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The Best Ways to Minimize Allergy Symptoms This Season
Some tips on reducing your exposure to irritating allergens including using First Defense Nasal Screens.Contributor: Amy Rozanski-HarlachPublished: May 16, 2013 (Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content)
Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content - May 16, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Source Type: blogs

Nike Collabs With A.P.C. on Sweet Sneaks, How to Deal With Your Allergies on a Run and More!
Super-chic French label A.P.C. has teamed up with Nike on a seriously cool line of kicks. And unlike A.P.C.'s pricey ready-to-wear collection, these sneakers will cost between $85 and $120. [Refinery 29] Beat your allergies with these tips when you head outdoors on your next run. [POPSUGAR Fitness] (Source: The ND Blog: Notes from the Nutritionista by Monica Reinagel, L.D.N., C.N.S.)
Source: The ND Blog: Notes from the Nutritionista by Monica Reinagel, L.D.N., C.N.S. - May 15, 2013 Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Tags: Morning Scoop allergies diet exercise fashion injury news pneumatic resistance running sneakers study technology Source Type: blogs

E - H Restaurant Menu and Nutrition Fact Guides
In this post I'm picking up from where we left off with links to more menus and nutrition guides to popular family restaurants and fast food eateries. It isn't a comprehensive list, but I'm happy to add more restaurants if one you are looking for is missing, just contact me through a comment.I decided to collect this information for myself due to my struggle with lactose intolerance. I have some of the most common places we eat saved to my tablet which comes with me everywhere I go for quick reference. When my husband and I decide we'd like to go to dinner somewhere, I look through the nutrition facts for...
Source: Happy Nutritionist's Nuggets - May 15, 2013 Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Tags: Fast Food Nutrition Information Family Restaurant Nutrition Information Fast Food Restaurant Menus Restaurants Family Restaurant Menus Source Type: blogs

Memories: The Day the World Went White
Today we’re going to share our most memorable diabetes day. You can take this anywhere.... your or your loved one's diagnosis, a bad low, a bad high, a big success, any day that you’d like to share. (Thanks to Jasmine of Silver-Lined for this topic suggestion.) It was May 1999, (it always seems to be May when such things happen, but I digress) and I'd just been diagnosed with diabetes 5 months prior. I'd worn glasses for nearsightedness for much of my life, and coupled with the diabetes diagnoses my vision was on a rollarcoaster. After diagnoses, however, things improved, went back to normal. One month after diagnoses,...
Source: The D-Log Cabin - May 15, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: HVS Source Type: blogs

Six Years Later, Ranbaxy - Oops, Daiichi Sankyo - Pleads Guilty to Adulteration, Pays $500 Million
It only took until 2013, but the US Food and Drug Administration finally secured guilty pleas and fines. The basics are in an Associated Press story (via the Washington Post): A subsidiary of India’s largest pharmaceutical company has agreed to pay a record $500 million in fines and penalties for selling adulterated drugs and lying to federal regulators in a case that is part of an ongoing crackdown on the quality of generic drugs flowing into the U.S.Federal prosecutors say the guilty plea by Ranbaxy USA Inc. represents the largest financial penalty against a generic drug company for violations of the Federal...
Source: Health Care Renewal - May 14, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: FDA outsourcing crime adulterated drugs Ranbaxy adverse effects Daiichi Sankyo manufacturing problems Source Type: blogs

ICG Europe starts w/ "Omics & the future of man" & sticks to men the rest of the time
Fun. Another day. Another YAMMGM (yet another mostly male genomics meeting). This one is the International Conference on Genomics Europe 2013. I have copied the program as it is now here and then highlighted the men and women as far as I can tell. And, well, it is not very balanced. It starts off, ironically, with "Omics and the future of man" and then stays on both omics and alas, men, for most of the meeting. The first woman does not talk until 5 pm on the first day. Nothing against BGI per se. But they seem to be repeat offenders in having meetings with mostly male s...
Source: The Tree of Life - May 14, 2013 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Jonathan Eisen Source Type: blogs

