Free Republic

John Patrick on an Unnoticed Transformation of the Cause of Disease If you want to elicit a startled response from a group of physicians, try asking the following questions: "Those of you with more than thirty years of medical practice, think back to the beginning of your practice. What proportion of your patients came to you because of what might be described as an act of God or nature, such as an ordinary bacterial infection? What proportion came to you with a disease for which they were responsible?" The usual answers will be that 70 percent of all patients came...

New 'Heartland' Virus Discovered In Sick Missouri Farmers Aug 29, 2012 5:00 PM ET Rachael Rettner, MyHealthNewsDaily Staff WriterTwo men in Missouri who became severely ill after sustaining tick bites were found to be infected with a new type of virus, according to a study from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Both men were admitted to hospitals after experiencing high fevers, fatigue, diarrhea and loss of appetite. They were originally thought to be suffering from a bacterial infection, but doubts arose when they didn't improve after being treated with antibiotics. Further tests revealed their blood contained a...

The federal government Friday called for all baby boomers to be tested for hepatitis C, which kills more Americans each year than AIDS and is the leading reason for liver transplants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the recommendation to find hundreds of thousands of people who don't realize that they have the infection, which greatly increases their chances of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus is transmitted by blood, usually through intravenous drug use or transfusions. A blood test for it became widely available in 1992. Extremely small amounts of the virus are able...

Former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern was being treated at a hospital in South Dakota after falling and hitting his head on the pavement outside a library bearing his name.

Please pray for my wife as she struggles to recover from all the medical issues she's suffered with this month. She needs the strength that only the Lord can provide.

The effects of The Patients Protection and Affordable Health Care Act have begun and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield confirmed recently that they will eliminate most Small Group Health Plans in New York effective April 1, 2012. In addition, they will be slashing incentives for brokers to sell those products. Hmmmmm.. What have we here: 1 .Major State in the US economically and business wise. 2. Major Private Health Insurance Carriers killing the good programs and leaving the costly and/or bad ones. 3. Brokers and Consultants now cannot make a living to help business owners with choice 4. Another Government...

I did a quick search on free republic and didn`t see anything about this 2 day old story. Apparently a study was done for the Climate Institute and they have found a link between mental illness and climate change. At first I thought OMG what a crock . But then I thought of ALGORE. Bingo. It`s true. ALGORE is the living walking talking proof that liberalism is a mental disorder. Dr. Savage is right on again.

BERLIN (AP) -- In their second major retraction in a week, German officials said initial tests provided no evidence that sprouts from an organic farm in northern Germany were the cause of the deadly E. coli outbreak. One U.S. expert called the German investigation "a disaster." The surprise U-turn came only a day after the same state agency, Lower Saxony's agriculture ministry, held a news conference to announce that sprouts from the organic Gaertnerhof farm in the northern village of Bienenbuettel were suspected to be the cause of the outbreak. The ministry shut down the farm, recalled all its produce...

The valedictorian at Wekiva High School near Apopka succeeded in 14 Advanced Placement courses, but she lacks the strength to operate a stapler. She earned a grade-point average of 5.1, but whenever she started a new class, she had to ask another student to help her take books out of her backpack. Audrey Winkelsas' life has been full of such difficult contrasts. Yet when she emerged from behind the stage in a wheelchair to raucous applause and a standing ovation during graduation ceremonies Friday, she finally had a moment to focus only on the victories. In her small, frail hands,...

I just got this email. The person who sent it is not here on FR, but she has a good heart. Whitney & Jason are friends with a couple that have 2 sets of twins ages 3 and 16 mo. — Julianna & Travis. Travis is in the Army and is very ill. He (as best I understand it) has a mass is each lung. The one in the left lung is growing. They have been unable to diagnose or treat him. He is in so much pain it is hard for him to go on. The pain is in...

Older lesbian, gay and bisexual adults in California are more likely to suffer from chronic physical and mental health problems than their heterosexual counterparts, a new analysis has found. They also are less likely to have live-in partners or adult children who can help care for them. The research brief was based on data from the California Health Interview Survey, the nation’s largest state health survey, gathered in 2003, 2005 and 2007 by the Center for Health Policy Research at the University of California, Los Angeles. Older gay and bisexual men — ages 50 to 70 — reported higher rates...

