Links: medical, off the beaten path

[sonia]

Seem like peanut allergies were once rare and now everyone has them?, excerpt from "Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means For Our Health" by Marty Makary, MD. (My first response to the title is that yeah, sometimes it's medicine, but often it's journalism taking one small study and blowing it out of proportion.)

Since his training with Buckley, Combs has consistently instructed parents to introduce a touch of peanut butter (mixed with water to avoid a choking risk) as soon as a child is able to eat it. To this day, the thousands of children in East Tennessee lucky enough to have Combs as their pediatrician do not have peanut allergies.

Migraine molecules may drive endometriosis pain. Existing drugs might help. by Emily Cooke as attested by threemeninaboat. "[A] real endometriosis treatment had be found, in mice, with an already FDA approved migraine medication, Nurtec. Nurtec has almost no side effects and it REALLY works on migraines. Not only is endometriosis pain controlled but IT SHRINKS THE LESIONS."

Autistic women more likely to suffer severe menopause yet struggle to access care by Aasma Day. "Autistic people may experience more severe menopause symptoms, through an increase in difficulties associated with both their autism and the menopause combined."

Covid resources

Unofficial Pluslife FAQ (EN) "Pluslife is a commercial, molecular LAMP assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. It is similar to (but much cheaper than) devices like Lucira, Metrix or 3EO, which are only available on the US market." Interesting info from Germany on more accurate Covid testing at home. The footer says: Send a mail to "hi [ät] virus.sucks" for questions and feedback. For the Altruan discount, email "discount [ät] virus.sucks" instead.

MaskBloc.org, free masks for all. I found a Bay Area East Bay entry, but I'm not sure it's still in operation. Searching on a state is more successful than on a city to find local resources.

Comments

[silveradept]

The title and the book there seem to be in the service of pushing the idea that medics are untrustworthy and dangerous, more than the idea that science often is wrong and takes time to correct itself (and, as you say, sometimes a thing becomes a Story with no actual evidence behind it.) In the current political climate, I can't see that as being anything close to wise.

The Mask Bloc site is useful, thank you. Hopefully they both get people who need the help and people who will help supply the help.

[sonia]

Interesting point about the book. Western medicine definitely has its triumphs, and also its deplorable failures, both individually and collectively. It's not a book I'm going to seek out and read, but I posted this because I've wondered about the surge of peanut allergies. When I was a kid, elementary schools didn't have signs outside saying, "No chocolate or peanut butter on school grounds due to life threatening allergies."

[silveradept]

That's true, it is a bigger issue. At least some of it has to come from the increased sensitivity to such things.

I don't like the framing of "dogma took hold and nobody bothered to check," because people did check.

[sonia]

Sounds like you've looked into this. I'd be happy to learn more if you have links.