Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/rB6JVEfSOLo

The LUS Distribution Company of Canada is recalling it LUS Hair Dryer and Diffuser model number HD-LUS01.  The product does not have an immersion protection device, posing an electrocution or  shock hazard if the dryer falls into water when plugged in.  If you have this device, immediately stop using it and unplug the hair dryer.  LUS is contacting all known purchasers of the hair dryers and providing a choice of either a full refund of the purchase price or a $175 store credit.  To contact the company, call 1-800-280-1675.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/lus-recalls-hair-dryers-due-to-electrocution-or-shock-hazard-recall-alert

#recall #hairdryer #shockhazard #lus

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/rB6JVEfSOLo

The LUS Distribution Company of Canada is recalling it LUS Hair Dryer and Diffuser model number HD-LUS01.  The product does not have an immersion protection device, posing an electrocution or  shock hazard if the dryer falls into water when plugged in.  If you have this device, immediately stop using it and unplug the hair dryer.  LUS is contacting all known purchasers of the hair dryers and providing a choice of either a full refund of the purchase price or a $175 store credit.  To contact the company, call 1-800-280-1675.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/lus-recalls-hair-dryers-due-to-electrocution-or-shock-hazard-recall-alert

#recall #hairdryer #shockhazard #lus

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/q9JpJ7y6oAM

Pre-schoolers overwhelmingly choose to hear and read stories about the workings of the world around them.  This from a Vanderbilt University analysis of story choices by 48 kids 3-4 years of age.

The investigators presented children two versions of 2 stories.  One version was causally-rich with details about why and the  minimally-causal version provided just the story line.  Though the kids comprehended both versions equally, they clocked a preference for the causally-rich stories in 70% of cases.

You now have endless hours at home with your children.  Please them by providing non-fiction or fictionalized science.  Particular winners are books about the how and why of animals.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00666/full

#children #parenting #reading #nonfiction #fictionalizedscience

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/q9JpJ7y6oAM

Pre-schoolers overwhelmingly choose to hear and read stories about the workings of the world around them.  This from a Vanderbilt University analysis of story choices by 48 kids 3-4 years of age.

The investigators presented children two versions of 2 stories.  One version was causally-rich with details about why and the  minimally-causal version provided just the story line.  Though the kids comprehended both versions equally, they clocked a preference for the causally-rich stories in 70% of cases.

You now have endless hours at home with your children.  Please them by providing non-fiction or fictionalized science.  Particular winners are books about the how and why of animals.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00666/full

#children #parenting #reading #nonfiction #fictionalizedscience

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ZyU3FEhK_5o

Alpha lipoic acid, the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, may help fight late-stage CoVid19 disease.  A preliminary randomized Chinese drug trial showed ALA is associated with a 48% reduction in 30 day all-cause mortality.

The researchers studied 17 critical CoVid patients.  Half received IV ALA daily for one week in addition to standard ICU care.  Organ failure remained lower in the treated patients indicating a beneficial trend, not statistically significant due to the small numbers.

With each therapeutic modality tried and shown to be effective, our chances of saving lives increases.  The jury’s not in yet, but the more possible treatments that appear, the better the odds.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.15.20066266v1.full.pdf

#covid19 #coronavirus #ala #alphalipoicacid #cytokinestorm

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ZyU3FEhK_5o

Alpha lipoic acid, the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, may help fight late-stage CoVid19 disease.  A preliminary randomized Chinese drug trial showed ALA is associated with a 48% reduction in 30 day all-cause mortality.

The researchers studied 17 critical CoVid patients.  Half received IV ALA daily for one week in addition to standard ICU care.  Organ failure remained lower in the treated patients indicating a beneficial trend, not statistically significant due to the small numbers.

With each therapeutic modality tried and shown to be effective, our chances of saving lives increases.  The jury’s not in yet, but the more possible treatments that appear, the better the odds.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.15.20066266v1.full.pdf

#covid19 #coronavirus #ala #alphalipoicacid #cytokinestorm

How CoVid19 Kills You

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/lupZ4t-mayo

Since the novel coronavirus first emerged in mid-December, thousands of studies are beginning to define the insidiously deadly nature of this virus.  An excellent review article in the magazine Science provides an alarming blueprint.

The virus enters your body through mucus-producing nasal cells, lung cells, and gut cells.  It proliferates wildly and initiates fatal damage in about 5% of those infected.  

In almost all CoVid patients, viral inflammation occurs in the lung’s tiny air sacs.  This blocks oxygen transfer and thickens tissues preventing breathing.

The virus creates heart damage in almost 20%.  It triggers body-wide blood clotting that, in turn, sends clots to the lung to further block oxygen flow.  

Twenty-seven percent of us develop kidney failure but nearly 60% have signs of kidney damage.  CoVid19 can trigger brain ands nerve damage including encephalitis, strokes, the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome, and frequent loss of smell and taste senses.

One-third of hospitalized patients develop CoVid conjunctivitis.  More than half of patients develop elevated liver enzymes indicating damage.

