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2012-03-07T15:42:00.002-05:00

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Vets prone to drug addiction get risky painkillers

2012-03-07T13:18:00.000-05:00

Morphine and similar powerful painkillers are sometimes prescribed to recent war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress along with physical pain, and the consequences can be tragic, a government study suggests.

These vets are at high risk for drug and alcohol abuse, but they're two times more likely to get prescriptions for addictive painkillers than vets with only physical pain, according to the study, billed as the first national examination of the problem. Iraq and Afghanistan vets with PTSD who already had substance abuse problems were four times more likely to get these drugs than vets without mental health problems, according to the study.

Subsequent suicides, other self-inflicted injuries, and drug and alcohol overdoses were all more common in vets with PTSD who got these drugs. These consequences were rare but still troubling, the study authors said.

Death magnifies Pradaxa hemorrhage concerns

2012-03-07T13:13:00.000-05:00

The death of an elderly man from a massive brain hemorrhage after a routine fall suggests that bleeding complications from Boehringer Ingelheim's Pradaxa blood clot preventer are largely irreversible, according to the Journal of Neurosurgery.

The recently approved drug is the first in a new class of oral medicines called direct thrombin inhibitors, approved to prevent strokes among patients with a dangerous irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation that mostly affects the elderly.

U.S. regulators in December said they were evaluating other cases of bleeding associated with the drug, whose chemical name is dabigatran, but advised patients to continue the medicine for now.

Three doctors from the University of Utah monitored and described the worsening condition, and ultimate death, of the 83-year-old man who was evaluated at their medical center for what seemed at first a rather routine fall, according to the report Tuesday in the journal's online edition.

Plan for the Unexpected Today, For Tomorrow May Be Too Late

1 WEEK AGO

In order to drain the fluid, doctors would have to make a hole in his skull, or else the building pressure would most likely kill him. Brian was immediately flown to a hospital that could perform the procedure. Brian is currently on life support and

How to handle your guilt

2012-03-07T13:05:00.000-05:00

These six strategies will help relieve the pressure you may feel.
Strategy 1: Talk It Out
That unfortunate joke you told at the party sounds horrible when you play it over and over in your head. But if you tell a friend, it may not seem so bad. “Secrecy is the intensifier of guilt,” says Dr. Edward Hallowell, author of Dare to Forgive: The Power of Letting Go & Moving On, because keeping it to yourself doesn’t allow for fresh perspective.
“Once you’ve bared something that you find troubling and discover that your friend isn’t nearly as shocked as you thought she would be, the guilt begins to drain away and you feel better.”
And even if your friend is somewhat shocked, just airing the topic can keep you committed to being more sensitive in the future. By discussing the issue openly, “you accept the fact that you’re not perfect, that you’ve done things that aren’t pretty,” says Hallowell. But that doesn’t mean you should punish yourself forevermore.

Strategy 2: Try to Make Amends
If you’ve done something that you truly regret, say you’re sorry and try to remedy the situation. Most people appreciate the conciliatory gesture because it’s a signal that you care about their feelings and value the relationship. And you may find that they weren’t all that upset.
“Very often the things you are feeling guilty about didn’t have any impact on the other person and you’re suffering for no reason,” says Hallowell,

Strategy 3: Try a Reality Check
Guilt often arises automatically, based on standards internalized during childhood. So before you reflexively accept guilt, take a minute to stop and ask, “Am I consciously living by my own expectations?” says Mark R. Leary, who has a Ph.D.
Perhaps your mother washed and waxed the floor twice a week. But you may not feel that’s the best use of your time and energy, so you choose not to. Still, you feel guilty about not waxing.
Those are your mother’s priorities, not yours. And keep in mind that you may be the only one who is invested in the thing you feel so guilty about. “Worrying about your failings as a mother because you didn’t bake homemade cupcakes when the child doesn’t even care is guilt gone wrong,” says Margaret Clark, a professor of psychology at Yale University.
________________________________________________________
More From Real Simple:
5 Ways to Stay Cool Under Pressure

How to Worry Less

Banish a Bad Mood in 15 Minutes
_______________________________________________________
Strategy 4: Give Yourself Credit
Remind yourself that what you did imperfectly is just part of being human, says Leary. Tell yourself, Everybody is late from time to time. Or, Everybody says something stupid on occasion. That the behavior isn’t unique to you doesn’t make it OK, but it’s reason enough to stop beating yourself up about it.
Try keeping a journal of all the good things that you’ve done. “Typically, people who are susceptible to guilt have a hard time giving themselves credit for anything,” says Hallowell. So whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed by guilt, stop and list five things you’ve done that are praiseworthy, whether they are small or large.

Strategy 5: Break a Sweat
Instead of sitting around in a funk, go for a run, a bicycle ride, or a swim, or play a few sets of tennis. “Working out is like hitting the reset button on your brain,” says Hallowell. “It’s hard to exercise and feel guilty at the same time.”
Granted, this is not a permanent fix for an overwhelming feeling that you aren’t pulling your weight at work or you’re neglecting a friend, but it’s a perfect antidote for smaller, isolated issues that may keep you awake for a night or two.

