It feels good to get out, but you’re still stuck inside!

So you’re off on your vacation and to get there, you have to endure a few hours locked up in an aluminum cylinder soaring through the sky.  It feels really good to get out of the plane, but what do have to face while you’re confined?  Can you do anything to help keep yourself healthy during the flight?  Here is an article on Yahoo Health that looks at some of what happens during a flight, with several of my suggestions and ideas.

What Happens to Your Body on an Airplane

Men and women are different? Who knew?

The medications and medical procedures that are in use today first saw light in medical studies, with a population selected upon which to test the product.  While this may seem to be counter-intuitive, studies have often limited their subjects by gender, age, or ethnicity, which may skew the final results.  Here is an article addressing this situation, with my comments on several of the points raised.  One can only hope that someone is listening.

Are Clinical Trial Samples Too Narrow?

You gonna take that pill?

It seems to happen to me every week or so.  A patient was watching television and saw some advertisement, or the news and heard a brief piece about a drug, and decided, on the basis of ten words or less of questionable authority, to discontinue a medication.  If he or she is lucky, there are no immediate repercussions, but there well may be.  Do you think this is a problem?  Do you have trouble understanding why someone would act that way?  Well, here is commentary on a study which looked at the question, with me being given the final words in the article.

Bad News on Statins Linked to Quit Rates

Oh my aching head

No question about it, migraine headaches impact many people on a regular basis, preventing daily functioning and productivity.  To treat them, folks use a wide variety of preparations, both prescription and over the counter.  This feature on WBAL-TV was promoted by a new review article that looked at two agents, riboflavin and Coenzyme Q-10, in the prevention of migraines.  Enjoy the piece, then keep reading.

Recent study links chronic migraines, antioxidant levels

Although you might think from this news article that the use of these over the counter agents is a new finding, there are articles going back at least ten years that speak of the apparent efficacy of them in the prevention of common migraine headaches.  Riboflavin, which is also known as Vitamin B2, is a water soluble vitamin that is present in small amounts in just about every multivitamin.  There is, however, just the amount of the Recommended Dietary Allowance in these pills, about 1.7 mg.  For migraine prevention, the usually cited dose is 400 mg daily, taken as a single or divided dose.  There are capsules of 100 mg, 200 mg, and 400 mg available from a variety of sources.  Most references cite a two or three month lag time from starting the product until full effect is appreciated, and the mechanism of action, although there are lots of theories, is really unknown.  Because this is a water soluble vitamin, the excess that is unneeded by the body is excreted in the urine, which develops a lovely glowing yellow color as a result.  

Co-enzyme Q-10, also known as CoQ-10, is a naturally occurring substance in the body, which has anti-oxidant properties.  The most common use as a supplement is in people who are taking statins, where it appears to help minimize muscle cramps.  It has also been looked at for the prevention of migraines and, again, there does appear to be a positive effect in some studies.  Dosage appears to range from 150 mg to 300 mg daily, and, again, the studies do show a significant reduction without appreciable side effects.  

Whether these products can be used together is not clear, I was not able to find any references which used a combination.  As always, you should check with your physician before embarking on any therapeutic plan, whether by prescription drugs, over the counter products, or even techniques that don't involve ingesting something!  Be frank and open with your doctor, and you both will benefit.

Stuff Happens

You’re about to go out for a run or to exercise.  You have your shoes nicely laced.  You are wearing the proper clothing for the activity.  Got your music player, water bottle, sunglasses or hat.  But are your ready for the unexpected?  When you are out on the road or track, situations can arise that can significantly impact your health.  Here’s an article from Men’s Fitness in which I was interviewed about some of those dangers, and how to handle them.

The Runner’s Survival Guide

Does your thermometer meter correctly?

Vital Signs have been a part of the medical examination since such examinations morphed into the age of modern medicine.  While men seem always to claim an extra inch on their heights, and women deny the accuracy of their weights, those minor aberrations likely do not impact their overall health management.  More than a few, however, when confronted with a temperature reading, claim that their temperature is always a degree or two low, saying such as, “I always run a 95° temperature.”  The truth is that their temperature is not being measured correctly, and this article speaks to this as more than a casual problem.

For Inpatients, Core Temp Readings a Must

A Sobering Statistic

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, that arm of our government charged with monitoring the ills that befall our population, has come out with an alarming report.  No longer are cancer, heart disease, and lung disease the rising causes of death among a large segment of the population; but rather self inflicted ills including alcohol, drugs, suicide and resultant liver disease are now the most prominent.  The middle aged white man has done this to himself, and in this article from The Gupta Guide, my opinions of this study, and its implications, are examined.

Mortality Rate Spikes for Middle-Aged Whites