(VOR News) – According to a recent study, more and more bystanders are providing naloxone to people who have overdosed on opioids. This is the case because of the research that was undertaken.

An untrained bystander administered naloxone to about 25,000 individuals who were experiencing an overdose prior to the arrival of paramedics, as evidenced by statistics that were recorded by emergency medical services during the months of June 2020 and June 2022.

We collected these Naloxone numbers between June 2020 and June 2022.

Chris Gage, a researcher who is currently working for a doctoral degree in the College of Public Health at Ohio State University, disclosed that his data proved that the number of individuals who received naloxone from laypersons had increased by 43.5%. The information that Gage gathered was presented in a display.

This makes it quite evident that the activities that have been taken to improve public health are achieving the results that have been desired.

On the other hand, industry professionals have emphasized that there is a requirement for more efforts to be made in order to enhance the level of understanding concerning naloxone. This is because emergency medical services (EMS) have supplied some data, which is the reason for this consequence.

Taking into consideration the facts, it was concluded that a maximum of three percent of all overdose victims who were given naloxone obtained it from individuals who were not members of the medical staff.

The following is an excerpt from a press statement that was published by Gage: “In an ideal world, this should be closer to one hundred percent, highlighting the need to improve naloxone education, enhance access, and investigate and remove obstacles to its use.”

Naloxone is able to quickly reverse the effects of an overdose because it works by suppressing the opioid receptors that are present in the body.

This makes it possible for Naloxone to reverse the effects of an overdose.

A well-known researcher at Ohio State University and a clinical professor of emergency medicine, Dr. Ashish Panchal, says that “Naloxone is a lifesaving medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose when it is administered immediately.”

Panchal is a clinical professor of emergency medicine. Emergency medicine is Panchal’s area of expertise as a clinical professor. As is the case with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the provision of aid to a person prior to the arrival of emergency experts may be the determining factor in whether or not they are able to survive.

The findings of the researchers indicate that throughout the course of the past 10 years, there has been a persistent effort made to achieve the goal of increasing both the availability of Naloxone and the prevalence of awareness of its existence.

During the course of the preceding year, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States granted its approval for the sale of Naloxone without the requirement of a prescription.

This approval was granted. Individuals who have been prescribed opioids for medical purposes, such as the management of pain, are typically given this substance. This is a regular practice.

Moreover, the findings of the study suggest that 46 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws that offer legal protection to individuals who act as “Good Samaritans” and intervene to assist a person who is experiencing an opioid overdose. These laws were passed in order to protect individuals who engage in such actions. In 2010, these laws became law and went into effect.

The group has suggested that a future study will investigate organizations that make Naloxone accessible to bystanders, as well as actions that may be implemented to ensure that the medicine is available to patients who are in need of it. This information was provided by the group.

SOURCE: USN

SEE ALSO:

Mammogram Centers Must Now Inform Women About Their Breast Density. Here’s How It Could Affect You

Ozempic-Fueled Slimming Is Blowing Up The Wedding Dress Industry

Drug-Resistant Strains Of Mpox Threaten Homosexual Men Experiencing Unprotected Sex.

When a woman undergoes a mammography, the most crucial finding is whether there is evidence of breast cancer.

The second most crucial observation is how thick her breasts are.

Since early September, a new guideline in the United States has required mammography institutions to inform women about their breast density – information that is not wholly new for some women because many states already had comparable rules.

Here’s why breast density matters.

Mammogram Centers Must Now Inform Women About Their Breast Density. Here’s How It Could Affect You

Is having thick breasts bad?
No, thick breasts are not undesirable. In reality, they are pretty usual. Approximately 40% of women over the age of 40 have dense breasts.

Women of all shapes and sizes can have thick breasts. It has nothing to do with how firm the breast is. And it only matters for breast cancer screening, according to Dr. Ethan Cohen of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

With the new rule, “there will be a lot of inquiries to doctors and a lot of Googling, which is fine. But we want to make sure people don’t panic,” Cohen explained.

How is breast density determined?
Doctors who evaluate mammograms use a technique to classify breast density.

There are four categories. The least dense category indicates that the breasts are virtually entirely composed of fatty tissue. The most dense group indicates that the breasts are predominantly glandular and fibrous tissue.

Breasts fall into two categories: “heterogeneously dense” and “extremely dense.” The other two groups are not considered dense.

According to Dr. Brian Dontchos of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, the classification can change depending on who reads the mammography “because it’s somewhat subjective.”

Why am I informed that I have dense breasts?

Two reasons: For starters, thick breasts make it harder to detect cancer on an X-ray image, which is what a mammogram is.

“The dense tissue looks white on a mammogram, and cancer also looks white on a mammogram,” said Dr. Wendie Berg of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and main scientific consultant to DenseBreast-info.org. “It’s like trying to see a snowball in a blizzard.”

Second, women with thick breast tissue have a slightly higher chance of developing breast cancer because malignancies tend to form in glandular and fibrous tissue.

Fortunately, women with thick breasts have no higher risk of dying from breast cancer than other women.

What should I do?
If you discover you have dense breasts, consult your doctor about your family history of breast cancer and whether you should undergo extra screening with ultrasound or MRI, according to Dr. Georgia Spear of Endeavor Health/NorthShore University Health System in the Chicago area.

Researchers are looking for better techniques to detect cancer in people with thick breasts. So far, there is insufficient information to make general recommendations for extra screening. When the United States Preventive Services Task Force updated its breast cancer screening recommendations earlier this year, it advocated for additional research in this area.

Mammogram Centers Must Now Inform Women About Their Breast Density. Here’s How It Could Affect You

Do I still need a mammogram?
Yes, women with thick breasts should have regular mammograms, which remain the gold standard for detecting cancer early. Mammograms should begin at age 40 for women, transgender males, and nonbinary people who are at average risk.

