Category: Alternative Medicine
Federal health officials are warning consumers not to use skin creams, beauty and antiseptic soaps, or lotions that might contain mercury after products with the toxic metal turned up in at least seven states.
The Seattle Times series on methadone deaths highlights the drawbacks of drug treatment for pain and the need to explore alternative approaches, writes Bill Scott.
FDA warns consumers to steer clear of “homeopathic” human chorionic gonadotropin weight-loss products, which are typically marketed with dangerously low-calorie diets.
The FDA has created a new online resource to help consumers recognize and protect themselves from health scams, fraud and bogus health products:
“We expected back pain to ease more with yoga than with stretching, so our findings surprised us.”
Consumers with celiac disease must avoid gluten—proteins found in baked goods made with wheat and some other grains. For those not sensitive to gluten, there’s no health benefit to a gluten-free diet.
“Pain encompasses the entire person. It’s not just in your leg or back. It encompasses the entire being of who you are and what you can do and don’t do. So physically, mentally psychologically: you have to take care of all of those things.”
In the United States, traditional Western medicine is the dominant form of care. But in Seattle many people favor alternative approaches. What do different approaches to wellness have to offer?
Unlike pharmaceuticals—which must be FDA-approved as safe and effective before they can be marketed—supplements are considered as foods by regulators and assumed to be safe until proven otherwise.
FDA warns consumers not use the product and dispose of any in their possession after reports of children with symptoms consistent with belladonna toxicity.
FDA says claims these “cleansing” products can treat such serious illnesses as autism spectrum disorder, cardiovascular disease, macular degeneration, and Parkinson’s disease are “dangerously misleading.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has listed 40 Web sites that the FDA says are illegally selling unapproved products that claim to treat or prevent H1N1 “swine flu”. Under U.S. law, a company cannot market a product with the claim it can diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure a disease unless it has obtained [...]
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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