Which do you think is less expensive, not to mention preferable: a cure for cancer, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, or caring for people with these diseases? Wouldn't it be better medical and public policy to direct more resources toward finding a cure for diseases that cost a lot to treat than to rely on a government insurance program, such as Obamacare, which seeks mainly to help pay the bills for people after they become ill? Isn't the answer obvious? Apparently not to many politicians trapped in an old paradigm that focuses too much on hospitals, doctors and medicines and too...

Just got a telephone call from a good friend. Her Yellow Labrador Retriever, Woody, is at the vet with a blockage. They are trying to shift it without surgery, but if things haven't moved by tomorrow morning they will have to go in. Woody is a big ol' boy and absolutely the sweetest dog you will ever meet. He is also a great hunting retriever and my friend's best pal. And he is the father of my little yellow dog Katy. Please everybody pray that we have a good outcome here -- that they can move the blockage without surgery...

BOWIE, Md. - About three dozen people were treated for illness during a rally featuring President Obama at Bowie State University. Prince George's County Fire and EMS spokesman Mark Brady tells WTOP numerous ambulances were sent to the rally after people started fainting and became dizzy. The problems could be related to warmer temperatures Thursday. Brady says crowds at the rally were outside and packed shoulder to shoulder. Two people were taken to the hospital, Brady says. The rest have been treated at the scene.

...Many of history’s greatest catastrophes arise from not taking people at their word, and, indeed, disbelieving well established patterns of behavior...

Last week, over the objections of New York State's medical society, Gov. David A. Paterson signed into law a bill - the New York Palliative Care Information Act -requiring physicians who treat patients with a terminal illness or condition to offer them or their representatives information about prognosis and options for end-of-life care, including aggressive pain management and hospice care as well as the possibilities for further life-sustaining treatment. The Medical Society of the State of New York objected, saying that the new law would intrude “unnecessarily upon the physician-patient relationship” and mandate “a legislatively designed standard of care.” The...

"When will this misery be over?" My mother uttered these words on a day when the aches and pains of old age were especially intense. Mentally I knew the answer,but I said, "I'm sorry you're uncomfortable." As I prepared to go, my mother said, "Don't leave me," so I sat and waited until she nodded off before exiting the room. Alone in my car, the tears slid down my face, and I realized that even though my mother is still alive, I'm already grieving her death. Caregiver grief is a complicated puzzle of sorrow, guilt, and longing for the day...

TOKYO — The drizzly weather didn’t dampen the excitement at the annual spring imperial party last month as the royal family strolled along Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace grounds. Mao Asada, the Olympic figure skating silver medalist, was so overwhelmed when Emperor Akihito spoke to her that she managed only to repeatedly reply “yes,” and “thank you very much.” It was a typical reaction that shows the magnetic hold the emperor and empress have over the Japanese people. Missing as usual from the festivities was Crown Princess Masako who suffers from a stress-related disorder that causes anxiety and distress and only occasionally...

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSP) is a mental illness in which a person acts as if an individual he or she is "caring for" has a physical or mental illness when the person is not really sick.People with MSP have an inner need for the other person to be seen as ill or injured. People with MSP are even willing to have the patient undergo painful or risky tests and operations in order to get the sympathy and special attention given to people who are truly ill and their families. Factitious disorders are considered mental illnesses because they are associated...

4/15/2010 - TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- With his dad squarely in his sights, a 9-year-old boy pulls the trigger in the cockpit of an F-15 Eagle simulator. "Don't worry dad, I'm just going to do a practice landing," Isaac Ezell said jokingly as he searched the simulated sky for his father's jet. Isaac participated in the Tyndall Air Force Base Pilot for a Day program April 8 with the 95th Fighter Squadron staff here. Isaac suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. People with Asperger's demonstrate significant difficulties with social interaction and tend to show repetitive...