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Category Archives: Public Health
Straight, No Chaser Vlog: Heart Disease
This week, the Straight, No Chaser vlog (video blog) series presents “health care basics” to keep you safe, healthy and out of the emergency room. Heart disease has been th
Straight, No Chaser In The News: The Life Expectancy of Americans Drops for the First Time in 20+ Years
This is not a quirk, coincidence or mistake. Accordingly to the National Center for Health Statistics, for the first time in over two decades, life expectancy for Americans decline
Straight, No Chaser: Questions About High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
High blood pressure (hypertension) is so prevalent and such a consequence of the way we live that you must already have an understanding of some basic principles if you care at al
Straight, No Chaser: High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
High blood pressure is called the silent killer. It’s common for me to see someone who thought they were ‘fine’ drop dead from its effects, never knowing it was about to happ
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: About That Vomiting and Diarrhea…
You’ve all been there and done that. It’s always a bad day when you get the so-called stomach flu… First of all ‘the flu’ is a respiratory disease (affects the lungs,
Straight, No Chaser: Suicide Data 2016 – Understand the Threat
There are amazing, shocking and saddening facts about suicide. It is equally amazing that we aren’t discussing this as an epidemic. After a period of nearly consistent decline
Straight, No Chaser: End of Life Decision Making
Having this conversation when death is staring you or a loved one in the face is not the most ideal situation. Do you have a living will? Do you know what advance directives are?
Straight, No Chaser: 25 Tips That WILL Increase Your Life Expectancy
You may want to keep this post. I haven’t exactly found the Fountain of Youth, but I do know what activities lead to a longer life expectancy. In honor of Thanksgiving, and in th
Straight, No Chaser: Patient Rights and Responsibilities
Even if you didn’t know it, you have rights as a patient. In 1998, the U.S. Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry adopted a Consumer
Straight, No Chaser In The News: Anticipating The Repeal of Obamacare (Affordable Care Act)
Elections have consequences. At this point, we can move beyond mere speculation and look at the certainty that the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare, ACA) will be repealed at some
Straight, No Chaser: Quick Tips for the Diabetic in Your Life
Per your requests, we occasionally feature quick tips for healthy living. Here’s an important example. If you have diabetics in your life, here are three things they should d
Straight, No Chaser: Diabetes Basics and the Importance of Education
Diabetes is a disease in which education is vital. For a diabetic, knowing the disease well allows him or her to better prevent long-term consequences of the disease. It also allow
Straight, No Chaser: The Day You Get Diagnosed With HIV
I’ve had many occasions to tell a patient they were HIV(+). Over the last 20 years of my doing so, that message has changed from a death sentence to the acknowledgement of a chro
Straight, No Chaser: Treating Halloween Mishaps
In the previous Straight, No Chaser, we offered you tips for a safe Halloween. However, safety tips are only as good as your inclination to use them. Even when an ounce of preven
Straight, No Chaser: Halloween Health Tips
Are you taking the young ones trick-or-treating this year? Straight, No Chaserand the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) want you to have a safe halloween. Today an
Straight, No Chaser: Signs, Symptoms and Prognosis of Breast Cancer
So, after all we’ve discussed this week, this is what it comes down to: the one in eight lifetime risk has landed at your doorstep. What happens next is very important. The a
Straight, No Chaser: How to Perform the Breast Self-Exam
Beginning in their 20s, women should be aware of the benefits and limitations of breast self-exam (BSE). Women should know how their breasts normally look and feel and report any n
Straight, No Chaser: This is How You Self-Assess For Breast Cancer, Part 1
When I started this series, my first thought was “Why reinvent the wheel? There is a massive amount of information available on the web about breast cancer, and surely itR
Straight, No Chaser: The Reach of Breast Cancer and Your Risk Factors
Even as a physician, I am left to think about the horror of being a woman with a lifetime risk of acquiring breast cancer that’s 1 in 8. The only thing I can think of off-han
