Atopy is a medical term that refers to an allergy for which there is a genetic predisposition. Typically atopic disease will manifest as asthma, rhinitis, and chronic skin disease like eczema and hives. Over the past several decades there has been an increasing rate of atopic disease. Among children aged 4 years and younger, the …
Stephen Barrett for at least 20 years has touted himself as a medical expert on "quackery" in healthcare and has assisted in dozens of court cases as an expert. He has been the subject of many magazine interviews, including Time, , and has been featured on television interviews on ABC’s 20/20, NBC’s Today Show, and …
This winter for the first time that I can remember I came across what the Chinese refer to as the “100 day cough”. In the western world it is known as whooping cough. The cases that I saw were either adults or teenagers. What was unique about the cough other than its longevity was the …
Last week I came across an interesting study involving mice. The researchers took newborn mice and with half of them put them in cold water and let them swim for their life for 30 minutes. This went of for 2 weeks. The other half of the newborn mice lived a normal life. Once the mice …
The English physician who first described restless legs syndrome (RLS) in 1683 wrote of leapings and contractions of the tendons so intense his patients were no more able to sleep than if they were in a place of greatest torture. The hallmark sensation of RLS is creepy crawly or itchy, burning sensations that will often …
Though not a disabling disease by any means acne is there for everyone to see and thus can have a lasting effect on ones self esteem. This condition can also leave the sufferers extremely frustrated and depressed. Stella who is now 28 has had acne since she was 13 years old. Her acne was the …
There’s no evidence that your health will suffer by not gulping lots of water each day, according to a new article in the British Medical Journal, whose authors investigated six other medical myths. Studies show that people get adequate fluid intake by consuming fluids other than water, such as juice, milk and other drinks. In …
The Spanish Minister of Health has commissioned a report on alternative medicine in order to consider including it in Spain’s national Health System. The inclusion of homeopathy as part of the national health system has already been established in countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany. At present, between 10-15% of the Spanish …
There has been a recent spat of article in the lay press and medical journals questioning the efficacy of anti-depressants. In a new analysis of multiple clinical trials by the FDA it was determined that drugs such as Prozac did not provide significantly more relief to depressed patients than did placebo pills. Psychologist Irving Kirsch …