Botanical Medicine Posts is a blog that was created on December, 24, 2008. It deals with issues related to holistic medicine. Holistic means Full Health: Mind, Body, emotions, and Spirit.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wisconsin--The First in Swine Flu in the US
Why is Wisconsin the first in Swine Flu cases? It is as far away from Mexico as it can be, and as close to Canada as it can be. Does anyone have an answer?
Swine Flu Cases in the US
The number has reached 27,717 cases with 127 deaths recorded as of June 25, 2009 (CDC reports).
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
19-12-5
These three numbers represent the percent of nitrogen/phosphorous/potassium needed for proper growth of plants. Nitrogen is captured from air; potassium is abundant on the planet; but not phosphorous. We have very limited amount of phosphorous left on Earth. China, USA, and Morocco are the three countries that they have enough deposits for phosphorous production. Morocco has approximately 40% of phosphorous reserve left on Earth. Phosphorous is the next "black gold" on the horizon in about a century. Most of US phosphorous is in Florida. Oil is on everybody's mind nowadays. Have you thought about phosphorous lately?
Sunday, June 21, 2009
North Carolina House Bill 842--Proposed (It is NOT a law yet)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT To establish the consumer health Freedom act for complementary and alternative forms of health care services and to facilitate access to alternative health care services.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. The General Statutes are amended by adding the following new Chapter to read:
“Chapter 90E.
“The Consumer Health Freedom Act.
“§ 90E‑1. Title.
This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as ‘The Consumer Health Freedom Act.’
“§ 90E‑2. Legislative findings and intent.
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) As many as 3,300,000 North Carolinians presently receive a substantial volume of health care services from complementary and alternative health care providers.
(2) Currently the State does not issue licenses to many practitioners who provide these services in North Carolina, and while the General Assembly has enacted licensing laws that establish respective licensing boards for health care professions, there are many complementary and alternative health care modalities in widespread use by the population that do not require licenses.
(3) Notwithstanding the relative safety and widespread use of complementary and alternative health care services by North Carolinians, the provision of many of these services may be in violation of G.S. 90‑18, and as such, North Carolinians who are clients of these practitioners could lose access to the health care services of their choice.
(4) North Carolina residents make a conscious choice in seeking complementary and alternative health care services for their health care. Their concern is to have continued and improved access to these services and the availability of practitioners of homeopathy, naturopathy, herbalism, and many other alternative healing modalities.
(5) Therefore, by establishing this act, the General Assembly intends to remove the restriction on, and facilitate access of, North Carolina residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are providing health care services not currently covered by existing medical licensing laws as these complementary and alternative health care services do not pose an undue risk to the health of North Carolina residents and restricting access to these services due to technical violations of the existing medical licensing laws is not warranted.
“§ 90E‑3. Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply in this Chapter:
(1) Complementary or alternative health care service. – Health care services that include, but are not limited to: acupressure; aromatherapy; ayurveda; biofield therapy; cranial sacral therapy; culturally‑based traditional healing practices; dance, music, and art therapy; energetic modalities; folk practices; practices utilizing food and dietary supplements; individual biological therapies, such as bee pollen, nutrients, and the physical forces of heat, cold, water, touch, and light; herbology or herbalism; homeopathy; therapeutic touch or bodywork; mind‑body therapeutic practices; Native American medicine; naturopathy; polarity therapy; reiki; traditional Tibetan practices; and Qigong.
(2) Complementary and alternative health care services provided by unlicensed practitioners. – The broad domain of health care and healing therapies and methods that are not prohibited by G.S. 90E‑4 and are provided by a person who is not licensed, certified, or registered as a health care practitioner in this State.
“§ 90E‑4. Prohibited acts.
A person who provides complementary and alternative health care services in accordance with this Chapter, but does not hold a license, permit, certification, or registration under Article 1 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes, shall not be in violation of G.S. 90‑18(c) for unlicensed practice or any other allied health occupation law for unlicensed practice unless the person engages in any of the following:
(1) Performs surgery or any other procedure that harmfully punctures the skin of a person except finger pricking for screening purposes.
(2) Prescribes or administers X‑ray radiation to any person.
(3) Prescribes or administers a legend drug, a legend device, or controlled substance to any person.
(4) Performs a chiropractic adjustment of an articulation of the spine.
(5) Performs massage therapy, except for a practice already exempt from massage therapy violations.
(6) Provides to a person a diagnosis or treatment of a health condition and as a result of these services willfully causes that person recognizable and imminent risk of significant physical or mental harm.
