Medical Abortion on Law & Order: SVU

If you watch any of the Law & Order shows on a regular basis you have seen the disclaimer that says the characters and plots are works of fiction, but often the episodes do treat controversial legal, social or medical issues that are themselves based in fact. In a recent Law & Order: SVU episode entitled "Gray," Benson and Stabler investigate a college student accused of "gray rape" after he has sex with a drunk co-ed. In the course of the investigation the detectives of the Special Victims Unit discover the same student had also been accused of causing a miscarriage in his pregnant girlfriend against her will. The story is that he was a pre-med student and knew he could induce an abortion without her knowing, by using a homemade lubricant that contained the ulcer medication misoprostol.

So were the writers of this SVU episode using a good bit of creative license, or could a man actually cause his partner to miscarry without her knowing it?

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Flu Season - Who's Trying to Profit?

I am a Featured Contributor in the Diseases & Conditions category at Associated Content, and in the process of researching some upcoming articles I came upon a blog post that made a huge deal of the connection between Gaillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and the H1N1 flu shot many of us received last year.

The post began with an incredibly oversized headline, screaming that the vaccine manufacturer admitted its product caused GBS. It then continued to tell us how:

The package insert for the Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine manufactured by Novartis has been leaked on the Internet.

Um, no. The package insert wasn't leaked. Drug manufacturers routinely make product monographs and package inserts available online. You just have to go to their web sites to find the information. failing that, you can do a search for the drug or vaccine in question, including expressions like "monograph" or "package insert."

The post went on to give a bunch of advice on how to survive a forced H1N1 vaccination. The recommendations were originally supplied by a former neurosurgeon, who now apparently makes his living providing nutritional services and "vaccine detox" advice.

The first advice on the list was to apply a cold pack to the vaccine site to, "block the immune response" - presumably meaning the vaccine would not work, and the recipient would not become immune to the flu. If that were truly the case, I wonder why it is routine advice to put a cold compress on the vaccine site to relieve discomfort? Wouldn't doctors and community nursing staff want to warn against applying cold to the site if it interfered with the efficacy of the vaccine?

The advice that followed included a huge laundry list of supplements people should take to prevent adverse reaction from the vaccine - products that I'm sure the good doctor (or former doctor?) would be happy to sell the reader for the right price. Some of the advice seemed to me contradictory - like the warning against taking zinc in combination with copper, followed by the direction to take daily multivitamin. The thing is, it was stressed the vitamin should not contain iron, but it seems copper in this supplement was OK. Why? I can't say for sure...

What concerned me more was the recommendations that people take mega-doses of fat soluble vitamin D for a prolonged period of time. Any large dose of vitamins should be discussed with your health provider before you pop it, especially fat soluble vitamins that will build up in your liver and fatty tissues. Taking too much of these vitamins is potentially toxic, so why would I take a dose 50 times greater than the recommended daily allowance if I wanted to detoxify my body?

The post ends with a brief discussion of what the reader should have learned from its contents. I think the more pertinent question ought to be why any reasonable person should take questionable medical advice from a web site that, in its flu kit supply category, is happy to sell me everything from outdated issues of Scientific American, to anti-parasite treatments containing wormwood, to motorcycle decals?

I have similarly seen a web site that went on at length about "vaccine-related" deaths documented in a published study. Problem is, if you read the actual study, the statistics are reviewed in detail and a large number of the deaths were completed unrelated. Off the top of my head, I remember one was due to a car accident within six months of vaccination and another was an accidental drowning. But on the anti-vax web site, these and other unrelated deaths were reported as though the vaccine had caused them.

Look folks, I know not everyone believes in vaccinations. I know often vaccines are given by health caregivers who fail to discuss potential risks and side effects. That's not right. It's also not right that some states forced citizens to be vaccinated against their will.

If you're going to make the decision that vaccines are not for you & your family, I respect that choice. But I also hope that you're doing your own research instead of accepting at face value all the things you read on just any "alternative" medicine or anti-vax web site.

