How To Correct Common Medical Errors
04 Jun 2007
Talleyrand, the witty and cynical French diplomat, once remarked to Napoleon, "Sire, worse than a crime, you have committed an error." Today I often see lesser mortals than Napoleon committing medical errors that could be avoided. These are not life-threatening problems but cause needless daily annoyance. There are simple ways to treat these conditions.
Thousands of people who suffer from rectal irritation are often given the wrong diagnosis and incorrect treatment. They’ve suffered discomfort for years using various hemorrhoid preparations and ointments and failed to obtain relief of embarrassing symptoms. There’s a good chance these patients have "anusitis", a frequently overlooked condition. It’s an inflammation just inside the anus.
The best kept secret is Anurex, a reusable probe containing a gel. It’s gently inserted into the rectum after being cooled in the refrigerator for a minimum of one hour. The probe is left in the rectum for six minutes, removed, washed and placed back in the refrigerator. The cold decreases inflammation which in turn reduces irritation, discharge and bleeding.
Anurex is drug-free, a great benefit these days when few weeks go by without hearing of another unsuspected drug complication. It’s used twice a day for two weeks, then once daily for another two weeks, then only as required. Most patients find relief within a few days. But remember to report rectal bleeding as it may be due to cancer. Anurex is available in most pharmacies.
Today arthritis affects tens of thousands of people and many require nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to ease the pain. But there’s a major problem with this oral medication. Every year in North America NSAIDs result in the death of 30,000 people due to gastrointestinal bleeding. In addition, some of this oral medication, such as Vioxx, has been removed from the market due to an association with cardiac deaths.
Another well kept secret is "Pennsaid", a locally applied NSAID. Absorbed through the skin into the joint it helps to quench the burning pain of osteoarthritis. Currently this medication has been officially approved only for treating arthritic pain in the knee since studies have not been completed on other joints.
But common sense suggests that if Pennsaid helps to ease pain in one joint why wouldn’t it decrease pain in other joints? Certainly many of my patients have obtained relief applying it to their fingers and other arthritic areas.
What makes even less sense is the fact the Federal Drug Administration in the U.S, has still not approved the use of Pennsaid. In the meantime thousands of U.S. citizens are dying of GI bleeding that could be avoided.
Are you tired of having friends say, "We know where you’re going". Urinary infections can be due to a variety of causes and must be treated by antibiotics when they occur. Unfortunately in some patients, particularly women, they tend to recur and recur.
For years doctors failed to realize that "Mother’s Advice" on how to treat urinary infection was right. Rather, they pooh poohed her advice that cranberry juice was a good prescription for bladder infections. But several years ago a study at The Harvard Medical School proved cranberry juice did help to prevent recurrent bladder infections.
Researchers then made a startling discovery about E. coli, the main bacterium causing cystitis. E. coli has hair-like protrusions that enable it to stick to the bladder wall, allowing it to multiply. Cranberry juice has an anti-sticking factor that prevents this from happening. By oiling the inside of the bladder it’s easier to flush out bacteria during urination. In addition, the daily use of cranberry juice can aid in preventing recurrent bothersome urinary infections.
But there are problems when large amounts of cranberry juice are used to treat these infections. Cranberry juice is loaded with sugar and that means excess calories, the last thing most people need. Besides, when cranberries are processed the healthier parts, the pomance and seeds are discarded.
Taking two capsules daily of "Cranberry Women’s Formula" makes more sense. These capsules contain all natural ingredients without the calories. See the web site fruitessentials.com
