Aristotle and Hippocrates believed in the power of images in the brain to enliven the heart and body. Today, research shows they were right. Guided imagery is helping patients use the full range of the body’s healing capacity. Guided imagery is more than listening to relaxing sounds. It’s a learning process to listen to someone’s voice, relax the breathing and consciously direct the ability to imagine. From there, the message is passed along to the body’s endocrine, immune and autonomic nervous systems. Guided imagery has been shown to benefit patients by: Reducing side effects from cancer treatment Reducing fear and anxiety prior to surgery. Managing stress Managing headaches. Studies have shown that guided imagery may aid in reducing the frequency of migraine headaches. Adapted from materials provided by Mayo Clinic.

A few days ago Health Canada advised Canadians about new safety information for carbamazepine, a drug used to treat epilepsy, mania, bipolar disorder and trigeminal neuralgia. Carbamazepine is sold under the more common brand name Tegretol as well as other generic names. Serious and sometimes deadly skin reactions known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) have been known to occur with carbamazepine. This applies to ALL patients treated with carbamazepine. However the risk is approximately 10 times higher in Asian countries than in Western countries. Further, studies have suggested that patients of Asian ancestry may also be at increased risk if they take carbamazepine. There is a genetic test that may be useful in identifying a particular genetic marker in patients.  Patients of Asian ancestry, particularly Han Chinese, may wish to discuss this test with their doctors … Read more