Second Epinion

Vicks VapoRub: A Treatment for Toenail Fungus

2009-02-14T07:37:00.004-06:00

One in ten adults suffers from onychomycosis, a condition otherwise known as toenail fungus. It can manifest in many ways but it basically causes the nail to lose its nice uniformed look in exchange for a dry, thicken nail sometimes accompanied with surrounding red, swollen, cracked skin.
This cousin of athlete's foot is a stinker when it comes to treatment because it actually enjoys living and hiding in the toenail. Well, today in clinic I learned that an effective and cheap alternative to medications like Lamisil is something that most can find in their medicine cabinet. By soaking your feet in hot water and then applying Vicks VapoRubto the affected area for as long as needed (usually a few weeks depending on how entrenched the infection is), you can almost always rid yourself of this disfiguring disease. What's the mechanism to Vick's eliminating the fungus? I don't know. But exposing the feet to fresh air by wearing sandals helps as well.

Overall, the literature on the effectiveness of Vick's Vaporub or any of its ingredients in treating onychomycosis (toenail fungus) is sparse to say the least. But the studies I did find seemed to support the method as legit:

Consumer Reports: Vicks VapoRub might help fight toenail fungus
An award winning high school science project by Emily Novosedlik that kicks butt over my high school project of "plants grown in the dark, die."
In vitro antagonistic activity of monoterpenes and their mixtures against toe nail fungus pathogens

So the research in this area is thin, but what studies there are and according to numerous internet sources, the Vaporub seems to be an effective, safe, cheap, "what-do-you-have-to-lose" alternative to other medications with possible adverse side effects. I did see one credible study that showed Vaporub with oral antifungal medication worked much more effectively that oral medication alone.

Thymol is thought to be the active ingredient responsible for killing the pesky toenail fungus. Thymol is a colorless crystalline solid used in perfume, preserving biological specimens, embalming, or as a fungicide or antiseptic. Besides Vaporub, it is also found in Listerine and in some cigarrettes. Internet reports say that several drops of thymol on the affected nail may be quicker and more effective at eliminating fungus. You can purchase Thymol and read more from this Amazon link. Depending on how bad the infection is, you may need two vials.

Prevention is the key. Here are some quick tips to prevent infection or reinfection:

Rotate your shoes often and keep them in a cool dry place.
Change your insoles frequently.
Use an anti-fungal powder or spray in the shoes.
Bleach out the shower on a weekly basis.
Wear sandals in the locker room and don't walk around barefoot.
If your feet sweat excessively, try an antiperspirant spray on your feet.
Keep the toenails in good repair: not too short and not too long.

Tags: onychomycosis, feet, foot, fungus, athlete's foot, toe, toenail, toenail fungus, toe nail fungus,thymol

What's wrong with health care

2008-05-22T19:50:00.003-05:00

I'd like to share an experience I had that I think illustrates a large part of what is wrong with health care in the US:

I volunteer in an Emergency Room. Recently a woman brought her 2 year old son into the E.R. because he had a fever. The doctor examined the child, and based on his medical training he concluded that the child was in good health, that he just had some sort of systemic infection, and that if he weresimply given tylenol to break the fever his body would capably fight off the disease.

However, this doctor was not so naive as to think that in today's world his opinion would be very strong self-defense. He knew that if the child were to die 3 years later from an unrelated disease and he had not checked for every possible malady, he could very well lose everything he owns in a legal battle having nothing to do with doing justice on an incompetent doctor, but instead, everything to do with pushing the limits of the judicial system's indulgence toward people greedily seeking something for nothing - the "get rich quick."

So, in the interest of self preservation, the doctor ordered an MRI and blood work done on the child. All tests came back negative just as the doctor knew they would, but now he was covered. The woman was unable to pay for the E.R. visit and had no insurance. As a result, after this slew of expenses manifest in tests, equipment, and the time of medical personel, the doctor handed the woman a $3000 bottle of tylenol for which she would not pay one penny, and instructed her to give it to the child until his fever broke. He added, "There is a Rite-Aid across the street. Next time this happens, just buy your child some tylenol. It will cost you $5." To which she responded, "Why would I get it there when I can get it here for free?"

Money, Money, Money

2008-03-15T21:39:00.011-05:00

We have moved to www.poorMD.com

Follow me on Twitter, my name is "poormd"

Hulu, Silly Name, Strong Performer

2008-03-12T15:03:00.003-05:00

With hulu.com you can now watch you favorite TV shows anywhere you have an internet connection (provided that your work place does not filter such sites). It just opened to the public and I've been catching up on some past episodes of the Simpsons and Heroes. So far, it seems to be a solid site to watch television shows and movies. So far, there is no sign up or log in, no need to download any special players or software, and best of all it is free.

The only catch is that there are commercial breaks every so often, but not nearly the amount you get when watching traditional TV. The selection is pretty good and expected to only get better. Quality is not too shabby either.

So enough reading, go and check out hulu for yourself.

It's not just the placebo, it's the price

2008-03-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

Odds are that you've heard of the "placebo effect." That's the scientific phenomenon showing that people who think they're being treated for a medical problem tend to feel better - even if all they're taking is a simple sugar pill.

Now, a new study from a Duke University researcher shows that the effect works even better when that sugar pill is more expensive. Read on...

Super Tuesday

2008-02-03T23:19:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone who has a chance, uses their opportunity to vote on Super Tuesday. While I certainly have my opinions and views on who would be most fit to be the next president, here is a question for you to think about:

Should someone's gender, race, religion, or age exclude someone from being fit to be president?

From a medical standpoint, the answer is NO, NO, NO, and YES. Absoloutely, someone's age should be a factor into deciding a president.

Age and health go hand in hand.  Sure, there are those who age well.

As a physician, I see "young 80 year olds" and "old 60 year olds."
But the fact is, no matter who you are, the body starts slowing down the older you get.
Will our boy John last four years in the White House?

Sure he'll be the first to remind you about his war stories,
but are we casting our votes for an already "lame duck" president?

At 71, I highly doubt he will be up to running for a second term four years from now. Heck, he might not even be able to renew his drivers license!

Don't get me wrong, I love the elderly. If not for them, I would have 70% fewer patients to see in the hospital. But realize that being a president is a tough, tough job. It's hard on the body to run a world's super power.

Going back to the driving analogy, let's say America is a very, very, powerful and expensive sports car. No way would I let a teenager or elderly person drive it.   Experience has shown that it's the young and the old that are more likely to get into an accident. The teen is premature and the old is postmature.

Whatever happens, this is surely an interesting year. And for John, he won't need to worry about his license because the Secret Service will be helping to keep one more Geriatric road hazard off the streets.

48% of Doctors Prescribed Placebos

2008-01-08T16:13:00.000-06:00

Doctors said placebos can calm a patient; supplement other treatments; satisfy a patient's unjustified demand for medication; control pain, etc. A few doctors said they give placebos just to get the patient to stop complaining.

Placebo treatments included vitamins, herbal supplements, saline infusions, dummy pills and doses of medicine too low to be effective.

One of the most common placebo treatments was giving antibiotics for viral infections that don't respond to antibiotics... read on.

Second Epinion: There are a lot of therapies and treatments that have no scientific evidence, yet I find myself and see other doctors turning to them for especially difficult patients with unreasonable expectations.

When all other scientifically proven methods have failed, turning to alternative or complimentary treatments may be beneficial. Even if they have not been proven scientifically, it does not mean they have no merit. While I would never prescribe antibiotics when contraindicated, I would consider chiropractics for someone who has back pain if other methods have proven unhelpful.

Most Overrated Careers

2008-01-04T09:29:00.000-06:00

It looks glamorous on TV. Or you've got an uncle who loves it. Or you heard you could earn a lot of money at it. People pick careers for many reasons, including some bad ones. So in addition to identifying the Best Careers for 2008, U.S. News has also highlighted 13 occupations with a mystique that exceeds reality. This list is subjective, and, indeed, many people are happy in those careers... read on.

The most overrated careers:

Openly gay Mormon wins Survivor

2007-12-18T18:54:00.000-06:00

Todd Herzog, the 22-year-old, from Pleasant Grove, Utah won the reality TV series Survivor: China. He was considered to be a "slippery little sucker" by one of the contestants.

Second Epinion: I guess with all the minorities in the presidential campaigns (1st woman and 1st Black) why not on TV too?

We're going to pump you up!

2007-12-18T17:46:00.000-06:00

It is finally here - The Mitchell Report.

This 409 page document is as juicy as we'd expect. It names players, the drugs they used and who dealt it to them. George Mitchell, former senator heading up the investigation, called this the "baseball steroid era." What a disgrace to the American past time. To read more click here.

Second Epinion: These players should have any records they held removed for their abuse of drugs to improve their performance. In the Olympics when athletes are proved to be "users" their metals are removed. Also remember, Landis, who was stripped of his Tour de France victory for doping? There is no victory in taking drugs.

"It's a sad ride after all..."

2007-12-18T17:39:00.000-06:00

Man dies after riding Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom

The expedition isn't known for its speed or loops, but a 44 year old man died today on this ride. What a tragedy. To read more about this sad ride click here.

10 Confessions from the Primary Care Physician

2007-11-29T10:17:00.000-06:00

A good primary-care doctor — someone to coordinate your health care, help choose your specialists and be the first to diagnose just about any problem — is the key to good medical treatment. But they're getting harder to come by. According to a 2007 study, it took new patients in Massachusetts an average 26 days to land an appointment with one.

Why? Fewer med students are going into primary care: Interest is so low that the number of primary-care internal medicine residency positions dropped by more than 50% in the past decade. "We're not really getting the best and brightest in primary care,"... read on.

Good to know...

2007-11-28T16:08:00.000-06:00

Make your own pop up Christmas Cards!

Mike Huckabee - Consumer Based Health Care

2007-11-11T18:57:00.001-06:00

By Jason:

Mike Huckabee's understanding of the health care system in this country is that it is "irrevocably broken". He calls for a "complete overhaul" of the system.

Huckabee is strongly opposed to universal health care governed by federal edict, and wants health care put back into the hands of the people. He wants it to be market driven, and claims that he will help the system become consumer-based rather than employer-based.

Huckabee stated, "When I'm President, Americans will have more control of their health care options, not less." Click here for his official site.

Second Epinion: His ideas for improving the health care system seem somewhat poorly articulated. He says that he calls for a complete overhaul, but fails to specify exactly what changes that would imply. That being said, I strongly agree with his overall approach. I think he "gets it." He knows that making health care government-controlled will worsen the system in every way possible. He wants the principles of a market economy to run health care in the U.S. and he knows this will reduce costs and improve quality. Despite his somewhat poorly conceived specific plan, I would trust him with the fate of health care in the U.S. If he doesn't improve the situation, we can at least trust him to not make it drastically worse, like many of the candidates.

John Edwards - Universal Healthcare

2007-11-01T23:29:00.001-05:00

Written by Tim:

While there are many aspects of the presidency that must be considered for the election, secondepinion will focus on the healthcare portion of each candidate. The first candidate we will feature is John Edwards.

Edwards' health proposal is to institute universal or socialized healthcare. He wants to implement a system where everyone will receive free healthcare and through government regulation, control what businesses and insurance companies offer. (For the full proposal, click on this link to Edwards' website). This "free for all" health system may be pleasant to the ears at first, but then one must consider Edwards' past activities in healthcare and also look at other countries already with socialized care.