Wheat headache
Karen tells this story of her son’s 3-month struggle with headache and other symptoms: My son suffered from chronic (nearly daily) headaches and dizziness for 3 months, missing 30+ days of school in that time. Three days after removing wheat from his diet, he is headache-free. Chronic constipation gone. Former pale skin, dark circles under his eyes: gone. Energy level back, moodiness: gone. Taking him off wheat was always my gut instinct, but we were told by everyone in the medical field that it couldn’t possibly be from a food issue. We had tried numerous medications, took every blood test possible, MRI, mass...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - May 13, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Migraine headaches Wheat-elimination success stories Source Type: blogs

Immunological Strategies for the Prevention and Treatment of Prion Diseases
from Keiji Uchiyama and Suehiro Sakaguchi writing in Prions: Current Progress in Advanced Research:Prion diseases, which include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in animals, are a group of incurable neurodegenerative disorders caused by proteinaceous infectious agents, the so-called prions. No preventative vaccines and therapeutics of prion diseases have been developed. Recent lines of evidence suggest that antibodies against prion protein might be beneficial for both preventing and treating prion disease. In this chapter, we first discuss the possibility that there might...
Source: Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. - May 13, 2013 Category: Microbiology Source Type: blogs

Ask the Nutritionist: Calcium Supplements, Yes, No, WTF?
Got questions about healthy eating and nutrition? Well, today starts a new feature at Cranky Fitness: Ask the Nutritionist! It could also rightfully be called "Ask the Dietitian," since both the contributors are RD's. I almost did call it that, but then decided to play it safe in case either of these two knowledgeable and articulate experts figures out what a silly blog this is and decides to bail. What if I need to find someone new and have to cast a wider net? No certification, but pretty darn sensible! Plus, half the time I spell it "Dietitian" and the other half "Dietician" and that was driving me...
Source: Cranky Fitness - May 13, 2013 Category: Eating Disorders Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs

iBlueButton® Professional for iPad on the iTunes App Store
iBlueButton® Professional for iPad on the iTunes App Store: The iBlueButton® Apps are award winning applications (U.S Department of Health and Human Services ONC Investing in Innovation Challenge winner in December, 2011). The Federal Government Blue Button® Initiative provides Americans with the ability to download and easily review their online health summary records from Blue Button enabled patient portals such as My HealtheVet, TRICARE Online and MyMedicare.gov as well as private portals such as those of health insurance companies. Blue Button records are a rich source of crucial and often otherwise unavai...
Source: Kidney Notes - May 12, 2013 Category: Urologists and Nephrologists Authors: Joshua Schwimmer Source Type: blogs

Exotic North Indian Cuisine, Cullen Bay
I went to Exotic North Indian Cuisine restaurant a couple of days ago. Don't really know why they call it exotic as I didn't see any exotic food like cobra, monkeys or camel. Perhaps when this restaurant was first opened, Indian food was considered exotic to people living in Darwin. The restaurant is situated in Cullen Bay, a pretty nice place which I blogged about before. They have quite an extensive menu. Above was their mixed tandoori platter with chicken and lambs. It was nicely done. Complimentary crackers or whatever you call it. The person who made this was a bit too generous with salt. Lamb birya...
Source: Murmurs from the Heart - May 11, 2013 Category: Medical Students Authors: SoNaR Source Type: blogs

Phillip Lim to Collab with Target, Seriously Cool Hair Tools and More!
Fashionistas, this one's for you. Phillip Lim 3.1 will be releasing a capsule collection with Target in September. Get your wallets ready now! [Glam Network] With blow-dry bars popping up everywhere (see: Drybar, DreamDry), it's clear that everyone wants perfect hair. Try one of these splurge-worthy tools for amazing strands. [Fashionista] (Source: The ND Blog: Notes from the Nutritionista by Monica Reinagel, L.D.N., C.N.S.)
Source: The ND Blog: Notes from the Nutritionista by Monica Reinagel, L.D.N., C.N.S. - May 9, 2013 Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Tags: Morning Scoop DIY allergies beauty tools cleaning fashion hair shopping workouts Source Type: blogs

