October 2009 - NPR Health Blog - The Network of Care

Lack Of Insurance Compounds Chronic Disease

By Joseph Shapiro It's dangerous enough to deal with a chronic illness like diabetes or cholesterol. But Americans who don't have health insurance often have these conditions and don't even know it. Chronic health problems can lurk undetected...

Published Tue, Oct 20 2009 11:12 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Insurance, Heart disease

A Single Dirty Health Worker Can Sicken Many

By Richard Knox Everybody who works in a hospital should wash his hands frequently. But some hands are more important than others. A few dirty hands can mess up a whole hosptial. (iStockphoto.com) (iStockphoto.com) --> One careless health-care worker...

Published Tue, Oct 20 2009 9:05 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Swine Flu (H1N1), Prevention, Infectious disease

School Meals Need A Nutritional Upgrade

By Scott Hensley The time has come for school meals to join the modern nutritional age. This lunch tray features healthy choices that could become more common. (Peter Cosgrove/AP) (Peter Cosgrove/AP) --> Pile on the fresh fruit, vegetables and whole...

Published Tue, Oct 20 2009 6:38 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Public Health, Children

Internists Urged To Prescribe Impotence Pills When Men Ask

By Scott Hensley Guys, if you ask you doctor to prescribe some of those heavily marketed pills to treat impotence the chances are good the answer will be yes. Internists back use of impotence pills, such as Pfizer's Viagra, for men who seek treatment...

Published Mon, Oct 19 2009 3:45 PM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Pharmaceuticals, Men's health

Maybe Fido Needs A Public Option

By Scott Hensley When it comes to our pets' health, out-of-pocket expenses have been just about the only kind until pretty recently. But now there's health insurance for your pet. For Harriet's owners, the health insurance premiums were worth...

Published Mon, Oct 19 2009 2:23 PM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Pets

Kids And Pet Turtles Don't Mix

By Scott Hensley The appeal of those little pet turtles escaped us, even before we first heard about their role as carriers of disease. Give us a dirty rat any day. Little pet turtles, like these being inspected at an Atlanta airport in 2006, pose a big...

Published Mon, Oct 19 2009 11:07 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Public Health, Infectious disease, Children

FDA Appoints Watchdog And Watched To Key Jobs

By Scott Hensley If you had any doubt that President Obama's Food and Drug Administration would take a tougher stance on regulation, you better wrap your mind around the appointment of one of the agency's toughest critics to a top policy position...

Published Mon, Oct 19 2009 8:29 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: FDA

Feds Won't Pursue Medical Marijuana Users, Sellers Abiding By State Laws

By Scott Hensley In a big switch from the last administration, the Obama Justice Department won't go after users or suppliers of medical marijuana who comply with state laws. A customer shows medical marijuana she received free at the Roscoe Compassionate...

Published Mon, Oct 19 2009 6:40 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Medical marijuana

Putting A Number On The Uninsured

By Scott Hensley Sometimes how journalists cover a story becomes part of the story. Click on the image for an interactive map from NPR showing the uninsured by state and congressional district. Recently, NPR health editor Joe Neel, who sits just down...

Published Fri, Oct 16 2009 2:32 PM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Health Overhaul, Insurance, Immigrants

FDA and FTC Slam Swine Flu Claims For Dr. Weil Supplement

By Scott Hensley The feds have told a company associated with alternative health guru Dr. Andrew Weil that it has crossed the line by selling an unapproved product for warding off the swine flu. The FDA questions the evidence behind the herbal remedy...

Published Fri, Oct 16 2009 1:18 PM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Swine Flu (H1N1), FDA

Cedars-Sinai Apologizes For Radiation Errors

By Maggie Mertens After a week of mounting questions about radiation overdoses at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the CEO of the hospital late yesterday expressed deep regret over problems with CT scans that overdosed more than 200 patients and called the...

Published Fri, Oct 16 2009 11:02 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Hospitals

Watch Out For Bogus Swine Flu Remedies Online

By Scott Hensley If you're worried about swine flu, resist the temptation to stock up on dubious medicines being hawked online. Stick with the genuine article. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Stick with the genuine article. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images...

Published Fri, Oct 16 2009 8:47 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Swine Flu (H1N1)

Carbon Monoxide Takes Turn As Treatment

By Scott Hensley Here's an experiment you definitely should not try at home: breathing low levels of the poisonous gas carbon monoxide to fight disease. Flame on! carbon monoxide researchers. (iStockphoto.com) ?s=12" alt="flame logo."...

Published Fri, Oct 16 2009 6:48 AM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Research

Family Doctors Sign Educational Deal With Coca-Cola

By Maggie Mertens When health questions crop up, the first resource for answers is often the family doctor. But if eating right is on your mind, how would you feel if the doctor's professional society is taking money from the soft-drink industry?...

Published Thu, Oct 15 2009 2:01 PM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Doctors, Public Health, Ethics

Raising Eyebrows Gets Handwashing Results

By Kathleen Masterson Just because mom always taught you to wash up after doing your business doesn't mean you heed her sound advice. Now some British researchers have found the next best thing to mom looking over your shoulder in the bathroom may...

Published Thu, Oct 15 2009 12:46 PM by NPR Blogs: NPR Health

Filed under: Public Health, Prevention

October 2009 - NPR Health Blog

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