WNC Wellness review: Clinic funding, meetups and bed bugs

In this week’s WNC Wellness review: Free clinic increases funding; Local alternative health Meetup group; Acupuncture affects pain perception; National bed bug summit; Formaldehyde in wrinkle-free clothes; and more.

Mission Hospital & Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministries increase free clinic funding

Mission Hospital and Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministries plan to increase funding to the ABCCM–Doctors’ Medical Clinic. Both groups will give $370,000 to the clinic, a total increase of $60,000 over the previous year. The bump in funding means the clinic will be able to serve 1,000 more patients, said Scott Rogers, executive director of ABCCM.

— [Asheville Citizen-Times]

Asheville’s Alternative Health Community Meetup group

A Community of people interested in Alternative Health to talk about homeopathic remedies, holistic healing, and prevention of disease through healthy living, proper eating habits, and toxin—free personal care.

— [Meetup.com]

Bed bugs: EPA will host national summit in February

To help find solutions to the nation’s bed bug problem, the Federal Bed Bug Workgroup is convening a second national summit set for February 1—2, 2011, in Washington, D.C. The summit is open to the public and will focus on ways the federal government and others can continue to work together on management and control of these pests

— [Mountain Xpress]

Acupuncture affects pain perception

Researchers at the University Hospital in Essen, Germany, and their colleagues at University of Duisburg—Essen were able to locate the areas of the brain that are activated by acupuncture. Using fMRIs (functional magnetic resonance imaging) before and after needles were inserted into the ankles of volunteers, the researchers found that areas of the brain corresponding to ankle pain were quieted during acupuncture.

— [Technorati via Asheville Center for Chinese Medicine]

NAMI honors Buncombe officers for crisis intervention training

The National Alliance on Mental Illness Western Carolina in Asheville will honor two Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department officers for their contribution to the Crisis Intervention Team.

— [Asheville Citizen-Times]

Symposium announced on caring for patients with serious and chronic illness

Novant Health Inc. will host a symposium on It’s About How You Live: Transforming the Care of Patients with Serious and Chronic Illness, Friday, January 28, 2011 at Forsyth Medical Center Conference Center in Winston-Salem.

— [North Carolina Medical Society]

Probiotic supplements are a good bet for better health

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently reported that supplements known as

probiotics

in children can shorten the duration of viral diarrhea and reduce the probability getting diarrhea from taking antibiotics.

— [Asheville Citizen-Times]

Formaldehyde in wrinkle-free clothes may pose skin risks

Though it is not obvious from the label, the antiwrinkle finish comes from a resin that releases formaldehyde, the chemical that is usually associated with embalming fluids or dissected frogs in biology class.

— [The New York Times]

Please follow us on Twitter and submit WNC health & wellness info with the hashtag: #avlhealth or by e-mail: mxhealth@mountainx.com.

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About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams

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