Hashtag Health

Should you be as scared of coronavirus as the thousands of people wearing surgical face masks would make it seem? Given that the total number of deaths has surpassed the cumulative total of MERS and SARS combined, some would say yes. But there is more to the story than just numbers. In this episode, we chat with Dr. Michael Silverman, Chief of Infectious Diseases at London Health Sciences Centre, about the current state of the NCov epidemic and what kinds of preventative practices can reduce the risk of infection.

What do you get when you combine magic beans and the direct to consumer sales pipeline of the internet? A lot of money in the pockets of the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Dr. Oz. Science misinformation is a wolf in sheep's clothing and camouflages as "natural" goods being sold for the sake of ~wellness~. In this episode, we chat with Tim Caulfield, a Canadian professor of law at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, about the motives behind science misinformation and what we can do to fight it.

In 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin from leaving a moldy petri dish out over his holidays. Pharmaceutical companies jumped on the opportunity to both develop new antibiotics and advertise the ones they already had. We spoke with Dr. Scott Podolsky, a family physician and history professor at Harvard Medical School about the history of antibiotics and the eventual development of antimicrobial resistance.

Acne! It affects mere babes all the way to women going through menopause. Stubborn, unsightly, and ... hard to treat? Many folks have cut out dairy from their diet in hopes that they can make a trade for clear skin. You may have heard the same thing about staying away from sugary or processed foods. But how does the evidence for these kinds of lifestyle practices hold up? On the other hand, you may be wondering what sorts of treatments have proven to be effective zit zappers and where you can get them. All that and more in this episode featuring Dr. Jessica Howard - a family physician with a special interest in dermatology.

Once considered a historic disease, syphilis is once again on the rise. In this week's episode we spoke with Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, about what is contributing to the resurgence of the sexually transmitted disease, what is being done in response, and what we can do to prevent the spread.

In today's time, both at home and globally reproductive rights have been more contested than ever. Especially given the plethora of information on the internet, it can be difficult to decipher between fact and fiction. We sit down with Dr. Fraser Fellows to debunk the top myths surrounding abortions circulating on the internet.

Both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are still recovering from the injuries they sustained in the NBA finals early this year. It’s no surprise then that more and more players are taking games off for load management, a practice pioneered by 2019 NBA Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard. In this week’s episode, we spoke to orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Chris Raynor about the reality behind Kevin Durant’s Achilles rupture, the load management movement, and reasons why 17 years into his career, LeBron James is still one of the most dominant players in the league.

Caravans carrying Type I Diabetes patients across borders to buy life-saving drugs. Frantic parents calling pharmacies for EpiPen refills to save their anaphylactic children. With all the news surrounding drug shortages, it sounds like we are heading towards a drug-less, apocalyptic future. But the drugs in the news are everyday medications we buy at local pharmacies; so how can there be sudden shortages? Is this just a case of sensationalized media or are we really in danger of running out of drugs? In this episode, we talk to Dr. Jackie Duffin about the causes of drug shortages and whether we can hold Big Pharma accountable.

Injuries of any kind are devastating for players, teams, and fans alike. But some of them are much worse than others. In this weeks episode, we talk to Dr. Chris Raynor about the medicine behind achilles and ACL injuries, what rehab looks like, and the dangers of coming back too soon. We also discuss the world of elite sports medicine.

Can one man's waste be another's... treasure? And by treasure we mean medical treatment. Modern medicine has evolved quite a bit from what it used to be hundreds of years ago... but as it turns out, to treat certain aggressive gastrointestinal diseases (ie c difficile infections) we may have to revert to the ancient technique of ingesting fecal matter. In this episode, we chat with gastroenterologist Dr. Karim Qumosani and a chronic fatigue syndrome patient about fecal microbiota transplants.

How does a Forbes' 30 under 30 boy genius get dubbed the most hated man in America? How about hiking up the price of a life-saving drug by 5000 percent. Is Shkreli just a bad egg, or is he one manifestation of Big Pharma's underlying dynamics when dealing with life-saving therapies? To help answer this question, we interviewed Neil Johnson, the Vice President of Cancer Care at LHSC. In addition to his current leadership role at LHSC, Neil has decades of experience working in oncology and pharmacare due to his background as a palliative care pharmacist.

What's the difference between mental illness and healthy mental functioning? Revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V - also known as the bible of psychiatry) has left some psychiatrists wondering if the changes made to the DSM will make it too easy for people to be unnecessarily diagnosed with a mental condition. On the other hand, what if the increased diagnoses we see are just a result of more people reaching out and asking for help?

To close our our 3 part series on Xanax and other benzodiazepines, we talk with Chief of Psychiatry at STEGH, Dr. Giuseppe Guaiana. Dr. Guaiana's research investigates the effectiveness of benzodiazepines for treating anxiety compared to other modalities like SSRIs. Did you know that they're actually equally effective? To hear more from Dr. Guaiana, tune into this episode.

Does the fact that the average desk top is home to around 21,000 bacteria per square inch gross you out? Now don’t reach over and grab some hand sanitizing gel just yet. You might be surprised to learn that this might not be such a good idea. This week on Hashtag Health, we’re bringing you the case for why we as a society are maybe being TOO clean.

B fragilis is the “probiotic” that one paper claimed would help treat specific aspects of autism associated behaviour. Not surprisingly, this conclusion sparked a media frenzy as well as celebrations among child autism communities. What’s unsettling about all of this is that B Fragilis isn’t even a probiotic...

Even if you've never been prescribed Xanax, you probably know about it just from listening to the radio. However, there is another group of lesser known benzodiazepines called Z drugs, which are prescribed for insomnia. In part 2 of #Xanax we talk to Dr. Vozoris about Z drugs, non-selective benzodiazepines like Xanax, and the dangerous outcomes when combining these drugs or taking them with opioids.

For those of you who have ever been tempted to spend the extra money to buy probiotic infused foods... this episode is for you. From probiotic granola bars to probiotic baby formula, consumers are seeing more "gut health" promoting foods than ever before. But do probiotic foods work to the same degree as taking a probiotic supplement or are they just the newest marketing ploy to attract consumer attention? Dr. Reid is one of the pioneers of probiotic research and to the companies selling pasteurized kombucha - he's got something to say.

"Moms everywhere eating their organs after childbirth" ... that might have you thinking that the zombie apocalypse is finally among us. It's not -- but to some, what's really happening is just as strange. What's with the placenta eating? Well, many celebrities rave about the health benefits they experienced after eating their placentas after childbirth. The good news from them is that you too can indulge in this all natural, "made just for you" health product. But here’s their little secret… eating placentas can cause a life-threatening disease in newborns. All of this and more in this week’s episode of Hashtag Health.

Fentanyl ravages the illicit drug trade. Used needles line the streets. The government fears its patients, and patients fear their doctors. Tune in to the finale where we present you with our parting thoughts on #OPIOIDS.