Free Republic

It's a basic human act, and it says a lot about society -- and the state of homelessness in Santa Cruz in the year 2013 -- that a discussion about keeping people from doing it in public places is even warranted. But here we are. The problem: An increasing amount of human waste is being found along the San Lorenzo River levee and in downtown-area open space. People relieving themselves in public spots is apparently a growing problem in the city, one that has residents who regularly walk the levee path and business owners along Front Street -- many of...

German doctors are calling for gay men to be allowed to donate blood. Currently a Europe-wide ban prevents them from doing so, but the German Health Minister said he would welcome a relaxation of the rules. The German Medical Association (BÄK) said that it would do everything “within its means” to remove the blanket ban on men who have sex with men, those with lots of sexual partners and prostitutes, from donating blood. …

The recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report regarding dietary sodium1 has generated considerable interest and debate, as well as misinterpretation by advocates on both sides. Further discussion is necessary to inform the public and the health care community and to inform public health strategies for sodium reduction. CURRENT PUBLIC HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING DIETARY SODIUM Dietary sodium intake averages approximately 3400 mg/d in US adults, far in excess of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendation of less than 2300 mg/d for those older than 2 years and less than 1500 mg/d for certain high-risk subgroups, including African Americans, individuals with...

The federal blood donor agency is lifting its lifetime ban on gay men giving blood. Canadian Blood Services announced Wednesday it has received approval from Health Canada to reduce its restriction on men who have sex with men donating blood from indefinitely to five years. ... Both the United States and some European countries have kept their lifetime bans, while the United Kingdom and Australia have reduced the restriction to a one-year deferral.

... A new, casually transmittable infection — a unique strain of bacterial meningitis — has cast a pall over the gay night life and dating scene, with men wondering whether this is AIDS, circa 1981, all over again. Seven men have died in New York City, about a third of diagnosed cases, since 2010. And in the last few months, the contagion seemed to be accelerating. It has targeted gay and bisexual men, and nobody knows exactly why. The city’s best hope to curb the outbreak is to vaccinate as many at-risk men as possible, focusing on those most in...

France's health ministry on Wednesday reported the country's first case of a SARS-like virus that has killed 18 people so far, mostly in Saudi Arabia. An unidentified person who came back to France from a trip to the United Arab Emirates was diagnosed with the deadly novel coronavirus, the ministry said. "This is the first and only confirmed case in France to date," it added. The patient is currently in intensive care in hospital and has been placed in isolation. The virus, known in medical jargon as nCoV-EMC, was first detected in September 2012 and since then more than 30...

“Gay” sex is becoming even more dangerous. Health officials are warning sexually active “gay” men about an outbreak of potentially deadly bacterial meningitis in Los Angeles and New York. The disease has infected 22 people in New York and caused seven deaths since 2010. Health officials in Los Angeles are testing to see if the strain infecting “gay” men there is the same one hitting New York. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation began offering free meningitis vaccines today after a “gay” man from West Hollywood was declared brain dead on Friday. Thirty-three-year-old lawyer Brett Shaad died within a week of feeling...

"Health officials work to diffuse fears of national epidemic"“Gay” sex is becoming even more dangerous. Health officials are warning sexually active “gay” men about an outbreak of potentially deadly bacterial meningitis in Los Angeles and New York. The disease has infected 22 people in New York and caused seven deaths since 2010. Health officials in Los Angeles are testing to see if the strain infecting “gay” men there is the same one hitting New York. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation began offering free meningitis vaccines today after a “gay” man from West Hollywood was declared brain dead on Friday. Thirty-three-year-old lawyer...

In the name of public health Nanny Bloomberg in New York City won't let his subjects gulp down a 16-ounce soda or light up a cigarette at a bar but as the HIV epidemic continues unabated it's apparently still okay to cruise for anonymous sex among the maze-like corriders of the East and West Side Clubs where gay men can rent claustrophobic cubicles for their presumed hookups. A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes that "one in five gay men in the United States has HIV, and almost half of those who carry the...

Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Pete King (R-N.Y.) and more than two dozen Democrats have introduced legislation that would create a national nurse to work alongside the surgeon general. The National Nurse Act, H.R. 485, would designate the chief nurse officer of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) as the "National Nurse for Public Health." The bill would have the national nurse work alongside the surgeon general and "focus on health promotion, improving healthcare literacy, and reducing health disparities." "As the first registered nurse in Congress, I know from experience how nurses play a critical role in health promotion and...

Some of the most common and most powerful prescription painkillers on the market will be restricted sharply in the emergency rooms at New York City’s 11 public hospitals, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Thursday in an effort to crack down on what he called a citywide and national epidemic of prescription drug abuse.

Hospitals across the country are being stretched for service as this year’s flu season looks to be the most intense in nearly a decade, with facilities beginning to turn patients away because of the danger that it could spread through their staffs. Thirty-nine states and New York City have reported significant levels of influenza-like-illnesses as medical professionals are reminded of the 2003-2004 season when more than 40,000 people died because the predominant strain was so dissimilar from the vaccine that year, reported Fox News. Hospital officials have described the season so far as “chaotic.” Doctors are telling patients to begin...

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is reporting that 18 Bay Staters have died from the flu so far this season. At least four of these people were from Boston, the Boston Public Health Commission’s Nick Martin told the Herald. “We’re seeing a significant increase in sickness and severity,” Martin said.

Parents are being advised to keep their children home from school on Oct. 30 if their local education officials are allowing the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Mix It Up” day to be held on campus. The advisory comes from the pro-family American Family Association, because of the pro-homosexual message that is expected to be delivered during the events. “The Southern Poverty Law Center is using this project to bully-push its gay agenda, and at the same time, intimidate and silence students who have a biblical view of homosexuality.” “This is the same organization that launched hateful and malicious rhetoric toward...

According to research out of Yale, there’s a fat chance that public health campaigns will help overweight Americans. The messages could have the opposite effect. After analyzing 1,041 Americans and 30 public service announcements, the researchers concluded that the campaigns may make members of the intended audience feel worse about themselves. As a result, many will go to fridge to find comfort. “Public health campaigns that are designed to address obesity should carefully consider the kinds of messages that are disseminated, so that those who are struggling with obesity can be supported in their efforts to become healthier, rather than...

Aug 20 (Reuters) - People who survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as children continue to have a higher-than-normal risk of thyroid cancer more than 50 years after radiation exposure, according to a U.S. study. Thyroid cells are particularly vulnerable to ionizing radiation, the kind produced by the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown or the atomic bombings in Japan. The study published in the International Journal of Cancer tracked new cancer diagnoses in people who were in Japan during the bombings in 1945 and those who were not. In total, there were 371 thyroid cancers diagnosed between 1958 and 2005...

From the Property and Environment Research Center, here’s a thought-provoking little vid about why we should all think a little more deeply about the unintended consequences of even our best intentions before we push for government fiat to make them a reality. The environmental movement in particular tends to be a big fan of forcing society to comply with what they deem to be virtuous behavior via government crackdown. The EPA is constantly justifying it’s many regulations by claiming that they’re only safeguarding the public’s health and welfare — for instance, that the costs of their clean-air regulations are trumped...

Introduced in the 1970s, the compound triclosan has become an increasingly popular ingredient in many antibacterial soaps and other personal-care items, such as deodorants and mouthwashes. However, as the chemical’s popularity continues to grow, a recent report has raised concerns about some frightening risks that triclosan could pose to public health. A new study published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" has revealed that exposure to triclosan is linked with muscle function impairments in humans and mice, as well as slowing the swimming of fish. By reducing contractions in both cardiac and skeletal muscles, the chemical has...

A majority of Florida voters oppose the national health care law and half want it repealed, a new Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9 poll shows two weeks after President Barack Obama’s signature achievement was largely upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Only 43 percent of voters statewide support the Affordable Care Act and 52 percent oppose it, with 5 percent undecided. With the exception of southeast Florida, more voters think the law will make the health care system worse. More voters also favor the state opting out of provisions of the law, something Gov. Rick Scott has already said...