A Missouri VA hospital may be held negligent by allegedly exposing more than 1,800 veterans to malevolent diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.

According to Rep. Russ Carnahan, 1,812 letters are steadily making their way to the homes of veterans in order to inform them of their possible exposure to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after paying a visit to the John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis for dental work.

On Tuesday, the Democratic representative from Missouri assured the public that he has sent a letter to President Obama calling for a full-fledged investigation into the matter, calling the situation “absolutely unacceptable,” further asserting that “No veteran who has served and risked their life for this great nation should have to worry about their personal safety when receiving much needed healthcare services from a Veterans Administration hospital.”

The hospital responded to the charges by taking some responsibility, alleging that the issue stems from a failure to clean dental instruments properly. Dr. Gina Michael, the association chief of staff at the medical center claims that dental technicians broke protocol by hand washing the tools before placing them in the proper sterilization machines. Normally, the instruments are placed directly in the cleaning machines, but as of February of 2009, the technicians were hand washing beforehand.

In response to the dire consequences of this breach in protocol, the hospital has set up a specialized clinic, as well as multiple education centers to aid possibly infected veteran patients. But despite these first steps towards rectifying the scenario, Carnahan feels that more should be done in response, in addition to pursuing the proper disciplinary action for those responsible.

“I can only imagine the horror and anger our veterans must be feeling after receiving this letter,” Carnahan said. “They have every right to be angry. So am I.”

Monday marked the initial baby steps of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) towards acknowledging the basic, but grossly underestimated menace of pumping livestock full of antibiotics. Considering that many current bacterial strains have developed full-on resistance to common antibiotics, it stands to reason that consistent inoculation of the animals used as a food source may breed similarly resistant bacterium. In fact, an estimated 100,000 people per year now contract novel and nasty hospital-acquired bacterial infections resistant to treatment with antibiotics. In light of such evidence, the FDA released a new policy document stating that the uses of antibiotic treatment in agriculture should be limited to treating sick animals under the direct supervision of a veterinarian.

This new directive may seem like one big, obvious ‘duh’ in the eyes of many considering that drugs like penicillin were originally developed for the treatment of sick humans, and not for promoting animal growth, but the fact remains that this new action merely represents a first and rather tentative step towards addressing a much more prominent problem than previously believed. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), 13 million pounds or 70% or all antibiotic use in the nation is siphoned towards the meat industry.

However, past inquiries into the issue have stimulated a vicious and one-sided battle between federal regulators and the powerful agricultural industry resulting in a win for the industry each and every time. The meat industry remains vigilant in asserting that antibiotic use in animals has been blown up to epic proportions. The truth is that the meat industry will continue to fight any attempt by the government to limit their use of antibiotics in the domestic animal population, asking to be shown the science behind the accusations.

And they have a point. There is definitely a difference between a correlation linking antibiotic drug use in livestock and the development of drug resistance versus causation. How does one prove that an antibiotic cocktail given to cattle in Montana directly contributed to the development of a drug-resistant microbe in a D.C. hospital? A small, but growing number of studies are attempting to make this connection, including the discovery of a strain of resistant MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) that has been found to be transmitted from pigs to farmers to hospital staff in the Netherlands. The answer to the dilemma? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Summer’s peaking its head over the horizon, meaning temperatures are rising and more people are enjoying the great outdoors under the sun’s glaring gaze. Being outdoors and consistently pummeled by the sun’s rays can make you reach for the nearest glass of water, but what you may not know is that urge points towards you being already dehydrated.

“If you drink only when you’re thirsty, you’re probably behind the 8-ball when it comes to drinking water and to staying hydrated,” said Dr. Sylvia Morris, assistant professor at the Emory University School of Medicine.

Dehydration opens a whole Pandora’s Box of health concerns, including exhaustion, lightheadedness, muscle cramps, and perhaps even full on heatstroke. In fact, just last week, Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, suffered the consequences of dehydration, fainting at a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting.

While it’s certainly true that every person must remain vigilant in their consumption of water, the question remains how much water is enough? The age-old motto of ‘eight glasses of water per day’ still holds true to a degree, but many health care professionals are adamant that most people should have more. Dr. Morris, among many others, remains convinced that men should have more than 13 eight-ounce glasses of water per day, while women require at least nine, especially when pregnant or nursing.

But does it have to be water, water, and only water? Well, your daily soda intake certainly does not count towards your tally, especially those with caffeine added, a prominent diuretic responsible for actually increasing your body’s water loss. Sports drinks such as Gatorade can keep you well hydrated in the summer heat if you’re doing some heavy exercise outside, but remember the added calories that make them taste so good can be hard to work off later! Even fruits and veggies full of water like watermelon, tomatoes, and celery may help to keep you hydrated, but don’t make the mistake of counting those towards your ‘eight glasses!’ In fact, keeping hydrated may even help to keep your appetite at bay, which may help you to lose those few extra pounds.

The main point here? Drink your water all day, every day to keep fit and happy under the summer sun. Remember that sodas and juices can actually work to dehydrate you, and that there really is no magical substitute for ordinary water.

You have been apprehensive about the prospect: Stuffy, runny nose, post-nasal drip and the accompanying raspy throat, perhaps even a cough. And if that’s not bad enough, the weather is thoroughly balmy.

It’s commonly known as a summer cold. But the truth is, it is unlikely that it emerges only in the warm season.

If it is a genuine cold, then it originates from a virus, and its symptoms may persist as long as ten days, while being communicable only in the first 2-3 days. These microbes exist all year long, but tend to be prevalent in the colder part of the year.

Allergies to tree and grass pollens, and to open air molds, are known to bring on symptoms resembling those caused by a cold in the summer months. Stuffiness, irritated eyes, raspy throat, and post-nasal drip are usually reported.

“If you tend to get those same symptoms every year around the same time, allergy is the probable cause,” asserts Dr. Peter Greenspan, pediatrician at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, Massachusetts.

Younger children tend to contract cold viruses often having not been exposed to them previously, according to Dr. Greenspan. It doesn’t help either that they are constantly in close contact with other children, and aren’t inclined, like adults, to wash their hands regularly or to cover their face during a sneeze.

They are not old enough yet to take OTC medicines, but usually the symptoms fade of their own accord in not too long a time, said Greenspan.

For grown-ups suffering sinus problems, a physician may prescribe saline irrigations of the nose — perhaps the neti pot method — nasal steroid sprays, or antihistamines, reports Dr. Alexander Chiu, associate professor of otorhinolaryngology at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Philadelphia campus.

However such applications are strictly for symptom relief, and not designed to cure, Greenspan cautions. Colds give up their hosts in their time while allergies relent when the culpable pollens dissipate as the season wears on.

This last Spring was especially bad for allergies, doctors admit. Pollen levels are abating now, though, and the next formidable allergy period will not begin until this coming Autumn, Chiu stated.

The term “vasomotor rhinitis” is commonly used by doctors to characterize the symptoms suffered by not a few persons, symptoms that are not due to allergies or viruses, but the result of some undetermined cause, counseled Chiu.

The doctor went on to say that some people are inherently susceptible to any extreme change in temperature, and may start sneezing and sniffling from simply going in and out of air-conditioned environments when it is rather hot outside.

Nonetheless, such fluctuations in temperature do not encourage cold viruses, so don’t pin the blame on your air conditioner, says Dr. Greenspan. And, sorry, but for those with allergies, air conditioning won’t help with their symptoms.

“Some people may feel better or worse in different kinds of environments,” he suggests. “It’s a very individual kind of thing.”

In treating pediatric patients, Greenspan has observed that a cold virus has evidently been circulating in the population, with coughs that hang on for several weeks.

However, Dr. Chiu, whose practice is in Philadelphia, says that patients showing sinus symptoms in the summer probably do not have colds.

The police officers, firefighters and other people who worked at the World Trade Center after the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks sued the New York city council and contractors for the injuries they sustained as they cleaned up and offered rescue services. The initial settlement that they were to receive was close to 675.5 million dollars but a federal judge declined to offer them the money in March. The reason given was that the workers needed to present clear information and that lawyer’s fees would consume a large percentage of the money.

The workers will now receive settlement that will come from an insurance fund financed by the federal government. The insurance company that will provide the fund is the WTC Captive Insurance Company that started operations in 2004 after the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted it one billion dollars. The settlement to the workers will now happen after Alvin Hellerstein, who is a United States District Judge signed the settlement order on Thursday. Hellerstein was pleased with the revision to the settlement claim and although the settlement is not perfect, it is ideal. In order for the settlement deal to be successful, 95 percent of plaintiffs have to participate and they have to make a decision within ninety days.

Paul Napoli, who is an attorney representing many of the workers, said that the September 11 attacks caused a debt that needed to be repaid through settlement. The lawyers of the plaintiffs have limited their fees to twenty-five percent and therefore reduced their previous amount by more than fifty million. As part of the settlement, the WTC Captive Insurance Company will pay an additional amount of fifty five million dollars to the workers.

This new settlement decision has received praise from New York’s Mayor, Michael Bloomberg because it is a fair decision for a complex case. Bloomberg said that the decision would allow the fair compensation of workers who sustained injuries as they involved themselves with rescue operations at the World Trade Center. The settlement deal will make large payments to individuals and give assistance to those who currently receive workers compensation because of the injuries they sustained on September 11. Those who have severe cancers and asthmas will receive high payments of up to one million dollars.

Among the people who are happy with the new settlement decision is Joseph Lutrario, who was a police officer in New York City. Lutrario, who is forty-three, suffered a broken shoulder when the World Trade Center buildings rubble fell on and trapped him. He went into early retirement because he developed polyps in his esophagus and stomach. He also suffered from the post-traumatic stress disorder after the attacks. He was pleased with the decision to compensate workers although he is not sure of what will happen in the future incase his sickness becomes worse.