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Category Archives: Infectious Disease
Straight, No Chaser: Food Contamination and Protecting Yourself From Foodborne Illness
Those of you who are regular readers of Straight, No Chaser may have heard me say that everything you place in your mouth either harms or helps you. Your mouth is the direct poin
Straight, No Chaser: Preventing and Treating Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
At some point, you’ve got to be on board with the notion that you need to prevent some of the things that ail you. All men who have UTIs are at higher risk for having another one
Straight, No Chaser: Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
Ladies, have you ever been told that you get “bladder infections” because you didn’t wipe front to back instead of back to front? Men, have you ever been told that this could
Straight, No Chaser: Influenza Prevention
It’s time to get your flu shots! Of course, many people choose not to get the influenza vaccine (the “flu shot”) for various reasons, some more reasonable than ot
Straight, No Chaser: Infection Prevention
There are things you know, there are things you know but don’t really know, and there are still other things that you think you know that you don’t know at all. When it
Straight, No Chaser: Tetanus (Lockjaw)
If there could possibly be anything cool about tetanus, it’s that the overwhelming majority of us have never seen it and never will. At first thought, that could seem odd becaus
Straight, No Chaser: Extracting Ticks and Preventing Tick Bites
Springtime is the beginning of the outdoor season for many. Whether you’re camping, hunting, playing paintball, hiking or engaged in other activities in the woods or tall grass,
Straight, No Chaser: Avoiding Mosquito-Bourne Diseases
Sometimes things occur so frequently that you become sensitized to the real danger they present. This thought occurred to me when I saw Bill Gates talking about efforts to elimin
Straight, No Chaser: Frequently Asked Questions About Your Sore Throat
Sore throats. So common. So simple. So sore. So much time wasted in emergency rooms only to get nothing for them… Here are a group of frequently asked questions to help you s
Straight, No Chaser In the News: Enacting Laws to Enforce Childhood Immunization
In the news is vaccination. Again. A decision by the State of California now bars parents from citing religious and other “personal-belief exemptions” for opting out of childho
General Health and Wellness, Genital/Urinary, Infectious Disease, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Health Prevention
The Smart Condom as STI Protection
Introduction This Straight, No Chaser looks at an innovative use of condoms protecting you from STIs: the smart condom. In the News In the news is the concept of the smart condom,
Straight, No Chaser Vlog: Sexually Transmitted Infections (Diseases)
As part of the launch of http://www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com and Behind the Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER, the Straight, No Chaser vlog (video blog) series present
Straight, No Chaser: Your Questions About Human Bites
The votes are in, and it appears that Jaws (from James Bond fame) found the previous post, well… biting. Here’s your questions and answers about human bites: 1)
Straight, No Chaser: Emergency Room Adventures – The Risk of Rabies
Depending on the circumstances of your life, sometimes risks are theoretical, and other times risks become occurrences… You can’t make this stuff up. It’s another bu
Straight, No Chaser: Animal Bites
We love our pets, and animals in general. Is there one about which a movie hasn’t been made? In most cases they are sources of entertainment, if not love. Unfortunately, they
General Health and Wellness, Genital/Urinary, Infectious Disease, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Health Prevention
Straight, No Chaser In the News: Abstinence-Only Education and Sexual Health
In my capacity as a physician, when it comes to patients, I often say it’s not my job to judge but to treat. However, as a public health consideration it would be nothing sho
Straight, No Chaser: Ingrown Toenails
The overwhelming majority of cases of ingrown toenails I see come from people chewing on their toenails. So the really, really Quick Tip is keep your feet out of your mouth. If onl
Straight, No Chaser: Hygiene and Illness
There are things you know, there are things you know but don’t really know, and there are still other things that you think you know that you don’t know at all. When it
Straight, No Chaser Update: Remember Ebola Virus?
This post is made with all due respect and condolences to those families affected. So…Have you noticed that we’re not talking about the Ebola virus anymore? This shouldn’
Straight, No Chaser: Living With An Incurable Sexually Transmitted Infection
You’ve requested it, and it’s only fair. We’ve spent a lot of time discussing sexually transmitted diseases and infections (STDs, STIs). It’s reasonable to discuss living w
