menwomenhealthtoday.com

Consider the following scenarios: A hospital nurse grabs the wrong vial of medication to administer to a patient — a potentially life threatening mistake — because the packaging closely resembles that of the correct medication stocked one shelf over. A doctor’s illegible handwriting results in a pharmacist misreading a medication order and filling it with the wrong medication. A patient fails to notice his prescription for Clonidine, a heart medication, is filled as Colchicine, a medication for gout, because the drugs have names that look alike and sound alike — a problem for more than 1,400 commonly used medications because brand and generic names are dangerously similar to others.

Each of these is a type of medication error, which occurs every day in hospitals, doctor’s offices, pharmacies and people’s homes, and which kills more people than AIDS, breast cancer and traffic accidents. According to the Institute of Medicine, between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year due to preventable medical errors in hospitals — just one setting where medication errors can occur.

Medication errors are made by a variety of people, and occur for a variety of reasons at any time throughout the medication supply and use chain. “The person making the error can be a health professional, or it can be a patient or caregiver,” explains Diane Cousins, R.Ph., vice president of healthcare quality and information for the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention, a non-profit group that sets the official quality standards that prescription and over-the-counter medications in the United States are required to meet.

“These mistakes can lead to a severe deterioration of a medical condition or even death, and they contribute to the rising costs of medical care in the management of these mistakes,” says Cousins. “But while the fear of a medication error can make patients feel helpless, it is important for people to know that all medication errors are preventable and that patients have an important role to play in keeping their care safe.”

The USP recommends these steps to reduce your risk of harmful medication errors:

Before you leave the doctor’s office:
Make sure you understand why you are taking a medication, how it is supposed to help your condition, and how to pronounce both the brand and generic name of the drug. A key action a patient can take to prevent an error is asking the doctor to write the “indication for use” on the prescription order. This is a statement that identifies what the medication is being taken for — words such as ‘for cough,’ ‘for allergy,’ or ‘for heart.’ This is not the diagnosis, which could violate patient privacy laws, but the symptom the medication is treating. If a doctor’s illegible handwriting leads to a misinterpretation of the prescription, the indication for use can alert the pharmacist that something isn’t right. For example, if the indication says the prescription is for the heart, the pharmacist is more likely to notice that he or she is incorrectly dispensing a medication for gout. In addition, when the indication for use is written on the doctor’s prescription order, it will always be printed with the directions on the prescription label, reminding the patient of what condition the medication is being taken for.

At the Pharmacy:
Take advantage of patient counseling from the pharmacist. This key individual in the treatment chain is often overlooked — and he or she is one of your most valuable resources. Ask about potential interactions with other drugs or dietary supplements, as well as instructions for use — for instance, does three times a day mean take with breakfast, lunch and dinner, or every eight hours?

At home:
Read the instructions and information packet carefully and always double check to make sure you grabbed the right bottle of medication from the medicine cabinet. Many errors at home involve taking the wrong dosage or taking the wrong drug. The indication for use is an important clue to the medicine that is in the container. Children and the elderly are particularly susceptible to harmful results from these types of errors, as an overdose is more likely for someone of low weight and a mix-up is common among older people taking multiple medications. It is also important to keep an updated list of all medications you are taking (including over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements), and sharing this list with a family member or other caregiver. Should you be hospitalized and unable to communicate the medications you are taking, this list is a very important tool to your emergency care.

In the hospital:
As noted, always have your list of medications available in case of emergency hospitalization. If you have a planned visit to the hospital for a surgery or other purposes, bring someone you trust to serve as your advocate. This person should communicate with doctors and nurses, asking why you are being given a certain medication. Make sure this person knows to take a second look at what a nurse or doctor is giving you and stands ready to ask questions — it could be a life-saving question.

The relationship between a physician and a patient is an important one, especially if a complex diagnosis is involved. But sometimes there are barriers on both ends that can cause confusion and frustration.

“The cornerstone of medicine is the relationship that patients have with their providers,” comments Dr. Edward Creagan, a Mayo Clinic oncologist with over 30 years of experience, and a medical editor of MayoClinic.com. “Striving to create a positive, mutually-beneficial relationship helps ensure the best possible treatment.”