(7) Holds himself or herself out, states, indicates, advertises, or implies to any person that the person is a physician, surgeon, or medical doctor or that he or she is licensed, certified, or registered by this State to practice a health care profession.
“§ 90E‑5. Disclosure.
(a) Any person providing health care services under the provisions of this Chapter who is advertising or charging a fee for those services shall, before providing the services, disclose to the client in a plainly worded written statement all of the following information:
(1) The practitioner’s name, business address, and telephone number.
(2) That he or she is not a physician, surgeon, medical doctor, or other licensed health care professional and that he or she is not licensed, certified, or registered by the State of North Carolina.
(3) The nature of the health care services to be provided.
(4) The degrees, training, experience, credentials, or other qualifications of the practitioner regarding the health care services being provided.
(b) Before a practitioner provides health care services to a client for the first time, the practitioner shall obtain a written acknowledgment from the client stating that the client has been provided with the information described in subsection (a) of this section. The practitioner shall provide the client with a copy of this written acknowledgment, and the person providing the services shall maintain a copy of the acknowledgment for a period of two years. If the disclosure information changes, the practitioner has a duty to repeat the initial requirements of this section if a client obtains services after the change.
“§ 90E‑6. Exemptions.
(a) This Chapter does not affect the scope of practice or prevent any activities of a licensed physician or surgeon or any other licensed health care professional.
(b) This Chapter does not apply to, control, or prevent any health care practice from being practiced if it is already exempt from professional practice acts or State law.
(c) This Chapter does not apply to, control, or prevent a person from providing health care services if the individual is already exempt from professional practice acts under State law.
“§ 90E‑7. Remedies.
Nothing in this Chapter shall limit the right of any person to seek relief for negligence or any other civil remedy against a person providing services under the provisions of this Chapter.“
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective June 1, 2009.
AN ACT To establish the consumer health Freedom act for complementary and alternative forms of health care services and to facilitate access to alternative health care services.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. The General Statutes are amended by adding the following new Chapter to read:
“Chapter 90E.
“The Consumer Health Freedom Act.
“§ 90E‑1. Title.
This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as ‘The Consumer Health Freedom Act.’
“§ 90E‑2. Legislative findings and intent.
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) As many as 3,300,000 North Carolinians presently receive a substantial volume of health care services from complementary and alternative health care providers.
(2) Currently the State does not issue licenses to many practitioners who provide these services in North Carolina, and while the General Assembly has enacted licensing laws that establish respective licensing boards for health care professions, there are many complementary and alternative health care modalities in widespread use by the population that do not require licenses.
(3) Notwithstanding the relative safety and widespread use of complementary and alternative health care services by North Carolinians, the provision of many of these services may be in violation of G.S. 90‑18, and as such, North Carolinians who are clients of these practitioners could lose access to the health care services of their choice.
(4) North Carolina residents make a conscious choice in seeking complementary and alternative health care services for their health care. Their concern is to have continued and improved access to these services and the availability of practitioners of homeopathy, naturopathy, herbalism, and many other alternative healing modalities.
(5) Therefore, by establishing this act, the General Assembly intends to remove the restriction on, and facilitate access of, North Carolina residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are providing health care services not currently covered by existing medical licensing laws as these complementary and alternative health care services do not pose an undue risk to the health of North Carolina residents and restricting access to these services due to technical violations of the existing medical licensing laws is not warranted.
“§ 90E‑3. Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply in this Chapter:
(1) Complementary or alternative health care service. – Health care services that include, but are not limited to: acupressure; aromatherapy; ayurveda; biofield therapy; cranial sacral therapy; culturally‑based traditional healing practices; dance, music, and art therapy; energetic modalities; folk practices; practices utilizing food and dietary supplements; individual biological therapies, such as bee pollen, nutrients, and the physical forces of heat, cold, water, touch, and light; herbology or herbalism; homeopathy; therapeutic touch or bodywork; mind‑body therapeutic practices; Native American medicine; naturopathy; polarity therapy; reiki; traditional Tibetan practices; and Qigong.
(2) Complementary and alternative health care services provided by unlicensed practitioners. – The broad domain of health care and healing therapies and methods that are not prohibited by G.S. 90E‑4 and are provided by a person who is not licensed, certified, or registered as a health care practitioner in this State.
“§ 90E‑4. Prohibited acts.
A person who provides complementary and alternative health care services in accordance with this Chapter, but does not hold a license, permit, certification, or registration under Article 1 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes, shall not be in violation of G.S. 90‑18(c) for unlicensed practice or any other allied health occupation law for unlicensed practice unless the person engages in any of the following:
(1) Performs surgery or any other procedure that harmfully punctures the skin of a person except finger pricking for screening purposes.
