Medical Science

We all know that smoking tobacco has serious health hazards, including increased risk of lung cancer, strokes, and heart attack. People are not quite so aware that other forms of smoke also carry health risks. For example : incense http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1467409.stm "Burning incense, popular in places of worship and in people's homes, could be a cancer risk. Researchers in Taiwan found that the smoke produced by burning incense is laden with cancer-causing chemicals." Example two : cancer of the stomach and smoked meat http://www.purlife.com/Stomach.htm "The people in Iceland eat a lot of smoked fish and smoked meat. Investigat…

The premise of my question here is fairly simple. One of the basic ways drugs are evaluated is to see if they work better than a placebo. It strikes me, then, that the placebo might be of some use. Many traditional medicines rely heavily on this in fact, and practitioners are quite up front about that. So why shouldn't Western medicine take similar advantage of the power of human perception? Are there circumstances where subscribing a medicine with no actual medicinal properties (a sugar pill, basically) would be perfectly appropriate and the best for the patient?

There are a lot of people who think we should all eat organic food. Some for nutritional reasons, some for ecological reasons, and some for animal welfare reasons. What do you think? Should we all be eating organic food? Some organic food? if so, which? Or is the issue silly?

when i woke up this morning, my midtorso is as red as a tomato, my belly and my backside too. also, there are white spots randomly distributed as if these areas have been left out by blood. Last night, i drank more than usual. I don't know if it might be related. do you have an explaination about this?

Even if you eat full, balanced, diverse meals on a regular basis, it is extremely hard to satisfy all of the USDA recommended daily allowances for anything and everything, pretty much impossible to do it every day without supplementation. Are there any mechanisms in the body which somehow compensate for nutritional deficiencies, or does everybody wind up with weak spots depending on what areas they are deficient in? Is genetics much of a factor at all or is it mostly just a factor if there is a problem? For several years now, I have been keeping up a pretty good diet, but I don't go out of my way to make it as diverse as I should. I stick to a core set of fruits …

As a sleep aid is my current use of it, so mainly the comparison i am wondering about. An OTC pill called Sleep Md incorporates Salicin from White Willow, as well as Valerian and Passionflower. Sleep Md used to work very well for me, but i think ive built a tolerance, so ive been experimenting with different amounts of the various herbs, as seperate supplements. I found that Aspirin is a similar compound to Salicin, so i am just wondering if there is much difference between the two if i am making my own sleep cocktail from the individual chemicals. Information about other effective sleep aids is welcomed of coarse. But I dont find Diphenhydramine particularly effective fo…

How would I go about asking to be tested for toxoplasmosis without sounding like a total hypochondriac?

Hi! I am reading a document about "Innovation in Intervention" but I know very little about medical words. Here are some and could you explain these word in a simpler way, I am not so good at English 1. Fluoroscopy 2. Infusion (HAI) 3. Embolization (HAE) Thanks !!!

We can put man on the moon but we can't treat the common cold. Why? And why is the medicine field the slowest progressing field in science apart from any socio-politics?

What kind of minerals or substances that are present in guava seeds can be beneficial to our health? :confused:

I am a smoker who has been trying to quit. I have been smoking about 2 packs a day. I often get very stressed out anywhere 1-2 days without a cigarette and break down out and get a pack and tell myself i'll try to quit after that pack. I have never made it past 3 days with no cigarettes. its very stressful, i tend to be bound to my bed for that time, and i tend to want to give myself a break by not quitting. I am wondering if nicotine gum is a good way for serious smokers like me to quit ? seeing as i can't get past 3 days i'm wanting to use an aid instead of quitting cold turkey thinking i might be sabotaging my success. I also worry alot about cancer. …

so we've all heard of the solution to this problem by simulating gravity through centrifugal force, but has anyone considered perhaps maybe there is simply a way in theory (as yet undiscovered) to prevent the body from shedding bone and muscle mass through medicine? perhaps there is a chemical agent that can be taken to trick the body into not shedding bone and muscle, or a way to alter the gene in the DNA (if its genetic) that tells the body to respond to a low gravity environment in the manner of "hey i dont need so much bone and muscle anymore, let me loosen my grip on it". is there any research into this, or is it even feasible theoretically?

