Howard G. Smith, MD, AM
PENTA Medical Network
617-488-9699
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RoundUp - 1st Week of August 2023
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HEALTH REPORTS
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A Tick Bite May Kill Your Taste For Meat…Ice Cream Too
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvh_Ozutt-N/
The CDC is now out with a warning during this tick bite season that has nothing to do with Lyme disease. Over the past several years, cases of a disease known as alpha-gal syndrome have been on the rise.
Alpha-gal is a nickname for the sugar galactose-alpha-1,3 galactose, and this sugar is found in many mammals but not in us. The alpha-gal problem is that a bite from ticks, specifically the so-called Long Star tick, can trigger an allergic reaction to this sugar in you. Then, should you eat meat such as beef, pork, lamb or products from mammals such as ice cream or whipped cream, you would develop so called alpha-gal syndrome. That can manifest itself as rashes, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue, and throat, heartburn, cough, breathing difficulties, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. Reactions are different for every sensitized person, but they may be life-threatening.
Best bet: to prevent Lyme Disease and Alpha-gal Syndrome, avoid tick-laden zones like marshes and woods. If you go there, cover up and use insect repellant. If you do think you have an alpha-gal allergy, its time to see an allergist pronto.
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/alpha-gal/index.html
#tick #lonestartick #alphagal #allergy #meat #dairy
tick, lonestartick, alphagal, allergy, meat, dairy
CoVid May Damage Your Tongue
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviBGNnRRno/
We know that CoVid attacks the smell receptors at the roof of the nose ruining the senses of smell but also taste. It turns out, though, that our least favorite virus also directly damages the tongue adding to taste problems.
Clinical investigators at the NIH launched indepth studies of 16 CoVid patients complaining of continuing taste issues. Repeated biopsies of these patients’ tongues revealed the presence of CoVid viral structures, significant inflammatory responses, and misshapen or absent taste buds.
Most of our taste sensations come from the nose, but taste buds in the tongue generate our senses of sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and a savory taste. If you enjoy and relish any or all of these sensations, you have even more reasons to avoid a case of CoVid.
https://evidence.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/EVIDoa2300046
#CoVid #taste #tongue #olfactory #gustatory
CoVid, taste, tongue, olfactory, gustatory
About 90% of Sports Supplements Have Inaccurate Labels
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviCCbjrjH7/
That’s the bad news just published by researchers at Boston’s Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, the University of Mississippi, and Michigan’s National Sanitation Foundation. Their studies analyzed 57 dietary supplements touted online to improve your sports performance.
Forty percent failed to contain detectable amounts of the labeled ingredient. Of the 60% that did, the actual quantity of the ingredient varied from 0.023% to 334% of the quantity on the label. Only 11% of these products contained a quantity within 10% of that listed on the label. Then too, a full 12% of these sports supplements contained FDA-PROHIBITED ingredients.
This study is a warning that food supplements claiming stimulate or build up your body may not be what they say and could well be dangerous to your health.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2807343
#sports #supplements #anabolic #stimulants #mislabelling
sports, supplements, anabolic, stimulants, mislabelling
Microwaving Plastic Baby Food Containers Releases Toxins
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviC1t9rXQ0/
When you microwave a plastic baby food jar or pouch, you release tens of billions of nanoplastic particles and tens of millions of microplastic particles. This startling and troubling fact from environmental engineers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The researchers filled multiple polypropylene jars and pouches of the sort regularly sold across our nation with both water and a 3% acetic acid solution that mimics the acidity of many baby foods. After exposing the containers to microwaves for 3 minutes, they counted the plastic particles released. Pouches released more particles than jars, and experiments on living cells showed that these particles are toxic. Then too, storage of these plastic containers and pouches at room and refrigerator temperatures for over 6 months leads to the release of millions and billions of these plastic particles.
