July 27th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
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FDA researchers have published a study in Pediatrics that analyzed patient records from child and teen ER visits in 2004 and 2005. The investigators are reporting that 70,000 kids each year go to the ER because of issues caused by medical devices.
About a quarter of the injuries were from contact lenses, while the other major contributors were needles, wheelchairs, braces, and obstetric exam tools. The study also looked at the devices most likely to cause hospitalization, and they were found to be mostly invasive devices like ostomy appliances and implanted defibrillators. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
July 24th, 2010 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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It wasn’t until yesterday that I thought “The Thought” for the first time.
She had a very wet diaper in the afternoon. And even though she had nursed for a long time and even though she seemed (and is) healthy and very strong, I still thought about taking out my meter and pricking her heel myself. Just thought it for a second.
I didn’t follow through, though. I didn’t let “The Thought” stay for more than a flicker, as I immediately finished changing her diaper and started singing her a song about the power of tiny spoons. (Don’t ask — my songs never make any sense.) I shook “The Thought” off the same way I shake off the thought every time I wonder if my niece or nephew might have dipped into my autoimmune grab bag. I don’t allow my brain to go there. It’s not denial, but feels more like a protective measure taken by my mind, protecting my psyche from letting “The Thought” permeate my daily life. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
July 18th, 2010 by Jon LaPook, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, True Stories, Video
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FilmAid International provides the children of Haiti what many doctors can’t bring earthquake survivors — a moment to forget about the pain and suffering the last six months has brought. Dr. Jon LaPook reports.
Click HERE to watch the CBS Evening News video.
June 25th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Humor, News
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Remember “cooties” in grade school? You know, the germs or disease that girls gave boys or boys gave girls in grade school if they touched? Well, it seems they’re becoming an epidemic. Thank goodness someone checked for “cooties” on the Stanley Cup:
The NHL champion Blackhawks’ beloved trophy stopped by the Chicago Tribune newsroom, and so we took the opportunity to do something the Cup’s keeper said had never been done: We swabbed it for germs. We sent the samples to the Chicago lab EMSL Analytical, which found very little general bacteria and no signs of staph, salmonella or E. coli. “It’s surprisingly clean,” lab manager Nancy McDonald said. Just 400 counts of general bacteria were found, she said. By comparison, a desk in an office typically has more than 10,000.
No staph species detected? Hmmm. I think there was a sampling error…
-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
June 19th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
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One of the blogs I read by Maggie Mahar pointed out a new study that found that 26 percent of kids under age 19 are now taking prescription drugs for a chronic condition. The drugs include asthma medication, anti-psychotics, diabetes drugs, anti-hypertensives, and heartburn medications.
According to the Medco study (the largest pharmacy benefit manager), the incidence of type-2 diabetes increased over 150 percent in children between 2001 and 2009. This is staggering. Children are supposed to be healthy and active, not tied to a regimen of pills. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