Then, our body’s valiant attempts to kill off the virus using hyperactivity of the immune system, a literal cytokine storm, backfires.  The reaction sparks even more severe organ damage. 

I’m telling you all this bad news to give you even more reasons to avoid this killing virus.  Wash your hands obsessively, physically distance, and wear a mask with effective filtration.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/how-does-coronavirus-kill-clinicians-trace-ferocious-rampage-through-body-brain-toes

#covid19 #coronavirus #pneumonia #cardiac #clotting #kidney #cytokinestorm #stroke

How CoVid19 Kills You

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/lupZ4t-mayo

Since the novel coronavirus first emerged in mid-December, thousands of studies are beginning to define the insidiously deadly nature of this virus.  An excellent review article in the magazine Science provides an alarming blueprint.

The virus enters your body through mucus-producing nasal cells, lung cells, and gut cells.  It proliferates wildly and initiates fatal damage in about 5% of those infected.  

In almost all CoVid patients, viral inflammation occurs in the lung’s tiny air sacs.  This blocks oxygen transfer and thickens tissues preventing breathing.

The virus creates heart damage in almost 20%.  It triggers body-wide blood clotting that, in turn, sends clots to the lung to further block oxygen flow.  

Twenty-seven percent of us develop kidney failure but nearly 60% have signs of kidney damage.  CoVid19 can trigger brain ands nerve damage including encephalitis, strokes, the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome, and frequent loss of smell and taste senses.

One-third of hospitalized patients develop CoVid conjunctivitis.  More than half of patients develop elevated liver enzymes indicating damage.

Then, our body’s valiant attempts to kill off the virus using hyperactivity of the immune system, a literal cytokine storm, backfires.  The reaction sparks even more severe organ damage. 

I’m telling you all this bad news to give you even more reasons to avoid this killing virus.  Wash your hands obsessively, physically distance, and wear a mask with effective filtration.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/how-does-coronavirus-kill-clinicians-trace-ferocious-rampage-through-body-brain-toes

#covid19 #coronavirus #pneumonia #cardiac #clotting #kidney #cytokinestorm #stroke

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/KMQTJr01C5Y

The new coronavirus can trigger an atypical pneumonia that creeps up on you before it kills you.   ICU docs in Germany, Baltimore, Seattle, and New York City observe that many patients, eventually diagnosed with CoVid19, barely notice respiratory symptoms as their lungs slowly deliver less and less oxygen to their vital organs.

Even patients coming in for fractures, trauma, and falls have surprisingly low oxygen levels without complaining about shortness of breath.  Their chest x-rays show advanced pneumonia but they breathe easily without chest tightness.  

The reasons: CoVid halts the natural surfactant production that keeps the lung’s tiny sponge-like air chambers open.  Then too, the virus seems to drive lung micro-clotting that halts oxygen transfer into the bloodstream.

Many of such patients get better without high pressure mechanical ventilation using high flow oxygen and prone positioning.  Unnecessary incubation and ventilation can damage the voicebox as well as the lungs but also takes a vent from a patient who truly needs it.

So CoVid produces two types of pneumonias.  The usual wet lung stiffening kind with a terrible cough, and a dry, slowly suffocating type.

A silent drop in blood oxygen levels is yet another warning sign of CoVid just as fever and a loss of smell and taste.  To be on top of it, you can buy a fingertip pulse oximeter online for $30-60 dollars.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/86046

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/opinion/coronavirus-testing-pneumonia.html

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.15.20067017v2.full.pdf

#covid19 #coronavirus #hypoxia #oximeter #pneumonia

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/KMQTJr01C5Y

The new coronavirus can trigger an atypical pneumonia that creeps up on you before it kills you.   ICU docs in Germany, Baltimore, Seattle, and New York City observe that many patients, eventually diagnosed with CoVid19, barely notice respiratory symptoms as their lungs slowly deliver less and less oxygen to their vital organs.

Even patients coming in for fractures, trauma, and falls have surprisingly low oxygen levels without complaining about shortness of breath.  Their chest x-rays show advanced pneumonia but they breathe easily without chest tightness.  

The reasons: CoVid halts the natural surfactant production that keeps the lung’s tiny sponge-like air chambers open.  Then too, the virus seems to drive lung micro-clotting that halts oxygen transfer into the bloodstream.

Many of such patients get better without high pressure mechanical ventilation using high flow oxygen and prone positioning.  Unnecessary incubation and ventilation can damage the voicebox as well as the lungs but also takes a vent from a patient who truly needs it.

So CoVid produces two types of pneumonias.  The usual wet lung stiffening kind with a terrible cough, and a dry, slowly suffocating type.

A silent drop in blood oxygen levels is yet another warning sign of CoVid just as fever and a loss of smell and taste.  To be on top of it, you can buy a fingertip pulse oximeter online for $30-60 dollars.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/86046

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/opinion/coronavirus-testing-pneumonia.html

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.15.20067017v2.full.pdf

#covid19 #coronavirus #hypoxia #oximeter #pneumonia