The bottom line: buy and heat baby food in glass rather than in plastic containers. If you do buy the pouches, don’t hear them and use them as quickly as possible.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.3c01942
#babyfood #plastics #polypropylene #jars #pouches
babyfood, plastics, polypropylene, jars, pouches
Scrambling Your Pain Reduces It
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviDmlOrxL4/
Scrambler therapy is a technique for eliminating chronic pain by applying electrical stimulation to the skin around the site of that pain. The news is that it yields significant pain relief for 80-90% of patients who receive it. From Johns Hopkins comes a New England Journal of Medicine review of both this scrambler technique and the more traditional TENS electrostimulation technique.
The scrambler approach stimulates the skin above and below the painful zone while TENS, trans-cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, applies electrical impulses at the painful site. The scrambler half-hour stimulation sessions, repeated from 3 to 12 times, stimulate nerves serving non-painful zones with normal tissues and in doing so scramble and block the pain signals coming from the adjacent painful zone with sometimes damaged nerves and tissues.
Scrambler therapy tends not only to be more effective at eliminating pain than TENS, but the pain elimination is also longer lasting. The downsides: scrambler therapy cannot be given to those with implanted cardiac pacemakers, defibrillators, or other nerve stimulators.; only one manufacturer makes the device; it costs $65,000; and it can only be used with direct physician supervision. In contrast, you can purchase on Amazon a TENS unit for about $30.
Another case of you get what you pay for.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMra2110098
#pain #scrambler #TENS
pain, scrambler, TENS
Routine Troponin Testing Could Predict Cardiac Disasters
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviEXehrgGu/
Testing for circulating troponin is a mainstay of a heart attack workup. Troponin is a cardiac protein that is released into the bloodstream by damaged heart muscle.
To investigate whether more routine troponin level testing might be of predictive value, University of Edinburgh researchers drew troponin levels on 4240 subjects with a history of angina, chest pains of cardiac origin. Troponin levels were 2-fold higher in those subsequently found to have coronary artery disease on cardiac angiography. Those with troponin levels higher than 10 ng/L had a 50% higher risk of heart attack or death.
The researchers suggest that more routine troponin level determinations may alert patients and their medical teams to potential risks and thereby save lives.
https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.05.046
#troponin #heartattack #cardiovascular #coronaryaterydisease
troponin, heartattack, cardiovascular, coronaryaterydisease
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FUTURE MED
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Wearable Ultrasound Scanner may Diagnose Breast Cancer Earlier
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviFMJ5LBTc/
From MIT in Boston comes a miniature ultrasonic scanner that may attach to a woman’s bra and help to detect breast cancers when they are smaller and more treatable. The patch, composed of special piezoelectric material, is created using 3D printing technology. It rests on a framework that permits its movement to 6 different positions allowing the entire breast to be imaged. The device, attacked to a bra with magnets, is simple to operate, can precisely image lesions as small as 0.3 cm which is the size of early breast cancers, and can see pathology to a depth of 8 cm. Work is underway to link this scanner to a smartphone. This little bra ultrasound will permit effective imaging of women’s breasts for earlier cancer diagnosis without the need for them to visit an imaging center……..someday soon.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh5325
#breast #cancer #ultrasound
breast, cancer, ultrasound
Pain Marked By Specific Brain Signals For The First Time
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviGE8nNtaH/
Patients report pain, often severe and chronic, but until now, we haven’t had objective tests that correlate with that pain. In a search for just that type of test, neuroscientists at UC-San Francisco report their studies on 4 subjects with chronic pain poorly treated with conventional therapy. Each had electrodes implanted in 2 regions of their cerebral cortex and neural signals were obtained multiple times daily over months. During those days, the patients completed body maps representing the sites and intensity of their pain. When the data were analysed, they indicated that signals from the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex correctly predicted, for the first time, the occurrence of chronic pain. If such data can be gathered in a less invasive way, it could not only lead the way toward an test for chronic pain but also some definitive therapy….someday soon.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37217725/
#pain #testing #orbitofrontalcortex
pain, testing, orbitofrontalcortex
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BUSINESS OF HEALTH
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A Blood Pressure Monitor For Your Smartphone
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviHAg1NVtH/
UC-San Diego bioengineers have created a 3D printed fingertip blood pressure monitoring device that attaches to your smartphone’s camera and flash. As you press your finger against the clip-on device with an internal spring and a pinhole, it creates a red dot with a size proportional to press on the clip and the intensity proportional to blood flow as it pulses over time. An app then interprets the data to deliver quantitative measures of your systolic and diastolic pressures. The best news: these phone clip-ons cost only 80 cents each to produce and do not require individual calibration with conventional blood pressure cuffs. The researchers predict that cost could drop to only 10 cents with mass production allowing everyone to check determine their blood pressures frequently, easily, and cheaply.
