The Dangers of RU 486: A Warning from 25 Years Ago
By Helen Borel, R.N.,Ph.D.
[This article was originally published in the Fall 1992 issue of
REVOLUTON: The Journal of Nurse Empowerment. I wrote
this impassioned treatise after I read this major book on the so-
called “morning-after pill” – RU 486: Misconceptions, Myths
and Morals by Janice G. Raymond, Renate Klein and Lynette J.
Dumble; Institute on Women and Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 1991, 152 pp.]
Reading RU 486: Misconceptions, Myths and Morals by
medical ethics professor Janice G. Raymond, biologist Renate
Klein and surgeon and immunosuppression expert Lynette J.
Dumble will lead nurses to only one conclusion. That is that
the media blitzkrieg promoting RU 486 as an abortifacient is
a commercial conspiracy to reinflict on females the pain and
mortal dangers of fertility control we thought 20th century
woman had finally escaped
At the outset, let me emphasize that this expose’ of the perils,
pain and prolonged suffering patients are subjected to on
RU 486 – the supposed miracle “antigestational” pill – in no
way impugns the potential benefit of such antiprogesterones
for other conditions or for important research into potential
treatments for ovarian and breast cancers. That said, to
reveal a quantum of truth-challenging manufacturer Roussel
Uclaf’s devious claims of safety, simplicity and painless
“morning-after” dosage, this critique intentionally publicizes
the terrible side effects and long hours, days, even weeks of
agony and risks RU 486 patients endure.
Nightmare in Womb Care
Making RU 486 even more terrifying, it is now given in
tandem with prostaglandins (Pgs). This is because adding
a PG a few days after RU 486 is taken “...reduces abortion
failure from 40% to the current failure rate of 5%. While
PGs partly salvage the reputation of RU 486, they subtract
from any claim it is safe,” assert the authors, in whose
152-page report you’ll find the nursing and medical truths
about the RU 486/PG protocol that has been buried in the
euphoric frenzy whipped up in the media by Roussel’s
deceit. This books should be read by every woman of
childbearing age, as well as by her sons and lovers. Of
course, it is required reading for all RNs.
The Pharmacologic Rape of Pregnant Women
The authors report, contrary to popular myth, that the
RU 486/PG protocol is “a highly medicalized, multi-step
procedure which, for many women, involves continuous
suffering and pain.” A patient approaching the medical
system for simple pregnancy termination is in for a rude
(sic) awakening. Her first visit to a clinic, a physician,
or a hospital oriented to “chemical abortion” subjects her
to a complete physical and pregnancy test, plus a vaginal
ultrasonography and/or a chorionic gonadotropin test. But
what she came for is withheld. Instead, because of legal
constraints, she is forced to wait 24 hours or more before
initiation of the protocol, further disrupting her life with
expensive, intrusive visits, emotional duress and the
added burden of hidden, simmering anger at these medi-
cal abuses of her personal rights.
At the second visit, she takes three RU 486 tablets in the
presence of a nurse. Never is the drug taken without a
prescription, nor alone at home! She returns to receive
parenteral, oral or vaginal PG about 36 to 48 hours later.
Thus far, although she has made three medical visits, her
pregnancy remains intact. Compare this cruel process
with a swift D&C (dilatation and curretage, a minutes-
long surgery emptying the uterine contents) which would
have been long over by now – the patient well on her
way to physical and emotional recovery.
Again, there is a pelvic exam. And, since the occurrence
of two PG-induced “cardiovascular accidents” [?heart
attacks?] in France, RU 486/PG patients, like our heroine,
must remain reclining, having her blood pressure taken
both during PG administration and every half-hour
thereafter, with emergency equipment and drugs immedi-
ately at hand.
The Long Painful Wait
The patient usually stays like this for three to four hours
awaiting medically supervised embryonic expulsion.
Unfortunately, too many RU 486/PG patients, like
her, undergo and unconscionably prolonged wait at
home – for many more hours, days, or weeks –
where expulsion occurs unattended, where her
usually severe symptoms will be endured alone
without essential nursing care.
Alone, she will suffer long, drawn out nausea,
vomiting, bleeding and labor-like pain, all the time
risking even worse complications. Paradoxically,
having done without crucial nursing care throughout
the actual abortion process, she now must return to
the doctor to be sure it’s complete. This subjects her
to yet another pelvic examination, another vaginal
sonography and/or another chorionic gonadotropin
test. The hard stuff she does alone. The easy stuff
the doctor does.
The ultimate coup de grace is delivered if she turns
out to be one of the two-to-13.4% of RU 486/PG in
whom the drugs do not work, except for creating
suffering and danger. She then must submit to still
another ironic intrusion – a surgical abortion (D&C)
after all.Such is the much-lauded, private, so-called
risk-free, comfortable, antigestational drug – the
one-dose women’s liberator pill! And thus, Roussel
has the last cynical laugh on those feminists
uncritically supporting this pharmaceutical menace.
The Feminist Mistake: Sleeping with the Enemy
Some feminists have made a terrible mistake. Ditto we
feminist nurses. In our rush to protect our reproductive
freedoms, we are on the brink of forfeiting our pelvic
health, our future fertility, our very lives. The Feminist
Majority, for example, ignorantly disseminates a packet
of medical articles on RU 486/PG, each co-authored by
at least one Roussel researcher, that includes no dissent-
ing medical or nursing voices challenging Roussel’s
false claims of safety and simplicity. The world’s
women are not only being victimized by the lemming-
like media, but by some women who have failed to
interrogate, with rigor, the manufacturer. With an ally
like Roussel, feminists are in bed with their own worst
enemy.
Raymond, Klein and Dumble’s book challenges such
“uncritical promotion of RU 486/PG by women’s
rights groups.” And I challenge women’s groups to
first consult Registered Nurses for clinical facts on all
healthcare issues to prevent malignant deceptions like
this one from spreading and harming the public. The
Feminist Majority, lacking rudimentary knowledge of
the kinds of severe suffering and clinical tragedies
associated with RU 486/PG, totally avoidable with
curettage (D&C), are igniting heavy consumer demand
for a regimen of misery. And so, American feminists
have succumbed to the Roussel Uclaf lie.
Thus, having craftily egged (no pun intended) women
on to clamor for RU 486/PG, Roussel marketing execu-
tives have turned the tables, becoming the ultimate
beneficiaries. They have convinced feminists to support
the launching of RU 486/PG in the most lucrative drug
market in the world – the United States. Bravo to the
success of Roussel’s world media engineering and to its
clever manipulations of women’s groups. Demerits,
however, to those women and journalists who parrot
Roussel’s claims without thoroughly seeking out all the
facts, without concerned attention to the suffering and
death this quack-door drug butchery brings in its wake.
What is RU 486 and How Dangerous is It?
