Medical News

As you probably know natural remedies have been around for centuries with each culture having its favorites. Thanks to groundbreaking research, today we have the added advantage of understanding what the active ingredients are in natural remedies, and have the luxury of eliminating those for our naturopathic list that have shown little or no efficacy. Additionally, the naturopathic doctors of today are far more educated than their predecessors creating herbal and homeopathic formulas that are both more consistent, and in most cases, far more effective. So while many in conventional medicine would want you to believe that natural remedies for better health are still in the dark ages this is just simply not the case.

Natural remedies vs prescription medications

Both can produce excellent results when used under the proper auspices. Both can be dangerous when used outside the standardized guidelines. Nevertheless, my concern with prescription medications is that we are becoming a society solely reliant on prescription medications to solve our medical maladies, rather than trying to live a healthier lifestyle embracing new and exciting research findings into our daily lives rather than depending on a drug company to do it for us. Let’s look at a brief example as it relates to high cholesterol.

We know that high cholesterol can be reduced through a low saturated fat diet, eating cold water fatty fish twice a week, a moderate dose of daily exercise, and not smoking. A high percentage of those with high cholesterol and/or heart disease are not willing to do any of these, opting instead for multiple prescription medications to prevent high cholesterol and heart related problems.

Situations like this put any well intentioned doctor in a bad position. If he fails to prescribe the medication his patient will be at an even greater risk of heart attack or stroke, so by prescribing a drug or two he is able to at least cover his bases and help the patient to some degree. The problem with this scenario is that all prescription medications come with side effects, and more often than not, an addition medication will be needed to treat the side effects incurred. It is not unusual to see people these days on 5, 10, and maybe even more daily prescription medications. Some would like to consider natural remedies combined with a natural lifestyle but simply don’t know where to start. Their doctor probably is against any such move since unwinding this toxic soup of medications is complicated and dangerous, so they will continue down this road from now on.

While natural remedies and supplements promote good health and are void of many of the risky side effects they do tend to work in a different way. Natural remedies, herbal formulas, and supplements generally work with your body to promote the healing process, rather than suppressing the symptoms. Let’s at one example of this which is particularly relevant to our aging population.

Over the counter and prescription medications known as NSAIDs (ibuprofen, motrin, etc…) are commonly used to alleviate arthritis and osteoarthritis pain. They work very well, have few side effects, and you would be hard pressed to find a anyone over 55 with bone and joint pain that doesn’t take them regularly. The problem is, while being very effective at suppressing pain, they have been shown to accelerate the progression of arthritis and osteoarthritis. On the other hand natural remedies such as glucosamine and chondroitin, not to mention herbs and homeopathic formulas, often halt the progression of these debilitating conditions, rebuild lost cartilage, and ultimately produce a better long term outcome.

In summary, there are no easy answers and only time will tell if society as a whole will adopt natural remedies along with a healthier lifestyle choices and move away from the environment of prescription medication dependency we current live in.

In this modern technological era the hemorrhoids laser treatment is the safest fastest and easiest way for people to deal with this terrible illness. With a simple day trip to the hospital a patient can be on the table and off without an overnight stay and can go home with little to no discomfort. The process involves a super tiny laser that is used with pinpoint precision to seal off nerve endings and close blood vessels. Patients lose no blood and the surgeon can operate in a clean clear environment. The laser treatment saves a patient the hassle that is usually involved with surgery. One experiences less medication, less pain, and usually quite rapid healing. Considering the flesh of the body is not cut or torn in any ways the healing process is actually from a biological standpoint quite simple. The body need only close up tiny microscopic holes, stitches are not necessary and the healing process can sometimes finish in a few days.

The hemorrhoids laser treatment is one of the most accepted advancements in modern medicine. Practitioners swear by its reliability and safety and patients that have gone through with the laser treatment sing its praises. There is little to no discomfort depending on the individual and the near painless recovery is remarkable, some have rougher times at the dentist. There have been numerous tests done on the CO2 based laser treatment and in each case there is only a rare occurrence of one or two patients returning with secondary hemorrhage.

