nd/2.0 via Flickr
With the high prevalence of constipation in America it is unfortunately common to see the overuse of the over the counter laxatives. Some women get into a gradual but pervasive overuse syndrome where eventually they can’t have a bowel movement without the laxatives. [Read more…]
Raul Lieberwirth via Flickr
Last year I lost 4 patients- 3 were elderly souls who, after several years of trying to cope with their failing bodies finally, peacefully passed on with hospice and family support. One was gunned down in his mid life without any reason or warning. [Read more…]
Women are terrified of breast cancer. And rightfully so. It is the most common type of cancer in women. What about colorectal cancer? Not so much.
Screening rate for breast cancer is 72.4% versus 58.8% for colorectal cancer according to 2010 CDC data. Colorectal cancer kills women too. [Read more…]
hitthatswitch via Flickr
When you come in for a “physical” we (primary care physicians) order a battery of lab tests to go with it. One of those labs is the cholesterol panel.
I don’t know of any test that keep folks at the edge of their seat more than their cholesterol test; what the numbers mean, how to bring the numbers down, will supplements help and a myriad of other questions. [Read more…]
One of the true joys in medicine is being witness to some of the incredible changes my patients make to better their health.
No, I’m not talking about when someone goes on a crash diet and loses 30 pounds in 2 months (only to gain 40 pounds back the next year), or when individuals state they quit smoking cold turkey and then I soon discover that they simply changed to an ‘e’ cigarette with ‘only’ nicotine in it. [Read more…]
If you are from my generation or older, you may remember the days when it was a routine community health initiative for healthcare providers to swoop into the grade schools and with their cotton swabs in hand, they would line up the children for head lice screening. [Read more…]
Last month, in honor of our milestone Healthgist birthday we put out the call for your hero stories to feature. A clear winner emerged and the selection committee unanimously decided to feature Emily Bennett Taylor’s submission. [Read more…]
A. Currell via Flickr
Once , a lovely woman who lived half the year in Belize and half the year in California, came into me with a complaint of a 3 month long “bug bite” site on her upper arm that would not heal.
After a brief time taking this history and a focused exam, she consented to having the area lanced and drained so it could finally heal.
Imagine our surprise when out comes the larvae of a botfly! [Read more…]
Yongjiet Via Flickr
We are all scared stiff of cancer. Come to think of it, who wouldn’t be scared?
You can spend a lifetime of towing the line, living healthy, doing everything you should be doing and staying away from the vices and BAM cancer hits!
For us girls, breast cancer is the worst of them.
There is a lot of information out there about breast cancer but almost an equal volume of mis-information.
The goal here is to give you a concise risk assessment tool for breast cancer. [Read more…]
Mouse via Flickr
If you know ten families with children, then it is more than probable that at least one of those families has a child with special needs.
What makes them exceptional may not be “obvious”, such as in the case of cerebral palsy, but a hidden disorder that may go unnoticed until kindergarten or later.
In fact, one of the most pervasive disorders that impacts children of school age is SLD– Specific Learning Disabilities.
Some may consider SLD as an overgeneralization and call it “dyslexia”. But in truth, SLD is a bit more complicated than that! [Read more…]