Roussel’s Mifegyne, generically mifepristone, is the
brand name of RU 486. Mifepristone, a 3-beta-hy-
droxysteroid dehydrogenase inhibitor, is an antigluco-
corticoid (works against cortisone-like substances)
which affects the pituitary-adrenal axis (that axis
involves the main brain gland and the adrenal glands).
It is also a progestin antagonist which blocks proges-
terone activity at specific receptor sites (remember,
progestins/progesterone support preganancy).
However, this in no way justifies calling it a
“morning-after” pill.Even though it is being touted as
a “contragestive” and is being pushed as “a new
approach to postovulatory fertility control,” its
pharmaceutical and clinical effects leave much to be
desired. Cloaking it in a mysterious-sounding code
name, instead of calling it what it really is, generically
and chemically, has lent it a legitimacy and scientific
aura totally unwarranted by the facts.
Mifepristone, no marvel, instead is fraught with
considerable dangers which are heightened by its
adjunctive use with prostaglandins. Not only does
the RU 486/PG regimen require several medical
visits plus endurance of unacceptable levels of
distressing symptoms without nursing or medical
care, but hemorrhage also frequently occurs, too
often requiring transfusion – especially ominous
in this era of AIDS. Moreover, there are clear risks
of anaphylaxis (allergic airway obstruction) and
death.
What are Prostaglandins?
Why are They Dangerous?
Endogenous (physiologic, in your body) PGs are
synthesized by the body as needed. They signifi-
cantly affect smooth muscle, platelets, the
endocrine system, adipose tissue, lymphocytes,
nerve endings and the central nervous system
(multiple physiologic tissues and functions
crucial to healthy existence).These short-acting
endogenous PGs, with their half-life lasting “a mere
fraction of a second,” respond to intricate micro-
physiologic regulation of their effects on these
target cells and tissues.
Not so with exogenous (external, synthetic)
PG analogs whose half-life lasts 18 to 24 hours.
“It is this extended half-life of synthetic PGs
which calls into question the ethics of PG-induced
pregnancy termination,” the authors caution. The
biological threat of exogenous, stable PGs is magni-
fied by the likelihood that a woman’s physiology
may be incapable of reversing prolonged systemic
exposure to what would normally be only brief
encounters with PGs. Systemic levels far exceeding
these fleeting amounts dangerously impact immune
function. Furthermore, say the authors, “There
simply would not be any PG requirement were
RU 486 the miracle pill its supporters proclaim.”
Rapid Collapse, Coma and Death from PGs
PG analogs (prostaglandin-similars) have been used
as immunosuppressants (dampers-down of the immune
system so immune function won’t overreact and cause
rejection) in kidney transplant patients; however,
Raymond and co-writers report, “In transplant patients
much smaller PG doses than those given with RU 486
inhibit immune response. Furthermore, PGs have been
used widely for years as abortifacients with painful and
tragic consequences. The reluctance of the medical pro-
fession to publish these results has created an unaware-
ness of just how dangerous PGs are for women.”
One French woman, “aged 26 years, collapsed three
minutes after an intraamniotic (within the sac holding
the embryo) PG-induced abortion at a university
hospital.” Despite immediate heroic measures, she paid
with her life. Her embryo was expelled six days post-PG
instillation, but she remained comatose until her death
approximately 4 weeks later.
Anaphylaxis with PG Use [anaphylaxis, usually an
allergic response, shuts down the respiratory system
preventing oxygen aeration, causing death]
Another woman went into anaphylactic shock 10 seconds
after PG instillation, suffering dyspnea (breathing difficulty),
violent nausea, stomach pain, bradycardia (slowed heartbeat)
and bodywide erythema (reddening of the skin). Two other
women experienced anaphylaxis, one immediately upon
PG administration, the other 30 minutes thereafter. A fourth
woman suffered nausea and vomiting immediately upon
PG administration, followed by bradycardia, severe
bronchospasm (like asthma, closing up of the bronchi,
the breathing tubes to the lungs) and cardiorespiratory
arrest (essentially, death). It took 30 minutes (with only
8 minutes before anoxia [oxygen lack] produces
permanent brain injury) to restore her cardiopulmonary
(heart-lung) function, crippling her with lifelong dementia
directly attributable to PG-induced anaphylactic anoxia.
Medical Marketing Madness
Because of their dangers, mifepristone (RU 486) analogs,
such as epostane, are contraindicated as abortifacients.
Although there are no indications mifepristone is any
safer, “RU 486 has survived and continues to be promoted
due to the extraordinary efforts of Roussel’s researcher
Etienne Baulieu, rather than on its scientific merit. In fact,
new RU 486 “cocktails” continue to emerge, one perfectly
timed to counter the announcement, in April 1991, of
that young French woman’s death due to RU 486 plus
“a small dose of sulprostone.” (sulprostone is a PG)
In a sinister speech, calculated to whitewash RU 486,
“Baulieu informed the French Academy of Sciences he
had devised a simpler way to use RU 486 and had
already confirmed, in 100 women, the safety of RU 486
plus a small dose of misoprostol. ”This despite manu-
facturer G.D. Searle’s clear warning that misoprostol,
an oral PG, is contraindicated in pregnancy, that it
causes incomplete abortion and hemorrhage! Deriding
Baulieu’s grandiose claims for RU 486/PG concoctions
comprising still other PG analogs, the authors worry:
“How many more health hazards will be contrived
before RU 486/PG-based abortion is finally abandoned?”
Roussel’s Thesaurus: Euphemisms for Pain and Peril
Considering Roussel’s global ambitions for this dangerous
protocol, never has caveat emptor held such urgency.
Rationalized by Roussel “scientists” as a benign technology
to circumvent legislated obstacles to safe, swift curettage,
this Draconian punishment, visited upon women worldwide
– if we let it – only adds injury to insult for half the world’s
population. For, despite Roussel’s euphemistic veilings of
the bloody truth, RU 486/PG is not a safe alternative to D&C.
Money-driven pharmaceutical moguls have a vested interest
in promoting toxic drugs to women – despite their dangers.
Since when, anyway, has the male commercial animal or the
male medical tycoon shown true concern for women’s
health? We have only to look at carcinogenic DES, teratogen-
ic thalidomide and immune-compromising silicone breast
implants to grasp the mindset of Drug Man, Government Man
and Medical Man. Only after irremediable damage becomes
widespread do these characters alter their identities and come
riding in like the cavalry, wearing the mantle of rescuer.
They all must have been out to lunch during the pre-marketing
trials of these dangerous products.
I refer here largely to physicians, who are supposed to protect
us, who work for the FDA or who do research and clinical
trials for drug and medical device manufacturers. And these
hypocrites ask us to trust them! Still, in the case of RU 486/PG,
kudos are in order for the Food and Drug Administration.
