MS Maze

Societies around the globe fail to meet the health care needs of women at key moments of their lives, particularly in their adolescent years and in older age, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“As this report reveals, the obstacles that stand in the way of better health for women are not primarily technical or medical in nature. They are social and political, and the two go together… If women are denied a chance to develop their full human potential, including their potential to lead healthy and at least somewhat happier lives, is society as a whole really healthy? What does this say about the state of social progress in the 21st century?” – Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the WHO

The primary killers of women aged 15 to 45 globally are HIV, pregnancy related conditions, and tuberculosis…

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Societies Failing Health Care Needs of Women Worldwide

Photo: US Aid

The leaves have fallen, the air is cool and crisp, and the clocks have been turned back an hour, signaling the beginning of the holiday season.

Thanksgiving celebrations are supposed to be a time of sharing bounty with family and friends. For people who live with chronic illness like multiple sclerosis, anticipation of Thanksgiving dinner can also be a time of increased emotional stress, exhaustion, and physical strain. We may want to celebrate, but chronic illness never takes a holiday.

Whether you are hosting the festivities for yourself or are simply an invited guest, planning ahead can make all the difference in the world.

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Surviving Thanksgiving with Multiple Sclerosis

Photo credit: Webcamp One LLC

How much do you know about diabetes? Learn the warning signs and find out what you can do to stay healthy: Diabetes Awareness Month: Not Always a Silent Killer.

It’s been a crazy week in health policy. The CDC recommends that we sneeze into our elbow or shoulder rather than on our hands to lessen the chance of spreading germs. Sounds good, but that’s just not enough to combat the spread of H1N1 in the workplace. Take a look at my post, Swine Flu in the Workplace: No sick days? Sneeze into your elbow. I’d love to hear your tales of swine flu at work.

What causes multiple sclerosis? There are plenty of theories, but researchers have yet to hone in on the answer, but new research is looking into previously neglected areas: Research Challenging what we know about Multiple Sclerosis.

Health care reform got pretty ugly this week. In a stunning display of ignorance and insensitivity, protesters carried posters depicting the Dachau death camps, featuring piles of murdered and discarded human beings. I rounded up the week’s events with: Drama on the Hill: Health Care and Dachau.

As a blogger, I take great care to check the facts and keep my opinions civil. When writing about people, I am ever mindful that the written word can deeply affect those we write about. The other day while standing in the supermarket checkout line, I began reading the headlines of the magazines on display. It is nothing short of amazing that these greedy publications, online and off, are allowed to create fiction out of whole cloth about public figures. I’ll stick to my way of doing things.

If you enjoy Care2 and you are on Twitter, I created a list that follows the wonderful people associated with the site. You can follow it HERE, if you are so inclined.

And just one more reminder — it’s Diabetes Awareness Month — find out if you’re at risk. Don’t let this sometimes silent killer go undetected.

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Care2 – Healthy & Green Living with MS
Care2 Reform Health Policy

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Fresh with backing from the American Medical Association (AMA) and the AARP, the House health care bill was set for a rare Saturday vote, but not without plenty of drama.

On Tuesday, the Tea Party protesters rallied on the hill, shouting, “Kill the bill!” and “Waterboard Congress!” and warning of a government takeover of the entire health care system. House Republican leader John Boehner called the bill “the greatest threat to freedom that I have seen.”

Throughout this summer and fall, opponents have been comparing health care reform to Nazi Germany and Obama to Hitler. Now they’ve got the posters to prove it. In a stunning display of ignorance and insensitivity, protesters carried posters depicting the Dachau death camps, featuring piles of murdered and discarded human beings.

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Drama on the Hill: Health Care and Dachau

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/841687

It causes approximately 72,499 deaths in the United States every year. The risk of dying from diabetes is about twice that of people without diabetes of similar age. Although in many cases of type 2 diabetes, its victims are unaware that they have it, in others it is most definitely not a silent killer, causing a myriad of complications like heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, infections, and amputations.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Knowing the warning signs and living a healthy lifestyle are important weapons in the fight against diabetes.

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Diabetes Awareness Month: It’s Not Always a Silent Killer

Photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/550152

Photo:CDC

There’s the cashier who sneezes into her hand before handing you your change; and the guy one cubicle over who sounds like he’s hacking up a lung; and the nose blower stuffing a tissue into her pocket before waiting on a customer.

You can’t be sure if they have the seasonal flu, swine flu (H1N1), or a simple allergy, but you silently curse them for not staying home with their germs…. but maybe they are not to blame.

Maybe the fact that 40 percent of the U.S. private-sector workforce can’t take paid leave without advance notice is to blame. Paid sick leave for the service industries and for small businesses is rare, and fear of employer retribution or perhaps losing one’s job in a poor economy make it all but impossible for some people to stay home, no matter how sick they are. For these people, staying home from work due to illness means less take-home pay.

For families already living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to meet basic needs — health care coverage among them — staying home is not an option.

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Swine Flu in the Workplace: No sick days? Sneeze into your elbow

What causes multiple sclerosis? There are plenty of theories, but researchers have yet to hone in on the answer.

Researchers at the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center at the University of Buffalo will be looking into the possibility that MS results from narrowing of the primary veins outside the skull — chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency. In CCSVI, narrowing of the veins restricts the flow of blood from the brain, causing degeneration of neurons.

If the CTEVD study does, in fact, point to CCSVI as a cause of MS, it would be possible to identify people at risk of developing MS before symptoms are obvious and permanent damage has begun.

Isolating the cause of MS is the first step toward more effective treatments and, eventually, a cure for this debilitating condition. The good news is that research is ongoing on multiple fronts and the last decade has seen major progress in treatment of relapsing/remitting MS, as well as treatment of symptoms.

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Challenging What We Know About Multiple Sclerosis