Dr. Creagan offers these tips to help improve communication with your doctor:

1) Do some research online.
“An informed patient is in a far better position to maximize the expertise of the medical professional,” says Dr. Creagan, who has noticed that people go online more often to research a specific diagnosis for themselves or their family rather than broader health subjects. He notes that it’s important to be critical of medical Web sites to ensure the information is accurate and based on medical evidence. He advises:
* Avoid sites that are obviously sponsoring a product or service, or where there is a blurry line between editorial and advertising content.
* Information should be presented in a clear and concise manner and should be factual and verifiable.
* Make sure the site focuses on the patient side of health, rather than sites intended for medical professionals.
* Be skeptical — if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
* Avoid blogs that lack credentials — blog authors should always have professional credentials or be backed by a professional organization.
* Consider the source of the information — is the organization known for expertise in healthcare treatment or research? Sites sponsored by medical organizations are often good options, as are nonprofit and government sites.

Dr. Creagan suggests MayoClinic.com as a great place to start your research because it is accurate, evidence-based, and the information is vetted by medical professionals at Mayo Clinic. He comments, “The site is very easy to navigate and is clearly written with the needs of the patients and family in mind.”

2) Be prepared and bring questions.
After doing research, write down or print out any information you would like to discuss with your doctor. Bringing a list of questions that you’ve prepared ahead of time will help ensure you don’t forget to ask about something important. Physicians encourage questions, so don’t feel anything is too insignificant to bring up. If your physician doesn’t encourage questions, it might be wise to find a new physician.

If you’ve been diagnosed with a serious disease, you might find a lot of frightening data and statistics online, but Dr. Creagan advises not to get upset too quickly. Be sure to discuss any findings with your doctor to ensure you are interpreting them correctly, and also consider the credibility of the source of the information.

“For example, patients need to understand that survival data they might find online is for a large range of the population and they might be in only a small percent of the larger group,” says Dr. Creagan. “It’s important to get the doctors involved to understand any subtleties.”

3) Understand and remember treatment instructions.
Information a doctor provides can be complex and is often presented very quickly. As a patient it is important to retain and understand what they say. Ask if they can provide the instructions in writing and go over them with you before you leave. If not, then write down the information so that you can reference it in the future.

If the information or instructions the physician gives are complex or unclear, repeat them back in your own words so you know you understand them correctly. This will help minimize the risk of misunderstanding.

You can also bring a friend or family member with you to your appointment. This person can help listen and ask additional questions that might assist in your treatment, or jot down a few notes while you are talking with your doctor. Additionally, this person can serve as support during difficult times.

Do not change your treatment plan based on information you find online without first talking with your doctor and asking if that’s a good idea for your individual situation.

4) Don’t settle for anything less than mutual respect.
A good doctor will understand a patient’s health issues and unique needs throughout their ongoing medical relationship. It is also important for the patient to respect the doctor and the demands they have as well. Both patient and doctor should practice active speaking and listening so that the communication remains open and honest. Remember, your doctor is there is help you and answer any questions you might have, but a good patient will also respect their time, opinions, and advice.

By following these suggestions, you’ll be in a better position to maximize the outcome of your doctor appointments. To get started, visit www.MayoClinic.com to research health information to bring to your next appointment. Good communication between a doctor and patient is a key tool for successful medical treatment.

The heart is an amazing part of the human body. But sadly, heart disease is the number one killer of women over the age of 25 in the United States.

The American Heart Association is trying to change this situation with its “Go Red for Women” program, which encourages women to love their hearts by understanding the risks they face and how to reduce them.

“We can no longer ignore heart disease,” says Jennifer Mieres, MD, national spokesperson for “Go Red for Women” and director of nuclear cardiology for New York University School of Medicine. “While awareness is important, it’s time for women to take action now.”

So what can you do to keep yourself heart-healthy? Here’s some good advice from the American Heart Association.

