Magnetic By Design

Tattoos and MRIs:
Word Count: 306 – Read Time: 1.5 minutes

Over the past few years, there have been rumors of horrible experiences for tattoo baring recipients of MRIs. Most often, MRIs are perfectly safe for individuals with tattoos. In 2002, a study performed by Drs.Tope and Shellock of 135 patients with tattoos underwent MRI testing. Two of these patients had minor complications of tingling and/or slight burning sensations.

An MRI is a diagnostic test that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create images of your body. Tattoo inks, specifically black or brown may contain iron oxide, which can potentially conduct low-grade heat in a magnetic field of an MRI. The heat occurs with very dark, thick, circular designed tattoos. The arc of the circle creates the induction loop of heat.

If your doctor recommends an MRI, do tell about your tattoos to both the doctor and the technician before performing the procedure. Likely, the benefits of the MRI will outweigh the risk of problems associated with your tattoos. Applying cool compresses or ice packs over the tattoo for the duration of the MRI may also help should you feel any sensitivity. Additionally, a lower magnetic field MRI machine might be considered for those heavily tattooed. Chances are you have experienced sunburn at the beach more uncomfortable then any sensation the MRI gives you do to your ink.

Modern tattoos contain less metal residue than older (25 years or more) tattoos, homemade or prison tattoos. If you’re going to get a tattoo, first, go to a professional and second, ask the artist if there is iron oxide in the ink he or she is using. Today, many colors of ink contain no metal residue at all.

Information Resources:
Mayo Clinic
Drs.Tope and Shellock
Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Purity Medical Products
Snopes Message Boards

Second Chance

Medical Waste Disposal

Word Count: 447 – Read Time: 2.2 minutes 

Ever wonder what happens to all those medical drugs that haven’t been used? A patient dies or his/her requirements change along with the prescription or what about the drugs that expired on the shelves of the pharmacy or pharmaceutical distributor. Then there are the home healthcare drugs. What happens to those drugs and how are they destroyed? Annual global sales of all pharmaceutical product including controlled substances, dangerous drugs and over-the-counter drugs equal $300 billion.

Many state laws forbid re-distribution of any drugs once a patient has taken them home. These medications are generally flushed away when no longer in use. Returned pills are supposed to be destroyed, primarily for safety and liability reasons. Drug makers pay reverse distributors to collect and incinerate returned and expired drugs. For drug wholesaler, pharmacies and physicians, reverse distributors are utilized in returning pharmaceutical products. The returnee is sometimes credited for the returned items which helps defray cost. The Drug Enforcement Agency also publishes an authorized reverse distributor list to handle controlled substance for disposal.

There are federal and state regulations that govern pharmaceutical waste disposal. For some states such as California, each county is allowed to have additional codes to regulate the waste disposal. Hazardous medical waste disposal can cost up to 15 times more then general waste disposal depending where the facility is located. Distributors, pharmacy administrators and doctors are all aware that millions of doses of perfectly good medications are thrown away every year.

In the United States, we take great pride in recycling human hearts, corneas, livers and kidneys, but we haven’t come up with a way to reuse suitable prescription drugs to help so many people. There is an alternative however. It is illegal to transfer medications between patients in the U.S. but these medicines can be exported to patients abroad. Last year, Aid for AIDS (AFA) shipped over 3 million dollars worth of HIV drugs from New York to Latin America, Africa and the rest of the developing world. The goal of the recycling medicine project is to gather unused medications that have been paid for and deliver them to people overseas who need them and cannot afford them.

Some may oppose the idea of reusing prescription drugs because they fear abuse in the system. In fact, before anyone embarks in such a program, local and federal regulations must be reviewed. From a humanitarian position, there’s got to be some way to get these medications back into the system for people who need them. Environmentally, it is one less thing our waste treatment plants have to deal with.

Information Resources:
Hoover’s Online
Returns Industry Association
Oklahoma State University
Wall Street Journal
Purity Medical Products