Health
Anti-stuffy nose stickers
There are certain solutions I can't imagine ever being improved upon. These simple, effective stick-on strips, which help pinch open your nasal passages, are one of them. I've been using them for years now, mostly during allergy season when I'll pick up a pack of the mentholated vapor variety. The cooling relief is instant, impressively so. I often have major trouble sleeping due to severe congestion and allergies. When I don't want to resort to antihistamines, which can leave me groggy in the a.m., these comfortable, non-drowsy strips step in to ensure a decent night's rest. If you're a snorer, an athlete or sports fan, these strips are nothing new to you. I figured they'd already been reviewed on Cool Tools, and was surprised to find they hadn't. I'm also surprised that in all this time, the company has not only cornered the market, but avoided mucking up the product with a confusing number of variations. There are just three incarnations: tan, clear and mentholated. And two adult sizes: small/medium and large.
-- Steven Leckart
Breathe Right - Mentholated
$15
(56 strips; size: s/m)
Available from Amazon
Tan
$21
(60 strips; size: s/m)
Available from Amazon
Clear
$23
(74 strips; size: s/m)
Available from Amazon
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:
Nosefrida Nasal Aspirator
Lights Out Sleep Mask
Ivy Block
Easy-to-swallow supplements
I had a problem taking glucosamine in tablet form. I was gagging on the horse-sized pills and this seemed to cause an automatic antipathy to swallowing pills of any nature. After some research I discovered Utrition liquid vitamins. Their Liquid Vitamin Plus has an excellent lineup of vitamins A, B, C, D, and E + other ingredients and tastes like frozen orange juice (ed. note: it's "pineapple orange juice" according to Utrition). Their Liquid Joint Repair has 2000 mg glucosamine, 1200 mg chondroitin and is good-tasting as well. I keep these in the fridge and take a swig each day. Simple.
I also discovered a very sharp website (Bodybuilding.com) that is totally on the ball, has quick service, and offers thousands of nutritional products.
-- Lloyd Kahn
Liquid Vitamin Plus
$13 (16 fl. oz.)
Available from Bodybuilding.com
$23 (32 fl. oz.)
Available from Amazon
Liquid Joint Repair
$17 (16 fl. oz.)
Also from Amazon
Or $18 from Bodybuilding.com
Manufactured by Utrition
Related items previously reviewed on Cool Tools:
Juvenon
Seven-Day Pill Organizer
Body For Life
Noise blockers for kids
My 14 month-old daughter has been wearing these noise-reducing headphones for 9 months, give or take, ever since a friend in Norway sent us a pair (they're made in England). As a touring musician and the owner of a record label, I go to a lot of shows. Now not only can we hang out together, but my daughter's even performed with me. She loves the earmuffs, or seems to. She hates hats, but whenever we put these on -- even at home where it's quiet -- she doesn't want to take them off. They seem comfortable (they fit kids up to 7 years old). I also trust my kid's ears are safe because she freaks out over noises and things normally, but doesn't at all when she's at a show wearing these. Plus, in my travels, I've a seen a lot of kids wearing these exact earmuffs.
-- Syd Butler
Peltor Kid Earmuffs
$20
Available from Enviro Safety Products
Manufactured by Peltor
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:
Max Earplugs
The Complete Guide To House Concerts
Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems
Clip-on lens carrier
This simple little carrier hugs a bottle of contact lens solution, so the two are always together and easy to find at the bottom of your pack. In the past, I've relied on rubberbands and plastic baggies, but of course they tend to break and they add an extra packing step. This clip pops conveniently on and off. The colors make it easy to distinguish right from left. And it's reduced a bit more clutter from my dopkit. The price is a tad extravagant, but the case is so effective I'm done using the freebies.
-- Steven Leckart
KABACLIP Contact Lens Case
$8
Available from and manufactured by KABALAB
Previously available from Amazon
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:
One Highly-Evolved Belt Kit
Maui Jim Titanium Sport Sunglasses
Banana Bunker
Waterproof sock/glove for broken limbs
When my six year old daughter broke her arm, we figured our big lake vacation was going to be a real test of her patience. Then a friend told us about DryPro Cast covers. They're essentially a super-thick latex mitten (or 'crab claw') that covers the entire arm or leg. Air is sucked out via a one-way valve to give it a snug fit, like a rubber glove. The device comes with a detachable bulb pump, but we usually just sucked out the small amount of air needed by mouth. Our daughter used it not only while swimming and bathing, but for water-tubing, rope swinging, and general sprinkler fun. She was able to submerge the broken limb completely. The covers are not indestructible, but the only thing I was ever worried about, and warned her to be careful of, was cutting the cover on a sharp rock. I actually purchased a second cast cover in case my daughter tore the first one -- she didn't. And it completely saved the vacation. I'm guessing these will last most kids at least one bone-mending cycle.
-- Chris Crawford
DryPro Waterproof Cast Cover
$34+
(depends on size/type)
Available from Amazon
(x-small, full arm)
Also available in adult sizes from Amazon
(half leg)
Manufactured by Xero Products, LLC
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:
Nexcare Waterproof Bandages
X-treme Tape
The Optimistic Child
Delicate longhair grooming
A Mason Pearson is like the hairbrush analogue of baby shampoo: it takes good care of the hair, without tears. Our 10 year-old's hair has never been cut, so it reaches almost to her knees; but with an MP, brushing her hair before school isn't a big deal. The brushes are very effective at getting snarls out gradually and they don't hurt the scalp. The ones we use have two kinds of bristles: mostly boar bristles, which are the same hardness as hair, so they don't scratch or cut the hair; and there are some soft, molded nylon bristles that are much gentler than the extruded/cut plastic bristles in typical brushes. Only the nylon bristles touch the scalp, as they are a little longer. All of the bristles are slender and mounted in a flexible rubber mat, which also adds to the softness of the brush.
More...
Pen-style lasso for ticks
We have removed a number of pet ticks with this lasso and every one has come out complete and without effort, even a tiny tick. Because the lasso varies in size, it fits every tick perfectly. Last year we had big tick problems, and we did in fact try out a tick hook, which is basically a mini-crowbar. If your patient is not completely still, I've found the hook impossible! In the end, we started taking our pets to the vet, but this got expensive. As an engineer, I liked the look of the lasso idea and bought one. Some real thought has gone into the design and how to get into small, awkward places, like ears. As with all removers, you do need to use them as instructed to avoid tick damage.
-- Dave Peters
Trix Tick Remover
$11
Available from Ultimate Pet Products
(US only*)
Manufactured by InnoTech
(*see here for non-US orders)
Child-friendly mucus removal
The Nosefrida is a remarkably effective tool for sucking snot out of a kid's nose. It's basically a flexible plastic tube with a mouthpiece on one end and a snot-collection chamber on the other. You put the mouthpiece in your mouth, press the open end of the snot-collection chamber against your kid's nostril (it doesn't go very far inside the nose), and SUCK. An inline filter prevents the snot from ending up in your mouth. The filter only needs to be changed when it gets gunked-up. Such gunking can be avoided by stopping periodically and blowing the collected snot out into a sink or emesis basin. Otherwise, if you keep filling up the snot-collection chamber, it eventually makes its way up to the filter. To clean, I just disassemble it and run warm water through it. Real easy.
It sounds disgusting and bizarre, but it works like a charm. If you've got a snotty kid, it's the best $15 you'll ever spend. My daughter got her first cold when she was three months old. It was a real nasty one, with lots of nasal congestion. My wife is a family doctor, and she suggested the standard course of action: spray saline up the kid's nose and try sucking the nastiness out with a bulb syringe. Anybody who's ever used a standard bulb syringe knows that it's a suboptimal tool for this project, for two main reasons: (1) A bulb syringe is too small to generate adequate suction to pull thick snot out of a kid's nose, and (2) little kids hate having a bulb syringe stuck up their nostrils. Can you blame 'em?
-- Mike Pedone
Nosefrida Nasal Aspirator
$15
Available from and manufactured by Nosefrida USA
Mirrored flashlight for oral & mechanical work
Two incredibly handy tools seldom used for their intended uses are dental mirrors (a.k.a. "inspection" mirrors) and dental picks. The one problem with most inspection mirrors is that when you have to look into awkward electronic or mechanical crevices where you need a mirror, you also need a flashlight for illumination and a spare hand to hold the light. This kit (#832) has a dental mirror with a bright flashlight integrated into the handle and a switch in the grip, freeing up your other hand. The other neat thing is that for less than $10 you get two dental picks -- great for nudging or extracting small inaccessible components from assemblies. Recently, I was upgrading a friend's computer. The motherboard was mounted in a "baby ATX" case which was a very tight fit. To locate the CMOS reset jumper or check to see if the memory socket catch was engaged, I needed the use of the lighted mirror to negotiate the dark spots where those components were hidden. In the same manner the picks were handy to snag small cables within the case.
-- Stephen A. Kupiec
GUM Oral Care Kit
$6
Available from Drugstore.com
Manufactured by Sunstar Americas, Inc.
Determines what kind of sore throat
This rapid Strep A Test is great tool for families with kids who get frequent sore throats. It helps you determine whether a throat infection is caused by strep (which requires treatment) or a virus (which does not). You swab the back of the child's throat with the included applicator, add a reagent, and watch for the color change. A kit of 25 tests costs about $90, which works out to about $3.50 per test. That's a whole lot is much cheaper than an unneeded doctor's visit. But since you may only use a couple tests a year, consider a cooperative buy with other families.
-- Dr. Tom Ferguson
QuickVue Strep A Test
$90 for 25 kits
Available from MedCo School First Aid
[I have not used either of these kits below, but they offer a similar test for less than half the price. -- KK]
25 for $39
Available from Mecial Disposables
25 for $35
Available from CLIA Waived
Better than a lecture
Looking for an effective weight loss motivator? Check out this all-too-realistic anatomically correct replica of one pound of human fat, complete with blood supply. Keep it on your dinner table and watch everybody lose their appetite. For even stronger motivation, you can buy the five-pounds-of-human-fat version.
-- Tom Ferguson
One Pound of Fat Replica
$35
Available from Amazon
Five Pounds of Fat Replica
$85
Available from Amazon
Wallet guidance
Is it worth it to pay the premium price for organic produce? I have found this wallet guide (folded paper) a handy reference in the supermarket to help answer that question. It identifies 12 fruits and vegetables that are high in pesticides when conventionally grown so I buy the organic versions instead. When I feel like saving a buck, I can check it to find 12 that are typically lower in pesticides. This list is in my wallet along with the Seafood Watch, reviewed earlier. You too can keep the green in your wallet as well as in your diet.
-- V. Seribo
Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce
Free PDF, produced by Environmental Working Group
View the longer list of 43 fruits and vegetables here
Most comfortable disposable mask
I am convinced that the single most effective tool you can have on hand for an ABC disaster (Atomic, Biological, or Chemical) is a good face mask. The danger of nuclear radiation is primarily from fallout, which drifts as air-born particles. Same for many chemical spills; their poison also drifts on microscopic airborne droplets. And the biological toxins we most fear also travel in the air as particles. A face mask covering nose and mouth can reduce (not eliminate) the risk of inhaling these particles.
But face masks are useless unless worn, and are not worn (for long) if uncomfortable. I've been trying out various inexpensive masks that I could wear for many hours without going crazy. I found the Cool Max to be the only respirator I could keep on for long periods. The Cool Max are cheap N95 units (workshop, not surgical quality) that fold out and fit on the face with two elastic straps. The enlarged surface area eases breathing, and removes that suffocating sensation I usually get from wearing respirators. I could talk, drive, and work outside in the garden for hours without much discomfort. These masks are cheap enough that I have stocked a supply for our household (you'll need more than one).
Recently I attended a meeting for the world's avian flu experts and asked them how effective a face mask like Cool Max would be in an avian flu epidemic. (I had already learned that touching hands transmits more viruses between people than does sneezing; so it makes no sense to wear a mask without wearing gloves.) About half of the flu researchers believed a mask would not do anything at all (viruses are smaller than the filter pores), and the other half said that of course it would help since the viruses ride along on larger particles. When I asked them how many of them would personally have their families wear one in a flu pandemic, they almost all said they would. Although the efficacy of masks with viruses is unproven, there is no harm in using them, as long as you don't believe it guarantees anything.
My research came down to this: Better than hoarding Tamiflu, sequestering some face masks and disposable gloves is the cheapest, easiest and most productive thing you can do to prepare for a flu epidemic beforehand. Fancier, more sophisticated face masks would probably be more effective if you kept them clean and were willing to wear them. But I find it cumbersome to walk around with a gas mask. These Cool Max respirators will at least be worn for the durations needed, and will reduce your risk of inhaling ABC particles.
And, oh, they work really great keeping dust out, too!
-- KK
Cool Max Respirator
$5 /2 masks
Avaiable from Northern Tool
Discloure by manufacture on their respirator and avian flu (PDF) from Aero Technologies
Poison bite extractor
Several years ago I was rafting through an isolated gorge that separates Mexico and Guatemala...at least several days away from the nearest medical facilities. We carried The Extractor for snake bites. A friend was bitten by a flying bug. Her arm immediately began to swell up. She was in intense, burning pain. We attached the extractor over the bite, with its largest cup...Several drops of foul brown liquid were drawn from her arm. Almost immediately her pain dissipated. I have used this tool many times since then on simple bee stings on my children -- their pain leaves almost immediately. I have never seen it used on a snake bite but it appears that it would work great. It is one of the best tools I have ever used. I try to keep one around all the time.
-- Maxwell Kennedy
The Extractor
$20
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Sawyer
Finger Exerciser
Gripmaster consists of four little buttons on springs (think of a trumpet) and lets you exercise each finger separately. It really helps keep hands strong & healthy. I'm on a computer at least 8 hours a day, and using Gripmaster has helped me tremendously.
I gave my mother one (a yellow one) for her arthritis and she's able to open soda bottles again. They come in 4 colors each of different resistance. I use the blue one which is light. The yellow one I gave my mom is extra light. They also have more difficult ones.
-- Joe Spadaro
[I assume everyone understands that the Cool Tools list is not intended as a source of definitive medical advice. If you suffer significant inflammation of tendons in the carpal sheath, perhaps you should check with a physician before embarking on an exercise regime. -- CP]
Gripmaster
$9
Available from
Amazon
Manufactured by
Gripmaster
Tick Remover for Pets and People
 
This is the greatest tool for removing ticks from dogs or people. We have 3 dogs and walk daily in the Oakland, California hills. During tick season, most of the year, they each pick up a couple of ticks daily. Two of the dogs, Bear and Girl, have long hair, Joey has short hair, and the tick twister works well on all of them. It also removes ticks well from the "hairless apes" in the house. It's better than tweezers which grab skin and fur while leaving pieces of the tick behind, also there is no need to worry about poking your pet in the eye with sharp tweezers.
-- Bart Trickel
Tick Twister
$4
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by O'Tom
 
Toothbrush Sterilizer
If you share your house with several children (as I do) it's quite common for one kid to grab another kid's toothbrush, creating a pathway for infection. I decided that this problem was real when my oldest boy got a cold sore on his lip, and my youngest daughter mysteriously acquired one of her own a week later.
The human mouth is well known to be crawling with viruses and bacteria, and a toothbrush naturally picks up its share, along with some saliva to form an excellent culture medium. A toothbrush sitting innocently in the bathroom may be one of the least hygienic items in your home.
Several sterilizers are available, but this one seems the best to me, using ultraviolet light instead of steam. It's also useful if you have a guest who didn't plan to stay overnight and came without his own toothbrush. He won't catch anything from you, and you won't catch anything from him (at least, not by him brushing his teeth).
-- Abigail Fromm
PureBrush
$75
Available from Dental Mart
Manufactured by Purebrush
Pocket chair
The Nadachair and Slouchbuster are based on the ropes that Tibetan monks use to sit upright for hours on end when meditating. The monks use these ropes between their knees and back to help them stay upright. The Slouchbuster is a small, much more elegant version than ropes. The Nadachair is a larger version.
I'm a yank who lives in Perth Australia (West Coast). I fly often to the US and Europe, in coach. I've found this little thing is what allows me to sleep and survive 19-22 hours of crowded coach seats. I use the Slouchbuster when I travel because:
(1) It is very small. It is the size of a paperback book when folded up.
(2) It folds up and then zips up inside itself. It is totally self contained. No bags or anything needed.
I also own a Nadachair, too, which I keep at work. I use that a couple times a day to keep my back straight. I write software for a living, so I'm sitting for hours on end. It really makes a difference, especially if you have any sort of lower back problems (like me). I owned them for a couple of years now and I found that I no longer need a monthly chiropractor visit. So it has paid for itself within a month.
-- Ron Larson
Slouch!Buster
$39
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Nada- Chair
[See the more-recently reviewed S'portBacker --sl]
Engineering weight control
There's no better description of this book by Autodesk founder John Walker, than his own:
The Hacker's Diet ... is a serious book about how to lose weight and permanently maintain whatever weight you desire. It treats dieting and weight control from an engineering and management standpoint, and provides the tools and an understanding of why they work and how to use them that permit the reader to gain control of their own weight. The book is intended primarily for busy, successful engineers, programmers, and managers who have struggled unsuccessfully in the past to lose weight and avoid re-gaining it.
This electronic 250-page book has gone through many revisions over the past decade and is available online for free in four formats, from frame-based web to PDF files. It's been recommended by many readers.
--KK
The Hacker's Diet
John Walker
About a dozen readers wrote in with suggestions for an accurate body
scale, one that would give you a consistent reading within less than
a pound, even if you say, stepped off the scale and back on again.
Four people recommended the Tanita digital scales as providing
repeatable readings to within 1/5 of a pound. The Tanita UM-015 was
selling at Costco for $25, which is a good deal. Three people
recommended the Soehnle line from Germany. (Thanks to Blake
Sobiloff, Bill, Ger, Dan Dubnov, John Biddle, Myles Kelvin, Peter
van Impelen, Phil Mann.) But before you head to the store, read this
note:
"I've got a low-end digital scale and in an attempt to fake quality,
the manufacturer has built in artificial repeatability. If a
subsequent weighing is within about 2 lbs. of the preceding weighing
then the previously reported weight is re-displayed -- regardless of
how much time has passed. So a person loosing a steady .1 lbs a week
will show the same weight for 14 days and then suddenly loose two
pounds. I find that in order to get an accurate re-measure I have to
step on the scale holding a weight between each actual measurement.
Just a word of warning about using repeatability as an indicator of
quality." -- Ryan Brase
With that warning in mind the scale below may be a best choice. Also,
a scale for very large folks.
-- KK
A physicians' balance beam scale is consistently accurate. We've had
one now for at least 25 years; its accuracy has remained constant
through many moves, changes in humidity, and so forth. Measurement is
in 1/4 pounds, which is good enough. There is a readjustment knob if
you think there is an error when changing the scale's placement. If
only my weight and height had remained so constant....
-- Martha Robinson
If you want consistency and accuracy in a body scale, I strongly
suggest an old-fashioned balance beam scale. Even a cheap one
(<$200) will do a better job than most expensive electronic scales.
Also, they are kind of fun to use, they have an eye level display,
and the batteries never run out.
-- Danny Hillis
Detecto Eye-Level Beam Scale
$200
(Fedex shipping $20)
Available from
NorthShore Care
***********
I'm a big dude so most scales don't even cover my weight.
Consequently I had to think different to get a decent scale. I found
this digital postage scale. It reads up to 400lbs in half pound
increments, has a remote, mountable readout auto tare (useful when
weighing the dog). It isn't particularly pretty but being in the top
percentile in weight and height has certain drawbacks and requires
special tools.
-- Bryan Covington
400-pound Digital Freight Scale
$145
Available from
Amazon
Poison oak and ivy cure
 
Zanfel is very expensive, it's true ($38/oz). But it's worth every penny to anyone suffering with a poison ivy (or oak) rash. Within 30 seconds of treatment, the itching stops. Really. It's the only product I know of that chemically binds the urishol which is causing the problem. Doesn't have to be used as soon after exposure as Tecnu (recommended earlier in Cool Tools).
-- Jimmie Whipple
Zanfel
$40 for 1 oz.
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Zanfel
Rite-Aid drugstores sell their generic house-brand version of Zanfel for about $27 per 1 ounce tube. Curiously, it is not clear what the name of the product actually is. It is either the unimaginatively named Quick Itch Relief, or else it is Rite Aid Poison Ivy-Oak Wash. Both appear on the carton, and neither shows up on the web. There are a zillion "itch relief" products for poison oak and ivy and they are all named something similar, but most of them are merely coritsone derivatives. What you want is Zanfel, or a knock off, which will say "Compare to Zanfel", which this product is, whatever its real name.
-- KK
The foot bible
A macerated foot resulting from exposure to moisture.
Your feet uphold you. They're easy to abuse, hard to repair. This book is considered the authority on maintaining feet by those who most depend on them: athletes, dancers, soldiers, runners and hikers. Keep 'em happy with the great advice and proven remedies in this portable foot hospital. No other source is as reliable and complete, or more recommended by pros.
-- KK
Fixing Your Feet: Prevention and Treatments for Athletes
John Vonhof
2006, 4th edition, 341 pages
$13
Available from Amazon
Author's website
Sample excerpts:
Many athletes who have participated in extreme sports have learned firsthand how one minor problem can be magnified over time and eventually have major consequences. Typically this happens when a blister affects the gait, a backpack's weight throws off balance and stance, or stressed or weakened muscles cause an imbalance in the body's mechanics. Every athlete has different strengths and weaknesses, different degrees of flexibility, and different muscle skills and body types.
*
Tips for a Good Fit:
* Do not buy a pair assuming they will fit better later unless they are leather boots. In most cases, today's shoes and boots require no breaking-in period.
* Have your feet sized each time you buy new footwear. Measure both sitting and standing to determine your elongation factor.
* Fit new shoes to your larger foot.
* Try on shoes at the end of the day, preferably after running or walking, because your feet normally swell and become larger after you have been standing and sitting all day.
* Today's running shoes and lightweight hiking shoes are very well made and in most cases will wear as well or better than many of the heavier boots.
*
Try a silicone-based lubricant, which helps drive moisture away from your skin and reduces friction between your feet and shoes. Sportslick and Hydropel are both good products.
Empty your socks of rocks and junk. The debris that accumulates as you thrash around in the forest can cause blisters, sores, abrasions, and cuts, all highly contraindicated for happy feet. Best of all, use a light gaiter to keep things out to start with.
*
As odd as it may look, cutting the toes off shoes helps prevent common foot problems.
Reusable menstrual capture
The Keeper
The Keeper and the Diva Cup are reusable menstrual cups. I have been using the Keeper for several years now and it is excellent! I enjoy not having to throw away disgusting tampons and also not having to worry about buying them and carrying them around. It is really super and I don't know why it's not better known. It comes with a little cloth pouch. Any woman can use it; in fact some women who can't use tampons (because they get pushed out) are able to use the Keeper. It takes a little practice to get used to inserting it, but you just have to have a positive attitude! It's best to practice first when you are not on your period. The Keeper website has information on how to best insert it. I usually use one or two pads along with it for the heaviest part of my period, but it's a far cry from all the disposable stuff I was wasting before. And, by the way, I'm not a real green freak--I just think it's really convenient.
The Diva Cup is the same but made of silicone, so it's claimed to be better for people with latex allergies, although I have not used one myself.
-- Maria Blees
Diva Cup
[What do I know? But several women readers have suggested the silicone Diva Cup as the improved version. They claim it is non-allergic, it tends to deform less over time, offers an easier grip to removal, and lasts longer. A good discussion of the merits of both, and tips for use, can be found on Metafilter. -- KK]
The Keeper
$35
Available from
The Keeper
Also from Amazon
Diva Cup
$36
Available from
Diva Cup
Digital, easy, inexpensive
For taking your blood pressure at home, I recommend this excellent, beautifully engineered wrist sphygmomanometer. The great wizards at Panasonic have taken the cumbersome apparatus used to measure blood pressure, shrunk it into a little box and made it easy to use by anyone. That, to me, is wizardry.
You push the yellow button, the cuff squeezes your wrist and then deflates, showing your blood pressure in a nice, easy-to-read digital readout along with your heart rate. The whole unit measures 2.5" x 2" x 1"; and uses two AAA batteries. It costs $42 from Amazon*.
But will it deliver valid blood pressure measurements? Unequivocally, yes.
I took my little Panasonic into the Operating Room where I work and put it on the wrist of my patients, on the same arm on which I put my professional-grade anesthesia machine blood pressure cuff which, by the way, costs around $5,000. As soon as the anesthesia machine-value came up on my monitor screen, I pushed the little button on my Panasonic and then recorded both readings on a flow chart I'd created.
My conclusion after doing this informal study on six or seven patients was that the Panasonic is accurate, reliable and in fact better than the medical-grade equipment I use in two areas:
1) It's much easier to use: goes on in a couple seconds, as opposed to screwing around trying to get the blood pressure cuff and Velcro seal positioned just so, and then having to move the long rubber connecting tube to the anesthesia machine out of the way.
2) It's much faster: a reading from the Panasonic takes maybe 30 seconds from button push to obtaining a value; the anesthesia version takes 1-2 minutes.
I keep my little Panasonic in my fanny pack when I'm in the OR, as a backup, 'cause you just never know when your monitor's gonna crash.
-- Joe Stirt, MD
I hope you don't need one of these, but we do. This little gizmo is incredibly compact, fast, easy to use and trouble free (no mercury either). It's one small marvel, and now part of our home medical kit.
-- KK
Panasonic Precise Logic Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor
#EW3002W
$42
Previously available from Amazon
[*This model has been discontinued and replaced with the more recently-reviewed #EW3006S from Panasonic --sl]
Extra-Long Finger Bandages
I have a real talent for cutting my fingers. While cleaning the grille of an air conditioning duct last week I somehow managed to injure myself in three separate places.
Normally, this would have meant replacing a slew of conventional finger bandages ("Band-Aids") until my boo-boos healed. But I noticed this new product on my pharmacy shelf and decided to give it a try. It was a great improvement.
A typical finger bandage has a 1-inch gauze pad with a 3/4-inch adhesive strip at each end. This gizmo has a normal 3/4-inch adhesive on one side, plus a 2-3/4-inch length on the other-enough to wrap all the way around your finger two complete times, plus a little more. They stay on until you decide to take them off.
-- Tom Ferguson, M.D.
Curad Extreme Lengths Finger Bandages
$3.39
From a variety of online sources, e.g.,
Amazon
Micro tools
The next time you or a friend are in the ER getting stitched up, ask your provider if you can have the suture set when he or she is done. Most places will hand them over if they are the disposable type. Hospitals use disposable suture sets since they are fairly inexpensive and decontamination of the reusable ones can be costly. The curved hemostat, the toothless needle driver, small surgical scissors and the pickups (tweezers) come in handy around the house.
-- Fritz Araya
(About $10 new)
From Grogan's Healthcare Supply
You can get a free sample of the cool flosser I reviewed last issue by clicking here. I have no idea how long this offer will last.
-- KK [Suggested by Richmond Parker]
Sample Reach Access
Superior dental tool
The civilized way to floss. A tiny, easily replaceable harp on the end of a stick. More hygienic (no fingers in your mouth), more effective at flossing the hard parts, more comfortable, easier to use. Our kids love 'em. I floss much more often myself since I started using one. A really cool tool more folks should use. [Suggested by Alan Greene, MD.]
-- KK
Reach Access Daily Flosser Starter Kit
$2
Amazon
Best home medical information
Long the standard reference for working doctors and nurses, thumbworn copies of the Merck Manual could be found in most clinical offices. It had the kind of detailed and reliable summaries of an ailment that an intelligent person might want to know about, but its jargon and medical logic were difficult to decipher. Five years ago Merck translated this legendary book into plain English and issued a home paperback version. It was so far superior to any other form of home medical information (except the original Merck Manual itself) that it quickly became THE medical reference for our family. Last year Merck issued a second edition that updated, expanded, and improved this already great material. This Second Home Edition now approaches the professional Merck Manual in depth and completeness, except it retains its plain layperson's approach. Most home medical information sucks; collectively the web is better, but by far the best single source for dependable quick medical guidance is this handy book.
Merck Publishing (a non-profit organization) generously makes this book and the Merck Manual available in full text online. This version is very easy to search, and it is free.
-- KK
The Merck Manual of Medical Information: Home Edition
2003, 1907 pages
$14
Amazon
Excerpts:
 
Cancer answers
The very first stop on the Web for anyone newly diagnosed with the big C should be the non-profit ACOR site. Home of 200+ support groups for cancer, the life-changing advice on this clearinghouse is supplied outside the view of search engines, so you probably won't encounter it by Googling.
Talking with survivors of your type of cancer is the best place to start. It normalizes the experience, provides vital information and support, directs you to the other resources you will need, saves you many wasted hours on the Net, helps you make sure that you're getting the best available medical care, and plugs you into a continuing network within which you can both ask for help and be of help to others.
About half of the ACOR communities are composed of patients and family caregivers concerned with a specific type of cancer, e.g., the Lung Cancer Online Support Group, the AdenoCarcinoma of Unknown Primary Online Group, and the Prostate Problems Mailing List. Other groups focus on topics of interest to patients with cancer, e.g., the Cancer Patients Christian Online Support Group, the Cancer and Fertility Discussion Group, and the Complementary & Alternative Medicine Clinical Trials Discussion Group.
ACOR was established in 1995 by New York artist Gilles Frydman to host his wife's breast cancer mailing list. It then opened it's virtual doors, offering to host any noncommercial cancer-related mailing list. It now hosts nearly all such lists, and Frydman (gfrydman@acor.org) and his ACOR colleagues are always happy to help patients, family caregivers, or medical professionals start new cancer-related lists on needed topics. They've made a special effort to develop new support groups for rare cancers. And their Rare Cancers Discussion Group can be a godsend for patients with extremely rare forms of cancer.
To find the group you need, click on the Mailing Lists/Online Communities link at the ACOR home page, then search or browse till you find the group you're looking for. You will then be prompted to enter your e-mail address and to choose a password. ACOR will immediately send you an e-mail message confirming your request. When you click on the link in this e-mail, your password will be activated. (This procedure protects users from search engines and spam.)
Once your password is activated, you can browse or search the list's archives of past postings. You can also sign up to receive future postings. For active lists, the once-a-day "daily digest" option is strongly recommended.
Since ACOR blocks search engines and links for privacy protection, the group you're looking for may not show up on a Google (or other search engine) query for general terms. So if you know anyone with cancer, do them a favor: Send them a copy of this review.
-- Tom Ferguson, M.D.
The Association of Cancer Online Resources
Sprained ankle repair
I was recently reminded of this cool tool for sprained ankles when my wife and I were hustling to locate an obscure theater before the doors shut. Not watching my foot path, I stepped on a misaligned concrete sidewalk and went to the ground after rolling my ankle. I couldn't wait to get home to put my Aircast on. This product stabilizes your injured ankle well enough that you'd have to go hiking on poorly maintained trails to reinjure your ankle after a sprain. My last sprain was twelve years ago and the Aircast got me 95% healed within three weeks; without it, I've gone longer than three months. Truly amazing if you sprain your ankle. They can be ordered direct from the company, but even in my town of 16,000, there's one pharmacy that carries them in stock. Around $40.00 and worth twice that, easily.
-- John Monguillot
Aircast Air-Stirrup Ankle Brace
$37
From the Ankle Shop, among others
Also from Amazon
Manufactured by
Aircast
Cheaper than doctor visits
It's been a long time since we had a child at home. But our favorite pediatrician, Dr. Alan Greene, recommends the EarCheck Middle Ear Monitor, which uses sonar to check for ear infections, the number one reason kids need to see a doctor. Just slip the nose cone of the device into child's ear and press a button. The child hears a chirping noise but feels nothing--and you get a reading that indicates how well the eardrum is moving. A "Green" light means the eardrum is functioning well, and most likely your child does not have an ear infection. A "Red" reading suggests that there is fluid behind the eardrum, so a visit to the physician is needed. Further details on using the monitor can be found at Dr. Greene's Housecalls.
-- Tom Ferguson, M.D.
Ear Check
Middle Ear Monitor
$50
Available from Amazon
Most durable bandages
These bandages simply won't come off. Not underwater, not in oil or sweat, not by wear and tear. They are extremely flexible, very comfortable, and hard to notice, too. To tell you the truth, they are so thin at the edges and stuck down they are hard to get off when you want to. A hot and messy test kitchen tried out ten different brands of bandaids, and Nextcare were the only ones to never come off. Most bandaids are put on kids for boo-boos as a placebo; for the times when you need a covering that must stay on, this one by 3M (the adhesive folks) will really do the trick.
-- KK
3M First Aid Nexcare Waterproof Bandages
$5
Available from Walgreens
Or $10 for 3pk, 20 each from Amazon
Best antibiotic
A cocktail of three popular antibiotics invented in the 1950s that is synergistically more powerful than any of the three alone or in sequence. Trials have shown that triple antibiotic combo reduces scarring better than double or a single antibiotic. It's an over-the-counter ointment.
-- KK
Triple Antibiotic Ointment
1 oz., $6
Available from any drug store, also from Amazon
Moist makes faster healing
One of the things medical staff used to nip from hospitals to bring home is inexpensive moist wound pads. Keeping a wound moist - particularly a burn wound -- has been proven to aid its healing. Moist wound pads contain a layer of gel that holds either sterile water, or additional therapeutic ingredients, wrapped under a large adhesive bandage. Doctors' offices stock these aids, but they are only now getting into the consumer market. Drugstore over-the-counter pads like Spenco 2nd Skin Moist Burn Pads come in a package of 5 small (2 x3 inches) sterile packages. New-Skin (UK-based) Burn Relief Dressing comes in 3 3x3 pads -- but these have less than half the useable surface area of the Spencos. Johnson and Johnson is introducing household bandages with moist gel pads inside, too. These pads aren't cheap, but hopefully you'll only need them occasionally.
-- KK
Spenco 2nd Skin Moist Burn Pads
2 x 3 in. 5ea.
$6.50
Walgreens
New-Skin Burn Relief Dressing
Med Shop Express
Essential mouth tool
I got mine - made of surgical stainless steel -- from a set of used dental tools at a garage sale for 25 cents. It's incredibly handy for inspecting missing fillings, infections, gum complaints, particularly in kids. And you can look for sharp edges on dental braces. There really is no other way to look deep inside the mouth. The key is to get a proper front-surface mirror, which some drugstore plastic versions don't have. Otherwise at close range there is a slight double image which confuses the image.
-- KK
Front Surface Dental Mirror
32851 (mirror) + 32906 (handle), $6,
Smart Practice.com
800-522-0800
Dental Mirror
item #16-114, $4.50
Revival Animal Health
712-737-5555, 800-786-4751
Emergency teeth filings
Dentemp is a traditional dental combination of zinc oxide and eugenol (clove oil) mixed when needed to make a temporary tooth patch for lost cavity filling, or to re-cement a cap or inlaid on a tooth. It's strong enough that you'll need to have a dentist remove it later. Since an emergency Dentemp kit weighs less than an ounce, it should be part of your traveling or backpacking kit. You can get it at almost any drug store.
-- KK
Dentemp
$4
Amazon
Blister prevention
My wife, who is an RN, brought some of this stuff home one night -- they use it to hold IVs in place, I think -- and it wasn't long before I started tinkering with it. Turns out that if you're a distance runner or a hiker or are breaking in a new pair of shoes, this stuff is a godsend. At the first sign of irritation, take off your sock and put a layer of this tape on the affected area. It is very thin, so it just feels like your skin conveniently got a bit thicker and less sensitive. Unlike cloth tape it has a minimal amount of adhesive, so there's little need for trepidation when it comes time to remove it. Because of this stuff I was hero for a day last November when on the day of her high school Cross Country finals my daughter had a HUGE blister on the inside of her arch. Nothing was going to completely take away the pain, but she was able to finish the race without too much distraction.
-- Paul Dulaney
Johnson & Johnson's Non-Irritating Paper Tape
$3
Amazon
How to remember medication
Those of us who take vitamins or other medications may find ourselves fumbling through assorted vials and pill bottles several times a day--if we remember to take them at all. And if we're going to be away, we need to remember to take our medications with us. This remarkable pill organizer changes everything. You fill it once a week. Then, when Thursday comes, you open the sliding lid of your Thursday pill box to find all your pills waiting in large compartments labeled morning, noon, evening, and night. Comes with a medication alarm (it reminds you when its time to take your pills) and carrying pouch. Epill.com also offers other medication organizers, reminder watches, and a variety of other medication aids.
-- Tom Ferguson, MD
Seven-Day Pill Organizer
$60
Epill Medication Reminders
800-549-0095
781-239-8255
Stops bleeding instantly
This is a must for any 1st aid kit. QuikClot is a topical blood clotting agent for scrapes, cuts and wounds (they claim some even very serious). You basically apply this stuff to an open cut, and it instantly clots to stop bleeding. Tested by the US military. This stuff works great for those scrapes, cuts and wounds encountered on the road. I've been using it in the bathroom for shaving cuts, too.
-- Gregory Winer
QuikClot
3.5 oz
$25
From here among other places
Simpler Life
Manufacturered by:
Z-Medica
Youth pills
A cure for aging!? In part at least it seems indeed to be that � not only preventing but reversing. Evangelism is not my style, but this one has me collaring people. So far.
Many years ago I co-wrote a piece for CoEvolution Quarterly with Bruce Ames, creator of the renowned �Ames Test� for carcinogenicity. So when I saw a news item that Bruce Ames had discovered something that dramatically reversed some of the effects of aging in his lab rats and was starting a business called Juvenon to peddle the elixir to humans, I visited the web site and then began dosing myself with the substances named in the research. They are two standard anti-oxidants available in any health food store online or on the street � alpha-lipoic acid and L-carnitine. Apparently due to a combined effect, �our old rats are doing the Macarena,� Ames told the press � suddenly the rats were fitter, happier, and had better memory.
I�m 63. For several years I�ve been watching my ability to recall proper names degrade (regular words you can always work around in synonym-rich English), and I�ve lamented how an ever shorter section of mountain could get me out of breath. Ten days after I started taking the two drugs, my memory began improving; it�s been getting steadily better in the months since. I can remember names like a politician. Four months on, I�m noticing a return of peripheral awareness, most welcome when driving in traffic. About two and a half months after I started, my wind began to come back in a significant way. In Aspen last week, a post-breakfast stroll turned into a quick climb of 2,000 feet to 9,600 feet because it was so easy.
The organelles in question are one�s mitochondria � wee energy factories in the cells. Their decline in number and efficiency is a well known effect of aging and cause of its deterioration. With the combination in Juvenon, the mitochondria come back. (For the mechanisms, read the scientific papers at the Juvenon site, starting with the lead piece in the Press area, which summarizes nicely.) The rejuvenative effect is felt first in brain function because the brain uses one-third of the body�s energy.
Side effects? None I�ve noticed. What age is a good time to start? Dunno. My wife just turned 50 and she�s trying the pills. Is there an accumulative good effect or gradual nullification over time? Too early to say.
The Juvenon company now offers the pills directly � convenient tabs instead of the multiple caps of doing it home-brew; about a dollar a day. Though the two drugs are over-the-counter legal, the company is pursuing rigorous double-blind human trials just as if this were a new drug seeking FDA approval. Coming soon: Juvenon for aging pets.
(Other daily additives in my bloodstream: generic multivitamin from Costco, vitamin E which delights male muscle, and folic acid �prescribed by a passing Doctor Without Borders for prevention of heart attack.)
-- Stewart Brand
Juvenon
60 capsules - one month supply
$40, 1-800-JUVENON
Good article at Science Daily
Inexpensive secure bandages
For wrapping up wounds, both large and small, you want a wrap that is secure, yet not so tight it will decrease needed blood circulation. Ace bandages are considered too constricting and likely to wind up tight; in their stead pros use conforming bandages, with brands names like Kling. The key here is "wider is better." Get the widest width you can and wrap liberally. The bandage will cling to itself (you still have to tape the end of it) but will not shift around much in normal use. The same stuff as Kling, but about 10 times cheaper is Vet-Wrap, used for the same purposes on animals. Better yet, Vet-Wrap comes in a choice of cheery colors instead of hospital white.
-- KK
Vet Wrap
#15-230, 4 inch, $2
from Revival Animal Health
712-737-5555
800-786-4751
or try Amazon
Centralizes emergency tools
It's a great idea to put all your medical stuff into a kit of some sort, even if it never leaves your house. The worst place to store medicines and supplies is in the bathroom, where most people keep them. It is moist and warm there, while what medical stuff wants is dry and cool. You also want to be able to grab supplies quickly and take them where they are needed. We put ours into plastic cases the size of shoe boxes, There's one for bandages and first aid, and another for medicines. The lids seal tight, prolonging the shelf life of the contents. When there is an first aid injury, we get the kit and have everything together on site.
-- Alan Greene, MD
How to survive a WMD attack
In the worst-worst case scenario that you experience a nuke explosion, dirty bomb, toxic chem attack or biological disaster, what should YOU do? The first ten minutes are crucial. Don't "ask your local officials" as much advice to date has suggested. Do read this short booklet prepared by RAND, and prepare. You can print it out from the free PDF file (including handy 3-fold card reminder version), or if you need to distribute many copies to employees, neighbors, etc., you can order printed copies for $15 a piece.
I highly recommend reading the full version first (also available as a series of PDFs and/or a longer book) which gives the logic behind their suggestions and scenarios. This is the best practical advice I've yet seen for personally dealing with the consequences of an actual weapon of mass destruction in your neighborhood.
--KK
Excerpt:
There is no need to determine the location of the source or direction or speed of the chemical cloud. Technical evaluations indicate that such basic sheltering can reduce chemical exposure by 75 percent or more compared to the exposure outside the shelter. These results are consistent with the outcomes of the aerosolized sarin attack by the Aum Shinrikyo group in a residential area in Matsumoto, Japan, in June 1994. In that incident, all seven people who died had their windows open. All of those individuals who had closed their windows-including many people closer to the source, those in units adjacent to buildings in which fatalities occurred, and those on the lower floors of these buildings-survived the attack (Yanagisawa, 1995).
Quick Guide
Free PDF from Rand
Click on the Quick Guide.
Full Version PDF
Individual Preparedness and Response, Quick Guide [book]
RAND
$11
Amazon
Unorthodox back pain philosophy
Back pain is ubiquitous in developed countries. Yet the honest truth is that science is uncertain as to what causes it. Theories abound, as does a lot of pseudo-therapy. There are probably multiple origins and different varieties of lower back pain. However, one theory says a large portion of back pain starts with mental tension. If you have an inkling that your back pain is linked to stress, I strongly suggest you seek out this perennially-in-print book (since 1972). My speaking agent, who deals with hundreds of stressed-out type A's and the consequential epidemic of back pain they carry with them, routinely hands out this book. It seems to be the one thing that helps them the most. It helped me. By adopting the view that lower back pain is a syndrome in large part fostered by the mind/body complex, I've been able to avoid surgery and painkillers and resume my life. Your mileage may vary, but it's worth a read.
-KK
Mind Over Back Pain
John Sarno, MD
1982, 124 pages
$10
Berkley Books
New York
Amazon
Excerpt:
The reason for this obsession with discs is that it does seem logical. There are those degenerating structures at the lower end of the spine, right where a lot of pain and spasms occur; there are lumbar and sacral nerves conveniently located so that they can be compressed by bulging or herniated discs; there is pain in the leg, proving that those nerves are compressed.
*
What these data confirm is that degenerative processes have nothing to do with most back pain. Degeneration is progressive and relentless; serial X rays as one ages document this fact. Yet back pain is far less common in the older age groups. According to the conventional diagnostic concepts, everyone over the age of sixty should have back pain.
The bar graph in Figure 9 [above] gives the age by breakdown by decade. Seventy-seven percent of the group fell between the ages of thirty and fifty-nine. Note that there are fewer patients in their sixties than in their twenties! Since the majority of back pain syndromes are attributed to degenerative processes - for example, degenerative osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease - it is strange, indeed, that there were only thirteen patients aged sixty to sixty-nine, and seven in their seventies.
Handy finger bandages
Kids hurt their fingers a lot. You can make an okay bandage with Kling wrap (see Vet Wrap, above) — but if the injury is on a fingertip (a common spot) the cylinder shape you get from rolling doesn’t do as nice a job of protecting or of providing gentle pressure. You can fold over the end, but it gets bulky and inelegant for everyday activities. Tube Gauze is a quick, easy, elegant way to make a stocking cap for your finger or toe. The applicator (sold separately, but you can do without it) is a metal cage that holds the tube of the gauze open. You slide the applicator (or just the gauze) over a finger, lift it up, twist once, and then slide it back down. You can repeat several times to get the thickness of bandage you want. It gives a smooth, flat, elegant bandage — and it’s kinda fun to do. A hit with kids.
–Alan Greene, MD
Surgitube Tubular Gauze Bandage
1P-Small fingers and toes
Item #08302, 50-yds
$6
Aluminum Applicator
Item #08291
$3.50
Moore Medical
Non-prescription anesthesia
The strongest non-prescription numbing substance you can apply around a scrape, wound, or burn is Lidocaine. You can find 2% lotion in expensive little tubes (8 per pack) for burns called Activ BurnStuff at most drugstores. You can also get topical anesthetic pads with 2.5% Lidocaine from Chinooks. Good for bee-stings, too.
Activ Burnstuff
8 tubes
Item # F1-750-08001-01
$4.50
Activ USA
Lidocaine First Aid Lotion
Item #01041
$5
Chinook Medical Gear
800-766-1365
970-375-1241
Applying drops confidentially
I've had this little gray tool for years. You open the little container up and put in your little bottle of eyedrops. Snap it back shut. When you want to use the drops (for me, every morning while still in bed, half-asleep and with shaky hands) you pop the top back on a hinge--the top part being shaped like an eye-wash cup somewhat--unscrew your bottle cap and pop the top back on. Lift to your eye and squeeze the device; there are squeeze panels on either side of it. The top fits in your eye socket and keeps the dropper tip at the right distance from the eye, so you don't
a) blink
b) contaminate the tip
c) shake drops everywhere but in your eye, and
d) stab yourself in the eye with the eyedrops bottle.
Since I developed a tremor, the thing is indespensible. I don't know how I'd get on without it.
--Elle Walter
[Also perfect for kids; the black hood encourages their eyes to remain open.]
Opticare Eye Drop Dispenser
$16
Available from Westons Internet
Best Urban First Aid Guide
This nifty little pocket reference was designed for EMTs to use in the field, but it also is great for anyone with basic first aid training in urban situations, or anywhere emergency services or a hospital are available within a reasonable period of time -- basically, any situation other than a wilderness environment.
Concisely covers the essentials of responding to the most common situations encountered in urban areas, such as cardiac emergencies, pediatric injuries, poisoning and childbirth. While this is no substitute for first aid/CPR training or a more comprehensive first aid guide, its concise outline style is perfect for quickly refreshing one's memory. In this sense, the Pocket Reference is actually better than a full-boat first aid book, because when an emergency strikes, minutes count and would-be rescuers are doing the victim no favors by sitting around reading long texts or fumbling through large tomes.
The Reference contains information specifically tailored to the DOT EMT/First Responder curriculum that readers unfamiliar with those courses may find a bit alien. For example, there are multiple unfamiliar acronyms, and an emphasis on patient assessment not commonly taught in more basic first courses . But taking a few minutes to read the material will remove the unfamiliarity and actually give the reader some extra skills and confidence that will pay off well in an emergency. I recommend putting a copy in all your first aid kits, both at home and in your car.
-- Paul Saffo
Pocket Reference for the EMT-B and First Responder, 2nd Edition
Bob Elling
2002, 202 pages
$18.52
Amazon
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