First, John Edwards made his living and became rich off of suing doctors that made mistakes in obstetrics. Delivering babies is a serious job and not an easy one at that. In one case, he received $23 million for a mistake a doctor made. (click here for a list of Edwards' multimillion dollar cases). The consequences of the mistake were serious, but cannot doctors make mistakes? And do you need to sue someone for that much money to fix a mistake? John Edwards is one of the reasons why ob/gyn medical malpractice is the highest of any specialty. So do you really think that he is looking out for America's health, or maybe just the size of his wallet.

Second, after living in Canada for a few years, I have seen many of the fallacies of socialized healthcare. If someone gets sick in Canada, they need to wait for hours on end just to get into the ER. Plus, the doctors are overworked and do not get compensated enough for the amount of time they put in. This inevitably leads to physician care mediocrity.

Presidential Candidates Healthcare Proposals - Who are you going to vote for?

2007-10-30T10:47:00.000-05:00

The future of healthcare is in the hands of the future president. Over the next several days, we will be covering the various health proposals of the presidential candidates. Add your comments on what you think of America's potential health .

Government evaluation of medication effectiveness.

2007-10-21T18:53:00.000-05:00

By Jason:

There is a bill being tossed around congress that would allocate $300 million to create a Center for Comparative Effectiveness (CCE). The responsibility of this program would be to compare the effectiveness of newer, more expensive medications with older, more economical medications.

According to the CCE plan, Medicare would then use the center's findings to determine which medications to cover. Essentially, this would create a government controlled system of supplying medical care based on a government controlled system of evaluation of potential treatments. You can see the conflict of interest.

We can imagine a potential case in which approval of a new drug would result in additional millions of dollars of Medicare expenditure on a national scale. If the CCE's results were anything less than 100% conclusive in stating that the new drug was more effective than the old, we could see a more effective treatment taken off the market.

Additionally, we must consider that such studies of effectiveness are not infallible. Click here for the full article.

Second Epinion - This seems to me like one step closer to universal health care. The role of doctors as those who diagnose and treat medical conditions is already under attack. If we continue to reduce doctors' autonomy it won't be long before we can no longer claim having the best health care system in the world. What do you think of the CCE? Leave us your comments.

Board Gives Birth Control to Middle Schoolers

2007-10-18T01:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in Maine, the Portland School Board approved for middle school children to access prescription birth control medications without parent notification.

Of the 500 students attending King Middle School, 5 were identified as being sexually active.
.
This new program is designed to protect the children from sexually transmitted diseases.
.

Pat Patterson, the medical director of School-Based Health Centers, said “It has been shown, over and over again, that this does not increase sexual activity.”

There was much debate and discussion leading up to the decision where ten of the twelve board members voted for the program's approval. For the full article, access the NYTimes by clicking here.

Second Epinion: First, I'd like to ask ol' Pat where she finds her information. Giving birth control to kids will never encourage them to be less sexually active. On the other hand, I do see how the board is trying to protect these adolescents. This debate goes along similar lines of legalizing maijuana. There are the pros and cons to both sides, so what should we do? As a reader of this site, what do you think about this recent birth control approval? Please leave us a comment of your epinion.

Alcohol and Breast Cancer

2007-10-13T10:49:00.000-05:00

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer killer of women, after lung cancer. It will be diagnosed in 1.2 million people globally this year and will kill 500,000.

Women who drank between one and two alcoholic drinks per day increased their risk of breast cancer by 10% compared with people who consumed less than one drink each day, the study found. The risk of breast cancer jumped by 30% in women who drank more than three drinks a day. read entire article...

For those who don't know, October is breast cancer awareness month.

2007 Nobel Prize for Knockout Mice

2007-10-12T02:25:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of this year, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture presented by a man that has since been awarded with the Nobel Prize in medicine & physiology. His named was Mario Capecchi and he discovered how to "knockout mice".

Together with two other colleagues, also Nobel Prize corecipients named Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies, they developed a technique that would revolutionize the way science approached disease studies. Around 1987 to 1989, these men invented a way to imitate and reproduce the effects of certain diseases in mice by "knocking out" specific genes.

The use of knockout mice is now a prominent research technique for which the progression and pathology of many diseases have been discovered and more effective treatments have been found. So far, it has been useful in finding treatments for cancer, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, substance abuse, anxiety, aging and Parkinson's disease. (for more info click here or here)

Are doctors overpaid?

2007-10-09T20:55:00.000-05:00

An article by Ann Coulter - "The only 'crisis' in health care in this country is that doctors are paid too little. (Also they've come up with nothing to help that poor Dennis Kucinich.)

But the Democratic Party treats doctors like they're Klan members. They wail about how much doctors are paid and celebrate the trial lawyers who do absolutely nothing to make society better, but swoop in and steal from the most valuable members of society.

Maybe doctors could get the Democrats to like them if they started suing their patients.

It's only a matter of time before the best and brightest students forget about medical school and go to law school instead. How long can a society based on suing the productive last?

You can make 30 times as much money as doctors by becoming a trial lawyer suing doctors. You need no skills, no superior board scores, no decade of training and no sleepless residency. But you must have the morals of a drug dealer. (And the bank wire transfer number to the Democratic National Committee.)

The editors of The New York Times have been engaging in a spirited debate with their readers over whether doctors are wildly overpaid or just hugely overpaid. The results of this debate are available on TimeSelect, for just $49.95.

'Many health care economists,' the Times editorialized, say the partisan wrangling over health care masks a bigger problem: 'the relatively high salaries paid to American doctors.'

Citing the Rand Corp., the Times noted that doctors in the U.S. 'earn two to three times as much as they do in other industrialized countries.' American doctors earn about $200,000 to $300,000 a year, while European doctors make $60,000 to $120,000. Why, that's barely enough for Muslim doctors in Britain to buy plastic explosives to blow up airplanes!

How much does Pinch Sulzberger make for driving The New York Times stock to an all-time low? Probably a lot more than your podiatrist... read on at anncoulter.com...

Turbulent Times of Applying to Med Schools

2007-10-08T17:57:00.000-05:00

Applying for medical schools - or any graduate program - is a very stressful and anxiety induced time. After taking the MCAT this summer (twice I might add) and spending hundreds of hours trying to strike a balance of talking myself up while, at the same time, being humble in the endless number of essays required for the secondary applications, I now find myself checking my email almost every minute of the day for interview invitations.
.
And while medical schools expect prospective matriculants to keep up their grades, they also require them to fly all over the country spending thousands of dollars and missing class. So, as I enter this stage of the application process, I feel a little overwhelmed and am at times tempted to seek for mediocrity. However, the majority is composed of excitement and optimism (so far...).
.
I have have been preparing for interviews by researching the types of questions potentially asked. Take a stab at some of these questions and see why interviewing can be a little stressful.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sample Question 1:
One of the doctors during Katrina stayed behind to care for his patients and was forced to split them into 3 groups based on their probability to survive the aftermath. As the supplies ran low, he asked the patients who he thought would not survive for their consent to be euthenized. He then euthenized them. If you were a juror would you find him guilty or not guilty? If you were the doctor would you do the same?

Sample Questions 2:
What is wrong with the health care system in your opinion? How would you fix it? How is that feasible?

Sample Question 3:
Who gets a heart transplant of a group of equally deserving people? How do you arrive at this decision?

AIDS drugs helping to combat Cancer

2007-09-26T23:39:00.000-05:00

Scientists have been testing several anti-HIV/AIDS drugs for their usefulness against cancer. Of the six that were tested, nelfinavir had the most powerful effect and was most effective.

The reason why these drugs are particularly appealing is because brand new cancer drugs take a lot of money and time to get on market for safe use – typically $1,000,000,000 (one billion dollars) and 15 years of testing, trials, and administration. These drugs have already been passed for HIV/AIDS and so can bypass many of the safety precautions that new cancer drugs must pass.

The drugs were tested with 60 different cancer cell lines and are now in Phase 1 trial to be used for humans. The main concern is looking at what the maximum dosage can be taken without significant side effects. Nelfinavir and other cancer drugs work through protease inhibition. Of the six, only three seem to work against cancers. This could be because the proteases working in HIV/AIDS are different from the proteases working in cancers. (full story)

SecondEpinion: This new line of drugs sound promising because if they are effective, then we don't have to wait a millenia before the drug can be used.

MTV survey of Youth Happiness

2007-09-18T02:24:00.000-05:00

What would you think the source of greatest happiness comes from for teenagers and youth these days? Would you think of video games? shopping? partying? sexual activity? or drinking? Well, MTV conducted a large random survey of youth to answer this question. In the survey they found out that parent and familial relationships were at the top of the list. Also, teenagers engaged in sexual activity were much less happy. Furthermore, religion and spirituality play a large role in determining happiness in the lives of American teenagers. From all the negativity stemming from the media, who would have thought that American teenagers cared about these things? And MTV of all possible choices comes up with these results (when they were probably expecting the opposite). Apparently, the things that matter most still hold strong in the lead. (click here for full story)

Higher gasoline price seen trimming down Americans

2007-09-11T22:12:00.000-05:00

Higher U.S. gasoline prices may slim more than just wallets, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis.

Entitled "A Silver Lining? The Connection between Gas Prices and Obesity," the study found that an additional $1 per gallon in real gasoline prices would reduce U.S. obesity by 15 percent after five years. read on...

Part-human,Part-animal Embryo Creation Passed for Use in Research

2007-09-09T03:07:00.000-05:00

Sept 6, 2007 - London - The HFEA (Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority) approved the creation and use of human-animal embryos for research. The embryos will be used to study the causes of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Cystic Fibrosis, and Huntington's diseases. Successful treatments to better manage these diseases is the hopeful outcome. This new type of research shows promising potential and may revolutionize the future treatment of many diseases.

Second Epinion: If you're wondering whether the general public would agree with this new type of research, the answer is that a public consultation survey was taken in which 61% approved. When I first read the article I felt that there would definitely be ethical issues involved. It seems like scientists are inching their way to just making human research embryos. I think that science and research need to proceed with caution.

Potty training from birth

2007-08-28T13:58:00.000-05:00

Thirteen-month-old Dominic Klatt stopped banging the furniture in the verandah, looked at his mother and clasped his right hand around his left wrist to signal that he needed to go to the bathroom.

His mother took the diaper-less tot to a tree in the yard, held him in a squatting position and made a gentle hissing sound _ prompting the infant to relieve himself on cue before he rushed back to play.

Dominic is a product of a growing "diaper-free" movement founded on the belief that babies are born with an instinctive ability to signal when they have to answer nature's call. Parents who practice the so-called "elimination communication" learn to read their children's body language to help them recognize the need, and they mimic the sounds that a child associates with the bathroom.

Erinn Klatt began toilet training her son at birth and said he has not wet his bed at night since he was six months old.... read on.

Be a Star, Learn CPR

2007-08-03T17:17:00.000-05:00

A James Chang original article:
My closest experience to a panic attack came less than a week after graduating from medical school. With some time between graduation and the start of my residency training, my family and I boarded a plane en route to Southern California. After all, television commercials taught me at an early age that after you accomplish something like winning the Superbowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, or NBA Championship, the thing to do is go to Disneyland. Now why should graduating from medical school be any different?
As I boarded the packed airplane heading from Chicago to Los Angeles, the thought leaped into my mind... read on.

