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Wednesday Bubble: Got Steam?

Posted by Liz on Mar 28, 2012 in Uncategorized, women's health | 0 comments

This one’s a doozie and I knew when I saw it that it was Bubble material!

Vaginal steam. Have you heard of it?

This 600-year old Korean remedy better known as “chai-yok” is suddenly taking hold in spas in the West. The practice, which entails an infusion of 15 or so herbs into a pot of water, over which a woman sits on an open seated stool, is believed to maintain uterine health, rid the body of toxins and even promote fertility. The two primary herbs in the concoction are mugwort, a perennial that is part of the daisy family, believed to have antifungal and antibacterial properties and is often used herbally for menopausal and menstrual complaints, and wormwood (the key ingredient in absinthe), which is often used to detoxify and in some circles, is believed to quicken childbirth.

Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the beneficial effects of steam; when was the last time, for example, that you took a steam bath? Nevertheless, despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary, there is nothing to suggest that steaming the va jay jay is going to yield much benefit beyond cleansing, improving circulation and an overall good feeling (if that’s your thing).

And there’s even a DIY home kit with an open stool available for a mere $330.

Hmmm.

Got steam?!!

It’s not okay. A Friday post on a Thursday evening

Posted by Liz on Mar 15, 2012 in Uncategorized | 12 comments

I tend to stay away from politics on Flashfree unless it directly affects women’s health; hence Wednesday post about Senator Nina Turner’s Viagra Bill. Yet, I caught the image below in my Facebook stream today and it truly disturbed me. There seems to be a trend in our country where decorum has been thrown out the window, bad behavior is acceptable and racism, ageism and genderism (is that an ‘ism?) are back in full force. And okay.

Guess what? It’s not okay.

When I was growing up, if we cursed in my home, we got our mouths washed out with soap. I grew up with generations of strong women, including my mother, and was taught at an early age to be assertive, stand up for myself and be smart when it came to business and to women’s rights. This was the 60s and 70s. And yet, here we are in 2012 and women’s health rights are under attack, it’s not acceptable to speak another language in a country that was once almost completely made up of immigrants and rude and disrespect in politics is the norm, not the exception (remember Joe Wilson ‘you lie?’).

I recall being in Washington Square Park on September 11, 2001 and meeting with friends to mourn what had happened in our City. One of us happened to be an Egyptian from Canada who was also a Christian and  a professor at NYU. And yet, he was stopped three times before meeting us.

Three times.

We appear to be at a crossroads in our country, where ‘either you are with us or you are against us’ truly resonates. The truth is, it appears that if you are not a white, Christian male, you. are. not.

But this, this here?

I am appalled.

Frankly, I don’t give a flying ‘you know what’ side of the aisle you vote on or if you are a Tea Partyer who believes that the world is made up of black and white and white always prevails. But this, below, is NOT okay. And this is not what my ancestors, Jews from way back in Russia and Austria who long faced anti-semitism and other challenges, fought to achieve for so many decades. My grandfather, an attorney in Long Beach, NY, donated his time to multiple causes, including civil rights, most likely because he knew first-hand what prejudice was about.

I’m not interested in returning to the days of ‘a woman’s place is in the home while pregnant and barefoot’ anymore than I am willing to delegate my friends of colour to a different status. I don’t believe that love is defined by gender and I don’t ascribe to the viewpoint that if you don’t believe that Jesus is a savoir, then you are relegated to hell. Life? It’s a free for all.

“Don’t “re-nig” in 2012.”

This is NOT okay.  Period. End of story.

Want to know what health is? Health, as defined by the World Health Organization, is “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Right now? We are on the brink of a social crisis and our nation’s health is being threatened – – by ignorance, hatred, anti-women, anti-Jew/immigrant/black/hispanic/asian jerks who only believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong.

You may not like Obama or his policies (hell, I don’t). But It’s time to wake up.

The last time I checked, this battle had been fought already. Evidently, there are a lot of people out there who are drawing the lines again.

I like to colour outside the lines.

What about you?

Wednesday Bubble: Viagra bill?

Posted by Liz on Mar 14, 2012 in Uncategorized, women's health | 3 comments

With the latest attack on women’s reproductive freedoms coming from conservative male politicians, Ohio State Senator Nina Turner decided to fire back…with her own bill: The Viagra Bill, AKA Bill 307.

