Category Archives: public health

Here’s what an obese body looks like — from the inside

The newly opened Portland Science Center recently invited me to tour its “Body Worlds” exhibit, a striking collection of preserved human cadavers and organs designed to illustrate, in the most graphic of detail, the consequences of unhealthy living. The displays related to obesity seemed particularly worth checking out as we head into the Thanksgiving and holiday season, when […]

How decorative contact lenses could damage your eyes this Halloween

Halloween shoppers can buy decorative contact lenses online, in beauty supply and costume stores, and even at gas stations. But before you don a pair to complete your vampire look this weekend, health officials warn that they could damage your eyes. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Academy of Ophthalmology caution consumers against purchasing decorative […]

Due for a medical procedure or blood work? Maine patients, use this new tool to shop around.

You can’t always shop around when it comes to your medical care. The back of an ambulance is no place to start Googling hospitals to find out which one provides the best and most affordable treatment for the heart attack you’re experiencing. But when you can plan ahead — think an elective procedure or imaging test — it […]

Maine woman celebrates Macy’s pledge to stop selling furniture with flame retardants

Three years ago, I interviewed a Portland woman who had just learned that potentially toxic chemicals were lurking in her house. Jenny Rottmann, due to give birth to her first child in a matter of days, worried the couch she’d purchased at a local department store could harm both her and her baby. The pale green couch had been treated […]