People who take medications or use medical supplies (such as catheters or ostomy equipment) are encouraged to always bring along more than they would need for their stay. The reason has always been because you could get delayed or run into problems, and you may not necessarily be able to renew your prescription or obtain more supplies where you are.
This problem has been brought to light especially during the extended vacations, business trips, and other voyages out of home countries because of Iceland's volcano eruption and the massive closure of air space across parts of Europe.
While for some people, not taking their medications may only result in mild discomfort, for others, it can very well be life threatening. Take, for example, Sophie Longton, a woman from the United Kingdom who has been stuck in Malaysai since the air space has been closed. According to this BBC News article, 'My medication is running out', the 23-year-old woman who lives with cystic fibrosis, is coming dangerously close to exhausting her medication supply. This could be disastrous for her, especially since she is beginning to show signs of developing an infection.
What more could Ms. Longton have done? She traveled with extra medications, but how much extra is sufficient? One would hardly think that you would need more than a week of extra medication in case of emergency, right?
What about you? Do you travel with extra supplies or medications in case of emergency? What do you consider a safe cushion?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Volcano-Stranded and Low on Medications
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Should pregnant doctors work in abortion clinics?
Now this is a situation I never thought of. If a woman is going to have an abortion, is it a conflict or a problem if the doctor performing the abortion is obviously pregnant?
A doctor in the United Kingdom asks exactly that question in a piece she wrote for the medical journal, BMJ. Is it appropriate for an obviously pregnant doctor to be doing abortions? While she was doing rotations, she was assigned to work in an abortion clinic. She was seven months pregnant at the time.
The article was not about whether she wanted or did not want to terminate pregnancies, but the situation she found herself in:
Is it appropriate for patients to see a pregnant doctor for their termination of pregnancy appointment? Is it suitable to have an obvious reminder of the alternative consequence when patients are already facing a difficult decision? Pregnancy is a familiar sight in society, and some may argue it is inevitable that some patients will be seen by a pregnant doctor. Why then is it common for efforts to be made to arrange ultrasonography sessions for women wanting an abortion separate from routine antenatal scanning? (BMJ 2010;340:c867)
What do you think?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Contest for Diabetes Book Over at Gadabout Health
Just a quick drive-by post for today, Easter Sunday.
A writer friend of mine is doing a book blog tour about a book she wrote on living with diabetes, or more specifically, helping others live with diabetes: 21 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Someone With Diabetes
She wrote a guest post for me over at Gadabout Health: Diabetes – Cherie Burbach Guest Post & Book Giveaway! So if you are interested in diabetes, because you or someone you know has it, you may want to either buy the book (link is above) or check out the post and see if you can win a copy.
Good luck!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Monthly Health Awareness for April
Do you pay attention to the different Health Awareness months/weeks/days? Various health issues fill the calendar with awareness months that are meant to educate the general public about the individual causes.
Some months and causes seem to go well, hand-in-hand. For example, February is Heart Month and May is used to raise awareness of Lyme Disease. Others appear to be more random, such as Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, which is in July. The organizations that sponsor the special awareness times put a lot of time and effort into their public service announcements. But do they make an impact on the general public?
How many of you, who aren't directly affected by the disease or problem, have heard of National Radon Action Month (January), Children of Alcoholics Week (February), National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March) and National Facial Protection Month (April)?
The point is, some issues are out there, in our faces all the time. We all know about breast cancer awareness spots, heart attack information and so on, but there are many other health issues that need to be addressed. So, are these groups doing a good job spreading the word? What do you think?
For your information, here are the April Health observances, as per the 2010 National Health Observances Calendar:
Posts
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uwhAEwEeW1gXtEWWLool78ksxulgPARbDn_ZJk3lGm4u9N0SzDDieQjzr_rxKof33WRau2vZvhCcpC1_qV-P_eEN2AbGRij_BK55Gxw5w0WCRjleKvrgfFyesH=s0-d){kind=small}
