HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 07:58:20 EDT
From: <DGS4@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Consumer Reports and HMOs

For those who are interested, the second part of the 3-part CR issue
is out.  This one is on HMOs and includes a reader survey on the larger
HMOs in the country.

Dennis G. Shea, Penn State
<<DISCLAIMER>>
Ain't nobody's bizness but my own. I'll be happy to accept all
the credit for anything I've written.  It's funny, however, how
employers only acknowledge the profitable ideas.
From: geb@dsl.pitt.edu (gordon e. banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Headaches
Date: 21 Jul 92 20:58:59 GMT
Distribution: sci
Organization: Decision Systems Laboratory, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA.


In article <1992Jul19.015413.26943@ncsu.edu> echyatt@eos.ncsu.edu (EDWARD CRAIG HYATT) writes:
>
>A series of visits to doctors (my GP,
>endocrinologist, ENT specialist,
>surgery to remove a "bone spur" from
>my nose, and, as a last resort,
>a chiropractor) had failed to cure the
>headaches.
>
>During the decade that I tried various
>treatments, no physician mentioned
>caffeine as a possible problem.
>
It's a shame you didn't visit a neurologist, which
is the type of doctor that specializes in headaches.
I'm sure the issue of caffeine would have come up,
or should have.  Would have saved a lot of money,
especially on the "bone spur."


>Since I'm pretty happy with the "cure,"
>I've never bothered to search the literature,
>but I'd be interested in any references
>on caffeine->headaches just as a matter of
>curiosity.  It seems strange to me that
>no doctor mentioned the relationship, so
>I have a residual skeptism about the whole
>business (i.e. maybe it's psychosomatic).
>
Caffeine is one of the substances we suggest eliminating
from the diets of patients with migraine.  Chocolate,
wine, certain cheeses, and other foods can also be
quite troublesome.  It is a well known problem
that is discussed in most textbooks on headaches.
A visit to your medical school library may be in order.







-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and
geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu   |  it is shameful to surrender it too soon." 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.anthropology,sci.archaeology,sci.bio.technology,sci.engr,sci.materials,sci.misc,sci.physics.fusion
From: km@speedy.cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Questions for MDs
Date: 30 Jul 92 13:44:33 GMT
Reply-To: km@cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Organization: Computer Science Dept., University of Pittsburgh

In article <55406@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin) writes:
>
>BTW, assuming that penicillin tablets are given to 10,000,000 people in
>a year, which is probably conservative, a chance of 1:100,000 would give
>100 people affected.  And if the 1:100,000 is an overall average, counting
>those who have been given penicillin more than once, the correct odds for
>someone who has not been given penicillin are much higher.

No! With rare exception, people only become sensitive to a substance
by being exposed to it, so that the odds for someone who has never
had the substance are much LOWER. 

Now, if you want to look at idiopathic (not allergic) reactions,
such as fulminant hepatitis, you have the opposite situation:
none of these cases are in people exposed before, because they
die on initial exposure.

 -km
From: geb@dsl.pitt.edu (gordon e. banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Obesity in the US is stress related.
Date: 21 Jul 92 14:40:41 GMT
Organization: Decision Systems Laboratory, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA.

In article <leonid.711407541@spssig> leonid@spss.com (Leonid Feygin) writes:
>If I am not mistaken, nobody has yet mentioned that stress in many cases
>can cause obesity.  Being under stress, many people find relieve from it
>in excesses of various kinds: anti-social behavior, drug and alcohol
>abuse, as well as overeating.  Needless to say, overeating is most
>common (and considered most benign).
>
Stress can precipitate overeating in some people, but I don't think
it would be proper to say that stress causes obesity, even in them.
It is possible that if such people could lead a life without stress
they would not be obese, but it would be hard to demonstrate that
scientifically.  Eating is one way I react to stress, but I think
that even without stress I would have managed to become obese.
Other people react to stress by not eating and losing weight.

