Resolve Otitis Externa Fast with an Ear Wick
Emergency providers expeditiously sift and sort patients on their shifts and streamline procedures like how to place an ear wick in a patient with otitis externa, a quick and useful procedure for a patient who will reap the rewards.Standard ear wicks. The material is made from a dehydrated sponge composed of hydroxylated poly(vinyl acetate). It increases in size when liquid is applied. Photo by M. Roberts.Otitis externa can cause significant swelling, irritation, pruritis, and pain to the ear canal. Occasionally, the canal is so swollen it may be difficult to administer ear drops. An ear wick can be inserted between the...
Source: The Procedural Pause - June 2, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Harvard Health Ad Watch: An arthritis ad in 4 parts
Perhaps you’ve grown as weary as I have of repeated arthritis ads. They appear in frequent rotation on television, online, and in magazines, promoting Enbrel, Humira, Otezla, Xeljanz, and others.
If you’ve actually read or listened to these ads, you might have felt perplexed at certain points. Here’s a quick rundown on what they’re saying — and not saying — in one of those ads.
“The clock is ticking”
Part 1: A teakettle whistles on the stove and a disembodied voice speaks as this ad for Humira opens. “This is your wakeup call. If you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, month after month the cloc...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Bones and joints Health Inflammation Source Type: blogs
Harvard Health AdWatch: An arthritis ad in 4 parts
Perhaps you’ve grown as weary as I have of repeated arthritis ads. They appear in frequent rotation on television, online, and in magazines, promoting Enbrel, Humira, Otezla, Xeljanz, and others.
If you’ve actually read or listened to these ads, you might have felt perplexed at certain points. Here’s a quick rundown on what they’re saying — and not saying — in one of those ads.
“The clock is ticking”
Part 1: A teakettle whistles on the stove and a disembodied voice speaks as this ad for Humira opens. “This is your wakeup call. If you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, month after month the cloc...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Bones and joints Health Inflammation Source Type: blogs
Sunday Sermonette: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Skin Diseases
For those who claim that the Bible is the literal and inerrant word of God, and who claim to live by the Bible, Leviticus 13 and 14 ought to pose a considerable problem. Of course nobody who makes that claim is sincere. They just skip the embarrassing parts. Noah ' s ark is a fun story with animals. You can build a theme park around it. These chapters, however, are just deeply weird.It ' s important to note that " leprosy " here does not mean the disease which has been given that name in modern times, now more properly called Hansen ' s Disease. None of the symptoms described here correspond to those of Hansen ' s disease,...
Source: Stayin' Alive - April 19, 2020 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
COVID-19: Hidden Coinfections and Chain Reactions Parasitic Infectious Relationships within Us
By SIMON YU, MD, LT COL, USA (Ret)
Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opened up a new front in the Coronavirus War by saying we don’t just need to treat the acute disease, we need to treat the underlying conditions that make people more susceptible to serious disease progression. He focused on heart disease, and managing mitigating risk factors such as CVD, diabetes, hypertension and smoking in order to increase people’s odds for recovery. The initial focus has been pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with risk factors including asthma, chr...
Source: The Health Care Blog - April 15, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 CDC chronic disease holistic care Pandemic SDoH Source Type: blogs
Welcome to prior-authorization hell
“What diagnosis do you want to use for those ear drops you sent on Mr. Johnson,” Jenn texted me. “ICD-L21.8 for seborrheic dermatitis?” Sigh. Welcome to prior-authorization hell. These are generic ear drops I ordered for presumed fungal infection of the external ear. The cash price for the d rops is $15 for a 10-milliliter bottle […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 26, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/rob-lamberts" rel="tag" > Rob Lamberts, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Primary Care Source Type: blogs
Newest CDC Data Confirm that Respiratory Disease Outbreak was Caused by Vitamin E Acetate Oil in THC Vaping Cartridges
The CDC has released new data which almost definitively confirm that the respiratory disease outbreak was caused by vitamin E acetate oil in THC vaping products (and perhaps some CBD vaping products as well).I came to the same conclusion on August 25th, as did many experts from the cannabis industry who helped to inform my conclusion. Why it took the CDC four additional months of intensive investigation to discover something that cannabis industry experts had recognized much earlier is mystifying.Previously, CDC had tested lung fluids from 29 of the case patients. All 29 contained vitamin E acetate. This past Thursday, CDC...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - December 22, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs
Mycology research on the front line of environmental and health challenges
Mycology crucially contributes to our understanding of the threat fungi present for humans, plants and animals, as well as their role in ecology and environment diversity. David Hawksworth, Editor-in-Chief, and Wieland Meyer, President of the International Mycological Association, tell us more about the journal IMA Fungus, now publishing with BMC.
