If you're a plantiff in a mold lawsuit, show this to your lawyer

If mold has made you sick and you're a plantiff in a mold lawsuit, tell your lawyer to read the front page of the January 9th, 2007 Wall St. Journal.The article is titled,"Amid Suits Over Mold, Experts Wear Two Hats." The article states that a position paper by the American College Of Occupational and Environmental Medicine or ACOEM,has been intoduced by defense lawyers. The paper says that "scientific evidence DOES NOT support the proposition that human health has been adversely affected by inhaled mycotoxins in the home, school or office environment." What the paper doesn't reveal is that the people who wrote the paper are regularly paid experts for the defense in mold litigation.The paper has become a key defense tool used by builders, landlords and insuers in litigation. Your lawyer should base his or her case on a paper issued by the Institute Of Medicine that states:"Studies have demonstrated adverse effects-including immunotoxic, neurologic, respiratory and dermal responses-after exposure to specific toxins,bacteria, molds or their by products."

7 Ways To Protect Yourself From A Dirty Hospital

Every year, over 80,000 people die in the US from infections contracted in dirty hospitals. Here are 7 ways to protect yourself. 1. Wash your hands frequently and don't be shy about asking doctors, nurses and aids to do the same. 2. Try to lose weight or stop smoking before having surgery. People who are overweight or who smoke are more susceptible to infection. 3. Wash with 4% chlorhexidine antibiotic soap at least 3 days before having surgery. 4. Ask your MD for a nasal swab test to detect MRSA. MRSA is short for the drug resistant bug, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. 5. Ask your MD to prescribe an antibiotic for you before surgery. 6. Ask your doctor to not to shave the surgical site. Instead, have the MD use hair clippers. Tiny cuts from razors can get infected. 7.Ask friends and family not to visit you in the hospital if they are ill. Then ask your doctor to limit the number of aides and medical students that enter your room. If you can't speak up for yourself, have a family member or friend do it for you.

8 Fabulous Travel Tips

1.Ignore Expiration Dates Make sure you save all travel website specials regardless of their expiration dates. When you want to take advantage of the special, just call the hotel or sales director. Many times you'll get the deal even if it isn't officially available. That's because companies are always trying to fill rooms and tours no matter what the time of year.2. Carry On Toothpaste & Shampoo Buy Eco-DenT Tooth Powder and Burt's Shampoo Bars at Whole Foods. 3.Ginger Candy Stops Motion Sickness Just about any kind of ginger candy will prevent motion sickness on the road, on a plane or at sea. 4. Avoid booking hotel rooms online Hotel managers hate guests who book rooms through website booking engines. Because after the internet takes it's cut,the hotel barely makes any money. So if you book directly with the hotel chain, you always get better service. Contact the hotel directly and ask for the best price. When you book directly, many hotels will even give you AAA or AARP discounts even if you're not a member! 5. Be pleasant when lodging complaints with the front desk If you're staying at a hotel, and you have a legitimate complaint, raise your concern in a pleasant manner. Hotel staffers stick together, and if you're rude and nasty, the front desk clerk will make a note of it in the logbook. So if you insult one employee, don't expect good treatment from another employee. When it comes to hotel front desk complaints, you'll get a lot farther with honey than vinegar. 6. Record credit card phone numbers Put all your credit card phone numbers with the last 4 numbers of your account,on a piece of paper. Then tape it to inside of your luggage. If your wallet is lost or stolen on a trip, you can call all the credit card companies to put a fraud alert on your account and get new cards issued. 7. Buy a three-legged folding chair When you are touring public places, carry a ultra light and strong folding chair for long-winded impromtu talks by tour operators. A folding chair also comes in handy when touring large museums with no rest seating,waiting in long airport lines, and outdoor, bring your own chair, concerts. A product called the "packseat" weighs just 26 ounces and holds up to 300 pounds. It fits in a case 15" x 4" and you can sew on cheap, wide guitar strap handle to make it easy to carry over your shoulder. It's under $25 and available at www.magellans.com 8. Ask An Rx Where To Eat If you're in a foreign city and don't know where to eat, ask a pharmacist. Most of them speak English and they can recommend a "safe" and "clean" place to eat. This comes in handy especially when visiting 3rd world or developing countries.