Remember that, just as Big Pharma makes a profit from selling you pharmaceutical products and getting you to vaccinate your family, the people who oppose Big Pharma often stand to gain financially too. Maybe they are alternative health practitioners, looking to sell you services. Maybe they want to sell you supplements or even books. If you opting out of conventional medical services puts money in their pockets, can you trust them any more than you can trust the medical and pharmaceutical establishment?

Think for yourself. Parroting someone else's advice - and I guarantee you, dozens of web sites and blogs are quoting word for word the entire protocol pushed by that neurosurgeon turned vitamin salesman - is not thinking for yourself.

Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get dirty if you want to think for yourself and make your own decisions. You're likely going to have to read a lot, and follow up most of what you read by tracing down the original sources. You may even have to learn how to read a study published in a peer reviewed journal.

It's not easy but as the old saying goes, sometimes if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.

Teaching Staff Get Preventative Leave to Avoid Harmful Viruses

Our son's integration aide from last year is not with him again this year, which is a disappointment because we all worked so well together. But yesterday I discovered it's because she's out on preventative leave due to pregnancy. That may signal bad news to some people, but because Quebec has a special program that allows women to take leave to avoid environmental hazards including exposure to potentially harmful viruses, many teachers and support staff here take this leave. It keeps those growing babies extra safe! Here's more about it:

Fifth disease is also known as the "slapped cheek" disease because of the rash that develops on the faces on infected people. It is a highly contagious illness, caused by human parvovirus B19 and most often seen in younger children. While fifth disease is a very mild illness for most children and adults, if a pregnant woman gets the infection it can cause complications for her unborn baby. The infection can create severe anemia in the fetus, causing miscarriage or stillbirth.


Because the disease is common in children, pregnant women working in childcare facilities, preschools or primary schools are at elevated risk for exposure to the virus. There is no vaccine for fifth disease, and really no method of prevention other than avoidance of infected people and a good hand washing regime. A unique program in Quebec offers protection for the unborn babies of women who do not have immunities built up against fifth disease infection.


Preventive reassignment or leave


Quebec offers the only government-run North American program that allows women paid leave during pregnancy or breastfeeding for preventative reasons. The program receives almost 130 requests each week from around the province. Of those requests, 9 percent come from teachers at the preschool and primary levels.

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Photo: Brent Allison (@sxc.hu)

Do Your Kids Wear Too Many Silly Bandz?

Silly Bandz warning not a hoax

Those of us who spend a good deal of time on the internet tend to be wary of all the warnings that get passed around by email or through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Many times the messages are out of date or ill-informed, though the intention of the original poster was to help. Sometimes, the original poster intentionally created a hoax. In the case of the current warnings about Silly Bandz injuries, the warnings are authentic. This is not a hoax.

What are Silly Bandz?

Silly Bandz are silicone bands that come in a variety of different colours and shapes. The original bands are worn around the wrist as bracelets, but there are now Silly Ringz, as well as Silly Necklaces and Silly Bandz Carabinerz that allow kids to show off their collections.

Silly Bandz are a huge fashion fad with kids, and according to the product's official blog they are a hit with certain professional athletes too. They are now so popular that Canadian teen sensation Justin Bieber has teamed up with the manufacturer. A new Justin Bieber theme pack is currently available for pre-order on the BCP Imports web site.

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Is it Time for Schools to Change Peanut-Free Policies?

Peanuts have the dubious honour of sitting at or near the top of a list of eight high priority food allergens; the others are tree nuts, sesame seeds, milk, eggs, seafood, soy and wheat. Together they account for 90% of allergic reactions in American children. Policies restricting consumption of foods containing peanuts began to show up around the mid-1990s, due to concerns about severe reactions such as anaphylaxis. The focus has mainly been on peanuts and to some extent tree nuts, whether we are considering public health and school policies, media coverage, or changes in how products are marketed to the public.

