Syringes wait to be used at an H1N1 flu vaccination centre on Friday, November 6, 2009 in Montreal.
Fewer side-effects seen in H1N1 shots after early November batch resulted in six severe allergic reactions
Federal authorities have not seen a huge number of adverse side-effects to a single shipment of H1N1 vaccine, since an early November batch that resulted in a higher-than-usual number of Canadians experiencing severe allergic reactions.
Health Canada reviews all batches of vaccine before it's shipped by the manufacturer to provinces and territories. Side-effects to vaccines are not uncommon and can range from severe allergic reactions to nausea, dizziness and headaches.
Is it possible there is enough thimerasol in the vaccine to cause an allergic reaction? Those of us who used it inadvertently in contact lens solutions know how irritating that chemical is to the eyes, which is why it no longer is used in contact lens solutions.
Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) speaks as he shows the agency's new report entitled UNAIDS Outlook 2010 during its launch press conference ahead of World AIDS Day on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009 in Shanghai, China. A United Nations report says that the virus that causes AIDS is spreading fastest in China through heterosexual sex, a trend requiring changes in strategy to fight the disease. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The world is growing more and more blunt when it comes to preventing AIDS, and China had best face the facts, maybe we can sell them some condoms.
(Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger) Radiologist Dr. Gail Eliot, left, looks at a digital mammogram while talking to transcriber Pat Giannini at Chilton Memorial Hospital's Comprehensive Breast Center.
“None of the people that wrote that report have ever taken care of a patient,” said Dr. Angela Landfranchi, chair of the Breast Cancer Institute at the Steeplechase Cancer Center at Somerset Medical Center. “They made a calculation that one life saved out of 1,900 isn’t worth it.”
There is some risk to every medical test and procedure, and to single out mammograms would seems a danger to those who really do have cancer. Saving one out of 1.900 is worth it if you are that one.
Another day, another public display of disaffection with your government. Today's "House Call" gathering on the West Front of the Capitol comes at a critical time in the health care debate. (Jay Patterson/ABC News)
Companies and groups hiring lobbying firms on health issues nearly doubled this year as special interests rushed to shape the massive revamp of the nation's health care system now in its final stretch before Congress. About 1,000 organizations have hired lobbyists since January, compared with 505 during the same period in 2008, according to a USA TODAY analysis of congressional records compiled by the nonpartisan CQ MoneyLine.
I read another story that puts everything in the hands of young people, who usually do not purchase health insurance for themselves, suggesting they must now consider it a need. There has to be lots of healthy people for insurance to work, and there are. But how can you motivate them to buy something they don’t want?
These dangers were highlighted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in its 24th annual “Trouble in Toyland” report, the first since sweeping consumer safety legislation went into effect earlier this year.
“This is definitely a time when people are going to be thinking about making purchases for the holidays, so we want people to be aware of these hazards,“ said Elizabeth Hitchcock, public health advocate for U.S. PIRG.
The organization focused on four hazards: small parts that can choke children younger than 3-years-old, loud toys that can cause hearing damage, lead-tainted toys and soft plastic toys that contain chemicals called phthalates.
What a tough job, buying toys for small children who might get hurt with a bad design or paint finish on a toy. Never ends, does it?
(Eric Tucker/Getty Images) As families gather around the country this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, many of them are bracing for the intense emotions of the holiday meal. The combination of food and family often brings out longstanding tensions, criticism and battles for control. Simple issues like cooking with butter or
“Holiday time is an extraordinarily difficult time for anybody with any kind of food issue,” Dr. Zerbe said. “There are complex family relationships around eating.”
If you know you have a family member with a tendency to criticize what others eat or don’t eat, it might help to speak up about it and set some rules before the meal starts, Dr. Zerbe advised. Make a good-natured announcement that comments about how much or how little someone is eating are off limits, she said.
This a great article about how people can hassle each other over a meal. Got a family food issue? I will probably come up on Thursday.
Posted
Nov 25 2009, 01:39 AM
by
Robert Gleeman