With modern procedures like the hemorrhoids laser treatment popping up all over the place in this era one can get frightened by all the advanced technology. This should not be, these advanced pieces of medical technology are the saving grace of the new world. In times of old hacking a person up with a knife yielded 50/50 recovery results and almost always led to secondary negative health defects. Humanity has come an extraordinarily long way from there and with modern science what it is human understanding and ability are unlike they have ever been in history. Doctors and surgeons are using the safest most advanced forms of medial healing that can be found in on the planet. One must be strong willed when caring for ones body, it is all one has and must be looked after. These types of advanced safe treatments are the first of many that will pave the way to the future.

There is plenty of medical equipment out there with long complex names, but I want to highlight a few of them and explain how they first appeared and what miracles they do each and every day in the hospitals around the world.

Firstly I want to start with ECG machines. ECG is short for Electrocardiography and what they do is monitor the heart by using electrodes on the skin and produces an representation of the electrical activity of the heart over a certain period. The ECG machine amplifies the micro electrical changes on the skin that are caused during each beat. It can also identify if certain parts of the heart is damaged and can reliably measure the heart’s pumping ability, which can be used in ultrasound tests. ECG machines where invented in 1872 at ST Bartholomew’s Hospital by Alexander Muirhead. He attached a wired to a patient’s wrist to gain a record of the patients heart beat while he was studying for his Doctor of Science. The machines themselves don’t cure or fix but help in a patient diagnosis.

Centrifuges were first invented by an English military engineer Benjamin Robins and were later developed in 1864 by Antonin Prandtl. Antonin used a centrifuge like apparatus to separate cream from milk. It wasn’t until 1879 that Gustaf de Laval made it a commercial application. What a centrifuge does is rotates what ever is put into it at a fixed axis. Its rotated so fast that dense substances separate from the lighter substance. They are used in chemistry, biochemistry and biology when testing on samples and play it part in helping create cures and a better understanding of how our body works. There are many other non-medical uses for it also.
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The final piece of medical equipment I’m going to mention is the medical freezer. Process of freezing or chilling items was first invented in the 11th century by a Persian physicist and was developed into an artificial low temperature unit in 1748. It was mainly used to keep ice frozen for many years until about the 1920′s when it turned into a huge commercial venture for home and work. The use of a freezer as a piece of medical equipment is put to use when sample and vaccines need to kept chilled. Also body parts need to be kept frozen so they can still be used. Hearts are transported in freezer boxes as well as severed limbs.

Any person traveling to an outside nation may fall victim to sudden conditions or allergic reactions. Extreme cases lead to hospital confinement or falling ill at the hotel. Many medical situations necessitate consumption of medicines from the nation’s pharmacy. Tourists can keep in mind that there are risks in consuming medicines manufactured in outside countries.

Unlike in the United States, drug stores in third world countries don’t have an authorization group like the Food and Drug Administration. Lax laws lead to fake pills being sold at community pharmaceuticals. Fake types are either in generic or branded versions, with wrongly labeled brand names or pills contaminated with unhealthy chemicals. The World Health Organization tells that 10 percent of the pharmaceuticals in the global market offer counterfeit medications. Around 30 % of the drugs supplied in Latin America, Asia, and Africa are counterfeit. Some areas have around seventy % in their local pharmacy stores.

Europe and the United States report of a small 1 percent incidence of illegal drugs. Unfortunately, more than 50 percent of US-based web drug stores purchases contaminated medicines sent to customers. Though ordering affordable pills from the net sets aside more cash, it sometimes does not save a person’s well-being. The Center for Medicines in the Public Interest reports that by 2010, the counterfeit medicine market will earn $75 billion. Most businesses bypass the regulations since criminal and civil punishments are not legally fit.