Strategy 6: Beware of Guilt Trips
Guilt isn’t always something that you load on yourself. Some people (whether they intend to or not) induce guilt in others―often to advance their own agendas.
To avoid falling prey to this, assess whether the other person’s point of view is legitimate and if he or she is taking your needs into account. For example, perhaps your elderly mother doesn’t get out much and loves your visits. But your daily presence will not literally cure what ails her, as she none-too-subtly suggests. If making the long trip to see her every day means you have to neglect your own family and yourself, this is a setup for more guilt. In this case, your mother’s need is legitimate but her representation of it is exaggerated.
Talk to the other person about solutions that work for both of you so no one feels resentment toward the other. And if all else fails, bringing her a batch of cookies (store-bought) always makes things better.

Mixed picture for mom, baby with antidepressants

2012-03-07T12:57:00.000-05:00

Babies born to mothers who took antidepressants while they were pregnant had slightly slower head growth and were more likely to be born early, in a new study from the Netherlands.

Still, that doesn't prove that the drugs, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), caused changes in the babies' development -- or that those differences would end up having long-term effects.

Related: Antidepressants and pregnancy: What to do now

The findings are the latest addition to a still-complicated picture that has suggested a slightly increased risk of certain birth defects and health problems in babies of moms taking antidepressants, but also known benefits for the women.

"The accumulated data that's out there is still controversial," said Christina Chambers, who has studied the topic at the University of California, San Diego, but wasn't involved in the new work.

"It's not a simple, 'Did you take this drug or not?' You have all of these surrounding issues of the underlying condition that's being treated, how long the mother took the medication, and all of the other issues that surround it," she told Reuters Health.

In the current study, babies of mothers who were depressed but didn't take medication also had slightly slower body growth than those born to non-depressed moms.

Dr. Henning Tiemeier from Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam and his colleagues tracked close to 8,000 pregnant women as part of a larger study of the moms-to-be and their kids, which included ultrasounds during each trimester to assess the babies' growth.

Most of the women had few symptoms of depression, while 570 appeared depressed but weren't taking medication and another 99 were taking SSRIs.

In the womb, babies of women who were depressed, but not treated, gained less weight per week than babies of non-depressed mothers, and their heads grew a bit more slowly, too.

When moms were treated with antidepressants, however, there was no difference in their babies' body growth, but a bigger effect on head growth, which was slowed by 0.18 millimeters per week. By the time they were born, those babies' heads were about four millimeters smaller, on average, than babies of non-depressed moms.

"You could say half a centimeter... is not so big. But we think that, given that there's not a lot of variation at birth, that half a centimeter is quite substantial," Tiemeier told Reuters Health. "It's not nothing."

'I want Malia and Sasha to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way': Obama brings daughters into Rush Limbaugh 'slutgate' furor

2012-03-06T22:36:00.000-05:00

As anger continues to swirl around syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh after referring to a law student as a 'slut,' even the president can't keep from weighing in.

The backlash against Limbaugh has intensified in recent days, as an eighth advertiser has dropped its support of his radio program and two stations have pulled the plug on it.

Limbaugh called Georgetown student Sandra Fluke a 'slut' and a 'prostitute' last week after she urged lawmakers to consider the importance of contraception coverage in health care policy.

During President Obama's press conference today at the White House, he had little to say about the controversy at first.

Scroll down for video...

Controvery: During his first press conference of 2012, President Obama weighed in on the uproar surrounding radio host Rush Limbaugh, right, after he called Sandra Fluke a 'slut' on the air

'I'm not going to comment on what sponsors decide to do. I'm not going to comment on either the economics or the politics of it. I don't know what's in Rush Limbaugh's heart, so I'm not going to comment on the sincerity of his apology.'

But he said that he was compelled to offer his support to Fluke after considering his own children, daughters Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10.

Obama said: 'The reason I called Ms Fluke is because I thought about Malia and Sasha, and one of the things I want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about, even ones I may not agree with them on'.

Reaction: Georgetown University law student and activist Sandra Fluke speaks during an appearance on the daytime talk show, 'The View' about the comments he made on his programme

He added: 'I want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way. And I don't want them attacked or called horrible names because they're being good citizens'.

And I wanted Sandra to know that I thought her parents should be proud of her, and that we want to send a message to all our young people that being part of a democracy involves argument and disagreements and debate, and we want you to be engaged, and there's a way to do it that doesn't involve you being demeaned and insulted, particularly when you’re a private citizen'.

Meanwhile, firms are pulling sponsorship deals from Limbaugh's radio show, fans are refusing to tune in and a couple of stations have dropped its broadcast.

Carbonite, Proflowers, Tax Resolution Services, Legal Zoom, Citrix Success, All State, Heart and Body Extract, AutoZone, Quicken Loans, Sleep Train, Sleep Number, Oreck and AOL have all stopped advertising with the show.

KPUA in Hilo, Hawaii, and WBEC in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, are no longer airing it.

Listeners of smaller, local radio stations that broadcast the syndicated show are being called on to pressure advertisers to cut all ties.

Twitter users are also spreading the message using the hashtags #BoycottRush, #StopRush and #BoycottHate.

Several Facebook pages also have thousands of fans supporting the action. Limbaugh made a rare public apology on Saturday in the wake of the uproar caused by his comments.