>
>In other words: since obesity is often the result of psychological and 
>mental disorders which are caused by stress, and the USA is an obvious 
>leader in this area, therefore the USA has so much obesity.
>
Certainly I can think of many societies more stressful than the US,
where we have most of our needs met.  I think this conclusion is
highly speculative.  
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and
geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu   |  it is shameful to surrender it too soon." 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: dfavor@logan.tivoli.com (David Favor)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Fast food != junk food
Date: 29 Jul 92 17:47:41 GMT

In article <1992Jul26.041011.13764@access.digex.com>, kfl@access.digex.com (Keith F. Lynch) writes:
|> fulk@cs.rochester.edu (Mark Fulk) writes:
|> > One of the correlates of high stress levels is simple shortage of
|> > time.  In high stress periods, ... I just don't have time to shop
|> > and cook. ...  A large part of the appeal of the popular fatty
|> > foods is that they are easy to prepare;
|> 
|> I eat fresh fruit and vegetables, and dry cereal right out of the box.
|> Cereal is cheap, delicious, and filling, and it keeps for months without
|> refrigeration.  I choose the brands with no salt or other additives.
|> 
|> Food preparation consists of opening a box or of slicing a fruit.
|> Cleanup consists of throwing the box away if it's empty, or of briefly
|> rinsing the knife and throwing away any seeds and skin.  In the
|> thirteen years I've lived here, I don't think I've ever once used
|> the oven except for drying my sneakers.
|> 
|> It's nutritious, tasty, filling, very low in fat, salt, and sugar,
|> inexpensive, and fast.
|> 
|> Except for getting new glasses, and two quick trips to the ER for
|> accidents, my medical bills have been zero for over twenty years.
|> 
|> Keith Lynch, kfl@access.digex.com

why take the time to cook. go with the fresh fruit and vegetables, with
their nutrients intact.
Newsgroups: sci.med,talk.politics.drugs,pnw.general
From: jerryg@ssd.intel.com (Jerry Gaiser)
Subject: Re: government still at large (was Re: FDA still at large)
Keywords: FDA, unconstitutional illegal action,single-issue blindness
Organization: Supercomputer Systems Division, Intel Corp.
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 16:34:28 GMT

In article <1992Jul27.224927.14072@u.washington.edu> davidb@zeus.ce.washington.edu (David W. Barts) writes:
>In article <1992Jul27.163407.11060@SSD.intel.com>, jerryg@ssd.intel.com (Jerry Gaiser) writes:
>> In article <1992Jul25.180505.2817@eskimo.celestial.com> kurt@eskimo.celestial.com (Kurt Cockrum) writes:
>> Excuse me!? Since when is panhandling a job? Panhandling is begging and if you're
>> truely hungry and homeless, there are services available (admittedly not the best).
>> Most of my research on the subject is that the majority of the money panhandled is
>> spent on alcohol or drugs. And I refuse to support either of those habits for other
>> people.
>
>[WARNING: flame alert]
>
>I trust this is the voice of experience (a person who has actually
>lived on the streets) speaking, not just another white middle class
>suburban computer professional who is angry at the poor for existing
>because they interfere with his ability to delude himself into
>believing a falsely rosy picture of the current state of American
>society.

Yes, I'm a white middle class suburban computer professional... Who'se worked his
butt off to be where I am. I've worked minimum wage, sub-minimum wage and recently
some pretty decent wages in my 45 years. I've spent the last 3 months unemployed,
trying to survive on $259 a week and still keep my mortgage payed and try to keep
up with the bills.

I'm not mad at the poor. I'm mad at a government who have cut the budgets of agencies
that were providing help to those that _need_ it. The mentally ill, those with
drug problems. I'm mad at a President who talks about 1,000 points of light and
then ignores the problems that exist on my and your streets.

The state of American society is in the pits. But my handing money to _beggars_ on
the street is not going to help. I say again, all the studies that I have seen show
that most of that money is going to drugs and alchohol. If you have any other
information, I would be pleased to see it. I do and will continue to support 
local organizations who are _trying_ to do something.

