Medicine

There is the underlying assumption that modernity translates into better health. A corollary of this logic is that we can live our lives pretty much as we want because we can always buy a repair. You know, the car won't start, the TV is broken, the telephone is dead - no problem. Just call in an expert, spend some money and all is well. People carry this over to their thinking about health. Our ticker falters, joints creak or an unwanted growth pops up - no problem. Buy some modern medical care. If that doesn't work, it's a problem of money, better insurance, more hospital funding, more research for the "cure," more doctors, better equipment and more technology. Right? Wrong. Don't take my word for it....

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Last year I told an acquaintance that at the age of 46, I had taken up running. The reply was, "Oh, that's awfully hard on your knees." At first I was taken aback. Yes, I knew if I didn't stretch, warm-up or wear properly fitted shoes, I might experience pain or an injury. But the person telling me this was overweight, had borderline high blood pressure, and never worked out. I wondered if this friend realized by living a sedentary lifestyle, the odds of developing heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and some cancers had substantially increased. Not to mention that being overweight actually placed this person at a higher risk than me for developing knee pain from osteoarthritis and heel pain as a result of plantar fasciitis....

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Heat has long been used to provide temporary relief of arthritis pain, and is used in many different forms. Contrast baths, whirlpools, electric pads, microwaveable gel packs, hydrocollator packs, infrared lamps, and hot showers are some of the different techniques used. Even warm tap water probably will meet some of your needs for heat therapy at home. Heat can provide temporary relief of pain and stiffness, and can prepare you for physical activity or exercise. For example, morning stiffness is a common problem for many people with rheumatoid arthritis. Because your body has been still during the night you may need special help to get going in the morning. The following combination of techniques using heat can reduce the length and the severity of morning stiffness: 1....

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Modern civilization has produced an unusually stressful environment to humans and animals, with extreme high demands on our physical and mental abilities. The last one hundred years have brought unique new challenges for all. It doesn't take much reflection upon the obvious and not so obvious sources of stressors today to realize the average person endures a lifetime of extraordinary physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual stress. Unfortunately the continual assault of these daily modern stressors can have severe consequences on our health and well-being. Are you aware that 80% of all illness and disease today is stress related? That 25% of all prescriptions written are due to issues stemming from the root problem of stress....

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Each year hospitals end up killing twice as many people than automobiles, some 90,000 deaths in the United States. It is not from malpractice, it is due to infections. Hospital infections affect over 2 million patients every year. Scientists are working to prevent these infections one of the newest innovations is silver nano-particles. Microscopic anti-microbial coated nano-particles would be used to keep the infections at bay. Tools used in surgery would be coated with these particles, along with perhaps rubber gloves. One of the companies working on this scheme is AcryMed, which makes surgical devices in Portland, Oregon. Almost any medical device, which is used in surgery or pokes thru the skin are potentially at risk to spread deadly infections....

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Chinese Medicine, over 2000 years old, is an ancient form of medicine. Consisting of acupuncture, moxibustion (moxibustion - using material made up of "moxa-wool," in a form of a cone or stick; moxibustion is used to treat and prevent disease by applying heat to pints or certain locations of the human body), herbal medicine, acupressure, cupping, therapeutic exercise and nutrition, traditional Chinese medicine is notated by its principle of internal balance and harmony, or "chi," (life force) regulation through energy channels. In essence, Chinese medicine is widely known for its acupunture techniques and herbology. Founded on the Yin and Yang principle, the five elements and Zang Fu, Chinese medicine is an evolutional treatment in modern Western civilization....

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The FDA issued a warning in July of 2005 on two skin creams, Elidel (pimecrolimus) and Protopic (tacrolimus) to all ages. Recent animal studies have found that Protopic causes lymphomas and skin cancers in an unknown percentage of users. The FDA recommends that healthcare providers be very careful prescribing and applying these medications. Protopic belongs to the class of medications called immunosuppressants. This kind of medication is used on short-term basis to treat atopic dermatitis, or eczema. The cream works on certain areas of the immune system that may be involved in developing this serious skin condition. It is used only if other, safer treatments have not worked or cannot be used for some reason....

