Blurred notes to self
"Being strong doesn’t however equate to always being chirpy and seeing and hearing continuous pastel birds fly around my head. Everyone’s allowed to get cross for whichever reason. If or when the reason is valid enough, we contain the situation, talk it through and move forward."
10 Medical Apps for Clinicians
MS @Point of Care MS @Point of Care presents valuable information in an easy-to-digest format. MS @Point of Care is a series of chapters and other tools that aid in making informed decisions regarding diagnosis, treatment, and symptom management. Available on iPhone MS Diagnosis and Management The Multiple Sclerosis – Clinical Care app is designed to be a handy tool for neurologists, resident physicians, and other healthcare providers to aid in the diagnosis and management of MS. This comprehensive app was a collaborative effort between the developer, Borm Bruckmeier Publishing, and the National MS Society. It contains everything from a list of MS signs and symptoms to a two-question screening tool for depression, which is commonly seen in patients with the disease. Available on iPhone and Android Multiple Sclerosis –…
10 Useful MS Apps
EDSS Calculator The Toronto EDSS Calculator helps healthcare professionals and researchers compute the Expanded Disability Severity Score (EDSS) for patients with Multiple Sclerosis. The application facilitates the rapid and accurate calculation of the EDSS using Kurtzke’s algorithm. Available on Android, iPhone and iPad Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis From podcasts at your fingertips to recipes, and even a place to send your photos of the surprised expression of your neurologist when he sees how well you are doing! This app represents the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis charity. It is a non-profit charity that has branches all over the world and its sole aim is to help people overcome multiple sclerosis. Available on Android MedCoach MedCoach is an easy-to-use medical app that helps you remember to take your medications and pills at the…
10 MS Treatment Apps
As we become more mobile as time goes on, we also want more access and availability of our medical history and treatment plans wherever we travel. Pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money making such apps as inclusive as possible, with some true digital gems. This post is about MS treatment/wellness apps, whereas part two will be about medical apps in the broader sense of the word. If you find your treatment or country isn’t up-to-date in the list, bear with me/big pharma please, as apps might be in the early stages of development. I will keep on checking for updates though, or if you know when/where I can find links, do give me a shout! SymTrac / Gilenya (Fingolimod) Track general wellbeing and symptoms over time. The data recorded can be…
Life’s meant to be…
Talking down on people’s illness is something I avoid at all costs, as everyone has some cross to bear. Because of other people’s reactions towards my own illnesses, character and lifestyle, I simply know that blaming an ill person for being sick can destroy many things. Whatever people may get up to in their life, never attack them on their weakest point, i.e. an incurable illness they never asked for. It’s low, it’s patronising and it doesn’t speak well of the person doing it. In fact, it says more about the person being this offensive than the person they blame.
MS News: March 2015
Yes, here’s the March edition already! I will try and update the post each week as it will be a busy month ahead with Brain Awareness Week in Ireland, National MS Education and Awareness Month is an effort by the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (MSF) and the US National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s MS Awareness Week. The big news this week is/has been all about coffee. According to the American Academy of Neurology, drinking coffee may be associated with a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Coffee intake may protect against MS, supporting the idea that the drug may have protective effects for the brain,” said study author Ellen Mowry, MD, MCR, with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. While…
Clinical trials explained
In the UK, it takes over 12 years to develop a new medicine to the standards of quality, efficacy and safety laid down by legislation. It typically costs £1.15 billion to do all the research and development necessary before a new medicine can be licensed for use. The majority of medicines under development never make it to the market; following thorough studies, they may be found to have unacceptable side effects, or they don’t work any better than existing treatments. Timeline of medicine development For every marketed medicine that makes enough money to pay for its development, about 25,000 chemical compounds were tested, on average 25 of these will have gone into clinical trials and five received approval for marketing. Our timeline of medicine development shows the stages a…