(2) Prescribes or administers X‑ray radiation to any person.
(3) Prescribes or administers a legend drug, a legend device, or controlled substance to any person.
(4) Performs a chiropractic adjustment of an articulation of the spine.
(5) Performs massage therapy, except for a practice already exempt from massage therapy violations.
(6) Provides to a person a diagnosis or treatment of a health condition and as a result of these services willfully causes that person recognizable and imminent risk of significant physical or mental harm.
(7) Holds himself or herself out, states, indicates, advertises, or implies to any person that the person is a physician, surgeon, or medical doctor or that he or she is licensed, certified, or registered by this State to practice a health care profession.
“§ 90E‑5. Disclosure.
(a) Any person providing health care services under the provisions of this Chapter who is advertising or charging a fee for those services shall, before providing the services, disclose to the client in a plainly worded written statement all of the following information:
(1) The practitioner’s name, business address, and telephone number.
(2) That he or she is not a physician, surgeon, medical doctor, or other licensed health care professional and that he or she is not licensed, certified, or registered by the State of North Carolina.
(3) The nature of the health care services to be provided.
(4) The degrees, training, experience, credentials, or other qualifications of the practitioner regarding the health care services being provided.
(b) Before a practitioner provides health care services to a client for the first time, the practitioner shall obtain a written acknowledgment from the client stating that the client has been provided with the information described in subsection (a) of this section. The practitioner shall provide the client with a copy of this written acknowledgment, and the person providing the services shall maintain a copy of the acknowledgment for a period of two years. If the disclosure information changes, the practitioner has a duty to repeat the initial requirements of this section if a client obtains services after the change.
“§ 90E‑6. Exemptions.
(a) This Chapter does not affect the scope of practice or prevent any activities of a licensed physician or surgeon or any other licensed health care professional.
(b) This Chapter does not apply to, control, or prevent any health care practice from being practiced if it is already exempt from professional practice acts or State law.
(c) This Chapter does not apply to, control, or prevent a person from providing health care services if the individual is already exempt from professional practice acts under State law.
“§ 90E‑7. Remedies.
Nothing in this Chapter shall limit the right of any person to seek relief for negligence or any other civil remedy against a person providing services under the provisions of this Chapter.“
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective June 1, 2009.
US Cases
As of June 19, 2009 the number of H1N1 cases has reached a new high. The CDC reported the new number as 21,449 cases with 87 deaths.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Essential Oils
Essential oils, also known as volatile oils, are commonly used in botanical medicines for their antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. They should not be taken in their saturated form as they can cause irritation to tissues they come in contact with. Dilute volatile oils with vegetable oils prior to use.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Hygeia
Hygeia was the goddess of Health in ancient Greek. It is the symbol for spas and wellness centers. Picture on the right is courtesy of CDC.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Hawthorn
Hawthorn is a cardiotonic herb. The berries of Hawthorn are commonly used in herbal medicine. The picture depicts the dried berries of Crataegus Pinnatifida Bunge, or Hawthorn.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
New Predictions for H1N1 Cases in US
Based on recent data, we revised our models that we published in the past two weeks. Here are the new predictions for the cumulative number of cases in the US: (Actual reported values are in red)
May 20, 2009..........6160...............5710
May 21, 2009...........6544..............5764
May 22, 2009..........6928...............6552
May 23, 2009..........7313................No Report
May 24, 2009..........7697................No Report
May 25, 2009.........8081.................6764
May 26, 2009.........8465.................6764
May 27, 2009.........8850................7927
May 28, 2009.........9234
May 29, 2009.........9618
May 30, 2009.........10002
May 31, 2009.........10386
June 1, 2009..........10771
June 2, 2009...........11155
June 3, 2009...........11539
June 4, 2009...........11923
June 5, 2009...........12308
June 6, 2009...........12692
June 7, 2009...........13076
June 8, 2009...........13460
Thursday, May 14, 2009
H1N1 Predictive Model Modification
We reported on May 8, 2009 blog a predictive equation for H1N1 total cases in the US. We added the new data from the CDC and we modified the model for estimation. Based on this new model, we predict the total cumulative cases to be: (actual reported values are in red)
May 15.......9,312............4,714
May 16.......12,705..........No Report From CDC
May 17.......17,334..........No Report From CDC
May 18.......23,649.........5,123
May 19.......32,267..........5,469
May 20.......44,023
May 21.......60,064
May 22.......81,949
May 23.......111,809
