Dr. Howard Smith Reports

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/sfs_9FLNONI   As pollen counts rise in the spring and autumn, the incidence of viral respiratory disease significantly diminishes.   This from a Dutch analytic study just published online by the pre-print server medrixiv.org .   The investigators, noting that the seasonal flu incidence cannot be explained by weather alone, show that as both allergic and non-allergic p...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/7y_M8xSffv0   MDW, MDW, Mask, Distance, and Wash,   I can’t say it often enough.   Now a just pre-published study from Thailand’s Topical Medicine Research Unit puts numbers on the value of these critical public health measures.   Studying 1050 subjects either CoVid-infected or not, the researchers show that mask wearing reduces risk of CoVid infection by 77%.   Distanc...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/TmkLo6M6XTM   Calls to poison control centers have more than doubled during the CoVid pandemic, and the CDC now reports that 39% of more than 500 surveyed adults are engaging in dangerous and potentially lethal practices such as washing food with bleach, applying household cleanser and disinfectants to bare skin, or intentionally inhaling or ingesting disinfectants.  ...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/cq63U-eqU98   If you want to avoid CoVid and not give it to your mother, you’d better don a mask.   Look, the overwhelming evidence is that CoVid19 spreads primarily through the air.   Data shows that masks work: they already prevented 66,000 CoVid cases in NYC.   Those in China and Japan use them every year to stop the flu.   Cases are rising where people are careles...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/GOr3H64gQxw   The breastmilk of CoVid-infected mothers does not contain infectious virus.   Obstetricians, pediatricians, and virologists in Wuhan and Harbin China now report this finding in their study of 25 mother-infant pairs just reported online on the medrixiv.org pre-print site.   The breastmilk of the new mothers was analyzed for virus using quantitative PCR te...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/zQ4A9lO38kY   Two-thirds of children diagnosed with CoVid19 in Los Angeles had typical symptoms of a viral pneumonia.   This finding, reported by pediatricians at USC after their study of 35 children, contrasts sharply with other case series reported from China and elsewhere.   The median age of the kids was 12.5 years, and, as is typical, there was a preponderance of...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/93kifz07DxM   Of the first 1000 New Yorkers hospitalized for CoVid19, about one-third suffered serious kidney injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome.   Clinicians at Columbia University and the New York/Presbyterian Medical Center just published details on the largest American CoVid case series to date.   Focusing on the 24% of patients requiring ICU critical...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/-s0aMlSb4Xc   Oriahnn, a estrogen-progestin combo pharmaceutical, may now be prescribed for management of excessive menstrual bleed caused by fibroids of the uterus.   The two clinical trials of this oral medication revealed that the drug reduced bleeding between 7 and 8 fold.   This drug provides a non-surgical alternative to removal of the uterus for those women who...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/XU_CHhXXy44   Masks, eye protection and physical distancing each seem to have about equal impact on reducing your risk of a coronavirus infection.   Researchers at Canada’s McMaster University performed a global meta-analysis of 172 studies covering 25,697 patients.   While wearing face masks reduced the risk of infection the most, some 14%, eye protection reduced tha...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/aOyTd1xJVy0   Not all forms of HCQ or CQ are created equal..   A Chinese study just published by the online pre-print server biorxiv.org reopens the HCQ/CQ controversy with a bit of sophisticated organic chemistry.   Clinically available hydroxychloroquine is a blend of two mirror images of the same molecule, the left and right enantiomers.   The study shows that L-HC...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/2EiQ8xgDXQs   Singapore’s Health Ministry, now facing a resurgence of CoVid19 cases, rejects face shields alone as insufficient protection against transmitting or contracting coronavirus.   The official guidance statement underscores the fact that air gaps around face shield permit contaminated droplets and aerosols to travel freely.   The only persons permitted to we...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/huM7v68jnQg   Closing schools turns out to be the single best non-pharmaceutical way to halt CoVid.   This the conclusion of an international collaborative meta-analysis by university number crunchers in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.   The data from 41 countries show that school closings have a 58% effectiveness, restricting gatherings to 10 or fewer 24%,   closin...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/MC-G-qPAslw   The FDA and the Apotex Corporation announces recall of Apotex’s Metformin HCl extended release tablets. 500 and 750 mg tablets.   One lot of this medication was found to have dangerously high levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).   This agent is a probably human carcinogen.   Metformin is a medication for treatment of type 2 diabetes along with diet and...