The dangerous fake drugs substitute the medicine’s initial main ingredient with a lethal or serious ingredient. Deaths have been caused by counterfeit cold syrups that have antifreeze or diethylene glycol. These medicines are said to be anti-tuberculosis and anti-malarial medication in third world countries. Most fake medication businesses work internationally and provide customers from differing countries. A major amount of deaths were caused by counterfeit pills sent from India and China.

The World Health Organization’s International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce has started to deal with this public health problem. The taskforce aims to improve customs policies, legislative processes, and regulations observance. Buyers play a major responsibility in closing down fake drug businesses. Once a buyer has acquired his or her delivery, he or she should check if the label varies from previous prescription bottles. It’s also best to speak to the US Embassy to know if the pharmacy offers drugs to hospital employees.

Buyers who buy from Internet pharmacies should study the inexpensive medicine’s cost. If it seems unbelievably cheap, then the business is most likely issuing counterfeit pills. Visitors are recommended to see a doctor prior to their flight. There are physicians who specialize in “travel medicine”, which recommends specific vaccinations based on the country’s environmental conditions. Take note as well of specific health risks one may experience during the visit.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past several years about concierge medicine and researching this emerging health care market, it’s that people really don’t understand it’s not about price. I like to think of those pioneering doctors of the past who carry around a medical bag with a stethoscope inside and who come to the aid of my family and our bedside as visionary physicians who wanted to “normalize” their practice and get back to practicing medicine before 1950.

So, here are the top six (6) items every patient should truly understand about concierge medicine:

1) AVAILABILITY – Yes! It really is possible for a doctor to provide 24/7 access to his/her patients… and no — this is not just some marketing tactic that seeks to over promise and under deliver. There’s now evidence that when a doctor reduces his/her practice from its original size of 2,000 – 5,000 patients down to 300 – 600, he or she is choosing to “normalize” their practice and provide more availability and access to each patient. Inturn, that patient gets to really know the doctor and there is a bond and friendship that is formed.

2) COST – It doesn’t cost a lot… it actually costs less than my cell phone bill. Over 50% of current concierge medicine fees cost an average or $1,500 per year or less than $135 per month. (Source 1) The USANetwork’s breakout hit Royal Pains is entertaining — the overwhelming majority is that most concierge medicine or private medical plans cater to those who can’t afford the high health insurance premiums their used to paying with large health plan carriers.

3) CELL PHONE ACCESS – YES! They actually do pick up the phone and it’s not a nurse or staff person. If you are enrolled in a concierge medical practice, then you are paying an annual or monthly fee for “enhanced access” and a close relationship with your physician. That’s right, the unthinkable has become a true reality. Doctors are now giving their cell phone numbers to their patients and they are the ones picking up the calls.

4) SAME DAY APPOINTMENTS – Included in most membership medicine fees is same day appointments and enhanced access to you doctor. In fact, a recent poll conducted by the Collective found that 100% of concierge physicians promise and actually deliver “same day” appointments.

5) WHAT I REALLY NEED WILL BE INCLUDED – It’s a well known fact that approximately 88% of the average persons health care can be handled by their primary care or family physician. Thus, concierge medicine services typically offered inside these plans usually include: physical exams, blood work, unlimited office visits and other services. These annual or monthly fees typically cover basic services that include preventive care, routine physicals, longer appointments, next-day appointments, 24-hour-a-day phone access and e-mail, house calls, coordination of care when you travel, and an interactive medical ID bracelet in case of an emergency.

6) IS IT COMPATIBLE WITH MY INSURANCE? A recent study was conducted (Source 2) with this question in mind. The result of the study found that most concierge medicine physicians (nearly 80%) practice inside a business model called a “Hybrid” practice. Hybrid meaning these doctors accept most insurance plans along with offering the delivery or 24/7 cell phone access to your doctor, no wait appointments, call-in prescriptions and more via a monthly.

