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Straight, No Chaser: When the Patient Knows Better
So … your friendly neighborhood ER physician chats with a patient. Client: “Doc, I’m sick. I need my asthma medicine. I need steroids, an inhaler and some antibiotics.” Exp
Straight, No Chaser: The Challenges and Frustration of Acute Bronchitis
Imagine what it looks like when someone gets hit in the jaw. There’s the redness, swelling from excess fluid in the area, warmth and pain. Those are the components of inflammatio
Straight, No Chaser: The Intersection of Health and Happiness, aka Merry Christmas!
Today is Christmas, and we want to celebrate the best parts of you! Even better, do that for yourself and allow that to translate into better health. We have previously discusse
Straight, No Chaser: Flu Myths and Questions
Every year 36,000 people die and over 200,000 are hospitalized each year due to the flu—in the U.S. alone. If you’re not getting a vaccine every year, you are subjecting yourse
Straight, No Chaser: The Medical Complications and Medication Treatment of Alcoholism
There are interesting commonalities of certain drugs like alcohol and cigarettes. One is users that really enjoy them are able to do so for a long time while being oblivious to
Straight, No Chaser: How to Prevent Getting the Flu Without Receiving the Flu Vaccine
Many people choose not to get the influenza vaccine (the “flu shot”) for various reasons. One of those reasons is due to an allergy to eggs. If you have an egg allergy,
Straight, No Chaser: Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
With all the focus of late on other forms of drug use and abuse (e.g., methamphetamine, marijuana), alcohol abuse seems to be lacking the attention it deserves. Fully one in six pe
Straight, No Chaser: Fifteen Tips to Care for Diabetic Skin
In this previous post, we discussed the frailty of the diabetic skin and discussed how that sets one up for skin infections, abscesses, ulcers, amputations and even death. Your bes
Straight, No Chaser: The Skin Problems of Diabetics, Part 1
If you are diabetic or caring for a diabetic, one of the things you’ve likely noticed is that the skin doesn’t always seem to look, feel or perform normally. Perhaps th
Straight, No Chaser: "…Stop Wasting Money on Vitamins and Mineral Supplements."
If any of you are familiar with the hit comedy The Big Bang Theory on CBS, you may recall this scene from one of the first episodes featuring the genius, physicist and would-be Nob
Straight, No Chaser: Sleep Apnea
We’ve discussed many components of sleep and sleep disorders. A very common condition that many of you are walking around with undiagnosed is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a comm
Straight, No Chaser: The Risks and Benefits of Coffee
Today, I come to praise coffee, not to bury it—and I don’t even drink it. Here’s the point: Coffee is a reasonably healthy beverage choice. The problem with coffee appears to
Straight, No Chaser: Understanding Normal Sleep and How Much Sleep You Need
Do you ever think about why we sleep? Our bodies are highly efficient machines that utilize a lot of energy over the course of a day. In particular, our brain utilizes a lot of oxy
Straight, No Chaser: Narcolepsy – The Sleep Attack
This is part of a series on sleep disorders. Click here and click here for discussions about insomnia. Click here for a discussion of night terrors. Click here for a discussio
Straight, No Chaser: Why Are You So Sleepy?
This is part of a series on sleep disorders. Click here and click here for discussions about insomnia. Click here for a discussion of night terrors. Check back for discussions of
Straight, No Chaser: What You Can Do To Manage Hypothermia and Serious Cold Exposure
Is this the most famous illustration of frostbite? Do you remember the movie reference? I’ll admit that my orientation is different than yours. I’ll argue that your ori
Straight, No Chaser: Hypothermia (Low Body Temperature)
This is part of a series on cold-related medical disorders. To review the Do’s and Don’ts of Frostbite, click here. Hypothermia is low body temperature. It’s not
Straight, No Chaser: Open Your Present!
REMINDER: I know that some of you have not yet opened your holiday gift, and we’re already a week into your FREE month. For the 21 free days left in December, enjoy your ke
Straight, No Chaser: Do You Take Antidepressants? Learn About the "Black Box" Warning Label.
It’s important to note that most recent group of antidepressants known as SSRIs are a marked leap forward in safety from their predecessors. Even still, they retain undesired
Straight, No Chaser: Mass Trauma, Community Stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
This is the fourth in a series on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For an introduction to PTSD, including signs, symptoms and those at risk, click here. For a discussion of t
