Young Shark Blog

Archive for April, 2011

Other than the fact this country is somehow related to Old Zealand, not many people know much about New Zealand except that it’s somewhere over there, perhaps not that far from Australia. Not that talking about Australia is much help with the geography. Anyway, it’s actually an island country and its major claim to fame is that it has significantly more sheep than people. It used to be a British colony but they forgot where it is and so made it independent. The other claim to fame is its legal system which was also left behind by the British. Supposedly that’s based on tort, just like our system. But there the similarity ends.

When you look at all the headlines for a day, you can’t help seeing endless news about legal cases. It seems we live in dangerous times. Cars run out of control when they should stop. Food and drugs should be safe, but they make us ill. Financial companies lend us money on predatory terms or gouge us on fees. Firms like Walmart may be run on the basis of sex discrimination. There are cases about every last possible thing that might cause us harm – including the elections when the Supreme Court had to vote on who had won. It’s hardly surprising the legal profession should have become a political issue. Some argue attorneys are out of control, harassing legitimate businesses with worthless cases. Others see them as the only thing preventing consumers from being even more thoroughly victimized. No matter who’s right, one of the biggest areas of litigation involves drugs and the suggestion that, sometimes, they cause more harm than good.

When any manufacturer launches a new drug, the clinical trials have confirmed it will do more good than bad. But that does not eliminate the possibility some people may suffer adverse side effects. In the case of the most famous treatment for acne, the risks are well known. This did start off life as chemotherapy to treat cancer. It’s hardly surprising it should have a bad effect on some people. Yet people continue to take the drug as if there’s no risk, often deciding to increase the dosage or to take it for longer than is safe. Such is the pressure on people to rid themselves of acne.

There’s new research out of New Zealand. A team of researchers managed to recruit 1,700 participants who all took Accutane at a very low dosage for long periods of time, the team following everyone’s health for six years. All reported a significant improvement in their skin and only 13 stopped because of unpleasant side effects. In other words, there’s no litigation in New Zealand alleging this drug is dangerous or unsafe. Here in the US, there are several high-profile cases alleging Accutane has caused all manner of different adverse effects. Whether this is true hardly matters. The reality is that we may be taking this drug at too high a dosage which increases the risk of harm. There’s no reason to suppose the New Zealand research is defective so the moral is clear. If you want to get clear skin with minimal risk, use this drug at no more than 0.25mg/kg of your body weight.

Sometimes it’s hard to know which is the more strange: the way some people behave or the laws that can make some behavior criminal. Take the question of having a drug in your possession. Oakland Raiders wide receiver Louis Murphy is now a qualified expert in the law. A few years back, he was caught with some marijuana in his possession. Everyone knows the dispute over the status of this drug. But many people use this drug for pain relief and, around the world, it’s either not criminal at all or, as in some US states, medicinal use is accepted. So, however you look at it, most people are aware of its status as a “street drug” and therefore are not surprised when they read about convictions. Switch over to prescription medication and more people can be caught by surprise. In many US states, it’s an offense to be in possession of any “legitimate” drug unless you carry a prescription with you to justify the possession. The reason is easy to give. Many prescription-only drugs are derived from highly addictive substances and the US states want to control their use. Whether it’s right to use the criminal law is not the issue. Having decided to control all versions of some drugs, you must carry a prescription to distinguish criminal from lawful possession. It’s the same as having your driver’s license with you when in control of a vehicle. The police are entitled to ask you for proof a doctor has approved your use of these drugs.

This week, Louis Murphy was pulled over in his SUV and, after a brief but violent fight resulting in an arrest, the police officers found eleven little blue pills in an unmarked bottle. Murphy had no prescription. Presumably, like millions of other men, he bought the drugs from an online pharmacy without the need for a prescription. So this should be a warning to everyone who buys their drugs through the internet. No matter what the drug, you can find yourself on the wrong end of the criminal law if you carry the drug with you in a public place. Just to clarify, it’s perfectly alright to have the drug in your bloodstream and, if the drug was sitting in your home, the police would need a warrant to search. Without a warrant allowing a search for drugs, it would be very difficult to get a conviction should the drugs be “found”.