https://www.medgadget.com/2023/06/low-cost-smartphone-finger-clip-measures-blood-pressure.html
#bloodpressure #smartphone #hypertension
bloodpressure, smartphone, hypertension
FDA Approves First Epinephrine Nasal Spray
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CviHuxTL89c/
Good news for parents of kids with severe food allergies and asthma. ARS Pharmaceuticals has developed a system for delivery of lifesaving doses of epinephrine via a nasal spray. Named Neffy, the spray delivers a 2 mg dose of epinephrine to nasal linings where the drug is quickly and efficiently absorbed into the systemic circulation. The company tested the device on 600+ individuals and demonstrated comparable or better drug delivery with subsequent blood pressure elevations than an epipen type device without the need for an injection. Some members of the FDA’s Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee which must grant final approval to the spray still feel that more data is needed. When that is obtained, expect final approval and clinical availability later this year for use by patients weighing more than 66 pounds.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-fda-panel-nasal-spray-combat.html
#epinephrine #epipen #nasalspray #allergy #asthma
epinephrine, epipen, nasalspray, allergy, asthma
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CPSC Recalls
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GAF Solar Energy Shingles Overheat
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjVwyBvce6/
Recall By: CPSC and GAF Energy
Problem: The electrical circuitry in these shingles malfunctions leading to overheating, fires, and burns.
Sold: 2100 units through contractors nationwide.
Action: GAF is remotely shutting off systems with these recalled shingles until each shingle has jumper modules replaced and electrical components checked. For more information, call GAF energy at 1-888-838-5567.
#gaf #solarshingles #overheating #fires #recall
gaf, solarshingles, overheating, fires, recall
Soft Play Sky Wheels Detach From Their Supporting Frame
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjW33HOk6D/
Recall By: CPSC and Soft play
Problem: The sky wheels detach from the overhead rails leading to falls and injuries to children using these playsets.
Sold to: McDonalds, YMCAs, Lifetime Fitness gyms, Burger Kings, Crunch Fitness locations, LTF Club Organizations and other fitness and recreational play sites.
Actions: Don’t let your children use these playlets with Sky Wheels until you check with businesses featuring them to be certain that they have been inspected and repaired. More information is available from Soft Play at 1-800-782-7529.
#softplay #skywheels #falls #injuries #recall
softplay, skywheels, falls, injuries, recall
Cupkin Children’s Cups Contain Toxic Lead
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjXi4muIo6/
Recall By: CPSC and Soojimus LLC
Problem: These stainless steel cups contain levels of lead above those permitted by federal regulations. Lead is toxic to the neurologic systems of developing children.
Sold: 346,000 cups were sold online at amazon.com and at cupkin.com.
Action: Stop using these cups and contact Soojimus at 1-888-721-0096 or via email at CPSC@Cupkin.com for a full refund.
#cupkin #children #cups #lead #neurotoxin #recall
cupkin, children, cups, lead, neurotoxin, recall
Gas-Fired Dunkirk Hot Water Boilers Leak Carbon Monoxide
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjYK2wRPbz/
Recall By: CPSC and ECR International
Problem: These recalled boilers are missing the flue inspection cover plates leading to leakage of combustion flue gasses including poisonous carbon monoxide.
Sold: 1745 Dunkirk boilers were sold in the Northeast and Midwest.
Action: Stop using these recalled gas-fired hot water residential boilers and contact ECR International by phone at 1-800-241-5501 or via email at ecrcustomerservice@ecrinternational.com.
