buckethandle via Flickr
When was the last time you laughed? A good ‘ol hearty laugh. Was it 3 hours ago, was it yesterday or was it months ago?
When you had your last laugh is a window into the state of your mind.
When Was Your Last Laugh?
What Worries Your Doctor (part 2)
COM SALUD via Flickr
The other concern I have that actually more serious is our antibiotic crisis. CRISIS is the proper word as everyday our fight against highly evolving bacteria is getting weaker.
Historically, the medical and scientific community changed that tide of sure death less than 70 years ago with the creation of safe and powerful antibiotics, starting with penicillin, but in that same time the tides have been turning towards the bacteria once again as the bacteria get resistant and we have less in our antibiotic arsenal to kill them. [Read more…]
5 Issues to Consider Before Going on Estrogen
藍川芥 aikawake via Flickr
The medical community can’t seem to make up their mind on hormone replacement therapy for treatment of hot flashes. The pendulum has swung from “save women from themselves by giving them estrogen” to “estrogen will kill you” and that pendulum is still swinging as we speak! [Read more…]
What Worries Your Doctor (Part 1)
There are really only 2 things that worry me about the state of medicine-
1. shortage of physicians (especially in primary care)
2. Antibiotic crisis
The numbers are clear- We have known for at least 15 years that the ongoing shortage of physicians in primary care cannot be sustained longer, especially with even more Americans covered than ever before. [Read more…]
Drugs? My Kids? Never!
Prensa 420 via Flickr
Over the decades I am sadly humbled when teens and tweens come in for vague physical complaints and I find them to be either pregnant, under the influence of some illicit substance or both.
I practice in a busy suburban area so this is not the stereotypical area where one thinks of as high risk for these behaviors- but the fact is MOST drug use occurs in suburbia, NOT the inner cities. [Read more…]
The “Kardashian Effect”
Hot Gossip Italia via Flickr
Perhaps in all fairness, I shouldn’t dub this specific family for the next set of common minor female health maladies, but since this family of matriarchs is one of the most highly recognizable, visible, presumably wealthy and famous reality families on TV (so I’m told, since I don’t have TV) I figure they can take it. [Read more…]
Be “E” Free
© Nick Stubbs | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Recently, heading home after completing a long Friday night 12 hour shift, I had a brief nanosecond of anxiety as the realization that I had left my cell phone in my white coat pocket dawned on me.
Since it was a rare long weekend of no clinic or urgent care shifts, I would be without this “smart” communications line, calendar, browser, alarm clock, weather station, and electronic toy for over 48 hours-
Before You Dye Your Hair (Again) – Read This
Image credits by Orin Zebest via Flikr
Hair dyes are a multi-billion dollar industry here in the United States. The cosmetic industry say up to 75 percent of us dye our hair in one form or another.
Considering that women make up 51% of the population of over 300 million, that’s a lot of dyed hair walking the streets! [Read more…]
Thinking of Getting Breast Implants? Read This First.
DonaldsonPlasticSurgery via Flickr
As I write this, scores of women are on the operating table right now getting breast implants. We all want to feel good about our bodies but it’s always a good idea to examine the pros and the cons.
As a D-cupper, I felt it my duty to let you know what obtains on the other side of the fence. Before you sign that check or swipe that credit card and certainly before you secure that surgery date, think through what I am about to tell you.
Is There Such a Thing as a Good Cancer?
babka_babka via Flickr
Most medical students and residents have played this game of asking each other and themselves the question of – “If I have to have a cancer diagnosis, which one would I want?”
As morbid as it sounds, there are “good cancers” in other words, cancers that are easier to cure and survive, relatively speaking (especially when detected early on). [Read more…]
