New FDA Web Page Lists Disposal Instructions for Select Medicines

Posted by Andy Alt

FDA NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Oct. 14, 2009

Media Inquiries: Christopher Kelly, 301-796-4676, christopher.kelly@fda.hhs.gov
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA

New FDA Web Page Lists Disposal Instructions for Select Medicines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today launched a Web page for consumers with information on how to dispose of certain drugs, including several high-potency opioids and other selected controlled substances. These medicines have the potential to be harmful, even deadly, in a single dose if taken by someone other than the intended person.

FDA Seeks Public Input on Transparency

Posted by Andy Alt on June 25, 2009

Though I’m late in posting this and the meeting has passed, the video is still available for viewing.

FDA NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS

For Immediate Release: June 23, 2009

Media Inquiries: Raymond Formanek Jr., 301-796-4677, raymond.formanek@fda.hhs.gov

FDA Seeks Public Input on Transparency

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will host a daylong meeting on June 24, 2009. During this meeting, the FDA will seek recommendations on how to make information on FDA activities and decision-making useful, understandable, and more accessible to the public. The meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT at the National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20594.

TIME: Starting a diaper bank

Posted by Andy Alt

Recently an article appeared in TIME magazine about a volunteer-operated diaper bank, and how to start one:
Starting a Diaper Bank

[...]
“I saw a mother take a diaper off, empty the solids and put it back on,” says Goldblum. Not having enough diapers, she realized, has far-reaching effects. “Most day-care centers require parents to provide their own,” she says. And without day care, parents can’t look for work or go to school. Cloth diapers don’t help, because low-income families tend not to have washing machines or cars to get to the Laundromat. Moreover, she knew that babies who sit longer in their own waste get more diaper rashes and cry more. And she’d read the studies showing that more crying leads to more physical abuse.
[...]
FOR MORE DETAILS Download a free how-to manual at thediaperbank.org

Mental Health and General Health News – posted April 27, 2009

Posted by Andy Alt on April 27, 2009

April 23, 2009

This week’s news:

U.S. Spends $9 Billion on Child Mental Illness (04/22/2009, Reuters Health)
Painkillers May Not Protect Against Dementia (04/22/2009, HealthDay)
Organ Failure, Sedative Use in ICU May Lead to Depression (04/21/2009, HealthDay)
Almost 1 in 10 Young Video Game Users ‘Addicted’ (04/20/2009, HealthDay)
Outgoing Nature Could Get You to 100 (04/20/2009, HealthDay)
For more information on Mental Health see these MedlinePlus topics:

Antidepressants
Anxiety
Bipolar Disorder
Child Mental Health
Dementia
Depression
Eating Disorders
Mental Health
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Panic Disorder
Phobias
Schizophrenia
Stress
Teen Mental Health

Visit the MedlinePlus web site at: http://medlineplus.gov

Google Flu Trends

Posted by Andy Alt on April 26, 2009

Google Flu Trends

We’ve found that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity. Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional flu surveillance systems.

Each week, millions of users around the world search for online health information. As you might expect, there are more flu-related searches during flu season, more allergy-related searches during allergy season, and more sunburn-related searches during the summer. You can explore all of these phenomena using Google Trends. But can search query trends provide an accurate, reliable model of real-world phenomena?

Recent Mental Health and General Health News / April 13 – 22, 2009

Posted April 22, 2009 by Andy Alt / Mental Health in Northfield MN

FDA MedWatch
Internet gateway for timely safety information on drugs and other medical products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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Health Headlines from MedlinePlus

Health news stories are produced by HealthDay and Reuters Health Information.

HealthDay and Reuters Health Information articles are available on MedlinePlus for 90 days.

April 13, 2009

Gene Variant Tied to Schizophrenia

Marathoners Go the Distance on Heart Health

Parkinson’s Drugs Can Trigger Unhealthy Behaviors

Stem Cells Repair Damaged Corneas in Mice

Stem Cells Spur New Eggs in Ovaries of Adult Mice

Stressed Health Care Workers Battle ‘Compassion Fatigue’

Study Challenges Link Between Panic Attacks, PTSD

April 14, 2009

Mental Health News for the week ending April 11, 2009

In this post, I’m pasting in two emails I received from a United States Government operated mailing list. They contain links to mental health and general health news and resources

But first, I spoke with someone recently about schizophrenia, and it reminded me of a post I read in January. Many of the views of the blog’s author, Gianna Kali, differ from established and mainstream views on psychiatry and medicine, and her site is primarily categorized as an “alternative to medicine” site. Although her views don’t often match up with what you might hear in the mainstream media or from many psychiatrists and doctors, she has extensive experience in the mental health field and was formerly a social worker. Many outgoing links on Gianna’s site lead to similar alternative medicine sites.

Eating Disorders

The following are links to local and National resources that are relevant to eating disorders. If you have any suggestions, especially ones that are specific to Northfield or Rice County, please contact me or leave a comment.

St. Olaf College Resources | Eating Disorders

Center for Human Resources
220 Division Street
Northfield, MN 55057

This is a list of Current Offerings and presentations available by Dorothee Ischler.