Mayo Clinic Minute: Treating 'stomach flu'

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJK60nEWLwM

Drug Co. Gifts Might Change How Docs Prescribe

More expensive brand-name prescriptions come from doctors who received perks, study finds

From: https://www.webmd.com/drug-medication/news/20171025/drug-co-gifts-might-change-how-docs-prescribe?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Dog’s Death Gave Her A ‘Broken Heart’

Joanie Simpson survived what she first thought was a heart attack.

From: https://www.webmd.com/heart/news/20171025/dogs-death-gave-her-a-broken-heart?src=RSS_PUBLIC

USDA CRP PROGRAM PROVIDES “SAFE” SPACES FOR ENDANGERED BLUE BUTTERFLY

From: USDA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOm3lvFfDk8

The problem with Harvey Weinstein's sex addiction claim

Sex addiction is not recognized as an official diagnosis for psychiatric treatment, and experts say there's little evidence rehab helps

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/harvey-weinstein-sex-addiction-claim/

U.S. Dementia Caregivers Cite Stresses, Rewards

New survey results illustrate the ups and downs of caring for aging family members

From: https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20171025/us-dementia-caregivers-cite-stresses-rewards?src=RSS_PUBLIC

ADHD Drug Misuse A Part of Teen Amphetamine Abuse

That could lead to an undercount of the extent of the problem, researchers say

From: https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/news/20171025/adhd-drug-misuse-a-part-of-teen-amphetamine-abuse?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Docs Warn Against 'Vaginal Seeding' for Newborns

Doctors say potential risks -- including transfer of dangerous viruses -- outweigh the potential benefits.

From: https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20171025/docs-warn-against-vaginal-seeding-for-newborns?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Controversial Chemical Can Linger on Toothbrushes

Triclosan is still allowed in toothpaste in U.S., but not soaps and wipes

From: https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/20171025/controversial-chemical-can-linger-on-toothbrushes?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Fire Risk Leads to Fisher-Price Bounce Seat Recall

The company reports more than 30 incidents of the seats overheating and at least one case where the product caught fire.

From: https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20171025/fire-risk-leads-to-fisher-price-bounce-seat-recall?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Texas A&M dental school dedicates site for new clinical facility in Dallas

Texas A&M College of Dentistry dedicates new clinic and education building in Dallas.

From: http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/october/texas-a-m-dental-school-dedicates-site-for-new-clinical-facility-in-dallas

الوصول إلى كل طفل دون استثناء

From: World Health Organization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlRTvoxuN6I

نظام ترصد شلل الأطفال

From: World Health Organization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vye2CB1Gxb8

الاستجابة لفاشية شلل الأطفال

From: World Health Organization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiPx4wDrZKA

Contrary to popular belief, epidurals don’t prolong labor. Phew.

It used to be common for doctors to turn down or stop the pain medication flowing in an epidural during labor if progress slowed down. This practice was particularly common if the pushing stage of labor was prolonged. Many doctors and nurses, myself included, believed that the pelvic muscles were not optimally working because of the numbing effect of the epidural anesthesia. We also thought that women could not focus on the right place to push without pain as a guide. We especially worried that epidural anesthesia in labor might increase the chance of a having a cesarean. So, many women tried to go without epidurals and endure the pain so they could lower this risk.

It seemed like common sense, and if it were true, then the tradeoff of pain in labor might be worth the gain of a shorter labor, and especially a lower cesarean risk.

Thanks to one of my colleagues who is a specialist in obstetrical anesthesia at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Phil Hess, we now have strong evidence just published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology that epidurals do not prolong labor or increase cesarean rates. Common sense is not evidence, and we owe it to our patients to practice the best evidence-based medicine we can.

Dr. Hess and colleagues enrolled women who volunteered to be randomized into two groups. One group was given the usual self-administered epidural pump in the second stage of labor and the other received a sham medication. Women in both groups could ask for more pain medications. The investigators found that there was no difference in labor length or in cesarean rates, and both groups had equally healthy outcomes.

What is an epidural? Think of it as numbing medicine for the spinal cord, similar to Novocain, the medicine that is commonly used to numb the nerves in your mouth when you have a dental procedure. The difference is that for labor, the medication is injected near the lower spinal cord in order to numb the pain of a baby passing through the pelvis. The medication used in an epidural is a mix of a Novocain-like drug along with a narcotic medication. Unlike a shot or a pill, nearly no narcotic enters the woman’s bloodstream, so the baby’s exposure to narcotics via the bloodstream is virtually nil, which is a great benefit. From the level near the spinal cord that the drug is injected on downward, the body gets numb and a woman feels very little pain, leaving instead a vague sensation of pressure. For labor a dilute mixture is used, so women can typically feel their legs and feel pressure in the pelvic area, so they know where to focus on pushing the baby out.

This study confirms what many of us suspected. Women don’t need the incentive or focus of pain to push a baby out. They need verbal support and guidance! There’s no other place in medicine where we would subject a woman to pain and not offer pain relief. And now we can do so without women feeling guilt or fault if they have a cesarean (not that they should ever feel that way — except they do).

The post Contrary to popular belief, epidurals don’t prolong labor. Phew. appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Hope Ricciotti, MD https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/epidurals-dont-prolong-labor-phew-2017102512612

Malignant Mesothelioma

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ASV07_G188

Trump expected to make major announcement this week on opioids

There's concern White House actions will be empty talk without a long-term commitment to paying for more addiction treatment

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-opioid-announcement-white-house-commitment/