Some birth control shows higher clot risk: US

Some birth control products, including contraceptive pills, rings and patches for women, carry a significantly higher risk of blood clot than low-dose medications, US regulators said Thursday.

The US Food and Drug Administration said in its review of studies that have included more than 800,000 women that the higher risks are posed by products such as the pill Yaz, the transdermal Ortho Evra patch, and the NuvaRing vaginal insert.

All three methods are "associated with an increased risk of VTE (deep venous thrombosis) relative to the standard low-dose" pills, the FDA said.

Featured in the study were pills that contain drospirenone, as opposed to another type of progestin known as levonorgestrel. Some brand names include Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz, Ocella, Loryna, Gianvi, Safyral, Syeda and Zarah.

Yaz is the second biggest selling product made by the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer, with 1.56 billion in global sales.

NuvaRing is a once-a-month vaginal insert made by Merck pharmaceuticals, and the weekly Ortho Evra patch is made by Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

The finding about clot risk associated with patches and rings are new and need to be replicated, the FDA said. A full discussion on the matter is scheduled for December.

These "continuous exposure" birth control methods "potentially result in higher sustained exposure to estrogen and hence, increased thromboembolic risk," the FDA warned.

The European Medicines Agency concluded on May 27 that such birth control pills carry a higher risk of venous thromboembolism and that warning labels should be updated accordingly.

However it noted the overall risk of blood clot from any birth control method remains small and stopped short of advising women to stop taking pills containing drospirenone.

The pills have been the focus of numerous lawsuits, including one lodged earlier this year on behalf of a teenager who died from a blood clot allegedly linked to the German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer's Yaz contraceptive.

Michelle Pfleger, an 18-year-old college student in North Carolina, died of cardiac arrest last September after taking Yaz, also known as Yasmin or Ocella, to treat acne, according to the complaint.

Two studies out this year in the British Medical Journal found that drugs like Yaz and Yasmin increase the risk of serious blood clots three-fold or two-fold compared to earlier-generation oral contraceptives.

The official Yaz website says the drug is associated with "increased risks of several serious side effects, including blood clots, stroke, and heart attack."

According to Glenn Jacobowitz, vice-chair of the division of vascular surgery at New York University, doctors have been aware of the risks of Yaz and similar pills for some time.

"The information on NuvaRing and Ortho Evra would be a new, but similar finding. This is certainly worrisome, particularly for women over age 35 and for smokers," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/birth-control-shows-higher-clot-risk-us-110905941.html

China hospital disposes of live baby

Health authorities in south China said Friday they were investigating a hospital medical team for mistakenly diagnosing a stillbirth and disposing of a baby that was alive.

The probe is taking place at the Nanhai Red Cross Hospital in the Guangdong provincial city of Foshan where the incident occurred on October 26, the Nanhai district health bureau said in a statement faxed to AFP.

According to the statement, Liu Dongmei -- eight months pregnant -- had been rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding and stomach cramps.

She later had an emergency birth, but the baby was neither breathing nor crying after leaving the womb and its skin had turned purple, it said.

Believing it was dead, the medical team disposed of the child but did not follow proper hospital procedures, the statement added.

The Foshan News, a local website, reported that when Liu's sister-in-law asked to see the body around 30 minutes after birth, she was handed a yellow plastic bag containing the infant and found it was still alive.

"I opened the plastic bag and saw the baby's hands and feet moving, the stomach was going up and down and air bubbles were coming out of his mouth," the paper quoted her as saying.

She was further shocked when she saw the baby was a boy -- not a girl as the family had been told, it said.

According to the Foshan News, nurses had told the family the child was a girl in an effort to blunt the blow of its death.

In China, baby boys are often viewed as more precious than girls, as many families can have only one child as part of the nation's population policy and desire a male heir.

Following the discovery, the newborn was rushed to intensive care where he remains in a stable condition.

Officials at the hospital refused to comment on the incident when contacted by AFP.

China's healthcare system -- once widely praised for improving the health of millions -- is now panned as costly, underfunded and providing shoddy treatment, especially in poorer regions.

Liu and her husband are seeking to sue the hospital for 300,000 yuan ($45,000), the Beijing News said.

The head of the maternity ward, a doctor and two nurses have been suspended pending the results of the investigation, it added.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/

Live Younger Everyday!

Did you find yourself struggling about your beauty? Do you feel uneasy applying certain kinds of blush-on or something? Just to be straight, do you feel ugly having dry skin, pale skin tone, full of wrinkles? Do you find it enjoying to eat foods that are synthetic or so-called processed foods? If yes, then do you know you are ugly as well as unhealthy at the same time? Do not worry about it we will mention some rescuing tips to save your beauty.

If you are a person who is spending so much money by buying many cosmetic products and just get disappointed by their by-effects? Do you know that putting too much cosmetics on your face can wear-off your face in the long run? It is really bad investing into many expensive items just to make you look beautiful in just a short moment but destroys the real beauty that God made for you forever?

Everyone has his or her own beauty; the problem is we don’t know how to show it or how to pull it out of ourselves and wave it to the world! I will give you tips and tricks on how to improve how you look safer, effective, and lasts even in the long run if maintained.

First, we should tackle about your food. You must eat God-given foods like vegetables and fruits. Quit eating biscuits and cookies you love to buy in department stores. Throw away those stocked junk-foods and foods containing preservatives. You must know what food is. Food is something we hunt or we grow. If we don’t plant it or hunt it, it is not FOOD. Just so you know jute leaves is what keeping Cleopatra beautiful? Yes! You heard it right, Cleopatra always take jute leaves in every meal she eats that is why she is stunningly beautiful. Jute is also called the miracle food it has tons of vitamins and minerals in it. And also you can grow it yourself.

Now we have to talk about your lifestyle. Slacking too much is bad for your beauty too. You should try squeezing some sweat out of your body every morning. Make it a habit going out jogging for 30 minutes every morning, because it can help take out those toxins in our body and it can help strengthen our lungs and our heart.

If you are a person who loves to stay up late at night just watching television, minimize it because it cannot contribute in making you beautiful. First thing comes first (if that is you want to look naturally beautiful). You should sleep at least 8 hours a day, too much is bad. You should keep rituals before bedtime also like stretching your muscles every night; it can help to make your muscles firmer. Stop drinking tea, coffee or soda. They contain some ingredient that may harm our body.

In addition to, you must also be mentally prepared. Remember, we are not just talking about physical appearance here. Maybe it is our main topic but to be beautiful is broad or covers some other aspects in our lives. We should apply positive attitude in all aspect of our life not in beauty alone.

Do you want more tips? Just keep following. I will be posting more of healthy tips soon! Stay tuned and remember to wear a smile every day! Nobody needs our smile other than those who have none to give. Smiling make us look younger.