“We don’t want to replace the mammogram,” Spear stated. “We want to add to it by adding a specific other test.”

Will insurance pay for further screenings?
For the time being, this is determined by your insurance, though a measure has been presented in Congress to mandate insurers to provide additional screening for women with thick breasts.

Additional screening can be expensive, ranging from $250 to $1,000 out of pocket, which is a barrier for many women.

“Every woman should have equal opportunity to have their cancer found early when it’s easily treated,” Berg told reporters. “That’s the bottom line.”

SOURCE | AP

Price discrepancies and dysfunction are not new in the $73 billion wedding business. However, the rise of weight-loss medicines in the 2020s has created an additional challenge for the seamstresses and designers in charge of the Big Day’s centerpiece garment: the bridal gown.

The Hollywood weight-loss secret has been revealed, and it’s more accessible than ever. GLP-1 medicines, known by the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, have become widely available, thanks in part to compounding pharmacies that sell cheaper, non-FDA-approved versions. (The Food and Drug Administration has warned customers about the risks of unlicensed GLP-1 medications, and a recent JAMA Network article discovered that high demand has resulted in a proliferation of illegal internet pharmacies selling the drugs without prescriptions.)

Ozempic-Fueled Slimming Is Blowing Up The Wedding Dress Industry

And, as my colleague Tami Luhby wrote this week, demand for these treatments is expected to rise even further as employers increasingly explore covering them for weight loss rather than just diabetes.

For better or worse, many brides are taking the medicines ahead of their wedding, drawn in by the promise of quick weight loss. That complicates the already difficult task of purchasing and changing their gowns.

“The first issue is the bridal industry’s dysfunction right now, where it takes five to nine months to order a dress,” Susan Ruddie Spring, a designer and proprietor of bridal styling business The Wedding Dresser, told me recently.

Like many businesses, bridal fashion saw a slowdown during the pandemic, followed by a surge in demand as couples postponed their weddings.

Dress orders that used to take three months are now taking much longer, Spring explained, in part because supplies from China are being redirected away from disturbances along the Suez Canal, a critical highway that contributes for up to 15% of global trade.

That’s only one aspect of the time issue.

The right match.
According to the wedding planning website The Knot, the best time to buy a wedding dress is eight to ten months before the event, while other planners prefer buying a full year ahead of time to account for shipping delays.

However, a lot can happen to a body over a 10-month period, especially when GLP-1 medications are involved.

One study discovered that patients who are obese or overweight lost up to 15% of their body weight while using tripeptide, commonly known as Mounjaro, over the course of a year. Those using semaglutide lost approximately 8%.

“I have recently had a couple of brides who lost about 50 pounds with Ozempic,” Springs told me. “Usually, the dress was ordered somewhere in the middle of those 50 pounds.”

It’s difficult to overestimate how much a substantial weight loss can affect the fit of a wedding dress. The clothes are frequently structurally elaborate, adorned with layers of pricey beading, tulle, and lace, and, of course, burdened with unfathomable amounts of emotion and societal expectations.

That worry is obvious on numerous Reddit wedding and weight loss threads, where brides seek advice on how to buy a dress — possibly the most costly item they’ll ever buy — while they have no idea what their bodies will look like a few months later.

The financial risk is real. While most gowns may be taken in several inches, there are limitations, and brides who lose a significant amount of weight may need to purchase a totally new dress. The typical bridal gown cost $2,000 in 2023, according to the Knot. That’s before modifications, which might add hundreds or even thousands to the cost. (Dress and all, the Knot discovered that the typical American wedding costs $35,000.)

The biggest loser.
The Ozempic effect is also causing stress for seamstresses.

Each buyer and dress is unique, but Spring estimates that a typical gown requires 20-40 hours of labor. That’s three one-hour fits with the customer, plus anywhere from six to twelve hours of work in the interim.

However, fast shrinking brides generate more work, which does not always result in more money. Most tailoring companies charge brides a flat rate for a specified number of fittings and adjustments at the beginning of the process, and seamstresses insist they will not penalize brides who lose weight.

Ozempic-Fueled Slimming Is Blowing Up The Wedding Dress Industry

“Brides will always lose weight because of the stress of preparing for the wedding,” said Myrna Lundberg, senior tailor shop manager at Alterations Specialists in New York. However, with her 40 years of expertise in the market, she claims that the projected 5-to-10-pound reduction for most brides has increased with the development of Ozempic.

“It’s really affecting our business, because, it’s more fittings, more time, more work — we lose money,” she told me.

Say yes to stress.
The continual supply of brides in need of significant changes is just one of the unforeseen consequences of the Ozempic Era. But it’s one that’s disproportionately harsh on women, both for the bride dealing with decades of disordered weight standards and for those who work to make conventional wedding dress aspirations a reality.

Spring informs me that tension travels in both directions.

“It’s unrealistic for brides to expect to look like models when walking down the aisle. “And we do more work for the same money.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the majority of seamstresses in the United States are women, with a median pay of $37,000. They are also disproportionately immigrant women, who are frequently underpaid. According to fashion insiders who spoke with CNN the Knot, many undocumented women get below-average salaries under the table.

Lundberg argues that, in addition to the physical strain of modifying the gown, there is also emotional labor involved.

The GLP-1 medicines may be novel, but the worry that brides experience about their bodies and weddings is not.

“Weight loss has always been a primary priority. So we just have to be extremely careful how we deal with them,” Lundberg explained. “It’s not like you are their seamstress — it’s like you’re also their psychologist.”

SOURCE | CNN