HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: km@speedy.cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: On pre-scientific traditions of medicine (was: Use of term allopath)
Date: 19 Aug 92 03:14:50 GMT
Reply-To: km@cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Distribution: sci
Organization: Computer Science Dept., University of Pittsburgh

In article <des.7@helix.nih.gov> des@helix.nih.gov (David E. Scheim) writes:
>
>Whether this is a true incident or not, this anectote and the 
>discovery of penicillin certainly indicates the possibility of effective 
>treatments being derived and passed down through means outside the 
>laboratory culture, whose mechanisms may not be understood by the 
>science of their day, that may nevertheless be effective.  If by alternative 
>medicine, you encompass such remedies, or those of scientists that have been 
>ignored by the prevailing medical establishment due to predjudices or 
>politics, not objective failures, I cannot a priori call them quacks.  If 
>you are defining alternative medicine to mean remedies offered by people 
>whose primary objective is financial gain and who refuse to allow such 
>remedies to be objectively tested, then I would agree with you that all such 
>practitioners are quacks.

But there is another group, and that is composed of people who embrace
alternative medicine concepts *because* they are not those of mainstream
medicine. This is the group that Gordon and I have problems with, because
they attribute to mainstream medicine a sinister quality and to alternative
medicine a heroic quality. I don't think that any doctor in his/her right
mind would deny that serendipity and spontaneity have played a major
role in medical discovery, and that sometimes we discover things without
initially knowing exactly how to explain them or put them into context.
But we do believe that eventually we can explain them and put them into
context, or at least, use them productively while checking to make sure
they are safe and effective. The group I have problems with rejects this,
and asserts that because mainstream medicine embraces something, it
must be false, and because alternative medicine embraces it, it must
be true. 

 -Ken Mitchum MD
 km@cs.pitt.edu
Newsgroups: sci.med,soc.veterans
From: Nigel.Allen@bbs.oit.unc.edu (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Veterans Hospitals in Canada
Organization: Echo Beach
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 17:19:48 GMT

In Canada, most veterans hospitals (Sunnybrook in Toronto, Camp Hill in
Halifax) have been turned over to the provincial government or non-profit
organizations to serve the general public, although a certain number of beds
are still reserved for veterans. The military operates the National Defence
Medical Centre in Ottawa as a general hospital for active military personnel
(and, I think, some senior government officials), and had contingency plans
to use civilian hospitals to treat Canadian casualties in the Gulf War.

In Canada, civilian hospitals are non-profit organizations with their own
corporate charter and board of directors, but they get substantially all
their budget from the provincial government. (Other funding comes from
charges for semi-private and private rooms, television, donations [usually
funnelled through a separate hospital foundation], investments and 
research grants.) Some psychiatric hospitals are owned and operated by
provincial governments and staffed with civil service employees, and
as well there are nursing stations in remote areas run by the 
federal government, primarily for aboriginal communities.


--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: seanna@bnr.ca (Seanna Watson)
Subject: questions about Cyclokapron
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 18:26:31 GMT

My gyn. prescribed Cyclokapron to control very heavy menstrual bleeding.
He said that the only adverse side-effect is the cost (>$1 per pill).
I would like to know a little bit more about what it does and how it 
works.  Also, since I take terfenadine (Seldane) which is OTC here, I
was wondering if there were any potential interactions.  (And yes, I am
going to ask my pharmacist.)  Thanks in advance.

-- 
Seanna Watson   Bell-Northern Research, 
(seanna@bnr.ca) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Opinions, what opinions?  Oh *these* opinions. | It's hard to seize the
No, they're not BNR's, they're mine.           | day when you must first
I knew I'd left them somewhere.                | grapple with the morning.
From: lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Linda Snow)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Medication causes swelling ankles
Date: 21 Aug 92 20:13:06 GMT
Reply-To: lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Linda Snow)
Distribution: world
Organization: NCR E&M CLEMSON Liberty, SC

I have been on Cardizem for hypertension for almost 2 years (other
medications tried and discarded before that).  A documented side effect
is swelling ankles, which I have had off and on for about a year since
my dosage was increased (I'm on the maximum now).  My doctor says not
to worry about it, and he gave me a diuretic to take if I want to, but
I haven't used it yet because I don't know if they'll swell until late
afternoon and by then why bother.  And I don't want to have to take the
stuff every day.  (I was on vacation for 2 weeks recently and didn't
have the problem most of that time -- I figure it's because I got a chance
to put my feet up more often.)  My ankles never swell early in the day
and it tends to be worse (predictably) in hot weather.

