Field Notes: Taping your mouth shut, doctor appointments tips, air traffic risks & more

Plus, a new cozy word for winter snuggling

Hudson Valley trees this fall

Hello, dear friends! I hope you are having a lovely fall (or spring) wherever you are. The trees are in full glory right now in my part of New York, and the days are shrinking. I’m trying to write Field Notes a little shorter — let’s see how that goes!

Here are 6 interesting things I’ve run across lately related to wellness and illness:

1} Six Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Doctor Appointments (Are You OK? newsletter) — Dr. Lucy McBride shares guidance on building a connection with your doctor and navigating appointments. Tip 1: “Your doctor is not a moral authority. … The best way for your doctor to help you is to know the raw and honest truth. (If your doctor is judging you, it may be time for a new one!)” YES!

2} Shut your yap trap: Literally, tape it shut and improve your life (The Tonic newsletter) — Amy shares her backstory on getting Covid early in the pandemic, her 2+ years of shortness of breath, breathing issues at night, and how she finally tried taping her mouth shut (yes, this is a thing!) to force nose breathing. It’s a long, epic tale, but the short version is: Mouth taping helped her. It’s a N of 1, but a fun story to read and her inspiration came from the well-researched Breath: The Science of a Lost Art by James Nester. (I’ve highly recommend the book, too!)

3} How a Series of Air Traffic Control Lapses Nearly Killed 131 People (New York Times gift link) — This investigation focuses on one specific incident in Texas, when two panes almost collided before a FedEx plane trying to land pulled back up into the sky at the last second when the pilot spotted a Southwest airplane right below it on the runway. The bigger picture is how strained the country’s air safety system is There is a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, and most airports aren’t running on outdated technology. It’s a rather terrifying story, honestly. (While traffic accidents aren’t an illness, they are part of overall public health and risks.)

5} How a Big Pharma Company Stalled a Potentially Lifesaving Vaccine in Pursuit of Bigger Profits (ProPublica) — A compelling illustration of how business and public health can intersect, with competing interests. A pharmaceutical company has the potential to develop a revolutionary TB vaccine, built on an ingredient that was developed decades ago with U.S. Army funding. Early results showed half of the people in a study were protected by this new vaccine from TB, which kills 1.6 million people each year, mostly very poor people. But the company decided to wait years on its work on the TB vaccine and instead focus on a vaccine against shingles, which brings a painful rash and mostly affects older people who often have health insurance from the U.S. government. “Importantly, the shingles vaccine shared a key ingredient with the TB shot, a component that enhanced the effectiveness of both but was in limited supply.” Reporter Anna Maria Barry-Jester writes:

“From a business standpoint, GSK’s decision made sense. Shingrix would become what the company calls a ‘crown jewel,’ raking in more than $14 billion since 2018. But the ability of a corporation to allow a potentially lifesaving vaccine to languish lays bare the distressing reality of public health vaccine creation. With limited resources, governments have long seen no other option but to team with Big Pharma to develop vaccines for global scourges. But after the governments pump taxpayer money and resources into the efforts, the companies get control of the products, locking up ownership and prioritizing their own gain.”

4} Better Know Your Menstrual Products (Parent Data newsletter) — Emily Oster does a rundown on “the data on pads, tampons, menstrual cups, period underwear, and more,” including potential health risks, leakage, and how they work. The dozens of comments were even more interesting than the post.

6} I loved learning this word for rest, right in time for winter: “snerdle” from word-expert Susie Dent:

I hope you have a cozy weekend of snerdling ahead!

To our journeys,
Brianne

p.s. Are you coming to Winter Camp? I’d love to see you there! Use the code CAMPTIME for $20 off and support yourself this winter with gentle nudges and community.