1. Stay Active

Your heart is a muscle — treat it like one. The only way to build muscle strength is to exercise. Current guidelines recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate daily activity.

No time to exercise? That’s okay. Don’t think exercise, think action. Instead of the elevator, take the stairs whenever possible; take a walk after dinner instead of sitting down and watching TV; park a few blocks from the office or store and walk the rest of the way.

2. Eat Smart

Healthy food habits can help you reduce three risk factors for heart attack and stroke — high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and excess body weight. Set the stage for success by eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, cereal and grain products, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, legumes, nuts, fish, poultry and lean meats. You should also eat foods low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. Keep healthy snacks, such as pre-cut fruits and vegetables on hand, and drink plenty of water.

3. Take Time to Just Relax

We all feel stress from time to time, but too much stress over a long period of time, and unhealthy responses to it, may create health problems in some people. If you frequently feel exhausted at the end of the day both physically and emotionally, instead of turning to an unhealthy solution like drinking or smoking, find ways to relax.

There are a number of methods you can use: deep breathing, mental imagery, or simply turning on some soft music and lighting a fragrant candle when you come home for the day.

“The very act of lighting a candle has been proven to help reduce the stresses of every day living,” says Rick Ruffolo, senior vice president of brand, marketing, and innovation at the Yankee Candle Company. “The soft glow of candlelight coupled with your favorite scent can have a calming influence, which helps your body rest and recharge.”

Lighting a candle can help your heart and the hearts of the women you care about — mother, sister, daughter and friends — through Yankee Candle’s “Light a Candle for your Heart” program, now in its third year of supporting the “Go Red for Women” movement. According to Ruffolo, “We all care about the women in our lives. Most of our customers are women, so at Yankee Candle — we’re even more passionate about supporting causes that help our customers live healthier lives.”

Yankee Candle has donated over $150,000 the last two years to help encourage all women to adopt a healthier lifestyle including regular exercise, eating right, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking. The company hopes to top that number this year through donations generated by the sale of its candles. Learn how you can help at www.yankeecandle.com.

4. Quit Smoking

If you smoke cigarettes (or cigars), your risk of developing coronary heart disease is two to four times that of nonsmokers. You also have a higher risk of illness and death from heart attack, stroke and other diseases, including lung, mouth and throat cancers; chronic lung diseases and infections; congestive heart failure; and peripheral vascular disease (in the legs and arms).

The good news is that when you stop smoking — no matter how long or how much you’ve smoked — your risk of heart disease and stroke starts to drop. It is cut in half after one year without smoking, then continues to decline until it’s as low as a nonsmoker’s risk.

5. Maintain a Healthy Weight

If you have too much body fat, particularly around the waist area, you’re putting yourself at risk for a myriad of health problems, including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high triglycerides, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Try to reach a healthy weight — and stay there. To lose weight, most women should eat 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day, but not less than 1,200.

Millions of Americans may be putting their eyes at serious risk every day by not using proper hygiene in caring for their contact lenses, a new survey reveals.

The survey, conducted by leading market research company Synovate, found that while contact lenses remain one of the safest forms of vision correction, contact lens wearers need to beef up their lens-handling regimes to ensure their eyes stay safe and healthy.

“It’s certainly alarming to see how some people treat their lenses,” says Dr. Pat Del Vecchio. “I see patients every day with eye infections and problems that could easily have been prevented just by taking an extra few seconds to wash their hands. Contact lenses are a tremendously safe and effective way to treat vision problems, but people need to treat them like the medical devices they are and care for them according to the directions provided to them by their eye doctor.”

The Synovate survey also revealed:

* Two out of five do not wash their hands prior to handling their lenses. Experts say the majority of germs on a lens or in a patient’s eye are transferred by their hands.

* One out of five does not use fresh solution every time they store their lenses. Experts say topping off contact lens solution in the case can reduce the solution’s ability to eliminate germs, which can lead to an infection.

* Two out of five have put their lenses in their mouth in order to clean them. Experts say never put contact lenses in your mouth or moisten them with saliva, which is full of bacteria and a potential source of infection.