But Fluke, who became Limbaugh's target after she testified about birth control before a Congressional panel, questioned the sincerity of the apology, adding that she did not want to hear from Limbaugh personally.

Hours of playing video games can change brain for the better, research finds

2012-03-06T22:31:00.000-05:00

Video games can change a person's brain and, as researchers are finding, often that change is for the better.

A growing body of university research suggests that gaming improves creativity, decision-making and perception. The specific benefits are wide ranging, from improved hand-eye coordination in surgeons to vision changes that boost night driving ability.

People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25 percent faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study. Indeed, the most adept gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second -- four times faster than most people, other researchers found. Moreover, practiced game players can pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared with the four that someone can normally keep in mind, said University of Rochester researchers. The studies were conducted independently of the companies that sell video and computer games.

Scientists also found that women -- who make up about 42 percent of computer and videogame players -- were better able to mentally manipulate 3D objects, a skill at which men are generally more adept. Most studies looked at adults rather than children.

Abortion-mental illness link doesn't hold up, researchers find

2012-03-06T22:22:00.000-05:00

A study purporting to find a link between abortions and mental illness does not hold up to scrutiny, according to a new report in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

The original study, conducted by Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University in Kentucky, has been a source of contention since its publication in 2009, when critics pointed out flaws in the statistical analysis. Those errors triggered a correction by Coleman and her colleagues, but outside researchers found other problems with the paper. Most importantly, they report in the February issue of the journal, the original researchers included mental health ailments not only after abortion, but all across the life span, making it impossible to know whether the psychological problems came before or after the procedure.

"This is not a scholarly difference of opinion; their facts were flatly wrong. This was an abuse of the scientific process to reach conclusions that are not supported by the data," study researcher Julia Steinberg, an assistant professor in the University of California, San Francisco's department of psychiatry, said in a statement. "The shifting explanations and misleading statements that they offered over the past two years served to mask their serious methodological errors."

Low-cost heart drug that cuts deaths by 40 percent gets approval

2012-03-06T22:14:00.000-05:00

LONDON – A low-cost drug that could cut the risk of dying from heart failure by more than a third has been approved by European regulators.

The results of a major clinical trial of Procoralan, which costs less than £10 ($16) a week, showed Tuesday that the drug could reduce the risk of dying from heart failure by 39 percent.

It works by slowing the beating of the heart, helping it to pump blood more efficiently.

British doctors who studied the drug, also known as ivabradine, believe it could save 10,000 lives a year in the UK alone.

Professor Martin Cowie, consultant cardiologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, led the study, which involved 6,505 people in 37 countries.

He said, "The results of the trial demonstrate the value that a reduction in heart rate with ivabradine can bring, both in terms of improving symptoms and preventing disease progression, but also in helping patients return to normal daily activities and increasing their enjoyment of life."

Heart failure affects 900,000 people in the UK, causing 100,000 deaths a year.

The disorder is usually the result of a heart attack damaging the pumping muscles. It significantly reduces the amount of oxygenated blood reaching the body, causing progressive breathlessness and disability.

The drug has yet to be assessed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Ex

Women prize men who try to understand their emotions

2012-03-06T22:08:00.001-05:00

Women can be difficult to understand, some men say, but new empathy research indicates that to keep a woman happy, their partners just need to try to understand their emotions, not necessarily succeed at it.
Men, on the other hand, just want to know whether their significant other is happy. If they notice that their partner is unhappy, and is possibly about to initiate a split, the thought decreases their relationship happiness. Women's happiness, however, is not dampened by a partner's dissatisfied emotions.
"It could be that for women, seeing that their male partner is upset reflects some degree of the man’s investment and emotional engagement in the relationship, even during difficult times," study researcher Shiri Cohen of Harvard Medical School, said in a statement.
So, the fact their partner is experiencing any emotion, even a negative one, is still good news to women, Cohen said: "This is consistent with what is known about the dissatisfaction women often experience when their male partner becomes emotionally withdrawn and disengaged in response to conflict."
Researchers studied 156 couples (102 younger couples from Boston and 54 older, suburban couples), all in committed relationships. Seventy-one percent of couples were white, 56 percent were married, and couples had been together for 3.5 years on average.
The participants described and discussed a recent argument with their partner. The researchers recorded this discussion and picked 30-second clips of negative and positive emotions from each partner. The clips were played back and the participants answered questionnaires about their own feelings, what they thought their partner was feeling, and their relationship satisfaction.
In those couples in which men understood that their female partner was angry or upset, the women reported higher relationship satisfaction. In fact, even when the guy got it wrong, saying a partner was content when she was upset, women reported high relationship satisfaction as long as she felt he was trying to understand her. (This ability to empathize, or understand another's emotions, has been shown in past research to boost relationship satisfaction.)

2012-03-05T18:52:00.000-05:00


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'It was absolutely appalling': How glamorous soldier (and mother-of-two) shamed Rush Limbaugh on Twitter with '#I am not a slut'

2012-03-05T17:51:00.001-05:00

When Rush Limbaugh called a college student a 'slut' over a heated debate on contraception it sparked a national outcry.

The controversial radio host found himself abandoned by advertisers and was even criticised by Barack Obama.