May 24.......152,549
May 25.......208,132
May 26.......283,969
May 27.......387,438
May 28.......528,607
May 29.......721,215
May 30.......984,002
May 31.......1,342,540
June 1........1,831,717
June 2.......2,499,135
June 3.......3,409,738
June 4.......4,652,135
June 5.......6,347,221
June 6.......8,659,940
June 7.......11,815,339
June 8.......16,120,463
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Gene Composition of H1N1 Virus
It has been reported that the gene composition of Swine Flu virus was from human, pig, and bird origins. New findings revealed that the pig components in the gene structure of H1N1 viral matrix were totally unknown to North America. They were only found in Europe and Asia. Their presence in the American Continent remains a puzzle to the scientists, according to reports in the news.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Ovarian Cancer Detection
A new ongoing study from Britain reported early, but promising results on detecting ovarian cancer in postmenopausal women. The proposed and tested method on thousands of patients in this study showed that using an old blood test (developed in 1980s) called CA125 and intra-vaginal ultrasound combination could detect up to 90% of early ovarian cancer in this population. The American Cancer Society is awaiting the end of this study to make its conclusion in recommending this method (CA125 blood test + intra-vaginal ultrasound) to be a routine detection method in post-menopausal women, according to reports in the news.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Estimated Swine Flu Cases in the USA: A Warning
- The CDC announced today the new number of Swine Flu cases; it was 1639. If this trend continues as it has been since it began on April 23, 2009, the number of cases could increase exponentially. I present here a mathematical model to estimate the total number of cases in the next few days based on what we know so far about its trend. The model is shown in the figure on the right. Based on this model, the estimated total number of cases on the following days is given below. The actual reported cases will be given in red for comparison (CDC reporting figures):
- May 9, 2009 ........... 1,876.................2,254
- May 10, 2009 ......... 2,629..................2,532
- May 11, 2009 ......... 3,683..................2,600
- May 12, 2009.......... 5,161...................3,009
- May 13, 2009.......... 7,231...................3,352
- May 14, 2009.......... 10,131.................4,298
- May 15, 2009.......... 14,195
- May 16, 2009.......... 19,889
- May 17, 2009.......... 27,867
- May 18, 2009.......... 39,046
- May 19, 2009.......... 54,709
- May 20, 2009......... 76,654
- May 21, 2009.......... 107,403
- May 22, 2009......... 150,487
- May 23, 2009......... 210,852
- May 24, 2009......... 295,432
- May 25, 2009......... 413,941
- May 26, 2009......... 579,988
- May 27, 2009......... 812,642
- May 28, 2009......... 1,138,622
- May 29, 2009......... 1,595,364
- May 30, 2009......... 2,235,322
- Nay 31, 2009 ......... 3,131,990
- June 1, 2009 ......... 4,388,343
- June 2, 2009 ......... 6,148,666
- June 3, 2009.......... 8,615,117
- June 4, 2009.......... 12,070,951
- June 5, 2009.......... 16,913,045
- June 6, 2009.......... 23,697,476
- June 7, 2009......... 33,203,388
By June 7, 2009, and based on this model, about 10% of the population in the US will be infected with the virus. As any mathematical model, however, this estimation has its own limitations; it assumes that nothing will change in the natural history of the virus and the same conditions for its spreading continue to exist until June 7. The last episode of Swine Flu infection lasted about a month. This means, the virus could infect a total of 200,000 people nationwide by that date (May 23).
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Swine Flu Cases are on the Increase in the US
The number of cases has risen from a mere seven to 896 as of May 7, 2009 (today) at 11:00 AM (Eastern), according to the CDC. The US health agency also states that the figure might be higher than 896 due to slow reports arriving at the CDC.H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) Cases in USA
As of 11:00 A.M (Eastern time), the CDC has reported a total of 896 cases, with two death cases occurring in Texas. The cases were spread over 41 states (see chart; based on reported incidents by the CDC).
The Number of Swine Flu Cases Has Reached A New High
It is today over 900 documented cases in the US--over one-hundred folds increase since its start with eight cases. Only 10% of those infected in the US had traveled to Mexico, all others caught the viral infection locally. If this becomes pandemic, one-third of the world's population would be carrying H1N1 Flu virus. Let's hope not!
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Martians 15
A Face of A Martian (NASA Images)
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A Martian Lion (NASA Images)
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Figures of Martians Printed on Sands (Mars/Sol 1207/NASA Images)
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Martian Figures Printed on Sand (NASA Images)
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NASA Images: Imprints on Martian Rocks
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A little Martian guy printed in sand (NASA Images)
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A head statue found on Mars (NASA Images)
We the People...
Northeastern University Alumnus
Northeastern University
Northeastern University, Boston, MA