James Excell sees his music as support for the incredible medical staff in the NICU at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/grandfather-plays-harp-premature-babies-rocky-mountain-hospital-for-children/
Monday, October 9, 2017
Hate UTI's? This simple step could cut the risk
Researchers say adding more water to your daily routine could lower your odds of infection
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hate-utis-this-simple-step-could-cut-the-risk/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hate-utis-this-simple-step-could-cut-the-risk/
ADA asks Congress to include one-time surgical procedures in response to opioid crisis
The ADA submitted a statement to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions recommending that the federal response to the opioid crisis.
From: By Jennifer Garvin http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/october/ada-asks-congress-to-include-one-time-surgical-procedures
From: By Jennifer Garvin http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/october/ada-asks-congress-to-include-one-time-surgical-procedures
Spinal Cord Injury Research: Mayo Clinic Radio
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OubpMu-2EcE
Statin Misinformation: Mayo Clinic Radio
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_qQ7-Rkbak
Stent for Aortic Aneurysm: Mayo Clinic Radio
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcZSKLx7-48
Stress and Demographics: Mayo Clinic Radio
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2nUxqYQJNo
Stroke Awareness Month: Mayo Clinic Radio
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl3gUzSL_Oo
Testosterone Therapy: Mayo Clinic Radio
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOtv4zIaN88
Quality of Life Discussions During Cancer Care: Mayo Clinic Radio
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uQ4cVEq87M
Common Colorectal Problems: Mayo Clinic Radio
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOv5YzddBbw
Experimental treatment helps toddler with rare disease
The 2-year-old is the youngest child in the country receiving this treatment to fight Niemann-Pick disease type C, a rare and deadly disease
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/experimental-treatment-helps-toddler-rare-genetic-disease-niemann-pick/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/experimental-treatment-helps-toddler-rare-genetic-disease-niemann-pick/
Young Gymnast Back on Her Feet: A Patient's Perspective on Having Heart Surgery
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CluFprzxG6U
Did Your UTI Come From a Chicken Coop?
Poultry samples with bacteria were found to have same genetic fingerprints as some infected patients' urine
From: http://www.webmd.com/women/news/20171009/did-your-uti-come-from-a-chicken-coop?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Can Sauna Sweats Lower Your Blood Pressure?
Frequent bathers reaped the most benefits in Finnish study
From: http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20171009/can-sauna-sweats-lower-your-blood-pressure?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Women and pain: Disparities in experience and treatment
In August, The New York Times published a guest op-ed by a man named David Roberts who suffered from severe chronic pain for many years before finally finding relief. The piece immediately went viral, with distinguished news journalist and personality Dan Rather posting it to his Facebook page with the addendum that it could “offer hope” to some pain patients. However, for many of us in the chronic pain community, particularly women, the piece was regarded with weariness and frustration.
The first and most prominent source of annoyance for me regarding this piece was the part when the author finally discloses his pain to his employer and it is taken with the utmost seriousness. He is immediately offered leave to find treatment, despite the lack of a definitive diagnosis. This stands in stark contrast to the experiences of many (if not most) women, where our pain is often abruptly dismissed as psychological — a physical manifestation of stress, anxiety, or depression.
Women with chronic pain may suffer more and longer than men
Consider this: women in pain are much more likely than men to receive prescriptions for sedatives, rather than pain medication, for their ailments. One study even showed women who received coronary bypass surgery were only half as likely to be prescribed painkillers, as compared to men who had undergone the same procedure. We wait an average of 65 minutes before receiving an analgesic for acute abdominal pain in the ER in the United States, while men wait only 49 minutes.
These gender biases in our medical system can have serious and sometimes fatal repercussions. For instance, a 2000 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that women are seven times more likely than men to be misdiagnosed and discharged in the middle of having a heart attack. Why? Because the medical concepts of most diseases are based on understandings of male physiology, and women have altogether different symptoms than men when having a heart attack.
To return to the issue of chronic pain, 70% of the people it impacts are women. And yet, 80% of pain studies are conducted on male mice or human men. One of the few studies to research gender differences in the experience of pain found that women tend to feel it more of the time and more intensely than men. While the exact reasons for this discrepancy haven’t been pinpointed yet, biology and hormones are suspected to play a role.
As for Roberts, his lab tests yielded no apparent findings to explain his back pain. Eventually he enrolled in a program through the Mayo Clinic that treated chronic pain as “a malfunction in perception,” that is, a self-reinforcing addiction to and dramatization of pain.
The solution, as Robert explains, was: “…don’t dwell on the pain, and don’t try to fix it — no props, no pills. Eventually the mind should let go.”
