Friday, June 12, 2009
Good news (which we still don't believe)
There is still no convincing evidence that mobile phones cause brain cancer, according to a new review published in Emerging Health Threats Journal. But the authors won't absolutely rule out risks from long-term exposure.
The review finds that most studies of mobile phone use show no significant link to brain cancer or other health effects. However the authors point out that less is known about long-term effects, for example, children who would use mobile phones their entire lives.
A feature article about the good news is here. Still convinced cell phones will main or kill you? You're 100% right. Click here and here for proof.
Labels: cancer, environment
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
3:16 PM
0 Comments
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Don't drink the water
ACP Internist's latest cover article describes the potential environmental impact of disposing of drugs down the drain and into the water supply. I ran into this problem after getting a bad series of eye, ear and sinus infections over the holidays.
I worked my way through all the antibiotics as prescribed, but those aren't the problem anyway, said Christian Daughton, PhD, Chief of the Environmental Chemistry Branch at the EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory in Las Vegas. He told ACP Internist that antibiotics in drinking water occur only at parts-per-trillion range, which is probably a moot concern for creating bacterial resistance.
My main problem is all that leftover pseudoephedrine. I didn't mix well with the pills and didn't finish them. And, while I was looking through my medicine cabinet to throw them out, I found a family's worth of expired prescriptions and over-the-counter meds so old that I can't even remember buying them. If I dispose of them improperly, I'm making sure my neighbors don't get headaches, fevers, sore throats, cramps, coughs, stuffiness, gas, bloating or warts.
I'm supposed to mix it all with kitty litter, but I don't have a cat. If I did, I'd probably need more pseudoephedrine. I drink coffee and thought I'd found a conscience-free way of throwing them out with used grounds, but Dr. Daughton said, "The recommendation to mix drugs with kitty litter or coffee is not without controversy."
To top it all off, only one of the pill bottles is recyclable in my borough. It's not just me getting sick, it's the planet.
Labels: drugs, environment, infectious disease
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
11:35 AM
0 Comments
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Clean and green
Maybe you've already been convinced by our Green Medicine series (here and here) that making your medical practice environmentally friendly is worth the effort. If not, your nurses might start lobbying for greening, too, based on the results of a new study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
In a study which included more than 900 Texas nurses, those who regularly cleaned medical instruments were 67% more likely to have newly diagnosed asthma and those who worked with solvents and glues were 51% more likely to report asthma symptoms. Time to throw out that glutaraldehyde, or at least get your nurse a mask, the authors suggested to the Washington Post.
In other green medical news, the Teleosis Institute is offering a new toolkit to help you set up a medication take-back program (the subject of an upcoming article in ACP Internist). Ordering is online, but it does cost $95.
Labels: environment
posted by Stacey Butterfield at
4:37 PM
0 Comments
Friday, November 7, 2008
Tell me about your extra drugs!
Earlier this year, the Associated Press did a big investigation of the levels of pharmaceuticals in our drinking and ground water. A lot of the drugs get into the water after passing through people's bodies, but some end up there because patients are following the traditional instructions for disposal of unused medications--flush 'em.
I'm working on a story, as part of our Medicine and the Environment series, about what physicians can do to help fix this problem. Obviously, if you have a drug takeback program in your area, that's great. But if you don't, what should you be telling patients to do with their leftover meds?
I found one article that details the laborious process (involving kitty litter and unmarked containers) recommended by the federal government, but I highly doubt that's getting a lot of play in offices or homes around the country. So, has anyone ever asked you what to do with their unused medications? What do you tell them? If it were a relatively simple process, would you be willing to collect the meds?
Labels: drugs, environment
posted by Stacey Butterfield at
3:26 PM
4 Comments
ACP Internist hosted Grand Rounds on June 16, wrapping up the best of the medical blogosphere. Click here for the complete wrap-up.
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American Journal of Medicine
Also known as the Green Journal, the American Journal of Medicine publishes original clinical articles of interest to physicians in internal medicine and its subspecialities, both in academia and community-based practice.
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A collaborative medical blog started by Neil Shapiro, ACP Member, associate program director at New York University Medical Center's internal medicine residency program. Faculty, residents and students contribute case studies, mystery quizzes, news, commentary and more.
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Robert M. Centor, FACP, contributes short essays contemplating medicine and the health care system.
Everything Health
EverythingHealth is designed to address the rapid changes in science, medicine, health and healing in the 21st Century.
Getting Better with Dr. Val
Getting Better is the continuation of Dr. Val Jones' previous blog at Revolution Health. It is devoted to helping people understand health issues from a balanced, scientifically sound perspective.
HealthHombre
A roundup of health policy news drawn from a database of hundreds of Web sites.
Interact MD
Michael Benjamin, ACP member, doesn't accept industry money so he can create an independent, clinician-reviewed space on the Internet for physicians to report and comment on the medical news of the day.
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The alter ego of Kevin Pho, ACP Member, is the closest thing to royalty in the medical blog world.
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Major guidelines, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and/or major reviews by national and international organizations.
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The Public Library of Science's open access materials include a blog.
White Coat Rants
One of the most popular anonymous blogs written by a doctor.
