Do you like watching the intense scenes of medical drama on TV shows like ER or Gray’s Anatomy? Have you ever wondered what a heart transplant procedure really looks like?  If so, you might want to explore MedlinePlus’s surgical procedure webcasts (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/surgeryvideos.html).  There are hundreds of surgeries available to watch online, ranging from a caesarean birth to total knee replacement.  Note to sensitive viewers: these hour-long webcasts can be very graphic, since they depict actual surgeries.  If you are really interested in the steps taken during the procedures, you can download a transcript of the webcast as a PDF.

Many hospitals and clinics have similar surgical videos available online.  For example, Allina Hospital & Clinics (based in Minnesota) has several webcasts available online (http://www.allina.com/ahs/news.nsf/page/orlive). 

Happy viewing and learning!

The U.S. Drug and Food Administration, The Centers for Disease Control, along with the Minnesota and Connecticut Departments of Health recently confirmed that it was indeed salmonella causing the nationwide food illness scare. The source was contaminated peanut butter and peanut paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at its Blakely, Georgia processing plant.

For more information please visit the following websites:

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/Salmonellatyph.html

http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/

http://pbrecallblog.hhs.gov/

Hear advice from FDA’s Dr. Stephen Sundlof on what to eat during the peanut butter scare:

FDA Dos and Donts During the Peanut Butter Scare

A recent study performed by a team at Microsoft concluded that people are searching the internet for health related information and diagnosing themselves; often with inaccurate diagnoses. For example, someone with a headache could think that they have a tumor, after online investigation.

515 employees at Microsoft were surveyed and about one third of them confirmed that they “escalated” their searches after an initial diagnosis to explore more serious, and rare, aliments.

It’s important to remember that online medical advice should not replace the advice of your physician. Experts say if you are concerned about your health, go see a doctor.

To read the story from BBC News, visit here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7758183.stm

A few months ago, I subscribed to a free, weekly, electronic newsletter from the Mayo Clinic.  It’s appropriately (and funnily!) called Housecall.  Each issue has a featured topic, like Lung Cancer, Stress, Long-Term Care, and there are links to information about the featured topic on the Mayo Clinic web site.  In addition, each issue of the newsletter has links to:

-Health-related stories written by Mayo Clinic staff

-Healthy recipes

-”Ask a Specialist” forums

-Podcasts

I always find at least one or two items of interest in each of the Housecall newsletters. Plus, the Mayo Clinic web site has nifty features that allow you to increase the text size of web pages and email articles to other people.   Even though it is heavily-branded by Mayo, the information is consistently strong and written in accessible language.  In fact, MedlinePlus (a previous Caralyn Pick!) will often link to information from the Mayo Clinic’s website.

Here’s the link to use if you’d like to subscribe to Housecall (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/housecall/HouseCall).

Happy reading and learning!