Hot MedFax

Men, just how healthy are you?  If you're like my husband, you have no idea because he hasn't seen a doctor in years.  But a new test may soon allow you to analyze your urine just by taking a photo of a test stick on your smartphone, after you've done your thing, then sending it off for examination. No more doctor visits, or being handed a cup when you go.  You do it all at home. The test works, according to David Worthington, "by matching saturated chemical strips to a color-coded reference for test results."  He adds that the phone’s camera "deciphers the correct color for accuracy instead of specialized medical equipment that does only that and can cost a lot more." Developed by an Indian company, uCheck is currently being tested in Mumbai. Worthington notes that these kinds of tests can range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars, so in addition to the convenience, it may also save a lot of money. It's not available yet, but if th...

Interesting article in The Advocate (Stamford, CT) yesterday.  Apparently, although the use of violent video games has exploded, crime itself has decreased, according to several sources. But they will most likely never be banned because they are protected under their makers' rights to free speech. Sadly, no link has yet been found between violence and viewing video games, The Advocate reported, quoting  David J. McGuire , staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut , who told the Connecticut legislature's Children's Committee, that the Supreme Court has "concluded there is little evidence of a link between violent video games and violent behavior in children, and ruled that such a tenuous correlation was not sufficient to impose a restriction on this protected medium." Seems kind of strange to me.  What a wild, wild west this country has become.  The Constitution guarantees the right to own guns . . .and the right for video game...

Couldn't believe it when I saw it at yahoo.com.  But a dog has shot his owner.  Serves him right.  Apparently, the loaded gun was sitting on the seat between the owner and his mutt, as they careened around town and the dog kicked the weapon, discharging it, according to Mike Krumboltz. The bullet entered the owner's leg.  Strangely, this wasn't the first time something like this happened. Krumboltz reports that last year, a hunter in France was shot when his dog leaped up to give him a hug.  The bullet ripped through his hand, which had to be amputated. So either lock up your gun, or yourdog.  I prefer the former.

Imagine this.  Instead of visiting your doctor when your headache just doesn't go away, go online and talk to others who have experienced similar symptoms for relief and suggested treatments. No, it's not like asking your Aunt Millie for her recipe for ingrown toenails. According to a story at wired.com, PatientsLikeMe, a new social network for those suffering from chronic diseases, " says it will use a new $1.9 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to build an open science platform to help patients measure the progression of their own diseases and to make that data available to medical researchers." And you won't be alone. Ryan Tate writes that almost 200,000 people have already taken advantage of the network to spread medical data. Privacy freaks, no worries. The network is secure.  The app developed when its owners realized there are no standardized "measurement systems developed for patient use."  So, very often, patients are lef...

It used to be the hour between feeding and bed was the "witching" hour for babies. But a new study has found that it can be just as harmful for kids and teens, only, with them, it starts earlier in the day. According to a story by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public School, which ran the study, 60% of parents said their kids ate or drank something unhealthy that could lead to weight gain in the period between getting home from school and sleep. Another trend that could result in weight gain? Only one-half of the families surveyed said they ate dinner together six or seven nights out of the week. And it's not just eating that gets out of hand, but the lack of exercise most kids are getting these days after school and on weekends, Richard Knox and Patti Neighmond write.  Added together, they add up to a mountain of calories each year that may lead to heart disease, stroke, even cancer in your children's later years. Overall, it...

If you were in Times Square yesterday, about 1 p.m., you would have seen about 200 people fling themselves on the ground, then watch others draw chalk outlines of their bodies, then add names and ages, all to honor the victims of Newtown. It's not much, and it won't bring back those 20 innocent souls, but at least, for a moment, we were remembering, and memorializing, those beautiful children.  We weren't forgetting. Because we could be losing “our moment in time to get this thing done," as Governor Malloy was quoted in The New York Times, as states -- even Connecticut -- drag ther feet on gun control. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/nyregion/flash-mob-in-times-square-performs-dance-in-honor-of-newtown-victims.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/opinion/common-sense-in-connecticut.html?_r=0  

I guess we should be grateful.  The Washington Post reports that, after Newton, support for spending on mental health has soared. Brady Dennis and Lena H. Sun write that mental health professionals are jumping up and down and clicking their heels in delight that finally, finally, the spotlight is shining on the need to end budgeting slashes and plug the gaps in the mental care network. "A year that could have brought another round of thinning resources and a spot far down the priority list of policymakers is shaping up quite differently in some statehouses," they note.  Some states, like Minnesota -- long a free-thinking place with a conscience (I lived there briefly) -- is hoping to institute mental programs and resources in schools.  "Wisconsin’s famously budget-conscious governor, Republican Scott Walker , this month proposed a nearly $30 million boost to mental-health spending in his budget, including funding for a program that allows counties to pr...