What Your Symptom's Really Mean

Hi All,

WebMD's Symptom Checker is a very useful and interactive tool that might help you diagnose what is really wrong with you when you don't feel well. 

The top of the page has a helpful ribbon of options - which include topics like 'Health A-Z', 'Drugs and Supplements', 'Living Healthy', 'Family and Pregnancy' and 'News and Experts'.  

The real value of the site is the Symptom Checker tool. In order to use it though, users need to fill out some information - which is completely useless since the user can enter false answers to questions like 'Who is the information for?', 'Gender' and 'Age'.  Other options include zip code and your email address. Once you submit the answers you see a screen with a body map. Users can click on the map to zoom in on various parts of the body.

For example, I chose the chest - then a list of chest symptoms appears next to the body map.  I chose a 'cough'.  Whereupon several questions related to the cough are asked.  Questions included 'what brought on the cough?', 'Cough developed after exposure to...', and 'Cough associated with...'.

A list of possible conditions is included on the screen once all the questions are successfully answered.  Whereupon the user can click on any of the possible conditions and will promptly be taken to the WebMD section of the site that discusses that condition.

At the top of the screen a list of the symptoms is included, an overview of the condition is given, what the patient can expect from the condition is also discussed. Furthermore a section of 'how common' the particular condition is? is listed on WebMD. Sections on Treatment, Self Care, Made Worse By, When to See Your Doctor and Questions to Ask Your Doctor is included in the WebMD Symptom Checker.

Readers can skip to the next condition, print the current condition and more. 

WebMD has a Cold and Flu newsletter for readers as well as options to Find a Doctor and Finding the Lowest Drug Prices.

The site is easy to navigate, reputable, current and well organized.  Its a good site to learn more about your present condition/illness or to learn what your present symptoms actually mean!

Regards,
Stu

Food Safety News

Hi All,


Food safety is a topic that should be on everybody's mind.  Its important since well, we all eat food.  Food Safety News (FSN hereafter) was founded in 2009 to provide timely reporting on food safety issues.. Simple - and very, very useful. Click here to learn a bit more about FSN. 

The site has information on Foodborne Illness Outbreaks, Food Recalls, Food Politics, Food Safety Events and more.  In addition, users can subscribe to the site and search the site for illnesses, outbreaks, recalls and more.  There is an RSS feed on the site that can be subscribed to as well.

Articles are detailed and include the manufacturer or seller of the product in question.  Articles are dated and included a word cloud of similar/related topics so users can delve more deeply into the topic in question. Users have the option of commenting on articles, sharing articles or recommending them...  Articles can be sorted as well by 'Best article', 'Newest article'  or 'Oldest article'. 

Users can click on other options on the site.  For example there are links to consumer education, food safety leaders, lawsuits/litigation, science/research, local food, sustainability, food recalls, for foodies, victim stories, nutrition and public health, foodborne illness outbreaks and more.  Click each link above for the particular topic of interest. 

Enjoy the site and the various links - they are really quite interesting.

Regards,
Stu

Prescription Drug Resource

Hi All,

RxList is a website that I've seen before but I only just now realized that it would be an excellent site to evaluate on the Farmingdale Public Library's Reference and You blog!

So...what is RxList?  Indeed, the site bills itself as the Internet Drug Index.  And what an index it is!

Users can click on a variety of tabs to find out about various drugs.  There is an A-Z Drug List, a Pill Identifier, links to information about Supplements, Slideshows, Images, a link to a Symptom Checker, links to various Diseases, a Dictionary and a list of Quizzes.

On the homepage, there is a list of Features Topics on the left side of the screen - as of 2/25/15 the Featured Topics included: Childhood ADHD Facts, A-Fib: What Is It?, Gotta Go Foods, Breast Cancer Slideshow, Understanding MS and Rheumatoid Arthritis. 

One of the most unique features of the site is the Pill Identifier section! It is a very handy and useful tool for those folks who take drugs or pills.

Users can enter any imprint on a the pill or medication, select the color and then select the shape.  Users then click on the search button and a set of results appears with the criteria set forth in his/her choices.  For example, I entered 'Pfizer' for the imprint, 'tan' for the color and 'oblong' for the shape.

Once I hit enter the result came up - which identified the pill as being 'Sutent Oreal'.  On this page, readers have even more options with regard to the pill in question.  Users can learn about the various uses, side effects, precautions, interactions and overdose information about this pill!  Awesome information - and it is written in easily digestible English!

