Health Blog and Health Product Reviews

Growing waistlines equal growing health care costs. At least that’s how it seems regarding health and health insurance. A famous documentary has already shown the short-term impact of too many super-sized meals. But did you know that there’s another price you’re paying now – in health insurance dollars – for our nation’s weight problem?

Health insurance rates have been rising, with double-digit increases in each of the past three years. Most analysts blame these rising costs on an increased use of medical services. Are we just a nation of hypochondriacs? Why are we visiting doctors’ offices in droves? As many experts are pointing out, part of the answer may be obesity.

More than 60 percent of Americans presently qualify as overweight or obese. Even among children, obesity rates have tripled over the past decade. Obesity is known to considerably raise your risk of orthopedic problems, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, certain types of cancer, and respiratory problems. The Surgeon General’s office estimates that obesity costs the economy more than $100 billion a year.

Insurance companies understand that obesity is costly. If you’re an obese person trying to get health coverage, you may be turned down due to the risks associated with your weight. If you’re not turned down, you’ll probably pay more for coverage, up to twice as much as a slimmer person. And even though you can’t be turned down for employer-sponsored health insurance based on obesity, the increased cost of insuring you becomes a financial burden not only for you, but also for your coworkers.

Now this doesn’t mean that skinny people should blame heavier people for the annual insurance rate hikes that everyone dreads. There are other factors involved, like the increased use of prescription drugs and costly new medical technologies. But if the majority of Americans is obese and it’s substantially more expensive to insure an obese person, you can begin to see how big a role an expanding waistline may play in expanding health insurance costs.

So, what can we all do about this waistline epidemic? In the United States alone, obesity is expected to overtake smoking as the number-one cause of preventable death. Through a combination of government action and an aggressive public persuasion campaign, smoking is on the decline. These tactics can also be used in the battle on obesity.

Or perhaps we need to make the connection between obesity and health insurance costs more apparent to encourage our government and public health organizations to help in the battle of the bulge. Maybe that will encourage health insurance companies to expand coverage for weight-loss programs and procedures. Most importantly, perhaps if we feel the impact of obesity in our pocketbooks, we’ll take our health more seriously.

If you’ve never considered the ramifications of what you eat, maybe you should. It may not seem like it will affect your health now, but it certainly will in the long run. And as you’ll discover, what affects your health also will eventually affect your bank account.

Pat Carpenter writes for Precedent Insurance Company. Precedent puts a new spin on health insurance. Learn more at Precedent.com

Flolan is a type of drug known as a prostaglandin, and is used to treat Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. Flolan works by relaxing blood vessels in the lungs and allowing the lungs and heart to achieve more normal levels of function. There are a number of important aspects involved in the safe use of Flolan for PPH treatment.

Before taking Flolan

Flolan should not be used by people who are allergic to any of the ingredients in the drug, or by anyone with severe congestive heart failure. If you have either of these conditions your doctor must be informed when you are discussing PPH treatment options.

Additionally, you should inform your doctor if you are pregnant, or are planning to become pregnant while taking Flolan. Any allergies you have to foods and other substances as well as medications, and any prescription or over-the-counter medicines you are taking should be discussed prior to starting Flolan treatment.

Flolan and Drug Interactions

Another important aspect of Flolan treatment is the way in which the drug interacts with an extensive variety and range of prescription and over-the-counter medications. These include such commonly-used drugs as Aspirin and Tylenol, as well as more specialized over-the-counter treatments such as Rogaine.

Some of these drug interactions can reduce the effectiveness of the Flolan treatment, and other interactions may produce severe side effects. It is vital that you inform your doctor if you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medications prior to being treated with Flolan. Additionally, you should consult with your doctor before taking any medications while you are using Flolan.

Side Effects of Flolan Treatment

Flolan has numerous minor side effects including feelings of anxiety, pain in muscles or bones as well as in the stomach, back or jaw, headaches, dizziness or nausea, and vomiting. More serious side effects include chest pain, irregular heartbeat, and unexplained bruising or bleeding. If you experience any of these side effects while taking Flolan, it’s important to consult your doctor as soon as possible. Even minor side effects should be reported, as your doctor may want to adjust your Flolan dosage.

Overdoses

Because Flolan is administered intravenously it is usually handled, stored and administered by a trained medical professional. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to use Flolan at home and administer it yourself. Any Flolan at home should be safely stored away from children and pets, and Flolan should be used in accordance with your doctor’s advice.

Symptoms of a Flolan overdose include headaches, lightheadedness, fainting, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and rapid heart rate. If you suspect a Flolan overdose, contact your local medical emergency facility immediately.

