Scrubs is really the wrong word...

The word "scrubs" has been given a negative connotation when used to reference a person. Yet the concept of surgical scrub clothing is far from being "scrubby" -- the professionally designed wear for doctors, nurses and other health care professionals has gone main stream outside of the medical facility because it's comfortable.

The days of the green scrub pants may still exist in some medical settings, but for the most part, in the outside world of consumer wear, there are bright colors and a variety of patterns.

Beyond comfort there is cost, cheap scrubs can be found, at times even with holiday themes for those of you looking for a bit of pizazz with your scrub wear. My personal favorite has bats on it. I love October since it's the one month I can wear them out of the house without getting strange looks.

:-)

Our right to sue when injured...

How much responsibility legally do companies have when it comes to items or products that are later proven to cause a health risk? That's one of the things I've always wondered about when you start reading about types of diseases and finding a Mesothelioma Lawyer. There was a time when asbestos was not deemed as a health risk, then there of course came the time period when it was known that it does cause that type of cancer. There are of course a variety of variables, when the manufacturer of a product knew the concerns were possible, what steps did they take, what protections were offered. Now you can find a Mesothelioma Attorney who will know more about your legal options.

Despite how long ago problems were known about asbestos, it still is having a large impact on the lives of many others...When reading more about Malignant Mesothelioma you can learn how some have survived the disease longer than doctor's expectations. It does not promise a cure, has provided hope as far as answers for some.

Calories in - Calories out not quite that simple...

An over seas study written about in the journal Obesity, by Y. Li and colleagues claims a low-dose multivitamin caused obese volunteers to lose 7 lb of fat mass in 6 months, mostly from their abdominal regions when compared to a placebo. The results also claim that the volunteers saw their LDL reduced by 27% and HDL increased by 40%. They also reported increased resting energy expenditure.

The results have created some controversy as to could nutrients play a larger role in weight loss. Skeptics point to the small volunteer base and the differences in diet from China to the U.S. as being factors that need to be weighed. While this is debated, it is interesting to take a look at some of the information out there on the diet industry at websites like, http://www.weightlosspills.net. The controversy has also increased the discussion of the "calorie in - calorie out" belief system that many believe is too simplistic for those who are considered clinically obese.

What it's not Windex?

Ever since I watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" along with many of my family members,it's hard for us to not suggest Windex as a solution for just about everything. Those who watched the movie will know what I'm talking about, the father, Gus, has using Windex as a solution for acne to swollen toes as well as it being suggested in the movie as one of the best acne treatments when a problematic pimple appears on both the bride and the groom. She opts for more traditional treatment, he reveals he put Windex on his...Not surprisingly, this is not the accepted method of treatment by some.

:-)

Adventures in vitamins...

As I ponder on my families personal product habits, vitamins are also a category where no one can agree. I have to take something without iron, David doesn't believe in vitamins, Miguel takes a regular multivitamin, Aubrey only likes chew-able vitamins though she most prefers the gummy ones and when Erin was here she was a fan of chew-ables but would never eat the orange. Meaning you'd have almost a whole bottle full of orange flavored ones that no one would eat. When I cleaned out the medicine cabinet I even found a bottle of prenatal vitamins, which I have no idea how that ended up here. One of the girls must have decided that particular brand met their vitamin needs at the moment...I also found several bottles of expired vitamins from when some member of the household had started a particular brand/formulation then forgot about it...

My way of dealing with depression...

All of us feel depressed at one time or another, and there are those of us out there suffering to the point where they need to seek professional treatment for depression. However, for the days when I feel depressed and I wonder what the purpose for doing all that I do is, that nothing good is coming my way, I turn to the video below. It has never failed me as far as making me smile and feel much better, though I admit sometimes I've had to watch it more than once to get the full impact...

An ounce of prevention...

One of the largest problems we face when it comes to health care is the lack of access to well care health care. For many with the increasing costs of co-pays and deductibles even if you have well care coverage, it can be more than you can afford. This is especially an issue when it comes to the working poor and pregnancy, all too often women wait to make that first appointment and they don't take the extra step of getting prenatal vitamins which are available online and at every pharmacy. If you are not eating right, which many are not no matter their economic status, prenatal vitamins are critical...

That elusive perfect smile...

While we as a society do place more attention on appearance, the seeking of a perfect smile has been one that has existed through the ages. Even before comestic dentistry became so specialized, people have quested for white teeth and a variety of different implants or forms of dentures/plates.

Technology has had a huge impact on dentistry, what was once thought as something only for the rich and famous, dental veneers, have become something that the regular every day person can access and afford as a way to improve their smile. Our smile is something that many obsess about, some people do not smile strictly because of how they feel their teeth look. This can actually impact a person's self esteem more than weight...

With the way the veneers are attached, it makes it even possible for those who have a fear of dentistry to have this done. While not all dental insurance plans cover cosmetic dentistry procedures, some do, so make sure you check what your level of coverage is...

Evidence the health insurance mandate won't work...

If you take a few moments and read Health care overhaul: Critics on left, right unite against mandate, you may discover the same conclusion I have after reading the reasons shared from the left, the right and the libertarian as to why they are against the mandate.

Despite their various reasoning, the mandate without a public option won't work. Why? It's fairly clear as stated in the Chicago Tribune:

Once insurance companies must sell policies to almost all comers, "the incentive is to pay the penalty until you need the insurance -- and then buy it," said Robert Book, a health economist with the conservative Heritage Foundation. "You are likely to have more people go uninsured because now it's less risky to be uninsured."