It is a sad fact that there are a lot of medications and treatments that are first considered to be safe and effective but they are later proven to harm the body. Although this happens in rare circumstances, it is real. Diethylstilbestrol is one of the verification that these things do occur. In the late 1930′s before the world war two, there is a production of man made estrogen hormones. This is often referred to as DES. When the diethylstilbestrol was first sold in the market, it was used for different condition. The most common one is where there is a need for hormone replacement.

The first use of diethylstilbestrol was for women with menopausal problems. These are often treated with hormone replacement therapies. Other cases involve atrophic vaginitis. There are cases where doctors found this diethylstilbestrol to have positive benefits for those men who want to treat prostrate cancer. This is also used for women who have a high risk of pregnancy. There are studies that were done that showed that diethylstilbestrol can prove to be carcinogen. It is not recommended for pregnant women because there are studies that prove that if the mother take this; there is a chance that the child can develop cancer in the vagina. Health articles online – find the best easy-to-understand health and medical information and useful tools.

Another negative effect of this diethylstilbestrol is the fact that it can cause birth defects if the mother is taking the drug during pregnancy. Despite the potential risk, the DES remains to be sold in the market. Because men don’t get pregnant, they are the ones who are likely to choose this hormone. In 1990′s this diethylstilbestrol was banned in the market. Currently, there are no companies that are making this estrogen hormone.

It was said that there are millions of people that induced the diethylstilbestrol while it was in the market. Although there are none sold in America, there are third world countries that uses. This is something that doctors tend to consider. The story of DES is rather sad. The process of review took sometime before they are released in the market. These medications are not used for pregnant women until further studies. There are corrections in the drug approval process after the DES incident. Hopefully this story should serve as a warning for people who are trying to sell drugs in the market. It is best that consumers should be careful when they take in new drugs.

An excessive consumption of liquor content results in the increase in someone’s blood alcohol level. For most persons who attend parties liquor is thought to be a needed element for having a good time. Blood alcohol content is a measurement used to detect how much liquor content is in someone’s blood stream. It is measured in percentages starting from 0.01 up to 0.40 or greater. Most people exhibit some form of being drunk at 0.03 percent. Once blood content has reached 0.35 percent the possibility of casualty and unconsciousness heightens. First time users are also more susceptible to becoming unconscious with as little as 15 percent. This has lead to many of our current road accidents as well as criminal offenses.

Since the early 1900s there have been many alcohol exclusion laws put into practice to deject people from drinking. The limits under which you are able to drive while drunk may differ from state to state. Blood alcohol content below 0.08 percent in America is thought to be unlawful and individuals who are charged can face stern criminal charges. Women usually are more susceptible to become intoxicated, so a female’s blood alcohol content will rise much quicker than that of males. Persons who are bigger in size, are less likely to get intoxicated, they will have half the blood alcohol content versus someone else half their size even if they drink the same quantity of liquor. An individual who is assumed to be under the influence of alcohol mainly when driving are tested with a mechanism known as a breathalyzer. Contents of saliva, urine or blood can also be taken to examine your blood alcohol level.

There are various ways to minimize your chances of getting drunk. The brand of liquor you consume as and the amount you drink at a time can increase your chances of becoming drunk. Alcohol containers provide the details on the amount of alcoholic content provided in each serving displayed as a percentage of the alcohol volume. Some alcoholic drinks have far more alcoholic levels than others, so you should lessen those that have a high content. For example wine on average has a alcohol content varying from 6 – 14 percent. Hard liquors such as whiskey, tequila, vodka and rum, usually have an alcohol content of approximately 40 percent. The alcohol percentage is documentated as half of the proof. ‘Liqueurs‘ have an alcoholic level that ranges from 15 – 30 percent or even higher. Normal bottled beer usually has an alcohol content of about 5 percent by volume while light beer is approximately 4 percent alcohol. Other strong specialty beers and malt liquors may have alcohol levels up to 8 and 10 percent. When drinking mixed liquor try to limit your intake for each serving, as they have a variety of different liquors that have different alcoholic contents, that you might not be aware of that can get you under the influence quickly. Also watch out for cognacs work as a ‘creepers’. These beverages don’t show the effects of the alcohol while drinking but instead much later on.

