8th February 2012
Browsing Category: "health"

Should we follow the example of the treatment given to animals?

January 7th, 2010 Cat: health with No Comments »

There is a wonderful idiom, several times used as the title to a movie and offering the comparative warning, “It shouldn’t happen to a dog.” It refers to some proposed act or omission that is so unpleasant to humans, it should not even be wished on a dog (being a mere animal, it might be expected to bear most things, but not this). Human culture has grown up with animals a part of our lives. Whether as pets, living as one of the family in our own homes, or as working beasts, we value them for “who” they are and what they can do for us. This means treating them in much the same way as humans. If they get sick, we give them our medications. Sometimes, they retaliate by acting as incubators to encourage viruses to mutate and, as with “swine” or “bird” flu, return the favor by passing us infections to which we have no resistance. But, in general, we worry about them. Even the animals we propose to eat are stuffed full of antibiotics to keep them fit and healthy. So, keeping this real, there are many protections we have put in place for our animals. The most carefully monitored rules affect horses. These powerful animals have become a key part of the gambling industry, running in races for our excitement and jumping fences for our admiration.

As with most sports, the fear is that horses dosed with stimulants and other drugs might run faster and/or jump higher. Think Barry Bonds and the debate about the use of steroids in Major League Baseball for an understanding of the passion in the world of racing and equestrian sports. At the top of the sport, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) carried out detailed research in the early part of this century and concluded it was unsafe to allow horses to compete if they were relying on painkillers. In 2004, the Federation moved toward a zero-tolerance policy. This was approved by the Veterinary Committee and representatives of the different national bodies. The risk of seriously injuring the horses was too great and this protective care was strongly endorsed by horse-lovers around the world. Horses should only be used when they are completely fit. It’s therefore somewhat surprising to see the FEI change the policy to allow the use of a range of painkillers. Indeed, the decision has provoked outrage.

Yet, when it comes to humans, we routinely buy tramadol, dose ourselves and then carry on with sometimes energetic activities. The problem is the same as with horses. With pain suppressed, we can attempt to move normally and aggravate the existing injuries. As with everything, a balance has to be struck. Pain is inconvenient most of the time but nevertheless a useful warning when we might be overexerting ourselves. When we are recovering from injuries or learning to live within new physical limits, using tramadol is reasonable in the first stages of regaining mobility. But, in the long term, it’s better to recover muscle tone and build stamina without the help of drugs. That way, we learn coping strategies and need only use a painkiller when the pain flares up again. We are entitled to the same protection as horses.

The truth is finally here

January 7th, 2010 Cat: health with No Comments »

Perhaps we were all misinformed. Was there really a report that the Earth was round? Did it come out about the same time as that mad suggestion the Earth goes round the sun? It gets so confusing about what is true and what is theory. Science is supposed to be ahead of the game but. . . All of which brings me to a key fact about the effectiveness of medical treatment. Since the beginning of time, a significant part of every successful treatment has been the so-called placebo effect. This is where the patient so strongly believes the treatment will work that any treatment will be successful. Even though the patient is given a completely inactive pill, liquid to drink or cream to rub on to the affected area, the patient is still cured. It is the classic demonstration of mind over matter. People simply will themselves better. For example, acupuncture is used as an anaesthetic for major surgery in China. Patients lie with their eyes open and needles sticking into them while surgeons cut them open. They talk about the weather with the nurses. In the West, there is recent research showing acupuncture to be successful even though needles are stuck into the wrong points in the body. All it takes is a strong enough belief that the acupuncture will be effective.

This is a simple way of saying a society must trust its doctors. If physicians are to command respect and so inspire confidence in the treatments they prescribe, they must be seen to be in touch with the latest science. Their words must be full of truth. If they seem out-of-date or behind the times, why should we trust them when they tell us to favor a particular treatment? People vote with their feet. When it comes to something important, we all choose to see the people who are thought to be the best in their field of expertise. We want the best. This makes the most recent pronouncement of the American College of Physicians all the more worrying. This October, they felt sufficiently certain of the science to be able to issue a general advisory notice to all their members. From now on, ACP members are to act on the basis that erectile dysfunction should be treated with viagra.

So, all you poor patients can relax now. You no longer have to wrestle with your consciences as ACP members prescribe vacuum tubes and hormone injections for your ED. All that uncertainty whether to follow this advice has gone. Your doctor will now officially be allowed to prescribe a little blue pill to resolve your problem. Have all these leaders in scientific thought been hiding under a rock for the last ten years? What are they thinking? How can it inspire confidence in the medical profession to make a formal announcement today about something patently obvious to the rest of the world for the last ten years? This is an incredible moment in time. Ladies and gentlemen, the truth has finally come in from the cold. It’s official. Buy viagra with confidence. It is better than all the old hormone treatments and other silly pieces of equipment that occasionally appeared in the bedroom. Pop a pill and your ED is gone!

