Smoke Tricks Harmful

Roughly one in four surveyed teens who were regular users of e-cigarettes said they had tried “dripping” during ‘vaping’ sessions, researchers report.

‘Vaping’ is the practice of pouring e-liquid directly onto the heating element of an e-cigarette device and inhaling — bypassing the liquid holding tank — produces thicker vapor clouds, which drippers say results in a stronger throat hit and more intense flavors.

The limited research done on dripping suggests that the high temperatures create the thicker clouds of smoke also higher levels of volatile aldehydes. These are carcinogens and can cause higher levels of already present non-nicotine toxins. MORE is NOT better!

FYI: The US Navy has banned electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). So none allowed on board subs ships or aircrafts. Their motivation was the number of explosion from lithium batteries.

 

Eat Well, Stress Less, Love More & Don’t Forget to Exercise

As a reader of my blog, you know I strive to empower you through information and action. This blog is critical for YOU!

Doctors should give out prescriptions for “lifestyle changes”. Treatment and prevention of so many conditions can occur through lifestyle changes – eating well, stressing less, moving more, and loving more. These have been medically proven to help alleviate many conditions, from heart disease to cancer.

As we age, what we eat is ever more important. Neurogenesis – the growth and development of neurons – is affected dramatically but what we ingest. (See slide.)

Also, reversing aging at a cellular level – telomeres* – has been found to occur. A 3-month study showed that 501 genes were positively altered by lifestyle changes.

Diabetics who adhere to lifestyle changes have seen proven improvement in their lives, more so than if they were just taking medication. (See slide)

Other improvements include the long-term slowing of cancer growth (by stopping **) and the reduction of plaque and the reversing of the narrowing of arteries caused by fat deposits.

Many of us live in fear of dying rather than getting on living – embracing the joy of life and respecting one’s body and it’s ability to talk to one and heal itself. The Lifestyle Heart study by Dean Ornish, MD has been proven successful – it’s even approved and covered by Medicare. Success was not dependent on age and underlying condition, but rather on how much change in lifestyle occurred.

 

* Structure at end chromosomes that disappear as we age
** Development of new vessels within cancers

HIV Lowdown

Do you know if you have ever been tested for HIV? Next time you go to the doctor, ask if you have ever been tested for HIV. When you sign the general consent form, you are allowing for lots, including HIV screening. Unless you opt out, a one-time testing is recommended for all new patients (13-64), and an annual test for those at high risk. Realize that all pregnant patients are mandatorily screened – one cannot refuse. If you live in a “high-density” HIV-infected area, a re-test in the 3rd trimester is standard.

The numbers are worth stating: 38 million worldwide, and in US, 1.2 million, are living with disease, with 50,000 newly-infected yearly. Interestingly, Washington DC has a high density of those infected:160/100,000.

Medication does not cure, only suppresses, the virus; once infected, patients are on drugs for life. To date, only 18 years of follow-up on drug therapy have been studied.
You need not test positive upon screening to take these antiretroviral drugs. Research shows the drugs are prophylactic; self-identifying high-risk individuals of all ages benefit.

Know where you stand!

Allergies Are Epidemic

Do you suffer from allergies? One in seven of us do! A 30% increase in the amount of Americans suffering from allergies was noted between 1970 and 2010. In the EU, hospital admissions for serious allergies have increased sevenfold in the decade leading up to 2013. Food allergies have increased 50% in children since 1997. We are in the throes of an epidemic!

This blog is about potentially great news regarding allergens in the air – B vitamins may ward off the effects of air pollution.

A small but intriguing study shows that taking water soluble vitamin Bs can impact effects of air pollution.

Folate (sometimes called vitamin B9), vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 can impact what air pollution does to your heart rate, ECG tracing and white blood cell counts (WBCs).

Naturally it is preferred that our air not contain particle matter (PM) the size of 2.5mm, as in this study. Further studies are underway to verify and determine how much vitamin intake it takes. But, as we are bombarded with TV commercials for drugs that can ‘tame’ our bodies response to inhaling, it is exciting news that all these expensive, imperfect drugs could be replaced by vitamins!

NOTE: there are pundits that think that air quality is not a concern.

DocHandal’s March News Capsule

Finally in the USA -Quick Heart Blood Test

Within 9 minutes this new – to the US – blood test can ID if you are starting to have a heart attack (infarctions).

TnT has been used elsewhere in the world for over 7 years.

MI troponin (TnT) is a highly sensitive indicator that heart muscle is beginning to die.

This is great news for patients who present to the ER with chest pain. Also for the ER Docs’ this test is faster and detects smaller size heart infarctions. Care to stop or reverse can start sooner, recall ‘time is heart muscle lost’.

