October 2009

H1N1 Vaccine Dangers - The Latest Updates

By erika on 10/29/09 3:59pm
Add Comment

Stop It Before It Spreads!Now that the swine flu vaccine is being shipped, we have answers to some of the questions raised over the summer.

Adjuvants will not be used in the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. The issue of adjuvants was raised a few weeks ago, when some believed that vaccines in the United States would be shipped with these additives due to shortages of the vaccine. This turned out not to be the case.

Many people believe that the adjuvants may be toxic. To help allay these fears, and because we were able to produce enough vaccine for the country, flu vaccines this season will not contain adjuvants.

Read more >
Germany's 2-Tier Swine Flu Vaccine Policy

By becksta on 10/28/09 4:37pm
Add Comment

VaccineWhile I am a firm believer in public health care, I am not a fan of Germany’s new two-tier policy when it comes to the Swine Flu vaccine. According to a recent Time Magazine article, the government is offering two Swine Flu vaccines: a new and improved vaccine for those working for the government and a “riskier” vaccine for the remainder of the population.

The Pandemrix vaccine being offered to the general population of Germany can’t be used on pregnant women or children and has more side effects than the alternative Celvapan. Roughly 26,000 people have had the Swine Flu in Germany; however, there have been only three deaths. Germany is gearing up for more cases of the flu, but I have two questions.

Read more >
Cancer: Not Always Bad

By erika on 10/27/09 5:27pm
Add Comment

CancerI found this article in the New York Times interesting, because it looks like there is scientific proof now behind something that a crackpot once told me. This was years ago, when I was commuting to a job in downtown Seattle by bus. The crackpot plunked himself down in the seat next to me and wouldn't shut up. I had my headphones on, so I just pretended that I couldn't hear him. But he went on at length regarding his personal theory that we actually get cancer all the time, and recover from it without ever having known that it happened.

Read more >
Walking While Distracted

By becksta on 10/26/09 4:38pm
Add Comment

Did you see this clown?Via the NYT.

I’ve heard of “Driving While Distracted”, but never realized the impact cell phones have on those who are merely “Walking While Distracted”. At the University of Washington, an informal study was conducted to see how many people would notice a guy cycling around in a clown suit on a unicycle, which trust me, is not necessarily a typical Seattle scene.

Read more >
What You Need to Know About Tachycardia and How to Treat a High Heart Rate

By Niki Fears on 10/20/09 8:41pm
Add Comment

Illustration courtesy of Heikenwaelder HugoWe often hear about heart disease in its various forms and to help us in being heart healthy we have a lot of information on cholesterol and high blood pressure. However, tachycardia, or a rapid heart beat, is a condition that effects hundreds of people and can range from mild to severe and dangerous. Here is a brief overview of what you need to know about tachycardia and how to treat it.

What is Tachycardia?

Read more >
Food Safety: Why Do People Keep Getting E Coli?

By erika on 10/19/09 11:31am
Add Comment

The New York Times is carrying a high-profile article about a woman who was paralyzed from an e. coli infection. Reading the article I once again wondered what I had so many times before: why do people keep getting sick from hamburger? Aren't we all cooking our hamburgers pretty well these days? Granted the manufacturer is absolutely the one to blame for putting the e. coli in the burger in the first place - but don't consumers carry some of the responsibility for cooking their meat properly?

Read more >
Pink Ribbons are Pretty But Not Enough

By sarajean on 10/14/09 9:46am
Add Comment

October 16 is this Friday. Grab a red marker and circle it in your calendar. When you’re at friends’ houses, relatives’ houses, and especially your mother’s house, take it with you, and pen in a big, fat, red circle around the 16. You may even want to write in, “National Mammography Day.”

Like STDs, pregnancy, sexual assault, skin cancer, urinary tract infections and a host of other things that women have come to realize that we simply can’t ignore—or think they won’t affect us in some way or another—breast cancer is not something we can ignore. It’s the second most common cancer in women, and the number one killer of Hispanic women. Statistics show that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer—which mean that if it isn’t you, it’s likely going to be someone you care about.

Read more >
A New Way to Fight Depression

By becksta on 10/11/09 2:52pm
Add Comment

LegumesIs the Mediterranean diet better for depression than Prozac or another anti-depressant? In the land of the good and plenty here in the good ole US of A, we are inundated with advertisements for pharmaceuticals on tv and in magazines. The simple solution to our health problems always seems to be a pill. This is especially true in the case of mental illnesses, including depression, which can be caused by life circumstances, biological factors, stress, and more. Diet and exercise seem to be the last treatment of choice for many Americans, but a recent study has indicated that changes in diet can very well the first line of defense against depression.

Read more >
Healthcare Bill Cost Cut 15%

By ecoscott on 10/7/09 11:56pm
Add Comment

Now We Need to VoteAre we still talking about the Healthcare bill? Yes, we emphatically are. And now we are talking cost, because that is where the decisions are made in the end, whether things go forward or die in committees before they can make it to the floor for votes.

What was just months ago blasted as certain to cost over $1 Trillion is now being billed at an estimated $829 Billion and would cut the federal deficit by $81 Billion over 10 years. Well, let’s do it then! That’s some pretty fantastic news on the cost front- an over 15% reduction? I’m starting to think that Obama played the politics out right on this one- let everybody complain and protest during the break and come back with rebuttals and a cheaper plan- nice.

Read more >
Where Is The American Mad Cow Epidemic?

By erika on 10/5/09 12:13pm
Add Comment

I recently ran across an article online that mentioned "mad cow disease" tangentially, and it got me wondering. Weren't we in the United States supposed to have a massive outbreak of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) by now?

The prion disease which is called Bovine Spongiform Epilepsy (BSE) in cattle and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in people was a media darling in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it has largely faded from view. (Not least because a more lethal form of e. coli has developed in cattle, which presents a far more pressing medical issue. If you're a journalist looking to scare people, e. coli is where it's at these days.)

Read more >
How to Naturally Fight Off Allergies

By sarajean on 10/5/09 10:47am
Add Comment

Allergies are never any fun, particularly during “peak” seasons. They can ruin a good hayride, make you feel sick—or even as if you’re drowning in your sleep—and generally make life miserable for days, weeks or longer. While a doctor visit is warranted for anyone with allergies, and many medications can provide relief, there are plenty of natural ways to combat your allergies that you might want to try as well.

The next time your allergies plague you (which, for many of us, is now), try some of the following tips and techniques.

Drink hot tea. Is hot tea not the best remedy for nearly everything on the planet? Hot teas help ease many allergy symptoms, as well as provide a soothing effect. Lighter teas usually have better health properties. Coffee and other hot drinks may help as well.

Read more >