I am one who likes bugs. But then again don't most science geeks. MY question is do they still use Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT)? It is when then put disinfected maggots on and open wound to kill the dead skin and heal the wound. Thanks, Nick

I was already on to this before I had my surgery. I had this great nutritional website that would tell me how any food affected inflammation (practically half of all natural foods fall at least slightly under the inflammation radar). I was making lots of salad dressing with flax oil. I'm not exactly sure why I was getting inflamed, but I guess that is irrelevant. Of course, now, I'm still recovering from this surgery and I'm much more sensitive. I was wondering. It's been about a month and a half and I've been reading a bit on inflammation. I've been eating good, though a bit calorie starved for the first couple of weeks out of the hospital. At this point, afte…

I was answer that it is to prevent noise in image but not clearly, could you tell me why ? Thanks !!!

There was an article about BiDil, the "race-based" drug for congestive heart failure in in August's Scientific American. What are some opinions on the concept of race-based medicines? Personally, I think it's a terrible idea. It's supposed to be part of pharmacogenetics, medicines tailored to a person's specific genome, which is fine, but race is a horrid proxy for genetics. Race is a concept with genetic factors, but more importantly cultural and historical ones. If 20th century anthropology has produced anything, that realization is it. The story behind BiDil isn't encouraging either, but that's anecdotal. We should be highly skeptical of drugs of this sort even wit…

The physiological effects of NO on the vascular system is well known but I am puzzled by how it remains as NO & is not oxidised to toxic NOx . How does it avoid this in the body & presence of oxygen carrying blood ?

I am an American without Health Insurance, right now i cant really go to a doctor. so i'm hoping someone around here may have some knowledge on the subject. It runs in my family, and i have some, but not all of the symptoms. Excessive thirst and urination. Occasionally blurry vision. I dont really have excessive hunger, in fact i really dont have a big appetite in general ever. I dont really know how to measure excessive fatigue, sometimes im tired when it seems i shouldnt be, but i wouldnt call it excessive. The primary thing for me is the excessive drinking and thus urination. If i dont drink enough i start to feel nauseous. In everything ive read about diabetes…

So what I have read is that nerve injury at the root usually heals nominally. I have improved nominally, regaining some strength and movement, as the 4 month maximum recovery period has pretty much expired since the injury occurred. I did read this one article that states the following. I was looking for confirmation about the extent that it is possible, as there are a lot of nerves in my arm that could theoretically pick up the slack. © iSTOP - Institute for the Study and Treatment of Pain - 2002 If a nerve root became damaged and is providing only limited recruitment of the muscle, could a neighboring nerve start branching out into that muscle? Is there anoth…

Since Tuesday or Wednesday I've had this white spot on the inside of my cheek that looks like a flat blister. It feels like a sore taste bud, just on my cheek. At first I thought it was maybe because I accidentally bit my cheek or chewed on it in my sleep. Friday I decided to actually look at the area and noticed the white mark. Since then it's gotten a little bit bigger. It'll hurt if something rubs up against it look my tooth or my tongue or food but other then that I at all times feel a light sensation on my cheek just like you would with a sore taste bud on your cheek. I figure if it didn't get better by Tuesday that I'd go to emergency care but I just wanted to know …

I see the component called knife is not sharp, I also see the panel (made of iron uhm ... dont sure) Anyone know about the principle that this medical device based on (physical, chemiscal ...) and how it is used ? Thanks !!!

Seems petrochemicals are getting into everything these days..including foods. Anyone else have a sensitivity to them? Some flavored oils really make me ill.

my wife suffer from a pain around her eyes and she always think that this is sinusitis. can anyone tell me what are the symtoms for such a case

Does anyone know why smokers have a lower incidence of Parkinson's disease than non-smokers? I can't find any definitive answers online, Thanks

It behooves us to pay close attention to what’s going on out there, and educate ourselves and our families of the development of new strains of antibiotic resistant germs because infection can certainly be very serious, as well as fatal. What once was confined to hospitals and/or medical facilities, have now found its way into communities, i.e., schools, nurseries, athletic facilities, prisons, etc. Undoubtedly, the medical community has it's hands full, if not tied, with the onslaught of antibiotic resistant germs that seem to rival the development of new antibiotics. http://www.uniqueopportunityfinders.com