* Seven out of 10 have admitted to swimming in their lenses, while one-third swim in their lenses regularly. Experts say there are all kinds of nasty bugs, such as microbes, living in swimming pools. One of these creatures, called Acanthamoeba, can cause severe pain and damage to the eye, sometimes necessitating a corneal transplant. You should never go swimming or enter a hot tub with your lenses in.

“We have known for a long time that Americans’ contact lens habits could be much better,” says Del Vecchio. “We live in a world filled with germs and microbes that can cause infection, and habits such as using the same solution over and over are as unhygienic as repeatedly washing your hands using the same old dirty water. I recommend my patients use a good multipurpose disinfecting solution, such as OPTI-FREE Replenish, which works well with all types of soft contact lenses and is effective at killing germs that can cause eye infections.”

“Lens care also impacts lens comfort,” adds Del Vecchio. “Soaking your lenses in fresh solution overnight ‘reconditions’ the lenses so they’ll retain moisture better, which means you’ll be able to wear your lenses longer with less discomfort. Discomfort is the main reason people stop wearing contact lenses, so if people just took better care of their lenses, they’d be much happier.”

The most important tip of all, according to Del Vecchio, is to see your eye doctor at least once per year. “Especially for someone who wears contact lenses, that yearly visit to the eye doctor is crucial in recognizing any problems early and maintaining healthy eyes,” he says.

For more information on proper lens handling techniques, visit the American Optometric Association at www.aoa.org.

(ARA) - Families spend about 90 percent of their time in their homes. So, it only makes sense that you want your house as clean and comfortable as possible.

However, recent studies show that indoor air can be five times more polluted than outdoor air. Indoor air pollutants have increased in recent years for a number of reasons, including the fact that homeowners use more household cleaners, more houses are built and decorated with synthetic materials, and homes are better insulated, thus sealing in humidity, smoke, dust and other pollutants.

This all adds up to 72 trillion microscopic pollutants that find their way into your home each day. It is no wonder why up to 50 percent of all illnesses are either caused or aggravated by poor indoor air quality. If any of your family members suffer from asthma or allergies, you know all too well about these problems.

How do you get cleaner air where you need it the most? Many homeowners think that their existing heating and cooling system is cleaning the air of these pollutants and allergens. But, the typical 1-inch throwaway filter that comes with most systems is designed only to prevent large particles from damaging the equipment, versus cleaning the air. Other homeowners think that room air cleaners will do the job. However, this portable filter only offers help for specific rooms and doesn’t trap the tiniest particles.

Instead, families can consider investing in a whole-house air filtration system. Unlike room air cleaners, a whole-house air filtration system like American Standard AccuClean, works as part of your heating and cooling system and is attached to the furnace or air handler. It’s designed to clean the air in every room of your home versus an individual room. AccuClean, for example, removes up to 99.98 percent of airborne allergens from the air passing through it before circulating it throughout your home, helping to reduce asthma and allergy triggers. Proprietary technology traps allergens as small as 0.1 microns in size — those tiny allergens that can no longer be filtered by your nose and throat and therefore settle into your lungs. This lets your family breathe easier.

Homeowners who have installed a whole-house air filtration system notice a huge difference. “With American Standard AccuClean, the air inside our home smells and feels clean, “ says Dana Nordberg, who recently had a system installed in her family’s St. Michael, Minn., home. “Our family and friends have noticed, too. They keep asking us what’s different inside and they comment on how comfortable it is.”

One of the main beneficiaries of the whole-house air filtration system was Nordberg’s young daughter, Callie, who suffers from allergies and asthma. Nordberg reports that Callie no longer needs daily — or even regular — medications to help her condition since their home’s air is cleaner.

AccuClean is available as part of a new American Standard central system or as an accessory to existing central heating or cooling systems. Installing the system as an accessory to an existing central system is a quick process that can be done easily by any independent American Standard dealer.

DeLonghi DAP70 Freshzone Air Purifier with True HEPA Filtration

(ARA) - Get your skin glowing this summer with a fruit, yogurt and honey skin care application created by Christopher Watt, a Hollywood aesthetician to stars such as Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez, as a whimsical way to introduce honey as a soothing skin care application to his clients.