But it was an online campaign through Twitter which really helped to galvanize women's outrage over his comments.

The hashtag 'I am not a slut' went viral and resulted in hundreds of tweets in an enormous national reaction against Mr Limbaugh.

And it has now emerged that the woman responsible for starting the online campaign is a 35-year-old Army officer from Fort Hood, Texas.

Jessica Scott, who is a company commander and romance novelist, told BuzzFeed that she had been following the heated debates on contraception and religious liberty for a month.

But when Mr Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a 'slut' after she argued that employers should pay for their workers' contraception, she decided it was time to act.

The second lieutenant, who has served in Iraq, wrote on Twitter that she 'used birth control while deployed with my husband so I *wouldn't* get pregnant & sent home.'

She then finished the tweet with the hashtag #iamnotaslut which proved hugely popular and sparked a flurry of tweets expressing anger at Mr Limbaugh's comments.

Speaking to BuzzFeed, Mrs Scott, who has two children, said: 'The entire thing is absolutely appalling because her testimony wasn't even about sex.

More...

Too little, too late for Rush Limbaugh? Republican allies and advertisers continue to desert host despite apology

'It was about a woman who'd lost an ovary because her insurance would not cover birth control pills she needed to control the ovarian cysts.'

Mr Limbaugh had faced repeated calls for an apology after claiming that the student must be sexually promiscuous because she supported a contentious measure which would have forced religious institutions to fund birth control for their employees.

But instead he dialed up the rhetoric, first saying that Ms Fluke, from Catholic College Georgetown University in Washington D.C, should film herself having sex and then claiming that she 'had boyfriends lined up around the block'.

Anger: Rush Limbaugh, left, sparked a national outrage when he called Sandra Fluke, right, a 'slut' following a heated debate on contraception

However, after a number of firms pulled their advertisements from his show and the President called Ms Fluke to express his support Mr Limbaugh finally backed down on Saturday afternoon, three days after his initial remarks.

Today, AOL became the eighth advertiser to drop their adverts from Mr Limbaugh's show.

The company posted on Twitter today: 'At AOL one of our core values is that we act with integrity. We have monitored the unfolding events and have determined that Mr. Limbaugh’s comments are not in line with our values. As a result we have made the decision to suspend advertising on The Rush Limbaugh Radio show'.

His apology read: 'For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms Fluke.'

Mrs Scott, who has served in the army for 17 years, was left stunned by the reaction her hashtag created

When she is not working as a soldier, she writes romance novels with covers featuring near-naked male soldiers.

Campaign: These tweets from Jessica Scott with the hashtag 'I am not a slut' resulted in an online campaign against Rush Limbaugh's controversial comments

Her books - part of a series called Coming Home - focus on soldiers returning from war.

Why loneliness can be deadly

2012-03-05T17:35:00.000-05:00

According to a new research, loneliness can increase risk of cancer. Research was conducted on rodents. Rodents that are kept alone developed more tumors of deadly type than rats living as a group.

The researchers say that the same may be true in humans. Experts in cancer say that more work and research is needed to prove such a link in humans.

In terms of survival, cancer patients who are depressed tend to fare worse. Previous research has found that social support can enhance health conditions for breast cancer patients.

In this study, researchers found that risk of breast cancer trebled with isolation and stress in sociable Norway rats.

Loneliness can send a person down a path toward bad health, and even more intense loneliness, studies have shown. But while some have assumed the culprit was a dearth of others to remind a person to take care of himself or herself, new research suggests there's a direct biological link between being lonely and ill health.

Loneliness can set into a motion a barrage of negative impacts inside the human body — but with additional social contact, some of the ill effects can be stopped.

John Cacioppo, a University of Chicago social psychologist who studies the biological effects of loneliness, presented some of his latest research at the Social Psychology and Perception meeting in San Diego in February.

He has found, for instance, loneliness is tied to hardening of the arteries (which leads to high blood pressure), inflammation in the body, and even problems with learning and memory. Even fruit flies that are isolated have worse health and die sooner than those that interact with others, showing that social engagement may be hard-wired, Cacioppo said.

In one study, Cacioppo and Steve Cole of UCLA examined how the immune system changed over time in people who were socially isolated. They observed a change in the kinds of genes that lonely people's immune systems were expressing. Genes overexpressed in the loneliest individuals included many involved in immune system activation and inflammation. In addition, several key gene sets were underexpressed, including those involved in antiviral responses and antibody production. The result is that a lonely person's body has let its defenses down to viral and other invaders. [7 Personality Traits That Are Bad For You]

"What we see is a consistent pattern where it looks like human immune cells are programmed with a defensive strategy that gets activated in lonely people," Cole told LiveScience.

e: BBC

Words of Wellness: ‘You Are What You Wear'

2012-03-05T17:28:00.000-05:00

Often when people wake up in the morning, one of the first questions they ask themselves is, “What should I wear today?”

You may be guilty of it, too – male or female – standing in front of your closet for what seems like a lifetime, agonizing over which outfit will look the best, convey the right message or hide those extra pounds.

Jennifer Baumgartner, a psychologist, knows these feelings all too well.

