Remember the class-action lawsuit against the makers of cold-and-flu-preventing magic potion Airborne? Airborne claimed that it could prevent or shorten colds and flus, without any actual scientific evidence to back those claims up.
flu
Carnival Cruises Is So Over That Swine Flu Thing
By 5.16.09
Pack up your maracas, Carnival is returning to Mexico! The cruise line wasn’t happy with putzing off the California coast, and the CDC says that swine flu isn’t deadly enough to keep us out of Mexico forever. By the end of the month, souvenir-seeking Americans will again be able to down margaritas and scoop up trinkets in Cabo, Cozumel, and Puerto Vallarta.
By 5.7.09
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Can You Get Swine Flu From A Dollar Bill? “A study published by Swiss researchers shows that an infectious virus can survive for three days on bank notes, and 17 days ‘in the presence of respiratory mucus.'” [Consumer Reports Money]
Monitor Swine Flu With Zero Media Hype
By 5.6.09
Trancy.net is a news aggregator that keeps track of the swine flu but removes all the media hype, leaving just the data. The best-part are the auto-updating graphs fed with WHO (World Health Organization) data showing confirmed cases, confirmed deaths, and number of countries reporting confirmed cases.
By 5.4.09
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Swine Flu Household Cleaning Tips From The CDC If someone at your home has contracted swine flu, prevent its further spread by following the advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Consumer Reports Health]
By 5.1.09
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The WSJ Health Blog is live blogging the CDC H1N1 flu update. [WSJ]
By 4.28.09
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Here’s why you don’t rely solely on Twitter for news about health scares. [xkcd] (Thanks to Rebecca!)
By 12.17.07
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Japan says their study of Tamiflu has proven inconclusive. They’re testing whether or not the flu medication is responsible for abnormal behavior in a percentage of patients. [Reuters]
Experts Say Cough Syrups Don’t Work
By 4.26.06
My skull a steadily expanding hydrocephalic sack of mucus, I’ve been swigging a lot of cough syrup lately. I’ve spent a hundred euros on the stuff over the last couple of days, which — roughly translated into America’s currency, the U.S. Cowboyo — is a hell of a lot of money. You empty your wallet on the counter of the local pharmacist, but even in your feverish daze, you know cough medicines don’t really work: it just makes you feel more proactive about your chances of fighting off your body’s alarmingly rapid decomposition into a jell-o monster made of phlegm.