Treatment must be individualized
This tactic may have worked for the author, but I doubt it would work as well for many of us women with clearly definable conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and chronic migraine, or sex-specific diseases like endometriosis. In my case, ignoring the heavy bleeding and cramping I experienced every month (often multiple times a month) and the daily gastrointestinal distress I had for years did not make the attending pain go away, despite the repeated dismissals I received from doctors. Trying to ignore the pain didn’t stop endometriosis from strangling my large intestines and adhering my ovaries and fallopian tubes to my colon. To gain actual relief from that agony, I needed surgery, and I might need it again. Likewise, ignoring my back pain does not stop the nerve compression that contributes to sporadic incidences of severe cramping and involuntary muscle twitches and jerking in my right leg. What I do need are doctors willing to listen, empathize, and work with me to identify the most appropriate treatment plan that will minimize my pain and address the underlying condition as best as possible.
While I congratulate Roberts that he was able to put away his “props” such as his ankle braces, those of us with genuine degenerative conditions like arthritis and connective tissue disease need such aids to stabilize our joints and prevent further damage and further pain. I would implore those in the medical community for whom the Times piece resonated to understand that applying blanket solutions to chronic pain may not work for many pain patients, as the vast majority of us are women. In fact, since most studies on pain have focused on men, broadly applying their findings to everyone can be dangerous, and reinforces the same gender disparities from which they arise. The result of that would inevitably be that many more women stand to die or suffer in silence, without accessing the treatments they require and deserve in order to find adequate relief.
The post Women and pain: Disparities in experience and treatment appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.
From: Laura Kiesel https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562
Children Who Survive Heart Disease Face Challenges
Many of these children can also suffer from illnesses such as autism and respiratory conditions, study says
From: http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20171009/children-who-survive-heart-disease-face-challenges?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Mayo Clinic Minute: Do mammograms work?
From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7dGELNI3Wo
California eases penalty for intentional HIV exposure
Law now treats HIV like other diseases, part of an effort to reverse tough policies enacted during the AIDS scare of the 1980s and '90s
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-reduces-penalty-for-knowingly-exposing-someone-to-hiv/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-reduces-penalty-for-knowingly-exposing-someone-to-hiv/
Double Mastectomy May Mean a Hit to the Paycheck
Aggressive surgery for breast cancer might cause women to miss over a month of work
From: https://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20171009/double-mastectomy-may-mean-a-hit-to-the-paycheck?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Hate UTIs? One Simple Step Can Cut the Risk
Adding more water to daily routine lowered odds for the infections
From: https://www.webmd.com/women/news/20171009/hate-utis-one-simple-step-can-cut-the-risk?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Surviving Violence in America: What to Do
After massacre in Las Vegas, experts urge Americans to be prepared and have a plan.
From: https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/news/20171006/surviving-violence-in-america-what-to-do?src=RSS_PUBLIC
California Hepatitis A Outbreak Spreads
Drug users, the homeless most affected; county has launched vaccination effort
From: https://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/news/20171006/california-hepatitis-a-outbreak-spreads?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Too Much Sugar Can Harm Livers of Even Healthy Men
Study found an unhealthy buildup of fat in the vital organ when men switched to high-sugar diet
From: https://www.webmd.com/men/news/20171006/too-much-sugar-can-harm-livers-of-even-healthy-men?src=RSS_PUBLIC
FDA Approves Test to Screen Donated Blood for Zika
Though the virus is mainly spread by mosquitoes, it can be transmitted through blood transfusions
From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20171006/fda-approves-test-to-screen-donated-blood-for-zika?src=RSS_PUBLIC
WHO: Mental health in the workplace – Q & A (Questions and Answers)
From: World Health Organization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO8kW57uh-8
Health officials watching mosquitoes in Texas after Harvey
"We're not out of the woods," experts say when it comes to the potential spread of mosquito-borne illness following Harvey flooding
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/health-officials-watching-mosquitoes-in-texas-after-harvey/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/health-officials-watching-mosquitoes-in-texas-after-harvey/
Women and pain: Disparities in experience and treatment
In August, The New York Times published a guest op-ed by a man named David Roberts who suffered from severe chronic pain for many years before finally finding relief. The piece immediately went viral, with distinguished news journalist and personality Dan Rather posting it to his Facebook page with the addendum that it could “offer hope” to some pain patients. However, for many of us in the chronic pain community, particularly women, the piece was regarded with weariness and frustration.
The first and most prominent source of annoyance for me regarding this piece was the part when the author finally discloses his pain to his employer and it is taken with the utmost seriousness. He is immediately offered leave to find treatment, despite the lack of a definitive diagnosis. This stands in stark contrast to the experiences of many (if not most) women, where our pain is often abruptly dismissed as psychological — a physical manifestation of stress, anxiety, or depression.