As she worked toward her Ph.D., Baumgartner followed in her grandmother’s footsteps by working in retail and styling people’s wardrobes. She discovered what she was learning in psychology classes, was happening in dressing rooms.

“I have always been interested in fashion, style, and the way people dress,” Baumgartner said. “I felt clothing was wearable art and was fascinated that as wearers, we interact with the art and the artist (the designer). I was also intrigued by the internal process that influenced dressing behaviors (shopping, putting together an outfit, storing, wearing, not wearing, etc.”

While working on her dissertation, Baumgartner began writing ‘psychology of dress’ ideas in a book format. She eventually was offered her own blog, “The Psychology of Dress,” by Psychology Today – and this led to her most recent book, You Are What You Wear – What Your Clothes Reveal About You.

"Unfortunately, the feel-good chemicals released from shopping are temporary, so one must continue to shop to reap the benefits. This can lead to an addictive cycle, where shopping continues despite negative outcomes."

- Jennifer Baumgartner, psychologist

Q: Describe the connection between psychology and dressing for success.

A: Obviously, if you are well-dressed, you are going to feel better about yourself. We always hear that dressing a certain way makes us feel a certain way, but what we don't hear is that the way we dress is the way we feel. Yes, we can dress stylishly, and this will impact our feelings of our success, but I think it is more important to analyze the internal reasons we are not dressing successfully in the first place. If we can identify why we are not enhancing the self externally, we can make those internal changes, which leads to successful dressing. These reasons may include fears of failure, discomfort with standing out, lack of time/self-care, etc. When we can change these things, dressing successfully is, well, far more successful.

Q: Clothes and what you buy can also be a look into a person’s mind – case in point, “Tessa,” a well-dressed woman who had shopped her way into debt, who you describe in your book. Can you explain further?

Sleep study video captures last hours of man’s life

2012-03-05T17:20:00.000-05:00

A video camera meant to capture a 25-year-old man’s sleep patterns ultimately recorded the last hours of his life, MyFoxAtlanta reported.

The man, Brandon Harris, was mentally-handicapped and had been referred by his doctor to the Emory Sleep Center in Atlanta for a sleep study that could help establish whether or not he had obstructive sleep apnea.

According to the TV station, Harris’ family said it was risky for Harris to lie on his back for long periods of time - because he was overweight and had congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, diabetes and high blood pressure.

During the study, Harris started gesturing and asked, ‘Am I dying?’

Georgia state senator Vincent Fort said the sleep center staff should have acted more quickly to help Harris.

“Brandon knew that he was in a situation that was life-threatening,” Fort told MyFoxAtlanta. “They should have done more than just reassure him that he was OK. They should have done the things necessary to save his life.”

Harris’ death has prompted a wrongful death lawsuit, as well as a new bill, which would provide tougher regulations on Georgia’s sleep centers – such as 24-hour staffing and defibrillators being placed in each room

NYC amputee awarded nearly $18 million from city and hospital

2012-03-05T17:13:00.000-05:00

A New York City woman who had her hands and legs amputated has won a $17.9 million settlement from the city and a hospital.

The Daily News reports that Tabitha Mullings will receive $9.4 million from Brooklyn Hospital Center and $8.5 million from the city.

The hospital and city say they settled because a sympathetic jury would have been swayed by Mullings’ severe injuries.

Her nightmare began in 2008 when she went to the emergency room was sent home with a diagnosis of a kidney stone.

She experienced excruciating pain and numbness the next day and called 911 but wasn’t taken to the hospital.

She developed a sepsis infection by the time she went to the hospital the following day. Gangrene spread to her extremities.

3-year-old swallows 37 magnets, tears holes in stomach

2012-03-05T17:09:00.002-05:00

A 3-year-old needed surgery after she swallowed 37 magnets, KPTV reported.
Payton Bushnell of Portland, Ore., ripped a hole in her stomach and three in her lower intestine after she ate 37 Rare Earth Buckyball magnets, according to the TV station.
When Payton’s parents took her to the hospital, an X-ray revealed that it looked like she had swallowed a bracelet.
“I’m thinking that she kind of put two and two together and thought these look like what we put on Christmas cookies,” said Payton’s mother, Kelli Bushnell. “If we had any idea what they could have done to her intestines, we would have never had them in our house.”
Payton has since recovered – but this is not the first time a child has swallowed magnets. Since 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported 22 cases of children swallowing magnets, according to the TV station.
“I had not read that any child had ever swallowed more than, say, 10, or so,” Sandy Nipper, a registered nurse at Randall’s Children’s Hospital in Portland, told KPTV. “When I heard that 37 of these magnets had been swallowed, it frightened me to death.”

5 reasons to make some noise in the bedroom

2012-03-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

You might think being noisy in the bedroom is just a matter of personal preference. But in a lot of ways, there’s a strong connection between sexual health and being vocal in bed.
Here are five reasons why it’s important for the bedroom of healthy, sexual active people to not be so quiet.