Do you have these Misconceptions about Cancer?

2007-07-26T18:14:00.000-05:00

The American Cancer Society recently conducted a randomized survey asking about a thousand people what they thought of 12 false and made up statements about cancer. Here are the top 5 misconceptions about the disease. (click here for the full story)

1. The risk of dying from cancer in the United States is increasing.
About 68% of those surveyed believed this to be true, although the cancer mortality rate has actually been decreasing since the 1990s. Overall, thanks to more aggressive screening programs and better treatments, the five-year survival rate of all cancers taken together has been climbing for the past 30 years, from 51% between 1975 and 1977 to 67% in 2004.

2. Living in a polluted city is a greater risk for lung cancer than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
Almost 40% of adults who responded thought car and bus exhaust posed a greater hazard to their lungs than smoking. While some studies have begun to document an up to 12% greater risk of dying from lung cancer in urban residents, the strongest data consistently show that smoking is the leading cause of the disease. Anywhere from 80% to 90% of lung-cancer deaths can be attributed to lighting up.

3. Some injuries can cause cancer later in life.
Another 37% believed this to be true, despite the fact that most cancers can be traced to a progression of genetic changes that are independent of physical injuries.

4. Electronic devices, like cell phones can cause cancer in the people who use them.
Nearly 30% believed this, although there is no scientific evidence to prove or disprove the relationship between cell-phone use and brain cancer. The National Cancer Institute continues to study any possible links, but they note that the rapidly changing technology of cell phones (newer phones emit less potential cancer-causing radiation than older models) and the difficulty of documenting the duration of people's exposure could make a definitive answer difficult.

5. What someone does as a young adult has little effect on their chance of getting cancer later in life.
In spite of the fact that many of the more common cancers, including skin cancer and lung cancer, are associated with behaviors such as sunbathing and smoking early in life, 25% of respondents believed that such behaviors do not increase long-term cancer risk.

Secondepinion: I, too, thought that many of these statements were true. Goes to show how media affects our portrayal of society.

Sports Medicine

2007-07-25T23:21:00.001-05:00

Throughout my life, sports was always a form of entertainment I could turn to to take my mind away from the worries of life. The thrill and adrenaline of watching skilled athletes compete at the highest level could always, at least for a moment, make me forget about wars of terror, suicide bombs, hurricanes, tsunamis, school killings, etc...

But now it's a tough time to be a sports fan. With each of the three major sports in the US under fire with earth shaking scandals all within the same time frame, my once safe haven from all that is bad in the world is suddenly tarnished.

So I'm quite torn as to what controversy is more detrimental to their respective sports:

Barry Bonds, who with the help of flax seed oil and other supplements usually reserved for thoroughbred race horses, will soon break the all time home run record. If I remember correctly, Ben Johnson lost his gold medal for using horse steroids.
Michael Vick, a pet store enthusiast who now finds himself in a world of hurt with animal lovers, PETA, and normal sensible human beings. Maybe someone should let Mike know that pitting two animals to fight to the death is frowned upon in most civilized societies.
Tim Donaghy, the guy that gave credibility to all the conspiracy theories surrounding the NBA-- a league that many times does not look all that different from the WWE. Anyone with half a neuron should know that gambling plus mob equals bad news.
Alexandre Vinokourov, just another Tour De France leader kicked off the Tour De FARCE for doping.
My buddy Yi who refuses to come to the great city of Milwaukee.

Is NOTHING sacred? Oh well, at least America has the Beckhams. As for all the controversies swirling professional sports, which one troubles you the most? Certainly "Sports" in America is in need of some good medicine to recover from its current state. Just make sure the medicine is not coming from Barry's trainer.

The Secret to Cheap Chinese Food: MSG and Cardboard

2007-07-12T22:27:00.001-05:00

UPDATE:Beijing police have detained a television reporter for allegedly fabricating an investigative story about steamed buns stuffed with cardboard at a time when China's food safety is under intense international scrutiny. Read more...

Chopped cardboard, softened with an industrial chemical and flavored with fatty pork and powdered seasoning, is a main ingredient in batches of steamed buns sold in one Beijing neighborhood, state television said.

Squares of cardboard picked from the ground are first soaked to a pulp in a plastic basin of caustic soda -- a chemical base commonly used in manufacturing paper and soap -- then chopped into tiny morsels with a cleaver. Fatty pork and powdered seasoning are stirred in... if you are still hungry then read on.

Dear Mr. Yi Jianlian,

2007-07-10T22:43:00.001-05:00

Chinese fans are urging Yi Jianlian to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Drafted two weeks ago by the Bucks, Yi has declined to talk about the prospect of signing in Milwaukee. His agent, Dan Fegan, has pushed for a trade and wants Yi in a city with a large Asian influence; Yi's handlers did not allow the Bucks to watch him participate in a predraft workout in Los Angeles.

But Bucks general manager Larry Harris said before the draft that he planned to take the best player available and told Fegan he would not shy away from Yi, even though Milwaukee has only about 1,200 Chinese residents.

"Fegan will hamper Yi's future," former national team coach Qian Chenghai was quoted as saying in Tuesday's edition of the state-run China Daily newspaper. "I don't think Yi refused to join the Bucks, it is Fegan who doesn't want him to join.

"We don't want to see Yi destroy his reputation in the NBA and return to the Chinese Basketball Association. That's horrible," the coach said. Results of an online poll published in China Daily showed 68 percent of 9,000 respondents want Yi to play for the Bucks.

"Yi, stand up and speak for yourself," China Daily said, citing an article in the Beijing Evening Post. "Don't hesitate anymore and don't let anybody control your life." read on...

Second Epinion: As my family and I make up for 5 of the 1,200 Chinese residents in Milwaukee, I implore you, Mr. Yi, to stop making yourself look like an a$$ and come to Milwaukee. The midwest is great place with great people, but by rejecting the results of the draft, you make us look bad and bring shame to yourself and your homeland.

It turns out that gals don't talk any more than guys after all

2007-07-05T22:46:00.000-05:00

A team led by Matthias R. Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, came up with the finding, which is published in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

The researchers placed microphones on 396 college students for periods ranging from two to 10 days, sampled their conversations and calculated how many words they used in the course of a day.

The score: Women, 16,215. Men, 15,669.

The difference: 546 words: "Not statistically significant," say the researchers... read on.

Living the "Asian American Dream"

2007-07-02T10:32:00.000-05:00

To have a house with a walk-in closet, white picket fence, dog, and 2.5 beautiful children -- that is the American Dream. As stereotyped as it may sound, the Asian-American dream I grew up understanding as a second generation Chinese-Vietnamese immigrant consisted of parents who both worked and went to school full-time while demanding that their kids achieve nothing less than these four simple goals: 1) always put academics first and gain Honor student status with a 4.0 GPA, 2) become a piano and/ or violin prodigy, 3) succeed while attending a prestigious university and medical school, 4) become an honorable doctor....

To read the entire article I submitted to the magazine publication Asian Wisconzine just click here...

Now that my articles will be on print, look for me as their monthly contributer regarding health related topics.

Have extra USB ports lying around?

2007-06-28T13:39:00.000-05:00

Check out USBGeek.com; seems like you can get just about anything to hook up to your USB drive these days.
How about a personal USB messager? It even comes with a car adapter!
A USB refrigerator? So you'll always have a frosty can of root beer close at hand.

A USB warming mouse pad, for those many cold winter hours you spend stalking people on myspace or facebook.
Or how about a missile launcher, for bring-your-missile-launcher-to-work day? You control it via your computer desktop remote to rotate it 360 degrees and 45 degrees up and down. Bonus, it comes with prerecorded sound effects, or download your own!

Need a Cure for being "Chronically Late"

2007-06-24T17:19:00.000-05:00

Are you always running late?.... I am. Or are there certain appointments that you are usually late? Most of the reasons why we are late stem from the way we were brought up or from being scared of confronting someone/something when being early. Whatever the cause of your tardiness, the bottomline is that being early will impress, respect, and value others.

The first step to curing tardiness is recognizing your habit and having a desire to quit it. Being late does not one any good. Then you need to diagnose the reason for your tardiness. Dr. Saltz offers 4 possible reasons:

Risk-takers: These people are addicted to the thrill of leaving for their appointed destination only when they absolutely must. They don’t mind taking the risk of being late, because they don’t want to risk being early and waiting for others. This may be because deep-down they fear feeling rejected, if they wind up waiting for others.
Freedom-makers: Those who felt trapped by authority as children often grow up to be “late-niks,” who use lateness to feel free. Their intense wish not to be controlled by others may be at the root of their lateness. Or they may have a rebellious nature that essentially tells others: “You will not tell me how to run my life and when I have to be somewhere.”
Organization-slackers: Another reason someone may be late is poor organizational skills. They have difficulty planning out a realistic schedule and calculating how long each of their tasks will take and how long it will take them to get to their appointments on time. These people generally have poor organizational skills, though they may be very intelligent.
Trouble-avoiders: These people, unconsciously or even consciously, wish to avoid the people they are supposed to meet or the place where they are going. This may be the reason for their lateness. In these situations, lateness may be a form of passive-aggressive behavior. Since they’re angry that they must go to an appointment, they make others wait for them. These late-niks may not even be aware of their anger. (Full article)

Second Epinion: Once you understand the problem, you can fix it. If you are avoiding confrontation with certain people or don't like "wasting time" by being early, bring a book or magazine. Then you will be less likely to feel like you are "wasting time". Good luck! I'll be trying these tips out for my self.

San Fran says NO to Bottled Water

2007-06-24T12:11:00.000-05:00

Is city water better than bottled water? Mayor Gavin Newsom thinks so.

Newsom has issued an executive order banning city departments from buying bottled water, even for water coolers. The ban goes into effect July 1, and will extend to water coolers by December 1.

The move was billed as a way to help stem global warming and save taxpayer money.

"We're hoping to set the example for the private sector and other cities in getting off the bottle," said Tony Winnicker, spokesman for the San Francisco public utilities commission.

In a press release announcing the decision, the mayor cited the environmental impact of making, transporting and disposing of the bottles. More than a billion of them end up in the state's landfills each year, the release said.

When the ban goes into effect, city and county offices will dispense municipal tap water from a reservoir. Winnicker said exceptions will be made in cases where potable water is not easily available or poses health concerns. Original story here.

Video Game Addiction

2007-06-22T08:20:00.000-05:00

The telltale signs are ominous: teens holing up in their rooms, ignoring friends, family, even food and a shower, while grades plummet and belligerence soars. The culprit isn't alcohol or drugs. It's video games, which for certain kids can be as powerfully addictive as heroin, some doctors contend.

A leading council of the nation's largest doctors' group wants to have this behavior officially classified as a psychiatric disorder, to raise awareness and enable sufferers to get insurance coverage for treatment. read on...

State of Wisconsin #1 in Health Care

2007-06-19T13:48:00.000-05:00

Led by the performance of its hospitals, Wisconsin was ranked first in the nation in health care quality based on information compiled by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The ranking - based on 129 quality measures in four different care settings - gave Wisconsin the highest overall score among 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The state's hospitals also were given the highest score in the country.