Four Non-Dairy Milk Alternatives
Some people can not tolerate cow's milk or are allergic to dairy products. Here are a few dairy-free milk alternatives that can be used instead.Contributor: Alyssa RussoPublished: May 08, 2013 (Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content)
Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content - May 8, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Source Type: blogs

Why the Wheat Belly recipes WORK
Imagine you go to a nice grocery store. You ask for the manager. You ask,”I’d like to know where I can find the foods in your store that lack opiate exorphin effects, fail to provoke formation of small LDL particles in susceptible people, do not cause exaggerated postprandial lipoprotein rises, and minimize potential for glycation and lipoxidation. Could you point me towards them?” “Uhhh. We got some low-fat items in aisle 3!” You can see the problem: In the Wheat Belly way of nutritional thinking, we eliminate sources of modern high-yield, semi-dwarf wheat because of its awful collection of...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - May 8, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Recipes Source Type: blogs

The big-data revolution in US health care: Accelerating value and innovation | McKinsey & Company
This report leans in the direction of favoring technology over the personal interactions between patient and physician. I'm still feeling divided. This link goes to an executive summary, but it has a link where you can download the full report. (Source: FutureHIT - Speculations on the Future of Health IT)
Source: FutureHIT - Speculations on the Future of Health IT - May 7, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Hunscher Source Type: blogs

Asthma drug Singulair linked to suicidality
Monday, 6 May 2013, 12:58 pm Article: Martha Rosenberg Asthma drug Singulair linked to suicidality by Martha Rosenberg May 6, 2013 World sales of Merck's blockbuster asthma drug, Singulair, were about $5 billion a year until last year when its patent expired in the United States. But the drug also has a darkening cloud over it. The Australian medicine watchdog has received 58 reports of adverse psychiatric events in children and teenagers taking Singulair since 2000 and reports have also surfaced in the US. Singulair, a leukotriene receptor antagonist or LTRA, is one of several "add-on" asthma drugs that were debuted ...
Source: PharmaGossip - May 6, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

Don't let Ambien or other insomnia drugs send you to the ER
Emergency-room visits stemming from Ambien, Edluar, Zolpimist, and other insomnia drugs containing zolpidem have more than tripled in recent years, according to a new report. Zolpidem is an effective insomnia treatment, but it can interact with other medications and alcohol; a third of ER visits were the result of mixing zolpidem with other drugs. Zolpidem can also cause next-day drowsiness, dizziness, and dependency, and even worsen sleeping problems if taken too frequently. Memory lapses, hallucinations, and some other bizarre behaviors such as sleepwalking, sleep-driving, and sleep-eating have also been reported. For ...
Source: Consumer Reports Health Blog - May 3, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: gingerskinner Tags: Conditions & Treatments Drugs Health Source Type: blogs

Healthcare social media #HCSM - top articles
Here are my suggestions for some of the top articles related to healthcare social media (#HCSM) in the past 2 weeks: Cardiologist: Physicians Beware on the Twittersphere http://buff.ly/YWDE3x -- William Dillon, MD: "I was left at a conversational disadvantage because of the loss of context that is inherent to 140-character interactions on Twitter. This is a complex issue, and surely not suitable for Twitter. Engaging on this medium on this topic was a mistake. I learned from it." "Smartphone will evolve to become a 'soulmate' device that knows your body better than you know it yourself" http://buff.ly/Rz6PaK 70% of...
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog - May 3, 2013 Category: Professors and Educators Tags: #HCSM Source Type: blogs

