6) But it isn't herbal tea, it's a substance that may cause side effects, addiction, and hospitalization. The wellness industry leans into the "safety halo" we perceive around plants -misleading!
Check the source, stay skeptical, and stay safe. 💙 #MedTwitter #EvidenceBased
5) SoMe media platforms can shut down/ban content that promotes the sale or use of kratom, so wellness marketers may call it a "botanical energy brew” or a tonic. This bypasses safety filters and makes a pharmacologically active product sound like groceries. #HealthLiteracy
4) Kratom is in a grey zone: in the US it is not an approved treatment (although there are studies ongoing) and it is a “drug of concern” to the FDA. In Canada it is not approved (toxicity and addiction risk) and it is illegal to sell for consumption, but it is not "controlled."
3) The report shows the influencers are influencing: a 1200% increase in kratom exposure reports to poison control, with 538 hospitalizations last year alone. There were 233 kratom-associated deaths over 10 years - often in people exposed to kratom and other substances.
2) Before the data, behold the Goddess of the Natural Fallacy (the Herbal Essence shampoo lady) telling you that plants aren't just flowers in the sun. Think of a mix of potent, untested drugs. Kratom can cause psychosis, seizures, vomiting, liver damage, addiction ...and more.
1) Some med content for you! I was interested by the the US National Poison Center Data reported in today's @CDCgov MMWR on Kratom exposure poison centre calls. (at tinyurl.com/4m63saz8)
TL;DR: "Natural" doesn't mean "Risk-Free."
🧵 #PublicHealth #MMWR
PSA
In Alberta you now need to sign up to get public health advisories for your area. It is not clear to me if there will be regular media-social media public health announcements outside this process.
See link:
www.alberta.ca/publi...
Bonus Comment: Don't get hung up on math. Big picture example: government has not built a hospital in Edmonton since 1988, our population has more than doubled, and we are a referral centre. This has been predictable, predicted, and not dealt with for a looooong time.
Bonus Math: Canada- avg 2.5 beds/1000, OECD/international avg 3.5/1000, Edm/Calgary 1.5 beds/1000: 3800 beds to get to Can avg, 7,295 to OECD average, optimal community hospital size is 300-400 beds.
Each hospital: 2500-3200 people: nurses, doctors, plus other HCW/staff.
6/6 ✅ The Fix:
1️⃣ Acknowledge we need to catch up, then match population growth
2️⃣ Long-Term Care patients need LTC beds
3️⃣ Recognize the real costs of running at >100%
HCW burning out to prevent terribly substandard care is not a long-term plan.
6/6 Problem: Deliberate downsizing ("efficiency") since the 1980s. Now Canada runs the lowest "curative" beds in the G7, and Calgary and Edmonton (1.4 beds/1000) sit near India and Bolivia- we could manage it because of good primary care, but we're underresourcing that too.
5/6 🏆 The Paradox: Despite this, Albertans have better cancer survival rates than the UK or Germany. My colleagues are putting it all out, all the time for our patients, with ZERO surge capacity. We have 102-120% occupancy daily. The goal for function and cost savings is 85%.
4/6 🛑 The "Exit" Block: Between 20% and 37% of our hospital beds are filled with patients waiting for long-term care (ALC). When the "exit" is blocked, the Emergency Room becomes a parking lot. "Hallway medicine" is terrible for patients and heartbreaking for healthcare workers.
3/6 📉 The Bed Gap: In 1980, Canada had 6.75 beds per 1,000 people. Today, Alberta’s big cities are down to ~1.4. That’s the same ratio as India or Syria. Meanwhile, Germany sits at 7.8. We are forced to run "lean" to the point of breaking.
2/6 If you want ALL the gory details I have them written down here, btw - work in progress: medium.com/@Antibiot...).
Basically, decades-long policy of "efficiency" has left no surge capacity: our system works brilliantly on a Tuesday in May, but breaks every December.
TL;DR: Alberta would need 11 hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary to be resourced to the Canadian average.
1/6 🏥 Why is Alberta’s healthcare system under such strain? It’s not "management"—it’s a numbers problem 40 years in the making. Let’s look at the data. 🧵 #AbLeg #CdnHealth
This should be interesting! An example of outside-the-box community outreach: I've never been in a panel that chatted through and debated vaccine controversies over a beer before!
This Friday - still some tickets available.
Edmontonians, visitors, U of A peeps- drop by Univ of AB Hospital Snell Hall for the Department of Medicine Community Health Fair anytime from 10:30 till 2:30 (the last session starts at 2) - with lunch provided as long as it lasts- you’ll be fed, entertained and educated!
By the way - labour negotiations have nothing to do with whether legislature is in or not.
So discussions COULD start tomorrow if the premier allowed them to.
4/4
It really felt like everyone was willing to keep showing up for as long as it takes. Hopefully once our democratically elected government gets the ample feedback that is rolling in it won’t be long…
3/4
Civilized and organized, citizens of all ages showed up to show we believe teachers and students deserve reasonable teaching and learning conditions.
2/4
Personal reflection: when it feels like there’s a LOT of concerning things going on, it was therapeutic to join a vast crowd of Albertans at the Legislature (so many kids!) to support our teachers and public education.
1/4
Honestly if in years past you told me that in 2025 we’d be getting measles exposures notifications on the regular I’d not have believed you. U of A notification.
(Sigh. To those who believe I am evil for promoting vaccination - I’m sorry you’ve been sucked into that unfortunate worldview, but I am sharing a personal + professional, science based interpretation and am being civil about it.
Abuse and threats say more about you than me.
6/6
5. All to say people should remember vaccination updates and prioritize their health this fall.
Life is busy and stressful enough without getting sick, caring for sick family members, rampant illness and abseentism at work/school, and wayyy overfull hospitals.
5/6
4. Millions of lives saved by vaccines…but a time of great societal stress also amplified outrageous disinformation from grifters and conspiracists, in spite of excellent safety data (there is no doubt vaccine is better than COVID infection.) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...
4/6
3. COVID can be severe directly AND, like influenza, is associated with higher rates of major cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke) in younger people too. Vaccines make a big difference in reducing risk of illness, death and community impact.
share.google/pvqLKjf...
3/6
2. Access with be more complex- not in pharmacies. Pre sign up period ends before they are available I think?
(If in doubt about coverage conditions and affotdability I’d sign up anyway. )
bookvaccine.alberta....
Immunologic conditions for eligibility include:
2/6
1.
In case you are in Alberta and missed the details, COVID fall vaccination eligibility in Alberta is restricted vs other provinces. One key difference is not covering based on age >65. Congregate care, medical and immunologic eligibility criteria. Medical:
1/6
I imagine many know this already but holy heck, what a massive Microsoft SharePoint security breach - with no patch yet.
Just in case- an FYI.
Check w/ your IT folk if it affects you.