The information released Monday marked the first year that the agency compiled and released an overall score for each state. The agency has been releasing state information on health care quality for four years.

Wisconsin historically has ranked high in surveys on health care quality. Read more...

The Inner Life of the Cell

2007-06-19T01:57:00.000-05:00

Ever wondered what it might look like inside the cells of your body?

There is actually tons of action going on that you would never have thought...or imagined.

I came across this sweet movie that shows a glimpse of what might be going on inside our cells. Check out this link. (The Inner Life of the Cell)

Whenever I really think about the workings of the human body, I am always shocked and awed as to how complex the biochemistry, cell biology, and physiology are. Now that I am heavily involved in research at BYU, the world seems to get bigger and bigger.

Second Epinion: There is so much to discover. Enjoy the movie.

5 Second Rule Revised to 30 Seconds

2007-06-14T15:50:00.000-05:00

Dropping a piece of food on the floor and then picking it up and dining on it is a germaphobe's nightmare.

Streptococcus. Staphylococcus. E.coli. Oh, my!

But how bad is it?

A college professor and her students are challenging the prevailing wisdom of the so-called five-second rule, which for generations has governed how long little morsels can remain on floors uncontaminated.

The window, the Connecticut team has concluded, really is 30 seconds. Read on...

Second Epinion: And for those who want to develop really strong immune systems, go with the 5 minute rule.

Spam from Burger King

2007-06-11T09:47:00.000-05:00

For many Americans, spam is a four-letter word for unwanted e-mail. In Hawaii, Spam is a beloved comfort food, with cans of the gelatinous pork bricks found in virtually every cupboard.

Hoping to cash in on Hawaii's love affair with the pinkish meat product, Burger King Corp. last month began offering Spam for breakfast — going head-to-head with rival McDonald's Corp., which has been featuring Spam in the islands for years.

Burger King is offering the Spam Platter — two slices of Spam nestled between white rice and scrambled eggs. The fast-food giant also offers the Croissanwich or Biscuit Sandwich with Spam... read on.

Dream Job

2007-06-05T17:22:00.000-05:00

As I prepare to enter the workforce next week as an intern, I reflect on the ideal dream job. The past several months I've had a lot of free time on my hands with plenty of vacation time, time off from school while on easy rotations, etc. In fact, I've had so much free time to help out my wife around the house and with the kids that I got a part time job as an assistant financial representative with Northwestern Mutual (check out the sidebar to the right). I got this job for two reasons, to make a little extra dough, and to get out of the house. You see, being a stay at home parent is a very difficult job. Too often we refer to parents who choose to stay home to raise their children as "just" a stay at home mom. Well, you try staying at home and being responsible for all the duties of raising children and you will see just how difficult it is.

In fact, salary.com had a great article on this "labor of love" and just how undervalued it is in our society. They even calculate out how much a stay at home parent should be earning monetarily for their services. It's a good read:

What mothers are really worth
Stay-at-home mothers wear many hats. They're the family CEO, the day care provider, accountant, chauffeur, counselor, chef, nurse, laundress, entertainer, personal stylist, and educator. Based on a 90-hour work week, Salary.com has estimated that a fair wage for the typical stay-at-home mom would be well over $90,000 for executing all of her daily tasks. Factor in overtime, and the appropriate salary takes a leap of around $25,000.

"Mothers are responsible for the mental and physical well being of the family - putting a price on that isn't easy," said Lena Bottos, compensation market analyst for Salary.com. "But we looked at it as what you would have to pay other people to do the same work if the mom weren't there."

Even if these mothers were getting paid what they'd be worth on the market, Bottos added that they still wouldn't be adequately compensated. "When you take into account that it represents a 90-hour workweek, and doesn't even begin to factor in that they are on call 24 hours a day, it's not so large. Plus, stay-at-home moms get no benefits in terms of pension or 401(k)." read on...

FitFlops: Sandals that trim cottage cheese to sexy summer legs

2007-06-03T06:19:00.000-05:00

From fatburning creams to electrical stimulation, getting the most out of doing the least is every American's dream who owns a yearly gym membership, but goes maybe four times a year. Now what if I told you you could trim the cottage cheese and get the slender, sexy, summer legs you so desire just by wearing a pair of sandals called the FlipFlops? That's the claim that has these British shoes flying off the shelves. I can't imagine it won't be too long before these shoes make their way into the states with so much "get more, do less" attitude in the US.

How do they work? As described on blissworld.com these half sexy streamlining, half muscle-toning trainer, the shoe to have this summer loads your leg muscles more so you get a workout while you walk.

Every step you take while wearing them helps tone and trim your thighs, calves and glutes via a uniquely built multi-density midsole. In fact, they’re engineered to absorb shock, lessen joint strain and recreate the gait of barefoot walking with a powerful new built-in micro-wobbleboard workout-enhancing effect.

I have yet to try a pair of these hard to get sandals, but a part of me feels that the effect is more placebo than "wobbleboard." You believe the sandals are giving your glutes a good workout so you walk more and maybe walk with an extra bounce in your step. But I can't say until I try-- so will you be getting a pair for yourself or your loved one this summer? Afterall, sexy legs may require no more extra work than a pair of sandals... and $45.

More reason to get your air plane air filters?

2007-05-30T02:02:00.000-05:00

Federal health authorities said Tuesday that they are looking for people who may have been exposed to a rare and potentially fatal form of tuberculosis from an infected passenger during two trans-Atlantic flights this month.

The man, infected with the extensively drug-resistant form of TB known as XDR TB, departed Atlanta, Georgia, on May 12 aboard Air France Flight 385 and arrived in Paris, France, the next day, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The man, who has not been identified publicly, returned last Thursday to North America aboard Czech Air Flight 0104 from Prague, Czech Republic, to Montreal, Canada, then drove into the United States.

"During these two long flights, the patient may have been a source of infection to the passengers," Gerberding told reporters... read on.

Second Epinion: This is settling news as I get ready to get on a plane tomorrow morning to head back to Wisconsin.

Frequent Flyer Germaphobes, Rejoice!

2007-05-16T18:00:00.000-05:00

This little blue clean air filter claims to filter out 99.5% of those nasty little germs and viruses from recycled air on the plane (according to an independent lab) with its electrostatic-charged filter. It installs easily on overhead air nozzles (how they figured out to make it fit any type of air nozzle on any plane is a mystery to me), and is reusable. And comes with a price tag of only $19.99! Pennys for fresh air and airborne sanity.

Graduation Week

2007-05-14T22:31:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the lack of posts recently, but with my upcoming graduation from medical school this Friday, life has gotten fairly busy once again. I must say, having had my last lecture from medical school today was a fantastic feeling!

Urban Dare Coming to a City Near You

2007-05-07T00:53:00.000-05:00

Urban Dare is an adventure race that's part photo hunt, part trivia, and part dares. Teams of two race to finish a scavanger hunt with only the help of a GPS device and a cell phone to call friends for help with trivia. The rules are you can only run, walk, or use public transportation. And you must complete each trivia question and/or dare before moving on.
Urban Dare just came to DC and I took a look at some of the questions they had, and it's harder than just googleing things up. But it sounds like fun.

Cold water + Rice = Hot Rice

2007-05-07T00:25:00.000-05:00

An environmental consulting firm and other developers here have come up with a non-perishable food pack that creates steaming hot rice with the simple addition of cold water.

The group has recently introduced the product, named "Hotto! Raisu," to the market.

By subjecting rice to 4,000 times normal atmospheric pressure, the developers were able to preserve rice for long periods in a soft form that holds moisture. When water is poured over an exothermic agent in the pack, steam warms the rice contained within, and after about 15 minutes, the dish is piping hot... read on.

How the Wii is creaming the competition

2007-04-24T19:27:00.000-05:00

The Wii is a pop culture smash of such dimensions that Nintendo still can't make consoles fast enough. Even so, it's outselling Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360. And while its competitors lose money on every console they build, expecting to make it back selling high-margin games, the Wii was designed to sell for a profit from the get-go.

Nintendo's most effective marketing trick was to give away its killer app, Wii Sports, with every $250 console. It was a calculated attempt to speed up the process that brought success to the DS. And because Nintendo makes about $50 in profit on every Wii sold, it can afford to give away a game.

To be sure, not everything has gone according to plan. Although Nintendo shipped more than 3 million Wiis in 2006, supply-and-demand problems have plagued the machine since its launch. Demand continues to outpace supply and may continue to do so until summer... read more.

Who is Sick?

2007-04-19T22:48:00.000-05:00

Whoissick.org is a a neat concept in which anyone can go to their website and see a map of the symptoms that others in their area may be having. Directly from their blog:

Essentially "Who Is Sick" is providing sickness information by and for users of the community. Data like this does not exist in any structured or organized format anywhere. There are some sources that have data that approaches this but none to this level of detail.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) provides flu data but only to the State level and only on a time scale of 1 week. For example, they will report that in the state of California, last week, there were 539 cases of the flu reported. While this information may be useful for some health practitioners or academics, for the average individual, this does not come in handy when they are trying to figure out what kinds of sicknesses are going around their area. It is not local enough, timely enough, or broad enough because they don't cover different types of sicknesses.

In contract, whoissick provides local (down to the zip code level), timely (within a day), and broad (many different symptoms, not just the flu) sickness information. Some typical use cases for a user would be

1. I am feeling a little sick and want to check what sicknesses are going around in my local area - probably within 10 or 20 miles from where I live or work.
2. I am traveling to another area of the country and want to know if there are sicknesses going around that I need to be careful of
3. I live in an area where I notice lots of people getting sick, so in preparation, I can take an AirBorne or vitamins to prevent catching anything
4. To date, the only way to get information like this is probably to call multiple places (hospitals, doctors, clinics, schools, etc) and ask what is currently going around. Not very organized or efficient.

Portable Robotic Surgeons

2007-04-19T14:19:00.000-05:00

Doctors and scientists from the University of Washington will get a glimpse of what it would be like to do remote surgery in space when a portable medical robot they created will be tested next month in an underwater environment designed by NASA to simulate zero gravity.

The portable robot, which can be controlled over the Internet by a human surgeon many miles away, is being developed with money from the U.S. Defense Department to be used to treat wounded soldiers on a battlefield, to perform complicated surgery on patients in remote areas of the developing world and to help sick astronauts in space... read more.

Some Hospitals Call 911 to Save Their Patients

2007-04-12T18:53:00.000-05:00

Should a hospital be able to handle a medical emergency?

The answer may seem self-evident. But patients at some hospitals may find the staff resorting to what someone might do at home in a crisis: call 911 for an ambulance.

That happened recently in Texas, where a 44-year-old man named Steve Spivey developed breathing problems after spine surgery. No physician was working there when the staff first recognized he was in trouble. They phoned 911, and he was taken to a nearby full-service hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The episode occurred at a small hospital that is owned and run by doctors — one of roughly 140 such hospitals around the country (read full story in NYTimes).

Second Epinion: What is health care coming to?

Bottle Versus Tap

2007-04-10T14:29:00.000-05:00

Bottled water is not necessarily healthier or safer than tap water, Tampa, Florida-based sports nutritionist Cynthia Sass told the American College of Sports Medicine 11th annual Health & Fitness Summit in Dallas.