1. It means you're breathing. In the heat of passion, breathing should be more than the silent inhale and exhale of daily life. So, if your breathing is audible in bed, that’s an excellent sign. Breathing deeply can increase pleasure. It can also keep the fun from ending too soon. Use your breath to regulate the speed of what’s going on. Speed it up to help get you in the mood, and slow it down to prolong the activities.
2. It means your partner knows that you are enjoying it. If you’re silent as a mouse in bed, your partner might begin to wonder if you’re even awake, let alone enjoying what’s happening. So don’t be afraid to “ooh” and “ahh” – or even yell. The point is that it’s important for your partner to hear you. There’s nothing sexy about holding back. You don’t have to put on a show. Just let the sounds flow naturally. You might even surprise yourself….
3. It keeps you in the moment. If you spend all of your time in bed thinking about keeping quiet so you don't sound "weird,” you’ll miss all of the fun. But, if instead of worrying about how noisy you are, you simply let the sounds fall where, when, and how they may, you can stay present and enjoy all of the presents your partner is gifting you. No one’s listening except the one person you want to have in earshot and, believe me, he or she is delighted to hear it all.
4. It shows intimacy. If you can tell your partner what you want in bed, it means you feel close enough to him or her to be comfortable doing that. So don’t be shy. If you like it a little more to the left or a little further down to the right, then make your desires known. There’s no shame in purring a few suggestions or offering some directions. Believe me, everyone loves to be a rock star in bed and having some stage directions only makes it easier to shine.
5. It means you’re comfortable with your sexuality. Letting it all out is only possible when you feel good about yourself and what you're doing, which is how everyone should feel when it comes to sex. If you’re hung up on your body image or whether you’re doing it “right,” then it’s highly likely that silence would be de rigueur. But when the bedroom is alive with the sounds of sweet nothings and shivers and sighs, then it’s clear that all’s well.
Sex shouldn’t be filled with worry or insecurity or thinking ahead about how it should go. Instead, it should be about spontaneity and pleasure and joy. Just like the other senses, our sense of sound can play a big part in our sexual experiences. So why deprive yourself or your partner of any fun? And if being noisy is new, take it slowly, start with breathing, move to sounds, and finally add in some pillow talk. There’s no rush and no rules. It’s all about what works for you.

Jenny Block is a freelance writer based in Dallas, Texas. She is the author of "Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage." Her work also appears in "One Big Happy Family" edited by Rebecca Walker and "It’s a Girl: Women Writers on Raising Daughters" edited by Andrea Buchanan. Visit her Web site at www.jennyonthepage.com

Newt Gingrich is the latest to distance himself from Rush Limbaugh following 'slut' comments and at least one advertiser says they're never coming back

2012-03-04T14:10:00.001-05:00

Newt Gingrich was the latest Republican presidential candidate to distance himself from the controversial radio commentator Rush Limbaugh following his tirade against a law student that he deemed a 'slut'.

Appearing on a Sunday morning news program, Mr Gingrich said that it was 'silly' to suggest that Mr Limbaugh speaks on behalf of the entire Republican party, and that he glad that Mr Limbaugh issued an apology to Sandra Fluke, the woman at the heart of the debate.

Following her appearance at a hearing in support of President Obama's quest to have all employers pay for birth control through health insurance policies, Mr Limbaugh called the 31-year-old Ms Fluke a 'prostitute' and suggested that she could make enough money to pay for her birth control by posting videos of herself having sex online.

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Rant: Rush Limbaugh, 61, left called Sandra Fluke, right, a student at Catholic college Georgetown University, a 'slut' for saying religious institutions should cover birth control under health insurance

Mr Gingrich's fellow candidates already responded, with each varying in their severity.

Rick Santorum said that the comments were 'absurd' and Ron Paul said that they were 'crude'.

Mitt Romney tried to tactfully avoid the issue at several campaign events before finally saying Mr Limbaugh's remarks were 'not the language I would have used'.

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After refusing to retract his name calling from Wednesday, Mr Limbaugh decided to double down on Thursday and dig himself deeper into the issue.

Only after a number of advertisers announced that they would be withdrawing their ads from his show did the radio host apologize, saying that he 'did not mean a personal attack on Ms Fluke' but was simply trying to make a point.

'For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity,' he said in his statement that he released on Saturday.

Condemnations: GOP Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich said that he was glad Mr Limbaugh apologized, and distanced himself from the controversial host by saying it was 'silly' to think that Mr Limbaugh speaks for the party

Syphilis tests could save a million babies:

2012-03-04T14:03:00.002-05:00

LONDON (Reuters) - The lives of almost a million newborn babiescould be saved every year if simple, cheap and rapid tests forsyphilis were offered to pregnant women in poorer countries, global health experts said on Thursday.

The Global Congenital Syphilis Partnership, a group set up to help tackle the sexually transmitted disease, said testing women in early pregnancy would cost less than 1 pound ($1.58) per woman, and those who tested positive could be treated with a single dose of the cheap antibiotic penicillin.

"Screening and treating pregnant women for syphilis is one of the most cost-effective ways to save lives. New rapid tests are easy to use, ... affordable and give a result in just 15 minutes," said Peter Piot, chair of the partnership and director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

He said if screening were carried out routinely and women who needed treatment got it before 28 weeks' gestation, "no stillbirths or neonatal deaths would be due to syphilis."

"It's as simple as that," he told a briefing in London.