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A hypnotic "trance" is not something that is foreign to us--we've all been so absorbed in thought while reading a book or watching a movie that we fail to notice what is happening around us. These focused states of attention are similar to hypnosis. Simply put, when our minds are concentrated and focused, we are able to use them more powerfully. In this condition, we can tap into normally unused mental powers to create new possibilities of experience. People typically experience both mental tranquility and physical relaxation under hypnosis. Various changes in perception are also common under hypnosis. Some people feel great heaviness coming over their bodies, others feel very light or numb....

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Even in clinical trials, Lotronex displayed a tendency towards causing ischemic colitis in patients. From the February in which Lotronex was approved until June, the FDA received seven reports of serious complications of constipation leading to hospitalization. Surgery was required to relieve some cases of extreme Lotronex constipation. Lotronex Medication Guides were issued under regulations that became effective in 1999 when Lotronex patients ended up in hospitalization and requiring surgical procedures for constipation. Since Lotronex is a drug used to treat diarrhea, these surgeries were obviously not necessary to treat conditions held before taking the drug. Despite the FDA's issuing of this safety information about Lotronex, patients kept filing severe adverse event reports of ischemic colitis, complications of constipation, death reports, and complications requiring blood transfusions....

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Although you make a patient feel better, there isn't usually anything tangible to be a reminder of your service. When it comes time for the patient to pay their bills, yours is often at the bottom of the pile. You are competing with other credit grantors that supplied a tangible product, or something they really enjoy like cable or their cell phone and therefore your medical collections problem is more difficult. This is why it's important to learn as much as possible about your patient and make your credit policy clear before the medical service is actually given. This will help you minimize future medical collections problems. This is when the patient is most likely to be cooperative. The information you should obtain is as follows: > Patients full name and birth date > The full name of the person financially responsible for the patient, full address, phone numbers for home, work, and a relative....

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When Aspirin Isn't Enough It's surprising how clearly we can recall getting hurt. Years later, we can recount our first fall from a too-tempting tree, a bee-sting, the birth of a child. We can even tell humorous stories about those events because the pain was transient - it passed. But many illnesses and conditions can make pain a daily visitor, interfering with our jobs, family lives, even sleep. Even ancient people tried to relieve the devastation of chronic pain using surgeries and medicinal herbs. By the 1800s, people started using narcotics (drugs like opium) to reduce pain. Even the narcotic heroin was originally developed as a pain medication! But many narcotics were found to be addictive, to interfere with digestion and mood, and even to slow or stop breathing!...

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Zyprexa is an antipsychotic medication that works by changing the actions of chemicals in the brain. Zyprexa is used to treat the symptoms of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Zyprexa may also be used for other purposes. Dizziness, somnolence, dry mouth, dyspepsia, constipation, ALT (SGPT) increased, personality disorder, increased appetite, weight gain, akathisia, asthenia, tremor, postural hypotension. Rare cases of Priapism and leukopenia. Zyprexa has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes. There have been 288 reported diabetes cases in Zyprexa patients, with 23 of them being fatal. A class action lawsuit accuses Lilly & Co., the manufacturer of Zyprexa of aggressively promoting Zyprexa as a safe and effective drug for psychotic disorders, while concealing the risks of side effects from doctors and from the patients....

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Pain and Stress. They seem almost to go hand in hand - not only in their negative connotation, but also in their biological causes and triggers. Back pain and muscle pain is typically caused by inflammation in the proximity where the pain originated, which in turn creates internal pressure, activating pain receptors in the nerve endings and sending the signal (registered as varying levels of discomfort) to the brain. Some people are born with a naturally higher tolerance to pain - what's been dubbed the "pain threshold". Then there are the rest of us, who have normal or low pain thresholds and if chronic back pain, muscle pain, or nerve related pain or illness were to be introduced into our lives, we would be forced to be a prisoner to "the bottle"....

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