Over time there have been many DWI books written to educate individuals about the seriousness of becoming intoxicated as well as driving under the influence of liquor and ways to avoid this ordeal. These books aim to educate persons about the implications of drinking not only as it relates to a legal perspective but also in regards to their physical health.

Most DWI books also talks about what legal steps you should take if you are arrested with simplified terms that give information on certain procedures and ways of defending yourself in a possible DUI case including how to employ a certified DUI attorneys. It is made so that the every day persons is able to understand some of the court procedures relating to DWUI|DUI so they are more able to legally protect themselves. Sometimes there are even illustrations of persons who have previously been in DUI cases, who have evaded being locked up.

Many of us are astounded by how often we get sick, while many of us remain remarkably healthy through the year. What is the difference between those who get sick and those who don’t? This article will take a look at probably the most common source of personal illness: stress.

Modern medicine is founded on what is called the “germ-theory of disease“. This is a well founded theory that is backed up by a ton of direct evidence. The reason we get sick is that foreign bacteria and viruses overcome our immune defense system, get into our blood and organs, and slow our body down.

However, there is another factor in the equation that often gets overlooked: the immune system. On a day-to-day basis, all of us come into contact with billions or trillions of germs. Despite this, we usually don’t get sick because our immune system is able to fend these germs off. We usually get sick because our immune system has been weakened in some way or another.

The most common way that our immune system becomes weakened is through stress. Our bodies only have a limited amount of energy to allocate among many different functions. One of the most important of these is the immune system. When something stressful occurs in our environment, energy must be diverted away from our immune system in order to deal with the stressor. If we are fearful, for example, our heart rate increases, our muscles tense up, and our attention must focus on the stressor. This is perfectly normal, and our bodies are well-equipped to handle occasional stressors like these. However, if we are consistently stressed on a day-to-day basis, our immune system gradually gets neglected in favor of these other bodily functions. The result is that we get sick.

As a practical example, think back to your mother’s advice that you shouldn’t play in the rain because you’ll catch a cold. Now, do you think that a cold virus has anything to do with the rain? Do cold viruses rain down from the sky? No, that’s not how it works. When you play in the rain, you put extra stress on your body. If it is cold, then your body must produce extra energy to maintain your body temperature. If you begin shivering, you are using a lot of energy – energy that would normally be used to keep your immune system working robustly. So although you came in contact with no more viruses or bacteria as you normally would have, the extra stress on your body caused your immune system to weaken.

So if you’d like to get sick less often, perhaps you should relax more often. Take a break from work and lighten your load. Your health will thank you.

Cervical Spondylosis, as we Orthopaedicians describe, is the degenerative change in the Cervical spine vertebrae often presenting on X-ray film as excess bone formation at the vertebral body margins, due to a chronic degenerative pathology.  So, a young patient with acute onset neck pain, being diagnosed as Cervical Spondylosis is a Misnomer.

An X-ray film of the Neck is a good basic test to diagnose Cervical spondylosis. It often presents with Chronic, dull aching pain which aggravates with extremes of movement. Using a collar provides more psychological reassurance, than actually treating the pathology. A soft/ hard collar is more effective in treating acute muscle spasms of the neck usually precipitated by some injury or an acute disc prolapse. In such cases, we suggest restriction of neck movements to prevent further injury.

Two more synonymous terms that need a mention are- Spondylitis, and Spondylolisthesis. The former is an inflammation of the spinous processes of the vertebra, while the latter suggests abnormal translation of one vertebra over another leading to a loss of sagittal balance.