Experts estimate around 2 million pregnant women are infected with syphilis every year and more than half of those pass it on to their unborn children. According to the World Health Organization, between 3 and 15 p

5 things doctors don't want you to do

2012-03-04T13:47:00.000-05:00

1. Believing everything you read. While all the experts say they appreciate a patient who is well-informed and does her research, they also caution against assuming all the information you find online is accurate. Googling your symptoms can lead you to misinformation, and you could end up focusing on scary stuff that doesn’t apply to your situation.

2. Keeping secrets. To treat you properly, your doctor needs to know your health history, all the medications and herbal supplements you’re taking, and any alternative therapies you’re using, as well as symptoms you wouldn’t share at the dinner table.

3. Assuming that over-the-counter equals safe. Over-the-counter drugs are safe only if you're taking the recommended amounts and following directions. But exceeding the labeled dosage can be dangerous.

4. Jumping to take newfangled tests or scans (like a virtual colonoscopy or a full-body CT scan) just because they are on the menu. Talk it over with your doctor to see if a simpler test is just as informative.

5. Messing with your meds. There’s a reason your doctor recommended a specific dosage or combination of medications. Certain drugs can have negative interactions, and others, like antibiotics, are less effective if you don’t take the entire prescribed course of pills. Take all medications as directed.

Chef Tackling Acid Reflux Creates New Cookbook

2012-03-04T13:36:00.000-05:00

Marc Bauer is not your typical French chef: He does not finish sauces with two grams of butter or create soups that are 20 percent cream.
So is Bauer, who was born and raised in Alsace, France, a calorie-counting, flavor-sacrificing chef?
Not by any means.
Bauer, who is now based in New York City, along with an estimated 100 million other Americans, suffers from acid reflux . Rather than abandon rich, savory ingredients, Bauer teamed up with Dr. Jamie Koufman, the director of the Voice Institute of New York and professor of Otolaryngology at New York Medical College, to create delicious recipes that will not upset the digestive tract of those who suffer from acid reflux. They compiled these recipes into Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure.
The layout of this cookbook is both culinary and educational, with 70 of the 200 pages dedicated to information on acid reflux, including things to avoid, items to enjoy and even a three page chart of pH levels found in common foods, vegetables and condiments. At the bottom of each recipe is a notes section where Bauer provides technical, cooking gems. Bauer stressed that in all of the recipes, he uses simple ingredients, which are available to all people, from New York City to the Midwest.
Acid reflux occurs when the acidic contents of the stomach pass up into the esophagus, and the sphincter muscle (the barrier between the two) has a defect, so it is unable to block the acid.

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Causes of acid reflux can include, but are not limited to: a sphincter having low pressure, pregnancy, hiatal hernia and obesity.
Doctors often prescribe proton pump inhibitors like Nexium or Pepcid to treat the condition, but sometimes surgery or lifestyle changes are needed.
“I don't like medications,” Bauer confessed. “That was one of my interests in working with Drs. Stern and Koufman on this cookbook. I'm really not for using medication, but my life is stirring around food, fresh ingredients, quality ingredients.”
Bauer remembered as a kid in France feeling as if acid was in his throat after eating certain foods high in fat, like smoked pork or Bavarian cream pie, but he had never heard of acid reflux.
“Now in the past few years, what I feel is more like a coughing after eating,” Bauer explained. “I cough, and you would think, ‘Oh, I swallowed something wrong,’ and then it will stop after a while.”
Koufman said the symptoms of acid reflux are more than heartburn and indigestion for some.
“Having the sensation of a lump in their throat, hoarseness, chronic cough, difficulty swallowing, sore throat and sometimes even sinus and asthma can have reflux as its primary cause,” Koufman said.
Although foods that bring about acid reflux vary from person to person, some common triggers are onions, citruses, eggs, fatty meats, deep-fried foods, hot sauces and high-fat milk chocolate.
In addition, people who have acid reflux should steer clear from bottled and canned products because acid is added to help kill bacteria. Alcohol most likely will not cause acid reflux when consumed in moderation but timing must be taken into account.
Koufman said that a glass of wine right before bed may trigger acid reflux, while a glass with dinner can go unnoticed.
While writing the cookbook, she and Bauer measured the acidity of foods in order to modify, substitute, and limit acidic ingredients.

Dozens of common medications identified as risky for the elderly

2012-03-04T13:25:00.000-05:00

Estrogen patches, aspirin and ibuprofen are among 53 medications and classes of medications that are potentially inappropriate for the elderly if not carefully prescribed, according to a newly revised list by the American Geriatrics Society.
The list of potentially dangerous medications for adults 65 and older was posted online Friday by the organization.
Known as the Beers Criteria, the list is aimed at guiding doctors to avoid adverse drug events (ADE) for the elderly.
According to studies cited by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), more than 40 percent of people 65 and older take five or more medications and more than a third of them will suffer an ADE each year.
"Older adults run a particularly high risk of ADEs, in part because age-related physiological changes and multiple health problems can make them more vulnerable to such reactions," Jennie Chin Hansen, the organization's CEO, said in a statement announcing the update to the Beers Criteria.
The Beers Criteria, created by the late geriatrician Mark Beers in 1991, was last revised in 2003 and is widely referenced by doctors in the field of geriatric care.
The 2012 list was updated by a panel of experts in geriatrics and pharmacotherapy based on the latest available research, the study says.

