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People with chronic congestion swear this medieval looking procedure is life changing

This procedure looks completely made up and possibly illegal.

Photo credit: Canva

Chronic congestion cleared up with medieval looking procedure

Nobody gets a stuffy nose and immediately phones their friends to tell them how excited they are. Being congested is miserable. You can't breathe through your nose, which makes your mouth dry, which leads to you licking your lips more, which then results in being frustrated about needing to keep reapplying chapstick. It's a whole irritating cycle that doesn't get broken until the congestion clears up.

Unfortunately for some people, there is no end in sight for their congestion. It's something they've lived with for years, even if they're not sick or reacting to a seasonal allergen. This can be caused by chronic sinus infections or even a narrow nasal passage that either never allows their sinuses to fully drain or are so narrow that they don't allow for appropriate airflow.

In order to get some relief, people have turned to a procedure that looks as if it would get the doctor charged with a crime. As primitive as the procedure appears, people who have had it done swear by the results. It's called craniofacial release and is generally done by a chiropractor trained in this unique procedure.

talent GIFGiphy

The process involves placing a medical grade balloon on a type of bulb syringe and inserting the other side of the deflated balloon into the nose of the patient. Once in the nose, the balloon is pushed through the nasal passage into the opening in the mouth. With a quick motion, the balloon is inflated and immediately deflated. Now, maybe it's because it looks so incredibly uncomfortable, but I swear you hear things crack.

Nothing about this release looks relieving. To top it off, the only anesthesia the patient receives is the complete shock of the process. How can you feel pain if your brain is still trying to process what just occurred ten minutes after your appointment ends.

Ben Stiller Hot Ones GIF by First We FeastGiphy

"The idea is that if you insert small balloons into the nasal passages and quickly inflate them, that you can adjust the placement of the cranial bones. It's said to relieve symptoms like sinus issues and trigeminal neuralgia," Anthony Youn, MD explains.

People chimed in with their own experiences while some appeared to be shocked that something like this is done in a medical setting.

"I have had cranial facial release done and it is a game changer! I could breathe through my nose, less sinus infections and the ringing in my ears improved by 80%. This truly improved my quality of life. In this video the Dr is very slow. It needs to be done fast. It is not painful just shocking. Highly recommended," one person writes.


"I had this done at an EMT[sic] office. The effects don't last, but it was the nest[sic] breathing I have ever had after wards. I had a sinus infection that needed to be drained manually because it has pocketed up. But the balloon was needed to create enough space for the little vaccuum[sic]," another shares.

"Actually a chiropractor does it and it works so much better than you’d even believe. it’s very uncomfortable but not painful and procedure only lasts for a few minutes but the relief on sinuses and migraines was unbelievable.oh but the ballon wasn’t in my mouth at anytime during procedure," someone else writes.

sad nose GIFGiphy

One person says not while they're awake, "only if i was sedated and had no memory of it. That gave me anxiety just watching it."

Someone else is also not keen on the idea of this procedure, "Oh heck no! I have a deviated septem[sic], and one nasal passage is smaller than the other. I definitely would not do this!!"

"This looks like a medieval torture. I'm sure I would panic," another declares, but would you do it?

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Female doctors share bikini pics after group of mostly male researchers deemed them 'inappropriate'

"I am good at my job, I am a professional. I am a doctor. I am also a human."

via Emily Casey / Twitter

It's no surprise that employers often look at job applicants' social media profiles before hiring them. According to CareerBuilder, 70% of employers "use social media to screen candidates before hiring."

It makes sense because social media profiles can reveal a lot about someone's true personality and employers don't want to take any unnecessary risks.

The Journal of Vascular Surgery did a study where it viewed the social media profiles of 235 medical residents to see if they had "unprofessional or potentially unprofessional content."

The study found that "One-half of recent and soon to be graduating vascular surgery trainees had an identifiable social media account with more than one-quarter of these containing unprofessional content."

