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Primary Care

Too Much Water Can Be Fatal to Athletes

Drinking Too Much Water Can Be Fatal to Athletes

The recent deaths of 2 high school football players illustrate the dangers of drinking too much water and sports drinks, according to Loyola University Medical Center sports medicine physician Dr. James Winger.
Mosquitoes and Diseases

The Bare Truth About Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes bring about painful bites and itchy skin reactions, and cause an annoying buzzing sound. These insects also spread serious diseases to the human population. In fact, the American Mosquito Control Association says mosquitoes cause more human suffering than any other organism. Each year, more than a million people in the world die from mosquito-borne illnesses. In humans, mosquitoes cause malaria, chikungunya, dengue fever, yellow fever, West Nile virus, and various forms of encephalitis.
Ozzy Osbourne

What Made Ozzy Osbourne a Babbling Mess?

On August 17, 2003, rock legend Ozzy Osbourne was invited to Wrigley Field to sing Take Me Out To The Ball Game during the seventh-inning stretch of a Chicago Cubs game. What ensued was a garbled-up, unintelligible rendition of the famous song so bad that Osbourne went down as the worst Wrigley singer in history. Over the next few days the scene was replayed on national television, making a mockery of the mumbling singer. That incident, said Osbournes manager-wife Sharon, was the last straw; she claimed that Ozzys doctor was overprescribing him a host of powerful antipsychotic and tranquilizing drugs, which contributed to his bizarre behavior.
Sickness Can Be Detected by Smell

Sickness Can Be Detected by Smell, Study Says

A new way of detecting sickness might be literally right under our noses. A study published in Psychological Science suggests that humans are able to smell sickness in someone whose immune system is highly active within hours of exposure to a toxin.
Domestic Violence and Alcohol

Link Between Domestic Violence and Alcohol, Not Marijuana

It has been known for decades that there is a link between alcohol consumption and domestic violence, but the research is slim when it comes to marijuana. The participants were male and female college students at least 18 years of age who had been in a relationship for at least a month, had face-to-face contact with their partner at least 2 times a week, and had consumed alcohol in the previous month. The studies asked participants to complete an online diary once a day for 90 days. Based on the results, the odds of physical, psychological, and sexual violence among men increased with the use of alcohol, and rose with each drink consumed, whereas marijuana use was unrelated to violence between couples. For women, alcohol use increased the odds of physical and psychological aggression, and marijuana use increased the likelihood of psychological aggression.
Emergency Medicine Physicians

12 Days of Christmas Seen Through the Eyes of Emergency Medicine Physicians

ER docs offer a dozen tips to keep all days safe and healthy The joyful song about French hens, turtle doves, and a partridge rings in a cheerful holiday season for all. And for those celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas, it’s a wonderful time of the year. As the celebrations of the season go into full swing, emergency medicine physicians and their teams know to expect all types of medical situations arriving in their emergency rooms. And, to keep Pennsylvanians from making unnecessary trips to their local emergency rooms on what should be days of joy, physicians share 12 ideas on how you can enjoy a safer holiday season.
Dying From a Food Allergy

Dying From a Food Allergy is Less Likely Than Being Murdered

A person with a food allergy is more likely to be murdered than to die from a severe reaction, according to a new study. One in 10 children has a food allergy. Many sufferers and their parents experience anxiety about the possibility of a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, but until now no studies have estimated how common death from such reactions is.
Sugar Toxic to Mice in 'Safe' Doses

Sugar Toxic to Mice in ‘Safe’ Doses

When mice ate a diet of 25 percent extra sugar – the mouse equivalent of a healthy human diet plus three cans of soda daily – females died at twice the normal rate and males were a quarter less likely to hold territory and reproduce, according to a toxicity test developed at the University of Utah.
Bath Salts Could Be More Addictive than Meth

‘Bath Salts’ Stimulant Could Be More Addictive than Meth

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have published one of the first laboratory studies of MDPV, an emerging recreational drug that has been sold as “bath salts.” The TSRI researchers confirmed the drug’s powerful stimulant effects in rats and found evidence that it could be more addictive than methamphetamine, one of the most addictive substances to date. “We observed that rats will press a lever more often to get a single infusion of MPDV than they will for meth, across a fairly wide dose range,” said TSRI Associate Professor Michael A. Taffe, who was the principal investigator of the study.
Trepanation

Trepanation

The word “trepanation” is Greek in origin (trypanon). It means “to bore.” Trepanation was practiced worldwide prior to the advancements of brain surgery over the past century. It is a procedure where holes are drilled into a patient’s head, with the only precaution being that care is taken to avoid penetrating below the bone membrane in most cases, if you can imagine. It is one of the oldest surgical procedures on record, dating back to the time of the caveman.
Foot Binding

Foot Binding

Thought to have begun late in the Tang Dynasty (618-960), the practice of foot binding accelerated during the Song Dynasty (960-1297) and lasted over a thousand years. It started with the wealthy, but quickly spread to lower social classes as well. The ideal bound foot was 3 inches long, the shape of a crescent moon, and covered by a tiny embroidered shoe. Considered the most erotic part of the female anatomy, wives and concubines were selected based on the size and shape of their feet. It took years of intense pain in order to attain this ideal.
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