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To Your Good Health: Eye pressure drug was cause of breathing problems | Columnists

October 1, 2020

DEAR DR. ROACH: I would be interested in your thoughts regarding the use of Botox injections or stents to relieve the effects of BPH. — B.T.

ANSWER: BPH is benign prostatic hyperplasia — enlargement of the prostate gland. It is nearly universal in older men. Its symptoms vary, but often it causes difficulty in urinating. First line treatment is usually medication, but for men who don’t do well or can’t take medication, there are a variety of surgical options. These include lasers, and heating and freezing the prostate tissue. Botox and stenting have been evaluated as additional options.

Botulinum toxin (Botox and others) paralyzes muscles for a prolonged period. Because the prostate has muscle tissue (a special kind of muscle called smooth muscle), botulinum toxin has been tried and initially seemed effective. However, two large trials randomized men to botulinum toxin versus saline, where neither the doctor nor the patient

Want to solve society’s most urgent problems? Cash prizes can spur breakthroughs

October 1, 2020

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| Health Issues

<span class="caption">Many prizes that aim to spur innovation are winner-take-all.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="link rapid-noclick-resp" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/students-from-t-dt-innovation-lab-of-northeastern-news-photo/1167889992" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:VCG for 2019 RoboMaster Robotics Competition Final Tournament via Getty Images">VCG for 2019 RoboMaster Robotics Competition Final Tournament via Getty Images</a></span> — Many prizes that aim to spur innovation are winner-take-all. VCG for 2019 RoboMaster Robotics Competition Final Tournament via Getty Images

Innovation is a critical part of tackling problems in areas as diverse as transportation, housing, public health and energy. But the scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs who might generate creative solutions often investigate issues or pursue economic opportunities in other less urgent fields. Incentives for science and innovation try to steer efforts toward the most pressing societal problems.

Prizes – cash rewards for scientific, engineering and other achievements – are one form of incentive that has been around for a very long time. In the 18th century, for example, organizations such as the Royal Society in the U.K. awarded medals to scientists for their breakthrough research.

Today, in addition to this type of scientific award, there are also prizes for solutions to diverse problems including the invention of new transportation means

Women Use Tech To Solve Women’s Health Problems, A Market Men Ignore

September 30, 2020

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| Health Issues

Amanda French, Emme, birth control pills, oral contraceptives, Bluetooth-enabled ″smart case, missing taking the pill — Amanda French, co-founder & CEO at Emme

Drew Altizer Photography

Amanda French, co-founder & CEO at Emme, is applying her medical device development background to solve the oral contraceptives’ missed pill problem. After three years of building and testing its Bluetooth-enabled “smart case,” which works with more than 100 birth control brands, it has launched.

When you miss taking a pill, the app automatically sends user-customized reminders. It notifies at-risk users when back-up contraception is needed. The app also allows users to track symptoms in the categories of “mood, body, sex, and flow” related to their menstrual cycles or hormones. When you track symptoms, you can see patterns as they pertain to pill habits. The data can be used to understand the effects specific birth control pills have on hormonal issues and help women and their doctors find the right pill in the right dose. But, like many female founders

It’s now up to health systems to solve our food problems

September 29, 2020

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| Dept Of Health

The whole world is getting fat,” declared Whole Foods founder, John Mackey, in a recent interview with the New York Times. Because, he continues, “in some sense, we are all food addicts.” Mackey explains that he does not think we have a food access problem, but rather a market demand problem. “If people want different foods, the market will provide it.”

While this perspective ignores the rising wave of food insecurity across the nation, creates a false narrative of choice where there is often none and dismisses the complex relationship between food, obesity and trauma, we can’t dismiss Mackey’s comment outright.

He’s right about one thing. He said: “We have to recognize both what business can do and what business cannot do.” Stores like Whole Foods are unlikely to help households struggling to access healthy food. It’s now up to health systems to play a significant role in solving our

Pandemic Highlights Deep-Rooted Problems in Indian Health Service

September 29, 2020

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Based in Rockville, Md., the Indian Health Service, often referred to as I.H.S., was created to carry out the government’s treaty obligation to provide health care services to eligible American Indians and Alaskan Natives. The tribes agreed to exchange land and natural resources for health care and other services from the U.S. government as part of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.

The agency, which has 15,170 employees, most of whom work in the hospitals and clinics, was without permanent leadership until a few months into the pandemic. Rear Adm. Michael D. Weahkee, a member of the Zuni Tribe, was confirmed by the Senate in April after leading the agency on an interim basis since 2015. Mr. Weahkee declined to comment for this article.

