The Korea Herald

Oriental doctors track...illegal supplements

Dec 8, 2011

The Association of Korean Oriental Medicine is collecting cases of illegally distributed dietary supplements. “Amid the growing public awareness of health and well-being, illegal distributors are selling non-authorized or even harmful supplements through a variety of channels,” said Kim Jung-kon, head of the AKOM. The AKOM has established an “anonymous bulletin” on its website, www.akom.org, to receive information. The reported cases will be investigated and compiled into a database to improve t
Diabetes in pregnancy more likely if obese

Dec 8, 2011

Obese women are more likely to suffer gestational diabetes, a group of local doctors said Wednesday. According to a study on 2,454 pregnant women by professors Shin Jong-chul and Choi Se-kyung of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, women who were overweight before pregnancy had a 1.58 times as much chance of suffering from gestational diabetes. It went up as high as 4.5 times higher among obese women. The risk of gestational hypertension was 2.2 times higher among overweight women and 2.5 times higher am
Leather pants can cause varicose veins

Dec 8, 2011

Leather trousers may be fashion-conscious, but are potentially bad for your health, Hanlim Pharm said Wednesday. The manufacturer of Antoleave, trophedema pills, said wearing leather trousers or skinny jeans that tightly stick to the legs for a long period of time could lower blood circulation. This could further develop into chronic venous insufficiency with swollen legs associated with pain, it said. “In winter, the blood vessels in the leg area contract due to cold weather. In the worst case,
Increase in pancreatic cancer draws concerns

Dec 8, 2011

The occurrences of pancreatic cancer and pancreatic cancer-related deaths are increasing notably. This disease, which used to be rare, has become one of the most common types of cancer. It began to draw wider attention when the legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti died of the disease four years ago, as well as Steve Jobs this year.Since the pancreas is hidden behind the stomach, it is more difficult to access, and no medical breakthrough has been yet made to effectively detect pancreatic ca
FDA favors more risk info on birth control pills

Dec 8, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Federal health regulators are leaning toward adding new information about the risk of blood clots to the labels of widely prescribed birth control pills such as Yaz, in light of growing evidence that the newer contraceptive drugs may be riskier than older drugs.In documents released Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration said there is conflicting evidence about the risk, but that the information should appear in labeling used by doctors and patients.“We believe that, because
Few recall doctor saying child overweight

Dec 8, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Pediatricians are supposed to track if youngsters are putting on too many pounds ― but a new study found less than a quarter of parents of overweight children recall the doctor ever saying there was a problem.Does that mean doctors aren’t screening enough kids, or aren’t frank enough in these tough conversations? Or is the real story parent denial? The research published Monday can’t tell, but makes it clear the message too often isn’t getting through.“It’s tricky to say, and i
Advice for year-end drinking

Dec 8, 2011

Doctors say hangover drinks have limited effect, suggest spicy soup and juiceDecember is a month of year-end parties. Nights of drinking and dining fill people’s schedules. In Korea, nights out are an important part of socialization, especially at the year’s end. According to Samsung Medical Center, about 30 percent of salaried workers are habitual drinkers.Medical experts are quick to point out the health risks posed by alcohol. Dr. Lee Jung-kwon and Dr. Yoo Joon-hyun at SMC offer useful inform
Research: Bedbugs can thrive despite inbreeding

Dec 8, 2011

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ Bedbugs aren't just sleeping with you. They're sleeping with each other.Researchers now say that the creepy bugs have a special genetic gift: withstanding incest.It turns out that unlike most creatures, bedbugs are able to inbreed with close relatives and still produce generally he
Woman: Psychologist implanted horrific memories

Dec 4, 2011

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The memories that came flooding back were so horrific that Lisa Nasseff says she tried to kill herself: she had been raped several times, had multiple personalities and took part in satanic rituals involving unthinkable acts. She says she only got better when she realized they were
Apple juice can pose a health risk _ from calories

Dec 2, 2011

It's true _ apple juice can pose a risk to your health. But not necessarily from the trace amounts of arsenic that people are arguing about.Despite the government's consideration of new limits on arsenic, nutrition experts say apple juice's real danger is to waistlines and children's teeth. Apple ju
Threat of HIV infection lingers

Dec 1, 2011

7,656 Koreans reported HIV positive as of 2010It has been a long time since health experts first declared that AIDS is not transmittable through everyday human interaction or an automatic death sentence.But public perception is still behind scientific and medical knowledge. People infected with HIV are refused entry into the country at immigration while many hide their health status out of fear of being discriminated against by society. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prev
Global Fund for world health halts new programs

Dec 1, 2011

GENEVA (AP) ― The world’s biggest financier in the fight against three killer diseases says it has run out of money to pay for new grant programs for the next two years ― a situation likely to hit poor AIDS patients around the world.An official with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said Thursday that its has been forced to cease giving new grants until 2014 because of global economic woes brought on by debt crises in the U.S. and Europe.An independent panel recommended in
Ewha learns about Arabic world

Dec 1, 2011

Ewha Womans University Medical Center on Nov. 24 invited leaders of the Korea-Arab Society to the center to get a better understanding of Middle Eastern society. “Middle East states are distant from Korean people. Some groundless images of terrorism and oppression have been linked with the region, causing public misunderstanding,” said Choi Seung-ho, head of the organization. “It is about time we have opened our door to the area,” he said. Ewha hospital has started placing emphasis on the Arabic
TnTn Hospital opens joint, spine center

Dec 1, 2011

TnTn Hospital specializing in spine and joint treatments has opened a TnTn Joint Training Center at its Eunpyeong, Guro and Jangan branches in Seoul. The centers will provide comprehensive information and exercise regimes to strengthen the spine and joint areas not only for the patients but for anyone interested. The center has invited Ohm Tae-hyun, former team doctor of Olympic gold medalist swimmer Park Tae-hwan, as a lecturer to provide information about his field experiences in exercise. The
Konkuk Univ. Hospital accredited by WHO

Dec 1, 2011

Konkuk University Medical Center said Monday that it has been accredited as a World Health Organization Health Promoting Hospital and Health Service.It conducted a ceremony on the day to hang the accreditation plaque.According to the international organization, the accreditation recognizes four areas: good quality treatment and care in a positive health care setting; extending the treatment of current diseases towards disease prevention and promotion of positive health; strengthening patient ori