Health & WellnessS


Sheeple

Poisoning the Canadian public: Gander council approves fluoride in drinking water

Shawn Hayward
The Beacon
Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:05 UTC
After a long debate, a chemical dentists say prevents tooth decay is coming back to Gander's drinking water. The municipal works and services committee announced at the Nov. 26 regular council meeting fluoride will be reintroduced to the town's water.

Fluoride had been a part of Gander's water since the 1970s, but fluoride equipment was not included as part of the new water treatment plant constructed two years ago, due to the $100,000 price tag and concerns about the safety of the chemical.
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Attention

Moms-to-Be Who Drink May Damage Fetus' White Matter


HealthDay News
Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:30 UTC
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can damage white matter in a fetus' frontal and occipital lobes, which play a major role in executive function and visual processing. The finding may help explain problems seen in infants whose mothers drink during pregnancy, a new study says.

"The brain's white matter is made up of nerve bundles that transfer information between brain regions," study corresponding author Susanna L. Fryer, a researcher at San Diego State University's Center for Behavioral Teratology, said in a news release.
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Health

CDC Warns of Tamiflu-Resistant Flu Bug

Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD
Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:56 UTC
A flu strain now spreading in the U.S. is resistant to the flu drug Tamiflu, the CDC today warned in an official health advisory to doctors. Flu is a dangerous and sometimes deadly disease. But the Tamiflu-resistant strain isn't any more or less dangerous than other flu strains.

The Tamiflu-resistant virus is the flu bug most commonly seen so far this year. It's been detected in 12 states so far, mostly in Hawaii and Texas.

Tamiflu resistance wasn't unexpected. What was surprising was the rapid rise of Tamiflu resistance in this particular flu bug. Last year, about 11% of type A H1N1 flu bugs were resistant. So far this year, 49 out of 50 H1N1 viruses have been resistant.

Comment: Oh yeah! Get the flu shot and a big dose of poisons in the vaccine as bonus. The danger and ineffectiveness of flu vaccine have been so clearly documented that one has to wonder why our "caring" government keeps pushing it onto us. Meanwhile, they keep on ignoring many safe, effective and cheap cures such as vitamin C that have been available for a long time.

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Cult

US Medical 'Conscience Rule' May Be Ethical Hot Potato


USA Today
Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:24 UTC
Step aside, inaugural prayer furor, a new controversy is burning -- the Bush administration's newly approved "conscience rule" for health care workers.

Under the rule, which takes effect mid-January, anyone from the brain surgeon to the pharmacy cashier can opt out of participating in care to which they have a moral or religious objection. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt described it as a rule to protect "the right of medical providers to care for their patients in accord with their conscience."

The Family Research Council calls the rule "an early Christmas present to pro-lifers" which will "reinforce the rights of doctors, pharmacists, technicians, and even receptionists ...
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Health

Unhealthy Coverage: How the Media Loses Its Way

Sarah Seltzer
RH Reality Check
Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:18 UTC
"Blaming the media" is a catch-phrase that is used in almost cliché-level proportions. But when it comes to health care, a new study indicates it may be appropriate to fault media coverage for a lack of public knowledge about health care policy -- and by extension the false perception of reproductive rights as ideological "hot rods" rather than women's health concerns.

A recently-released Pew Research study conducted with the Kaiser Family Foundation monitored health coverage from January 2007 to June 2008 to determine which subjects got the most coverage, and in which media. The study was designed to be particularly broad-ranging--rather than, for instance, analyzing how TV news covers breast cancer, the study looked at how television, radio, print, online outlets and other forms of media covered everything heath-related, from specific diseases to health policy and more.

Comment: From our observations, we can safely conclude that the Powers That Be do not want the public to be aware of health related facts, and the mainstream media just follow through with it.

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Ambulance

Cholera Outbreak in Zimbabwe Is Crossing Borders

Douglas Rogers
Fox News
Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:22 UTC
Water truck
© Sky NewsWomen and children collect clean water from a UNICEF truck in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Graphic images of bodies stacked in the bathrooms of crumbling Zimbabwean hospitals and of hundreds of cholera-stricken victims fleeing across the border for medical treatment in South Africa have sparked fears that the epidemic in Zimbabwe is spinning out of control.

FOX News' sister network, SKY News, has obtained disturbing video showing just how bad it is: bodies of cholera victims piled up in a bathroom in the nation's capital, Harare, and makeshift hospitals on the border of South Africa treating patients who are close to death.
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Health

Epilepsy Drug May Raise Autism Risk in Offspring

Amanda Gardner
HealthDay News
Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:35 UTC
Women taking the epilepsy drug valproate while pregnant are at increased risk of delivering a child who develops autism.

The British findings, appearing in the Dec. 2 issue of Neurology, add to previous research showing that valproate and other anti-epilepsy drugs can contribute to birth defects (particularly neural tube defects).

"There's a fair amount of early data that indicates, for instance, that valproate may cause neural tube closure problems. That's an indication that valproate affects brain development," said Dr. Michel Berg, medical director of the Strong Epilepsy Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "That's an indication that valproate affects brain development. It's not surprising that it might affect other aspects of brain development."
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Ambulance

FDA orders suicidal action warning on epilepsy drugs


Reuters
Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:25 UTC
Washington - Makers of epilepsy drugs must add a warning that the medicines carry a risk of suicidal thoughts or actions, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.

The companies also must develop a patient-friendly guide explaining risks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

Analysis of 199 clinical trials of 11 anti-epileptic drugs found twice the risk of suicidal behavior or thoughts with the drugs compared to a placebo, the FDA said.
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Gear

New rule for health providers stirs objections

Kevin Freking
Associated Press
Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:24 UTC
Washington - The Bush administration, in its final days, has issued a federal rule reinforcing protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions and other procedures because of religious or moral objections.

Critics of the rule say the protections are so broad that they limit a patient's right to get care and accurate information. For example, they fear the rule could make it possible for a pharmacy clerk to refuse to sell birth control pills and face no ramifications from an employer.

Under longstanding federal law, institutions may not discriminate against individuals who refuse to perform abortions or provide a referral for one. The administration's rule, issued Thursday, is intended to ensure that federal funds don't flow to providers who violate those laws.
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Health

Experts urge safety probe of plastics chemicals

Will Dunham
Reuters
Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:58 UTC
U.S. regulators should examine whether a controversial class of chemicals found in many plastic products including children's toys can hurt people, a panel of experts said on Thursday.

A panel of the independent National Research Council said the scientific evidence justifies an Environmental Protection Agency assessment of the health effects from cumulative exposure to chemicals known as phthalates.

Phthalates, which make plastic products soft and flexible, have been used commercially for decades. They are different from another chemical, bisphenol A, or BPA, found in plastic products including baby bottles that has also come under health scrutiny. The Food and Drug Administration says BPA is safe at current levels of exposure but plans more research.

Animal studies cited by the panel indicated that exposure to phthalates affected male reproductive system development. Some phthalates reduce levels of the male hormone testosterone. Studies also link phthalates to liver cancer, the panel said.
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