Twenty-five percent of all bottled water is actually repackaged tap water, according to Sass.

"Bottled water doesn't deserve the nutritional halo that most people give it for being pure," she says. "If you're not an exclusive bottled water drinker, you may find it worthwhile to check into filtering your tap water to save money."

In a recent Gallop survey, most consumers said they drink bottled water because they perceive it to be purer than tap water. Taste and convenience are also factors. Read more...

Distractions...

2007-04-10T14:24:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the length between posts. I fault my absence to my addiction to the internet game Desktop Defense. Honestly, I think it's a game that only engineer or geeks would enjoy. Luckily, I was able to beat the game in normal mode and now I can again sleep peacefully at night. So be warned, do not play this game if you are a geek or an engineer.

Drugs in the Water

2007-04-06T01:11:00.000-05:00

Residues of birth control pills, antidepressants, painkillers, shampoos and a host of other compounds are finding their way into the nation’s waterways, and they have public health and environmental officials in a regulatory quandary.

On the one hand, there is no evidence the traces of the chemicals found so far are harmful to human beings. On the other hand, it would seem cavalier to ignore them.

The pharmaceutical and personal care products, or P.P.C.P.’s, are being flushed into the nation’s rivers from sewage treatment plants or leaching into groundwater from septic systems. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers have found these substances, called “emerging contaminants,” almost everywhere they have looked for them.

In many cases, the compounds enter the water when people excrete them or wash them away in the shower. But some are flushed or washed down the drain when people discard outdated or unused drugs. So a number of states and localities around the country have started discouraging pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes and residents from disposing of drugs this way. Some are setting up “pharmaceutical take-back locations” in drugstores or even police stations. Others are adding pharmaceuticals to the list of hazardous household waste, like leftover paint or insecticides, periodically collected for safe disposal, often by incineration.(full story)

Second Epinion: Every once in a while, I'll be caught picking up dropped food from the ground. I'm far away from being a clean freak. However, even though no one has proven that the concoction of chemicals in our water are harmful, I still get a sick feeling from the thought. So in response from the previous post, maybe we do need purer fresher water. But for the moment, my trusty ol' Brita gives me the unsecure comfort that I need.

Out with the bottled, in with the tap

2007-04-01T15:17:00.000-05:00

Bye-bye bottled water. Hello eau de tap. A new trend is in the pipeline, with some upscale restaurants ditching packaged H2O in the name of conservation.

The bottled water backlash, which recently spread to the venerable Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, is spurred by environmental concerns over the energy used in transportation as well as the disposal of all those containers.

"We just decided this was something we had to do," said Mike Kossa-Rienzi, general manager of Chez Panisse, where owner Alice Waters has pioneered the eat local, eat fresh concept. "It just makes sense to us to not have to use all the energy and resources to bottle water in Italy and then truck it to our restaurant and then after that deal with the recycling of it." Read on...

Second Epinion: It never did make much sense to me to pay so much extra for water from Fiji, France, or Italy. That being said, I do admit to drinking water from some Ice Mountain in Maine. Bottled water, believe it or not, has always been a controversial topic; from the supposed health benefits to it being marketed as purer or fresher. Now throw into the mix in our suddenly "ecologically trendy" society and you have to worry about transportation of the stuff and recycling of the cute containers they come in. All this over water!

The Dangers of Cheeleading

2007-03-30T20:34:00.000-05:00

Emergency room visits for cheerleading injuries nationwide have more than doubled since the early 1990s, and the rate of life-threatening injuries has startled researchers. Of 104 catastrophic injuries sustained by female high school and college athletes from 1982 to 2005 — head and spinal trauma that occasionally led to death — more than half resulted from cheerleading, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. All sports combined did not surpass cheerleading.

New acrobatic maneuvers have turned cheerleaders into daredevils. And while the sport has retained its sense of glamour, at dozens of competitions around the country, knee braces and ice bags affixed to ankles and wrists have become accouterments as common as mascara. Read on...

Second Epinion: So are they saying you get more protection from shoulder pads and a helmet than a sports bra and pom poms? Bring it on!

Panda Porn Ineffective

2007-03-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

Chuang Chuang the panda has been spending his days in front of a big screen television watching panda porn.

Authorities at the Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand hope the images will encourage him to mate with his partner, Lin Hui, and serve as an instructional lesson in how to do it right.

So far, it's been a tough sell, the zoo's chief veterinarian, Kanika Limtrakul, said Tuesday.

"Chuang Chuang seems indifferent to the videos; he has no reaction to what he's seeing on TV," Kanika said. "But, we're continuing to show him videos and hoping they will leave an impression." Full story...

Second Epinion: So if this doesn't work, the next logical step would be panda Viagra, right?

Manorexia

2007-03-25T21:30:00.000-05:00

They exercise for hours, devise rigid rituals surrounding food, obsessively monitor their weight and yearn to resemble the taut-bodied celebrities whose images grace magazine covers. But the models and actors this group typically emulates are not the skeletal Kate Moss or wispy Nicole Kidman but the chiseled muscularity of soccer superstar David Beckham and actor Daniel Craig, the latest screen incarnation of James Bond.

The reason: These eating disorder sufferers are male.

Long regarded as a women’s problem, the trio of serious eating disorders — the self-starvation of anorexia, the gorging and purging that characterize bulimia and the uncontrolled consumption of large amounts of food that is binge eating — are increasingly affecting males.

Last month, Harvard researchers reported the results of the first national study of eating disorders in a population of nearly 3,000 adults and found that 25 percent of those with anorexia or bulimia and 40 percent of binge eaters were men... read on.

The Cable TV Scam?

2007-03-20T20:45:00.000-05:00

From the LA times: In 2006, the average U.S. home received 104 television channels but only watched about 15 or 16 of them with any regularity, the Nielsen Co. reported Monday in a news release about viewing trends.

The number of channels each home could get was a record, up from 96 in 2005 and 61 in 2000.

Yet the average home watched only 15% of those channels for more than 10 minutes a week, Nielsen said. That compares with 16% of the channels that registered at least 10 minutes a week in 2005, and 22% in 2000.

What this indicates is that as the number of choices grows and channels are increasingly niche-oriented, viewers don't have to wander as far to find programming they like. They ferret out a dozen or so favorite channels and stick with them. The entire story by Lee Margulies.

Second Epinion: So someone explain to me why we have to pay for all 100 channels when we only watch 15 of them? Can't I just pay 15% of my cable bill and get the 15 channels I watch?

The Darker Side of Medicine

2007-03-19T21:46:00.000-05:00

While the uninformed in and out of medicine may knock the radiologist because of the stigma that all they do is sit in a dark room looking at computer screens all day (partially true), I chose the field of radiology because I find it one of the more stimulating fields in medicine. So when asked by family and friends why I choose to go into radiology, a lot of how I feel about radiology was summarized nicely on studentdoctor.net:

1) Intellectually stimulating. You have to know every disease that can diagnosed using imaging in every field including their subspecialties. You have to know anatomy in 2D/3D. You get to be a doctor's doctor and help them in the work-up of their patient. That is one of the most gratifying feelings as a radiologist.

2) Your career can be very flexible if you are willing to give up certain things:

A. If you want to work 9-5, you can in academia or private practice, just don't expect to make anywhere near private practice PARTNER salary. This option is very attractive to women (or Men who want to be Mr. Mom) applying to the field because they can be supermom. Do interesting work and still spend more time with family. No beeper. No nights. No weekends. You go home and enjoy your family. Checkmate.

B. You are not tied to a patient base or location. You may be tied to a partnership, but can easily make partner quickly elsewhere (1 year) especially as an experienced radiologists. You can work from home. You can be a night hawk and work nights from home. You can be a locum tenums and travel the country working in different locations for a month at a time and enjoy life. Work in San Diego one month, in NH another month, and Florida the next. Can't really do all of these things in anesthesia.

3. You get to work with cutting edge technology on a daily basis. AKA Computer/Gadget Afficienado Heaven. Radiology is visual nirvana.

4. While I am not big on prestige, radiologists do have some prestige and referring clinicians do depend on us greatly. After spending time with the radiology resident on call, the decision to admit or treat patients rested heavily on what the radiology resident said. While many referring physicians do not think we are real doctors, the smart ones know we all have our role and we provide a good service, which is integral to the practice of medicine today.

5. You have the pleasure of not dealing with the downsides of patient contact. Yes, there are downsides to patient contact. And if you want the patient contact you can do interventional/Neuro-IR, breast imaging/procedures.

6. Not only can you use your brain, but you can work with your hands as an interventionalist or breast imager. The option is nice to have when you are tired of sitting in a chair all day long in a quiet dark room.

7. Unless reimbursement payments are cut to the bone, radiologists will continue to make a comfortable living and on par or greater than other high-paying subspecialists.

There are more reasons, but in short, the Darker Side of medicine ain't so bad if you have what it takes to join the force.

How I got the best deal on a New Car!

2007-03-17T20:56:00.001-05:00

For about 3 months, we have been researching and testing new cars to replace my terminally ill Toyota Camry. After all the research, we finally settled on the all-new Hyundai Elantra (why we chose this car over the others is another blog for another day). But probably the most important research I did came the night before I planned on going to the dealer to buy the car.

While there is a ton of advice out there for buying a new car, the strategy discussed below is golden. Here are some other nuggets that I feel helped me out:

Buy at the end of the month when dealers are scrambling to fill quotas. They'll be more aggressive to sell.
Take advantage of the cold. If you live in a cold area like I do, shop in the Winter when they have less customers and are eager to sell.
Leave your emotions at the door. Treat this as a business transaction so don't get attached to a car you test drive or guilty for asking for a low price.
Just walk away. If they won't budge, just walk away... but do so slowly so they can catch up and tell you they can work something out.

So the night before the purchase, as my wife and kids went to bed, I decided to do a little reading on dealing with dealerships when it comes to purchasing a car. The most helpful information came from a discussion board on Fatwallet.com and I attribute the strategies outlined by user name "mrblackpcs2" for saving me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. I pretty much followed his advice, and this was the deal we got:

2007 Hyundai Elantra GLS with preferred package #3 (according to Edmunds, which is usually right on):
MSRP: $15,495 (including destination charge)
Invoice: $15,006
Rebates: $1,000 (dealer incentive) and $400 (graduation rebate)
Trade in: $1000 (according to Edmunds)
Holdback: 2% of total invoice which is $300 (if you don't know what a holdback is read this... interesting strategy, if not underhanded)
Tax: 5.1% of true invoice $750
Title/License: $68
Lowball (price I started off with in the negotiations): calculated to be $11200, but I thought that was too low so I started at $12,000
Target price (price I'd be delighted to pay): including tax, title, license (TTL) $12,820 out the door

I started off telling my dealer my lowball price of $12,000 . I was basically told there was no way this could be done but they would get the price as low as possible. For a while, the game of "deal or no deal" was at a stand still at $13,700 not including TTL. But having been trained in the ways of expert negotiations the night before, I remained confident and stayed strong with my price. After making several motions to leave to my car for another dealership, the price quickly dropped just as mrblackpcs2 said would happen.

