Of course, the mainstream media was in hyper action.

It was like the rest of the world suddenly ceased to exist. The problem in Iran, the President’s health care and climate care reforms, even the death of another well known Hollywood actress Farrah Fawcett was pushed aside to make way for the death of Michael Jackson.

Yes, it was very sad. Yes, the world lost a great musician. But all the media coverage and constant innuendos about the cause of death is just too much. Let the man rest in peace.

Let his fans, friends, and family mourn his passing. Let us just enjoy and celebrate his music.

On that note, I offer you one of my favorite, but lesser known,  Michael Jackson songs…

Post from: Healthbolt

In his first press conference, Obama seemed to think that all would be okay if they found a ‘hypoallergenic dog’. Sounds like a great plan. But according to medical experts, it’s not all that feasible. In fact, soon after the press conference, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology  (AAAAI) issued a statement saying “There is no truly ‘hypoallergenic’ dog.”

According to the Academy, there are many misconceptions regarding dog allergies, chief among them being ‘that people are allergic to a dog’s hair, and it is falsely believed that a dog that sheds less will not cause a reaction.’ Not true!

Here’s the truth. The major allergen is a protein found in all dog’s serum and this protein is shed from their skin through sweat, as well as in their saliva and probably is also in their urine. So it’s next to impossible to find an allergy-free dog.

So what’s a President-elect to do? He’s made a promise that will be impossible to back out of.

Dr Corinna Bowser, an allergy and asthma expert from Pennsylvania recommends that the Obama’s do two things before bringing any puppy home: First, dog-sit a friend or neighbors dog to see how Malia’s allergies fare, and second, set some rules about how they’ll plan on handling any allergy issues.

Brower says “”What we tell our patients is draw an imaginary line in the sand. If the child has an ER visit for asthma or needs significantly more medication, or whatever you want to determine as the line, that’s when the dog has to go. And set these rules ahead of time, because then everybody knows that’s when the dog has to go.”

Combine this advice with the AAAAI guidelines list below and the Obama might just be able to pull of his most important campaign promise.

• Visit an allergist/immunologist to diagnose the allergy and discuss treatment, which may include maintenance medications or immunotherapy (allergy shots).
• Keep the pet out of the allergic person’s bedroom. Animal dander will collect on pillows, leading to worsened symptoms at night and morning.
• Bathe the animal weekly to reduce the amount of dander shed at home.
• Replace carpeting with hardwood or other solid-surface flooring for easy clean-up.
• Vacuuming may not be effective in decreasing allergen levels, but using a HEPA filter and double bags may help.
• Wash bedding and clothing in hot water. While animal allergens are not easily removed by high temperatures, these measures may help.

(Image credit: Newscom)

Post from: Healthbolt

Retirement might just become a thing of the past. But for some, retirement has never been an option.

Why?

Because they love their jobs too much to give them up.

Case in point – Mildred Heath. She’s 100 years old and still working in a career that she started in 1923 at the age of 15.

And she has no intention of retiring. Working as a journalist what she does and who she is. Commuting the one block from her apartment to the office on an electric scooter, she takes classified ads, files photographs, and seeks out local news. Even at a big gathering to celebrate her 100th birthday, Mrs. Heath kept a notepad and pen handy to gather news for that week’s paper.

An inspiration for people of all ages, Mildred was recently named by Experience Works, the nation’s largest provider of training and employment services for older workers, as America’s Oldest Worker for 2008.

Here’s Mildred in her own words…

I wonder how many more Mildred’s are out there…

(source)

Post from: Healthbolt

The degree to which we absorb these messages was measured recently by researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation. They met with Grey’s Anatomy writers and staff and created a storyline that focused on a pregnant HIV-positive woman who initially demands an abortion, fearing she will pass the virus that causes AIDS to her child. During this episode, she finds out that with proper treatment she has a 98 percent chance of delivering a HIV-free baby.

To find out if this message got through, the researchers surveyed a group of randomly selected regular Grey’s Anatomy watchers. These viewers were questioned, testing their knowledge and attitudes about HIV-positive women giving birth prior to seeing the episode, one week after, and again, six weeks after the episode was screened.

Here’s one of the questions they were asked…

“As far as you know, if a woman who is HIV positive becomes pregnant and receives the proper treatment, what is the chance that she will give birth to a healthy baby, not infected with HIV?

(The answer? There is a more than 90 percent chance of having a healthy baby with the right treatment.)

The results…

• 53 percent knew the correct answer  a week before the episode was aired.
• 76 percent knew the correct answer a week after  the show aired.
• 63 percent still knew the correct answer six weeks after the program aired.

Victoria Rideout, led researcher and study author concludes “This study shows the enormous potential for entertainment television to serve as a health educator… for better or worse, viewers do absorb the health information they see on TV, so it’s important for these shows to get it right.”

So we get pretty faces and knowledge too. What more could we ask for?