What makes this journal unique?
David: It is the official journal of the International Mycological Association providing, in addition to original research papers regarded as of wide interest to mycologists, reports and news or concerning activities of the IMA and member organiza...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - June 7, 2019 Category: General Medicine Authors: Roberto Garbero Tags: Biology Health Open Access Publishing biotechnology ecology fungi IMA Fungus mycology Source Type: blogs
The latest deadly superbug — and why it’s not time to panic
I have to admit it: recent news reports about a newly described “superbug” are worrisome and at least a little bit terrifying. This time, it’s not a flesh-eating bacterium or drug-resistant tuberculosis — in fact, it’s not a bacterial infection at all. It’s a fungus called Candida auris (C. auris).
If the first part of the name sounds familiar, that may be because other Candida species (such as Candida albicans, glabrata, and tropicalis) cause common vaginal and skin infections. They’re often called yeast infections and while quite bothersome, they only rarely cause serious illness. Candida auris is a complet...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - May 8, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Health Health trends Infectious diseases Men's Health Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, May 6th 2019
This study shows that mRNA levels of the aging related lamin A splice variant progerin, associated with premature aging in HGPS, were significantly upregulated in subjects with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Moreover, our data revealed a significantly positive correlation of BMI with progerin mRNA. These data provide to our knowledge for the first-time evidence for a possible involvement of progerin in previously observed accelerated aging of overweight and obese individuals potentially limiting their longevity. Our results also showed that progerin mRNA was positively correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP). This might suggest an ass...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 5, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
On Alzheimer's Disease Research, Both Appropriate and Inappropriate Pessimism
This is a pessimistic popular science article on the state of Alzheimer's disease research. I think the tone appropriately pessimistic where it examines the present dominant approach to building therapies, which is to say clearing amyloid-β from the brain via immunotherapy. I think it inappropriately pessimistic for the near future, however, given the various projects currently under development. Take, for example, the brace of approaches based on restored drainage of molecular wastes in cerebrospinal fluid, or filtration of cerebrospinal fluid to achieve much the same outcome. Further, and closer to widespread availabili...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 2, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
An Interview with Carolina Oliveira of OneSkin Technologies
OneSkin Technologies is one of the few companies in the present community of startups focused on rejuvenation and slowing aging to adopt a serious cosmetics focus on development. Here "cosmetics" is a regulatory term, not an indication of something used for the purposes of looks: it is perfectly possible for a topically applied product that is regulated as a cosmetic to have therapeutic effects, just like a drug. Nonetheless, cosmetics and drugs have entirely distinct paths of regulation, very different from one another, and each with their own costs and challenges. In regulated cosmetics development there is no animal tes...
Source: Fight Aging! - April 29, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Healthy Life Extension Community Source Type: blogs
Trocar during Times of Trauma
Seventy-five percent of trauma injuries involve some kind of thoracic insult, a quarter of which need a procedural intervention like a chest tube. (Surg Clin North Am 2007;87[1]:95; http://bit.ly/2HaoX90.) Long-term illness, lung disease, and post-operative complications may cause pleural effusions or a pneumothorax, so treating these conditions quickly can significantly decrease patient morbidity and mortality. Other indications for chest tube placement include:Trauma: Pneumothorax, hemopneumothorax, or tension pneumothoraxLong-term illness: Pleural effusion (cancer, pneumonia)Infection: Em...
Source: The Procedural Pause - April 1, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Where Does Blood Testing Stand Today?
The dream about a drop of blood signaling a wide range of diagnostic results was shattered with Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos scam. The machination of the company has set back the innovation of blood testing and investment into the field for years. However, there’s always hope. The Medical Futurist looked around where blood testing stands today and what’s the future it is heading towards.
Dreaming about a home laboratory
Stephen just came home from walking his dog, Barney, an always smiling labrador. The 40-something got off his smart shoes, sat back on the yellow couch that he and her partner, Sara, were fighting ...
Source: The Medical Futurist - November 3, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Biotechnology Business Future of Medicine Medical Professionals Patients Portable Diagnostics Researchers blood blood draw blood test blood testing digital health health market home Innovation laboratory theranos Source Type: blogs