At the end of the day, I left the dealership paying $12, 837 (that's including TTL) for a well equiped car whose supposed invoice was $15,006 (that price not including TTL). While many a man would have cracked at the $13,700 price and then pay some more with TTL, having a target price was... priceless. It gave me a goal that I knew would be the lowest a dealership could go. After reading other experiences, this seems to work on all makes and models. Whatever you do, don't think that invoice is as low as they can go.

The Match Results

2007-03-15T17:11:00.000-05:00

It was a big day for the Chang's as we found out where Ethan and James will be going for their training. As our entire class of nearly 200 gathered together in a lecture hall, we waited anxiously as our dean randomly drew letters from a container and handed them out one by one. A dollar donation was given to acquire your letter, a small price to pay after already having paid $120,000 in tuition and then some in books, equipment, and others fees. This dollar donation would go into a pot to be given to the winner-- the last person to get their letter.

The Chang's did not win the $200, but we were extremely happy to find out that we will be spending another year in the Milwaukee area to complete a Transitional Year at the Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center. Afterwards, we will be off to Tucson, Arizona to train at the University of Arizona in Radiology. We also found out that Ethan (4 years old) was accepted into the highly competitive 4-K program in our school district. It was a great day. Thanks to everyone for their encouragement and support over the years.

Working at the Office may put you at risk for blood clots

2007-03-13T23:25:00.000-05:00

A recent study has shown that those working in an office setting, spending hours seated in front of a computer, may be at risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In short, DVT is a medical condition where blood clots form in the legs which can then break off and then clog up your lungs. Not a good situation. The condition, in my opinion, has been overhyped in the media amongst air travelers; otherwise known as economy class syndrome.

Now this recent study on DVT is showing that the office may be more hazardous to your health than air travel. Being a big fan of the television show The Office (probably my favorite television comedy right now), I just wanted to bring this DVT awareness to all those who may work in an office setting. To avoid DVT's, here's what the doctor orders: eat right, exercise, and stretch those legs every few hours to keep the blood flowing.

Paying your debt to society

2007-03-09T16:07:00.000-06:00

If the plot of the TV series Prison Break were to take place in South Carolina, the characters may have had another way of getting out; provided their organs are healthy.

How about donating a kidney in return for 180 days off your sentence? Interesting concept in which criminals are able to "pay their debt to society" with organs instead of time. With a severe shortage and a huge demand for organs, this legislation could relieve the more than 95,300 Americans awaiting organ transplantation, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Read story here.

While a part of me says that this is inhumane and something you might see done in some prison in a communist country, another part of me finds this appealing. These kidneys and bone marrow could save lives, but does it put us that much closer to harvesting prisoners for their organs? Will prisoners be released too soon, only to commit more crimes?

Gross Anatomy

2007-03-06T23:13:00.000-06:00

As I await the results of the match, I'm busying myself with my last rotation of medical school, Advanced Clinical Anatomy. I was fortunate enough to win the lottery for this highly sought rotation. The rotation is desired by many medical students because of its favorable schedule and low stress; not to mention being able to go at it on a cadaver again just like the good old days when we were brand new first year medical students, greener than the greenest gall bladder.

But as a confession, my motivation for just about anything and everything has died as this wait to find out where I will be going for my medical training is killing me. This Medical March Madness will come to an end when on March 12th we get an email to find out whether or not we matched in a program. If we did, then we sigh and wait some more till March 15th comes around where we find out where we'll be going. If on the 12th, we find out we did not match, then we enter the nightmare of what is called, "the Scramble." In one sentence, the scramble is basically when unmatched med students search the country and try to work their way into programs that did not fill all their training positions. Not fun. But let's keep the energy positive as I dissect my cadaver and try to busy myself hanging out with the family and playing the Wii.

Romney favored among conservatives

2007-03-03T21:56:00.000-06:00

Mitt Romney won the most support for the Republican presidential nomination in a Saturday straw poll of GOP activists attending an annual conference.

Despite his record of inconsistency on some social issues, the former Massachusetts governor got 21 percent of the 1,705 votes cast by paid registrants to the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference.

They were asked who their first choice would be for the Republican nomination.
• Former Massachusetts governor got 21 percent of the 1,705 votes
• Vote taken at three-day Conservative Political Action Conference
• Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani came in second... read more here.

Second Epinion: So here's my little poll for you, who would you rather have in the White House?
a) A guy that's had three wives (one of whom was a second cousin) and at least one known mistress (comittment issues, anyone?).
b) An elderly gentleman at the ripe old age of 70 (the average life expectancy of a man is 75).
c) A guy whose ancestors practiced polygamy.

Big money in health care technology

2007-02-26T14:50:00.000-06:00

IBM, Intel, Microsoft and other tech companies are increasingly betting that the health care industry will help them grow as their traditional markets mature.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is to kick off a health care tech conference in New Orleans today. The health care Information and Management Systems Society show is expected to draw 900 exhibitors and 25,000 doctors, hospital staffers and others.

It's Microsoft's latest health care push. The software giant acquired medical database-maker Azyxxi last year and now has more than 600 employees working on health care projects, Vice President Peter Neupert says. Health care "is a huge sector of our economy," yet it is still relatively low-tech, he says.

Americans spent almost $2 trillion on health care in 2005, according to the most recent study from the Department of Health and Human Services. Yet, many doctors and nurses "still use pen and paper and clipboards" to record patient data, says Scott Eckert, CEO of PC-maker Motion Computing.

Better computer systems could improve data accuracy, prevent duplication and reduce errors... read on.

The Wii will Rock You

2007-02-22T15:44:00.000-06:00

Xbox 360 beat PS3, with few shortages of either machine. On the other hand, the cheaper Wii did suffer shortages in January, but still managed to trounce the competition.

In January:

Nintendo Wii 436,000 units
Xbox 360 selling 294,000 units
PlayStation 3 hitting 244,000 units

Full story here.

Second Epinion: Rarely will I use this forum to push a product, but something this fun and interactive, I'd be wrong not to endorse it. I love the fact that when I call Best Buy their answering machine basically says, "We do not have any Nintendo Wii's in stock, but as a consolation prize, we have PS3's you can buy." Or when I go to Circuit city and they have huge signs saying, "Wii, Sold Out." And dispite the shortages, the Wii outdid the widely available competition. Interesting.

The Residency Match Process

2007-02-21T13:21:00.000-06:00

It sounds like some cheesy dating show like "The Bachelor," "Elimidate," or "Blind Date." And for better or for worse, what senior medical students applying for residency programs affectionately call "The Match," strikingly resembles those made-for-TV trashy dating shows (but hopefully without all the sleazy make-out sessions).

For those unfamiliar, "The Match" happens each year in mid-March. This is when senior medical student across the country find out where and if they've got themselves a partner for the next 3 to 6 years of their lives. A demanding, high stress, low paying partner that will consume the resident, chew them up, and spit them out, hopefully molded into real docs ready to heal the world.

Leading up to the match, the process of getting a residency spot is more painful than watching Andrew Firestone handing out roses to pathetic bachelorettes. In short, you fill out a painful electronic application that includes a personal statement, transcript of grades, letters of recommendations, dean's letter, resume, glamour shot, etc. You choose the programs you think you're interested in, send out your application and then wait to see if the interest is mutual.

Landing an interview with a good program is an accomplishment similar to getting to first base: you're getting somewhere, but far from scoring. The interview process differs from institution to institution and from specialty to specialty; it basically entails a little social event the night before so you can check out your date in a less formal setting. The next day, the interview process begins. You put your best foot forward and the program does the same. It's the fine line of trying to tell a girl that you love them and that she's the only one in your life, all the while knowing that you have dates lined up with twelve or so other women over the next two months.

For me, it was fun going around and checking out all the programs. But after a while, I felt like an easy skank, going out with program to program, telling them all that I loved them. What made me feel even trashier was actually going out with a program I really liked, only to go out with the next program and like her just as much. Don't get me wrong though, the sleaziness goes both ways. Programs want to make sure they land strong applicants so programs and applicants are often found whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears.

When the dating/interview process is over, the ranking process begins. Programs rank the applicants they interviewed, and applicants rank the programs they interviewed with. Of course, you want to make sure to only rank programs you wouldn't mind spending the next half decade of your life with. It's a big commitment and many factors go into the ranking process: program strength/reputation, location, cost of living, location, family, and location.

Once your list is in (lists are due February 21), the waiting game begins. A computer program "matches" applicants using a super secret, hard-to-explain algorithm, and then on March 15, my classmates and I will be gathering to open our letters to find out which programs we'll be selling our souls to for the next 3 to 6 years.

For my intern year (the first year of residency) I applied and interviewed with Transitional Programs in Milwaukee, Spokane, Seattle, and Tucson. For the other four years of my residency, I applied for a Radiology position and interviewed (from East to West) in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Texas, Arizona, California, and Washington. Find out where I go on March 15th!

Super Mario Bros makes better doctors

2007-02-20T16:53:00.000-06:00

A study into laparoscopy surgeons has shown a "strong correlation" between video game skills and the sawbones' ability to perform delicate, TV guided keyhole surgery.

The results, published in the February issue of Archives of Surgery, showed that "video game skills translated into higher scores on a day-and-half-long surgical skills test", Reuters reports. Of the 33 surgeons from Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York, the nine "who had at some point played video games at least three hours per week" boasted "37 per cent fewer errors, performed 27 per cent faster, and scored 42 per cent better in the test".

The upshot is, the report concludes, that "video games can improve fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, visual attention, depth perception, and computer competency." Iowa State University psychology prof Douglas Gentile, who co-wrote the study, said: "It was surprising that past commercial video game play was such a strong predictor of advanced surgical skills."

But while Dr James Rosser of Beth Israel conceded video games "may be a practical teaching tool to help train surgeons", Gentile warned: "Parents should not see this study as beneficial if their child is playing video games for over an hour a day."

He concluded: "Spending that much time playing video games is not going to help their child's chances of getting into medical school." full story.

Second Epinion: Video Games got me into med school.

Hot Arizona Summers or Cold Midwest Winters?

2007-02-17T11:45:00.000-06:00

As I prepare to turn in my rank list for residency programs, my wife and I are asking ourselves: are we willing to trade in our ice scrapers, salted roads, sub zero winters, and thick winter coats for sun block, constant air conditioning, scorching summers, and gravel lawns?

What would you rather do: spend a hot summer in Arizona or cold winter in Wisconsin, and why?

Gold coins anyone?

2007-02-15T09:53:00.000-06:00

Starting the day after the beloved, Valentine's day, the U.S. mint will begin launching U.S. Dollar coins, AGAIN. So instead of Susan B. Anthony the U.S. mint will begin with presidents - this year's front runner will be President George Washington. There is no talk of replacing G.W. dollar bill, but coins last 30 years compared to a measly 2 years life span for the paper. The question remains: Will they catch any popularity?

Read more...(or check out the film "Jingle in your pocket")

Second Epinion: The Mints have tried this before and the U.S. population just doesn't fall behind the coin. We like the bill. We like the paper feel. The first thing we should try to do is get rid of that pesky penny.

Do you wanna feel old?

2007-02-15T09:43:00.000-06:00

Medical students at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where dear ole James attends, can feel "old," by playing "The Aging Game." This game simulates what life is like for seniors who have chronic health issues.

