Concerning

Youth Suicide Rate Increased 56% in Decade, CDC Says

There are always risks in any medical treatment, but they have to be weighed against the benefits. I can't imagine making these sort of life and death decisions on a daily basis (the main reason I did not pursue a career as a doctor or nurse), and pharmacology can be extremely tricky. But short-term studies are not foolproof, and if I had a teen with major depression, I'd seriously consider putting him or her on anti-depressants on the condition of close medical and parental monitoring. Of course, with my mental health history, I'd also make sure it was major depression and not bipolar, as SSRIs can make a person with bipolar disorder manic, triggering that phase of the disease, which can be just as devastating as the depression.

FDA’s continuing use of ‘black box’ for antidepressants ignores the harms of this warning

This is kind of cool

Thanks to the Centers for Disease Control, we now have a map of The Most Distinctive Causes of Death by State, 2001-2010. Ours is 'pneumoconioses and chemical effects'.

I think this is a great way to get people interested in emergency preparedness

Social Media: Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse

This is making the rounds, and yes, it is from an official blog by the Centers for Disease Control to get people talking about emergencies and preparing for all sorts of disasters. Since Zombies are so darn popular these days, it was natural to throw them into the mix. It is certainly getting a response. Twitter is atwitter with it, it's making the rounds on Facebook, and it's popping up on e-mail lists as well.

So, learn how to prepare for your Zombie Apocalypse--because nowhere is safe from disaster.

I'm just waiting for Those with No Sense of Humour to question why our government is putting resources into preventing Zombie Apocalypses. You mark my words, some wackadoo will.

PS You can get badges and widgets for the Zombie Apocalypse here: http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies.asp. Enjoy!

Get the facts

Every 9 1/2 minutes someone in the United States is infected with HIV. Visit the Nine and a Half Minutes website at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for facts about HIV/AIDS prevention and living with the disease.