Because, so far, the FDA has kept Roussel’s gynecocide off
the American market.
Nurses Must Lead a Public Outcry against RU 486/PG
Nurses must speak out about this menace. By virtue of our
education, knowledge and clinical experience, we have the
authority to do so. We are the experts in patient care. We are
the experts who attend a patient’s suffering and death. We are
the caring professionals left to relive the nightmares of
botched chemical abortions, of horribly rapid uterine
hemorrhage (exsanguination, “bleeding out”), of the death of
a young girl or a woman who leaves motherless children
behind. We are the ones who really know. We must not
remain silent.
Because Roussel’s misleading claims conflict with the truth,
we must counsel patients, family and friends against falling
prey to irrational popular demands for this dangerous combi-
nation of drugs. The facts, laid bare in this important book,
provide a powerful context from which to challenge the moti-
vations of the World Health Organization, population
councils, drug corporations, and government health ministries
of all nations who approve this kind of drug warfare against
the world’s women.
In calling for an immediate worldwide ban on RU 486/PG –
Roussel’s Roulette – we will affirm for females everywhere
that women patients are unwilling to pay the price for corpor-
ate profiteering and medical greed. We, the nurses of America,
must tell the purveyors of this drug that we are unwilling to
be martyred by a pharmaceutical wire hanger!
(C) Copyright 1992-2015 Dr. Helen Borel. All rights reserved.
For permissions and purchases of medical articles here, please
contact me at: medical-healthalerts@earthlink.net
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Friday, June 12, 2015
RN REFUTES "HERO" STATUS for EBOLA RNs and MDs
By Helen Borel, R.N.,Ph.D.
Introductory Discussion
[On November 17, 2014, I sent this refutation (see my
article, way below) to opinion@nytimes.com from which
I never received a response. Nor did The New York Times
ever discuss this topic in its newspaper, nor at their online
venue...an imperative angle missing from the vast
arenas of medical journalism and general journalism.
[Therefore, since I believe Americans and citizens of the
world everywhere have a right to know the truth about just
what infectious disease practices comprise in the
professional lives of EVERY NURSE AND DOCTOR
ON THE PLANET, I’m hereby exposing this truth.
[And, as a bedside practitioner of Nursing in various Manhattan,
NYC hospitals for years, I know firsthand what I’m talking
about...unlike those worshipful “Ebola journalists” who forgot
to ask simple and crucial questions, such as:
1. “What about all other serious and deadly infections?”
2. “Everyday, how do RNs and MDs protect themselves while
providing quality care in hospitals, clinics, ERs, operating rooms,
doctors’offices, school nursing venues, etc.?”
3. “Are all worldwide healthcare professionals HEROES AND
HEROINES? Or have you simply been doing your jobs, the ones
you signed on for when you chose your careers?”
4. ”What depth of knowledge about the causes and treatments
of various infectious diseases do Nurses and Doctors have?”
5. ”What are routine hospital procedures for various deadly
infections not caused by the Ebola virus?”
6. ”How does a Hospital RN handle an infectious disease
patient?”
[Finally, Number 7. Ask any RN or MD: “Does your
bedside care and treatment of patients with deadly
infections make you HEROIC?” I’m sure the answer to this
one is a resounding, “No, it’s simply a part of my job...and I
know what I’m doing...and I know how to protect the infected
patients, other patients, fellow professionals, myself and my
family and friends by following mandated protocols.”
[Why didn’t our journalists dig for the whole truth instead of
glorifying a couple of self-serving folks who fell into the trap
of self-worship...at the peril of the larger society?
[Herewith, then: The truth to counter the “mantle of glory”
that superficial journalism has bestowed, foolishly, on health
professionals whose daily work with an unfortunate infectious
disease (Ebola) does not significantly differ from the everyday
work of doctors and nurses everywhere working with all
manner of deadly infectious diseases on Earth.
[Ask any Nurse or Physician, in any Healthcare Community
or Hospital Setting and you’ll learn the real truth about dire
infections and their common treatments and handlings in all
healthcare institutions everywhere.]
THE EBOLA RN and THE EBOLA MD
ARE NOT HEROIC
(This is the article I proposed to The New York Times)
By Helen Borel
At the outset, before I shine a different light on the brouhahas
stirred up by the Ebola-exposed Maine nurse and the Ebola-
exposed New York City physician, let me declare: There's
nothing "heroic" about medical people taking care of
patients with infectious diseases!
Attaching the honorific "hero" to RNs and MDs who take care
of patients with various contagious diseases overseas exposes
the pitiful void in journalists' reporting, even among medical
journalists...like Sanjay Gupta, MD and Elizabeth Cohen,
PhD...of what comprises the best Nursing Care and Medical
Care in every hospital here and abroad.
Dr. Gupta surely knows everything I'm about to convey here;
but I don't know Dr. Cohen's level of clinical knowledge.
Even 'though a medical reporter, I don’t know if she has any
healthcare credentials at all.
In any event, neither of these latter have declared the most
obvious known to all healthcare clinicians on Earth -
We ALL take care of patients with highly infectious,
often fatal, diseases every day in every conceivable
clinical circumstance you can imagine.
Every RN and every MD in every hospital in the
United States, and in every hospital the world over, is
profoundly educated, clinically practiced and acutely
alert on a moment-to-moment basis about simple infections,
life-threatening infections, fatal infections - bacterial, viral,
fungal, prion-caused (Creuzfeldt-Jacob/Mad Cow disease)...
and about their prevention, treatment, survivability
and transmissability.
My own experience caring for
patients with severe and fatal
infectious diseases is vast and varied.
Such a wide variety of these have I nursed from acute illness to
health, in most cases; but some, too ill, succumbed. Looking
back, I’m amazed at the scope of infectious disease challenges
I was faced with as a hospital RN. Some of these diseases were
(and still may be) awful in their siege on my patients’ immune
defenses and on their sufferings. Many are still deadly infections.
I will list, here, but a few of the kinds of
infectious disease cases I was challenged to provide
nursing care for. They’ve included: Typhoid Fever
(Salmonella typhi); Encephalitis; Meningitis;
Shingles (Herpes zoster) of the face, eye and brain;
and in the years before the Sabin and Salk vaccines,
Infantile Paralysis (poliomyelitis) caused by the
poliovirus which left patients (most were little children)
paralyzed and in respirators (iron lungs), unable to
breathe for themselves as well as facing a wheelchair-
bound future in most cases.
All of these patients required the kind of nursing care in which I,
the RN, would be in continuous contact with the patient’s needs...
feeding, changing dressings, bathing, encouraging, exercising,
administering medications, giving intravenous fluids and other
treatments, following up on physiotherapy orders and medical
prescriptions....All these patients were
DEATHLY ILL AND CONTAGIOUS!!!