According to Senator Turner, who appeared on MSNBC this week, this bill is focused on showing “men [as much] love in the reproductive health arena as they have shown us over the years…and making sure that we look out for men’s sexual health.” Turner claims that the bill, which would require men seeking a prescription for erectile dysfunction to first discuss the problem thoroughly with their physician to determine whether the underlying problem is medical or ‘mental,’ and then follow up with a sex therapist before receiving a prescription. She adds that “we have to make sure we guide men to make the right decision that maybe these drugs may not be the best decision for them to make. Celibacy is always na option or natural remedies.” However, Turner also makes it clear that this is about setting and leveling the playing field. The full copy of Bill 307 can be found here.

I’ve got to hand it to the senator; she is certainly hitting those male policymakers who want to control abortion and contraception (and attacking single mothers to boot) where it hurts most – their groins. And she’s not alone.  Turner is among a few female state senators in the nation who are fighting the attack on women’s rights with sarcasm, joining OK Senator Constance Johnson and her ‘Every Sperm is Sacred’ amendment and VA Senator Janet Howell’s amendment requiring men seeking erectile dysfunction prescriptions to first undergo digital rectal examinations and cardiac stress testing.

If anything, these bills provide fodder for the argument for gender equality, and particularly, women’s health rights. Regardless of which side of the aisle you reside, you’ve got to admit that we’ve reached the point of absurdity. With a tanking economy, millions out of work and continuing foreclosures, is reproduction truly a priority?

What do you think? Sometimes humour hits the hardest. Below the belt? It really can sting.

A retraction

Posted by Liz on Feb 11, 2012 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Yesterday, I posted an infographic about bad science that focused on researchers cutting corners. I was reluctant to post it namely because I don’t especially care for infographics. Where I felt short, however, was in my failure to properly vet the data. The irony runs deep on this, namely because the point of the post was to help you, dear readers, learn how to discern good information from bad. Clearly, I didn’t do my own due diligence.

Science writer and AVP of Research Communications at Ohio State University Earle Holland dissected the infographic in his post, A graphic misrepresentation, aptly noting that “science as a subject is all too often seen by the public as too complicated to understand. It’s a normal tendency for people to reach out for, and maintain, simpler notions that require less work.”

There are a lot of bad data floating around on the web, particularly when it comes to medical information. Unfortunately, many members of media tasked with writing about studies don’t always have the proper training or time to do their homework; business pressures to publish, sensationalize and draw readers often takes precedence over careful reporting. That, coupled with the immediacy of news in the age of social platforms creates a gap between information and communication that may not be properly bridged.

I stand by my recommendations to do your homework, use your head when reading a news story, and to take advantage of tools that are out there, such as criteria for reading news stories developed by Gary Schwitzer and his crew over at HealthNewsReview.

Meanwhile? I promise to keep my promise to do the homework so you don’t have to.

Enjoy the weekend!

In the spirit of giving…help me pay it forward

Posted by Liz on Dec 26, 2011 in Inspiration, Uncategorized | 13 comments

2011 is soon going to be a distant memory and for some of us, that timing is none too soon. For me, this was a year of challenge and upheaval — emotionally, physically and relationship-wise. And yet, I am grateful to be here with a roof over my head, friends and family who I cherish, two cats who drive me crazy but are the sweetest companions one could ask for and some guaranteed work heading into the New Year. I have had loved ones go through difficult times with their health and emerge stronger and healthier, while others that I know are about to go on the merry-go-round once more. And yet, I remain faithful that this too (whatever this is), shall pass.

A few weeks ago, a colleague gave me a gift unlike any other I received this year, one that reminded me that regardless of the stress and turmoil that has formed daily life through the last quarter of the year or health challenges that I have been facing, that there is always someone less fortunate than I. The gift was the gift of love and charity, one that enabled me to select a cause near and dear to my heart and contribute. Mind you, I give throughout the year so the donation was not what made me stop but rather, the reminder. And for that, I am grateful.

So, I want to extend that gift to you, dear reader, because we are only as strong as the weakest among us. I am challenging you to peruse the 2011 archives and tell me in the comments which post made you stop and think, caused you to pause or resonated the loudest. At the week’s end, I will place the comments in a hat and send one reader a $50 donation card to the online fundraising site Razoo, where she/he too, can make a small difference in someone’s or some organization’s life.

Won’t you help me spread to word and pay it forward?

I would be truly grateful.

Wishing you a flashfree holiday!

Posted by Liz on Dec 23, 2011 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

peace, love, light and  joy to you and yours’.

See you on Monday!