The whole purpose is to give students a new perspective as they will be treating the boomers (80 million). It will help them to "be a doctor in the 21st century, unless you're a pediatrician, you're taking care of old people," said Edmund H. Duthie Jr., chief of geriatrics and gerontology at the college.

Mmmm... Sweet and Sour Pork!

2007-02-14T12:31:00.000-06:00

When you scratch the front of the stamps, it smells of the popular chinese dish and when the back of the stamp is licked it tastes of the dish too! Leave it to the Chinese to come up with brilliant stuff like this. Story here.

Attn Germphobics: Do not read this article... the germs are gonna get you!

2007-02-10T16:08:00.000-06:00

Grocery store shopping cart handles have more germs than public restrooms, making them one of the worst public places for germs, according to researchers.

It's a problem that at least one state, Arkansas, is trying to address, by passing a law forcing stores to clean up their carts.

How germy could shopping carts really be? Very, according to researchers at the University of Arizona who tested all kinds of public surfaces. They found that shopping carts were loaded with more saliva, bacteria and even fecal matter than escalators, public telephones, and even public bathrooms.

The only surfaces that had more germs were playground equipment and bus rails. Read on...

Second Epinion: I have to admit, my little blogging hiatus, besides starting my orthopedic surgery rotation, was mainly due to excessive Wii-ing. I am dealing with this new addiction and its painful side effects; as with many of my patients, I too suffer from shoulder and elbow pain. But the cries of my readers and my mom are heard and I vow be more diligent at posting quality material to enlighten the masses.

So back to this grocery cart article... it's too bad we can't just wet them a little bit and throw them into a big microwave. Other nasty things you never want to touch with you hands are the hotel room telephone and remote control. They never wash those things.

Wii, got it. Wii, love it. Wii, want some more of it.

2007-01-28T23:37:00.001-06:00

After about two weeks of research and shopping, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a Nintendo Wii without having to camp out or sell my soul to some Ebay seller. Let me tell you, this little bundle of joy has been an absolute blast with our family and friends. I consider myself a semi-hardcore gamer, growing up with systems such as NES, SNES, Gameboy, Playstation, Dreamcast, and Xbox, so deciding between the Xbox 360, PS3, and Nintendo Wii seemed it might be a difficult decision, but after doing the research, it was obvious that the Wii would be a great fit.

While the graphics may not come close to the HD of a 360 or a PS3, the Wii wins in pure FUN. Nintendo took a big gamble with their new sensor controller and by all accounts, they have themselves a winner. The Wii appeals to a broader demographic for several reasons:

The controls are intuitive. Instead of manipulating and fumbling with a controller that has 20 buttons on it, the controls on the Wii are easy to learn and fun to do. You'll even break a sweat and find yourself sore the next day if you play too much.
The price is right. $250 for the Wii system, controller, and game; out the door and you are ready to play. The 360 is $400 and the PS3 is a whopping $600, no games included.
The Wii appeals to everyone who enjoys having fun. Don't get me wrong, my Xbox is great, but my wife and kids can't join me to a round of "team slayer" on Halo. With the Wii, my wife loves beating my trash at bowling and my son is always up for a round of boxing. You don't have to be a hardcore gamer to enjoy the Wii.

Some worry about the novelty of the Wii concept wearing off but my response to that is if the people at Nintendo could put a system this fun together, there's enough brain power there to come up with novel games that you just couldn't enjoy with a standard controller no matter how many buttons you put on it. For example, last night after some tennis and bowling, I sat down with my Trauma Center game and performed heart surgery and reconstructed a fractured humerus. A ton of fun to be enjoyed only on the Wii.

So if you find yourself debating on what system to get, take my advice... say you have $650 to spend; you can blow it all on a PS3 and one game. But this semi-serious gamer would recommend the Wii60, a marriage of the Xbox 360 and Wii. That equates to a perfect melding of the hardcore gaming experience of the 360 and the pure, unadulterated, fun of the Wii. The price of these two systems will cost you the same amount as the PS3 with a game.

I'm not saying Sony's PS3 won't be successful, but you have to wonder if Sony's streak of electronic hits is coming to an end. Remember that Sony's touch has not always yielded gold... I refer you to Sony's Betamax vs VHS... and then there was minidisk... will the PS3 crash and burn like a laptop battery? You make the call.

Spanish mannequins ordered to gain weight

2007-01-26T09:31:00.000-06:00

Spanish shop window dummies have been ordered to fatten up after the government and big fashion chains agreed that female dummies should wear size 10 clothes or above.

The agreement between Spanish retail chains such as Zara and Mango and the country's health ministry came as the fashion trade agreed to a series of measures designed to combat anorexia. Full story...

Sponge Microwave WARNING!!!

2007-01-25T11:01:00.000-06:00

Apparently, a vital piece of information regarding microwave sponge sterilization was left out of the recent article published by Reuters. When nuking your dirty old sponge, make sure it is wet! Otherwise you risk fire, smoke, and stink!

Here's the follow up story, and it sounds like there are a lot of unhappy people with charred sponges out there:

Reports about a study that found microwave ovens can be used to sterilize kitchen sponges sent people hurrying to test the idea this week -- with sometimes disastrous results.

A team at the University of Florida found that two minutes in the microwave at full power could kill a range of bacteria, viruses and parasites on kitchen sponges.

They described how they soaked the sponges in wastewater and then zapped them. But several experimenters evidently left out the crucial step of wetting the sponge.

"Just wanted you to know that your article on microwaving sponges and scrubbers aroused my interest. However, when I put my sponge/scrubber into the microwave, it caught fire, smoked up the house, ruined my microwave, and pissed me off," one correspondent wrote in an e-mail to Reuters.

"First, the sponge is worthless afterwards so you have to throw it out instead of using it. And second your entire house stinks like a burning tire for several hours, even with windows/doors open," complained another.

Aaron Hoover, a press officer at the University of Florida, said several other news organizations received similar complaints, although no one had complained directly to the university.

"We figured, 'wow, we better let people know right away that the sponge should be wet,"' Hoover said in a telephone interview.

The university issued the following advisory: "To guard against the risk of fire, people who wish to sterilize their sponges at home must ensure the sponge is completely wet. Two minutes of microwaving is sufficient for most sterilization. Sponges should also have no metallic content. Last, people should be careful when removing the sponge from the microwave as it will be hot." Full story link.

Second Epinion: I hope no one had any fire accidents at their home. But in my opinion, wouldn't common sense tell you to make sure the sponge was wet?

Sterilizing your kitchen sponge

2007-01-23T23:36:00.000-06:00

It's funny that we use one of the dirtiest objects found in a kitchen to clean the plates, cups, bowls, and utensils we eat with. Ever smell your kitchen sponge lately? I'm no microbiologist, but I think it's safe to say, that the water, oils, and food particles that get trapped in a sponge provides the perfect environment to raise all sorts of bacteria.

Don't get me wrong, I'm far from a germ-phobic, obsessive compulsive, clean freak. Just ask my wife. If fact, if my two boys have runny noses, I'll wipe both of them with the same Kleenex; save money, expose them to more pathogens, boost the immune system. But I felt that this article on how to keep your kitchen sponge clean seemed reasonable and easy enough to do. A microwave and two minutes is all you need to put your germ paranoia's to rest:

Two minutes in a microwave oven can sterilize most household sponges, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
A team of engineering researchers at the University of Florida found that two minutes of microwaving on full power killed or inactivated more than 99 percent of bacteria, viruses or parasites, as well as spores, on a kitchen sponge. Read the entire article here... it's good stuff.

Second Epinion: There's a little OCD in all of us, but keeping the kitchen clean is a good thing given that every year 76,000 Americans get sick from food borne illnesses, many probably stemming from unclean kitchens (or that restaurant worker that didn't wash his hands after taking a dump... it would be nice if we could microwave that problem away but it's out of our control). So give your little sponge a nuke.

Death by Water Intoxication

2007-01-20T09:01:00.000-06:00

In response to Beverly's post about the unfortunate woman who died of "water intoxication" while participating in a radio show contest for a Nintendo Wii, here is the quick 411 on what exactly is water intoxication and how water can kill someone.

In medical jargon, the state of medical intoxication is also referred to hyponatremia, which is the dilution of the body and bloodstream's sodium or salt level due to consumption of too much fluids. So basically, drink too much water and that causes your sodium level to fall, which leads to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, weakness, headaches, and in severe cases, seizures, coma and death.

While you hear about water intoxication affecting frat boys participating in some dumb initiation ritual, hyponatremia is a problem you see in the sick, alcoholics, and the elderly who are on a bunch of blood pressure medications that alter the body's sodium levels. You also see it quite often in athletes participating in marathons, triathalons, and bicycling. That's because besides drinking a lot of fluids, sweating and losing a lot of sodium through sweat is involved. In a recent study, 13% of runners in the Boston Marathon suffered from hyponatremia based on blood sodium levels after the race.

Some think that sport drinks like Gatorade or Poweraid, because they contain salt, can prevent hyponatremia but studies (done independently and not paid for by the Gatorade commercials) have not shown this to be the case. That's because the sodium in the drinks do not fully replace the sodium lost in sweat (Click here to read an SE original about the most refreshing beverage).

If there is anything more you would like to know that I have not covered, ask me in the comments. Basic moral of the story: alcoholics should eat pretzels with their whiskey, marathon runners should watch out for over-drinking, baby formula should never be diluted more than the directions say to, and radio show contestants should eat a bag of potato chips before playing.

Holding your wee for a Wii contest leads to death

2007-01-19T10:15:00.000-06:00

A 28 yr old women from Sacramento, CA, partisipates in a local radio station's "Hold your wee for a Wii" contest. They gave contestants 8 oz water bottles every 10 mins, and the contestant that lasts the longests gets a Nintendo Wii. The contestant Jennifer Strange did it for her 3 kids, complained of extreme headaches after she left the radio station. The coronor said that she died of water intoxication. Strange had drank almost 2 gallons of water. more...

Arnold Wants Health Care for All... but at what price?

2007-01-11T14:35:00.000-06:00

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today proposed upending just about every portion of the healthcare industry in one of the country's most elaborate efforts at holding down medical costs and expanding insurance to those who don't have it.

Schwarzenegger's plan:

require employers with 10 workers or more to buy insurance for their workers or pay a fee of 4% of their payroll into a program to help provide coverage for the uninsured.
tax doctors 2% of their gross revenue and place a 4% tax on hospitals. He campaigned for reelection on an anti-tax platform, but his administration argues that so many more people would have insurance that medical providers would make more money.
ban insurers from refusing to offer coverage to some individuals because of their prior medical conditions. Insurers would also have to spend at least 85% of their premium revenues on patient care, a move that would limit the amount companies spend on administrative costs and profits.
to cover all Californian children, including ones in the state illegally, Schwarzenegger's plan would expand the state's Healthy Families program, providing insurance to children whose parents make less than three times the poverty level. ~ $60,000 for a family of four.

And Schwarzenegger said his plan would require every Californian to have health insurance.

"If you can't afford it, the state will help you buy it," he said, "but you must be insured." Full story here.