“Honey is one of the world’s best kept beauty secrets,” says Watt. “Women and men have used it as part of healthy skin care routines for centuries, but with all of the high-tech beauty treatments available today, I think most of us simply forgot about this all-natural beauty wonder.”

Because honey has enzymes, vitamins and other minerals that are beneficial to the skin, Watt recommends using honey as part of a regular beauty regimen. Just add a tablespoon or two to your favorite mask or apply honey directly to the skin. To minimize honey’s stickiness, Watt suggests applying honey to damp skin and then rinsing off with a warm face cloth.

As a humectant, honey draws moisture into the skin, making it a good choice for dry skin sufferers. It also has antimicrobial properties that inhibit the growth of bacteria and help thwart acne flare ups.

“Honey is good for all skin types. It is the purest beauty ingredient available today,” says Watt. “Literally, it goes from the hive to the bottle.”

Watt’s three ingredient summer skin care application is easy to make at home. Fruit, yogurt and honey can all be found at a local grocery store and clean up is minimal. Plus, you’ll be treating yourself to celebrity-style beauty without having to pay Hollywood prices.

So what are you waiting for? Grab a blender and whip up one of the honey-infused Face Smoothies listed below:

Honey and Banana Skin Treat

Ingredients:
One yellow banana
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Directions:
Peel banana and place in blender or food processor. Add honey and yogurt, blend until smooth. Using finger tips, apply banana mask on clean skin; let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove with cool water and damp cloth.

Honey and Papaya Skin Treat
Ingredients:
One quarter fresh papaya
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Directions:
Cut papaya in half and remove seeds. Cut in half again and remove skin. Place one-quarter papaya in blender or food processor. Add honey and yogurt, blend until smooth.
Using finger tips, apply papaya mask on clean skin, let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove with cool water and damp cloth.

Honey and Blueberry Skin Treat
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Directions:
Rinse blueberries and place in blender or food processor. Add honey and yogurt, blend until smooth. Using finger tips, apply blueberry mask on clean skin, let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove with cool water and damp cloth.

Note: These are all edible, so if you get a little on your lip, go ahead and lick it off!

For more honey-based beauty recipes visit the National Honey Board’s Web site: www.honey.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Tags: skin care application

Fist things first. Elliptical trainers are primarily cardiovascular machines. Ellipticals work the big muscles in your legs to get your heart and lungs working hard enough to achieve a cardio training effect. If you wanted, you could achieve exactly the same cardio training effect by running in place in your underwear and bare feet that you can with the most expensive elliptical cross trainer. You exercise your body, not the equipment. Cheap elliptical trainers can provide all the training effect you can use.

Tags: Elliptical trainers, cardiovascular machines, cardio training

Diagnosing Binge Eating

There are a number of classic characteristic although like any other illness, each individual case is slightly different. However, here are examples of the most common symptoms:

- lack of control during an episode of binge eating. The sufferer often feels as though they cannot stop eating.

- eating large amounts of food until the patient feels uncomfortable or even sick.

- eating larger than normal amounts of food during a small space of time, usually within a period of two hours.

Sufferers find that episodes of binge eating are associated with three or more of the following factors:

– eating food more rapidly than normal

– eating larger amounts of food even when not physically hungry

– feelings of depression, guilt or disgust following an overeating episode

– eating large amounts of foods alone to escape embarrassment

– feelings of distress following a binge eating episode

– binge eating for at least two days of a week over a period of at least six months.

Scientists are using a virtual-reality, three-dimensional video game that challenges spatial memory as a new tool for assessing the link between depression and the hippocampus, the brain's memory hub. Spatial memory is the memory of how things are oriented in space and how to get to them. Researchers found that depressed people performed poorly on the video game compared with nondepressed people, suggesting that their hippocampi were not working properly.

Research has shown the efficacy of a pharmaceutical drug known as sunitinib which halts progress of metastatic kidney cancer. The work was published recently in the prestigious international medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine.