Lost in the drama of our recent election was this little article about more contaminated heparin from China.
In a very rare move, U.S. Marshals, under the direction of FDA officials, actually seized the heparin product at a small drug manufacturing company in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s truly appalling when a company moves so slowly to protect the public that this FDA actually is forced to seize the drug.
Also buried in this article is the fact that the number of people believed to have died in this country from contaminated Chinese heparin now totals 250 - and those are just the ones officially reported. No one should have to lie in a hospital bed and wonder if the clear fluid dripping in their arm is full of lethal gunk. Let’s hope our FDA moves toward a more global perspective when it comes to protecting us from profiteers.
BIO:
Doc Gurley's motto when it comes to her health writing is: Just A Spoonful of Humor Helps The...well, even without Julie Andrews breaking into song, you get the idea. Doc Gurley's health writing has appeared in Salon, The San Francisco Chronicle, and the Chronicle Sunday magazine, with letters in the Washington Post and UK's Daily Telegraph. Her research has appeared in academic publications including the New England Journal of Medicine. She is also the author a humorous book of serious healthcare advice, Dodging Death, forthcoming from Penguin/Avery books.
Visit Dr. Jan Gurley on her website:
www.docgurley.com
To share your health tips with EmpowHer, go to www.EmpowHer.com/share.