Peanut free schools

School policies range in severity, from those that establish peanut-free or peanut-allowed zones to accommodate the greatest number of students, to those that prohibit all foods that may contain peanuts or tree nuts. These policies are based on the concern that an allergic student could accidentally be exposed to peanut protein (the component that triggers the allergic reaction) through touching a contaminated surface or by smelling a product made with peanut. Since avoidance is the main approach to dealing with food allergies at present, policies intended to protect children in schools, summer camps and other places kids congregate are based on helping affected kids to avoid peanuts.

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Photo: Zeeshan Qureshi (sxc.hu)

Scientists Recognize the Benefits of Psychedelic Drugs

Researchers take a fresh look at psychedelic drugs

While proponents of psychedelics have for decades called the drugs beneficial, serious research has been lacking until recently. The drugs are associated both with the 1960s counterculture, and also with disturbing medical research performed in years past. The CIA's Project MK-ULTRA saw research into various mind-altering substances such as LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin in the 1950s and 1960s. The program was unfortunately also associated with questionable medical ethics both in the United States and in Canada, where experimentation on subjects at Montreal's Allan Memorial Institute was very controversial.

More recent research has been conducted to show that psychedelics and other illicit drugs may have therapeutic benefits, after all. Studies in Switzerland, the United States and elsewhere have shown these drugs could be useful for treating a whole range of conditions. Scientists involved with these research efforts are prompting the world to take a new look at the value of psychedelics.

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Photo credit: Wikipedia user Alan Rockefeller 

What is Photosensitive Epilepsy?

In December of 1997 almost 700 Japanese children arrived at hospitals after watching an episode of the popular television show, Pokémon. A number of the children had suffered tonic-clonic, or grand mal, seizures. This photosensitive epilepsy was especially frightening, as it could occur in people who had never had a seizure before.

The Pokémon incident and others like it created a great deal of concern over children watching anime and playing video games. More than a decade later, epilepsy forums are still seeing questions about whether children can safely watch flashing lights of any kind. The most recent technology to raise concerns is that of 3D movies and television. Parents want to know whether watching Avatar and other 3D movies will trigger seizures in epileptics - and if it is possible for the movies to cause seizures in children previously undiagnosed with epilepsy.

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Photo © Mary R. Vogt (morguefile.com/Taliesin)

The Choking Game and Your Teen

The choking game is back. Do you know how to keep your kids safe?

"I saw Gabe with the rope around his neck and a math book on his lap. He was just sitting on the ground. And so I thought he was just joking and so I said Gabe, knock it off, or like quit messing around... I looked over at him and he hadn't moved. I said his name a couple of times," says a California mother of her son's experience with the choking game. Gabriel was rushed to hospital when his mother realized something was wrong. He died there 15 hours later.

What is the Choking Game?

The ultimate goal of the choking game - also known by names such as the fainting game, the scarf game or Space Monkey - is to get high. You may have tried it when you were younger, or had friends who talked about playing it. While there may be variations in how the game is played, there are two main components which can be used alone or combined together. The first is hyperventilation followed by holding the breath, the second is strangulation.

The games is most often played by children aged 9 to 14, and of those most are boys. For those who feel the high, the game is addictive. This might explain why they would play it alone, using belts, ropes or shoelaces to choke themselves despite the elevated risk of this solitary version of the game.

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Hamburger Cook-out with Diabetic Relatives

Type II diabetes runs in both my family and my husband's. When the family gets together to have a casual dinner, it can get difficult to choose an economical meal that is safe for the adults who have special dietary needs, and that will still please the kids. We like to do burgers in the summer. They are easy to prepare and won't break the budget. But can our diabetic relatives eat hamburgers without worrying about their health?

The answer is, most emphatically, yes! You can opt for chicken or turkey burgers, but diabetics can safely consume a real beef hamburger from time to time if it is prepared correctly.

