News: 2024 Oct 12
October Slide, History Resource, VR Education, Hurricane Affects IV Fluid Supply
October Slide
I was going to write an article dedicated to the “October Slide” but I have seen many others have recently covered the topic. Googling that phrase will provide a variety of articles.
October is a time when many people experience a flare up of symptoms.
If you aren’t familiar with that term, that’s probably a good thing. Experienced chronic illness doctors know that this time of year will see more patients asking for support. ME is no exception.
Some theories about why this happens include: increase of mold, seasonal allergies, less sunshine, barometric pressure changes, and more viruses going around.
Whatever the reason, I dread this time of year. I always hope I’ll make it to Halloween feeling as good as I do in the summer… that seldom happens. I am enjoying the unseasonably warm weather but I have definitely been feeling the October Slide.
Another History Resource
My recent article, Resources for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis History, covered the ME Global Chronicle reaching its 50th issue and some of The CFIDS Chronicles being posted online as searchable PDFs.
Another history resource is the Royal Free 1955 posts. Their website states it is a
“Blog of @RFH1955 accounts available previously on Twitter and Bluesky. Looking at the last seventy years of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis history, with emphasis on the Royal Free Hospital in 1955.”
I’m not seeing a lot of information yet on the website, but I have been following their posts for a while which can be found HERE on X (Twitter) and HERE on Bluesky. Their posts include newspaper clippings from the Royal Free Hospital ME outbreak as well as other early historical articles.
“May I remind new followers that there's now approximately three years' worth of tweets in this account. Many of the tweets feature rarely seen or forgotten bits of 'M.E.' history for you to study so do go through the archive if you have the time.”
I am sure anyone interested in the history of what has been published about myalgic encephalomyelitis will find these clippings interesting.
Virtual Reality Education has an Impact
Last year I wrote about Hope 4 ME & Fibro NI’s Virtual Reality project to educate about ME in the article Advocacy for ME is a Marathon (not a sprint). I am very grateful that the project includes the International Consensus Primer (ICP) for ME as part of their education. The ICP can be found in multiple languages HERE.
I was pleased to see a study published about this VR project. Virtual reality education on myalgic encephalomyelitis for medical students and healthcare professionals: a pilot study found the VR experience improved knowledge and empathy. From the paper:
“A statistically significant increase was found for levels of knowledge (p < .001, d = 0.74) and empathy (p < .001, d = 1.56) from pre-VR experience levels to post-VR experience levels with a medium and large effect size, respectively.”
We will all benefit from more people understanding the reality of ME.
IV Fluid Production Affected by Hurricane
The hurricane damage in North Carolina included damage to a facility that supplies IV fluids to a large percentage of the country. The link where the company is posting updates can be found HERE.
The recent update states:
“Allocations: As previously shared, Baxter is advancing multiple paths to help ensure we are appropriately managing inventory and minimizing disruption to patient care as we work to fully restore our North Cove manufacturing operations. This includes implementing allocations, which limit what a customer can order based on historical purchases and medical necessity as well as available and projected inventory. Allocations help limit stockpiling and increase the likelihood of equitable access to available products.”
“As shared in our Oct. 7 update, Baxter continues to scale production across its global locations and is working closely with FDA on temporary importation of products to increase available inventory. “
Hopefully the disruption will be resolved soon. The infusion center I go to weekly has not expressed concern over supply issues.
Aiming for a better future for pwME (people with ME),
Colleen
Information provided here or in comments is not to be considered medical advice
Sources:
Anderson, T., Duffy, G. & Corry, D. Virtual reality education on myalgic encephalomyelitis for medical students and healthcare professionals: a pilot study. BMC Med Educ 24, 1018 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05990-2
Carruthers, B.M., van de Sande, M.I., De Meirleir, K.L., Klimas, N.G., Broderick, G., Mitchell, T., Staines, D., Powles, A.C.P., Speight, N., Vallings, R., Bateman, L., Baumgarten-Austrheim, B., Bell, D.S., Carlo-Stella, N., Chia, J., Darragh, A., Jo, D., Lewis, D., Light, A.R., Marshall-Gradisbik, S., Mena, I., Mikovits, J.A., Miwa, K., Murovska, M., Pall, M.L. and Stevens, S. (2011), Myalgic encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Criteria. Journal of Internal Medicine, 270: 327-338. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2796.2011.02428.x
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