Should I be concerned about this?  The swelling is not severe but I guess
it's just annoying because I never had it before in my life (I'm 46). Also
is there any significance to the fact that my left ankle usually gets
puffier than the right?
Newsgroups: sci.med,comp.sys.sun.misc,comp.sys.sun.hardware
From: leavens@cs.iastate.edu (Gary Leavens)
Subject: Re: Wrist problems, input devices, and Sun workstations
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 22:16:48 GMT

In <15rb80INN2pq@cs.utexas.edu> turpin@cs.utexas.edu (Russell Turpin) writes:

>of wrist pads.  None of these have resolved the problems, at
>least, not in the worst case.  I am really hoping for other
>suggestions.


I've bought a PCD Maltron terminal (for $730) and have it hooked up to a PC,
which is hooked to ttyb of my SS2.  The PCD Maltron keyboard is sculpted,
and also supports a different layout of keys (as well as QWERTY).
Unfortunately the PCD Maltron keyboard only works for PCs and Macs (I think).
But PCs are cheap and if you have one lying around to use as a terminal,
this seems to work for most input.  I have to revert to the SS2
to use the mouse and X windows, etc.

Contact Jim Barrett (215)688-6866 of Applied Learning Corp (a US distributor
for PCD Maltron) for more info on the keyboard.

I also saw something in Unix World (or Info World) a while back on 
other input devices.  You might contact InfoGrip (504)336-0033 which
sells separate left and right hand chording keyboards.  Other companies
are listed in the article for this kind of stuff, but none others are shipping
yet.

You might also get the book "How to Survive your Computer Workstation",
for 11.95 from CRT Services, Inc., Workstation Consultants, Linden TX 75563

--
	229 Atanasoff Hall, Department of Computer Science
	Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011-1040, USA
	phone: (515) 294-1580  fax: (515) 294-0258
From: lunger@helix.enet.dec.com (Dave Lunger)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: How does Metastasis work?
Date: 17 Aug 92 18:39:29 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation


Someone in my family has been diagnosed with *both* breast cancer
and lung cancer. Evidently, its unusual to have two completely
separate primary cancer sites. Of course, there may still be some
possibility the lung cancer is a metastasis of the breast.

However, in my readings, I've become curious about some of the details
about metastasis not covered that perhaps someone could answer here.

What might you guess were the relative occurrence of metastases occurring
thru the bloodstream as opposed to the lymphatic system in lung cancer?
in breast cancer? Is the lymphatic route more common? how much?
Are there other pathways for metastasis other than blood and lymph?

I understand that the blood/brain barrier is a major impediment to
chemotherapy drugs being effective in brain cancers. Why doesn't
this barrier (or does it?) prevent metastasis of Lung and/or Breast
tumors (which can often find themselves in the brain) from entering
the brain?

Thanks for any info...
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Smart Drugs
From: Jo.Russell@f150.n110.z1.fidonet.org (Jo Russell)
Date: 14 Aug 92 12:15:58 GMT
Organization: FidoNet node 1:110/150 - The Darkroom, Dayton OH


   What is the feeling among the docs here about the so-called "smart drugs"?
The nootropics, choline, ginko bilboa, etc?
  Also, to any who use them, what's the present state of the effort to make 
ordering some of these things from European countries illegal?

 

 

--  
Internet: Jo.Russell@f150.n110.z1.fidonet.org
From: georgec@eng.umd.edu (George B. Clark)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: watch size heartbeat monitoring device ?
Date: 20 Aug 92 22:10:04 GMT
Article-I.D.: eng.1992Aug20.221004.22379
Organization: University of Maryland

Creative Health Products, Inc.
5148 Saddle Ridge Road
Plymouth, MI 48170

phone 1-800-742-4478

The above mailorder company sells a complete line of gadgets for
monitoring one's exercise and fitness. Their catalog is very well written,
and it provides an excellent buyer's guide for pulse monitors and 
other fitness gadgets.