The system consists of 26 hospitals, 56 health centers and 32 health stations. The hospitals range in size from four beds to 133. The Indian Health

Covid ‘Testing Hell’: Devices Given to Nursing Homes Bring New Problems

September 29, 2020

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| Health Article

“There’s no mechanism in place for reporting,” said Kim Schilling, the vice president of health services at Friendship Haven, which runs a nursing home in rural Iowa. “We were on the phone yesterday trying to figure this out with the department of public health and it was very overwhelming for them too.”

Katie Smith Sloan, the president of LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit providers of aging services, said the Trump administration’s focus on fines and stringent reporting requirements were the wrong approach to addressing a crisis that was aggravated by federal inaction in the early months of the pandemic.

“For seven months, nursing homes have been saving and protecting lives while dealing with staffing shortages, testing and personal protective equipment challenges and growing unexpected costs,” she said.

David Grabowski, a health care policy expert at Harvard Medical School, described the federal rapid-test program as “a positive step but late in

Winter’s Jazz Club owner hopes to reopen in spring as he recovers from health problems

September 28, 2020

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On the evening of March 13, Winter’s Jazz Club owner Scott Stegman stepped onstage to announce what he hoped would be a brief pause.

a man standing in front of a piano: Scott Stegman at his club, Winter's Jazz Club, in Chicago on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017.

© Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS
Scott Stegman at his club, Winter’s Jazz Club, in Chicago on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017.

“We thank you for being with us under such unusual circumstances,” he said to a small audience, as the pandemic was starting to change life in Chicago.

“As probably most of you know, tonight is the last night we’ll be open until further notice because of the situation around the world. We hope to see you on the flip side and hope it won’t be too long. Who knows what this will mean for all of us?”

a man sitting at a desk in front of a curtain: Winter's Jazz Club owner Scott Stegman is hoping to reopen the room in spring.

© Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS
Winter’s Jazz Club owner Scott Stegman is hoping to reopen the room in spring.

He was about to

The COVID effect: Long-term health problems plaguing patients | Features

September 28, 2020

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| Health Issues

COVID-19 is beginning to show itself to be more than just a respiratory illness. Some patients are still fighting off symptoms of the disease months after recovery. From skin problems to brain and neurological issues, here are some of the possible long-term health effects of COVID that you need to know about.

“It was scary. It’s the worst I’ve ever felt in my life,” said Clarence Troutman, a COVID-19 survivor. Getting COVID can be life-altering. Not just while you are battling the disease, but months, possibly years after beating it.

“If your lungs are not in prime shape, your heart suffers and your whole body,” said Purvi Parikh, MD, an immunologist of allergy and asthma at NYU Langone Health.

According to a recent study, patients who had coronavirus are seven times more likely to suffer a stroke than flu patients. Thirty percent of patients developed moderate to severe kidney injury.

COVID-19 May Cause Global Tsunami of Mental Health Problems

September 28, 2020

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Researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have found that Covid-19 pandemic will cause a global tsunami of mental health problems. Also Read – ‘A Detailed Conversation Around Mental Health Must Ensue,’ Stresses Shweta Tripathi

Mental health problems were already a leading cause of suffering and the most neglected health issue globally before the pandemic,” said study author Vikram Patel from Harvard University in the US. Also Read – Losing A Pet Can Trigger Mental Health Issues In Kids: Study

“The pandemic will, through worsening the social determinants of mental health, fuel a worsening of this crisis,” Patel added.

The study, scheduled to be presented at the ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID) in the US, revealed that the pressures on mental health, that already existed in abundance before this global pandemic, are increasing at an alarming rate.

There are so many issues which affect large sections of the population, including worries

Michelle Danda and Trish Dribnenki: Systemic problems exist in mental health services, too

September 28, 2020

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| Health Issues

If the system shifts away from police as first responders, and towards mental health professionals intervening in someone’s mental health crisis, the public needs to be aware that systemic neglect is also deeply embedded in the mental health system.

For example, in mental health emergency departments and/or community mental health teams, people are turned away because they do not meet admission criteria or when admission is determined to be “unhelpful” to the individual. In practice, the system condones labels to describe patients such as frequent flyers, drug seeking, substance intoxicated, malingering or treatment resistant.

Individuals are discharged or referred elsewhere for “not fitting the mandate” or “being non-compliant” with treatment. Individuals are turned away for being “too behavioural,” “too violent,” “too needy,” “too bizarre” or even “too suicidal” for hospital admission.

When this happens, we must ask broader system-focused questions, including: If individuals are “too much” or

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