The preferred treatment for a Cervical Spondylosis is supervised physiotherapy. Gentle stretching exercises along with Isometric exercises of the neck help in improving the muscle tone of para-vertebral muscles. Heat therapy in the form of Interferential therapy (IFT) and Ultrasonic therapy also help relieve the symptoms.

Patients with long- standing symptoms often develop multiple level disc bulges with dessication (dryness of disc), as evident on the MRI. If severe, it may produce compression on the exiting nerve root and produce tingling and numbness in the upper limbs.

Surgical treatment is suitable to those with single or two level disc bulges, wherein a fusion of the vertebrae may be performed with or without instrumentation.

Cervical disc replacement is a novel treatment offered to those with single level disc prolapse, and without excessive facet joint arthritis. It offers reasonable movement at the vertebral interface, and is better tolerated by the younger active population.

The maze procedure is the primary form of treatment for resolving atrial fibrillation (Afib). If the condition is not severe, doctors may suggest alternative solutions, such as anticoagulants, electrical cardioversion, and medications. When medications are prescribed, the goal may be twofold. Your doctor might seek to reduce the rate of your ventricles’ beating and control your heart’s rhythm. It’s important to underscore that none of these approaches cure Afib; they merely represent strategies to treat the symptoms.

The underlying cause of atrial fibrillation is erratic electrical signals that spread rapidly through your atria in a disorganized pattern. Below, you’ll learn about the different types of maze surgery that are performed to cure the disorder. The procedure has evolved over the last 25 years and now involves minimally invasive techniques.

Cox Maze III

The original method (called the Cox Maze) was developed by Dr. James Cox in 1987. It involved the surgeon making a series of incisions into the patient’s atria to create a maze through which the erratic electrical signals could be guided. This occurred as the result of scar tissue, which cannot conduct an electrical current.

Since 1987, Dr. Cox’s method has evolved. The Cox Maze III is one of a series of iterations and still uses incisions to create scarring. Because the procedure is complicated, many surgeons have abandoned it for other methods that yield the same results with a lower mortality rate. One of those methods is called the Cox Maze IV.

Cox Maze IV (Surgical Ablation)

This iteration of Dr. Cox’s original procedure uses surgical ablation to create scar tissue rather than incisions. The ablative energy can come from a number of different sources, including microwave, cryoablation, bipolar radiofrequency, laser, and ultrasound. It is just as effective as the previous version, but can be performed in less time with fewer complications.

The Cox IV is typically performed when the patient is already undergoing other open-heart procedures (i.e. coronary artery bypass graft, mitral valve repair, etc.) It can be done while the patient’s heart is arrested or while it is still beating. While the Cox IV can be used to cure atrial fibrillation, most Afib cases that are standalone are resolved through the minimaze strategy.

Minimaze

The minimaze method is a minimally invasive procedure for curing atrial fibrillation when the patient does not need other types of heart surgery. If the patient is only suffering from Afib, there’s no need to perform open heart surgery or arrest his or her heart. The minimaze can be performed with a few small incisions.

The entire operation takes a few hours. The surgeon will make three or four incisions on each side of the patient’s chest. The ablation tool, thoracoscope, and other instruments are inserted through these incisions to access the heart.

Catheter Ablation

Catheter ablation is similar to the minimaze, though the route taken to the heart is slightly different. It too, is a minimally invasive strategy. A catheter is inserted into the groin, arm, or neck, and guided toward the heart. A small hole is made in the septal wall to allow the catheter to pass from the right atrium to the left atrium. There, it ablates the tissue to create a conduction block. As with other forms of maze surgery, the conduction block prevents the passage of erratic electrical signals.

Maze surgery has evolved substantially since Dr. Cox developed his original method in 1987. The tools available to surgeons have likewise evolved. From the Cox III and IV to the minimaze and catheter ablation, new methods are currently in development. The takeaway is that atrial fibrillation can now be cured without the need to undergo open heart surgery. For many patients, that opens the door to finally resolving a longstanding heart condition.