About Wearing a Mask…

I was blogging about an article, Does Wearing a Mask Protect Me?, and found myself getting angrier and angrier about all the propaganda (deliberate lies) we’ve been fed about how to protect ourselves from COVID.

“It’s been a real deficiency in the messaging about masking to say that it only protects the other,” said Charles Haas, an environmental engineer and expert in risk assessment at Drexel University.

“From the get-go, that never made sense scientifically.”

That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking all along, it seems so obvious. 

Of Course, Masks Protect the Wearer!

Does Wearing a Mask Protect Me? Some Evidence Says Yes – The New York Times – By Katherine J. Wu – July 27, 2020

People wearing face coverings will take in fewer coronavirus particles, evidence suggests, making disease less severe.

Researchers have long known that masks can prevent people from spreading airway germs to others — findings that have driven much of the conversation around these crucial accessories during the coronavirus pandemic.

But now, as cases continue to rise across the country, experts are pointing to an array of evidence suggesting that masks also protect the people wearing them, lessening the severity of symptoms, or in some instances, staving off infection entirely. 

Evidence-informed Person-Centered Healthcare

Evidence-informed Person-Centered Healthcare Part I: Do ‘Cognitive Biases Plus’ at Organizational Levels Influence Quality of Evidence? – PubMed – Dec 2014

As our medical system tries to implement Evidence-Based Medicine, it’s becoming more and more clear that the “evidence” isn’t the factual unbiased truth we expect.

Introduction: There is increasing concern about the unreliability of much of health care evidence, especially in its application to individuals.

• Cognitive biases,
• financial and non-financial conflicts of interest, and
• ethical violations

at the levels of individuals and organizations involved in health care undermine the evidence that informs person-centred care.  

Opioid supply crunch for U.S. coronavirus patients

Exclusive: Opioid supply crunch for U.S. coronavirus patients prompts appeal to relax limits – Reuters – Dan Levine – April 2, 2020

U.S. doctors running out of narcotics needed for COVID-19 patients on ventilators are asking the federal government to raise production limits for drugmakers, according to a letter seen by Reuters, after national quotas had been tightened to address the opioid addiction crisis.

It’s becoming ever more clear that the DEA has become an unacceptable impediment to healthcare delivery. They have no business regulating the practice of medicine when their purpose is the enforcement of the latest prohibition against an essential medicine.

The U.S. government sets annual limits on how much tightly regulated narcotics can be produced by pharmaceutical companies, and then allocates portions to various manufacturers.  

Only 1% Continue Opioids After Emergency Rx

Only 1 Percent of People Become Chronic Opioid Users After Hospital Prescriptions for Injuries, Study Shows – By Blake Dodge – Nov 2019

This destroys the myth of “heroin pills” that “cause” addiction after “just a few pills”. And this tiny fraction of patients could very well be the ones that suffered long term damage from the injuries that sent them to the ER in the first place.

People who are prescribed pain medication after they visit the emergency room for car crashes, falls and other types of acute injuries largely do not become addicted to opioids, a new study showed.

The results go against the widely held understanding…

It’s more like malicious ignorance due to a complete lack of understanding and, in some cases, a blatant refusal to understand. 

Post-op Pain Unaffected by IV Acetaminophen

Post-op Pain Unaffected by IV Acetaminophen After Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery – Pain Medicine News —Chase Doyle – Nov 2019

A study of perioperative IV acetaminophen in patients undergoing minimally invasive spine surgery has found no effect on postoperative pain.

However, that finding does not rule out its use for other surgeries, particularly more painful spine surgeries.

If it didn’t work for mild pain, how can they claim it would be useful for more severe pain? If opioids were studied and evaluated like this, they would be found effective for all kinds of pain. 

Only 1.3% of Overdose Victims Had Opioid Rx

Study Finds Only 1.3% of Overdose Victims Had Opioid Prescription — Pain News Network – By Pat Anson – Oct 2019

It’s long been a popular belief that prescription opioids fueled the nation’s opioid crisis and play a major role in overdose deaths. The CDC’s 2016 opioid guideline says as much.

But a new study by researchers in Massachusetts has turned that theory on its head. Prescription opioids are not usually involved overdoses.

And even when they are, the overdose victim rarely has an active prescription for them – meaning the medications were diverted, stolen or bought on the street.  

Delivering Quality Patient Experience without Opioids?

Reconciling the Opioid Crisis with Delivering Quality Patient Experience – Sara Health – Apr 2018

The nationwide opioid crisis has called into question the use of narcotic pain relieving drugs. But as clinicians work to prevent addiction, they face a quality patient experience quandary.

It seems that doctors are now expected to give equal weight to patient pain relief, opioid restrictions, and “customer satisfaction” reviews. The skills, experience, and professionalism of doctors have been devalued to little more than gaming “customer satisfaction” surveys.

Doctors are now just providers of standardized transactional “healthcare services” to customers, who are expected to shop around for the best value, the highest patient-satisfaction scores, and preferably both.  

Little evidence of opioid-induced hyperalgesia

Evidence of opioid-induced hyperalgesia in clinical populations after chronic opioid exposure: a systematic review and meta-analysis – Br J Anaesth. – 2019 Jun

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) is well documented in preclinical studies…

It’s such a trendy topic that I’m sure many researchers are looking for evidence that chronic pain patients only need high doses because they are suffering from “opioid-induced hyperalgesia”, which has still NOT been proven in humans.

…but findings of clinical studies are less consistent.

This isn’t surprising to most pain patients, who know the difference between their increasing pain and hyperalgesia. 

Indian industry in denial over drug-quality charges

Indian pharmaceutical industry in denial over drug-quality charges – STAT

Katherine Eban’s new book, “Bottle of Lies,” has focused a very intense spotlight on the mostly ignored transgressions of the Indian generic pharmaceutical industry in the processes they follow — or all too often don’t follow — to make quality products.

This industry, which has rarely been subjected to such rigorous journalistic scrutiny, has lashed back at Eban, attacking her integrity and her work.

The latest salvo comes from Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who calls Eban’s exposé anecdotal, biased, unfair, and unbalanced, and accuses the author of playing up to the poor perceptions of the Indian pharmaceutical industry and the country.