Polite Dissent

It was a busy week in the clinic. It seems that there’s a bronchitis mini-epidemic going on in town. Nothing too severe…more annoying for the patients than anything else. With all the coughing in the office this week, it sounded like there was a pack of seals in the waiting room (Is it pack? Or pod? What do seals hang out in? I’m fascinated by all the different names for groups of animals. My favorties are the gaggle of geese and the murder of crows.) Found this site on animal group names. Apparently there are several possible names for seal groups (including pod); the best is a harem of seals.

Some interesting medical news this week:

• Consumer Reports now rates prescription drugs on their Best Buy Drugs site. Their advice is pretty much right on the money on PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) and cholesterol medications (statins). They’re right about the NSAIDs, except that high dose ibuprofen and salsalate can be difficult on the stomach frequently. Still good advice and it looks like a good site.
• More and more Americans consider TV news a good place to get health information. Well, it’s better than infomercials and spam — but just barely. Here’s an interesting article: Ten Troublesome Trends in TV Health News. I’m certain you will have seen most of these problems your self. (Link from KevinMD)

Have a good weekend! I’m going to relax, attend a Christmas party or two, be grateful I’m not on call this weekend, and catch up on some comics and manga (Sgt. Frog, Love Hina, and Planetes). Don’t worry, the Comic Book Cover Advent Calendar will be updated daily, both here on the blog and at the calendar itself.