Staying Safe while Using Flolan

Flolan can cause dizziness, and this effect can be increased if you drink alcohol, or if you take certain medications in addition to Flolan. For this reason, it is safer to avoid driving or performing other activities which may be hazardous, until you know how your body will react to the drug. The side effects of Flolan treatment differ between individuals, and you may react more or less severely depending on your unique circumstances.

The effects of Flolan on pregnancy and breast-feeding are not yet established. If you are pregnant prior to being treated with Flolan your doctor may discuss alternative treatments. If you wish to become pregnant while you are already taking Flolan, they may want to reduce your dosage or change your treatment plan while you are pregnant. Your doctor may even suggest that it would be safer if you change your pregnancy plans.

In all situations, if you are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding while taking Flolan or prior to being treated with Flolan, discuss your situation with your doctor to make sure both you and your baby remain safe.

Flolan may cause severe withdrawal symptoms if you suddenly stop taking the drug. These effects include shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, weakness, and dizziness. Any withdrawal from Flolan treatment should only be done on medical advice, your doctor may want to slowly reduce your dosage rather than stopping it altogether. If you miss one or more doses of Flolan for any reason, contact your doctor as a safety measure.

The most important aspect of safe use of Flolan is staying in regular contact with your doctor. Inform them of any side effects, and consult them before taking any medications in addition to Flolan. Please note that this article should not be considered a substitute for expert medical advice. If you are in doubt about any aspects of your PPH treatment it is always best to consult your doctor or another medical professional for further advice.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on injury cases involving Fen-Phen and PPH, Paxil, Mesothelioma and Nursing Home Abuse. Call Nick Johnson at 1-888-311-5522 or visit http://www.jbclawfirm.com

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Your eyes. You’ve only got two. And if you lose even one, you lose your ability to see in “stereo.” An estimated 1.1 to 2.4 million individuals in Dallas, Houston, throughout Texas and the rest of the country, fall prey to eye injuries each year. Approximately 42,000 of these injuries require hospitalization.

The workplace accounts for 1,000 eye injuries daily, but more injuries to the eye result from use or misuse of household, garden or home workshop products. According to the National Society to Prevent Blindness, nearly 60% of all product-related eye injuries occur in and around the home.

Any injury to the eye can potentially end up in visual loss or blindness if it is severe enough and left untreated or treated improperly. Fortunately, though, 90% of all eye injuries can be prevented, as this can be a matter of simply changing how you deal with situations at home, at work and at play.

Home Prevention
One of the best and most important ways to prevent household product-related eye injuries is by reading and following the manufacturer’s instructions and safety warnings. Common sense also factors into protecting your eyes:
- When opening a champagne bottle, wrap the bottle neck and cork in a towel and grip it tightly. As you remove the cork, point it away from yourself and others. Do not shake the bottle.
- Pick up rocks and debris before mowing the lawn.
- Take extra precautions when children are in the house. Don’t give glass bottles or drinking cups to babies or small children. Keep sharp objects away from children.
- Don’t peak into a bag of popcorn just taken out of the microwave oven. The steam can scorch the surface of your eye.

Preventing many eye injuries is as simple as wearing safety glasses, which are made of hard plastic. Safety eyewear can be purchased at many home building stores and hardware stores, as well as optical centers in Dallas, Houston, Austin or elsewhere in Texas.

Wear eye protection when:
- Cleaning the oven or using other strong chemicals
- Chopping wood
- Working with motorized equipment
- Jump-starting a car — an exploding battery can spray acid into your eyes

Work Prevention
Each year, nearly 100,000 Americans lose sight in one or both of their eyes because of accidents at work. Nationally, work-related eye injuries cost over $133 million a year in lost production, medical expenses and workers’ compensation, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has had a major impact on safety in all industries. OSHA requirements include proper eye protection — approved industrial safety glasses made of plastic or shatterproof glass. Unfortunately, there is still a high incidence of employee eye trauma. Corporations can prevent many eye injuries by starting or improving training programs in safety and first aid.

Recreational Prevention
Sometimes, when you play, you pay with your eyes. Sports and recreational activities cause more than 31,000 eye injuries each year. Nearly one third of these eye injuries occur in children, ages 5 to 14 years, often in accidents involving play. Many injuries to children occur during rough play, such as wrestling or throwing things at each other.

Toys that can hurt the eyes include:
- Missile-type toys
- Toys with hard edges or detachable parts
- Slingshots, BB guns and other toy guns
- Fireworks

In addition, people involved in outdoor recreational activities should know that the sun’s ultraviolet rays could burn the cornea. Sunlamps and tanning booths also put off intense ultraviolet rays, which can burn unprotected eyes.

Wearing proper headgear and protective eyewear can prevent most sports-related injuries. Standard eyeglasses and contact lenses do not offer adequate protection. Special eye guards are needed for racket sports and basketball. Football, hockey and baseball players require even stronger headgear to protect the head and face.

