The Daily mail to the rescue

much of the medical news reported on the NYTimes newfeed is excellent, with nuances and expert opinions.

But for ordinary folks, I used to refer my patients to the national enquirer...the British equivalent of this is the UKMail.

So today's headlines:

Eating Brussel spouts helps fertility

if it's the folic acid content, then maybe a pill would work just as well.

Viagra suppositories might stop menstral cramps.

you know that "bloating" feeling? Well, a good orgasm will make it go away... and viagra, by increasing the blood supply, will help remove the congestion...ditto for men suffering from a similar syndrome.

 Can watching the eye movement when you look at a picture help diagnose your disease?

when we hypnotized people, we check the "eye roll" to see if their neurophysiological ability to be hypnotized. (look up, and slowly close your eyes looking up. If you see a lot of white eye, they are easily hypnotized, easily persuadable, more creative, and more prone to conversion reactions. No white eye, and you have a scientific type who can't be hypnotized).

But in both cases, medicine, fatigue, and nervousness could mess up the results.

finally the good news: Deaths from common cancers are down, due to earlier diagnoses and better treatment.

the cancer picture has changed since I started medical school.

Bowel cancer used to be mainly in the rectal area, and now is rarely there, and more common upstream...lung cancer used to be a men's disease, but now is common in women...breast cancer is found much earlier and usually is cureable when found (ditto for prostate cancer)...and now we rarely see cancer of the stomach, and when we find it, it is usually a lymphoma...