And in the 80s, before everything was known about it
and others feared it, I volunteered to take care of
AIDS patients as a private duty nurse in hospitals.
I never got sick from any of these cases. Nor did I ever
transmit any of these afflictions to any other patients, colleagues,
family members. Not to anyone. We were taught our anatomy,
physiology, and every other related medical subject and were
steeped in our training in general patient care.
Likewise, we were in-depth taught and experienced in
everything about all known contagious diseases and how
to protect ourselves and everyone else when we’ve been
in contact with such patients. All utilizing Isolation
Technique which all RNs and MDs use everywhere in the
world every day.
In fact, a major reason for
the existence of hospitals
in the first place is to prevent,
anticipate, treat and cure infections.
The above clinical experiences give me the authority to discuss
my disgust at the selfish behaviors of the “Ebola-exposed” nurse
and doctor in a rational way, and unlike anything any “journalists”
provided to the media.
Very important, too, another part of Nursing Care beyond
the physical is the emotional well-being of our patients.
It's our job to create a healthy mental atmosphere for our
patients which is known to help their physical illnesses heal more
rapidly. In this regard, the publicity-hungry nurse who focused
on herself forgot about the myriad of her co-professionals who
do the same infection-control and treatment work daily
throughout the United States...and worldwide, including in Africa.
And she ignored the distress of her community and the wider
American citizenry worrying about the "viral menace" she so
valiantly fought, she thought, regardless that her ego-mania
put the spotlight on her and forced communities to provide her
legal and other resources, instead of them focusing on what to
do should the Ebola virus become something to combat here,
on what to do for the entire community - not just for
nurse-narcissist.
She, instead added foolishly to public worry (and wasted valuable
governmental focus and resources). This is a disgrace. Shame on
her for smudging our profession with her selfish incapacity to take
three weeks off, read some books, request what additional
accommodations she needed to make herself more comfortable,
and quietly endure the short inconvenience to achieve peaceful
emotions in vast numbers of our citizens.
I rest my case about her unconscionable behavior...and the same
applies to that Manhattan MD who actually was Ebola-contagious
while he was running around the city bowling, eating out, in
contact with his girlfriend, etc....requiring hospitalization later.
Instead of Nurse Complainer and Doctor Thoughtless
arriving from Africa like conquering heroes in their own
minds, what they both needed to do as quality Nursing and
Medical Professionals was to simply have compassion for the rest
of society. Whatever they did over there is easily
comparable to what every nurse and doctor do here in
America every day - treat infection, prevent infection...
and also minimize worry in the vulnerable.
Nurse Complainer and Doctor Thoughtless treated
infection over there in Africa; however, preventive precautions
and emotional empathy were lacking in both for their American
compatriots.
© Copyright 2014, 2015 Dr. Helen Borel. All rights reserved.
For permissions and purchases, contact me at:
medical-healthalerts@earthlink.net
Introductory Discussion
[On November 17, 2014, I sent this refutation (see my
article, way below) to opinion@nytimes.com from which
I never received a response. Nor did The New York Times
ever discuss this topic in its newspaper, nor at their online
venue...an imperative angle missing from the vast
arenas of medical journalism and general journalism.
[Therefore, since I believe Americans and citizens of the
world everywhere have a right to know the truth about just
what infectious disease practices comprise in the
professional lives of EVERY NURSE AND DOCTOR
ON THE PLANET, I’m hereby exposing this truth.
[And, as a bedside practitioner of Nursing in various Manhattan,
NYC hospitals for years, I know firsthand what I’m talking
about...unlike those worshipful “Ebola journalists” who forgot
to ask simple and crucial questions, such as:
1. “What about all other serious and deadly infections?”
2. “Everyday, how do RNs and MDs protect themselves while
providing quality care in hospitals, clinics, ERs, operating rooms,
doctors’offices, school nursing venues, etc.?”
3. “Are all worldwide healthcare professionals HEROES AND
HEROINES? Or have you simply been doing your jobs, the ones
you signed on for when you chose your careers?”
4. ”What depth of knowledge about the causes and treatments
of various infectious diseases do Nurses and Doctors have?”
5. ”What are routine hospital procedures for various deadly
infections not caused by the Ebola virus?”
6. ”How does a Hospital RN handle an infectious disease
patient?”
[Finally, Number 7. Ask any RN or MD: “Does your
bedside care and treatment of patients with deadly
infections make you HEROIC?” I’m sure the answer to this
one is a resounding, “No, it’s simply a part of my job...and I
know what I’m doing...and I know how to protect the infected
patients, other patients, fellow professionals, myself and my
family and friends by following mandated protocols.”
[Why didn’t our journalists dig for the whole truth instead of
glorifying a couple of self-serving folks who fell into the trap
of self-worship...at the peril of the larger society?
[Herewith, then: The truth to counter the “mantle of glory”
that superficial journalism has bestowed, foolishly, on health
professionals whose daily work with an unfortunate infectious
disease (Ebola) does not significantly differ from the everyday
work of doctors and nurses everywhere working with all
manner of deadly infectious diseases on Earth.
[Ask any Nurse or Physician, in any Healthcare Community
or Hospital Setting and you’ll learn the real truth about dire
infections and their common treatments and handlings in all
healthcare institutions everywhere.]
THE EBOLA RN and THE EBOLA MD
ARE NOT HEROIC
(This is the article I proposed to The New York Times)
By Helen Borel
At the outset, before I shine a different light on the brouhahas
stirred up by the Ebola-exposed Maine nurse and the Ebola-
exposed New York City physician, let me declare: There's
nothing "heroic" about medical people taking care of
patients with infectious diseases!
Attaching the honorific "hero" to RNs and MDs who take care
of patients with various contagious diseases overseas exposes
the pitiful void in journalists' reporting, even among medical
journalists...like Sanjay Gupta, MD and Elizabeth Cohen,
PhD...of what comprises the best Nursing Care and Medical
Care in every hospital here and abroad.
Dr. Gupta surely knows everything I'm about to convey here;
but I don't know Dr. Cohen's level of clinical knowledge.
Even 'though a medical reporter, I don’t know if she has any
healthcare credentials at all.
In any event, neither of these latter have declared the most
obvious known to all healthcare clinicians on Earth -
We ALL take care of patients with highly infectious,
often fatal, diseases every day in every conceivable
clinical circumstance you can imagine.
Every RN and every MD in every hospital in the
United States, and in every hospital the world over, is
profoundly educated, clinically practiced and acutely
alert on a moment-to-moment basis about simple infections,
life-threatening infections, fatal infections - bacterial, viral,
fungal, prion-caused (Creuzfeldt-Jacob/Mad Cow disease)...
and about their prevention, treatment, survivability
and transmissability.