Women with chronic pain may suffer more and longer than men
Consider this: women in pain are much more likely than men to receive prescriptions for sedatives, rather than pain medication, for their ailments. One study even showed women who received coronary bypass surgery were only half as likely to be prescribed painkillers, as compared to men who had undergone the same procedure. We wait an average of 65 minutes before receiving an analgesic for acute abdominal pain in the ER in the United States, while men wait only 49 minutes.
These gender biases in our medical system can have serious and sometimes fatal repercussions. For instance, a 2000 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that women are seven times more likely than men to be misdiagnosed and discharged in the middle of having a heart attack. Why? Because the medical concepts of most diseases are based on understandings of male physiology, and women have altogether different symptoms than men when having a heart attack.
To return to the issue of chronic pain, 70% of the people it impacts are women. And yet, 80% of pain studies are conducted on male mice or human men. One of the few studies to research gender differences in the experience of pain found that women tend to feel it more of the time and more intensely than men. While the exact reasons for this discrepancy haven’t been pinpointed yet, biology and hormones are suspected to play a role.
As for Roberts, his lab tests yielded no apparent findings to explain his back pain. Eventually he enrolled in a program through the Mayo Clinic that treated chronic pain as “a malfunction in perception,” that is, a self-reinforcing addiction to and dramatization of pain.
The solution, as Robert explains, was: “…don’t dwell on the pain, and don’t try to fix it — no props, no pills. Eventually the mind should let go.”
Treatment must be individualized
This tactic may have worked for the author, but I doubt it would work as well for many of us women with clearly definable conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and chronic migraine, or sex-specific diseases like endometriosis. In my case, ignoring the heavy bleeding and cramping I experienced every month (often multiple times a month) and the daily gastrointestinal distress I had for years did not make the attending pain go away, despite the repeated dismissals I received from doctors. Trying to ignore the pain didn’t stop endometriosis from strangling my large intestines and adhering my ovaries and fallopian tubes to my colon. To gain actual relief from that agony, I needed surgery, and I might need it again. Likewise, ignoring my back pain does not stop the nerve compression that contributes to sporadic incidences of severe cramping and involuntary muscle twitches and jerking in my right leg. What I do need are doctors willing to listen, empathize, and work with me to identify the most appropriate treatment plan that will minimize my pain and address the underlying condition as best as possible.
While I congratulate Roberts that he was able to put away his “props” such as his ankle braces, those of us with genuine degenerative conditions like arthritis and connective tissue disease need such aids to stabilize our joints and prevent further damage and further pain. I would implore those in the medical community for whom the Times piece resonated to understand that applying blanket solutions to chronic pain may not work for many pain patients, as the vast majority of us are women. In fact, since most studies on pain have focused on men, broadly applying their findings to everyone can be dangerous, and reinforces the same gender disparities from which they arise. The result of that would inevitably be that many more women stand to die or suffer in silence, without accessing the treatments they require and deserve in order to find adequate relief.
The post Women and pain: Disparities in experience and treatment appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.
From: Laura Kiesel https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562
Double Mastectomy May Mean a Hit to the Paycheck
Aggressive surgery for breast cancer might cause women to miss over a month of work
From: http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20171009/double-mastectomy-may-mean-a-hit-to-the-paycheck?src=RSS_PUBLIC
Hate UTIs? One Simple Step Can Cut the Risk
Adding more water to daily routine lowered odds for the infections
From: http://www.webmd.com/women/news/20171009/hate-utis-one-simple-step-can-cut-the-risk?src=RSS_PUBLIC
High lead levels found in Philadelphia's backyards
In Philadelphia, some parents are convinced high levels of lead in soil put their children at risk for irreversible brain damage. The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News recently tested more than a hundred parks, playgrounds and backyards in the city's river wards and found nearly 75 percent of the areas tested had hazardous levels of lead. Jericka Duncan reports.
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/high-lead-levels-found-in-philadelphias-backyards/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/high-lead-levels-found-in-philadelphias-backyards/
In Philadelphia, high levels of lead in soil raise parents' concerns
Testing of backyard soil samples found elevated levels, but that's not the only source of harmful lead posing a hazard to young children
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/philadelphia-high-lead-levels-in-soil-raise-parents-concerns/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/philadelphia-high-lead-levels-in-soil-raise-parents-concerns/
White House to order health care alternatives
The order would expand health plans offered by associations to allow individuals to pool together and buy insurance outside their states
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-to-order-health-care-alternatives/
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-to-order-health-care-alternatives/
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