4 Diseases Doctors Get Wrong

Doubting your diagnosis? Read on to find out what you might really have.

Sometimes even the best doctors miss the mark: About 40 percent of all mistakes that M.D.s make are misdiagnoses, says the National Patient Safety Foundation. That's because many ailments have similar symptoms or can be detected only with tests that your physician might consider unnecessary if he's confident in his verdict. If you're in the know about often-confused conditions, though, you can ask the right questions to prevent or fix an error — and even save your life.

1. YOUR SYMPTOMS: Numbness on one side, headaches, dizziness, suddenly blurred vision, lack of balance or muscle coordination, and/or slurred speech

* The doctor says it's: Vertigo, migraines, or an inner-ear disorder
* It could be: Stroke

* Why the confusion? Research shows that 14 percent of stroke cases in people under 45 are misdiagnosed. When patients are young and otherwise healthy, ER staff might point to milder problems first. But if you leave the ER with an undiagnosed stroke, you could suffer another one. You may also miss the chance to reverse impaired speech or vision, paralysis, and brain damage.

* Red flags: If one side is numb or you have any combination of the listed symptoms, rush to the ER, especially if symptoms persist more than an hour.


2. YOUR SYMPTOMS: Headaches and/or ringing or aching ears, plus aching back, neck, and/or teeth

* The doctor says it's: Migraines or an ear disorder
* It could be: Temporomandibular joint syndrome

* Why the confusion? When the joint connecting your jaw and skull becomes inflamed, the pain radiates and causes headaches or ear problems. TMJ is best treated by a dentist, but the symptoms will likely send you to an M.D., who might diagnose you with something else. The price you'll pay? Serious pain that could easily have been alleviated.

* Red flags: If your doctor gives a tentative diagnosis without conducting any tests or prescribes meds that don't do the trick, head to a dentist.


3. YOUR SYMPTOMS: Fatigue or trouble breathing plus chest pain or tightness and/or palpitations

* The doctor says it's: Stress or panic attack
* It could be: Heart attack or heart disease

* Why the confusion? Heart attacks tend to be more subtle in women than in men: Fatigue or shortness of breath might be your only sign of a problem. In fact, up to half of female heart attack victims are initially misdiagnosed — and heart disease remains the top killer of women in America.

* Red flags: If your doc's recommended treatment doesn't help, see a cardiologist, pronto.


4. THE SYMPTOMS: Sadness plus fatigue, weight gain, insomnia, and/or muscle aches or stiffness

* The doctor says it's: Depression
* It could be: Hypothyroidism

* Why the confusion? Doctors tend to link persistent sadness with depression and might not think to test for hypothyroidism, a condition in which your thyroid gland fails to produce enough hormones. Left untreated, hypothyroidism can cause high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and (ironically) clinical depression.

* Red flags: If the meds your doctor prescribes don't lift your mood, request a TSH blood test to check for hypothyroidism. Better yet, ask for the test during your initial visit.

Source: http://women.webmd.com/features/4-diseases-doctors-get-wrong?ecd=wnl_hrt_120109

Tomato Seed Extract Thins Blood

Could millions of people trade in their daily dose of aspirin for tomato extract? On Monday, the European Commission, the European Union’s legal body, confirmed that the extract, patented as Fruitflow, contributes to healthy blood flow, and allowed manufacturers to use such claims in advertising. This is the first time such a health claim has been authorized by the Commission.

The allowance follows rigorous clinical trials out of Britain that suggest that foods and drinks fortified with Fruitflow have the same blood-thinning benefits as aspirin -- minus the harmful side effects, like gastric distress.

In 1999, while studying the particulars of the Mediterranean diet, Professor Asim Dutta-Roy, then at Aberdeen, Scotland’s Rowett Institute, found that a natural ingredient in the gel around tomato seeds promoted heart health, according to The Daily Mail. Dutta-Roy’s research showed that the tomato ingredient helped smooth platelets and prevent blood clots.

Blood clots form when platelets, usually smooth, produce tiny threads called fibrin, which is due to inflammation, according to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. They then adhere to one another, forming clots that block arteries leading to the heart. These clots can cause stroke or heart attack. Those at risk for such illness -- including men over 50, people with heart disease or a history of heart attacks, or those in poor health from smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, stress or high cholesterol levels -- often take aspirin for its blood-thinning effects. Aspirin therapy can also reduce the severity of a heart attack. However, aspirin increases the occurrence of gastric ulcers, abdominal bleeding and bleeding in the brain during a stroke.

Fruitflow, a ripe tomato extract that comes in syrup form, has not been shown to have any such negative effects. “To date, no side effects have been demonstrated during the development of Fruitflow,” Dutta-Roy told The Daily Mail. Instead, 10 studies -- two of which were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- reported that three grams of Fruitflow were effective just three hours after consumption, making platelets smoother while leaving the rest of the blood able to clot normally in the case of injury. Regular tomato juice is subjected to multiple processing methods that degrade the gel ingredient, rendering it far less effective than its concentrated form. Plain tomatoes are also less effective because the body must slowly digest all parts of the fruit.

Fruitflow is now used in Sirco Fruit Juice, a brand only available in Britain. Its manufacturers hope to introduce the colorless, tasteless, fat- and protein-free syrup to other foods like yogurt and margarine, and to sell it in tablet and capsule forms.

Source: http://www.aolhealth.com/healthy-living/longevity/fruitflow-tomato-seeds-blood-thinner?ncid=webmaildl4

Cities with best and worst tap water

Photo by Getty Images

How safe is the water that flows out of your tap? The answer very much depends on where you live.

It's now easier than ever for consumers to find out what's in their tap water. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) today released the results of a three-year investigation of municipal water supplies across the U.S.

The research and advocacy group looked at water quality tests performed by water utilities since 2004 and created an extensive database that contains info on the contaminants found in 48,000 communities in 45 states.

EWG also rated 100 big city (population over 250,000) water utilities. Below are the top and bottom results.

Cities with the best water:
1. Arlington, TX
2. Providence, RI
3. Fort Worth, TX
4. Charleston, SC
5. Boston, MA
6. Honolulu, HI
7. Austin, TX
8. Fairfax County, VA
9. St. Louis, MO
10. Minneapolis, MN


Cities with the worst water:
1. Pensacola, FL
2. Riverside, CA
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Riverside County, CA
5. Reno, NV
6. Houston, TX
7. Omaha, NE
8. North Las Vegas, NV
9. San Diego, CA
10. Jacksonville, FL


If you live in one of the few areas that weren't investigated, you can get an annual report of what's in your public drinking water. If your water comes from a well, then see the EPA's guidelines for those who use private wells.

The results of the investigation raise some concerns about municipal water supplies in the U.S. EWG says 316 different contaminants were found in the nation's tap water. The group also points out that more than half of those contaminants aren't regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Establishing more effective source water protection programs and developing enforceable government standards for contaminants would go a long way toward improving the nation's water supply, according to the EWG.

In the meantime, no one is suggesting that you go out and start drinking bottled water (although, of course, in emergency situations it can be necessary). Experts still agree that drinking tap is preferable to drinking bottled water. Bottled water is much more expensive than tap, it takes a huge toll on the planet, and it's not necessarily any safer than tap. "Bottled water is not regulated in the same way as tap water," says Olga Naidenko, a senior scientist at EWG. "With bottled water, consumers often do not know what they are getting, and 25 to 40 percent of bottled water on the market is simply tap poured into a bottle."

Knowing what's in your water is the key. Once you know which contaminants are present, you can find the best filter to get rid of them.

Source: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/110/cities-with-best-and-worst-tap-water.html