-- 
Jerry Gaiser
         Usenet: jerryg@ssd.intel.com
        Fidonet: 1:105/380
           PBBS: n7pwf@n7pwf.or.usa.na
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: georgec@eng.umd.edu (George B. Clark)
Subject: Re: Leading causes of death
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 92 22:36:59 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland

In article <mathew.711739735@henry> mathew@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov (Mathew Yeates) writes:
>
>Can anybody tell me where I can find a listing of the top 15 leading
>causes of death in the U.S. From the CDC, for instance?
>

National Center For Health Statistics
6625 Belcrest Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782

Attention:  David Johnson
            Division of Vital Statistics

The named individual, David Johnson, at the above address is the
supervisory computer specialist who manages the data collection for
mortality statistics in the U.S.A. (The actual data is on an IBM
mainframe in Atlanta, but the software and civil-service personnel
who manage it are in Hyattsville, Maryland.)
 
David is the head of a new project to make more efficient the
monthly reporting of death statistics from state governments to the
federal government. His proposal includes using "electronic death
certificates" that are uniform among all states. Right now, states
have no uniform way of reporting deaths, and it is causing a
substantial lag between the time David gets the data and the time
the public gets the benefit of the information. (Currently, New
Hampshire and David's people are using a pilot "electronic death
certificate" to test its value.)

Anyway, it's the job of the Division of Vital Statistics to provide
the public with mortality data. I don't have David's phone number,
but the number of their local employee locator office is
(301) 443-2403. Anyone in his division should be able to answer all
your questions.
From: geb@dsl.pitt.edu (gordon e. banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Questions for MDs
Date: 21 Jul 92 14:59:46 GMT
Organization: Decision Systems Laboratory, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA.

In article <BrKFyz.6FB@wpg.com> russ@wpg.com (Russell Lawrence) writes:

>Generally speaking, it seems to me we could rate the legal and
>medical professions (ethics-wise) by comparing the way their 
>respective licensing authorities handle complaints.  Would you 
>care to compare the Pennsylvania medical board with the 
>Pennsylvania bar association?  Which of them is more inclined to 
>turn a deaf-ear to complaints from the public?  
>
I don't think you have any data to go on here do you?
I know that most complaints to medical boards are over
things that have annoyed the patient, but over which the
board has no possible statuatory control, such as rudeness,
billing, etc.  I don't know what the purview of the bar
is and what they would consider a legitimate complaint.
Attoneys characteristically name every doctor who touched
the patient in a lawsuit, even if the physician did nothing
wrong, hoping to get them to finger-point.  Would the bar
listen to a complaint that this is barratry?
I doubt it.

>Is it really true that physicians and dentists in the USA care
>more about their patients than they care about money?  Is it 
>really true that they base their decisions to treat or not to 
>treat predominantly on the basis of patient benefit without 
>regard to the money involved?
>
I certainly do not take money into consideration, except that
I try not to unnecessarily burden a patient or perform tests
that are expensive and of marginal utility.  

>
>I've noticed that many physicians like to blame problems on
>consumerism and/or malpractice attorneys.  Yet, it seems to 
>me that both consumerism and litigation are the responses
>to existing problems and not the fundamental cause.
>
They are a response to a problem, but an inappropriate one
which causes other problems.  Ours is the only nation on
the face of the earth that has chosen to handle our problems
in this way, and we are paying for it.

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and
geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu   |  it is shameful to surrender it too soon." 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: primal@leland.Stanford.EDU (Jodi Lynn Elgart)
Subject: Sulfite question
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 01:09:18 GMT


I get a strange allergic (actually, asthmatic) reaction when I
drink certain wines, etc.  My doctor thinks it's probably a reaction
to sulfites.  Any suggestions/similar experiences/explanations
welcome.

Thanks...






Newsgroups: sci.med,talk.politics.drugs,pnw.general
From: lewis@aera8700.mitre.org (Keith Lewis)
Subject: Re: government still at large (was Re: FDA still at large)
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 12:34:01 GMT

In article <1992Jul28.174401.3471@eskimo.celestial.com>, alpinist@eskimo.celestial.com (David Butler) writes:
>     Common sense says that for a panhandler to be alive that he or she must
>have eaten enough for subsistence.  A days supply of food costs more than a
>days supply of alcohol.  