My own experience caring for
patients with severe and fatal
infectious diseases is vast and varied.
Such a wide variety of these have I nursed from acute illness to
health, in most cases; but some, too ill, succumbed. Looking
back, I’m amazed at the scope of infectious disease challenges
I was faced with as a hospital RN. Some of these diseases were
(and still may be) awful in their siege on my patients’ immune
defenses and on their sufferings. Many are still deadly infections.
I will list, here, but a few of the kinds of
infectious disease cases I was challenged to provide
nursing care for. They’ve included: Typhoid Fever
(Salmonella typhi); Encephalitis; Meningitis;
Shingles (Herpes zoster) of the face, eye and brain;
and in the years before the Sabin and Salk vaccines,
Infantile Paralysis (poliomyelitis) caused by the
poliovirus which left patients (most were little children)
paralyzed and in respirators (iron lungs), unable to
breathe for themselves as well as facing a wheelchair-
bound future in most cases.
All of these patients required the kind of nursing care in which I,
the RN, would be in continuous contact with the patient’s needs...
feeding, changing dressings, bathing, encouraging, exercising,
administering medications, giving intravenous fluids and other
treatments, following up on physiotherapy orders and medical
prescriptions....All these patients were
DEATHLY ILL AND CONTAGIOUS!!!
And in the 80s, before everything was known about it
and others feared it, I volunteered to take care of
AIDS patients as a private duty nurse in hospitals.
I never got sick from any of these cases. Nor did I ever
transmit any of these afflictions to any other patients, colleagues,
family members. Not to anyone. We were taught our anatomy,
physiology, and every other related medical subject and were
steeped in our training in general patient care.
Likewise, we were in-depth taught and experienced in
everything about all known contagious diseases and how
to protect ourselves and everyone else when we’ve been
in contact with such patients. All utilizing Isolation
Technique which all RNs and MDs use everywhere in the
world every day.
In fact, a major reason for
the existence of hospitals
in the first place is to prevent,
anticipate, treat and cure infections.
The above clinical experiences give me the authority to discuss
my disgust at the selfish behaviors of the “Ebola-exposed” nurse
and doctor in a rational way, and unlike anything any “journalists”
provided to the media.
Very important, too, another part of Nursing Care beyond
the physical is the emotional well-being of our patients.
It's our job to create a healthy mental atmosphere for our
patients which is known to help their physical illnesses heal more
rapidly. In this regard, the publicity-hungry nurse who focused
on herself forgot about the myriad of her co-professionals who
do the same infection-control and treatment work daily
throughout the United States...and worldwide, including in Africa.
And she ignored the distress of her community and the wider
American citizenry worrying about the "viral menace" she so
valiantly fought, she thought, regardless that her ego-mania
put the spotlight on her and forced communities to provide her
legal and other resources, instead of them focusing on what to
do should the Ebola virus become something to combat here,
on what to do for the entire community - not just for
nurse-narcissist.
She, instead added foolishly to public worry (and wasted valuable
governmental focus and resources). This is a disgrace. Shame on
her for smudging our profession with her selfish incapacity to take
three weeks off, read some books, request what additional
accommodations she needed to make herself more comfortable,
and quietly endure the short inconvenience to achieve peaceful
emotions in vast numbers of our citizens.
I rest my case about her unconscionable behavior...and the same
applies to that Manhattan MD who actually was Ebola-contagious
while he was running around the city bowling, eating out, in
contact with his girlfriend, etc....requiring hospitalization later.
Instead of Nurse Complainer and Doctor Thoughtless
arriving from Africa like conquering heroes in their own
minds, what they both needed to do as quality Nursing and
Medical Professionals was to simply have compassion for the rest
of society. Whatever they did over there is easily
comparable to what every nurse and doctor do here in
America every day - treat infection, prevent infection...
and also minimize worry in the vulnerable.
Nurse Complainer and Doctor Thoughtless treated
infection over there in Africa; however, preventive precautions
and emotional empathy were lacking in both for their American
compatriots.
© Copyright 2014, 2015 Dr. Helen Borel. All rights reserved.
For permissions and purchases, contact me at:
medical-healthalerts@earthlink.net
Monday, June 8, 2015
HPV Vaccine Can Trigger Fatal Lou Gehrig's Disease in Girls
By Helen Borel, R.N.,Ph.D.
GARDISIL® Vaccine May be Linked to 3 Deaths from ALS
(Amytropic Lateral Sclerosis): More Public Health Data
Needed on Gardisil®'s Potential to Trigger ALS
(Amytropic Lateral Sclerosis): More Public Health Data
Needed on Gardisil®'s Potential to Trigger ALS
THIS IS A MEDICAL ALERT: Some girls, of the over 7 million
injected with GARDISIL® (Human Papillomavirus vaccine)(HPV),
a Merck biological, may have in common with the famous
Baseball Player, the tragic neuro-wasting disease, Amyotropic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
injected with GARDISIL® (Human Papillomavirus vaccine)(HPV),
a Merck biological, may have in common with the famous
Baseball Player, the tragic neuro-wasting disease, Amyotropic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
ALS ultimately suffocates the mentally alert patient. Also known
as "Lou Gehrig’s Disease" after it killed Gehrig's athletic agility;
ALS first attacks the arms & legs. Soon speech &
breathing are compromised. Then dysphagia (trouble swallowing)
sets in, making normal food and liquid intake impossible. Which
leads to more neuropathic wasting and death,a death by choking
...why many such patients wish to choose a more
merciful manner of death.
as "Lou Gehrig’s Disease" after it killed Gehrig's athletic agility;
ALS first attacks the arms & legs. Soon speech &
breathing are compromised. Then dysphagia (trouble swallowing)
sets in, making normal food and liquid intake impossible. Which
leads to more neuropathic wasting and death,a death by choking
...why many such patients wish to choose a more
merciful manner of death.
Ominously, there have been 3 reported deaths of
young girls who contracted ALS within a very near-
time-frame of receiving the so-called cervical-
cancer-vaccine-prophylaxis. But so far, Merck’s
spokes-scientists deny a connection.
young girls who contracted ALS within a very near-
time-frame of receiving the so-called cervical-
cancer-vaccine-prophylaxis. But so far, Merck’s
spokes-scientists deny a connection.
DESPITE THE POSSIBLE ALS-CONNECTION,
GlaxoSmithKline just got FDA Approval to sell its
Cervarix® for HPV-Prevention in Girls; while Merck
is FDA-approved to Expand its Gardisil® Market to
Include Young Men and Boys with Genital Warts
Hazardously, in this pharmaceutical world of unknowns,
now GlaxoSmithKline just received FDA approval to
market Cervarix for the same anti-cervical-cancer purpose.