Last year, I purchased a Pro Trainer Model 8733 pulse monitor. At
that time, it was rated among the best. I never use it anymore, however.
It proved to be non-essential for a good workout.

Here's a quick list of other products they sell:
     Skin Calipers
     Strength Testers
     Flexibility Testers
     Goniometers
     Scales
     Blood Pressure Testers
     Stethoscopes
     Sphygmomanometers
     Otoscopes
     Ophthalmoscopes
     Pulse Monitors
     Lung Capacity Testers
     Fitness Books & Software
     Exercise Bikes
     Ergometers
     Rowing Machines
     Treadmills
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: cfaks@ux1.cts.eiu.edu (Alice Sanders)
Subject: three weeks after cortisone in shoulder, still hurts!
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 10:03:14 GMT
Organization: Eastern Illinois University

It's been three weeks since cortisone was injected into my shoulder for
supraspinitis syndrome.  I did real well, comparatively, for about four
days last week.  I felt encouraged.  I slept through the night and had
reduced discomfort in the day time.  I had really been babying it.  

Yesterday I tried to put stickers ona bunch of envelopes and place them in
a pile one by one, using the hand on the bad shoulder side.  I also washed
my car but did not use that arm.  Today my elbow ached quite a lot.
Tonight tried to pick up an escaping kitten with bad arm.  Hurt!!!  

Tonight I have ice on my shoulder in the middle of the night.  

Does this mean I will have to have surgery, to heal?  Or do these things
just take a very long time to heal?  Could it just be tendonitis and still
hurt after so long?  I still have little mobility in the arm.

The ice really helps.

I don't want surgery.  What do you think the odds are?

Thanks.

Alice
From: poli2031@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Address of AMA
Date: 17 Aug 92 09:33:56 +1200
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

Hello!
This might not be the appropriate group for me to pose this question:
could anyone here please post to me by email the address of the
American Medical Association.  (either the email or snail mail)
I am from NZ and looking to contact an MD who I have lost touch and
thought that writing to AMA might help me.  Thanks in advance.
Juay.
From: lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Linda Snow)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Hives??  Or Shingles??
Date: 18 Aug 92 17:04:52 GMT
Reply-To: lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Linda Snow)
Distribution: usa
Organization: NCR E&M CLEMSON Liberty, SC

What you describe sounds like hives to me, not shingles.  The one
time I received treatment for hives, it consisted of an antihistamine
(chlortrimeton, for example, which is available OTC). I had to take it
for 3-4 days.  I don't know if the hives would have gone away without
treatment.  My case behaved pretty much like yours except it sounds like
you have more intense itching.

During my lifetime I've had 4 cases of unknown-cause widespread skin
outbreaks, 2 of which I would describe as hives and 2 were more like 
rashes.  I'm pretty much convinced they were stress-induced (although
one doctor told me this is impossible), since no other cause was present
and in each case high-stress conditions were present.  (One of the cases
may have also been complicated or caused by some virus, since I was also
sick at the time with a severe flu-like symptoms.  My whole immune system
pretty much shut down -- I even came down with conjunctivitis, which I've
never had even as a kid. This was one of the hives type outbreaks).

I think people's bodies tend to respond to stress in characteristic ways,
and mine always seems to react through the skin.  I get bumps, itches,
patches, rashes, and other assorted stuff that just comes and goes with
no apparent cause. Other people get ulcers; guess I'm lucky.
From: km@speedy.cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Clinical Trials on Homeopathic Remedies
Date: 15 Aug 92 14:29:11 GMT
Reply-To: km@cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Organization: Computer Science Dept., University of Pittsburgh

In article <22410@sybase.sybase.com> dana@sybase.com (Dana Bergen) writes:

-
-Can you get a *really* strong dose by just looking at the substance but
-not ingesting it?  Is it dangerous to think about the substance too much?
-
-Are people being exposed to high doses when they walk past the store that
-sells this stuff?  Actually, the most dangerous situation would be to
-live thousands of miles from the nearest molecule, right?  Because that
-would be vastly more potent than actually drinking it.