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Montreal's Heat Wave Action Plan

High Heat and Humidity Put Some Montrealers at Risk for Heat Stroke or Worse

Central Canada has been suffering from the heat for days, and with temperatures now reaching the mid-30s and the humidex (humidity index) tipping over 40ºC (104ºF) the city of Montreal is taking action to prevent heat-related illness and deaths.

Defining a heat wave

The American Meteorological Society defines a heat wave as a "period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and usually humid weather." A standard application of that definition is a period of at least three days where heat reaches or exceeds 32ºC, but because weather patterns vary from one country or region to another, standards for an official heat wave will also vary. Quebec has a definition that uses a 30ºC minimum temperature, which means Montreal's heat wave started some days ago.

Health risks associated with heat waves

Anyone can suffer from heat stroke during weather extremes such as we are currently experiencing in central Canada at the moment, but certain people have an elevated risk and should take extra precautions. The elderly, children under age 5, and people suffering from any chronic cardiac or respiratory condition including asthma are in the population at elevated risk. Also a concern are people who spend a lot of time out in the sun: those who work outdoors, the homeless, and athletes who spend time training or competing outdoors. Even adolescents can be at risk, as they tend to be active outdoors.

People who take certain medications may be at elevated risk for sun burn during a heat wave, or may be more susceptible to heat stroke. The high heat and humidity can aggravate existing conditions such as high blood pressure or asthma. It can also result in fatigue or dehydration, or in heat stroke. Smog warnings should also be taken into consideration when evaluating risk levels.

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Image: Kilom691 (Wikimedia Commons)

Heat Wave Survival Tips

Avoid the summer sun during peak hours
Most of us realize the sun's effects are strongest around noon, but do really know what "peak hours" are? The Canadian Dermatology Association defines it as the time from 11 am to 4 pm. When ultraviolet readings are high (UV index 6-7) you should reduce exposure to the sun during this time, and take full precautions by wearing sunscreen, a shirt and a wide-brimmed hat. If the UV index reading is very high (8-10) or extreme (11+) it is best to avoid the sun as much as possible from 11 am to 4 pm. Remember, UV readings can be high even if the heat or sun don't seem strong!

Slip, Slop and Slap!
Never leave home without your protection, especially in summer's heat! Even when the UV reading is moderate (UV index 3-5) everyone should wear protection if they expect to be outside for more than 30 minutes. Slip on a shirt, slip on some sunscreen, and slap on a hat! Remember that sunscreen or sunblock are not intended to be your only protection against the sun: it's just one of the tools you should be using every day. Apply according to the label - that means using roughly enough to fill a shot glass, giving it 20 to 30 minutes to absorb into your skin before heading out the door, and re-applying as needed. Even on moderate UV days, seek shade at noon. Bringing along a bottle of water when you step out won't hurt, either.

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Deep Pressure Vests for Sensory Integration

Sensory integration is our ability to process all the inputs coming from our various senses and - well, make sense of them.

Sensory integration disorder is a neurological condition that is characterized by the inability to deal with all that sensory information. People with the disorder may only be able to cope with input from one or two
senses at a time. They tend to become easily irritated or confused, and simply cannot cope with ordinary daily experiences. The disorder can manifest in a number of ways, for example uncontrollable tantrums, very limited eating preferences, or unusual discomfort when wearing certain types of clothing.

Sensory integration disorder (SID) can cause a person to avoid or seek certain stimuli - or sometimes both in alternation. An inability to process sensory data can involve one or more senses, including the so-called "near senses" - tactile, vestibular and proprioceptive - that most of us take for granted.

Sensory integration disorder can occur alone, but it is not uncommon for a person to have both SID and autism. It can also occur in combination with such conditions as cerebral palsy or ADHD. The disorder should be diagnosed by an occupational therapist.

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Autism Elopement and Summer Vacations

Autism elopement, a special needs child wandering off unsupervised, is a frightening ordeal. Unfortunately, it is also fairly common with both children and adults. And it can be all the more terrifying if elopement occurs when the family is away from home. Planning for an emergency before it happens is one of the best ways to prevent it.