  xvid https://youtu.be/gC4fRvoKGo0   The USDA has announced that P&S Ravioli Company”s raw beer ravioli may contain pathogenic E. coli bacteria.   This product is no longer for sale, but you might have some of it in your home freezer.   The 13 oz. package would be labeled “P&S Ravioli Company 12 Jumbo Meat Ravioli” with a use-by date of 11/30/2020, a lot code 20121, and the mark “EST 2736” inside...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/DSXxaY3BYdA   Women with a miscarriage history attempting to get pregnant may lose the fetus to aggressive exercising even before they know they are pregnant.   Epidemiologists at UMass-Amherst studied 785 high risk pregnancies in young women with one or two previous miscarriages.   Seven percent of the women suffered yet another miscarriage just as their pregnancy wa...

x Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/_IKYvN_pznk   Eighty-one percent of CoVid-positive passengers on an Antarctic cruise felt perfectly well yet were silently spreading virus to fellow passengers.   Australian researchers now report this finding in the BMJ-Thorax online journal.   The cruise embarked from Argentina in mid-March carrying all healthy passengers and crew with no one from the then-known CoV...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/tzgQN_rRl-k   Johnson Sea Products and the FDA have recalled frozen Johnson Home Style Crab Cakes.   This product has undeclared wheat and soy.   They pose a risk to those with wheat and soy allergies including those with gluten intolerance and celiac disease.   If you purchased these products, return them to the point of purchase for a full refund.   Consumers may re...

  https://youtu.be/3dlb0dbzWoc   Acela Pharmaceuticals and the FDA are recalling its generic Thyroid USP tablets.   The 30, 60, and 90 mg tablets are more potent than labeled by up to 115%.   Those taking this medicine for hypothyroidism may develop hyperthyroidism.   Symptoms of this disorder are heat intolerance, fatigue, weakness, high blood pressure, chest pain, rapid heart rate, arrhythmias,...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/sWFlHJgwZzY   The Primark US Corporation joins the CPSC in recalling its wide fit Kitten Heel Court Shoes.   This ladies pump shoe have an 1.5 inch heel.   The leather in sock of the shoe has dangerously high chromium levels that pose a risk of skin irritation.   If you have these shoes, stop wearing them and return them to the point of purchase for a full refund.   F...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/sjzTLDliR_w   Sanvali Enterprises and the CPSC are recalling   Rapid Alivio Pain Relieving Roll-On.   This product contains methyl salicylate but the packaging is not child resistant. If the contents are swallowed by young children , there is a poisoning risk.   If you have this product, return it   to the point of purchase for a full refund.   For additional informat...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/jkCdLaRoj9M   Expression of the gene that triggers ACE2 protein generation, the CoVid doorway into cells, is reduced in kids compared with adults.   Pediatricians and geneticists at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital report this finding after studying 305 subjects 4 to 60 years of age.   ACE2 gene expression in nasal tissue is the lowest in children age 10 or under.   Ge...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/6P4gvSFLg7g   Imitate your infant, and she or he will love you for it.   Swedish philosophers at Lund University report this conclusion following their observations of sixteen 6 month old infants.   Even very young children recognize when an adult is imitating their behaviors.   The babies focus attention longer and more consistently on those imitating them.   Their s...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/uU8-ThD0GcA   Alerting neighbors to the presence of coronavirus cases nearby can eliminate the need for lockdowns yet reduce case numbers by a factor of 260 and deaths by a factor of nearly 5,000.   Researchers at UC-San Diego studied the South Korean experience with institution of strict public health reporting and data sharing during this current pandemic.   As we i...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/TBH-PE9HL7Q   CoVid19 virus has been mutating, but the mutations don’t make the virus more transmissible.   Virologists at University College London nearly 16,000 worldwide genetic variations of CoVid.   Their data show none of the 31 recurrent mutations are associated with an increase in viral spread person to person locally or between regions.   In fact, 3 of the mu...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/ih3O1y7Jcuc   Herman Miller and Design Within Reach and the CPSC are recalling their Nelson and Lauki Dressers, Cabinets, and Chests.   These products fail to meet federal safety standards and may tip over, injure, entrap, and possibly kill children.   The products involved include Nelson Thin Edge Chest Cabinets, Double Dressers, Buffets, Chests, Cabinets and Lauki T...