Hey, I am getting quite toxic from this stuff just from what comes over
the net. You hook one molecule to an IP packet and it can end up in
thousands of different systems all over the world. We've had to purge
our disks three times the last month just to get rid of the results
of homeopathic posts in sci.med, and I can tell you the system
administrators are not amused. We may be closed down any day now.
So please quit this discussion and go back to Ross Perot, or
Rush Limbaugh, or the USL vs. BSDI wars, or anything else that
is non-toxic.

 -Ken Mitchum MD
 km@cs.pitt.edu



Newsgroups: sci.med
From: jimbo@ee.ualberta.ca (Row Jimmy)
Subject: spontaneous, involuntary shudder question.
Organization: University Of Alberta, Edmonton Canada
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 19:55:21 GMT

greetings all,

recently a discussion of (for lack of a better description) "piss shivers" has
raised some questions for me.

first the description: after a sudden cooling resulting from the discharge
of a volume of warm fluid (urination), occasionally i (and others of my
acquaintance) experience an uncontrollable shudder which lasts approx. 1/2 sec.

questions:

1) is this a common experience? - i could only find a few people who would admit
   that this had happened to them.

2) what might the cause be?

3) is there a better name for the phenomenon than "piss shivers"? ;-)

please e-mail any responses as there are so many groups and i have only
so much time :-) i will post a summary if there is sufficient interest.

thank you!

	jim
-- 
Jim Bauer                               jimbo@ee.ualberta.ca
Medical Laser Lab                       alberta!bode!jimbo
University of Alberta 136 Civil Elect   Voice (403)492-1489
Edmonton, Alberta Canada  T6G 2G7       Fax   (403)492-1811
From: mdkline@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Mark D. Kline)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Leaving Trazadone
Date: 19 Aug 92 12:59:09 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

In article <1992Aug18.201238.10162@Warren.MENTORG.COM> tal@Warren.MENTORG.COM (Tom Limoncelli) writes:
>My best friend in the world is on trazadone for her depression.  She
>knows she can't stay on it forever, but is terrified of leaving it.
>Before she was on it she suffered from angoraphobia (sp?) and severe
>depression that ruined her college career.
>How long can people usually stay on trazadone?
>How do people usually get off of it?  (therapy?)  Is there a standard
>procedure or are there many techniques?

Long term adverse effects of trazodone are unknown; the drug is not known
to rot the liver or do anything else nasty after long term use (that is,
years).  Standard advice for the person treated with antidepressants is 
to continue treatment for at least a few months, preferabbly a year,
before gradually tapering off; this seems to reduce the risk of recurrence
of depression.  The three guidelines for going off antidepressants in my
practice are 1) well & stable for at least a few months 2) not under 
unusual life stress and 3) preferably spring or summer months (since we
all feel better when the sun shines).  For the majority of patients 
sucessfully treated with medication for depression, the only risk of
tapering off medicine is a few weeks of feeling less well; if symptoms
recurr, medicine is restarted, and in the vast majority of cases what
worked before works again.  Effective psychological intervention 
also seems to have an "immunizing" effect in preventing depressive
relapse for some people.   People can stay on trazodone a VERY long
time, although they usually don't have to.   Low doses of an
antidepressant, taken over the long term, can often prevent depressive
recurrence for those with a recurrent pattern of illness.

Some practitioners consider trazodone a second class antidepressant.
It is now rarely prescribed to men because it can cause priapism
(painful erection which can be followed by permanent impotence unless
promptly treated).  Trazodone is less effective for panic attacks than
tricyclic,  MAOI, or SSRI antidepressants.   However, if it is working
for a particular person, it should certainly be continued as long as
necessary.

--
 
mark kline                              mdkline@rodan.acs.syr.edu
suny health science center, syracuse    voice: (315) 422-1050
================ courtesy of syracuse university ================
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: john@physiol.su.OZ.AU (John Mackin)
Subject: dermatophyte: treatment ideas wanted
Organization: Department of Physiology, University of Sydney, Australia
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 04:47:51 GMT

Hi.  To make a change from what seems to be the usual run of `ask
sci.med for a dermatological diagnosis' articles, I have a solid
diagnosis and am wondering about treatment.

