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Researchers are "hot" on the trail to finding a new way to decrease post-surgical pain following painful operations such as knee and hip replacements. Surgeons are experimenting by dripping capsaicin - the ingredient that gives chili peppers their fire, directly into open wounds during knee replacement surgeries hoping that bathing surgically exposed nerves in a high enough dose will numb them for weeks. The theory takes root from the fact that when you bite into a hot pepper, after the initial burn your tongue goes numb. Research shows that capsaicin targets key pain-sensing cells in a way that blocks pain but does not impair other nerves responsible for functions such as movement. Its effects also last relatively long, thus reducing the need for morphine and other narcotics following surgery. In a pilot program of 50 knee replacements, the half treated with capsaicin used less morphine in the 48 hours after surgery and reported less pain for two weeks as compa

"Medical concierge," also known as "boutique practice" and "retainer medicine", is over 20 years old. The goal behind this form of medicine is to provide quality medical services that were formerly only able to be offerredto afffluententertainers and the like. For instance, this field promotes limiting the number of patients that each doctor sees, increasing the number and length of house visits with those patients, lengthening the time available with patients during their appointments, and the overall goal of increasing the quality of heatlth care. Many doctors pursue the field of "medical concierge" to ensure that patients are properly treated, and provided with the time and attention that the medical profession is idealized to provide. While it is easy to confuse the two, concierge medical practices differ from patient healthcare advocacy firms, such as PinnacleCare, in various respects. Concierge medical practice involve individuals that practice medicin

The F.B.I. is investigating how it was that more than 200,000 amateur football players in the United States wore used helmets this fall that were returned to the field without proper testing. The investigation concerns the purported failure of Circle System Inc., of Easton, Pa., in an apparent effort to save on labor and insurance costs, to perform a formal drop-testing procedure in which helmets are subjected to strong forces in different locations on about 2 percent of the helmets they handle as part of a safety protocol mandated by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (Nocsae). The helmets in question were used by football players ranging from 8-year-olds to Division I collegians. Helmets that crack or otherwise fail this test are supposed to be destroyed because they could leave the player susceptible to a fractured skull or brain hemorrhage. Although about 5 to 10 youngsters a year sustain such injuries, helmets have been cons

As if it was not enough to learn that there is lead paint on toys, that small magnets can come loose from toys and perforate intestines, and that children's Aqua Dots beads turn into "Date Rape Drug", now asbestos has been found in a variety of consumer products, including one of this season's biggest-selling Christmas toys, the CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit. The kit, made in China, is one of several items licensed by CBS after its popular "CSI" science-crime shows. The model has an array of plastic tools, inks and three types of very fine powders -- white, black and glow-in-the-dark. High levels of two types of asbestos were found in the white and the glow powder. Asbestos was also found in two brands of children's play clay, powdered cleanser, roof sealers, duct tapes, window glazing, spackling paste a

The state Consumer Protection Board's (CPB) Safe Toys NY Campaign has found that toys with unsafe lead levels remain on store shelves across the state, Governor Eliot Spitzer announced last week. The CPB, with the help of the Departments of Health (DOH) and Agriculture and Markets, conducted sweeps of more than 2,800 stores looking for recalled products and found approximately 620 recalled toy items still on the shelves. The CPB launched Safe Toys NY, a massive public awareness campaign, in November to assist consumers in discerning the safety of toys, to educate consumers, inform toy makers and retailers about safety issues, and ensure that recalled toys were removed from store shelves. The CPB sent letters to retailers, including thrift stores, urging them to be extra-vigilant, evaluate all toys being sold or donated against recall lists, and post recall notices conspicuously in their stores. The CPB also called for auction sites to bar the posting and sale of recall

The scaffoldingthat broke last Friday (12/7/07), causing a pair of brother window washers to plunge 47 stories (550 feet) on Manhattan's upper East Side, had been cited for 10 violations in June, including four that were repeat violations, state records show. Inspection records from the New York State Labor Department show that the scaffolding had been inspected twice in the past two years - and 10 violations were issued, but they were not severe enough to warrant a stop-work order. Why one brother died and the other survived is a mystery. Speculation is that while they tried to ride their platform to the ground, as one window washer said he had been trained to do in such an accident, one of the brothers, Edgar Moreno, may have been thrown off of the platform before it hit the ground. His brother, Alcides Moreno, though seriously injured, was conscious and sitting up soon after firefighters arrived. Alcides Moreno's injuries include collapsed lungs, damaged kidn

Approximately 8,500 additional patients of Dr. Harvey Finkelstein will be advised to get tested for blood-borne diseases as a probe into his practice expands, a New York State Health Department spokeswoman said. Meanwhile, the Nassau County Health Department has said recent tests found six hepatitis B cases and six hepatitis C cases among Finkelstein's patients, although it is unclear whether the liver infections stemmed from Finkelstein's improper re-use of syringes. Initially this past November, 628 patients of Dr. Finkelstein were advised to get tested for hepatitis B and C and HIV, all blood borne diseases, because they had received epidural injections from Dr. Finkelstein, whoused re-used syringes, from January 1, 2000 to January 15, 200. But as time goes on, the Department of Health continues to receive calls from people who state that they were patients of Dr. Finkelstein and received injections from h

A survey of a national random sample of practicing doctors found that nearly half of all U.S. doctors fail to report incompetent or unethical colleagues, even though they agree that such mistakes should be reported. More specifically, while 96% of respondents said doctors should always report impaired or incompetent colleagues, only 55% of those with direct personal knowledge of such doctors in the past three years said they always did so. And while 93% of respondents said doctors should always alert authorities when they observe serious medical errors, only 54% of those who had such information in the past three years said they always did so. 40 percentof the doctors said they knew of a serious medical error in their hospital group or practice but 31 percent admitted they had done nothing about it at least once. The findings appear in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital mailed a survey, and a $20 incentive

State Senator Kemp Hannon said at a hearing held at Farmingdale State College to address questions surrounding the transmission of hepatitis C in the medical offices of Dr. Harvey Finkelstein that he would propose legislation to speed the notification of patients infected after improper practices and to make pubic charges brought against doctors by the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OMPC), the state disciplinary board for doctors. The OMPC has come under heavy criticism for not disciplining Dr. Finkelstein for engaging in improper infection control procedures. Criticism of the OPMC apparently contributed to the OPMC's suspension of an ophthalmologist, Dr. Martin Ehrenberg, this past Thursday (12/6/07) for allegedly performing unnecessary laser eye surgeries on six patients. The six patients were diagnosed with ailments including diabetic retinopathy, wet macular degeneration and cataracts. The New York Dep

Don't be surprised if one day you're out somewhere and you hear someone plead, "Don't tase me, sis!" The manufacturer of Tasers, the controversial stun gun used by police and other law enforecment officials, has started selling a consumer version of this gun known as the "C2." The C2 can be found at regular sporting good stores, it sells in multiple colorsand can be purchased for a rate as low as $299.00. The C2 is marketed for its small size and noted for the fact that it can easily fit in a woman's purse. Essentially it seems that the C2 is being advertised and sold as if it was just another trendy item that one would keep in their purse such as a cell phone or ipod,when in fact it is a weapon with the potential to kill. The C2 differs from the version that the police use as it has a shorter range (15 feet as compared to 35) but it alarmingly delivers a longer shock (30 seconds as opposed to 5 seconds). Both guns have a 50,000 voltage. While it is clai