And the FDA has approved the marketing to physicians of
Gardisil® for the indication of genital warts in young men
and boys.
GlaxoSmithKline just got FDA Approval to sell its
Cervarix® for HPV-Prevention in Girls; while Merck
is FDA-approved to Expand its Gardisil® Market to
Include Young Men and Boys with Genital Warts
Hazardously, in this pharmaceutical world of unknowns,
now GlaxoSmithKline just received FDA approval to
market Cervarix for the same anti-cervical-cancer purpose.
And the FDA has approved the marketing to physicians of
Gardisil® for the indication of genital warts in young men
and boys.
A Moratorium on HPV and Genital Warts vaccine
prophylaxis is Warranted until scientists are
convinced by further laboratory and/or clinical trials
that it doesn't incite the killer Amyotropic Lateral
Sclerosis Before we start forcing these questionable
vaccines on pubescent females and males, we need
to do further clinical tests to rule out any connection
between the delivery of Gardisil® to these
youngsters and the emergence of Amyotropic Lateral
Sclerosis. Making this concern public and announcing
the three deaths that occurred due to ALS, a mortality-
dealing neurologic condition possibly triggered by
Gardisil® vaccination, could encourage other cases in
affected families to be brought to the attention of the
CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and the FDA (Food
and Drug Administration).
prophylaxis is Warranted until scientists are
convinced by further laboratory and/or clinical trials
that it doesn't incite the killer Amyotropic Lateral
Sclerosis Before we start forcing these questionable
vaccines on pubescent females and males, we need
to do further clinical tests to rule out any connection
between the delivery of Gardisil® to these
youngsters and the emergence of Amyotropic Lateral
Sclerosis. Making this concern public and announcing
the three deaths that occurred due to ALS, a mortality-
dealing neurologic condition possibly triggered by
Gardisil® vaccination, could encourage other cases in
affected families to be brought to the attention of the
CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and the FDA (Food
and Drug Administration).
They would then alert physicians to ALS as a possible hazard,
to provide informed consent with this added new knowledge
about this dire risk and to weigh the risk of cervical cancer
(a treatable condition) against the breath-robbing neurologic
downhill course of ALS, about which doctors can do nothing.
to provide informed consent with this added new knowledge
about this dire risk and to weigh the risk of cervical cancer
(a treatable condition) against the breath-robbing neurologic
downhill course of ALS, about which doctors can do nothing.
I welcome readers comments and any specific information you
may have that may add more light to this subject. I often note
that many Rx products are brought to market prematurely (in
Beta form, if you will), before all the kinks have been worked
out in research and development, in animal studies, and in
clinical trials...unfortunately, leaving the sick general
public to suffer untoward consequences, some
peramanent disabilities and pain, some mamings,
some deaths. Unconscionable!
may have that may add more light to this subject. I often note
that many Rx products are brought to market prematurely (in
Beta form, if you will), before all the kinks have been worked
out in research and development, in animal studies, and in
clinical trials...unfortunately, leaving the sick general
public to suffer untoward consequences, some
peramanent disabilities and pain, some mamings,
some deaths. Unconscionable!
A Caution to these Vaccine Marketers:The rush to market
by drug industry profit-seekers, especially with Rx products
that are not urgent, open wide invitations to expensive
personal injury and medical negligence lawsuits.
by drug industry profit-seekers, especially with Rx products
that are not urgent, open wide invitations to expensive
personal injury and medical negligence lawsuits.
This Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine etiologic (causative)
link to the dreaded neurologic scourge ALS is a very
serious concern. Because it alerts healthcare professionals
and pharmaceutical manufacturers to use wisdom in
promoting vaccination against a not-so-problematic and
treatable cervical condition versus ALS, where sufferers
endure drastic neurologic decrements, and death with a
truly suffering and frightening last breath.
link to the dreaded neurologic scourge ALS is a very
serious concern. Because it alerts healthcare professionals
and pharmaceutical manufacturers to use wisdom in
promoting vaccination against a not-so-problematic and
treatable cervical condition versus ALS, where sufferers
endure drastic neurologic decrements, and death with a
truly suffering and frightening last breath.
© copyright 2009-2015 Dr. Helen Borel.
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
For permissions and rights, email me:
medical-healthalerts@earthlink.net
medical-healthalerts@earthlink.net
Monday, June 1, 2015
EpiPen on the Spot...When Bee Stings, Peanuts, or Other Allergens Cause Choking
PREVENTING DEATH FROM ANAPHYLAXIS
Recently, a young man asked me about his possible allergy to
yeast or barley because of a severe reaction he experienced
while drinking beer. First, I advised him to stay away from beer
altogether and also to avoid breads, soups, cakes, cereals
and any other foods that might contain components of beer.
yeast or barley because of a severe reaction he experienced
while drinking beer. First, I advised him to stay away from beer
altogether and also to avoid breads, soups, cakes, cereals
and any other foods that might contain components of beer.
Common Allergic Reactions and
Rare Allergic Anaphylactic Reactions
Rare Allergic Anaphylactic Reactions
I also urged him to get examined and tested by an Allergist - a
medical doctor specializing in immune system instigations of
rashes, itchings, bronchospasms (asthmatic attacks), sneezing,
wheezing, and laryngopharyngeal edema (swelling of the voice
box and throat) due to allergens (substances that produce
those allergic symptoms which can be life-risking).
medical doctor specializing in immune system instigations of
rashes, itchings, bronchospasms (asthmatic attacks), sneezing,
wheezing, and laryngopharyngeal edema (swelling of the voice
box and throat) due to allergens (substances that produce
those allergic symptoms which can be life-risking).
The most extreme allergic response is ANAPHYLAXIS -
complete airway impedence which prevents oxygen from
reaching the lungs.
complete airway impedence which prevents oxygen from
reaching the lungs.
Why a Person in Anaphylaxis Needs
an Immediate Epinephrine Injection
an Immediate Epinephrine Injection
But the first-hand account of a woman with a peanut allergy
who, upon eating some peanuts, experienced sudden itching
and swelling in the facial area with tightness in her throat, sent
shivers up my clinical nursing spine.
who, upon eating some peanuts, experienced sudden itching
and swelling in the facial area with tightness in her throat, sent
shivers up my clinical nursing spine.
In response to this dire emergency, she did everything
wrong and nearly died because she was totally
unprepared for her sudden ANAPHYLACTIC REACTION.
She had no emergency epinephrine (otherwise known as
adrenalin) with her. Also wrong, she tried to swallow
Benadryl® (diphenhydramine), an antihistamine. Then
she had someone drive her to an ER (Emergency Room)
at a hospital some distance away.
wrong and nearly died because she was totally
unprepared for her sudden ANAPHYLACTIC REACTION.
