FDA Concerned Over the Quality of Surgical Gowns in the US

FDA has informed customers about the possible quality concerns associated with specific surgical gowns. Last week, Cardinal Health, a company that manufactures medical devices, released a statement notifying the public regarding the quality concerns related to its Level 3 surgical gowns and the packs used to keep these gowns.

Cardinal Health provides no guarantee regarding the sterility of these surgical gowns and PreSource surgical packs used for them. The company and the Food and Drug Authority have suggested that customers should stop the use of these affected products instantly.

Cardinal Health has collaborated with the FDA for analyzing the origin and effects of these quality concerns. In any health care facility, surgical gowns are found to be beneficial in providing barrier protection and preventing moderate to high risk of contamination.

On the basis of the functioning of their liquid barrier, surgical gowns have been divided into four categories, providing barrier protection of different intensities. Among these, Level 3 surgical gowns are being used in knee replacement or open-heart surgeries, offering moderate risk protection.

Also Read:  New Diagnostic Test to Detect the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Gets FDA’s Approval

Wearing surgical gowns prevents transmission of particulate matter, body fluids, and microbes, providing protection to not only patients but also health care professionals. FDA and Cardinal Health are working together to deal with quality health concerns related to these products.

They will make an effort to understand the possible impact of these surgical gowns and packs on the users and patients. The team will also identify the particular lots that are affected and their affect on the supply chain.

Right now, FDA is majorly concerned about the potential contamination of Cardinal Health’s medical products and has suggested customers avoid their use. FDA’s spokesperson said that the company would also inform the public about the specific products affected and issue a recall.

The disruption in the supply chain of these products can also affect patient care. In health care facilities like hospitals, this matter may even lead to the cancellation of non-elective surgical treatments. FDA is dedicated to alleviating any harmful effects in the patients as a result of this concern. But currently, there isn’t any evidence regarding the harm caused by this concern.

Also Read: FDA Warns About the Possible Cancer Risk Associated with Weight-Loss Drug Lorcaserin

Many FDA-approved alternatives for these level 3 surgical gowns are also available in the market that provides protection at the same level. The Food and Drug Administration will proceed with its collaboration with Cardinal Health and warn customers about the impact of these concerns on the supply chain of these medical products and the possible shortages.

FDA motivates healthcare facilities to provide them with data regarding possible or actual supply concerns. The authority’s device shortages mailbox ([email protected]) permits patient, user, organization, or manufacturer to notify FDA of any delay in the product distribution or anticipated shortage.

FDA added that it will keep on monitoring the situation and will keep the public informed of the evolving situation.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc. is a company that provides healthcare products and services at a global level. It supplies its clinically-proven medical devices and solutions to physician offices, pharmacies, hospitals, clinical laboratories, health systems, and ambulatory surgery centers.

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No Need Of Medicines To Get Rid Of Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes or adult-onset diabetes is a form of diabetes that causes a high level of glucose in the blood and less sensitivity to insulin (the hormone that draws glucose from the blood to get energy). Weight loss increased thirst, and frequent urination is some common symptoms of Type 2 diabetes.

Current research regarding health reveals that people above the age of sixty-five facing health issues should exercise at least for a minute per. This short span of exercise is sufficient to give health benefits.

In Dundee, researchers from Abertay University observed many people who participated in workout sessions. People of sixty-five to seventy-five years old participated in groups for eight weeks. Each individual of all the groups had been enjoying an idle and settled life without any physical activity.

None of them had been doing workout consistently. Every individual was given a stationary bike and was guided to wheel the bike for about 60 seconds by putting full energy and without taking any break.

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If any of them failed to cycle the bike for a minute would perform the process of SIT (Sprint Interval Training) again.

Researchers found that a weekly workout session was sufficient to control the glucose level in the blood and improve the mobility of the participants. Insulin resistance increases in individuals as they get older and fail to draw glucose out of the blood.