For several years I have been plagued by a dermatophyte, which has
been cultured and identified as Trichophyton rubrum.  I get the
bullae on the soles of my feet, and other parts of the
foot.  The damn thing also likes the skin of my hands, where it
causes peeling, itching and characteristic `ring' lesions.

Before it was cultured, I tried quite a few different topical
imidazoles.  None one of them even touched it.  After the organism
was identified, my dermatologist (for whom I have great respect --
I am not trying to second-guess him) prescribed griseofulvin, 300mg
(microsized) bid.  Now, this does work.  A bit.  It usually takes
between two and three months of this to clear it up.  He told me
to continue the drug for a month after becoming completely
asymptomatic.  I have faithfully done that each time.  And each
time, the damn thing comes back, one or two or six months after
I stop the drug.

I am beginning to get really pissed off with this.  Any suggestions
for a _cure_ will be greatly appreciated.  Please reply by mail.

-- 
John Mackin <john@physiol.su.oz.au>
`I'm still taking the tablets.'  -Stuart Pook
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: graham@venus.iucf.indiana.edu (JIM GRAHAM)
Subject: Sympathectomy..questions.
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Reply-To: graham@venus.iucf.indiana.edu
Organization: Somewhere in Bloomington, Indiana
Distribution:  na
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 00:08:12 GMT

Due to chronic pain from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy in my right foot/leg,
I've been told that I should consider an epidural pump or a sympathectomy.

Because of the results of repeated lumbar sympathetic blocks, it has been 
concluded by my doctors that I'm a good candidate for either one.

I've asked about the pump in a separate posting, so I'll ask about the
sympathectomy in this one.

1.) What exactly is done during the operation?
2.) What are the lifelong "side-effects" if any?
3.) Is it considered major or minor surgery?
4.) Other comments?

Thanks, 

Jim Graham 

        -> ->Disclaimer: I do not speak for my company. <- <-
                          Neither do they speak for me.
 ______________________________________________________________________
| Internet: graham@venus.iucf.indiana.edu                              |
|           dolmen!jgraham@moose.cs.indiana.edu                        |
| BBS:      The PORTAL DOLMEN BBS/ParaNet ALPHA-GAMMA (sm) (9:1012/13) |
|            (812) 334-0418, 24hrs.                                    |
|______________________________________________________________________|
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: leff@sco.COM (Bill Leff)
Subject: child's underarm rash
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 18:43:34 GMT

My 7-year-old daughter has some kind of rash in her
armpits. The rash looks like small pimples that 
develop whiteheads. The doc suggested that it
was fungal and prescribed a cortisone-antifungal
ointment (Lotrisone) that helped some when we
used it, but the rash has reappeared.

Anyone know of hand what this is and how to treat it?

Thanks

-leff@sco.com



-- 
-------------------------
The number one reason why we're here (from David Letterman's Top 10):
"To polka, baby, polka"
From: carl@aoa.aoa.utc.com (Carl Witthoft)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Strange Cure For Burn?
Date: 17 Aug 92 16:34:48 GMT
Organization: Adaptive Optics Associates

In article <1992Aug14.170329.1961@ms.uky.edu> jrt@omega.kcr.uky.edu (J. Randall Thompson) writes:
>>In article <1992Aug13.005931.12031@odin.corp.sgi.com>, sajid@jam.wpd.sgi.com (Sajid Zia) writes:
>>> I have experienced a strange cure of burn ...
>>> ... If you put kerosine on that part of the skin, it
>>> gets cured immidiately, not even a sign is left. 
>As the kerosene evaporates, it will reduce the local tissue temperature
>and could potentially reduce the amount of thermal injury.
x
This is clearly getting out of hand.
First of all, nothing will "cure" a burn "immediately."  Period.
Second, pouring hydrocarbons on an open wound is a seriously 
dangerous idea.  This stuff is flammable, may well be a carcinogen,
and on and on. 

If you have a "burn" and do something to make it "disappear," it
wasn't there to begin with.  Making a blister on a <=1st degree
burn go down is not the same thing.


-- 
Bobby Newmark, aka  Carl Witthoft @ Adaptive Optics Associates
aoa!carl@bbn.com  carl@aoa.utc.com
54 CambridgePark Drive, Cambridge,MA 02140 617-864-0201
**Just say NO to HMOs**