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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Ultrasound Uses that Prove it is unsafe for Pregnancy

This is a great guest Blog by Missie Strong.  Ultra Sounds are one of the most commonly used medical interventions during pregnancy with some women having as  many as 4-6 ultra sounds during their pregnancy. 

This is scary when you consider that Ultra sounds are an almost untested technology with vast differences between apparatus and technical training.  As I wrote in Are They Safe? The Risks of Prenatal Ultra Sounds
An editorial in Lancet, A British medical journal, stated: "There have been no randomized controlled trials of adequate size to assess whether there are adverse effects on growth and development of children exposed in utero to ultrasound. Indeed, the necessary studies to ascertain safety may never be done, because of lack of interest in such research".
On top of that, there are no national or international standards for the output characteristics of ultrasound equipment. The result is the shocking situation described in a commentary in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in which ultrasound machines in use on pregnant women range in output power from extremely high to extremely low, all with equal effect. The commentary reads, "If the machines with the lowest powers have been shown to be diagnostically adequate, how can one possibly justify exposing the patient to a dose 5,000 times greater?". It goes on to urge government guidelines on the outut of ultrasound equipment and for legislation making it mandatory for equipment manufacturers to state the output characteristics. As far as is known, this has not yet been done in any country. Safety is also clearly related to the skill of the ultrasound operator. At present, there is no known training or certification for medical users of ultrasound apparatus in any country.
Another brilliant article that every pregnant mother should read before deciding to have a prenatal ultra sound is "Ultra Sounds: More harm than good?" by Dr. Marsden Wagner- former Director of Womens and Childrens Health for the World Health Organization.


Ultrasound Uses that Prove its unsafe for Pregnancy

by Missie Strong on Sunday, 31 October 2010 at 03:04
did you know they don't let pregnant women swim with dolphins because the untrasounds they emit aren't safe

did you know they use ultrasound to erase fine lines and wrinkles in cosmetic procedures?

did you know they use ultrasound to warm and melt away scar tissue and warm to treat arthritis?

did you know any midwife or OB that uses ultrasound will tell you those aren't the same machines?

did you know 'ultrasound' is labeled based on the frequency of the sound waves?

when asked for links I posted these:

(I had a midwife actually tell me that it was different when I was pregnant with my twins in 2006) I knew it was bullshit already.

http://www.chiisland.com/ultrasound_beauty/articles/ultrasound-therapy.shtml
New and current uses of ultrasound include facial and body skin rejuvenating treatments, reduction of stretch marks, treatment of contracture and scar tissue such as around breast implants, and the pre- and post-operative treatment of plastic surgery patients to accelerate healing and recovery after procedures such as face lifts, tummy tuck, and liposuction. Ultrasound applied over certain creams contributes to greater effectiveness through deeper and more thorough penetration of the products.

http://www.ob-ultrasound.net/joewoo3x.html

here is a link to an article about bones 'healing' faster.. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8048527/Ultrasound-device-helps-bones-heal-faster-and-stronger.html

oh a new reason to say no to ultrasound:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/judithpotts/100054974/how-heat-helps-in-cancer-treatment/
How heat helps in cancer treatment – Telegraph BlogsSeptember 24 2010 | Judith Potts | NewsHeat – whether from a carefully created and controlled fever or from hyperthermia delivered by microwaves, radio frequency or ultrasound – is increasingly being used as a cancer treatment.

In Henrietta Callum’s case, the Evita Slimsonic (0844 7009975,www.slimsonic.co.uk), a small home lipo system that uses ultrasound waves called, has tackled her thighs.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/wellbeing/7995126/Smoothe-away-your-spot-fat.html

However, new research shows that intensive ultrasound therapy matches the 92 per cent cure rate of traditional treatments - but dramatically reduces side effects.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/men_shealth/5713460/Prostate-cancer-treatment-more-successful-than-surgery-claim-British-scientists.html

http://askville.amazon.com/Pregnancy-swimming-dolphins-prohibited/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=4508520
Furthermore, this blast is delivered through water, which is 60 times more efficient than air for sound transference, to a body that is three-quarters fluid. It is believed that ultrasound resonance within the cerebrospinal fluid is especially important due to the fluid’s key influence on the brain and spinal cord

A deep tissue heating modality reaching underlying tissues as deep as 1 to 5 centimeters, it is used to treat musculo-skeletal injuries, back and joint conditions, limited range of motion, soft tissue injuries, and chronic conditions.

http://www.jointrehab.com/therapeutic-ultrasound.htm
Treatment is administered directly which penetrates the tissues, increases blood flow, relaxes muscle spasms, repairs damaged tissue, and dramatically speeds the healing process. It creates permanent, physical changes and repairs both hard and soft tissues problems.

all the following come from this one link:http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/general/ultrasound.html

Contraindications For Use:

As ultrasound is thought to affect the tissue repair process and so it is also highly possible that it may affect diseased tissue tissue in an abnormal fashion. In addition the proposed increase in blood may also function in spreading malignancies around the body. Therefore a number of contraindications should be followed when using therapeutic ultrasound:

Do not use if the patient suffers from:

Malignant or cancerous tissue
Acute infections
Risk of haemorrhage
Severely ischeamic tissue
Recent history if venous thrombosis
Exposed neural tissue
Suspicion of a bone fracture
If the patient is pregnant
Do not use in the region of the gonads (sex organs), the active bone growth plates of children, or the eye.

that should be enough to get you started.. and maybe hungry enough to start playing with search terms =)