'I sincerely apologise': Rush Limbaugh says sorry for calling student a 'slut' in row over birth control which led advertisers to boycott show

2012-03-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

Rush Limbaugh has apologised for calling a college student a 'slut' after she argued that employers should pay for their workers' contraception.

The controversial radio host's comments, which included a suggestion that Sandra Fluke should make a sex tape, caused a row which saw him abandoned by advertisers and even drew in Barack Obama.

But today he acknowledged that he 'chose the wrong words' while trying to 'illustrate the absurd with absurdity', and insisted: 'I did not mean a personal attack on Ms Fluke.'

But instead he dialed up the rhetoric, first saying that Ms Fluke should film herself having sex and then claiming that she 'had boyfriends lined up around the block'.

However, after three companies pulled their advertisements from his show and the President called Ms Fluke to express his support Mr Limbaugh finally backed down on Saturday afternoon, three days after his initial remarks.

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On his radio show yesterday, the 61-year-old defended his comments and went on to suggest that Ms Fluke 'had boyfriends lined up around the block. Or they would have been in my day'.

He said: 'She's having so much sex that she's going broke, she says... You're worried here that I'm just stepping in it deeper, yes you are but this is the truth.'

'If we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex... we want you to post the videos online so we can all watch'

Rush Limbaugh

On Friday three advertisers revealed they will pull all adverts from the radio show after the host had made fun of Ms Fluke for saying religious institutions should cover birth control in health insurance - and said in a further show that she should have to make sex tapes if this ever happens.

Mattress retailers Sleep Train and Sleep Number, as well as mortgage lender QuickenLoans, have all bowed to pressure on Twitter and said they will no longer advertise on the show.

‘We don't condone negative comments directed toward any group,’ a Sleep Train spokesman tweeted. ‘Thanks to all of you for your concern and input.’

'Recent comments by Rush Limbaugh do not align with our values,' a Sleep Number spokesman said. 'So we made decision to immediately suspend all advertising on that program.'

A QuickenLoans spokesman said: 'Due to continued inflammatory comments - along with valuable feedback from clients & team members - QL has suspended ads on Rush Limbaugh.'

Meanwhile advertiser ProFlowers said it will 're-evaluate’ its marketing plan and dating site eHarmony insisted it will look into ‘the matter of 'network buys’.

Mr Limbaugh said earlier this week that Ms Fluke, of Catholic college Georgetown University in Washington D.C., was promiscuous for saying woman should get the pill for medical reasons.

And he went even further on his next show, saying: 'If we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex... we want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.'

Annoyed: President Barack Obama, seen on Friday, considers Mr Limbaugh's remarks 'reprehensible' and called Ms Fluke to express his disappointment that she was the subject of 'inappropriate personal attacks'

Shock: Ms Fluke told MSNBC's Today show on Friday that she was 'stunned and outraged' by the comments

Mr Obama said he considered Mr Limbaugh's remarks 'reprehensible' and called Ms Fluke to express his disappointment that she was the subject of 'inappropriate personal attacks'.

'He said he hoped my parents were proud of me,' Ms Fluke said, adding that the President 'thanked me for speaking out and for expressing the concerns of so many women'.

'The fact that our political discourse has become debased in many ways is bad enough,' a White House spokesman said. 'It is worse when it's directed at a private citizen simply expressing her views.'

More surprisingly, Mr Limbaugh has also faced criticism from the Republican presidential candidates, with Rick Santorum calling his comments 'absurd'.

When Mitt Romney was asked what he thought about the remarks, he replied: 'I'll just say this, which is, it's not the language I would have used.'

Mr Limbaugh said on his original show regarding Ms Fluke's comments on birth control: ‘What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex.

‘She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex.’

Ms Fluke said on Friday that she has been left 'very upset' by the comments made by Mr Limbaugh.

'My reaction was the reaction a lot of women have had historically when they’ve been called these types of names,' she told MSNBC. 'Initially to be stunned by it, and then to quickly feel outraged and very upset.'

New IVF method increases chance of pregnancy by a quarter, experts say

2012-03-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

A woman's chances of becoming pregnant through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) can increase by more than a quarter with new technology that mimics the effects of the womb, experts claimed.
Fertility experts at Newcastle University in northeast England discovered a way of processing embryos during IVF treatment that does not require the embryos to be removed from incubators for examination, which can be harmful.
The team developed a system of interlinked incubators that allows all such procedures to be carried out within an enclosed and controlled environment, according to research published in the journal PLoS ONE.
A three-year study showed that the new system resulted in a minimum 27 percent increase in pregnancy rates compared with conventional IVF equipment.
Women in the study had a 45 percent chance of getting pregnant, compared with a 32 percent and 35 percent chance in the preceding two years.
Professor Mary Herbert, who led the research, said, "Our aim was to keep eggs and embryos in conditions similar to those they would experience naturally—inside a woman's body."
She added, "This led our team to design and develop a system in which it is possible to perform all of the technical procedures while maintaining stable conditions throughout the IVF process."
Professor Alison Murdoch, head of clinical service at Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life added, "Since installing this new technology over 850 babies have now been born."