Second Epinion: Gotta give old Hercules some credit for tackling the health care problem, but just looking at the proposed changes, it looks like the Terminator may be causing more problems than he's fixing. Here are some things to consider:

Business forced to pay 4% to the plan will hinder economic growth. Who's going to want to start a business in Cali and companies thinking about expanding now have this tax to think about.
If I have a company with 10 people, I'm going to seriously think about firing that 10th person to avoid the 4% tax. Sure, he/she won't have a job, but at least they'll have health insurance.
Making insurance companies cover preexisting conditions will get very expensive. Say good bye to the insurance companies.
Take 2% of gross revenue (note that it is GROSS and not NET) from doctors in the state. Earthquakes, traffic, high cost of living, lower wages for physicians, and now this... sure, the weather is nice, but is it really worth it? Will this result in fewer doctors (good doctors) and less access to quality health care?

Armstrong: Patience is NOT a virtue when cancer is involved

2007-01-10T13:39:00.000-06:00

Here's Lance Armstrong's take on the current battle against cancer. A good read that's worth your time:

I'm not known for my patience. Patience is a polite quality and often appropriate, but it rarely gets things done. Impatience, however, is the hunger for results and intolerance for excuses and delays. Impatience got me over countless mountain passes, across the finish line in New York City and through four rounds of ruthless chemotherapy 10 years ago.

Yet this election season I patiently waited to hear a candidate for office explain to constituents what he or she planned to do about one of the leading threats to the health and well-being of all Americans -- cancer. My patience was greeted with silence.

Cancer will impact one in two men and one in three women in their lifetime. It is devastating and it is pervasive. In fact, every year 1.3 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer.

Thankfully, our country has made tremendous progress in this fight and produced remarkable advances in the way we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Today, in many cases, we can humbly say that cancer is no longer a death sentence. The medical advances achieved by our nation's best doctors and researchers have given us reasons to hope.

But in spite of this vast body of knowledge, 1,500 people will die from cancer today and tomorrow and the day after that, often because the care they needed to prevent cancer or survive it was not available to them.

However, our nation's second-leading killer did not make the list of issues that our candidates used to get people to the polls last November. Anyone with a television or access to a newspaper can list the ballot box issues that occupied our candidates' attention -- they range from bickering to very real concerns and challenges.

The political ads didn't tell voters that earlier in the year funding for cancer research was cut for the first time in 30 years. Nor did they explain that a lack of funding slows the pace of scientific discovery and the development of treatments. Our candidates did not mention the decrease in funding for programs that provide information and screening to people who need these services.

I think this is unwise, but it is what our government has done this past year. I waited patiently for an explanation, some clarification or justification. Ten million cancer survivors deserve an answer. We didn't get one.

It is true that state and federal budgets are constrained by many important responsibilities. But cancer doesn't care about that.

It is time to hold our leaders accountable. It remains to be seen if the change in power on Capitol Hill will affect the fight against cancer. In two years we will elect a new president. We cannot predict the actions of any of our elected officials, but we can say for sure that when it comes to cancer their silence is unacceptable.

Patient people may accept the status quo, but the status quo isn't working for us. Instead, we need to stubbornly hold our leaders accountable and we need the courage to ask tough questions of our elected officials. Few issues facing our government are more personal or more critical than the health of our citizens. What are we going to do to effectively fight cancer? Millions of Americans with cancer are asking.

I'm not known for my patience. When it comes to cancer, I hope you aren't either.

Pangea

2007-01-09T08:43:00.000-06:00

Here is another thought outside of the global warming theory. Today in the New York Times an article discussed what the earth may look like in 100 million year and then again in 250 million years. They call it the dance of the continents read more here...

Caffeine in Soda is not used for taste

2007-01-08T09:25:00.000-06:00

A Melbourne university study has found caffeine levels found in most soft drinks had no effect on flavour but are high enough to become addictive. The Deakin University study found people could not differentiate between caffeinated and non-caffeinated soft drinks by taste.

The report's author, Dr Russell Keast, says children are becoming increasingly addicted to caffeine, which leads to an increase in overall consumption.

He says the Government should be forcing manufacturers to warn parents about the dangers of caffeinated drinks.

"There's got to be a question as to whether caffeinated soft drinks - and let's go even further and say all soft drinks - should be marketed at children," he said.

"Certainly in terms of caffeinated soft drinks they shouldn't be sold at schools at all." Find story here.

Car Safety

2007-01-07T22:31:00.000-06:00

I've recently been doing research on cars as we are looking to purchase an economy or compact sized car. So far I have narrowed it down to three cars: the Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, and Hyundai Elantra. Being a family man (and still a poor medical student), cost and safety are the two main issues that I have looked into. Seeing how a car handled during their crash and safety tests are important and having features like side and curtain airbags, while one hopes they will never need them, could potentially save your life and make a huge difference in a cars safety grade.

But while looking at the safety ratings of cars, I came across a disturbing article about infant car seats. I remember back during my pediatric rotation a pediatrician mentioning that car seats are pretty much unregulated and that any joe off the street could make their own car seat, say it "passed" their crash tests, and sell them for a profit. Here's the article I came across:

When parents buy an infant seat for their car, most believe they are purchasing a product that will keep their child protected from harm in case of an accident.
Surprisingly — and disturbingly — many of these parents are wrong.
Consumer Reports tested 12 infant car seats. Nine performed poorly. read more...

Second Epinion: I want to apologize for not having blogged for some time now. Having returned from a month long west coast interview trip, my family and I are still looking for some semblence of order in our lives.

Feel free to comment on any of the cars I mentioned or other cars you feel might fit our needs. And if you own a car seat mentioned in the article, what do you plan on doing?

Update: The group performing the car seat study has retracted their findings based on improper testing conditions.

"Jordan calls it quits" - that's what she said!

2006-12-29T22:15:00.000-06:00

"Michael Jordan and his wife, Juanita, divorced Friday after 17 years of marriage." According to the associated press of Chicago. Read more...

Did anyone know Michael was part owner of the dismal Charlotte Bobcats?

Jetman

2006-12-29T20:24:00.000-06:00

A former Swiss military pilot, Yves Rossy, has developed a personal jet powered wing which he can use to fly. It's controlled by his "intuition" - there is no steering mechanism, he simply used body movements he felt as natural to change his direction. Check the article link here and there is a video on his site here.

Yves still needed to jump out of a plane first to begin his glide; then, while gliding, turn on the four kerosene powered jet engines attached to his wings to achieve true "flight". He hopes to develop it to the point where he can take off, fly, and then land unassisted.

Wouldn't that be a cool way to get to work?

Water world?

2006-12-25T01:25:00.000-06:00

Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited island off the face of the Earth. The obliteration of Lohachara island, in India's part of the Sundarbans where the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal, marks the moment when one of the most apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists has started coming true.

As the seas continue to swell, they will swallow whole island nations, from the Maldives to the Marshall Islands, inundate vast areas of countries from Bangladesh to Egypt, and submerge parts of scores of coastal cities. full story...

More than meets the eye

2006-12-21T12:55:00.000-06:00

New trailer for the Transformers movie! Get pumped!

Underdogs

2006-12-19T13:20:00.000-06:00

This holiday season it is all about underdogs in the theaters. We first have the classic Rocky story with a new twist - He's coming out of retirement to show us if he has what it takes to be a champion.

Then we have a father, Chris Gardner, who is determined to create a sustainable lifestyle for his son in The Pursuit of Happyness.

I thoroughly enjoy an inspiring movie - I could watch every Rocky movie until like "Rocky 3000 - -He comes back from the dead". However, now that I am a father family movies really hit a heart string so I'm looking forward to The Pursuit of Happyness. I am the underdog not knowing which I should watch first.

Home Ec may have been more important than you think.

2006-12-19T09:54:00.000-06:00

Young adults who frequently make their own meals have much healthier diets than their peers who never set foot in the kitchen, a new study shows.

"It's really important to be preparing food at home," Nicole I. Larson told Reuters Health. "Those who were preparing foods more often at home had a much higher likelihood of reaching dietary guidelines."

However, relatively few young people regularly shop for, plan, or cook meals for themselves, Larson, of the University of Minnesota, and her colleagues found. Just 21 percent of young men and 36 percent of young women bought fresh vegetables every week, for example, while 44 percent of the men made a dinner with chicken, fish or vegetables at least once a week. Read more...

Second Epinion: While cooking and eating at home instead of eating fast food every night would be obviously healthier, the sad truth is that the results of this study would probably come as a shock to many Americans. As one who loves to cook, I can atest that by learning how to cook and eat well early on, you set your eating habits for the rest of your life. I still remember my home economics class and the yummy and semi-healthy things we cooked up. But don't get me wrong, there's nothing like an In-and-Out Burger every now and then.

Forget Testing for Roids, What about Sex?

2006-12-18T17:08:00.000-06:00

Apparently a successful runner from India was recently stripped of her medal. Her crime? Not steriods or any other drug... she was found to have more Y chromosomes than permitted for a female athlete. For those that slept through biology, female chromosomes are usually XX while males are XY. I say usually because there are always exceptions to the rule (another story for another day, but a fascinating topic). For the whole story, click here.

Second Epinion: Here's my question, if women can compete in many of the male sports such as golf, hockey, football, wrestling etc., why can't guys compete in girl sports? I know I'm opening up a can of worms we've all heard before with Title 9 and collegiate sports: Title 9 -- a 1972 amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act -- bars sex discrimination in education. Experts say the way it's interpreted forces colleges and universities to abandon men's sports programs when not enough women can be found to engage in their own events, thereby evening up the participation rates.

Recently I read about a guy who could not play on his school volleyball team because he was a guy. He loved volleyball and figured because his school did not have a men's volleyball team, he'd try out for the girl's team. The school administration and the courts said no.

In my high school we had a girl on the wrestling team and a girl on the football team. Sure she did not play much because of skill, but she wanted to be a part of the team and she was probably better than some of the worst guys on the team. But in college, men's swimming, diving, and wrestling were cut so the funding could go into some mickey mouse women's sport.

I'm all for equality, but when attempts for equality lead to reversed discrimination, there is a problem.

World's Tallest Man Saves Dolphins

2006-12-15T21:47:00.000-06:00

The long arms of the world's tallest man reached in and saved two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs, state media and an aquarium official said Thursday. Full story...

Some Nintendo a day to keep the doctor away

2006-12-14T00:45:00.000-06:00

Nintendo is planning to promote the health benefits of its Wii games console, according to executives.

The move could open new markets for the Japanese manufacturer, which has seen its products criticised for allegedly causing injury and damage from overenthusiastic use.

Nintendo has even been accused of being responsible for a type of repetitive strain injury dubbed 'Nintendonitis' by doctors.

The company hopes that making the Wii the centre of a healthcare programme will attract new users and encourage them to use the console every day. Full story...

Second Epinion: I know I attribute my increased thumb dexterity to the many hours spent on the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System).

Low cost gift idea

2006-12-14T00:15:00.000-06:00

Here's a neat little website, regiftable.com, where you can generate some good looking gift certificates. So if you find yourself a little low on the dough, print out some of these babies and offer your loved ones a night of baby sitting, a car wash, or a Playstation 3 (knowing that it will be ages before these become available again).

Hold off on that Blu-Ray this Christmas

2006-12-08T18:12:00.000-06:00

As we look for that perfect Christmas gift, it turns out that the much hyped Blue-Ray is getting more criticism than praise. Will the new Sony media fall to the wayside like Beta did to VHS? Full story