Not if you're a heavy drinker.  What's a bottle of Nighttrain these days? 
$3?  Ramon Noodles cost about $.35 per serving.

>And what is wrong with panhandlers buying alcohol
>and drugs?  

Nothing, except it makes working folks mistrust all homeless people.
Is there anything wrong with me refusing to give them money?  How about
letting them know what I think of them?

>If I didn't have a home, a source of income, no friends or
>family to take me in, and had to suffer the indignity of begging for a
>living I sure would want to be as numbed to reality as possible.  Anyway
>it's no worse of an escape than staring at a CRT all day.

You seem to think that panhandlers have no other option.  That is wrong. 
The average panhandler has more than enough physical and social skill to 
work at a fast food restaurant.  He just finds it easier to beg.

Keith Lewis             klewis@mitre.org          "Mr. Cheap"
I don't dance to music; music dances to me.  Email me for my corrected PGP key.
The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.
Xref: sparky sci.med:14376 misc.kids:19572
From: smergen@luna.dpl.scg.hac.com (Sandra Mergen)
Newsgroups: sci.med,misc.kids
Subject: Spider bites and children
Date: 23 Jul 92 18:42:03 GMT


My 22 month old daughter is getting bitten up by spider bites.  The
doctor says that it's a common brown spider and that it is prevalent
right now.  We live in El Segundo (Los Angeles county).

Melissa seems to be allergic, because she is getting very large bite
sores.  There is a bite mark in the middle, which is red and a lighter
red mark that circles out from the middle.  One is even the size of
a tennis ball.

I was advised to check for red streaks that may run up her leg, and
for difficulty in breathing.

She seems to get bitten when she lies on the floor at day care, while
sleeping.  I have told the day care provider to please put her in a
crib, and get her up off the floor, when she takes a nap.

Has anyone else had this problem with spider bites?  How BIG are these
spiders?  Will Melissa's reaction get worse and worse after each bite
incident?

Sandy
From: ssweet@.informix.com (Sky Sweet)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: known sideffects of Slpolyllin
Date: 20 Jul 92 21:23:16 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.

Not certain of spelling; may be Slfolyllin
commonly used for asthma patients.
Would like to know any info. regarding sideffects
and any other known usage for the drug.

Pls. post any answers directly to me as I do not
regularly read this newgroup.

Thank-you

ssweet

ssweet@informix.comm
From: ark@alice.att.com (Andrew Koenig)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Red Hot Chili Peppers...(was: Colonic irrigations)
Keywords: alt medicine
Date: 28 Jul 92 04:43:27 GMT
Article-I.D.: alice.23333
Reply-To: ark@alice.UUCP ()
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Liberty Corner NJ

In article <2466@tau-ceti.isc-br.com> cecilw@access.isc-br.com (Cecil Williams) writes:

> While we're talking about worms here, I would like to throw out this
> highly speculative theory of mine for comment...  Ever since my first
> trip around Asia and my first taste of hot (HOT!!!) curried chicken,
> I've had the idea that people in third world countries tend to eat
> extremely spicy hot food because the hot spices would drive parasites
> from the body (or kill them, or maybe just make them unhappy, and we all
> know how difficult it is to procreate when you're unhappy...)

Well, maybe.

Here's another possible explanation: is it impossible to grow hot
peppers in cool climates.

At least that's what I infer from an article I read in a gardening
magazine a few years ago about growing hot peppers.  It said that the
hotness of all kinds of peppers depends critically on the temperature
while they are ripening; if it is not at least 95 degrees, the peppers
will not be hot.

