From July 2- July 10 the Milk Mustache Mobile Drink Well. Live Well. Tour will be heading through Chicago to encourage residents to “drink well with nature’s wellness drink.”

The tour offers:

• Health assessments from a registered dietitian
• Ice-cold milk from local dairies: Bareman Dairy, Kemps, Kroger, Lactaid, Liberty Dairy, Prairie Farms and Swiss Valley
• Homemade smoothie samples
• Five-minute chair massages
• Souvenir Milk Mustache photos

Watch for it in your city. And drink milk!

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Got Milk? Is Traveling

It’s possible to have RA and not live with pain all the time. Some people have flares, times where the pain is difficult to manage alternating with time when it’s not too bad. Others live with the pain and disfigurement caused by the arthritis just about all the time.

With RA, the synovium (lining) of the joints becomes inflamed. This causes damage, which in turn causes pain and the disfigurement as the joints are shifted.

At first, treatment involves anti-inflammatory drugs to help keep the inflammation down in the joints, but for some people, the disease is so severe that this doesn’t help. Once they’ve tried just about every treatment available, their doctors may suggest that they try a medication called methotrexate.

Methotrexate was originally used as a chemotherapy drug for people with various types of cancer. It is a very powerful medication that must be monitored closely. However, researchers found that not only was methotrexate good for cancer treatments, it helped relieve the pain and disability of rheumatoid arthritis.

While this was good news, there was a lot of concern about the long-term effect of methotrexate in people who take it for RA. The good news is, a recent review of 88 studies on the topic has found that patients who took methotrexate over 2 years appeared to be doing well.

You can read more about the study and its findings in this article, Long-term methotrexate appears safe in arthritis.

~~~~~

Image courtesy PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Blisstree

Methotrexate and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Now that the chicken pox has a vaccine, the chicken pox parties seem to be on the wain. But now, there’s a new type of party that’s making its rounds: the H1N1 party.

That’s right, some parents are deliberately exposing their children to the H1N1 virus, the so-called swine flu, in the hopes that they make their children resistant to it when it makes its rounds in the schools in the fall. Unfortunately, there are some serious flaws to that way of thinking.

1- There are no guarantees that the flu virus won’t mutate, making itself into a totally new virus. Thus, you’ll have made your child sick for nothing.

2- The most important flaw is: Influenza can make your child VERY ill and it can also cause death.

Some people are getting a false sense of security with the H1N1 virus because it does seem milder than the seasonal flus that make the rounds. But that doesn’t take away that some people - including children - have died as a result of complicaitons from the H1N1 virus. Do you seriously want to take that risk? What if it is your child who is that one in so many who becomes seriously ill? Would you want to live with knowing that you deliberately made your child ill?

That’s not a chance I would take nor is it one that doctors recommend, including doctors like Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones.

~~~~~

Photo courtesy of PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Blisstree

Parents: H1N1 Parties Not A Good Idea

Here are a few tips health officials would like us to know:

• People who are sick with fever and a cough should stay home, away from public events, crowded places and family members in nursing homes or other similar settings.
• Pregnant women, children under age 5, senior citizens over age 65 and residents with chronic health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes and lung diseases, should stay away from people who are coughing and sneezing.
• Parents should avoid sending children who are sick with fever and other flulike symptoms to day and summer camps or child care.

Almost 34,000 cases of swine flu have been confirmed thus far in the United States.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Be Cautious With Swine Flu This Holiday

The state is well aware of its problem with obese residents, especially children, and is taking steps to correct the problem. School children are being exposed to lower fat foods and more exercise each day.

Experts feel that with the struggling economy, healthy foods might be harder to come by for some families, making the problem of obesity even worse.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Mississippi Fattest State

One competitive eater even found that after a while, his stomach would not register being “full” when he ate normally. This condition, called peristalsis, means that the stomach is not contracting. Despite the health risks, however, many speed eaters look back on their “reign” fondly.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Health Risks of Speed Eating

They tested their technique on cardiac patients who, with any other hospital, would most likely die. The results were amazing, with an 80% survival rate. However, patients needed very quick treatment in order to be revived. Treatment consisted of:

• Prompt CPR — rhythmic chest compressions — to maintain blood pressure until the patient gets to a hospital.
• Use of a heart-lung machine to keep blood and oxygen moving through the body while doctors remedy what caused the heart to quiver or stop in the first place, such as a drug overdose or a clogged artery.
• Special procedures and medicines to gradually restore blood and oxygen flow, so a sudden gush does not cause fresh damage.
  This new method of revival is greatly extending the timeframe when someone thought to be dead could be brought back.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Bringing Patients Back to Life

One problem with these medications is that they seem to have an adverse effect on some people who take them and these can be quite serious. According to a press release issued by the FDA:

These symptoms include changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts and behavior, and attempted suicide.

Now, the FDA has told the manufacturers that they must add new warnings, called Box Warning and develop patient medication guides that outline these risks.

Here is more from the release:

Healthcare professionals should advise patients to stop taking varenicline or bupropion and contact a healthcare provider immediately if they experience agitation, depressed mood, and any changes in behavior that are not typical of nicotine withdrawal, or if they experience suicidal thoughts or behavior.

If you take any of these medications and you have any concerns, please speak with your doctor.

~~~~

Image courtesy PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Blisstree

FDA Warning: Smoking Cessation Meds

The reason for this check is the doctors are looking for hip dysplasia , an abnormality of the hips where the joint doesn’t work properly and can easily slip out of place and become dislocated. Serious cases are usually noticed but some babies don’t have an obvious case and may get missed.

It may not seem to be a serious thing if the hip isn’t hurting and the baby begins to walk on time so the first reaction may be, why does it matter if it’s not found. The issue isn’t so much the here and now, but as the child grows and develops into adulthood. Studies have shown that children with hip dysplasia have a higher rate of developing arthritis in the hip when they’re young adults.

Arthritis in the hip can be extremely painful and debilitating, causing a drastic drop in quality of life and ability to earn money, if not treatable.

For this reason, studies are being done about the importance and effectiveness of screening, with the latest one the July 2009 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS). The researchers found that screening all infants for hip dysplasia can significantly decrease their chance of developing early arthritis.

~~~~

Image courtesy of PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Blisstree

Screening Infants For Hip Problems

Under the new healthcare legislation that is being considered, “lawmakers have proposed mandating that all but small employers provide insurance for workers or help pay for” the 46 million uninsured people in the U.S.

I have to wonder if other firms will follow this lead, and vocally support employer mandated healthcare like Wal-Mart?

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Wal-Mart Backs Employer Health Ins.