New for Clinicians - Helping Patients with Obesity

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 billion people are overweight and more than 300 million of those people are obese. The cause of the obesity epidemic is decreased physical activity with an increase in consumption of energy rich foods high in saturated fats and simple sugars. Obesity puts the worlds population at increased risk for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancers and stroke. A BMI greater than 25 is overweight and over 30 is considered obese.

Clinicians are struggling to help patients who are overweight and obese. The Handbook of Obesity, Third Edition has just been published by Informa Healthcare. Edited by Drs. George Bray and Claude Bouchard, the Handbook provides in-depth information about aspects of treating and preventing obesity. Both doctors are professors at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Seventeen of the book's forty chapters are dedicated to medical management of obesity. Reviewers are calling it a "...must have resource for endocrinologists, cardiologists, internal medicine clinicians and others working in the field..."












Thank you Malingering for use of photo Cupholder/Beer Belly.

Labels: obesity, overweight

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Thank You Dr. Rich for a Very Patriotic Grand Rounds!

DrRich is a cool guy who writes books and blogs about our crazy health care system. (Are you listening, presidential candidates?) He hosted Grand Rounds for the 4th of July and put together a very patriotic round-up to honor the 232nd birthday of dear old US of A at The Covert Rationing Blog (Healthcare Rationing: Where even Angels Fear to Tread). I am honored that he included my post, Record Numbers of Suicides in US Troops, in this venerable company under the heading Service and Sacrifice. Thank You Dr. Rich and Thank You to our troops who continue to serve and serve again. Our thoughts our with you...

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Violence Against Pregnant Women - How Do We Protect the Vulnerable?

Another pregnant soldier is dead. The story of Spc. Megan Lynn Touma grabs the headlines, but what most of us fail to realize is that murder is the leading cause of death in pregnant women. We think that only women who are already victims of domestic violence are going to be subjected to continued abuse when pregnant. While it's true that violence can escalate against women who are already battered once they are pregnant, sometimes abuse begins while a woman is pregnant.

Violence against pregnant women can be mental, physical or sexual. It seems hard to believe, but a new baby can be perceived as a threat to a jealous man who does not want his partner's time and attention monopolized. An insecure man may feel threatened by the attention others, including health care providers, are giving to the pregnant woman.

Women are at their most vulnerable when pregnant and violence against women is an exertion of power over them. Women and their unborn children are in need of special vigilance and protection from families, communities and societies. Pregnancy may threaten a man's sense of being the primary person in a family.
Men feel stress and frustration over the pregnancy, especially if it is unintended or unwanted. That frustration may be directed at the pregnant woman and unborn baby. The risk of violence is even higher for pregnant teens.

Violence against pregnant women puts two lives at risk. The belly, breasts and genitals are often targets of abuse. The problem is not limited to the US. Gender-based violence is rampant especially with the refugee population at an all time high. Women and girls are vulnerable targets and pregnant Sudanese women have not been spared rape and gang rape as a means or brutal control and subjugation. The Global Health Council cites reports from China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mexico, India, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Calling the problem a "global health crisis", they report the prevalence of abuse during pregnancy is 3.4 percent to 11.0 percent in industrialized countries and between 3.8 percent and 31.7 percent in developing countries.

Thank you Bradley Wind for use of image Pregnant Woman.

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Safe Surgery Saves Lives - Endorse WHO's Checklist

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 234 million major surgical procedures are performed around the world each year. The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist was created to help operating teams reduce poor incidence of poor surgical outcomes. By following a few critical steps, health care professionals can minimize the most common and avoidable risks endangering the lives and well-being of surgical patients.

200 surgery, anesthesia, nursing, and patient societies endorsed the introduction of safety checklists in surgery and three countries, United Kingdom, Jordan and Ireland, pledged to introduce this in all their hospitals.

The checklist includes:

• All masked members of the surgical team identify themselves, their roles and ask simple questions like "Does everyone agree this is Patient X and we are doing Procedure Y?"
• Mark the correct site for surgery on the patient's body
• check for drug allergies
• count all sponges, needles and instruments going into and out of the body
• give an antibiotic 60 minutes prior to making an incision

Other things patients in hospitals can do to insure their own safety:

• insist everyone who interacts with you identify themselves and wash their hands and stethoscopes or any other equipment before contacting you
• If someone is wearing a tie, do not allow it to have contact with your person. Insist that is be tucked into their lab coat.
  

With the emergence of superbugs in hospitals, it pays to be defensive.

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Pycnogenol® Helps Relieve Menstrual Pain

If you are one of the thousands of females who suffer every month with dysmenorrhea (painful menses), you may want to try Pycnogenol, a pine bark extract. Numerous studies show that Pycnogenol decreases pain and the need for pain medication in females who experience menstrual pain. In one study, it also reduced the pain of endometriosis by 33 %.

Dysmenorrhea is the leading cause of short term school absence in teenage girls. Pycnogenol is pine bark extract developed by French researchers. It is high in antioxidants, which play a role in reducing inflammation and repairing and protecting the cells of the body. No dangerous side effects have been observed with its use. Pyconogenol is high in vitamins A, C, E and the mineral selenium.

Read more from Natural Standards Drug Notebook to learn more about Pyconogenol and interactions with other medications.



Merci ecototo's photostream for use of photo Pin maritime biscornu.

Labels: Pyconogenol

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