She had no emergency epinephrine (otherwise known as
adrenalin) with her. Also wrong, she tried to swallow
Benadryl® (diphenhydramine), an antihistamine. Then
she had someone drive her to an ER (Emergency Room)
at a hospital some distance away.
That she survived is a miracle. The delay in adrenalin
administration, the added delay while she tried to down the
diphenhydramine, and the long time elapse while she was
driven to the ER all could have killed her.
administration, the added delay while she tried to down the
diphenhydramine, and the long time elapse while she was
driven to the ER all could have killed her.
Don't Mishandle the Initial Manifestation
of Your Choking Episode
of Your Choking Episode
As soon as swelling, itching and pharyngeal (throat)
tightness intrude, take this syndrome very seriously!
tightness intrude, take this syndrome very seriously!
When you know you are allergic to nuts, to bee or wasp
stings, to shellfish, to strawberries, or to any other
allergenic substances, you must have EpiPen®
(epinephrine, same as adrenalin) on hand with you
at all times!
An Anaphylactic Reaction is Sudden, Alarming and
Breath-Taking! That's how serious your conditionis as soon as the swelling, itching and throat
symptoms start!
So, I was horrified to hear that this peanut-allergic woman told
her friends about her choking brush with death as though this
were a humorous tale. "You nearly died," I told her. "You
had an Anaphylactic Reaction. This is where the top of
your airway literally closes so that no oxygen can get to
your lungs. Death will be rapid in such cases unless the
airway can be opened stat! (Immediately!)"
"Next time...and I pray there won't be a next time...you should
not even consider walking to, or being driven to an ER. You
need emergency treatment right THEN AND THERE! As
soon as you notice the pruritis (itching), the edema
(swelling) in your mouth and throat, the dyspnea (difficulty
breathing), and BEFORE YOU START CHOKING TO DEATH!"
not even consider walking to, or being driven to an ER. You
need emergency treatment right THEN AND THERE! As
soon as you notice the pruritis (itching), the edema
(swelling) in your mouth and throat, the dyspnea (difficulty
breathing), and BEFORE YOU START CHOKING TO DEATH!"
THE TREATMENT IS EpiPen® (epinephrine, same as
adrenalin) which, now that you know you are sensitized to
peanuts, you absolutely must carry with you at all times.
adrenalin) which, now that you know you are sensitized to
peanuts, you absolutely must carry with you at all times.
Every allergic person should be aware of the availability
of EpiPen®. The unit is provided as a swiftly injectable
single-dose-syringe which you must not even wait to drop
your pants to take (that is how dire Anaphylaxis is). It is
meant to be given right through your clothing because
there isn't a moment to lose when an anaphylactic
reaction begins. There are two versions: one for
children under 12, the other (twice the child's dosage)
for patients 12 and older.
of EpiPen®. The unit is provided as a swiftly injectable
single-dose-syringe which you must not even wait to drop
your pants to take (that is how dire Anaphylaxis is). It is
meant to be given right through your clothing because
there isn't a moment to lose when an anaphylactic
reaction begins. There are two versions: one for
children under 12, the other (twice the child's dosage)
for patients 12 and older.
Please also note: It is never wise to take
Benadryl® (diphenhydramine) in these circumstances.
First of all, in anaphylaxis, you are in no condition to swallow
anything. Not only is your throat rapidly closing and
excluding oxygenation, the edema (swelling), inflammation
and related symptoms of this severe, life-threatening allergic
reaction also makes swallowing anything - a tablet, capsule,
water - impossible and an added danger by further irritating
the already inflamed pharynx (throat) and upper airway.
Benadryl® (diphenhydramine) in these circumstances.
First of all, in anaphylaxis, you are in no condition to swallow
anything. Not only is your throat rapidly closing and
excluding oxygenation, the edema (swelling), inflammation
and related symptoms of this severe, life-threatening allergic
reaction also makes swallowing anything - a tablet, capsule,
water - impossible and an added danger by further irritating
the already inflamed pharynx (throat) and upper airway.
Not only that, no pill or capsule I know of works immediately,
even if by some magic you managed to get it down. Most
oral tablets or capsules will take approximately 30
minutes to even begin to take effect, some longer,
rarely only 15 minutes.But even 15 minutes is too long
to save the life of a person in Anaphylactic Shock.
even if by some magic you managed to get it down. Most
oral tablets or capsules will take approximately 30
minutes to even begin to take effect, some longer,
rarely only 15 minutes.But even 15 minutes is too long
to save the life of a person in Anaphylactic Shock.
Please remember: The brain cannot be deprived of
oxygen for too long before you lose neurologic viability.
After 8 minutes of respiratory-oxygen-lack, the brain
suffers severely - a condition called hypoxia
(decrease in, or lack of, oxygen). So even if the heart
helps you survive, we'd not be able to revive the brain
to it's pre-hypoxic state.
oxygen for too long before you lose neurologic viability.
After 8 minutes of respiratory-oxygen-lack, the brain
suffers severely - a condition called hypoxia
(decrease in, or lack of, oxygen). So even if the heart
helps you survive, we'd not be able to revive the brain
to it's pre-hypoxic state.
Important Lessons to
Prevent Death from Anaphylaxis
Prevent Death from Anaphylaxis
(1) Never try to swallow anything during a choking
allergic reaction!
allergic reaction!
(2) Never attempt to leave the place you're at
during an Anaphylactic Reaction to get emergency
care elsewhere!
By the time you get to an ER, it is often too late.
DEATH IS RAPID IN THESE CASES.
during an Anaphylactic Reaction to get emergency
care elsewhere!
By the time you get to an ER, it is often too late.
DEATH IS RAPID IN THESE CASES.
(3) Once you know you are highly allergic,
ALWAYS CARRY AN EpiPen® with you from then on!
Your physician should prescribe this for you.
ALWAYS CARRY AN EpiPen® with you from then on!
Your physician should prescribe this for you.
(4) Have several EpiPen® units at home at all times.
And teach whoever is with you (in case you are too
incapacitated to perform the injection yourself...
usually in the thigh) how to use the EpiPen®.
It comes with detailed instructions and is simple to use.
And teach whoever is with you (in case you are too
incapacitated to perform the injection yourself...
usually in the thigh) how to use the EpiPen®.
It comes with detailed instructions and is simple to use.
(5) NEVER, NEVER, EVER, EVER EAT or expose
yourself to whatever you know you're allergic to
ever again!
yourself to whatever you know you're allergic to
ever again!
(6) You must follow these instructions to the
letter to keep yourself safe from now on.
letter to keep yourself safe from now on.
Allergies Run in Families...
