healthcare

Personal Body Scanner Becomes A Reality Following Tricorder From Star Trek

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Wed, 05/22/2013 - 10:22

San Francisco, CA -

Mountain View, Calif. based Scanadu has developed a personal tricorder called the 'Scout' that will retail for $199, which is another example of current technology following Star Trek.

CEO Walter de Brouwer developed the Scout at NASA's Ames Research Center in an effort to help his son who had been in a car accident and felt lost after his son's medical monitors were disconnected as he improved.

FDA Approves "Plan B" Pill To All Women 15 And Older Without Prescription

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Wed, 05/01/2013 - 10:26

Washington, D.C. -

The Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has approved the controversial morning after pill called Plan B for all girls and women 15 years and older without a prescription.

The FDA says the change was not directly related to a federal court order last month ordering the pill to be made available after the court said it could not find any rational scientific basis for limiting the pill's sale to girls as young as 15.

New Guidelines For HIV Testing Urges Everyone 15-65 To Be Tested

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 09:00

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has released its recommendations urging health care providers to test everyone 15-65 years old for HIV, the virus that causes aids.

Citing research work, case studies and statistics, the federal panel said HIV is most treatable at early stages with patients who do not appear to have any symptoms and that with roughly 50,000 new infections ever year, the disease continues to represent a health threat to American's, and all humans.

Dead Baby Found In Laundry Of Minnesota Hospital

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Wed, 04/17/2013 - 10:29

A contractor that does laundry for a Minnesota hospital has discovered a dead baby mixed in with linens from a hospital in St Paul. The contracted laundering service in Red Wing, MN said an employee was receiving the laundry and processing it when the body fell out of the linens.

According to police and hospital officials at the Twin Cities hospital, the baby had died just 48 hours earlier.

Red Wing Police Chief Roger Pohlman said he doesn't know the age, sex or identity of the baby but later said it appears the baby had been still-born.

Needle Exchange Pilot Program Approved By Florida Senate Committee

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Wed, 04/10/2013 - 11:04

Tallahassee, Fla. -

Florida's Senate Health Policy Committee has approved a needle exchange pilot program legalizing IV syringes and needles for drug users who can exchange dirty one for clean new ones. Currently under Florida law, needle exchange programs are illegal.

The bill passes the committee on a 9-0 vote with the aim of reducing HIV among a segment of the population at a high risk of contracting the disease which can lead to aids.

Federal Judge Orders Plan B 'Morning After Pill' To Be Sold Without Prescription To Girls Of All Ages

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Fri, 04/05/2013 - 09:56

New York City -

A federal judge in New York has ruled that the controversial abortion pill 'Plan B', also known as the 'Morning After Pill' is to be available to girls of all ages without a prescription.

When the pill became available in the U.S. in 2011, the Secretary for Health and Human Service, Kathleen Sebelius, ordered that the pill will not be available to girls 17 years old and younger.

The move was contrary to the FDA which approved the drug for women and girls of all ages.

New Push To Legalize Marijuana In Florida

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Tue, 04/02/2013 - 11:20

Tallahassee, Fla. -

There is a new push from the Florida Cannabis Action Network to get marijuana legalized in Florida for medical uses according to Cathy Jordan who has ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

Jordan says she hopes to at least get a hearing before some lawmakers to put forward her case, but even that is not guaranteed.

Jordan, like many medical marijuana users, says it helps to reduce the pain and relax sore muscles.

Hospital ICU Full, So Brazilian Doctor Kills Patients To "Clean Up Clutter" According To Prosecutors

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Thu, 03/28/2013 - 17:17

According to prosecutors in the Brazilian town of Curitiba, Dr. Virginia Helena Soares de Souza decided her hospital ICU was to full and ordered the deaths of at least 7 patients in order to clean up the "clutter" and make room for new more worthy patients.

Officials say she was able to accomplish the feat by altering oxygen levels to the point patients died of asphyxiation, increased pain medications to the point of over dose unplugged medical aid equipment patients were on to survive.

Flu Sweeps Across Nation Becoming Widepsread, Reaching Epidemic Levels In Some Areas

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Thu, 01/10/2013 - 16:17

The flu has spread across much of the country, hitting the south, east and midwest especially hard, with a few places managing to squeek by relatively uninfected such as parts of Maine, Wisconsin and California.

So far there have been 24 deaths, 18 in Mass. and 6 in Illinois, with widespread severe illness and symptoms in 41 other states.

In Boston, over 700 cases have already been reported, that's nearly 600% higher than an average year's total.

The most common variants of the flu this year are the H3N2, H1N1 and Influenza B, with H3N2 being by far the most common.