RSS
Consumerist
polls
Posts Tagged “
your health
”
polls
Surprising Settlements
Potato Chips: Now With Fewer Carcinogens!
Four major potato chip makers have agreed to use less of the carcinogen Acrylamide under a settlement with the California Attorney General's office. Frito-Lay, Heinz, Kettle Foods, and Lance Inc. also agreed to pay a $3 million fine for flouting state laws that require companies to place warning labels on products with carcinogens. More »
Your Health
10 Practical Tips To Keep Your Cellphone From Killing You
Have you heard, cellphones are deadly. Science told us so this week when Dr. Ronald B. Herberman of the esteemed University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute realized that cellphones emit death rays that fry your brain and turn you into a baby-eating Communist, or give you cancer or whatever. Dr. Despair isn't a downer though! Inside, 10 practical ways to keep your precious little brain safe from those ubiquitous chirping cancer slabs... More »
your health
Could Generic Drugs Be Even Cheaper Without The Middle Man?
The WSJ Health Blog says that pharmacy benefit managers are marking up the amount they charge your insurance company for generic drugs and keeping the difference. Often the mark-up isn't too severe, but the WSJ has one example where the difference was over a hundred dollars. More »
Insurance
Aetna: Instead Of Approving That $113,000 Life-Saving Brain Operation, We're Going To Cancel Your Coverage. Sorry!
Meet 19-year-old Caitlin Jackson. Caitlin was recently diagnosed with Chiari Malformation, a potentially fatal brain disorder that interferes with motor control and memory. Immediate brain surgery is Caitlin's only treatment option, but her insurance company, Aetna, took its sweet time approving her operation, and then reversed itself claiming her benefits had expired. More »
Your Health
Modern Psychiatry: Brought To You By Selfless Pharmaceutical Companies
Psychiatry is nothing more than a well-funded front for big pharma, according to lawmakers investigating the field's premier organization, the American Psychiatric Association. Unlike psychologists, psychiatrists can write prescriptions, giving pharmaceutical companies a powerful incentive to lavishly subsidize both their lifestyle and profession. More »
your health
FDA: If You Use The Foot Ulcer Cream Regranex, You May Die From Cancer
Bad news from the FDA: people who treat their foot and leg ulcers with the cream Regranex are five-times more likely to die from cancer. More »
watch out
Raghu wants to know why CVS sold her a bottle of Tears Naturale PM that expired last year. We're all for pushing expiration dates, but not with year-old preservative-free medicine that is meant to stay in your eye overnight.
More »
Why Is CVS Selling Year-Old Expired Eye Ointment?
Raghu wants to know why CVS sold her a bottle of Tears Naturale PM that expired last year. We're all for pushing expiration dates, but not with year-old preservative-free medicine that is meant to stay in your eye overnight.
More »
identity theft
University Of California Hospital Publicizes 6,000 Patient Records While Mining For Prospective Donors
The University of California's non-profit medical center accidentally exposed 6,000 patient records as part of their continuing effort to hunt for prospective donors. The "large and very significant data breach" was caused by UCSF's data miner, Target America, which received details on almost 40,000 patients. More »
badvertising
Court: Tyson Can No Longer Claim Chickens Are "Raised Without Antibiotics"
Tyson Foods has 14 days to stop claiming that their chickens are "raised without antibiotics." The deceptive nationwide campaign was brought to an end after rivals Sanderson Farms and Purdue filed suit claiming that all three poultry processors use antibiotics, and that Tyson was trying to steal an undeserved appearance of health. More »
health
Drugs In The Water No Big Deal, Says NYC Official
In regards to a headline grabbing AP investigation that found the drinking water of major cities contained trace amounts of an array of pharmacopoeia, the deputy commissioner of New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, "A person would have to drink one million glasses of water to get the dose of even one over-the-counter ibuprofen tablet or the caffeine in one cup of coffee...Even at eight glasses of water per day, this would take the average person over 300 years to consume." So for those of you hoping to replace your medicine cabinet just by draining the Brita, sorry Charlie. However, there are no studies on the long-term effects to human of small exposure to a vast array of drugs, although, the Times notes, they have been shown to cause mutations in fish.
Council Considers Testing Water for Traces of Drugs [NYT]
PREVIOUSLY: AP: 41 Million Americans Drink Water Contaminated With Antibiotics, Anti-Convulsants, Mood Stabilizers, And Sex Hormones
(Photo: Getty)
errors computers can catch
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Approves Cardiac Rehab Stay Fit For A Time Traveler
In a letter dated March 27, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield informed Dona that her father was approved to stay in a cardiac rehab center through March 24. Dona's mother began planning for her husband's care shortly before his triple-bypass on March 15. Anthem originally approved the off-site rehab, but changed its mind on March 19, the day before Dona's father was scheduled to be discharged. With the support of his doctors, he filed an emergency appeal so he could move to rehab the next day. The retroactive approval arrived a week later. More »
menugate
San Francisco Orders Restaurants To Display Calorie Information, Industry Laughs
San Francisco passed a resolution last week requiring chain restaurants to display calorie information on their menus, but the industry couldn't care less. They will continue fattening us up like gingerbread cash-cows, regardless of whatever regulations pitiful municipalities hurl their way. More »
taking it seriously
California Hospital Takes Botched Operations Seriously
WHO: St. Joseph Hospital in Orange County.
WHAT: The California Department of Public Health is investigating St. Joseph for conducting three 'wrong site' operations since January 2006. Botched surgeries include operating on a patient's good knee and making an incision on the wrong side of a patient's head.
WHERE: Orange hospital under investigation for operating room error [L.A. Times]
THE QUOTE: "Members of the clinical team involved in these cases have been deeply affected, and as a hospital we take this very seriously and regret that it happened," [Dr. Raymond Casciari, St. Joseph's chief medical officer] said.
taking it seriously
AP: 41 Million Americans Drink Water Contaminated With Antibiotics, Anti-Convulsants, Mood Stabilizers, And Sex Hormones
A soup of pharmaceutical waste spews from the faucets supplying drinking water to 41 million Americans, according to a disturbing study from the Associated Press. At least 24 major cities are affected, including New York, Washington, Boston Chicago, and Los Angeles.Here are some of the key test results obtained by the AP:More »
USAToday says that the average 65 year old couple should have $225K on hand to pay for medical bills. [USAToday]
recalls
The U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated the largest meat recall in U.S. history today, recalling 143 million pounds of beef from a macabre California slaughterhouse that chopped up downer cows—a rich source of mad cow disease—and sold them to school districts across the nation. The massive recall affects all beef produced by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company after February 1, 2006.
More »
USDA Recalls 143 Million Pounds Of Beef
The U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated the largest meat recall in U.S. history today, recalling 143 million pounds of beef from a macabre California slaughterhouse that chopped up downer cows—a rich source of mad cow disease—and sold them to school districts across the nation. The massive recall affects all beef produced by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company after February 1, 2006.
More »
safety