The paper with a warning: "Young surgeons should be aware of the permanent public exposure of unprofessional content that can be accessed by peers, patients, and current/future employers."

via Science Direct

At first glance, this study seemed like it was helping graduates with their careers by warning them against social media posts that could get them into trouble. But the study created in a backlash from the medical community because it shamed female doctors.

The major bone of contention that medical professionals had with the study is that the team of predominantly male researchers said that "provocative posing in bikinis/swimwear," "provocative Halloween costumes," and "holding/ consuming alcohol" are all inappropriate.

via Dr M / Twitter

There's nothing wrong with a woman wearing a bikini or anyone having a beer in public, why did the study deem them inappropriate?

The paper inspired female medical professionals to push back against the study by posting shots of themselves in swimwear and imbibing adult beverages under #MedBikini.







Some male allies got in on the hashtag, too.

The backlash prompted one of the authors of the study, Dr. Jeff Siracuse, to apologize for the paper's framing.

"Our intent was to empower surgeons to be aware and then personally decide what may be easily available for our patients and colleagues to see about us social media," Siracuse wrote on Twitter.

"However, this was clearly not the result. We realize that the definition of professionalism is rapidly changing in medicine and that we need to support our trainees and surgeons as our society changes without the appearance of judgment."


This article originally appeared on 7.24.20

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Family

Mom shares 'secret' note she slipped to the pediatrician about daughter's weight

"Trying something new at the pediatrician will report back how it goes."

via General.Caronobi/TikTok

Mother shares note she gave to her daughter's pediatrician.

There is a growing trend online and in therapists' offices that is a backlash against the toxic positivity of the body positivity movement: body neutrality. This new perspective takes a neutral view of our bodies and encourages people to stop saying they are "good" or "bad," "ugly," or "gorgeous," but that they just are.

"Body neutrality means taking a neutral perspective towards your body, meaning that you do not have to cultivate a love for your body or feel that you have to love your body every day. You may not always love your body, but you may still live happily and appreciate everything your body can do,” Very Well Mind writes.

Mother Caroline Hardin shared a great example of body neutrality on TikTok recently. In a post that received over 100,000 views, She shared a note she secretly handed to her daughter’s pediatrician at a recent appointment.

"Trying something new at the pediatrician will report back how it goes," Caroline began in her video before revealing a handwritten note she gave to the doctor.

Don’t judge my handwriting i was writing in the car on top of a captain underpants book lol #bodyneutrality #bodypositiveparenting

@general.caronobi

Don’t judge my handwriting i was writing in the car on top of a captain underpants book lol #bodyneutrality #bodypositiveparenting

The note reads:

"Doctor. When discussing my child's weight and/or BMI, please refrain from using qualitative words like 'good' or 'bad.' We have managed so far to keep a body-neutral and body-positive environment for her childhood, and I appreciate your cooperation in preserving that for as long as we can."

The unfortunate underlying message to the note is that Caroline’s daughter will one day have to exist in a world where her body is scrutinized. Every opportunity the mom has to delay that eventuality is a positive step for her development.

In a subsequent video, Caroline noted that the visit to the doctor went off perfectly.

Replying to @Caroline we will continue to take it one year at a time but we made it through this year’s checkup unscathed! #bodyneutrality #bodypositiveparenting

@general.caronobi

Replying to @Caroline we will continue to take it one year at a time but we made it through this year’s checkup unscathed! #bodyneutrality #bodypositiveparenting

"We made it back home, and I'm happy to report that it went really well. The nurse made no comment when she was weighing my kid," Caroline recalled. When the pediatrician popped in, she had a growth curve without any numbers that she was able to show to Caroline and her daughter. The doctor even used an age-appropriate way of describing the daughter’s health. “Your body is growing exactly how it wants to grow. Hooray!" she said.

"There were no discussions about restricting sugar or restrictions at all,” Caroline added. “So, my kids' takeaway was that the doctor noticed her nail polish and that she got to tell her she has 8 friends."

