Canada is looking out for your health

A selection of our favourite Canadian health advisories issued over the last few days.

Solubilize, nebulize, die
When treating H1N1 flu patients, don't solubilize and then nebulize your powdered zanamivir (Relenza) and then put it in a ventilator. A pregnant woman died when the lactose in the powdered zanamivir combined with the liquid used to dissolve the powder and blocked her ventilator.

You'll need a miracle, inshallah
Muslim pilgrims should be vaccinated against influenza and other infectious diseases at least six weeks prior to the Hajj. The warning was issued four weeks before the beginning of the Hajj, which this year occurs November 25-30.

(But perhaps all is not lost. Some supremely strange Islamic websites interpret the word "ma'arej" from the Qu'ran to mean "wormholes" and assert that Mohammed and his angels may have used them to travel through time. So maybe you're not out of luck after all.)

"Consumable entertainment"
You may not be surprised to learn that consuming energy drinks called Mind Strike, Fearocity, Elixir of Tenacity and Power Pulse (right), made by a company called Chaotic Beverages, pose a health risk to children.

The company will certainly be shocked to hear this, considering the drinks were launched in Canada earlier this year in partnership with a company called 4Kids Entertainment, based on a children's card game (a 4-pack of the drinks came packaged with a set of the cards) and animated TV show, and were intended for children : "Fueled with natural energy from green tea extract, and loaded with vitamins, antioxidants and functional herbs, Chaotic Beverages offer kids a great tasting, healthier alternative, beverage that provides a convenient way to meet their hydration needs." (Functional herbs? Alternative to what? More convenient than, say, water? That sentence raises far more questions than it answers.)

The drinks' marketing consultants, U & Me Marketing, saw the product as so revolutionary that they invented a new classification to describe it: "Consumable Entertainment." Health Canada, it seems, wasn't amused.

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