The question arises, of course, as to why a young man like Louis Murphy should have Viagra in his possession. It might be true that he has failing his girlfriend and had become dependent on the little blue pills. Keeping them in an unmarked bottle would keep his secret. However, it’s equally likely that Murphy is one of the many top athletes who are using Viagra as a performance enhancing drug. This drug dilates the arteries and, with its help, more oxygen-rich blood travels round the body to all the muscles. This improves speed and builds stamina. In a game like football where endurance is essential, these pills can be the difference between a great performance and not getting into the team. It’s interesting to note that Murphy’s recent performance has not been that good on the field. Perhaps he was trying a new training aid.

Myths are the lies we tell ourselves to get through our lives with the least fear and pain. Sometimes, the truth is just too hard to bear. Take the idea of acne. Almost as soon as we are old enough to look in a mirror and understand the image as ourselves, we learn about the risk that smooth skin could be covered in spots that will swell and ooze and generally make us look as if we are escapees from a movie set filming a zombie movie. These stories are told to us out of kindness. We need to be prepared for the reality which is that, even if we are lucky and only have a mild outbreak, we will still get all the unkind comments. It’s all part of the ritual of growing up – that we will be unkind to each other as the acne spreads around the classes at school. Those whose outbreaks are more serious can be damaged psychologically as the abuse continues. The only thing that keeps most people going through all this distress is the belief it will soon all be over. We tell ourselves the lie that adults do not suffer from acne.

It’s now become more apparent that adults can and do suffer acne attacks. The current estimate that it’s a relatively small number of men but up to 15% of all women. Why is this? Well, there are flocks of experts who travel from one daytime TV show to the next to explain that we are all suffering from stress, we eat a poor diet and, perhaps surprisingly we are obsessed by the notion we should exercise to lose weight. Except these are yet more myths. There’s absolutely no scientific evidence to show a link between the type of food we eat and the condition of our skin. Assuming we don’t rub greasy food on to our faces, what we eat goes into the stomach and then out again. The stories about too much alcohol are also untrue. The question of stress is more difficult. Obviously, the appearance of acne produces stress. . . but stress as a cause? Well, higher levels of anxiety can trigger the release of adrenaline and can undermine the operation of your autoimmune system allowing more infections to affect the body. The story of excessive exercise is the suggestion that if you fail to shower after activity, this can lead to a blockage of the pores and so start an acne attack. There’s no real evidence this is true.

However, there’s a mass of evidence showing that the changes in the levels of hormone during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy can cause acne. If you do not want children, using an oral contraceptive can resolve the problem. Unfortunately many women find this unacceptable because of their religious convictions. So this brings us to a gentle program of self-help. Eating a low GI and healthy diet is generally good for you, as is quitting smoking and avoiding smokey atmospheres. Drinking less is also the healthy choice. Using benzoyl peroxide cleans the skin. If self-help does not work, there’s Accutane but, as an adult women, remember to take adequate precautions to prevent conception. Accutane consistently causes birth defects and that’s no myth.

The World Health Organization defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”. Mental health is a widely used term that includes a number of mental health disorders.

As you read the above definition it may leave one to think that there is no concrete definition of who is mentally healthy and who is not and why. However, we do suspect that the definition is subjective and there are components that play a huge role in the assessment of ones mental health. In this article, we will make references to a few different kinds of mental health disorders and who is a more likely candidate to experience unhealthy mental health behaviors.

Depression: is a term that the medical professionals uses to describe the way that you feel at that moment of time about yourself

Here are a few signs of depression E.g. despair, sadness, emotionless. Depression can be a suffocating experience. It can also leave you feeling hopeless, like there is no tomorrow. It is a lonely and low emotion. Who does depression affect, it can affect the most aggressive individual down to the timid and shy. It crosses color, age, social economic, or fame boundaries.