The Best New Doctor Reaction Yet
He laughed.I went to see a physicians assistant in the rheumatology department yesterday about the bump on my arm (not on a log). He was a very nice man and spent some time talking to me.He said what I have is probably a ganglion cyst and he could stick a needle in it and drain it but it might come back. I said lymphedema arm. He said 'oops, no needle'. I said when I move my thumb around it makes it hurt more, he said I could give you a thumb splint but that would make your arm swell up.So we left it that I will monitor admire it, and if it does become problematic, I would be referred to a surgeon to see if there was anyth...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - May 3, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: treatment options ganglion cyst rheumatoid arthritis doctor appointments Source Type: blogs

Scientists Developing New Autism Vaccine Ignoring Likely Cause, Pushing Pharma’s Agenda
Conclusion Governments are so determined to push vaccinations and reassure mothers that vaccines do not cause autism, they have come up with yet another flawed study to prove it. This effort is followed by a massive vaccination drive and media campaign to scare parents into accepting vaccines. Just to reassure parents further, the government is now encouraging the development of a vaccine to alleviate the symptoms of autism, just in case they are wrong. Really reassuring, isn’t it? Here we have yet another example of just how desperate governments and the pharmaceutical industries are to protect the vaccination schedule....
Source: vactruth.com - May 3, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Christina England Tags: Christina England Top Stories autism vaccine clostridium bolteae Dr. Frank DeStefano Hannah Polling Lisa Blakemore-Brown MMR Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis(SSPE) Source Type: blogs

Chances of getting in MD & DO
by Enot (Posted Thu May 02, 2013 11:02 pm)WIth the instate advantage, you may have a shot, but all together, the odds are against you. Applying with your GPA and no MCAT is not a good idea. Applying in August or September really puts you behind the curve. What about applying next year? If you concentrated solely on the MCAT this summer, and got a really great score (aim for 35+), and then took the next year to beef up your GPA, you would be a pretty solid applicant. I may be misunderstanding your position, but if you can take the extra time. Taking an extra year to prepare is not the end of the world. There are some classe...
Source: Med Student Guide - May 2, 2013 Category: Medical Students Source Type: blogs

Trendie Tubies
[A makeshift clothes line made by tying yarn up on a bookshelf. Clipped to it are three cloth circles. One is a yellow cat on a black background, another is light brown owls on a light green background, and the last is blue flowers on a white background.] I don't normally advertise products here, but I thought anyone using a feeding tube might be interested in these things. They are called Trendie Tubies. They are absorbent cloth pads, in a variety of styles, designed to be used around the opening of your feeding tube once it's healed enough to stop needing the kind of dressings you might need right after the sur...
Source: Ballastexistenz - May 2, 2013 Category: Autism Authors: Amanda Tags: Uncategorized assistive technology feeding tubes Source Type: blogs

Alarm Fatigue
For those of you who don’t know what alarm fatigue is, think of a car alarm. The first time you hear it going off, you run to your window to see who’s breaking into a car. Maybe you run to the window the second time and the third time, too. By the tenth time the alarm goes off, you’re thinking that the alarm is broken and someone needs to get that fixed. After about thirty false alarms, you’re feeling like going out there and busting up the car yourself – especially if the car alarm wakes you when you’re asleep. So alarms can be good, but if there are too many “false positives̶...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - May 1, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Policy Source Type: blogs

Miracle Cure.
(Not for diabetes. What kind of a blog do I look like? Hang on ... let me stir up this cocktail of chocolate shake and cinnamon that's sure to kick my pancreas back into high gear.)My Dexcom rash started last August, soon after a business trip to San Diego. The rash was instant and seemed to crop up out of nowhere, with one sensor leaving behind nothing more than the wee pinprick of the sensor insertion to the next one leaving a trail of weeping, swollen skin in its wake. Not comfortable, and difficult to pinpoint the cause. "It's an allergy," said the Internet. And my doctors ...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 30, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs

Preparing for a Meaningful Use Audit
ONC/CMS provides strong oversight of the Meaningful Use program by continuousy reexamining the quality of certified products and auditing hospitals and practices that have attested to meaningful use.Last week, ONC "de-certified" a product for not supporting the functionality required by regulations .Meaningful Use audits are done by Figliozzi and Company on behalf of CMS. I've assisted one of our hospitals and one of our practices with such audits.What do the auditors ask for?*Proof of ownership of a certified EHR*Reporting method used to incorporate Emergency Department (ED) patients (All ED Visits or Observation S...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - April 30, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Source Type: blogs

Guest Blogger: Grace Quantock on Relaxation Rehabilitation, Part 4
How to Rest and Make it Fun Lying down and doing nothing can be what is needed but sometimes our brains feel like they are racing and we need a gentle activity. Here are some suggestions: 1. Sanctuary. Imagine an inner safe place where you can go and feel calm, go there now. 2. Senses. Use relaxing sensory experiences. What is relaxation to you? What invokes relaxation and the sensation of ease? It could be falling asleep,the knowledge of nothing to do, a massage, a hug, a warm bath, the smell of clean linen, candle light, the sea and the beach. whatever it is for you, create or invoke it to relax today. Use smell, taste, ...
Source: Bah! to cancer - April 28, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Stephanie Tags: wellbeing grace quantock guest blogger Source Type: blogs

Six ways Big Pharma manipulates consumers - Salon
This article originally appeared on AlterNet. The blockbuster pill profit party is over for Big Pharma. Bestselling pills like Lipitor, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Singular and Concerta have gone off patent and sites which their ads sustained are withering on the vine. WebMD, for example, the voice of Pharma on the Web, with a former Pfizer exec serving as CEO, announced it would cut 250 positions in December. But don’t worry, Wall Street. Pharma isn’t going to deliver disappointing earnings just because it has little or no new drugs coming online and has failed at the very reason for its existence. Here are six new Pharma ma...
Source: PharmaGossip - April 28, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

15 Months
This is my angelic child. He is (now)15.5 months old, bright, funny, cheerful. He loves reading books & splashing in the bathtub. He has a short fuse & his yet primary way of communication(for anything) is yelling at the top of his lungs. And for the most part, he's healthy.(seasonal allergies notwithstanding) But... He isn't walking yet. He'll pull himself around all over everything in Creation, but has no interest in taking independent steps. (when forced to do so, he does the stop,drop, and laugh at Mommy) Otherwise, if he wants to get something that can't be gotten via holding on, he will crawl.(he can crawl faster the...
Source: The D-Log Cabin - April 27, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: HVS Source Type: blogs

Trying to sort out all the STEM and STEM related departments, graduate programs , at #UCDavis
Well, I was in a meeting yesterday for the UC Davis ADVANCE program. This program is an NSF funded project to improve presence of women and underrepresented minorities on the faculty in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). So I decided to see - how many departments at UC Davis might participate in such an initiative. And, well, wow. I knew there were a lot of STEM or STEM-related departments at UC Davis but I did not know there were this many. Here is a list I compiled of UC Davis STEM or STEM-related Departments. I included medical departments here since many people in such...
Source: The Tree of Life - April 27, 2013 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Jonathan Eisen Source Type: blogs

12 tips to stay safe in hospitals
Hospitals can save you, but they can also harm you. So how can you stay safe in hospitals? Follow these 12 life-saving tips: 1. Never go alone. Always bring someone else—a trusted family member or friend—with you. That person will be your primary advocate, and can serve as an extra set of eyes and ears to help make sure you are safe. (This tip applies to routine doctors’ appointments too; always bring your advocate with you.) 2. Determine, in advance, the goals of the hospitalization. Before you go to the hospital, ask your doctor why you need to be hospitalized. Is it necessary, or is outpatient care possible? What ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 25, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Physician Hospital Infectious disease Patients Source Type: blogs

