Don't forget my Living with Pain blog carnival

Yet another rare Saturday posting. :-)

I wanted to remind people who may be reading this and who have their own blogs that deal with illness and living with pain. On May 13th, I'm hosting the first Living with Pain Blog Carnival. If you have a blog posting that you've written and you feel would fit into this category, please feel free to submit it (submission widget is in the sidebar). The deadline for submissions is midnight on the 12th, and the post with the blog URLS will be put up on the 13th.

The posting can be new or old - it doesn't matter, as long as it has something to do with living with pain.

Well, I missed it

Apparently I missed International Nurses' Day. Again.

You know, not to take away from the Executive assistants or administrative assistants (who used to be secretaries) or teachers - but they used to get a day, now they get a week. And, there are ads on radio and in the paper for a couple of weeks before on how we shouldn't forget the important roles these people play. Now, I'm all for showing appreciation but.... when was the last time you heard anyone talking about International Nurses' Day?

To tell you the truth, I'd rather not have it than to have a day that no-one knows about.

I don't work in nursing any more - it's been over a year now - but I never felt that it was a day that was taken seriously. Is it just me? What do you think?

Today at Help My Hurt:

Friday funnies - May 9
Flyers All-Star defenseman Kimmo Timonen knocked out of playoffs by blood clot
8 Help My Hurt posts on IBD/IBS/Crohn’s disease
A picture of chronic pain
FDA panel says no to pain drug expansion

News for Today:

New laws needed to restrict drivers with health problems: IBC
Ultrasound before CT in appendicitis diagnosis: Study
Young people are intentionally taking drink and drugs for better sex
Stroke survivors walk better after human-assisted rehab
Group Asks Government to End Use of Birth Control Patch
Elderly in Long-term Care Setting Suffer Depression More than Those Cared for at Home
Arthritis Hits More Than Half of Diabetics
Americans still unclear about stroke warning signs
Chantix recommended to quit smoking despite safety concerns

The importance of dental health

Pop quiz:
How important is dental health to your overall health?

Answer:
Very.

The condition of your mouth is vital to your overall health. If we start with the basics, people with "bad" teeth or no teeth at all, can't eat a lot of different foods needed for good nutrition. This leads to health issues and can turn into severe health problems. Beyond the basics, bacteria that is in your mouth could enter your blood stream and cause problems with your heart.

You can have oral cancer (tongue, palate, gum) and not know it until it's too late, while a dentist may be able to detect it in the earliest stages. This can be assessed at your regular checkup.

Pregnant women, in particular, should be careful with their oral health. A recent study found that pregnant women with gum disease were at higher risk of developing high blood pressure and preeclampsia, a condition that can lead to very serious consequences - even death.

So - how important is your dental health?

Today at Help My Hurt:

Migraine and post-traumatic stress disorder
The difference between migraine and headache
Author of How-To Marijuana, Step-by-Step Guide to Medical Marijuana
Menstrual migraine screening - effective or obvious?

News for Today:

Vitamin D improves outcomes in chronic kidney disease cases: study
Breast cancer tumours grow faster in younger women
Too much, too little sleep tied to ill health
Obesity can increase dementia risk by up to 80 percent
Mothers' high normal blood sugar levels place infants at risk for birth problems
Adult Teeth May Come in Early in Diabetic Kids

National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

Today, May 7th, 2008, has been deemed National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. According to the web site, "Despite hitting the lowest level in 30 years, 31% of teenage girls get pregnant at least once before they reach age 20."

The issue of teen pregnancy isn't always the social issue - there's also the physical component of teen pregnancy. Teens pregnancies have a higher rate of problems because they often don't get the prenatal care that would promote a healthy pregnancy.

According to the March of Dimes, "A baby born to a teenage mother is at higher risk for certain serious problems and death than a baby born to an older mother. Babies of teenage mothers are more likely to die in the first year of life than babies of women in their twenties and thirties. The risk is highest for babies of the mothers under age 15."

Today on Help My Hurt:

Preventing injuries on the golf course
Teens with headaches at higher risk of smoking
Foot injuries put celebs on crutches
Botox effective for some painful disorders, not others
Painless pain-med injections
More research: antidepressants could ease bowel disease
Long-term ibuprofen use may affect development of Alzheimer’s disease

News for Today:

Risk of death from smoking reduces after quitting
Supplements don't reduce risk of heart problems
Women at Greater Risk Than Men of Comorbid Depression and Panic Disorder
Women and heart attack: Study finds failure to recognize symptoms, failure to treat appropriately
Teens think they have asthma under control, but benefit from new approach to treatment
Frequent weight loss may weaken men's bones

Medical shows

Do you like watching medical TV shows? I do. I know how unrealistic most of them are, especially my favourite show, House. Many nurses hate the show because of how unrealistic it is, but I figure it's pure entertainment.

One argument that they bring forth is that the general public will believe what they see, but I prefer to give the public a bit more credit. I'm not a police officer, but I don't believe CSI is a true representation of what they do.

What do you think?


Today on Help My Hurt:

Even Tiger Woods may need a tune-up now and then
National Arthritis Month: Joint quiz
Guide for natural supplements for help with arthritis pain
Help My Hurt follows Olympic cyclist Kristin Armstrong

News for Today:

Parents of autistic children twice as likely to have serious mental disorder
Doctors debate who would be allowed to die in pandemic
Insulin pumps linked to injuries, deaths in teens: FDA study
Breastfeeding makes kids smarter, study says
Botulinum toxin effective in many neurological disorders, not headache

When a treatment may be worse than the problem

In an attempt to help our seniors live longer and more independently, medications may cause harm in other ways, decreasing their ability to be independent in the long run.

I've written about how some medications that seniors take can increase their risk of falls because of low blood pressure or drowsiness, but this article, Commonly used medications associated with impaired physical function in older adults, describes how some other medications affect how seniors move and respond.

It's a good example of how, sometimes, the cure may be worse than the actual problem. It's also a good example of how drugs that are tested on younger people may not be so great for older people.


Today on Help My Hurt:

9 Help My Hurt posts on fibromyalgia
Company’s calling: sudden onset of rheumatoid arthritis
Pfizer settling Celebrex and Bextra cases
Flat screen TVs = neck pain?
Can weight loss surgery help relieve back pain?
11 links: Ortho week wrap up on Help My Hurt
Better Sleep Month: Sleep and pain
Journal of Pain article: Low-dose pot eases neuropathic pain

News for Today:

Younger women unaware of heart attack symptoms, study finds
Obesity leads to heart-damaging inflammation, researchers find
Anti-depressants could ease bowel disease: study
High fat diet helps childhood epilepsy, study says
24 chinese children die of virus; other countries affected
European commission grants full approval of hiv protease inhibitor, tipranavir (aptivus®)
Treatment advances for fibroids
Young children hospitalized for flu associated with higher costs and higher risk illness
Nearly one-third of US parents don't know what to expect of infants
Commonly used medications associated with impaired physical function in older adults
Exercise plus psychological counseling may benefit depressed heart failure patients