This failure causes many complications like liver and heart problems and may direct to Type 2 diabetes. Physical activity is the best thing to treat type 2 diabetes. Along with exercise, a healthy meal is required to maintain blood glucose levels. Diabetes may lead to kidney problems and nerve pain so physical fitness and activity are required to reduce the chances of diabetes.

Dr. John Babraj found that SIT plays an important role in improving health. SIT enhances the capacity to draw glucose out of blood if completed once or twice a week. Muscles get the required glucose produced from exercise and in turn, a lower glucose level of blood. It not only lowers blood sugar level but also cope with heart complications, lowers blood pressure, reduces cholesterol level, and increases the sensitivity to insulin.

The study revealed that individuals performing SIT twice a week showed a better performance than those who didn’t. Progress was also observed in individuals participating in SIT once a week.

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Many improvements in the general activity to do daily work were observed in the individual participating in STI and differences were assessed in a common occupation like the effectiveness to walk up and downstairs, to open the door, and to do the daily chores.

For people with old age have huge complications because of the loss in the physical functioning of the body, social isolation and it affects the standard of life. Social isolation intentionally declines life standards.

The current researches find that older adults need to participate in the workout. Older people should go for an exercise of moderate intensity every week but it is very hard for older people to complete this task. Dr. Babraj wills to introduce SIT (sprint interval training) in the Government’s physical activity guidelines.

Better acclimatization was observed from both groups participating in STI once and twice a week than the minor changes expected by the researches.

 

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What are the Effects of CBD on Menopause Symptoms?

The internet is full of the benefits and dangers of CBD that are often presented side by side. But in between all this, no one should forget the medicinal effects of CBD, especially on women’s health. There is a whole new debate on the safety levels of CBD products for menopausal women. The experts are still working on it but there are so many CBD infused products such as bath salts, lubricants, and vagina suppositories for dryness that people are buying.

Menopause is a difficult stage of every women’s life where her body shows many uncomfortable symptoms and eventually it changes their mood. There are so many products available to ease the symptoms of menopause. Some women take supplements, some go for hormone replacement therapy while a large number of the population relies on conventional remedies, and using CBD for menopause is one of them.

But it is hard to determine if these CBD infused products are safe or not; whether they would ease the menopausal symptoms or not.

Dr. JoAnn V. Pinkerton teaches at the University of Virginia, he says that using CBD for menopause is still an unproven remedy because despite these products being available so easily, there are no clinical trials and safety tests conducted for them. So everyone who is buying these products must know that these CBD infused products are not the first line of treatment for menopause symptoms.

Many medical experts acknowledge the medicinal benefits of CBD but still, it is hard to say that it is completely safe to use. Cannabis or marijuana is a common plant that has certain phytochemicals inside that are well-known for their psychoactive effects. These phytochemicals include tetrahydrocannabinol THC and Cannabidiol (CBD).

THC gives the cannabis plant its traditional “high” effects while CBD is not as psychoactive and doesn’t cause intoxication. This is why CBD-infused products do not make their users high or intoxicated.

There is so much research on CBD oil to show benefits on a number of medical conditions such as epilepsy, pain relief, and addiction treatment. But the information on the benefits of CBD in menopause symptoms is limited.

But there is research-based evidence that suggests the effects of CBD on inflammation and pain. while many women have used these CBD infused products to relieve menopausal symptoms and they are quite happy with their results.

The researchers from the University at Albany collected data on menopausal and postmenopausal women that have used these CBD products to relieve their symptoms within the previous year. The results indicated that a majority of women were satisfied with their experience but these CBD products didn’t relieve “all” symptoms of menopause.

Women shared their most uncomfortable symptoms as muscle pain, irritability, sleeping irregularities, stress, vaginal dryness, bladder problems, etc. using CBD products has relieved many of these problems so CBD does have physiological and psychological benefits on the women.

THC and CBD both are natural anti-inflammatory agents. They ease muscular pain and relieve stress-related disorders. This way they improve the mood and prevents agitation and behavioral changes. Due to its calming effect, the user feels more relaxed and it even regulates the sleeping cycle.