So be Prepared for Your Children's Sakes
So be Prepared for Your Children's Sakes
Importantly, since tendencies toward allergies run
in families genetically, one's children or grandchildren
may be susceptible to allergic responses just like you...
maybe not from peanuts but from shellfish, or
strawberries, or something else, even from hymenoptera
(bees or wasps) stings. Epipen® - half the adult amount
in your syringe for kids under 12 - is appropriate if any
child in your family starts to choke after being stung
by an insect or upon eating something.
in families genetically, one's children or grandchildren
may be susceptible to allergic responses just like you...
maybe not from peanuts but from shellfish, or
strawberries, or something else, even from hymenoptera
(bees or wasps) stings. Epipen® - half the adult amount
in your syringe for kids under 12 - is appropriate if any
child in your family starts to choke after being stung
by an insect or upon eating something.
Epinephrine (adrenalin), however is
not the immediate treatment for food caught
in the trachea (windpipe); for that you do
the Heimlich Maneuver.
When you suspect the inception of anaphylactic
choking, don't wait more than a second or two
to make the decision! Epinephrine won't kill anyone
who isn't having an anaphylactic reaction, but it is life-
saving for someone who is. Please take this condition
seriously. Anaphylaxic Shock is life-threatening
and never a laughing matter!
choking, don't wait more than a second or two
to make the decision! Epinephrine won't kill anyone
who isn't having an anaphylactic reaction, but it is life-
saving for someone who is. Please take this condition
seriously. Anaphylaxic Shock is life-threatening
and never a laughing matter!
Remember: There is never enough time to travel
or walk or be carried to the ER. EpiPen® stat!!!
No deviation from that prescribed protocol. Ever!
or walk or be carried to the ER. EpiPen® stat!!!
No deviation from that prescribed protocol. Ever!
Only AFTER you've taken your epinephrine
injection, should someone take you to the ER for
follow-up monitoring and care!
injection, should someone take you to the ER for
follow-up monitoring and care!
Current Clinical Guidelines
Support My EpiPen ® Protocol
Support My EpiPen ® Protocol
According to Pediatric Professor
F. Estelle R. Simons, M.D.,1 from the Faculty of Medicine
of Canada's University of Manitoba at Winnipeg, recently
updated guidelines by the United Kingdom's Resuscitation
Council on "...emergency treatment of anaphylactic
reactions....stress the importance of an early call for help
from a resuscitation team or an ambulance. They
introduce the ABCDE approach (airway, breathing
circulation, disability [level of consciousness], and
exposure [of the skin]). They emphasise that prompt
intramuscular injection of adrenaline (epinephrine) is the
initial treatment of choice, along with other measures as
indicated....They also advise subsequent referral to an
allergy specialist for risk assessment and institution of
long term measures to reduce risk."
F. Estelle R. Simons, M.D.,1 from the Faculty of Medicine
of Canada's University of Manitoba at Winnipeg, recently
updated guidelines by the United Kingdom's Resuscitation
Council on "...emergency treatment of anaphylactic
reactions....stress the importance of an early call for help
from a resuscitation team or an ambulance. They
introduce the ABCDE approach (airway, breathing
circulation, disability [level of consciousness], and
exposure [of the skin]). They emphasise that prompt
intramuscular injection of adrenaline (epinephrine) is the
initial treatment of choice, along with other measures as
indicated....They also advise subsequent referral to an
allergy specialist for risk assessment and institution of
long term measures to reduce risk."
She points out that "Few published [Canadian] guidelines
are available on the treatment of anaphylaxis, but they all
agree that adrenaline [epinephrine] is fundamental for
acute management."
are available on the treatment of anaphylaxis, but they all
agree that adrenaline [epinephrine] is fundamental for
acute management."
Discussing the physiologic effects of epinephrine,
Dr. Simons elaborates that "Adrenaline prevents and
relieves laryngeal oedema [swelling] and circulatory
collapse through its alpha1 adrenergic effects. It provides
bronchodilation and reduces the release of histamine and
other mediators through its beta2 adrenergic effects.
A brief window of opportunity seems to exist, during
which even a relatively low intramuscular dose -
such as 0.3 mg [3 tenths of a milligram] -
is efficacious. Failure to inject adrenaline promptly
increases the risk of a biphasic anaphylactic reaction,
and death. Although adrenaline is sometimes blamed for
causing myocardial ischaemia [reduced blood flow to the
heart muscle] and cardiac dysrhythmias, anaphylaxis itself
can cause these problems before adrenaline is given.
Transient palpitations, tremor, and pallor after injection of
adrenaline reflect the anticipated pharmacological effects
of the drug."
Dr. Simons elaborates that "Adrenaline prevents and
relieves laryngeal oedema [swelling] and circulatory
collapse through its alpha1 adrenergic effects. It provides
bronchodilation and reduces the release of histamine and
other mediators through its beta2 adrenergic effects.
A brief window of opportunity seems to exist, during
which even a relatively low intramuscular dose -
such as 0.3 mg [3 tenths of a milligram] -
is efficacious. Failure to inject adrenaline promptly
increases the risk of a biphasic anaphylactic reaction,
and death. Although adrenaline is sometimes blamed for
causing myocardial ischaemia [reduced blood flow to the
heart muscle] and cardiac dysrhythmias, anaphylaxis itself
can cause these problems before adrenaline is given.
Transient palpitations, tremor, and pallor after injection of
adrenaline reflect the anticipated pharmacological effects
of the drug."
Finally, warns Dr. Simons, "In community settings...
even when [adrenalin is] readily available and
affordable [it is] underused during anaphylactic
reactions."
even when [adrenalin is] readily available and
affordable [it is] underused during anaphylactic
reactions."
So please, allergic people, carry your EpiPen®
with you at all times. And USE IT SWIFTLY,
ON THE SPOT. Don't let a sudden anaphylactic
reaction catch you unprepared
and choke the life out of you!
with you at all times. And USE IT SWIFTLY,
ON THE SPOT. Don't let a sudden anaphylactic
reaction catch you unprepared
and choke the life out of you!
1. Simons, F. Estelle R.: "Editorials: Emergency
Treatment of Anaphylaxis," British Medical
Journal, No. 336 (May 24) 2008, pp. 1141-42.
Treatment of Anaphylaxis," British Medical
Journal, No. 336 (May 24) 2008, pp. 1141-42.
© Copyright 2008-2015 Dr. Helen Borel.
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
For permissions and rights, email me at:
medical-healthalerts@earthlink.net
and type into the Subject line ANAPHYLAXIS
medical-healthalerts@earthlink.net
and type into the Subject line ANAPHYLAXIS
Interested in Psychiatric, Psychotherapeutic,
and Neuroscience issues and diagnoses?
Then visit the companion site to this one:
My PsychoTherapy Zone
here: http://PsychDocNYC.blogspot.com
and Neuroscience issues and diagnoses?
Then visit the companion site to this one:
My PsychoTherapy Zone
here: http://PsychDocNYC.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
