/oss/taxonomy/term/1112/all en /oss/article/medical-did-you-know/dont-blame-teething-most-infant-illnesses <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em> <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/facts-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-kids-edition/"><em>The Skeptical Inquirer.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p>Teething has been held responsible for everything from fevers to colic, but there’s no reason to believe the protrusion of teeth causes anything worse than mild discomfort, and there’s danger in misdiagnosis.</p> Fri, 12 Jan 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9794 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/kids-dont-feel-pain-growing <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em> <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/facts-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-kids-edition/"><em>The Skeptical Inquirer.</em></a></p> Fri, 05 Jan 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9770 at /oss /oss/article/medical-history/not-laughing-matter <p>When I was growing up, “looning” meant one thing. You would fill a balloon with water and throw it at a target that usually did not welcome such activity. Today, “looning” has taken on another meaning. At music festivals and at raves, those eardrum-blasting, strobe-lighted parties frequented by the under-thirty crowd, it is not unusual to see dancers raise a balloon to their lips. But they are not blowing into it. They are inhaling the gas it contains. It makes them all giddy, justifying the name by which the gas is known. Laughing gas!</p> Wed, 25 Oct 2023 16:03:58 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9700 at /oss /oss/article/medical-you-asked/what-are-icepacks-made <p>With summer weather arriving in a blaze of glory, your trusty ice packs might start getting more use. Whether for keeping food and drinks cool, icing injuries, or relieving the discomfort of a sunburn, ice packs have a multitude of uses at home, never mind elsewhere, where they’re vital for keeping medications, chemicals, and other spoilable items safe. But what’s inside that trusty, usually blue, often rectangular, object?</p> Fri, 23 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9550 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/what-rhythm-does-throbbing-pain-follow <p>There are many kinds of pain—Piercing, burning, aching, shocking—but the type I want to focus on today is throbbing. Throbbing pain is often associated with toothaches, headaches, migraines, and pain in the extremities but can occur nearly anywhere in the body. Its pulsing nature can be incredibly annoying to those affected, but it also raises an interesting question: when pain throbs, what rhythm is it following?</p> Fri, 09 Dec 2022 20:02:33 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9320 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/sticky-pain-patchs-science-hits-sticky-patch <p>“Take a few steps just to make the Devil mad! Hallelujah! That’s it, just move around a little bit, there she goes!” Those were <a href="https://youtu.be/p6BoV0AIPl4?t=173">the words used</a> by televangelist and soon-to-be-exposed-as-a-fraud Peter Popoff, as he allegedly channelled divine power to cure a woman of her arthritis. She no longer needed her walker and was able to take a few steps, though not without holding for dear life to Popoff’s hand.</p> Fri, 23 Sep 2022 10:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9235 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-history/happy-ether-day <p>This past week on October 16 we celebrated National Ether Day. If you missed it, here is why you should not have. Rarely does a single event alter the course of medicine, but that is exactly what happened 175 years ago at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846, in the surgical theatre that would eventually be christened “The Ether Dome.” Dr.</p> Fri, 22 Oct 2021 19:36:01 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8906 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/aspirin-can-do-more-just-alleviate-pain <p>It is a common misconception that aspirin is a naturally occurring substance that was discovered in the bark of the willow tree. A related compound called salicin does indeed occur in white willow bark (not the “weeping willow,” thereby explaining the use of the bark as a medication since the time of Hippocrates. But salicin is very irritating to the stomach, a problem that prompted the Bayer company to look for an alternative. One of its chemists, Felix Hoffmann, synthesized acetylsalicylic acid in 1898 and found it to be a great improvement over salicin.</p> Thu, 08 Nov 2018 19:31:12 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7440 at /oss /oss/article/you-asked/why-do-i-get-jolt-pain-every-time-i-chew-piece-aluminum-foil <p>The common link among those who experience pain is that they have amalgam fillings. These are composed of a mixture of tiny particles of tin, silver and copper alloyed with mercury. Anyone who has such fillings may have learned the hard way that dissimilar metals that come into contact can generate an electric current.  Basically, they have reproduced one of the most famous experiments in history, that of Alessandro Volta’s discovery of the battery.</p> Thu, 08 Nov 2018 19:20:52 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7439 at /oss /oss/article/nsaids <hr /> <p class="note"><strong>Take-home message:</strong><br /> - Anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve), and diclofenac (Voltaren) can increase your risk of having a heart attack.<br /> - Even short-term use of these medications carries a potential risk.<br /> -Aspirin is the one anti-inflammatory that does not increase heart attack risk, although it comes with an increased risk of bleeding.<br /></p> Tue, 09 Oct 2018 16:23:32 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 7387 at /oss /oss/article/health/migraine-prevention-tip-needle-aimovigs-trials-are-underwhelming <hr /> <p class="note"><strong>Take-home message:</strong><br /> -A new injectable drug, Aimovig, has just been approved by Health Canada to prevent migraines.<br /> -It costs USD 575 a month and it reduces the number of migraine days per month by an average of one or two.</p> <p>When thinking of someone taking a medication for migraines, you may imagine them popping a pill. Now, there’s a syringe.</p> Thu, 16 Aug 2018 15:48:35 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7308 at /oss /oss/article/health-you-asked/can-we-use-eggshells-treat-osteoarthritis <hr /> <p>Si tu veux lire cet article en français, <a href="https://www.sciencepresse.qc.ca/actualite/detecteur-rumeurs/2018/10/24/non-toutes-etudes-ne-egales-coquilles-oeufs-arthrose">cliquez ici!</a></p> Thu, 17 May 2018 19:22:20 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7095 at /oss /oss/article/technology-general-science/text-neck-epidemic-truly-over <p><span>You may have seen the headlines recently: </span><a href="https://vitals.lifehacker.com/text-neck-was-never-a-real-epidemic-1822024249">“Text Neck Was Never a Real Epidemic”</a><span> and </span><a href="http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/13/text-neck-might-not-massive-issue-built-7226695/">more along</a><span> </span><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5252667/Brazilian-study-shows-no-thing-text-neck.html">those lines</a><span>.</span></p> Mon, 22 Jan 2018 20:59:24 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 6897 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/can-your-joints-really-feel-changes-weather <p>We all know somebody who believes they can “feel” when the weather is going to change. Maybe it’s your co-worker calling for rain because an old sports injury has started to ache. Or your grandmother faithfully rubbing her knuckles in anticipation of an on-coming thunder storm. Many people seem to think that there is a relationship between joint pain and weather patterns. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7659442">Over two thirds</a><span> of people with rheumatic diseases (disorders affecting your joints) believe their pain precedes or is caused in part by the weather.</span></p> Tue, 05 Dec 2017 15:50:13 +0000 Cassandra Lee, OSS Intern 6841 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition-quackery/cissus-quadrangularis-fever-fighting-pain-preventing-diabetes-defeating-supplement <p><em>Cissus quadrangularis</em> is a plant which belongs in the grape family, has red berries, and green or yellow flowers. <em>Cissus quadrangularis</em> is also the name slapped across a lot of supplements that claim to support ‘<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JE0NVOY?psc=1">optimal joint health</a>’, ‘<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COPTQVI?psc=1">promote healthy bone structure</a>’, and support ‘<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SG7MZ0?psc=1">healthy weight management</a>’.</p> Mon, 14 Aug 2017 14:21:57 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2597 at /oss