That was a bad day!
I don't like needles. You might have heard this from me before. I was very clear with my oncologist when I was diagnosed that it was not an option for me to self inject. Ever. Last week I was told that my RA is not responding to oral treatment so I need to switch to injections. I was a bit stressed.I had no idea how stressed I was. Tuesday night I took an ativan so that I would be able to sleep and reduce some stress. Yesterday morning we had the teaching lesson with the nurse to learn how to self inject.I woke up with hives, a knot in my stomach, and extreme stress. Hives? That was a bit extreme. I have only had hives fro...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - April 25, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: needles stress fear Source Type: blogs

Why are there so many "treatments" for failed embryo implantation ?
As an IVF specialist , one of the commonest questions patients ask me is - Why did my IVF cycle fail ? This is a perfectly valid question , and I can understand why patients want an answer. After all, once we knew what the problem was , it's quite logical that we would be able to find a solution for it ! However, the sad truth is that our technology has limitations and it's not possible for us to answer the question as to why an individual IVF cycle fails. After all , when you transfer a microscopic ball of cells inside the uterine cavity , it’s impossible to determine its fate and to find out exactly why the embryo did ...
Source: The Patient's Doctor - April 21, 2013 Category: Obstetricians and Gynecologists Tags: Health In vitro fertilisation Uterus patient Question Pregnancy Embryo IVF Process Source Type: blogs

Marilyn Roberts explains about antibiotics in animal feed
Antibiotics in animal feed encourages drug-resistant bacteria I HAVE spent my professional life discovering how disease-causing bacteria resist antibiotic treatment. The public should understand that antibiotics can treat bacterial infections, but not viruses, and the full prescription must be taken. Everyone using antibiotics shares the responsibility for increased bacterial resistance, so they must also take a role in using these important resources responsibly. Yet drug-resistant bacteria emerge not only because people take the drugs, but also from the drugs’ use in agriculture. Worldwide, the livestock industry con...
Source: PharmaGossip - April 21, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs

How to Find my Allergy Relief Posts
The trees are putting out lots of pollen in our area, as well as the flowers, and grasses. Personally, I am most sensitive to tree pollens. If you are looking for the posts on allergies on this site, visit this allergies link which will take you to a few that I have written, which will further lead you to other helpful articles.You will also find allergy articles I have written at this link on Weeds and Seeds Swap.I hope you are enjoying a healthy and happy Spring. (Source: Happy Nutritionist's Nuggets)
Source: Happy Nutritionist's Nuggets - April 20, 2013 Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Source Type: blogs

Where can I get the best deals on OTC drugs?
Walmart and Target win out over drugstore chains like Rite-Aid, CVS, and Walgreens, as well as supermarkets, on prices for dozens of common, brand-name and generic over-the-counter drugs, according to our team of Secret Shoppers. They recently scanned pharmacy shelves for prices on drugs, such as the allergy medications fexofenadine (Allegra), loratadine (Claritin), and cetirizine (Zyrtec), and medication to treat headaches and pain, such as ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve), as well as drugs for heartburn like famotidine (Pepcid AC) and lansoprazole (Prevacid24HR). All of those drugs are available as generics, whic...
Source: Consumer Reports Health Blog - April 19, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Consumer Reports News Tags: Advil Allegra Claritin CVS Heart burn Over-the-counter drugs Pepcid Rite Aid Walgreens Ask the Pharmacist Health Source Type: blogs

Food Revolution Summit – Free Online Event
When I was a kid and my Mom would take my siblings and me to the local shopping mall, she’d bribe us with an offer of an ice cream cone from Baskin-Robbins if we’d behave ourselves. So if we acted like monkeys in the stores, we wouldn’t get any ice cream on the way back to the car. Most of the time, sometimes with a large amount of begging and pleading, we were able to get our cones. Many years later I began learning about the long-term consequences of eating junk food — on the body and particularly the brain. In my early 20s, I decided to upgrade my diet. I went vegetarian first, then 100% vegan se...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - April 18, 2013 Category: Life Coaches Authors: Steve Pavlina Tags: Balance Health Source Type: blogs