Product liability insurance coverage

January 7th, 2010 Cat: health with 1 Comment

Some insurance policies covering business include product liability coverage that is connected to the production and marketing of goods to the consumers. This type of insurance coverage protects the seller or the producer from liability due to malfunctioning or defects of the product claimed by the final customer. In case this coverage makes part of a general liability insurance policy for the business, it is also referred to as called products-completed operations coverage.

In order to understand how much importance this type of coverage may have for your business, it is important to fully understand the consequences of not having it. When you don’t have such insurance coverage, your business can face on of the following three types of claims:

1) Malfunctioning or defunct product – Such claims can arise due to errors or defects during the manufacturing process, rendering the final product defunct or even unsafe to use. One of the most recent examples of such claims are legal actions against Chinese manufacturers due to the use dangerous chemicals in the production process.

2) Defects in design – Claims of this type are caused by an initially unsafe or even dangerous design of the product. The infamous Pinto claims the Ford company had to face in 1970′s are probably the most memorable examples of such claims.

3) Unreliable warnings – These claims arise from improper labeling or instructions of the product that don’t warn in full about the potential risks and hazards of the product’s use. Think of the “coffee case” filed on McDonalds to understand better.

What people get from these claims is mostly economic and compensatory damages, medical bills and in some cases court and attorney’s fees. And if you think that a business relatively big can face such claims without serious drawbacks, think again, because there were just too many businesses both big and small that went down due to legal action like that.

Those who deal will selling and reselling products and goods are not likely to have any benefits from such coverage, at first sight. Such economic agents are simple distributors and most claims are filed against product manufacturers. But this doesn’t mean that they will not face legal action too. Some states call sellers and distributors together with manufacturers to legal responsibility for putting the product into the market and exposing customers to risks.

That is why, in case your company deals with products or goods, it is important to carry this type of business insurance coverage. Part of this coverage may be already present in your standard business insurance policy, however it makes sense to learn to what extent does this coverage protect you and if the limits are too low for your enterprise, than it would be better to tailor the policy for meeting your exact needs.

The rates on such type of business insurance depend on the volume of goods produced (or distributed), which directly determines the risk of facing a claim. Remember, that it’s virtually impossible to avoid errors, defects and mistakes, and it will cost you quite much if you don’t have product liability insurance for protecting your business assets if a claim is filed against you.

Giving your pet the right health insurance

January 6th, 2010 Cat: Financial Services, health with No Comments »

If you think pet insurance is a bad idea- think again. It is totally brilliant. It is not new as it was available for as long as we can remember it but people never questioned it or considered it seriously. United States of America brought it up again recently and now pet lovers all over the world try to keep up with the US pet-owners. There is such thing as pet insurance plan and there is also a policy to go with it. This policy has been suitable in many cases known and we are happy to inform you that with the help of this article you will get a chance to know more about the pet insurance.

Pet insurance companies have had certain innovations lately. Some people that tested those companies say they got better, others do not agree with them.

It is true that it requires a real specialist to treat an animal because unlike people they can’t tell us what’s hurting them. Veterinary medicine is not really based on any type of insurance. There is no such thing as cat or dog emergency. There is only care for the animal in any state it is in.

Nowadays veterinary policies became quite alike to human insurance policies. Their plans resemble. Both have premiums, deductibles, and various coverage types but of course with the latter, the decision depends on the pet -owner. The type of policy he chooses for the pet – that one will the pet be treated under. Plans are also based on species, their age, pre-existing conditions and sometimes even the lifestyle of the pet.

There are companies that only insure pets starting from a certain age. When they are 6 or 8 weeks old pets can be brought in to get insured. They also have some restrictions and age limit, but that can totally range – one company will still insure a pet that is 20 years old, others won’t allow it when the pet is 10.

The policy itself differs in the price. For some people it can be very affordable, some may consider it cheap or on the contrary – too expensive. It also depends on the package you are about to get. There are comprehensive packages that include: regular checkups and vaccine procedures, simple care, preventive drugs and spay surgeries. There are also packages that only include maladies and illnesses of the pet. Those ones are the cheapest.

But what is this pet insurance is no good for you?

Well you can check with the pet doctor. There are vets that have their own packages that they offer to their clients within the hospital. You might want to consider that every now and then. You can also search up for the online pet insurances. Usually they come with good discounts that you just can’t get by. And there is also such variant as non-profit organizations that provide pet-care to animals for free.

It doesn’t really matter what you do as long as you try to protect your pet. Get health insurance quotes from internet, find the pet section and read it good. If there are any questions you want to know answers for – please email us. Health insurance quotes are always there to guide you through. Do it for your pet, it truly deserves it for being a “loyal friend of the human”.