Blood Delivery Via Drone

Get blood Fast! It has been tested and tested it is SAFE to ship/deliver blood via a drone! A ‘proof-of-concept’ study from John’s Hopkin’s researchers showed temperature and viability of red blood cells for transfusions can be ‘shipped’ by drone. In rural areas rather than transport the patient for advanced care,  blood can be remotely piloted into the patient saving precise time and yes money! Chemical and microbial products as well as blood samples for testing  have been found to maintain integrity when transported by drone.

Further studies across US and overseas are planned to evaluate best programmable coolers for drone transport.

 

Mumps Comeback

Health officials in Seattle identified an apparent outbreak of mumps in children under age 17 is underway.

Concerning is that 62% of cases had vaccines against mumps! Twitter reported then that the number of mumps cases in WA as nearly 350.

So please watch out for swelling at angle of the jaw, side of face into cheeks – can be one side only.

Mumps has serious complications causing inflammation of brain and dependent on the sex of patient inflammation of the ovaries or testes.

 

 

 

 

E Cig Safety

Wither you use a eGo or 510 (both out of China refer to size), ‘ juiced’ (eliquid added) or a dry hit (no vapor), vaping: (slang for the use of e-cigarettes) is being found to be dangerous.

Heavy metals, toxic and potentially carcinogenic (if inhaled) are found in the liquid first generation e–cigarette brands. Researchers (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) found high levels of toxic metals in the liquid that creates the aerosol that is inhaled by e–cigarette users.

Included were analysis for presence of cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese and nickel.

Another danger comes from smokers is ‘stacking’. That is using multiple batteries in an e-cigarette to achieve a higher total voltage. Present evidence suggests this can be potentially dangerous.

Misdiagnosis Is Common But What About Dr. AI™

What are the odds your doctor will always make the correct diagnosis? Is it the doctor or are odds significantly stacked?

Symptoms are ‘complaints’, or problems that our body manifests to hint something is wrong. Examples include vomiting, cough, fever, and 197 more that are recognized for billing purposes by the health insurance companies.

Given that you should also know that there is a code for every disease. Guess how many diseases are listed in the healthcare billing code (ICD-10-CM)?

70,000!

Yes, a large mismatch 200 into 70,000. Sadly misdiagnosis or delayed correct diagnosis of patients has been shown to occur at least once in everyone’s lifetime. Each disease has multiple signs and symptoms. I mention this to give insight so you can open your mouth with some degree of knowledge when you feel your body is ‘talking to you’ despite medical diagnosis. As a parent you have added responsibility when realizing a child is not improving despite medical intervention.

Healthcare providers are human! At least the ones that diagnose. 

NOTE: If you talk to Alexa, Amazon’s voice activated virtual assistant you may be ready for Dr. AI™! Created after research and interviews with over 100,000 physicians HealthTap virtual doctor –Dr. AI™ – is coming! Conversational presentation of your symptoms to the virtual doctor can be followed by suggestions at present of: call a ‘HealthTap‘ doctor, go to an appointment, or go to the emergency room. To date no accuracy or safety information is available nor is appropriateness of the decisions – what to do – such as go to ER call.

Nano Blood Cells Ready in 10-12 Years

We are on the brink of a great discovery! We may no longer have the need for other folks’ red blood cells (RBCs)!

Safe from known and unknown disease transmission, artificial red blood cells are designed to act exactly like natural occurring RBCs. Wunderbar!

At the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, researchers developed what, if determined to be safe for use in humans, would revolutionize trauma care, never mind help treat countless other conditions that require blood transfusions.

The artificial cells, called ErythroMer, are designed to be “freeze–dried, stored at ambient temperatures, and simply reconstituted with water when needed.”* Just add water! (Sterile water, of course!) Bioengineers created this “nano” donut-like sphere with a control system to hook onto oxygen depending upon the pH (environment) it is in. So, in the lungs it hooks onto oxygen, and elsewhere it releases it. Pretty NEAT! Testing in large animals is next, and yes, then in humans. But as the title states, it may take 10-12 years for ErythroMer to reach us.

*Allan Doctor, MD, of Washington University in Saint Louis. (FYI-this is not ‘fake news’-this is the researchers real name!)

Prescription Dangers

There is so much information out on the net, especially in the area of health matters.
We view countless commercials about drugs, class action litigation, and recalls. The rapid list of side effects at the end of a new drug plug on TV always scares me.

To help you with this, I recommend an easy-to-use website – rxdangers.com.
Concerned about safety, this is a worthwhile site, including recalls – be they medications or device – side effects, and litigation updates.
I particularly like their approach to education, which is to bring the reader up to a level to easily comprehend the information. A great example – hip recalls.

The “Dangerous Drugs” pull-down menu includes “commonly prescribed” and “in the news” drugs for type 2 diabetes, many cardiovascular conditions, testosterone to list a few.

Browse this site and please send me your thoughts.