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But even after all these proven benefits, there is not much to predict if CBD infused products are 100% safe for women. Despite the benefits of CBD for menopause, there remain some risks associated with them.

For example, a study on investigating the effects of CBD on epilepsy revealed that many patients experienced worse side effects of it in the form of reduced appetite, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and insomnia. Some of them also showed liver problems.

Also, there is a high chance of CBD interacting with other medicines that a user might be taking; for example anti-depressants and sleeping pills. This gap in the regularity of the CBD-infused products would always remain a big safety concern and could only be solved with safety tests of these products.

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3 ways sobriety made me a better advisor

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Traditions – 

Sep. 17, 2020 – People rarely, if ever, get sober alone. In sobriety and in business, being part of a group allows you to benefit from the experience, strength and the hope of those around you.

2. What other people think of you is none of your business

As a young advisor, I focused on what I should do and was consumed with what others might think of me. Older people made suggestions about where I should live, how I should dress and where I should go to be seen.

I took their advice but ended up feeling incredibly inauthentic and unhappy.

As I continued in my sobriety, letting go of what others might think reinforced the importance of my job as a planner — to help clients discern and live their dreams rather than living out some idea influenced by what their parents did or what their friends planned to do.

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‘The Centers’ CEO resigns in Ocala

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Intriguing –

Sept. 13, 2020 – “Along the way, through each and every one of those mergers and acquisitions, the organization has gotten stronger, has provided a better level of care and we’re able to respond to community needs in a better way,” he said. “We’re able to do more with scale than we would otherwise be able to do.”

Organizations like The Centers and SMA rely largely on funding from the state. Private insurance, Medicaid and Medicare only cover a small portion of services, Norman said.

“Florida, in the nation, sits at 49th in mental health and substance abuse funding. It should be an embarrassment. The only reason we can’t get to 50 is that there is a state out there that gives nothing,” Norman said.

Baracskay took over the agency soon after an aborted attempt to transform itself into a combined mental and primary healthcare organization. The CEO then, Tim Cowart, wanted to offer primary healthcare services to increase the agency’s revenue.

The Centers’ board, in moving away from the effort, felt it distracted from the founding goal of providing mental health and substance abuse programs.

Founded in 1972 as Marion-Citrus Mental Health Center, mental health treatment remains central to the organization’s mission.

more@Ocala

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Struggling addicts turn to telehealth for better or worse

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Soulless Screens? –

Sept. 14, 2020 – Amid the global pandemic, group gatherings have become nearly impossible. Weddings have been put on hold indefinitely, schools are turning to virtual learning and offices are encouraging employees to work from home until it’s safe to be in close proximity.

Though everyone has been impacted in some way by the new restrictions put in place due to COVID-19, people struggling with addiction have had it especially hard in quarantine. Social isolation, economic despair and a global health crisis have made COVID-19 “the perform storm” for individuals with substance use disorders — and on top of all that, normal outlets like group meetings and therapy no longer exist in the traditional sense because meeting face-to-face is now dangerous.

With nowhere else to go, people living with addiction are turning to online resources like virtual support groups and Zoom therapy until things return to normal. And because of the pandemic, there are far more online resources to leverage: According to a recent study from the University of Michigan Addiction Center, policy shifts have made it much easier for addiction care specialists to pivot to telemedicine.

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Nikki Sixx talks recovery, sobriety

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – Sixxed to the twelve steps – 

Sept. 15, 2020 – But then again, there was a time when people wouldn’t have expected Sixx, now age 61, to even be alive in 2020. As chronicled in his harrowing memoir The Heroin Diaries, the band autobiography and Netflix film adaptation The Dirt, and VH1’s Behind the Music, Sixx overdosed on heroin multiple times in the ‘80s — most famously on Dec. 23, 1987, when he was declared clinically dead for two minutes before being revived. But now that Sixx has been clean for nearly 20 years now, he has made it his mission to help other addicts, even if there are some Crüe fans out there who don’t think sobriety is very “cool.” 

