Tag Archives: medicine

What You Need To Know About Your Prescriptions

Ali JawinJune 30, 2009 //

Last week was rough on my poor nose. After excessive bleeding (ewwwwww) my sadistic doctor thought the best way to help me out and become my BFF was to shove lots of random things up my nasal passage. Don’t worry, it’s not you, this tale does sound like a bad prison porno. Well, my doc wasn’t going about winning my lifelong friendship until he pulled out the prescription pad and said “I am writing you a prescription for painkillers.” My eyes brightened considerably. Not that I am a huge drug addict, but with a nose shoved full of who knows what getting larger by the second, and a temper tantrum increasing by the second, painkillers seemed like a brilliant idea. In his defense, he did warn me that I should only take Vicodin once I was in bed. Did I listen…oh no. Keep reading »

Blood Suckers & Flesh Eaters: Medieval Medical Practices Are Back With A Vengance

Ali JawinJune 24, 2009 //

I am completely traumatized. This morning I went to see an ear, nose and throat specialist, expecting to just have the big shot doc shine a light up my nose and then merrily skip off to work. Oh, how wrong I was. After sticking something scary looking up my nose, my doctor declared, “Yep, we need to cauterize your nose.” WTF? I avoided science in college, so maybe I was mistaking cauterization for something else. He couldn’t mean that Medieval procedure where “doctors” burn your skin with a fire hot poker to stop excessive bleeding…could he? Well, that’s exactly what he meant. I tried reasoning with him. Surely a procedure I am sure I saw done in “Lord of the Rings,” was not the most modern or medically effective. My squeals for help went unregistered and the next thing I knew… Keep reading »

Women Are Being Put To The Test

SimchaMay 29, 2008 //

We’ve all taken risks — tried things and people we weren’t sure of and chalked it up to experimentation. It’s all part of being a liberated woman. But sadly we’re are missing out on some of the most important testing that is actually guaranteed to give us what we need: clinical trials. Research has shown that gender can truly affect a medication’s ability to work on such widespread health issues as depression and lung cancer. Despite the growing need for a pool of available and even in some cases, healthy women, a mere 9% of test subjects are female. So, many drugs are being prescribed without ever being tested on a lady. To alleviate this dilemma, the rules for clinical tests changed in 1993 to always include women who still intended to bear children. However, a decade and a half later, not much more has changed. Scientists blame everything from lack of time to lack of awareness; 93% of women surveyed said they had never even been asked to participate in a clinical trial. Keep reading »

University Publishes Steamy Student Sex Survey

SimchaJanuary 28, 2008 //

The smarty-pants at the University of Cambridge conducted a study to find out where all the sluts were hiding at their school. Researchers, through an online survey, asked 1,000 of their students about their sex lives and found that the more students performed in bed, the worse they performed in their classes. Beyond making the grade, they were even able to pinpoint which academic pursuits would keep you a virgin. Half the math department, which ranks #1 in marks, couldn’t get laid even with straight A’s. On the other hand, coed’s pursuing medicine were found to be the friskiest, having the most sexual partners. All in all, the report card shows Cambridge is a school for experimentation, as 60% of students claimed they’ve done it outdoors, 25% are into S&M, and 15% have played a part in group sex. [Newsweek] Keep reading »