The asthma-COPD overlap syndrome
(Source: Notes from Dr. RW)
Source: Notes from Dr. RW - April 18, 2013 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Tags: allergy and immunology pulmonary Source Type: blogs

Probably a Different Reaction
So...three days before my hysterectomy, and I'm symptom free of everything! No coughing, no allergies, I'm so happy! Sunday was miserable - walking around the furniture store wiping and blowing my nose with everyone around, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do!I'm sure everyone is upset and touched by the Boston Marathon tragedy, I was very shocked and saddened when I heard about it. I wasn't paying any attention to the news and when my husband asked if I had heard about the Boston, and for some reason this is how horrible tragedies are always relayed to me - on the phone by him, with him sayin...
Source: bipolar.and.me - April 16, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs

Fred Schulte: "GOP senators call for overhaul of electronic health records program"
Fred Schulte, investigative reporter at the Center for Public Integrity (link to bio), has authored a new article worth reading in its entirety:GOP senators call for overhaul of electronic health records programLawmakers say Obama's $35 billion initiative pushing health information technology isn't working.Six U.S. Senators are calling for an overhaul of the federal government’s $35 billion plan for doctors and hospitals to switch from paper to electronic medical records, citing concerns from patient privacy to possible Medicare billing fraud.The report issued Tuesday by the half-dozen Republicans concedes that many lawm...
Source: Health Care Renewal - April 16, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: healthcare IT difficulties healthcare IT risks Center for Public Integrity Fred Schulte Source Type: blogs

An Alternative to the Cat Shelter
Our son became allergic to his cat. Rather than get rid of the cat, we built a cat house and moved him outdoors. Our son is healthy again and our cat seems to have adapted nicely to his new life. Here’s how we did it.Contributor: Satchel FordPublished: Apr 14, 2013 (Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content)
Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content - April 14, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Source Type: blogs

How I Generally Feel on the Weekends
I usually feel better on the weekends and feel like a complete moron for writing such pitiful, self indulgent posts during the week. I guess it's hard to have whole days alone just to think - think - think, waiting for surgery, waiting for school, always waiting! On the weekends Mark is home and we keep somewhat busy, where during the week he gets home and is *so tired* from working so hard, I make dinner, and he goes to bed incredibly early. Maybe by 9:00 or usually before? When you get home at 6:30 or sometimes later, take the time to change your clothes, put things away, eat di...
Source: bipolar.and.me - April 13, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs

This Group of Revolutionary Mothers Is Helping Save Children from Dangerous Vaccines
If you haven’t read the new book by the Thinking Moms’ Revolution (TMR), buy it now. As in today. I got my long-awaited copy last week. I couldn’t put it down. I cried as I relived so many memories of my grandson Jake’s regression into autism after the rabies vaccine almost seven years ago. Wow. Seven years. I can’t believe it’s been that long. It felt like it was happening all over again while I was reading the stories of other families who went through the same pain. The same heartache. The same panic. The same sense of hopelessness. The same … everything. Like thousands of other stories about vaccine-injur...
Source: vactruth.com - April 13, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Jennifer Hutchinson Tags: Jennifer Hutchinson Top Stories Adverse Reaction autism Thinking Moms' Revolution vaccine ingredients vaccine injury Source Type: blogs

Can you make hair dye less irritating by mixing it with artificial sweetener?
Allison asks...Strange questions, but it’s come up often lately. Several cosmetologists and women who dye their hair have indicated that when a client complains that the hair dye tingles or irritates their scalp, the cosmetologist will add 1-2 packets of Nutrasweet (aspartame) to the dye mixture and the effect is minimized. Is this a psychological reaction or does the aspartame interact with the dye chemicals or the peroxide in a way that actually reduces the irritation?? The Beauty Brains respond: Aspartame (technically known as the methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide) is a very popular artifi...
Source: thebeautybrains.com - April 13, 2013 Category: Physicians With Health Advice Authors: thebeautybrains Tags: Questions Source Type: blogs

