Funny of the Day

Alternative Therapies #006: Mint

Mint. Its not just for your Mojitos.

The things you may know:

1) Mint is known for its ability to soothe the digestive tract and reduce severity and length of stomach pain
2) It makes a fantastic tea, mint and flavoring
3) Mint is widely used in heating/cooling topical preparations for pain relief. Menthol is composed of 24-48% peppermint oil.

Things you may not know!

1) Mint has studied and proven to have strong anti-fungal properties. Specifically against dermophytic fungi which cause athlete's foot and ringworm. No over the counter preparations are available to this effect however to my knowledge.
2) Mint has In vitro (work conducted with living organisms in their normal, intact state) shown anti-viral effects as well specifically against herpes and influenza virus.
3) Mint was featured in a study in 2001 which proved Mint to have anti-bacterial properties against several common pathogens such as E. Coli and MRSA.
4) Mint may have an additional benefit of soothing symptoms associated with gastrointestinal upset in patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Side Effects/Considerations:

1) In patients with Hiatal Hernia, heartburn or GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) mint may cause relaxing of the diaphragm and worsening of pre-existing symptoms.
2) Mint applied topically especially in concentrated preparations may cause a tingling and burning feeling or contact dermatitis (rash)
3) Mint ingested may cause flushing or headache. 

Mint.....Its whats good! 

Skin Bleaching & Tanning. Is Whiter Righter? Is Darker Smarter?

What is our obsession with skin bleaching and tanning (depending on the community)? In the Caribbean & Africa, bleaching abounds. In Asia, bleaching is king. Tanning is global. Where do these skewed visions of "beauty" come from? Why isnt the skin genetics gave us good enough? The truth is (no opinions expressed here are anything else but opinion) that there are so many negatively beneficial things people do to become more comfortable with themselves or to please what they think society/friends/the same sex/the opposite sex/the media/family etc etc etc will want from them. When we eradicate bleaching, we'll also have to eradicate plastic surgery and skin peels, hair straightening, wigs, weaves, perms, tanning, makeup and the list goes on and on. What we need to target is self esteem in our youth and their parents. Babies come out happy in their own skin, where do we go wrong? 

App Alert: IHealth Blood Pressure Dock

The IHealth Blood Pressure Monitoring system integrates traditional blood pressure measuring technique with an app that keeps track of trends, ranges and allows the user to compile data to send to friends family or their physicians. They even send you a Blood Pressure cuff which transmits information to a dock and communicates with your ipad, iphone or ipod. This would allow for real time titration of BP meds and trending BP in the patients natural environment.  All for $99.95. Now all we need to know is how accurate it is!

15 Things you should know about Breasts!

Funny of the Day

Safe Sex for Senior Citizens

Ok. So the Geris (a term for the Geriatric population, the mature population, the learn-ed population etc) are having sex, its true. Use it or lose it. Apparently they're not losing it. Its happening at home, in nursing homes, in assisted living facilities, in hospitals....all bouts. So we cant close our eyes to the truth. Our aging populace is getting it on. Safe sex campaigns aren't just for the young, everyone can be harmed by unsafe sex. STD rates are rising for all age groups. Spread the word people.

Can a hospital choose to only hire "thin" staff?

A hospital in Texas, Citizens Medical Center has made a dramatic decision to only hire staff (doctors, ancillary staff, nurses etc.) who are classified under a certain body mass index (BMI).The Body Mass Index scale uses a formula to determine a proxy for a person's body fat range based on weight to height ratio. A value over 35 is considered Obese. A value under 25 is considered normal.

Lets get real here. Is is ethical to "cherry pick" your staff based on physical attributes if you otherwise have the appropriate qualifications? If we start selecting for weight, then shouldn't we be choosing based on sex, how much alcohol you drink or what kind of car you drive and other such risk factors?

Here's an Opinion: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/763068

Weigh In! (No Pun Intended). I'd love to hear what you think about this.