Tag Archive for doctor

High Blood Pressure

Many things have changed once one is 85 years old (I guess). As a matter of fact there seem to be more things changed than unchanged – even on a behavioral and personal level as behavioral psychologists tell us.
The same is true for physical conditions such as Blood Pressure (BP). In a recent study systolic hypertension (that’s the first figure) was not associated with higher mortality in over 85-year-olds. This has been checked out by the incredulous Dutch and more than 500 85-year-old residents in the Netherlands were followed up until the age of 90.

Like a Thriller

Like a thriller… that is the study of the “European Society of Hypertension recommendations for conventional, ambulatory and home blood pressure measurement.” Over 28 densely packed pages you get comprehensive information about the pros, cons, pitfalls and considerations of when, how to take and how to interpret blood pressure (BP). And the DIY chartrooms are like a horror story concerning health (here blood pressure) issues; they truly are the stronghold of incompetence and a malicious endangerment of the help seeker´s health.

Mother Nature Is Good!

Everybody is afraid of Cholesterol. This fear is fuelled by recommendations of professional, medical associations to consume less than 300mg daily. Because chicken eggs are high in cholesterol, about 200mg each, patients with high cholesterol are commonly advised to avoid eating them. However, the association between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease is unclear. A meta-analysis of 17 good quality prospective studies with up to 20 years of duration assessed this association.

Guilty of Biting Doctor’s Buttocks

A man in Motril – it just had to be Motril – was given a year’s, suspended, prison sentence for having bitten a doctor’s buttocks, whilst being treated. This happened back in 2008 but has only just reached trial and sentencing.

Doctor Youth

Many of us can remember all sorts shenanigans from when we were teenagers, but a 17-year-old Australian lad really pushed the boat out when he was bored. He simply got himself a stethoscope, white coat and some dodgy credentials and proceeded to work in a few hospitals as a doctor!

Extremes In Medicine

Medicine, or let’s say the functioning and malfunctioning of human bodies and minds still remains fascinating for me. There is more to it than cholesterol, blood pressure, PSA and mammography; it’s like an old chest in the attic.

Getting High & Preventing Flu

There are preventative treatments for mountain sickness, but they may have some serious side effects and therefore alternatives have been sought.

Researchers randomized 90 healthy non-acclimated adults to receive 600mg of oral Ibuprofen or placebo every 6 hours, beginning 6 hours before rapidly ascending from an altitude of 1.000 to 4.000 meters. It was measured how often symptoms of acute mountain sickness such as headaches, dizziness, disorientation occurred and how severe they were.

Pro-Probiotics – Anti-Antibiotics

Bacteria had to compete with a standard antibiotic for the best treatment option of repeated urinary tract infections (UTI).Bacteria had to compete with a standard antibiotic for the best treatment option of repeated urinary tract infections (UTI).

Dutch researchers conducted a randomized placebo-controlled trial that involved 250 postmenopausal women (an age group at higher risk) with histories of at least three UTIs in the previous year. The women received either a standard dose of the antibiotic Trimethprim-Sulfamethoxazole once at night time or a standard dose of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri twice daily.
Dutch researchers conducted a randomized placebo-controlled trial that involved 250 postmenopausal women (an age group at higher risk) with histories of at least three UTIs in the previous year. The women received either a standard dose of the antibiotic Trimethprim-Sulfamethoxazole once at night time or a standard dose of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri twice daily.

Health vs Poverty

“Approximately 1.2 billion people in the world live in extreme poverty. Poverty creates ill-health because it forces people to live in environments that make them sick, without decent shelter, clean water or adequate sanitation.” (WHO) This is also the reality in Nicaragua, where I had the opportunity to work in the mountains for six weeks.