All Alone
I'm down today, I felt like if I started to cry I might not be able to stop so I took a couple of klonipin. I'm don't really think that is why they are prescribed as I believe I was given them for panic and anxiety. I've usually been very good at taking my psychiatric medications as prescribed except perhaps I don't always take AS MUCH of everything as is prescribed, but maybe I'm living under false assumptions and am not facing reality.I may have already been down, I don't recall, but I was reading a forum that is *supposed* to encourage students in my future industry, and it is usually incredibly encouraging....
Source: bipolar.and.me - April 12, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs

So, I Guess We'll Go With Asthma.
I finally caved and went to my new family doctor today over my crazy exercise induced allergies that are so bizarre and I couldn't figure out. I did tons of internet research, so did my husband, and we found a lot of people with the same thing who couldn't find an answer.He came in and I was just embarrassed to be there AGAIN. Obviously we both know I'm healthy - I was just there for a physical and had blood work and I couldn't possibly be more healthy as far as those things are concerned. I had told him on a previous visit for some reason, I don't know why, about my issues with coughing in the past,...
Source: bipolar.and.me - April 10, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs

I Live With Itchy and Scratchy…
I’ve been sitting at this computer for about an hour playing Skyrim. Maggie has been at my feet SCRATCHING constantly for that amount of time. “Come here, doll,” I finally said as it was getting on my nerves. “How does that feel? Feel better?” I was scratching Maggie’s back with gusto. Her tongue was hanging out of her mouth in ecstasy. I can’t find a flea on her and she looks perfectly healthy skin wise. “Must be her wire hair,” was my father’s diagnosis a few nights ago when I was commenting on her need to scratch. .”It could feel itchy like wool.” I remarked that it may be her flea me...
Source: The 4th Avenue Blues - April 9, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Authors: Andrew Quixote Source Type: blogs

More Mobile Health App Guidance from FDA for Pharma to Worry About
The more I dig into FDA regulation of mobile health/medical apps, the more I worry that many pharma health apps aimed at consumers may be in FDA's crosshairs.At first, I thought that PhRMA and other industry spokespeople were engaging in a bit of fear mongering when they suggested that the FDA "will soon require apps such as medication prescription renewal reminders and blood glucose level tracking functions to be regulated as medical devices" (see "Mobile Regulatory Fears: PhRMA Raises an Alarm"). Then I interviewed Bradley Merrill Thompson, Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker & Green and General Counsel to the mHeal...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - April 8, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Guidance Apps mobile medical app FDA Legal/Regulatory Source Type: blogs

Shamrock Shuffle!
I whined in my last post about my allergy type symptoms, which are still here the day afterwards, but I never wrote about the Shamrock Shuffle. It was AWESOME! I just loved every single part of it. Because I had not been running as far as I used to about a year ago, I have been running (when I do run), 3.1 miles (5k) instead of what I used to run 3 times a week which was 5 miles (an actual 8k like the Shamrock Shuffle), I assigned myself into the very slowest corral - people who thought they could complete the race with at least an average pace of 15 minutes. If you ran any slower tha...
Source: bipolar.and.me - April 8, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs

Just Whining
We ran the Shamrock Shuffle - an 8k run today with some of Mark's friends. He, of course, had an incredibly fast time that impressed everyone. I was just happy that I finished all five miles without having to walk to rest at all during the run. But I keep fighting all of these doctors about what happens to me when I do intense cardio. I get these bad allergies, similar to a bad cold, but I know I'm not sick, it's just what always happens in certain situations. I would run MUCH MORE OFTEN if this didn't happen so many times when I run, but then I feel sick the rest of the day and it just ...
Source: bipolar.and.me - April 7, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs