7 Things you didn’t know about Dentures

July 27th, 2009. By AbiK

With all the news lately about denture creams like Fixodent and Poligrip being linked to neurological disorders as a result of their potential to contribute to zinc build-up and, ultimately, zinc poisoning, it got me thinking about dentures—and how little I know about them. Also, I recently found out my mother-in-law wears them (yes, after 15 years, I had no clue, dispelling the myth that they’re “soooo obvious”). So I wanted to learn more. Here, some fascinating and fun facts about dentures… 

1. Wonder who wears dentures? Wonder no more. According to orawave.com, the following shows the percent of American denture-wearers by age group:

35 – 44             16%

45 – 54             29%

55 – 64             51%

65 – 74             57%

Most interesting though is that dentures are not only for the over-50 set: the Orawave site also shows that 3% of Americans ages 18 – 34 wear dentures. Basing that on 2000 census figures, that’s close to 2 million “younger” people who wear dentures. Given their young age, they might be more self-conscious about wearing them and, therefore, might rely more heavily on denture cream. Read the rest of this entry »

What is a Tort?

July 24th, 2009. By AbiK

Sometimes a Pleading Ignorance topic can make you feel, well, ignorant. Just seems like all these legal terms that get thrown around in the news every day are things we should all know. But, in reality, we don’t. Case in point: according to urtak.com, when asked the question, “Do you know what the legal term tort means?” 64% of 227 respondents to date said they do not. 64%! That’s a lot of folks out there. So let’s start a little “Know your Torts!” campaign. Or, at the very least, let’s define what a tort is…

What is a Tort?

The definition provided at freedictionary.com, from The American Heritage Dictionary, is this:

Damage, injury, or a wrongful act done willfully, negligently, or in circumstances involving strict liability, but not involving breach of contract, for which a civil suit can be brought.

Huh?

Basically, a tort is a civil wrong (i.e., not a criminal offense) other than a breach of contract that injures another and for which the law imposes civil liability. Read the rest of this entry »

Why exactly is Oral Sodium Phosphate so bad?

July 23rd, 2009. By AbiK

After following the OSP (oral sodium phosphate) story—where the FDA required a black box warning for colonoscopy prep solutions containing OSP, such as Osmo-Prep and Visicol, as they were found to potentially increase the risk of kidney failure, I started to wonder just what the heck OSP does when it’s in your system. 

Here’s what it does. According to a “Dear Mayo Clinic” column answered by Dr. Stephen B. Erickson of the Mayo Clinic’s Nephrology department (mayoclinic.org, 4/15/07),

“The problem occurs when phosphates, which should pass through the kidneys, collect there instead. As a result, areas of the kidneys become calcified—in effect, “turn to stone.” This can damage the kidneys in two ways: by clogging some of the organ’s ducts, and by disabling some kidney tissue, which is essential for filtering out toxins from the blood. Both kinds of damage are permanent.

While this damage is said to occur “rarely,” that’s because only the worst cases present symptoms. What concerns me is that we may be recognizing just the “tip of the iceberg”.” Read the rest of this entry »

Fake Money Orders…How to tell a real one from a fake

July 23rd, 2009. By AbiK

At first glance, many of the counterfeit postal money orders now in circulation are hard to spot, but two security features are hard to fake.

Security Thread: A microfiber security strip will reveal the letters USPS in alternating directions when held up to the light. Fake versions may only show a printed bar. 

Watermark: When held up to the light, a genuine postal money order will display a watermark of Benjamin Franklin. Fake postal money orders often have no watermark or a crude outline.

(Source: US Postal Inspection Service and lookstoogoodtobetrue.com)

Zicam Lawsuit: What’s so big about Smell Loss?

July 22nd, 2009. By AbiK

Funny thing about your sense of smell. Unlike vision or hearing, you don’t really think about your sense of smell until a specific circumstance: that early morning whiff of coffee brewing, an aromatic stroll through a rose garden, the powdery scent of a baby. Or the unmistakable and intrusively pungent odor of a skunk…These are the scents that some former Zicam users are alleging they can no longer smell—because of Zicam.

If you’ve ever wondered what the top 3 challenges might be for individuals who suffer from smell loss, here they are:

Pleasure

As mentioned in some of the examples above, we gain pleasure from many different scents. According to the SenseofSmell.org, humans are capable of recognizing 10,000 distinct odors. Additionally, we recall smells with a 65% accuracy after a year, while the visual recall of photos sinks to about 50% after only 3 months. It’s no wonder we’re able to recall fond memories simply by recognizing a familiar scent. Read the rest of this entry »