A few Beijing patients and parents have recently been asking about some news reports about a recall of Augmentin syrup last week here in China. So, I’d like to cut through the fog for everyone and clarify the facts. The bottom line is that there is no major harm, but let’s review. Augmentin is the …

How many of you simply must have the strongest sunscreen? How many Americans are paying premium markups for SPF 70, 90 — or higher? Starting next summer in the United States, you will no longer be able to buy any sunscreen with a rating over 50. This is due to last week’s ruling by the …

Did you know that the U.S. Center for Disease Control predicts that one third of all Americans will have diabetes by the year 2050? This scary statistic is not just an American phenomenon; many Western countries’ modernized diets have led to a diabetes epidemic, and China already has more diabetics than any other country. The …

Readers may remember a couple posts I wrote last year discussing the British Medical Journal’s retraction of the famous 1990′s study that linked the MMR vaccine to autism. Last May, the same British doctor lost his license, and this month the same journal is publishing a series of investigative articles which highlight how that study …

The November issue of BeijingKids magazine is hot off the presses, and I think it’s one of the most useful ever published. Hats go off for managing editor Imogen Kandel and her staff. This issue focuses on good health, with a wealth of high-yield articles regarding hospitals, health insurance and other resources. My monthly column …

It’s that time of year again: flu shots are here. We all are a bit shell-shocked after last year’s H1N1 pandemic madness, and many communities were divided on the pros and cons of the flu vaccine. So who really needs the annual flu shot? There’s actually a very comprehensive new study which should help shed …

The following guest article is by Timothy Foggin, MD, MPH. He is a Canadian doctor who will start working in Shanghai this winter… We all know that there are many influences on our health, some within our control, and some from without. As Dr. Saint Cyr highlighted earlier this summer, the WHO’s Commission on Social …

We’ve been getting a lot of calls from concerned parents regarding the local campaign to vaccinate all schoolkids with measles vaccines. As far as I understand, this is voluntary for students. Firstly, people should understand that there is no crisis of a sudden measles outbreak; this is simply a national campaign to wipe out measles, …

I’ve often written about how Beijingers may need a good filtration mask on the really bad days here, but it’s difficult to find good ones. I’ve usually recommended any official N95 mask, and I consider the 3M company to be the most professional company for these. Unfortunately, they are much more geared for construction teams …

I recently wrote about acne and discussed how there wasn’t much evidence linking diet choices with acne. Now I’ve discovered a recent literature review published last year, which does show some linking with acne flares and cow’s milk, as well as high glycemic-index foods. Their review continued to find no correlation with chocolate, fats or …

Ah, summer breaks — laze away the summer days, gorge on watermelon, lose your reading ability… Huh? Lose reading ability? Unfortunately, yes — there’s even more evidence than before that schoolkids who don’t read at all during the long summer break do worse in tests, and the effect is cumulative over the summers — which …

We are in the thick of mosquito season, and I’m sure we all have our favorite bug-killer products, from zappers to plug-ins to that Chinese spray in those tall greenish bottles. But what really works? I found a nice new resource from the good folks at the doctor-oriented Prescriber’s Letter; they have a free detail-document discussing …