It would stand to reason that people eat hot peppers only in places
where they are available.   :-)
-- 
				--Andrew Koenig
				  ark@europa.att.com
Organisation: European Space Operation Centre (E.S.O.C)
Date: Wednesday, 29 Jul 1992 15:39:09 CET
From: <RFLOOD@ESOC.BITNET>
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: tennis elbow
 <1992Jul28.005721.2435@ttinews.tti.com>

I had an attack of te last year, with severe pain in the outside of the
lower right arm. There's a small depression  in the bones making up
the elbow, on the outside: if you push there with a finger it hurts
like hell if you've got te, as that's where the tendon has become detached.
Cure: complete rest of the arm for several weeks, especially no twisting
motion of the forearm relative to the upper arm. If that doesn't work,
immobilisation with a bandage or cast: if that doesn't work, surgery to
reattach the tendon.
In my case, I was 'cured' (the '' is because it can always reoccur) with
immobilisation. One point is that having your elbow strapped up transfers
rotational loads to other parts of the arm, so after a few days the
wrist and shoulder also hurt. But that's better than surgical intervention
(which is also followed by weeks of immobilisation).
RaF
Newsgroups: sci.med,talk.politics.drugs,pnw.general
From: rbuchanan@vitalink.com (Rick Buchanan)
Subject: Re: How does nervousness cause shaky hands?
Reply-To: rbuchanan@vitalink.com (Rick Buchanan)
Organization: Vitalink Communications Corp.  (Standard disclaimer of course)
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 16:13:25 GMT

In article <1992Jul20.172635.28120@cs.ucf.edu>, long@next1.acme.ucf.edu 
(Richard Long) writes:

> Sounds like early Parkinson's disease.  There are emotional effects  
> associated with the disease, depression (over and above that naturally  
> associated with any such disease) and anxiety are two, if I remember  
> correctly.  Parkinson's is easier to deal with using L-Dopa and other  
> drugs in the early stages, so you might want to ask a neurologist to check  
> her out.  Make sure you are told about the risks of nasty side effects and  
> be sure to get a second opinion as to the dosage and regimen.  

At 73 it might not be such a bad idea to start right in with Sinemet 
(L-Dopa/Carbidopa) (assuming, of course, that this person is actually
diagnosed with Parkinson's) but in younger patients and early cases
it is generally a better idea to hold the levodopa in reserve until 
the symptoms become disabling.   Since the Sinemet "honeymoon" only lasts 
around 2-5 years, the prevailing wisdom is to start off with amantadine,
Deprenyl, and possibly an anti-cholinergic, and save the "big guns"
until absolutely necessary.

There are some doctors that disagree with this strategy, but they seem
to be a shrinking minority.

(Soapbox mode ON)

Of course, if Bush wasn't such a flaming asshole, there might be some
chance of finding a really effective treatment through research with
fetal tissue implants.   But the schmuck figured that it was more
important to get the fundie Right to Life vote than to help people
with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Diabetes etc.   And the spineless
wimps in congress sustained his veto...   (My evil side hopes that
one of his kids comes down with one of these conditions, so we can
see him get a hernia trying to backpedal!)

And then there's the Clinton alternative.  He'll lift the ban on
fetal tissue research and then institute Socialistic Medicine
so that there can be five year waits for the procedure (assuming
that the taxpayers don't decide that such treatments are an
"inefficient use of NHI funds").

Makes me wanna puke.   I guess I'll vote for Marrou and just hope
that Bush and Clinton both spontaneously combust at the first debate.

(Soapbox mode OFF)

   ---   Rick

Socialized Medicine:  the cost containment of the Pentagon, the
efficiency of the Post Office, the ethics of the Congress, and
the human compassion of the IRS.  Who could ask for more?

       ***  I think, therefore I can't be a socialist  ***
From: theo@tubprz.prz.tu-berlin.de (Teodor Pirkmayer)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Traditional Chinese Medicine
Date: 25 Jul 92 12:30:46 GMT
Organization: TU-Berlin TUBKOM, Germany

Hi everybody,

I am posting the following article for a friend of mine.
She is interested in Traditional Chinese Medicine (accupuncture, accupressure,
moxibustion, quigong, etc...) and would like to learn more about these
topics. She is looking for :

- Literature ( english or german )
- Training Centers and Courses ( in Germany, China, or other fareast countries).
- Any other information about Traditional Chineses Medicine

Please post email-answers to :

theo@tubprz.prz.tu-berlin.de

or papermail to :

Helene Koeroesy
Weigangufer 17
1000 Berlin 44
Germany

Thank you in advance,

Theo Pirkmayer

Newsgroups: sci.med,connect.audit