#dunkirk #boilers #gasfired #carbonmonoxide #poisoning #recall
dunkirk, boilers, gasfired, carbonmonoxide, poisoning, recall
Frigidaire Gas Dryers May Ignite
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjY4HtvANv/
Recall by: CPSC and Electrolux Home Products
Problem: The felt dryer seal tends to fold inward with lint accumulation, ignition, fire, and burn hazards.
Sold: About 13,600 of these laundry centers were sold at Lowe’s, Home Depot, and other independent appliance stores.
Action: Stop using the dryer on these recalled laundry centers. Contact the Electrolux Group by phone at 1-800-747-4620 or via email at laundrycenterrecall@Electrolux.com.
#frigidaire #dryer #naturalgas #fire #burn #recall
frigidaire, dryer, naturalgas, fire, burn, recall
Amazon Phone Portable Chargers Are Fire Hazards
Recall By: CPSC and VRURC Power
Problem: These recalled chargers overheat and may ignite leading to fire and burn hazards.
Sold: About 190,000 chargers were sold online at Amazon.com.
Action: Stop using these recalled chargers and contact VRURC at 1-951-593-9128 or via email at support@vrurcpower.com.
#vrurc #charger #smartphones #overheating #fire #burns #recall
vrurc, charger, smartphones, overheating, fire, burns, recall
Yamaha 2023 Golf Carts, Personal Transportation Vehicles, and Umax Vehicles Can Runaway
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjZqolslyS/
Recall By: CPSC and Yamaha
Problem: The accelerator pedal spring dislodges failing to return the pedal to its resting position leading to continued acceleration and a runaway vehicle with crash and injury hazards.
Sold: About 11,000 of these 2023 Yamaha vehicles were sold in the US and about 2200 were sold in Canada.
Action: Immediately stop using any of these vehicles and contact Yamaha at 1-866-747-4027 to arrange for a free inspection and repair.
#yamaha #golfcarts #personalvehicles #umax #accelerator #crash #injuries #recall
yamaha, golfcarts, personalvehicles, umax, accelerator, crash, injuries, recall
Woom Kids’ Bikes Have Handlebars That Fall Off
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvjam7TOG2-/
Recall By: CPSC and room Bikes.
Problem: The handlebar and its stem tend to detach from the frame leading to loss of control, falls, and injuries.
Sold: About 84,000 bikes were sold in the US and about 533 were sold in Canada at local bicycle stores and online at room.com and Amazon.com.
Action: Stop using these bikes and contact woom by phone at 1-855-966-6872 or via email at productsafetyUS@woom.com to obtain a free repair kit.
#woom #bicycles #steering #falls #injuries #recall
woom, bicycles, steering, falls, injuries, recall
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FDA Recalls
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Ozona Probiotics For Kids and Pets Have Bacterial Contamination
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjbTPyMy3r/
Recall By: FDA ands Ozona Organics
Problem: Ozona Probiotics and GoHealth Probiotics for children and adults as well as Ozona Organics Probiotics for Dogs, Cats, Horses and Pigs may be contaminated with bacterial growth.
Sold: Online via gohealthy.us, amazon.com, and at Walmart stores.
Action: Do not consume these products or feed them to your children or animals. Contact Ozona Organics at 1-325-203-4026 for more information and refunds.
#ozona #probiotics #bacterialcontamination #infection #recall
ozona, probiotics, bacterialcontamination, infection, recall
Doritos Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips Have Hidden Soy and Wheat
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjcHABAjfI/
Recall By: FDA and Frito-Lay.
Problem: About 7,000 bags of Doritos Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips contain some spicy sweet chili tortilla chips containing soy and wheat. These were chiefly sold in Pennsylvania.
Action: If you or family members have a soy or wheat allergy, return these Doritos Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips to the place of purchase for a refund. Fro more information, call Frito-Lay Consumer Relations at 1-800-352-4477.
