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show first aired May 1, 2008
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1048
If you made a list of the most popular and successful new surgical procedures of the last few decades, there’s little doubt that LASIK eye surgery would be somewhere near the top. But it’s not for everyone. On this week’s Health Show, we give LASIK surgery a closer look. Then we’ll find out how living near an airport can affect your blood pressure. Here’s a hint...think take off, not landing. And we’ll hear about a suicide prevention program aimed at native Alaskan teenagers.
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PUTTING LASIK EYE SURGERY IN FOCUS
On April 25, an advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration held a hearing on LASIK eye surgery...a procedure that was introduced to the marketplace a decade ago and is now performed on about 700 thousand Americans each year. The panel heard stories of severe side effects including worse vision, severe dry eye, glare and the inability to drive at night. But those effects are suffered by less than 1 percent of LASIK patients...and the vast majority of LASIK patients benefit from the procedure. As one doctor told the panel: "This is a referendum on the performance of LASIK by some surgeons who should be doing a better job." We’d thought we should get a clearer picture of the surgery, so we invited Dr. Allen Zieker, an Ophthalmologist with Albany -Troy Cataract & Laser Associates here in our backyard. And, in the interest of full disclosure...another member of that practice is one Dr. Robert Sax who’s laundry I will, on occasion, fold. Dr. Zieker, give us the basics of LASIK surgery.
Airport + Neighborhood = Hypertension?
According to a recent report from scientists across Europe, airplane noise may be driving people who live near airports into an early grave, by increasing their blood pressure. Even while they’re asleep. Radio Netherlands’ Marnie Chesterton reports.
HEALTH UPDATE with Dr. Philip Stieg
Chronic sleeplessness caused by difficulty falling or staying asleep can have a negative impact on your physical and mental health. On this week’s Health Update, Dr. Stieg takes a look at some natural approaches to curing insomnia.
Natural Helpers Helps Alaskan Teens Fight Suicide
Alaska Natives have the highest suicide rates in the country, but a program that enables teens to mentor their peers is working to stop the trend. The Natural Helpers program is in its fifth year in the Lower Yukon school district, and other regions in the state are looking at the program's success. Every year the kids hold retreats to train the next wave of Natural Helpers, this story from reporter Bonnie Sue Hitchcock is from a retreat in the village of Hooper Bay.
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