Apps & Organ Donor Registration

donation-517132_1280Apple is partnering with Donate Life America to make organ donation easier.

Yes, since 2014, Apple Health App on your iPhone has allowed you to set your Medical ID to list yourself as an organ donor.

Now iOS 10 will sync with Donate a Life, allowing for medical professionals access to an extensive current database.

Many are expecting or hoping for an “end of life care” section on the Apple Health App, to include a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) option and place for an advance directive.

Opioid Overdose – Now So Common

The leading cause of accidental death in the USA is NOT vehicular accidents, but opioid overdoses. Yearly, 17,000 people die.

WHAT IS IT?

Opioid overdose is often an accident; due to interaction with substances (alcohol) or other medication, too much opioid can enter the body. This can lead to coma and death, but before this occurs, symptoms and signs can be: sleepiness, pin-point pupils, difficulty to awaken, unconsciousness, shallow, decreased breathing, stopped breathing, slow heart rate, and low blood pressure.

WHO IS AT RISK?

Names of opioids include codeine, Percocet, Vicodin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and heroin. Opioids are prescribed for severe pain; they are administered in various forms, including liquid, skin patches, and IVs for cancer patients. Street drugs users, including heroin users, are at risk due to the impurity and inconsistent strength of the heroin. No matter the source, nor how long they have been in use, an overdose can occur.

Screen Shot 2016-08-14 at 1.09.36 PMWHAT TO DO?

You can, upon recognizing the possibility of an opioid overdose:

-call for help and stay with the person

-assist with the administration of antidote – Naloxone. Presently there is only one FDA approved and prescribed antidote. This auto-inject unit comes with visual and voice instructions to direct proper use.

NEWS:

One ER (St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, N.J.), is switching to non-opioid treatments for pain – laughing gas (nitrogen oxide), trigger-point injections (numbing medicine injected into the painful area), and even a therapy harp. (The New York Times June 13, 2016)

 

Magnesium – Have Enough

Every little bit helps, so why not be sure you have enough of this vital natural element in your body? – important for heart muscle function, energy production, and nerve conduction, to name a few. Learn more by reading this MG infopage at National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements.  

Magnesium is found in whole grains, beans, nuts and green leafy vegetables. Deficiency can cause more than high blood pressure and heart attack. Check signs and association on Nutritional Magnesium Association‘s website:

If one follows the dietary recommendations from the American Heart Association (AHA), no supplements should be needed. Check out what ‘Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations‘  advised.

However, realize that diet and absorption differs from person to person, and medications taken can interfere. Additionally, recommended intake is dependent on age and sex. The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) developed by the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies set values dependent upon age and sex. See table below from the Office of Dietary Supplements for yours.

Magnesium dietary allowances

Cheese Can Lowers Blood Pressure

Screen Shot 2016-07-11 at 9.06.22 AMNo surprise finding an Italian cheese contains anti-hypertensive benefits, given that Penicillin can even grow from old bread. Cow’s milk-proteins are fermented by bacteria-producing bioactive oligopeptides that have been shown to have ACE inhibition activity in vitro. ACE inhibitors are a class of prescription anti-hypertensive drugs widely used today. Variety of bioactive oligopeptides differs according to type and age of cheeses.

Present in Grana Padano (hard cheese aged 9-12 months) is an ACE inhibitor substance that has been proven to lower blood pressure. Eating 30 grams (1 oz.) daily of Grana Padano (similar to Parmesan), participants’ blood pressures dropped 6/5 mmHg (136/85—> 130/80).

All participants had similar medical backgrounds and blood pressures were monitored 24/7.

At the end of 3 months, participants’ body mass index (BMI), total and HDL(good) cholesterol, triglycerides, and serum sodium and potassium were unaffected.

Researchers cautioned more studies are necessary before it becomes a ‘claim’.

Physician Burnout

Physician Burnout

Physician Burnout

The prevalence of physician burnout starting from medical school training will shock you. Get the specifics and how to recognize this in your medical care setting. Doc Handal Speaks Up!

Dangerous Drugs for the Elderly – Beers List

dependent-826326_1280Believe it or not, there is a list of meds a senior (greater than 75) person should avoid. The American Geriatric Society (AGS) has identified a list –Beers list (named after Dr. Beers) that can be used as a clinical tool by medical care providers. Consideration of benefits versus risks of those drugs on the list is especially helpful to providers who are not expert in the care of the elderly.

Medications are not safe for everyone, is the point the AGS wants to make. Gerontologists are medical specialists trained in the practice of health care for the elderly. While developed for professionals, it is easy for you to read. Take time and check it out. This list was last updated in 2015. My intent is to let you know it exists, informing that there are certain drugs that could make a condition worse due to interactions or side effects, and others that should be used with extreme caution.

In addition, as you act as your own advocate or on the behalf of others, your voicing knowledge of such a list may be invaluable. Remember, not all providers are gerontologists.

 

Medical Errors -Third Leading Cause of Death

Sadly, medical errors are at present the third most common cause of death in the U.S.A.error-101406_1280-2

Patient safety expert researchers at Johns Hopkins published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) that, due to the manner in which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies death on the death certificate, lower numbers of errors than actually occur were reported.

The reality and a very sad number: more than 250,000 deaths per year in the U.S. are due to medical error.

You can imagine many possible causes, from variable physician practice patterns to poor care due to lack of coordination of health care delivery and no safety net for the patients. You must be well informed; insist on understanding when it comes to your medical care. Do not underestimate your role in decreasing medical mistakes.

FYI – the leading cause of death in the U.S. is cardiovascular (heart) disease, followed by cancer.

Laundry Pod Dangers

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Progress makes our domestic lives easier; for one, consider the laundry pod detergent. No, not joking! I appreciate its no mess and quick use. However, a recent study reported in Injury Prevention gave me a different perspective: easy is not always safer.

This report estimates that there were almost 36,000 cases of injury (from 2012-2014) relating to all types of laundry detergent. Most cases were young children who went to ERs in the U.S.

 

Green Lights Help Migraines

Light-sensitive individuals (15% worldwide) and those whose headaches are light-sensitive do better in green light.aurora-1185464_1280

A complex study exposing subjects to lights of varying colors while measuring electrical signals at the eye and the brain levels showed color matters!

Red and blue lights generated the most signals, while green light produced the least. The less signals bombarding the brain the better, hence the discovery that migraine sufferers experience some improvement when exposed to green light.*

Study conducted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and published in the journal Brain.