A recent mammogram study in the New England Journal of Medicine was so controversial that the authors (Drs. Welch and Bleyer) decided to make a YouTube video to defend and explain their conclusions. Now that’s a first, isn’t it? Well kudos to the study authors for their creative approach to getting ahead of a controversy. [...]
Why Pumping Iron Is Great For Brain Cells
January 8, 2013 by
On a previous post I told you that I would reveal the one thing you can do to have a significant, positive and lasting effect on your brain health as you get older. See if you can spot it in the following list: a) Learn to dance Gangnam style b) Join a choir c) Catch a wave d) Pump [...]
The Principles Of Moisturizing Your Skin
January 11, 2012 by
When I was in medical school on my dermatology rotation, we joked that all skin treatments boil down to three decrees: If it’s wet, dry it. If it’s dry, wet it. And if in doubt, use steroids. Some other time I’ll discuss the “drying” of skin, or the use of steroids (which are not, by [...]
Tips For Dealing With The Chronic Pain Of Osteoarthritis
December 26, 2011 by
One of my patients came to see me today with severe right knee pain. This is not a new problem, and in fact, we have been dealing with flare ups of her osteoarthritis for years. It mainly affects her knees and hands and today her right knee was swollen and felt like the “bone was [...]
Why Did The USPSTF Change The Pap Test Guidelines For Women?
December 19, 2011 by
Women have been told they should have screening for cervical cancer with a pap test every year. The visit to the gynecologist or internal medicine physician has been a right of passage for most young women and most are very compliant with that annual visit throughout their lives. Well, the times they are a-changin’ because [...]
Managing Stress With Meditation
October 24, 2011 by
In the early 1970s, when Dr. Herbert Benson was defining and testing the techniques he presented to the world in his revolutionary book, The Relaxation Response, I was a hippie teenager learning transcendental meditation (TM). Flash forward about 40 years and I’m sitting in an amphitheater packed with a few hundred medical students, faculty, and [...]
Why Are Painkillers Dangerous For Pregnant Women?
August 23, 2011 by
A nurse recently asked a very important question that bears repeating: What effect does long-term use of pain pills have on pregnant women? She was concerned because of the increase in number of pregnant women who are taking pain pills on a long term basis based on previous surgeries, accidents or a history of chronic [...]
Fatigue: A Symptom With Many Possible Causes
August 16, 2011 by
Feeling tired? If so, it’s not surprising. Fatigue is one of the most common problems people report to their doctors. The Health and Retirement Study of more than 17 million older people ages 51 and up reported recently that 31% said they feel fatigued. Fatigue is a symptom, not a disease. Different people experience it [...]
What To Do If Your Doctor’s Appointment Isn’t Soon Enough
August 15, 2011 by
A friend of mine had a hard time getting in to see her doctor for an urgent visit last week. Reeling from an unexpected and sudden family upset, she was depressed and anxious, unable to sleep or function, and her therapist was advising an antidepressant. She called her family doc, who works at a large hospital-based [...]