#fritolay #doritos #tortillachips #soy #wheat #recall
fritolay, Doritos, tortillachips, soy, wheat, recall
Member’s Mark Breaded Mozzarella Sticks Have Hidden Egg and Soy
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvjc2goLH8P/
Recall By: FDA and Rich Products
Problem: These mozzarella sticks contain undeclared egg or soy. Affected are those lots with a Best If Used By date of 12/28/2024.
Sold: At Sam’s Club stores in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Actions: Don’t consume these mozzarella stick if you have egg or soy allergies and return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. For additional information, call Rich’s Product Helpline at 1-800-356-7094.
#richs #mozzarellisticks #egg #soy #allergy #recall
richs, mozzarellisticks, egg, soy, allergy, recall
Cooperstown Cheeses Have Listeria Contamination
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvjdi8Uu-Fm/
Recall By: FDA and Cooperstown. Cheese Company of Milford NY.
Problem: This company’s cheese products are contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes that causes serious disease in the very young, older, frail persons, and in those with weak immune systems. Involved cheeses are labeled Jersey Girl, Toma Celena, Roma Torino, Abbie, SK, Jersey Gold, Marielle, and Bobby’s Got the Blues.
Action: Return these cheeses to the place of purchase for a refund. For additional information, call Sharon Tomaselli of Cooperstown Cheese Company at 1-978-257-4635.
#cooperstown #cheese #listeria #infection #recall
cooperstown, cheese, listeria, infection, recall
Vegan Blueberry Muffin Protein Overnight Oats Contain Milk
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjePQ0OwD5/
Recall By: FDA and ONO LLC.
Problem: These packages of blueberry muffin flavored oats contain undeclared milk. The affected lot is #11923.
Sold: Nationwide at Target, Vitamin Shoppe stores and online at eatovernightoats.com.
Actions: Do not consume these oats if you have a milk allergy. Return the product to the place of purchase for a refund. For more information, contact ONO by email at eatovernightoats@gmail.com.
#ono #oats #milk #allergy #recall
ono, oats, milk, allergy, recall
Outshine No Sugar Added Strawberry Fruit Bars Contain Undeclared Milk
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvje484MXDX/
Recalled By: FDA and Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Co.
Problem: Six count packages of Outshine No Sugar Added Strawberry Fruit Bars with batch numbers LLA317822 and LLA317922 contain undeclared milk.
Sold: Kroger in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky; Shoprite in Maryland Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey; and Walmart in Arizona, Missouri Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, and Louisiana.
Action: Those with an allergy to milk should return this product to the place of purchase for a refund. For additional information, contact Dreyer’s by email at dreyers@casupport.com.
#outshine #strawberryfruitbars #milk #allergy #recall
outshine, strawberryfruitbars, milk, allergy, recall
Betty Lou’s Paleo Java Nuts Contain Undeclared Sesame
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjfmBTuH2m/
Recall By: FDA and Betty Lou’s Inc.
Problem: Betty Lou’s Brand Paleo Java Nuts About Energy Balls with Cacao, Coffee & Pumpkin Seeds contain undeclared sesame allergen that could trigger a serious reaction in sesame-allergic persons. The involved product has a Best By date of May 8, 2024.
Sold: Retail stores in AL, AK, CA, CO, CT, FL, MI, MO, NH, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SD, TN, TX, and WA state.
Action: If you or a family member have a sesame allergy, return this product to the place of purchase for a full refund. For additional information, call Betty Lou’s Inc. at 1-503-434-5205.
#bettylous #javanuts #sesame #allergy #recall
bettylous, javanuts, sesame, allergy, recall
Spring Valley Potato Blintzes Contain Hidden Milk
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvjgSxPp2lJ/
Recall By: FDA and MilMar Food Group LLC.
Problem: These frozen blintzes contain undeclared milk.
Sold: Retail outlets in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida.
Action: Those with milk allergies should return this product to the place of purchase. For more information, call MilMar at 1-845-294-5400.
#springvalley #blintzes #milk #allergy #recall
springvalley, blintzes, milk, allergy, recall