Heatwave Plan Updated With Advice For Those With Respiratory Problems, UK

New advice to help people with respiratory problems cope in a heatwave is published by the Department of Health.

The Heatwave Plan has been updated to advise those suffering breathing problems that although ozone levels increase in hot weather, they drop in the evening. People with respiratory problems should stay inside during the hottest part of the day and windows should be kept shaded and closed when the temperature is hotter outside than inside.

New Dentists Just Part Of The Solution To Problems, Says BDA

The British Dental Association (BDA) has given a broad welcome to today’s announcement of the award of a tender for 38 new dentists in Northern Ireland as part of the solution to the problems some patients face accessing care. But the BDA has also warned that this is not the whole solution to the problems facing Health Service dentistry. Also required, says the BDA, are full support for the more than 800 dentists already working in Northern Ireland and a new contract that allows dentists to provide the kind of modern, preventive care they are trained to do.

Vets’ Brain Injuries Linked To Long Term Health Problems

A report by a non-profit US medical organization suggests that military personnel who suffer severe or moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) are at greater risk of long term health problems including Alzheimer’s-like dementia, aggression, symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, depression, and memory loss.

Titled “Gulf War and Health: Volume 7: Long-Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury”, the report is published by the National Academies press and compiled by a committee of experts working under the auspices of the Institute of Medicine. The study was funded by the US Department of Veteran Affairs.

Patients With Anxiety Disorders Think They Have More Physiological Problems Than They Really Have

A doctoral thesis carried out at the University of Granada has proved that patients with serious anxiety disorders (panic disorder with and without agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder or generalized anxiety disorder) think they suffer more physiological (palpitations, sweating, irregular breathing, shaking of the hands and muscular tension …) than they really have. In other words, although many patients with anxiety disorders have orally reported very intense physiological symptoms in surveys and questionaires, they are hyporeactive when real measures of such symptoms are taken through physiological tests.

PBS’ ‘NewsHour’ Looks At Health Care Access Problems In New Mexico

PBS’ “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” on Wednesday examined access-to-care issues facing people who live in rural New Mexico, the state with the second-highest rate of uninsurance in the country. More than half of all New Mexico residents live in non-urban areas, often in towns that have no pharmacy and few physicians.

Many of these uninsured residents work for small businesses that cannot afford to offer coverage, and they must rely on outreach programs that work with insurers and drugmakers to provide basic services, including blood pressure checks and diabetes screenings. A physician shortage in the state has forced many primary care physicians in small communities to be on call 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Additionally, because of the overwhelming demand for physicians, some rural residents must travel to the closest urban emergency department to receive immediate treatment.

Elizabeth Edwards Links Current Economic Downturn With Problems In U.S. Health Care System

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), on Tuesday linked the current economic downturn with problems in the U.S. health care system, the AP/Kansas City Star reports. Elizabeth Edwards, who has incurable cancer, has made several recent public appearances in support of efforts to expand health insurance to all residents.

During a conference call on Tuesday, she said that problems with payments of medical bills often lead to home foreclosures, a major factor in the current economic downturn. Elizabeth Edwards also said that residents without health insurance often are less productive because they miss work as a result of a lack of access to preventive care or early treatment for illnesses. She said, “Reform of our health care system is a very important part of the answers we’re going to need to solve our economic woes.”

FDA Posts Names Of Prescription Drugs Being Investigated For Potential Safety Problems

FDA officials on Friday said the agency will begin publishing quarterly a list of drugs being investigated for potential safety risks, the Washington Post reports. The list, available on the FDA Web site, names the drug and the nature of the related “adverse event” but does not address the severity or the number of such events reported. Appearing on the list does not mean a drug has been found to be unsafe, according to the Post. The new policy is required under legislation passed last year.

New Report Pinpoints Substance Use And Mental Health Problems In Individual Localities Throughout The Nation

Survey reveals wide variations and unexpected patterns of substance use and mental illness across more than 340 localities across the United States

Mental health and substance abuse problems affect every local community throughout America – but in unique, and sometimes surprising ways, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The report offers highly detailed analyses of the substance abuse and mental health problems occurring within these smaller geographical areas.

Vets’ Brain Injuries Linked To Long Term Health Problems

A report by a non-profit US medical organization suggests that military personnel who suffer severe or moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) are at greater risk of long term health problems including Alzheimer’s-like dementia, aggression, symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, depression, and memory loss.

Titled “Gulf War and Health: Volume 7: Long-Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury”, the report is published by the National Academies press and compiled by a committee of experts working under the auspices of the Institute of Medicine. The study was funded by the US Department of Veteran Affairs.

Problems with synthroid and other thyroid med

Question:

have been hypo since age 22, now 40. I was ok until doc raised my dose when I was 30. Since 9 years when I take my synthroid, I get joint pain, itchiness, cracking knees, no energy, facial changes(puffiness under eyes), look tired. I feel very week all the time. If I take synthroid at 6 am, I feel brain fog till late afternoon, and then come out of it. I am ok when I take under 150 mcg, but my levels indicate I should be at 175-200 mcg. Similar reactions with other thyroid products. Also get lung inflammation and probably inflammation everywhere else. After a meal, I get very tired, wondering if this is all a blood sugar problem from taking synthroid. Please help! I am presently taking Lyrica to help with the lower back pain, that is where the pain is the most intense. If I stop Synthroid for 2 days…no more pain!