Headlines proclaim “ Aggressive Treatment for DCIS May Not Save Lives”.This sounds rather dismal. Reading further, what they should have said is “ Aggressive Treatment for DCIS May Not Be Necessary to Save Lives”, which is good news. DCIS is very early microscopic breast cancer, and as such its concerns everyone. Such an alarming headline got my attention. But once I found out the news was actually good, I was a little dismayed. There must be a chapter in the Journalism textbook where it says bad news gets more attention than good. I don’t know. Read carefully out there !
Just to refresh your memory, ACOG stands for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. They send its Fellows, myself included, news updates throughout week. These are articles of pertinence to women’s health. Each Monday, I pick a small sample and present them to you for your consideration. More such articles can be found at www.acog.org.
There is such a thing as “ distracted snacking”. The Journal of Health Psychology reported the results of a small study which indicate that distracted snacking results in greater intake even afterwards. I speculate that it has to do with the fact that distracted snacking results in greater intake that say “ mindful snacking “ ( my term) causing insulin levels to spike more than they would have, and more hunger to be stimulated later. So be mindful about your snacking and remember to always include some protein.
The venerable diaphragm has gotten an upgrade. A Seattle based nonprofit has developed a new more contoured model. It’s name is Caya. Go to Caya.eu to learn more. It is not yet available.
Finally, ACOG has released new guidelines regarding the treatment of morning sickness. First line therapy should be in the form of the class A combination of doxylamine and vitamin B6, commercially available over the counter without a prescription in the US as Diclegis. ( Class A is the safest pregnancy category for a drug. ) This is not to say that we are not still going to need Zofran for certain patients. It will still be considered after Diclegis is deemed insufficient.
When you read medical related articles in the mainstream press, read very carefully. It is tricky to report accurately if you do not have medical background. For more on that please see our section “ Your internet learning toolbox”.
Stay tuned for more medical news next week on Medical Monday.