Although I have a lot of respect for celebrities like Bono who are trying to increase public awareness of the poverty and health challenges faced by millions of people in Africa, I find it painful to see them promoting conventional drug therapy for AIDS. Read more
That’s the only way I can explain why I willingly let a doctor cut my corneas with a laser: vanity.
Little did I know when I chose Lasik surgery that I would not end up satisfied like the friends and acquaintances who raved about their post-glasses existence. Instead, my days are complicated, since I am dealing with side effects that are far more bothersome than being unfashionably four-eyed. Read more
Research out of Otago and Oxford Universities in New Zealand indicates that having LASIK surgery can lead to permanent problems with vision over the long term.
More specifically, it appears that having laser surgery for near-sightedness (myopia) may lead to excessive glare, haze, and blurred vision as people enter their 7th and 8th decades of life. Read more
Last week, a man in Spain died shortly after guzzling 6 liters (1.58 gallons) of beer in about 20 minutes during a beer drinking competition.
Shortly after winning the contest, Joaquín Alcaraz Gracia began vomiting and went into cardiac arrest. He was taken to a local hospital, where he passed away. Read more
Parents and child caregivers should be aware that unexplained vomiting, abdominal pain, and fever can sometimes be caused by ingestion of small, high powered magnets. Canadian pediatricians discuss this issue at length in an early 2013 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Read more
If you're around incense on a regular basis, you should know that a study published in the September 2001 issue of the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology indicates that burning incense can expose people to dangerous levels of cancer-causing chemicals. Read more
If you use synthetic air fresheners in your car and/or living space, you should know that you're likely increasing risk of developing a variety of health problems. Headaches, earaches, depression, an irregular heart beat, and diarrhea in babies are just a few of many health challenges that have been linked to regular use of synthetic air fresheners. Read more
On January 12, 2007, a 28-year old Californian wife and mother of three children died from drinking too much water. Her body was found in her home shortly after she took part in a water-drinking contest that was sponsored by a local radio show. Entitled "Hold Your Wee For A Wii," the contest promoters promised a free Wii video game machine to the contestant who drank the most water without urinating. Read more
A story at cbc.ca highlights the importance of being cautious in giving acetaminophen to youngsters, as overdosing is "the most common identifiable cause of acute liver failure in children," reports researcher Dr. Rod Lim of the Children's Hospital in London. Read more
A study that was published in a 2006 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests that exposure to loud noises over many years can increase your risk of developing a non-cancerous tumour called acoustic neuroma, which can cause hearing loss. Of important note is that the study found that this risk holds true of any loud noise, not just work-related noise. Read more
Be who you are, not what you think others expect you to be. If there is something that you really wish to do later, do it now. In all that you do, be open to how you can make life better for others.