If you lose your eyesight, you’ll lose big. So it’s important to take the proper precautions now to ensure that you have good eyesight for the rest of your life. Because how you treat your body when you’re young will certainly affect your health when you get older. Eventually, it will also affect your wallet as well.

Pat Carpenter writes for Precedent Insurance Company. Precedent puts a new spin on health insurance. Learn more at Precedent.com

Texas ranks in the bottom quarter of the nation for health care, according to recent reports. As a state with one of the highest rates of uninsured — just over 25% — this comes as no surprise to many.

Just over 15% of all Americans go without health insurance, totaling nearly 48 million. This unfortunate statistic comes at a time when Medicare is experiencing historical funding cuts under the Bush administration. The concern is not so much how many lack insurance, but what kind of health care those uninsured receive.

Even officials from high-profile organizations, such as the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund, are beginning to admit that receiving quality health care in the U.S. is not only dependent on where one lives, but also on whether or not one has health care coverage. At least one-quarter of those lacking health insurance, for instance, did not receive a recommended test in 2004 due to cost.

The devastating report released by the Fund this week openly stated a strong link between health care coverage and access to quality care. It evaluated such variables as uninsured breast cancer death rates and preventable hospital admissions, among others. If all states implemented wide-sweeping measures designed to grant health insurance to more individuals (such as Hawaii and several East Coast states in which 90% of working-age adults are now insured), as many as 90,000 deaths could be avoided, 22 million more could be insured, and the Medicare program could save $22 billion.

It’s strange to think that, in a nation basing its moral principles on the belief that all citizens are to be treated equally — and that everyone, regardless of citizenship, has certain “unalienable rights” — tens of thousands are literally dying due to lack of insurance.

The problem cannot be blamed on any one factor. Most health care professionals, for instance, are compassionate individuals working their hardest to provide quality care. But many facilities treating low-income individuals lack the proper staff, resources, equipment, and time to administer to all their patients effectively. Cities like Houston, Dallas, and Austin are experiencing enormous pressure to deliver care to more individuals than their facilities can realistically handle, due, in part, to the growing number of uninsured commuting from rural areas in the hopes of receiving more effective treatments. To make matters worse, Texas is experiencing a devastating shortage of young, qualified physicians.

Many would like to blame illegal immigrants for the Lone Star State’s health care standing — implying that if only there weren’t such a border-crossing problem, the health care system could be relieved of its pressure. And while Texas, like other border states, does take on certain financial responsibilities when caring for illegal immigrants, it’s not the worst aspect of the problem by any means. Texas also ranks high in the nation for poverty levels, unemployment, and expensive chronic conditions, such as obesity and diabetes.

Sixty-one percent of adults in Texas are obese. Thirty-five percent of children are also afflicted, and the numbers just keep increasing. That’s well over half of Texans considered extremely overweight. The condition is so costly due to its secondary effects, such as higher rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and certain cancers, like breast cancer. Some would also argue that the psychological effects — depression, anxiety, social disorders, low productivity, to name a few — are rarely documented as linked with the disease at all.

The issue was once publicly avoided by officials, for fear of being accused of insensitivity, but obesity, is, in fact, a legitimate health concern that needs to be addressed. Its varied causes are only exasperated by recent reports that eating healthy is far more expensive than not. If many uninsured are of low income, and a certain percentage of those are, obviously, also obese, then it is becoming increasingly difficult for those with this problem to take the necessary steps to improve their condition. Not only can many obese Texans not afford proper health care, but neither can they afford health club memberships, or the healthier, more expensive foods. Neglecting the issue in the low-income population is not helping. In fact, it’s costing the state millions.

The rate of diabetes in Texas, too, deserves considerable attention. As of 2004, nearly 500,000 Texans had been diagnosed with diabetes, with the expectation that the number would grow. It’s the leading cause of kidney disease and blindness for those between the ages of 20 and 74, and is the sixth leading cause of death, though many officials believe it’s actually much higher. Diabetes can cause vascular disease, neurological problems, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. When we make the logical conclusion that many suffer from both, obesity and diabetes, that much statistical data on disease is based on those who actually made it to the doctor for diagnosis, and that many of those sufferers are going without insurance (and, therefore, quality care), we begin to get a true sense of this issue.

Improved health care in Texas is entirely within reach. Such a dishearteningly low national ranking does not need to be permanent. But better health care is not attainable without first addressing the situation, or the real causes of it. More effective government programs need to be instituted, a stronger recruitment plan for quality physicians put into action, and more affordable health insurance policies made available.

Watching out for your own health care is important in such difficult times. How you take care of yourself will certainly affect you as you age, and eventually your wallet, as well.

Pat Carpenter writes for Precedent Insurance Company. Precedent puts a new spin on health insurance. Learn more at Precedent.com