(source)

Post from: Healthbolt

Anyway, Texans may be the toppers, but Midwesterners aren’t far behind. In fact, Midwest towns capture close to half of the top 15 slots. Who else made the list? Check them out here, adapted from a Forbes.com slideshow (complete with awesome photos):

1. Austin, TX

2. Milwaukee, WI

3. San Francisco, CA

4. Providence, RI

5. Chicago, IL

8. Seattle, WA (tie)

8. Cleveland, OH (tie)

8. St. Louis, MO (tie)

9. Boston, MA

10. Cincinnati, OH

11. Pittsburgh, PA

12. Virginia Beach, VA

13. Portland, OR

14. Jacksonville, FL

15. Detroit, MI

Is your city on the list?

For an extremely detailed explanation of how Forbes arrived at these findings, check out the full article.

Bottom’s up!

Post from: Healthbolt

So what’s a tired soul to do?

Pay to take a nap. In a pod.

That’s right, a new craze called nap pods are hitting the scene, and for about a buck a minute, you can pay to be temporarily transported to dreamland in the nap pod of your choice.

Going with the alpha pod leaves you with a spa-like experience, since it releases aromas and has a heated, vibrating bed, a CD player and headphones. In essence, the real world around you just disappears. The energy pod, on the other hand, reclines and has headphones with music piped in.

I’m sure by now most of us know the benefits of a power nap. But is a midday rest worth spending money on? Those who have tried the pods insist it’s a more refreshing nap, in part because of the solidarity of it, and totally worth the moola.

I must say, I’d be tempted to try it. But I can’t say I’d snooze in a pod with any regularity. How about you?

Story source (with photos of nap pods)

Post from: Healthbolt

Now, in my dream world, this seems like just the ticket. After all, who has time to keep up with a regular exercise regime, right? And isn’t the whole point of modern medicine to make life better for all? And wouldn’t skipping exercise in lieu of a pill make everyone happy?

Um, maybe not.

The more I thought about this, the worse of an idea it became to me. Would there be any of that “exercise high” or stress relief that most of us get when we do go through with a real, live workout? Would we become a nation of sloth and laziness, spending what would have been our “healthy time” in front of the tube or consuming more products that will put us further into debt? Will we expect a pill for every single less-than-pleasant task that we, as humans, are expected to engage in from time to time?

I think the very notion of any of these things is disturbing enough to put up a giant red flag on this new superinvention.

But that’s just me. What about you? What do you think of the idea of an exercise pill? Let us know…

Post from: Healthbolt

It has been described as the ‘world’s largest collaborative online encycopedia of medicine’ and it’s easy to see why. The brainchild of James Currier, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Medpedia is being developed in conjunction leading Medical Schools (Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, and Michigan) and leading global health organizations such as the American College of Physicians (ACP), the Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA.org), the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies, (FOCIS), and the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA).

Medipedia promises to deliver free relevant, reliable, and up-to-date medical information written and edited by volunteer medical doctors or experts with Ph.D. degrees.

Accurate medical facts at your fingertips – what more could you ask for.

Sounds like a winner.

Full launch of the site is expected at the end of the year. Meanwhile you can see a preview of things to come at http://medpedia.com

(source)

Post from: Healthbolt

Well, it seems that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is no different. They, too, attach conditions on their loans to recipient countries. Conditions such as the country being required to reduce or limit their education, social services, and health expenditure in an effort to get inflation in check. The idea behind this is that, despite these cutbacks in services, once the country’s inflation has been controlled and economy restored, the health of the people will improve automatically.

But as a recent article in Slate points out – this ain’t necessarily so!

Turns out a new research study with a long drawn out title – International Monetary Fund Programs and Tuberculosis Outcomes in Post-Communist Countries - has found the opposite seems to be happening.

Here’s Slate’s take on it…

“The authors find that the IMF’s strictly conditioned loans are associated with a fall in the quality of health, measured by one important indicator: an increase in the rate of tuberculosis. They further argue that this is a relationship of cause and effect—that the IMF loans (or, realistically, the conditions attached to them) are responsible for the observed decline in health. While it’s perhaps impossible to prove this using the tools of epidemiology, the authors substantiate an extremely strong case.”

And there seems to plenty of numbers and stats to back this up.

Read the non-scientist speak version over at Slate or dig in and read the full research article over at PLos, a peer-reviewed open-access journal, and you’ll see what I mean.

I guess money not only doesn’t buy happiness, it also doesn’t guarantee good health!!!

Post from: Healthbolt

Newsweek has a fun article on Seven Silly Fitness Fads, listing everything from weighted hula hooping to strippercise.

Meanwhile, National Geographic Adventure offers How to Survive (Almost) Anything: 14 Survival Skills

And Scientific America tells us Sitting Too Close to the Computer Screen Can Make You Go Blind. That’s a scary thought for all us bloggers. But, hang on, before you panic and turn off the computer, read the article. Turns out that it’s only a small group of people who are seriously at risk of myopia (nearsightedness) and worst case, possible blindness. The rest of us are destined instead for eyestrain.

Post from: Healthbolt