Critics such as Book warn that if young, healthy people opt out of the individual market in large numbers, it will tilt risk pools toward the sick, causing premiums to increase, which, in turn, will cause more young people to choose to pay the penalty and forgo insurance.

"It's a realistic concern," said Rick Weissenstein, a health care analyst with Concept Capital in Washington, especially because the age-rating restrictions in the bill, which allow insurers to charge older people only two or three times more than younger consumers, likely will drive up prices for the young.

Granted there are those who are playing down this aspect, but that is reality, if it costs more to have health insurance than it would be to face the tax penalty? There are going to be those who opt for the penalty. Many of which would be the younger, healthier set needed to drive the costs down from a risk pool scenario...

Liberty does not really make health care universal

As I read, How Liberty Makes Health Care Virtually Universal, it bothered me that one of the conservative talking points that malpractice insurance is a factor in the current health care costs increasing was listed as well as regulations on prescription drugs.

The prescription drug industry is the reason why regulation happened, and our government tries to prevent us from getting the exact same drug, from other places like Canada and Mexico. In part pushed by the big pharm lobbyists, which have too much power in DC. We as a nation pay more for drug research because we've allowed that particular industry to have too much control. The health care insurance companies have demonstrated they can not provide services without regulations, and we as consumers have been forgotten in the political battles of the lobbyists versus lobbyists.

True liberty would be being able to opt in or opt out for affordable insurance, having smaller companies being able to contract with larger ones to reduce the base cost of their health insurance plans. True liberty would be if I could get a drug I took every day, made by the same exact company in Canada? My insurance company would pay for it.

The litigation happy society that we live in, is not a huge factor in the increase of health care or the supposed lack of physicians. Medical school enrollment is actually increasing which would indicate claims being made by some that the regulation has somehow contributed to a lack of physicians is not accurate. More students specialize rather than go into family practice but it is the lure of money not fear of regulations that drives that...

While Zimmer attempts to unviel new product questions remain

Earlier this month the FDA did not give Zimmer Holdings, Inc. permission to market a spine stabilization system that they call a Dynesys device as a stand alone product. That alone was not something, new this happens when it comes to medical devices coming before the FDA. What was unusual was that the FDA reviewers earlier raised questions as to possible bias in the company's study, pointing out that a majority of patients were treated by researchers with a financial interest in the company.

While it has not gotten the same news coverage, issues on zimmer durom cup have been raised in courtrooms and on the internet with some experiencing problems after having a durom cup hip replacement.

Law firms such as Maglio Christopher Toale & Pitts have filed cases in court and have provided information on the exact zimmer durom cup types that have been at issue. Apparently there is a different model that was not used in the United States that did not have some of the same failure rates.

What is interesting about this scenario is that the media is not doing any real reporting on the problems that have been reported, it has been some of the law firms that have actually provided more reference material. Which at least means those googling are discovering there could be a problem...

Libertarians Applaud Federal Reprieve For Medical Marijuana

It's never made sense to me to go after people like Charles Lynch...but? That's what has happened and in theory it's believed new guidelines from the Department of Justice telling prosecutors “should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana” may make a difference.

Time will tell...I highly recommend this video from Reason.tv



Another recommended article on Charles Lynch.

A Libertarian look at healthcare reform

Recommended post/article by Brett Perry, A libertarian look at healthcare reform. Part of the recommended piece:

Libertarians biggest problem with most issues is economical. The popular addage is "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" or TANSTAAFL (pronounced TAN-staf-el). With every new government program you should always ask yourself first, "Who's going to pay for this?" and the answer is almost always the taxpayers. When that is the answer Libertarians will always come out against it.

There is no "right" to medical care, and you have no right to ask anyone else to pay for your medical care. Libertarians believe it is not moral to force someone to pay for any of your wants or needs. Government control cannot improve health care anymore than it improved the economies of the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe.

Legislators and bureaucrats cannot know how to properly direct scarce medical resources to where they will do the most good for those who count. Politicians will simply make political decisions that will get them re-elected. What we currently have is what people refer to as the nanny state, or therapeutic state. State governments join together with insurance companies and doctors to take away your right to control your own medical care. Every state mandates that your health insurance cover specific things.

Libertarians say: Government (Regulation) Kills!

The following media release was sent out by the The Center for Libertarian Press Information:

The old adage “the operation was a success, but the patient died” is never more true than when government gets into the healthcare business. The restrictions on midwives were and remain an excellent example.

Ever since the first licensing laws were passed well over a century ago, healthcare in America has not been part of a free market. Those laws were passed with pressure from one group of medical professionals to give them protection from competition. The laws had little to do with protecting patients' health, and nothing to do with protecting their freedom to choose among medical practitioners.

Licensing laws were successful in killing the competition from midwives, but at the same time they harmed new mothers and their babies. Minority communities were especially affected, because they were denied the choice of alternative, less expensive, healthcare providers who were forced from business by the new regulations.

In his book “Born in the USA”, author Marsden Wagner, MD, MS, notes that Scandinavia and the Western Europe countries where midwives handle births have a lower rate of maternal and infant mortality than the more highly-regulated United States.

Washington State Libertarian and former gubernatorial candidate Ruth Bennett notes “Midwifery has started to make a comeback, but many states still restrict certain types of midwives. Women are still denied a choice and the results show up in the death statistics. Midwives also have lower rates of unnecessary procedures and Caesarian births. Opening the market to midwives can save lives as well as dollars”.