Sixx’s latest endeavor, with his other band Sixx:A.M., is the all-star Artists for Recovery charity single “Maybe It’s Time,” which features Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Slash, country star Brantley Gilbert, Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour,  Five Finger Death Punch’s Ivan Moody, AWOLNATION, and Bad Wolves’ Tommy Vext. The song is part of an initiative to draw attention to the opioid crisis and raise funds for the recovery community, timed with National Recovery Month; all artist royalties from the song will go to the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI), with a matching contribution from Better Noise Music. The song is also featured on the soundtrack for Better Noise Films’ Sno Babies, a raw depiction of teenage drug addiction in a seemingly picturesque suburban town.

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Family sells t-shirts to benefit overdose victim’s child

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

WATCH – The little ones left behind –

Sep. 14, 2020 – Both men were into racing so the Schultz family hopes these t-shirts in his memory alert others to the danger of street drugs laced with fentanyl.

“I hope they raise awareness for what fentanyl can do for anybody and obviously to raise money for her 3-year-old daughter to help her later in life,” Tanner’s mother, Marcia Leonard, said. 

The shirts say, “Life is not about winning the race. It’s about finishing the race.”

The family has raised more than $1,300 for Sophia’s college fund. 

If you’d like to buy a t-shirt for $15 to help out, you can email Leonard at: [email protected]

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Sometimes I Feel Like…offers poetic inspiration

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Encouragement in Life – 

Sep. 15, 2020 – Each poem is a testimony of the author’s strength and hope as he overcomes his experiences. Ultimately, the book offers readers inspiration and motivation to deal with the real life issues that they are going through, all while cleverly adding a poetic twist to each and every poem title.

“I would like my readers to know that it’s okay to feel whatever you want,” Hunter states. “I want them to know that they are not alone because there is at least one other person that’s feeling the same way. Finally, I want my readers to know that no matter how bad it gets there is a solution for making the best out any negative situation.

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Sebastian Velasquez looks back on his journey to five years of sobriety

Addiction Recovery Bulletin

Local Hero –

Sep. 17, 2020 – “In this profession, you have many temptations but being sober is part of who I am today. It’s easy to say no to people when I am offered a drink. It used to not be that way.” Going back to those times that it wasn’t easy to say no, Velasquez explained, “My alcoholism started off as just fun. Drinks here and there, parties, the good old times with the friends and ladies. Then, it became very bad when I started drinking on my own. Late-night calls to my mother crying for no reason, missing training sessions for Real Salt Lake, driving under the influence, showing up to training sessions hungover and smelling like alcohol.”

“One time, I had two of my RSL teammates do an intervention on me at my apartment, asking me to seek help because they thought I had a problem. I always denied it and keep moving forward as long as I was playing well. My drinking became almost drinking every day unless I was starting on the weekend so I wouldn’t drink Fridays to play Saturday. Soccer held a tab on me and it finally made me pay for all my unprofessional actions.”

With multiple professional seasons under his belt and his drinking getting worse, Velasquez talked about the low point for his battle with alcoholism. “It was in 2014, I had a DUI at RSL but that wasn’t enough for me to change,” he said. “It was the second DUI on December 11, 2014, in Greenville when I was on vacation visiting my dad.”

“I borrowed a car to go get a haircut. Atletico Nacional was playing the final of Copa Sudamericana so after my cut, I walked into a restaurant right beside the barbershop to watch the game. I started buying drinks for myself and was super hammered in less than 45 mins. I go in the car, and try to go back to my family’s house.”

He didn’t make it back to the family home that night. “I ended up running a red light to cross the bridge and the car hits the railing and almost flips, but it bounces back from the railing to stay on the road,” he recalled. “A cop sees this as it happens and puts the lights on me. I drive into the next parking lot and try to run away. I was so drunk that I trip over and they jump on me and lock me up. I wake up the next day in the jail cell, puking, crying, and all sorts.”

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