August 16th, 2011 by MellanieTrueHills in Health Tips, Research
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As a patient, you probably see lots of hype-filled reports about various drugs. After a drug is approved, there’s an inevitable blitz of negative publicity which often scares people away from important new solutions that could help them.
There has been so much news lately about Multaq (dronedarone), the drug designed to provide the benefits of amiodarone but with fewer risks. This drug is important to people with afib, especially those with heart disease whose choices are limited, so it’s time to put into context for patients what has transpired in the two years since FDA approval.
These two companion articles provide an in-depth analysis into issues that have been reported about Multaq, including whether it can cause: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Atrial Fibrillation Blog*
August 14th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Health Tips, Opinion
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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*
August 10th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Research
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Glue ear is the layman’s term for thick mucoid effusion of the middle ear, usually due to chronic ear infections.
The fluid itself is like maple syrup and usually treated with ear tube placement followed by suctioning as much of the fluid out as possible. However, given there is always some residual present, antibiotic ear drops with steroids is often prescribed.
Unfortunately, these patients are at higher risk of requiring repeated sets of tubes after the body spits them out.
Why? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
August 8th, 2011 by Jeffrey Benabio, M.D. in Health Tips
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Have you ever had a sunburn? First it hurts. Then it itches. And itches. And itches.
Why is that?
Sunburn is caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation damage to your skin. Too much UV damages your skin cell’s DNA, and your immune system responds by killing off the bad cells. Because UV radiation doesn’t penetrate (unlike X-rays for example), it damages only the surface layer of your skin. This outermost layer happens to be loaded with special nerve fibers called C-fibers which are responsible for itch.
Itch is a mechanism to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Dermatology Blog*
August 5th, 2011 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Health Tips
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Led by Andrew Luks MD and his colleagues, the Wilderness Medical Society has published Consensus Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Altitude Illness (Wild Environ Med 2010:21;146-155). These guidelines are intended to provide clinicians about best evidence-based practices, and were derived from the deliberations of an expert panel, of which I was a member. The disorders considered were acute mountain sickness (AMS), high altitude cerebral edema (HACE), and high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). The guidelines present the main prophylactic and therapeutic modalities for each disorder and provide recommendations for their roles in disorder management. The guidelines also provide suggested approaches to prevention and management of each disorder that incorporate the recommendations.
In outline format, here is what can be found in these Guidelines: Read more »
This post, Wilderness Medical Society Publishes Prevention And Treatment Tips For Altitude Sickness, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
