E-Borne Newsletter : November, 2005
Roger P. Freeman, D.D.S., Editor Roger@iAwareables.com
Dear friends and colleagues,
In case you've lost your lunar calendar, here's the situation: Halloween's over, Xmas decorations are already up, there's a turkey looming in your life (not you, dear), hurricane season is 30 days from old news and you're beginning to tremble at the thought of fruitcake. Gads, it must be November! Never fear - IA is here to help you get a grip, provide you with a few contagious gift notions, and keep you on the bleeding edge of recent high and lowlights in public...um, health.
PROCEED AT OWN RISK
- ANTIMICROBIAL HAND WASH...OR NOT?
- NO WORRIES! A NOBEL PRIZE
- FOODBORNE AGAIN: A PATHOGENIC PICNIC
- FALL FLU COLORS: TAKE A FLYER
- PLAQUE: BREAKING UP THE FAMILY
- MAD COW: I'LL TAKE MINE WITH MUSTARD
- AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION - Philadelphia, December 2005
- UK, AUSTRALIA DISTRIBUTORS
1. ANTIMICROBIALS: SEPARATING THE FACTS FROM THE OTHER FACTS
Antimicrobial soaps and washes have become increasingly popular, as awareness about the benefits of frequent hand washing spread. Here are some "facts" to help thoroughly confuse you:
Antimicrobials kill only about 2% more "bugs" than a good hand wash with soap, and will likely not provide any more protection. (But they do have the added advantage of being "substantive," i.e. their bacteria-killing properties may last for several hours.)
There are fears that overuse of antimicrobials could eventually result in strains of resistant bacteria, a serious and growing public health issue. (After several years of use, however, there is no real evidence that resistance has occurred due to their use.)
Handwashing is acknowledged to be the most effective approach to prevention or limitation of bacterial or viral transmission. (Use of convenient, "on-the-run" anti-microbial washes would seem to complement those efforts.)
Statistics about handwashing by personnel in hospitals are not reassuring. (But studies also show that if antimicrobial wash stands are provided and conveniently located, compliance improves considerably.)
[To help you make up your mind, and for more common sense paranoia you must check out Allison Janse's new book, "The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu.," The Guide was featured October 15 on 20/20 in a piece entitled "Germs, Dirty Dozen: Myths, Lies and Straight Talk." This is a keeper!]
2. NO WORRIES, MATE! A NOBEL PRIZE
23 years after discovering the H. pylori bacterium, Dr. Barry Marshall and Professor Robin Warren were recently awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine. The contribution these two Aussies made to public health, to the process of innovative research and to acknowledgment of sheer perseverance cannot be overstated. For years, these two scientists were thoroughly dissed by a dogmatic, often exclusionary research culture, even in face of mounting evidence.
By proving that infection with H. pylori could cause acute gastric illness, (Dr. Marshall infected himself as a live guinea pig), the work "produced one of the most radical and important changes in the last 50 years in the perception of a medical condition." Prior to their discovery, gastric ulcers were attributed to stress or spicy foods, and usually treated with antacids, bland diets or invasive surgery. Today, peptic ulcer disease can be cured with a short regimen of antibiotics and medication.
This ground-breaking work may prove to have additional benefits, i.e. in determining whether microbes loom as possible causes of other inflammatory disease, such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, atherosclerosis and arthritis.
[Ever feel like you're swimming upstream? Learn more about these two men and the challenges they faced - you'll feel a lot better. While you're at it, check out our acid-free H.pylori designs, for that distinctive, confident "no Worries" look.]
3. FOODBORNE AGAIN
Presenting the Six most likely candidates for bumming out your barby guests, cutting short your cruise, and bringing on the dreaded day-care porcelain polka! E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Shigella, Campylobacter and Norwalk - resplendently together, looking a LOT better than you might remember. A colorful "community" design, guaranteed to be a natty reminder to burn the burgers, keep the raw roosters and steers separated from the veggies, and thoroughly swab down all decks after the frolic.
4. FLU FLY BY
It hasn't jumped mano y mano as yet, and with a little luck it will stay birdborne. In any case, it looks a lot better on 100% silk than on a duck. Check out our new Fall Flu colors: garlic properties optional.
Store : Silver/Red, Navy/Red
5. HOME WRECKER: BREAKING UP THE PLAQUE FAMILY
Last newsletter we described the heartwarming story of microbial families gathering at enamel's edge, stylishly fermenting (in navy blue) on our new tie and scarf design. We know it's cold, but keep in mind that it's your job to rip these little families apart at every opportunity - three times a day, if possible. That is, if you want to keep those pearly whites of yours - well - pearly! The squeaky-clean truth is that the more successful you are at disrupting the protective biofilm harboring these microscopic mansonites, the more likely you are to keep the 'hood caries free.
Or, you can just wear our designs and keep providing your dentist with Wednesdays off!
Note: a portion of proceeds from Dental Plaque sales will be shared with Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures (OSAP) Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to safe, infection-free dental care. www.OSAP.org
6. TAX LAW, SAUSAGE and A SLIGHTLY ANGRY COW:
You've heard the old saw about the similarities between tax law and sausage, i.e. it's not real pretty to watch either one of them being made! Well, never thought we'd say it, but it may be that the tax law option rules.
Regs that limited the use of a cow's small intestine as casing for some sausages are being eased by the Feds. Except for the distal ileum, the small intestine is now cleared for use in your brats and 'dogs. Apparently, only the distal ileum remains off-the-table because it may still contain the prions that cause BSE (mad cow). The Agriculture Department says "not to worry," as it now knows more about how to separate the distal ileum from the small intestine.
Gulp. We'll try to be reassured by that, next Dodger Dog.
Store : Tie Burnt Orange, Tie Yellow/Red, Scarf
7. CONFERENCE SCHEDULE FOR BALANCE OF 2005
December: APHA American Public Health Association, Philadelphia
(relocated from New Orleans)
8. NON-US CUSTOMER ORDERS
Our INTERNATIONAL Distributors make life much easier for everyone.
Cheeper, quiker, convenienter. Feel free to contact them first to expedite
your orders:
AUSTRALIA: sales@southernbiological.com - www.southernbiological.com
UK/EUROPE: sales@bioquote.com - www.bioquote.com
Our gaudy, new 2006 brochures launch first week of November. Let us know if they fail to land in your neck of the woods.
Until our pre-Xmas, "the last minute approacheth" December Edition,
stay in wellness mode.
Awareabley yours,
RPF
Roger P. Freeman, D.D.S., and THE IA TEAM