The video received much praise from women who wished they could have enjoyed a body-neutral childhood. "You legit just healed some of my soul. Thank you for this!!!" katmc52384 wrote in the comments. “Looovvveee this. Couldn’t figure out how to head it off without embarrassing my kid. Thank you!!” Carter added.

Caroline is happy that she found a way to take her daughter to the doctor without introducing her to the pain of body stigmatization. She also shared a way for parents everywhere to address a tricky situation without their children being alerted to our culture’s toxic perceptions of bodies and beauty.

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Education

Former NICU baby graduates medical school, intends to become NICU doctor

He plans to start a pediatrics residency specializing in infant care.

Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash

A former NICU baby is going to become a NICU doctor.

Marcus Mosley was born in 1995 at just 26 weeks gestation, meaning he spent his first few months of life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Now, 27 years later, Mosley has graduated medical school with the intention of specializing in the same kind of medicine that saved his life. He recently graduated from the CUNY School of Medicine at The City College of New York. His journey from being a patient to being a doctor in the NICU is well underway and the future is looking bright.

"It was very frightening when he was born and they told me that he was in the NICU," Mosley's mother, Pauline Mosley told "Good Morning America." "The doctors told me, they just kept giving me all these different percentages of very slim chance of him being normal, like less than 10% chance. They kept saying 90%, he might not be able to see. Eighty to 90%, he would have developmental delays. They didn't know."

While it's true that being born premature (before 37 weeks gestation) can lead to developmental delays and health problems that range from minor to severe, it's hard for doctors to predict that at the outset. The effects of being born premature and the care received aren't always known until the child gets older, but there is evidence that shows that Black babies are more likely to receive subpar NICU care.

A review of 41 studies that was released in 2019 found that Black preterm babies are the most vulnerable. Typically, hospitals with a higher amount of Black preemies had fewer nurses and lower-quality care compared to hospitals with a smaller amount of Black babies. Additionally, evidence showed that "minority-serving" NICUs had higher death rates. Lack of resources and understaffing at hospitals that serve communities of minorities is part of the problem.

Black parents have also talked about a lack of support as their babies leave the NICU. Some of the studies showed that Black parents were less likely to get referrals for follow-up care for their preemies. These parents also reported feeling less satisfied with their experiences, likely for the reasons mentioned above. If you're not feeling supported, then you're certainly not going to have a good experience.

Thankfully for the Mosley family, Marcus didn't suffer from any long-term health problems. But a return to the NICU when he was 13 set his life on its current trajectory. During the visit to the Westchester Medical Center, he met Dr. Edmund LaGamma, the chief of neonatology at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. A relationship was forged between the two that would lead Mosley to make one of the most important discoveries of his life.

"He had called and said that he was a former patient of the Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Center and he was in high school and wanted to know if he could do a shadowing program over the summer," LaGamma told "Good Morning America."

LaGamma explained that in the time since Mosley had been a patient, "a lot of advances had been made," and he invited the young man to come join the team for rounds. Shadowing Dr. LaGamma and the team left quite the impression on Mosley.

"That is what really piqued my interest and then solidified my interest in wanting to go into medicine," Mosley explained.

After that summer of shadowing, LaGamma began to act as a mentor to Mosley, especially when he enrolled in the accelerated B.A/M.D. program at City College, which happens to be LaGamma's alma mater. Mosley is gearing up to begin his pediatrics residency at New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.

"I'm really excited and looking forward to starting residency and to be able to take care of patients now," Mosley said. "I'll be responsible for patients and involved in patient care and treating families."

And his mentor thinks that he is just the right person for such a special and important kind of job. "I think he has that personality which comes across as engaging and inviting so that he'll do well as a pediatrician," LaGamma said, adding that he's already offering Mosley a fellowship position in the future.

It's beautiful to see how a formative part of your life can lead you down a specific life path.

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