Thursday, February 21, 2008

Tips for savvy medical Web surfing - CNN.com

Tips for savvy medical Web surfing - CNN.com: "Tips for savvy medical Web surfing Story Highlights
It's safe to trust info from government Web sites, colleges and universities

The same is true for sites of large medical and research institutions

Use search engines that screen out unreliable information

Look at review articles in medical journals"

Knowledge is power -fire medical arrogance and ignorance

Naturally, the CNN.com article where I read about Dr. Golden goes on to list several "tips" to make you a "better patient" (read: a more docile patient that shuts up and obeys!). The number two tip? "Don't come in loaded with Internet printouts." In this tip, CNN.com takes a shot at the big-bad Internet that seems to be the enemy of both Big Media and Big Medicine. (I can't help but wonder if CNN.com includes its own health advice among the things you shouldn't bring up with your doctor.) To me, Dr. Golden is the poster boy for the arrogance and closed-mindedness that's rampant throughout the medical profession. I have little time for doctors who prefer to treat their patients as though they're just cars in for an oil change. I'm always encouraging you to question what's going on with your health, and I have no intention of changing. That's bad news for guys like Dr. Golden. And good news for your health. Fired up about "fired" patients, William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

I have a headache Dear

Headaches From Sex?
Poll: Few People Who Say They Get Sex-Related Headaches Talk to a Doctor About it
By Miranda HittiWebMD Medical News

Feb. 15, 2008 -- In a National Headache Foundation survey of some 170 headache patients, 46% reported having had sex-related headaches.
The survey, conducted on the National Headache Foundation's web site during December, included 182 people, mainly women aged 21 and older.
Nearly all participants -- 96% -- reported getting headaches from any cause. The same percentage said they're sexually active.
When asked if sex has ever triggered a headache, 54% said no and 46% said yes. Sex-related headaches most often occurred after sex, the survey shows.
Among people reporting sex-related headaches, about 40% said they've cut back on their sexual activity because of their sex-related headaches, and only 12% said they've talked to a doctor about their sex-associated headaches.
That doesn't mean that sex is their only headache trigger. Among people who reported sex-related headaches, 42% reported having had no more than six of those headaches.
Not everyone got headaches from sex. In fact, 20% of participants noted sex eases their headaches and 6% report having sex more often for the headache relief.