There are two terms that best explain the levels of depression; diathesis-stress model and biopsychosocial model. Psychiatric hospitals or community centers are where most services are treated. The individuals there are diagnosed by medical professionals.

Mental Abuse: What is mental abuse? Mental abuse is exactly what is sounds like, however, there are non-verbal forms of mental abuse. I am pretty sure we have all heard that old adage; sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you… well that is only partially true. Verbal abuse can be just as detrimental as physical abuse. If you are hearing degrading comments like you are “stupid”, “too fat” “unattractive” or “worthless” chances are you are a victim of mental abuse. Additionally, if you are constantly walking on egg shells to get along with friends and family members that is another sign of mental abuse.

Physical Abuse: is also brought on by persons that are suffering from mental illness. Many times it is encouraged when drinking excessively, high on drug or if that person was a victim of past physical abuse. Unlike mental abuse that may go unnoticed by friends or family members, physical abuse is often times detected mainly because of the evidence of the attack. Physical abuse often times leave its victims seriously wounded or dead. Here are a few commonalities of persons that may have a higher increased chance of being physically abused:

1. If you are in a relationships with a substance abuser or alcoholic

2. If you have been molested as a child or adult

3. If you come from a family of abusers

4. If you have low self-worth or low self-esteem

5. If you are unemployed and strapped for money.

There you have it, a few of the most recognized mental health disorders. Substance abuse and mental disorders comes disguised in many forms. Be sure to get educated and informed. There are medical health facilities that can assist any persons that are experiencing any of the above symptoms.

How to use specialized mental health treatment training is an important area for you to explore.

Erectile dysfunction medications have certainly become one of the most advertised type of drugs in the recent years. Just check any magazine, late night ad block or even your e-mail spam box – you’ll find tons of ED drug ads there. Even the entire phenomenon of online drug sales is largely due to the advent of ED drugs in the late 1990′s since these drugs were the ones aggressively advertised in the Internet. Seems that everyone is already well aware of the fact that ED is treatable and there’s a selection of prescription drugs to use for restoring sexual functions no matter how severe the condition may be. And this has created one of the most widespread misconceptions about male impotence we face today – ED drugs will do the trick no matter what.

The truth is that erectile dysfunction drugs definitely serve their purpose but their purpose is not to completely eliminate erectile dysfunction in a user. Their purpose is to minimize the manifestation of the condition for a certain period of time. The best analogy in medicine would be painkillers. When you use a painkiller drug you don’t heal the condition causing pain, do you? It only allows you to relieve pain for some time in order to get adequate treatment for the problem at cause. The same applies to drugs like Viagra – they only provide relief for a brief period of time allowing you to have strong and durable erections, but if you want to get rid of ED you’ll have to get straight to the cause and eliminate it. There are many possible causes behind each case of male impotence and the patient may be completely unaware of them until things get complicated. So as in the case of pain, once you start experiencing problems with erection you should go to the doctor as soon as possible in order to receive adequate treatment. Otherwise it may too late to do something about ED if the problem causing it starts to impact other aspects of general health.

Of course, it would be wrong to deny the significance of erectile dysfunction drugs (such as viagra) compared to other forms of treatment. Before ED drugs were approved by the FDA there have been many potions, treatments, exotic foods and other forms of treatment claimed to be the real cure for male impotence. But besides the widespread aphrodisiacs that only increase libido and can’t restore proper erectile functions, there were no real treatment options available until the late 1990′s.

The mechanism of action behind erectile dysfunction makes them quite effective yet limited in use at the same time. All ED drugs currently available on the market are PDE-5 inhibitors, which stimulate the blood flow to the penis upon sexual excitement resulting in firm erections. Such a mechanism is quite helpful in most cases of ED when the causes are physiological and deal with poor blood circulation. However, when the cause is psychological or there are more factors involved such a method isn’t that effective like it’s supposed to be. That’s why before using any ED drugs you should consult with your doctor, go through a medical exam and only then opt for a prescription. Getting these drugs with the weakest sign of ED isn’t the smartest option.