And, as if this isn't enough - there is a link on the page for User Reviews of the medication!  Amazing.  With the User Reviews, the date and time of the post is easily seen.  User comments in the form of a narrative are available to read as well.  Also, a five star system is used based on the various criteria like 'effectiveness' of the medication, ease of use, and satisfaction with the medication.

The other major section of RxList that makes the information unique is the Symptom Checker.  Click here for the link. 

Users enter information like gender, age, zip code  and then are brought to another page to learn more about the symptoms that are affecting the person.  On this second page, users can click on a diagram of the human body to find and choose symptoms.  Alternatively you can select from any categories listed on the page - which are divided up into 'Common Symptoms' or 'Popular Symptoms by Condition'.  There is also an A-Z List of Symptoms at the bottom of the page.

Eventually users come to a page where a particular symptom is explained.   Related Symptoms are listed on the right side of the page and a list of causes of the condition are listed at the bottom of the page.   Quite honestly, there is a huge, huge, huge amount of information on this part of the RxList website - almost, dare I say it, too much information.

In any event...this is a great place to start a search if you feel that you are getting sick or coming down with an illness!

Finally, as with all medical information, the consumer should be aware.  With that in mind, click on this link from RxList which tells a little about the site (it is owned and operated by WebMD and part of the WebMD network.) 

Enjoy the site and the bountiful information it contains.  And good health to all who have read this blog entry this far! 

Regards,
Stu

Finding Top Doctors

Hi All,

Just in case you need one - hopefully you won't though - click on this link to a 'database' from Newsday that helps you find top doctors on Long Island.

Users can find doctors in various subspecialities like  Allergy/Immunology, Cardiovascular Disease, Colon and Rectal Surgery, Endocrinology/Diabetes/Metabolism, Gastroenterology, Hematology, Infectious Disease, Neurological Surgery, Opthamology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Pathology, Pulmonary Disease, Rheumatology, Sports Medicine, Surgery, Urology and more. Information comes from the CastleConnolly website through Newsday.com

Users would be well served by visiting this link from the American Medical Association as well.  This site is similar to the Newsday site in that it lists doctors, their credentials, medical school attended and more.  Also, there is no registration required - just a simple logon which is not very onerous to fill out.

Hopefully you won't need either of these sites, but if you do...they are there!

Regards - and have a good rest of the weekend.

Stu

Recently, there has been a lot of speculation about the Swine Influenza (Swine Flu). In the following Blog, I hope to answer questions that you may have.

For further information, you can try one of these sites. If you have concerns, please contact your health care provider.

Flu.Gov
A federal government Website managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is one of the largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world.

CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The following information has been provided by CNN Health.com

What is swine flu?
Swine influenza, or flu, is a contagious respiratory disease that affects pigs. It is caused by a type-A influenza virus. Outbreaks in pigs occur year-round. The most common version is H1N1. The current strain is a new variation of an H1N1 virus, which is a mix of human and animal versions.

Does swine flu affect humans
While the virus causes regular outbreaks in pigs, people usually are not struck by swine flu. However, there have been instances of the virus spreading to people -- and then from one person to another. The only difference is, says the CDC, transmission in the past did not spread beyond three people -- as it has done this time.

What is behind the spread of the virus this time?
Researchers do not know yet know. People usually get swine flu from infected pigs. For example, farmers handling infected pigs can contract the virus. However, some human cases have occurred without contact with pigs or places they inhabited.

What are the symptoms of swine flu?
The symptoms are similar to the common flu. They include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

What do we know about human to human spread of swine flu?
In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized for pneumonia and died 8 days later. A swine H1N1 flu virus was detected. Four days before getting sick, the patient visited a county fair swine exhibition where there was widespread influenza-like illness among the swine. How does the virus spread?
The virus spreads the same way the seasonal flu does. When an infected person coughs or sneezes around another person, the latter is put at risk. People can become infected by touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes. An infected person can pass the virus to another before any symptoms even develop.

Can swine flu be fatal?
Just like the regular flu, swine flu worsens pre-existing medical conditions in people. So people with already compromised immune systems can die after contracting it.

What does the World Health Organization mean when it says swine flu has "pandemic potential"?
If the virus spreads over a wide geographic area and affects a large segment of the population, it is upgraded from an "epidemic" to a "pandemic."

How can one keep from getting swine flu?
Several everyday steps can help prevent the spread of germs: Washing hands frequently; avoiding close contact with people who are sick; and avoiding touching surfaces that might be contaminated.

Are there medicines to treat swine flu?
Yes, the CDC recommends using anti-viral drugs. They keep the virus from reproducing inside the body. And in an infected person, the drugs make the illness milder.