Health insurance caps leave patients stranded

Is health insurance keeping up with inflation?  As stated, the one million dollar capped policy of the 70’s might be more like 10 million today.  More consumers are buying these policies, why, because they are what’s affordable, that is if they can still afford health insurance.  It’s like a roll of the dice at the craps table, sitting on the “pass” line, but all that comes to a head after several non winning rolls of the dice and the money is gone. Read more

Are Stretch Marks Haunting You?

“Striae Gravidarum” or Stretch Marks are nothing but areas of the skin that have been stretched out. It usually happens due to unusual weight gain or weight loss and depending upon the skin’s elasticity, it may leave a mark on the skin. Usually stretch marks are seen as fine lines on the body and are purplish or reddish in color in the early stages and then become hypo pigmented or colorless on maturity. As a result they start looking like glistening lines of scar tissue. Read more

Sex, Menopause & Red Lace Bras

You’ve all seen the commercial, I know: He’s a 50-something in the wet suit with surf board; she’s a 40 -something in a bathing suit by his side; their slogan ” Never trust anyone over 90″.

It’s a commerical for hair dye. But no matter. The bigger message seems to be that the generation that introduced us to free love - and then, later on, more costly Viagra - are still supposed to be spending all their free time in speedos and red lace thongs, having sex in the back of a day-glo van. Read more

The Uses of Empathy: A Medical Student’s Perspective

“Empathy is the feeling that ‘I might be you’ or ‘I am you,’ but it is more than just an intellectual identification… empathy brings emotion.”[1]

While experienced health care practitioners may agree on a general definition of “empathy” and perhaps even recognize its theoretical appeal, they continue to disagree on its usefulness in clinical practice.  For this reason, if we hope to discover its uses, then we must study empathy both in theory and through clinical experience.  As Immanuel Kant once asserted, “Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play.”[2] Read more

Burn Baby Burn

In my last post, I mentioned that menopause has been linked to altered sensitivity in the roof of the mouth and a decreased ability to detect sweet taste. Interestingly, I heard from a friend that she recently started experiencing a burning sensation in her mouth and that her doctors have been attributing it to menopause. Say what?! Read more

The Best Foods For Men

My favorite magazine is Men’s Health Magazine. Men’s Health has the best writers. It also has the best combination of fitness and non-fitness related information. In the June, 2008 issue is a value list called: The 125 Best Foods For Men. If you don’t have a subscription, I suggest you pick up this month’s issue because the list alone is worth the price of the magazine. Read more

Eyedentity: Tattoos That Protect

Two Florida mothers, Zephora Haddon and Nycole Sones, have hit on a novel way of providing a voice and protecting those unable to share vital information in an emergency situation. Read more

The NHS Number You Have Dialed Is Busy. Please Die Later,” UK