretation of the chart:
0: Haha! I’m not wearing any pants!
2: Awesome! Someone just offered me a free hot dog!
4: Huh. I never knew that about giraffes.
6: I’m sorry about your cat, but can we talk about something else now? I’m bored.
8: The ice cream I bought barely has any cookie dough chunks in it. This is not what I expected and I am disappointed.
10: You hurt my feelings and now I’m crying!
None of that is medically useful and it doesn’t even have all the numbers, so I made a better one with all the numbers. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
June 4th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
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Medical receptionists beware — your days are numbered.
This little gizmo was placed in one of our facility’s lobbies this week. (No, it’s not being used to get your boarding pass at the airport, but it’s amazing the parallels healthcare is taking with the airline industry.)
Instead, it’s used to check in patients presenting to have their blood drawn for prothromin times. Just swipe your credit card, confirm your appointment, sign your name, and away you go!
On seeing this, one doctor exclaimed: “But INR checks are my patients’ only chance to get out and socialize!”
Fortunately for now there are still human assistants there to help patients learn how to use the new device.
-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