Reduce autism elopement through predictability

Autism elopement may be related to curiosity about new surroundings, or to anxiety brought on by the change in locale and routine. Help your child to regain control by keeping things as predictable as possible. Discuss vacations before leaving, and if possible allow your child to see photos or maps of places you will be going. Take advantage of the opportunity to associate places with specific events in the daily routine ("We'll have breakfast in our room, but we'll eat lunch and supper with the other guests in the dining room.") and to talk about rules that will keep your special needs child safe ("It's important to be with a grownup if you want to use the elevator or go to the pool.")

People with autism tend to rely heavily on routine. Establish a bare bones routine that can be followed wherever you are. Draw up a daily schedule for your child to follow, as well as a calendar or itinerary that highlights special occasions or places you will be on certain days. If your child uses a visual schedule be sure to update it for your vacation, and bring it along.

Create social stories to introduce any aspects of your vacation that may be difficult for your autistic child to understand. It can also be helpful to read books or watch movies that deal with a similar type of vacation (road trip, camping, visiting family, staying in a hotel, sight seeing, etc.) to help your child get a feel for what your summer holiday will be like.

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Photo by sideshowmom of morguefile.com

Lyme Disease Steadily Increasing

North American Tick Populations Spreading

Deer ticks and Lyme disease

Lyme disease is a condition transmitted through the bite of an infected tick. The species most often involved in North America is Ixodes scapularis, the black legged or deer tick. It can be found mostly in the northern Midwest and the eastern American states, and in Canada from southeastern Manitoba through Nova Scotia. In British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest the western black legged tick, Ixodes pacificus is known to spread Lyme disease.

Lyme disease has been a concern in the United States for years, but in Canada both governmental surveillance and public awareness of the problem have been lacking until very recently. Much of the population was unaware the disease spreading ticks were present in our country, including medical practitioners. Lyme disease was not reportable in Canada until this year, and health ministries are only now beginning to put out public service announcements about the condition.

In the United States Lyme disease is subject to voluntary reporting, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have noted a steady increase of the number of cases. Over a 15-year period the number of cases rose by 101 percent. The CDC states these figures, "underscore the continued emergence of Lyme disease and the need for tick avoidance and early treatment interventions."

Research in Canada over roughly the same period has similarly shown expansion of known tick populations. Migrating birds have also been linked to transporting infected ticks from established populations to regions where ticks and Lyme disease had previously been unknown. This suggests a need for increased public awareness and training of medical personnel, even in areas previously considered at low risk.

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What is a Pandemic?

Classifying Infectious Diseases as Pandemics
 
The word pandemic comes to us from the Greeks. Pan- means "all" and demos means "the people," so a pandemic is an infectious disease outbreak with the potential to affect all people over a large geographic region, or even worldwide. In epidemiology, a pandemic is distinguished from an endemic (a stable but communicable disease like chickenpox in North America) and from an epidemic (an infectious disease spreading more than expected, but restricted to a smaller geographic region.)

Classification of a pandemic

The World Health Organization (WHO) uses a 6-phase pandemic classification index. Risk is low in phase 1 (animal infections only) and phase 2 (limited animal-to-human transmission) of an infectious disease outbreak. At phase 3 there may also be limited human-to-human transmission. Phase 4 sees human-to-human transmission in a "community-level outbreak." Phase 5 sees the disease spread to at least two countries within a single WHO administrative region. Only at phase 6, which involves spread to a second geographic region, is a pandemic officially declared.

A misunderstanding of what constitutes a pandemic has led to criticism over how the WHO handled the 2009 H1N1 global pandemic. The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a 5-category Pandemic Severity Index (PSI) that responds to the public's desire for information on severity of individual cases of a disease. All infectious disease outbreaks measured on the PSI are pandemics, however the scale puts into perspective the destructive potential of a disease. It allows comparison of a new pandemic, like the 2009 swine flu, with past ones such as the much more deadly 1918 Spanish flu.

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