Conditions and Diseases

Physicians writing on KevinMD about the diseases they treat and the people who have them: cancer and its screening arguments, pain and the drugs that treat it, diabetes and the obesity argument, mental illness and who gets treated for it, and the decisions at the end of a life. Five maintained records draw on this archive: Cancer: what physicians say, in their own words, Opioids: what physicians and pain patients say, in their own words, End of life: what physicians say, in their own words, Diabetes and obesity: what physicians say, in their own words, and Mental health: what psychiatrists and physicians say, in their own words.

Ways to improve influenza immunization rates

William Schaffner, MD

October 26, 2012

With the 2012-13 influenza season underway, I want to remind my colleagues that while influenza vaccination has been around for 60 years, the times are changing, and physicians need to change too. We now have newer vaccine options targeting specific populations that were not available just a decade ago.

Alas, many providers have not taken advantage of these options that 1) potentially offer better protection for patients aged 65+ and 2) …

A moral duty to help build healthier societies

James C. Salwitz, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 22, 2012

Nairobi, Kenya basks under a brilliant sun, its dusty frontier soul, noise, construction and vital humanity speak for a nation and a people rushing into the modern world. Full of ideas, growing exports and exploding industry, its expanding middle class has seized on education and commerce as the path to tomorrow. One of the richest nations in Africa, with a new Constitution and new hope, it races forward. Tragically, even …

It’s not all in the genes: How to reduce your risk of cancer

Toni Brayer, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 22, 2012

There are an estimated 1,638,910 new cases of the dreadful disease diagnosed in 2012 in the United States, not including non-melanoma skin cancers.

Cancer is not just one disease but is a term that represents more than 100 diseases with different causes. The basic unit of life is cells, and cancer always begins in cells. When the normal process of cell growth and division is altered, these abnormal cells divide without …

Chickenpox, herpes zoster, and understanding the shingles vaccine

Brian J. Secemsky, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 20, 2012

Chickenpox was all the rage back in the day. Oatmeal baths with your siblings, unexplained weekday sleep-overs with pox-laden, peripheral childhood friends. Even the sweet but short-lived relief of itching and scratching made the week-long infectious endeavor, if anything, a pleasant respite from the doldrums of early childhood.

Unfortunately for a handful of us unsuspecting chickenpox veterans, the infection that we so fondly include in our potpourri of childhood nostalgia will …

Health risks of tattoos and tips for safer inking

Orly Avitzur, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 20, 2012

I’m often surprised to hear my patients say that they got their tattoos while they were intoxicated. These confessions usually pour out spontaneously, prompted by anxiety, as I prepare to insert a needle for medical reasons. Getting a tattoo may be exciting, but you shouldn’t get drunk and cloud your judgment before you get one.

Permanent tattoos have been growing in popularity (pop star Justin Bieber’s tattoos even have their own …

What to expect during your first mammogram

Therese B. Bevers, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 14, 2012

Getting your first mammogram can be stressful. After all, it’s your first one, so you don’t know exactly what to expect.

Rest assured: even women getting their second or third mammogram may have concerns.

But by learning how to prepare for and what to expect from this important cancer screening exam, you can eliminate some of the guesswork. And, that can make your experience less nerve-wracking.

Here’s what you should know.

Mammograms save lives

Don’t …

What is the best disease from which to die?

Alex Lickerman, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 14, 2012

We can’t, of course, plan the way we’re going to die (with the obvious exception of suicide). We can, however, live in such a way that reduces the likelihood of our dying from certain diseases. Which is why it’s now almost universally accepted that we should exercise regularly, not smoke, drink only in moderation (if at all), avoid too much fat in our diet (and now probably too much carbohydrate), …

Take your flu vaccine as soon as it is available

Steven Reznick, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 13, 2012

As school bells ring out announcing a new school year and pigskins fly through the air announcing the arrival of a new football season, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) begins its annual influenza vaccine campaign. “Flu” or influenza is a viral illness associated with fever, severe muscle aches, general malaise and respiratory symptoms. Most healthy children and adults can run a fever for 5 – 7 days …

Chuck Pagano has leukemia: An oncologist discusses his prognosis

John Salter, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 10, 2012

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Indianapolis Colts’ Head Coach Chuck Pagano lately, so I thought I would dedicate a blog entry to discussing his disease and prognosis.

Coach Pagano was recently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a form of blood cancer that typically carries a rather grim long-term prognosis in adults. While early reports were quite sketchy on the details of Pagano’s presenting symptoms, it seems that …

ACP: Make flu vaccination a team effort

Yul Ejnes, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 10, 2012

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

Fall is the time of year when the CDC, CMS, insurance companies, and professional societies bombard physicians with reminders to vaccinate their patients against influenza. I will do these groups one better and not only remind you, but also share a couple of ideas for improving your …

Read more…

ACP: Make flu vaccination a team effort

3 unexpected ways to help you lose weight

Lucy Hornstein, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 9, 2012

After all the hullabaloo generated by my passing on the accurate but controversial information that exercise will not help you lose weight, I thought I should give equal time to the other side, and discuss several things that appear to help enhance efforts at weight loss.

Sleep

Although I’m not aware of any formal studies documenting this, I can report from personal and professional experience that the value of sufficient …

ADHD: Not all complex problems have simple answers

Claudia M. Gold, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 9, 2012

I’ve been thinking about the phrase, “the fallacy of simple answers,” in preparation for writing about a new book I was asked to review, Pills are Not For Preschoolers. Author Marilyn Wedge gives a clear and compelling argument for the use of family therapy in treatment of behaviorally symptomatic children. Unlike the title suggests, the book is not primarily about preschoolers, but offers multiple examples of her successful work …

MKSAP: 40-year-old woman with a symmetrically distributed rash

mksap

Conditions and Diseases

October 7, 2012

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 40-year-old woman is evaluated for a 4-month history of symmetrically distributed, severely pruritic, grouped erosions on her elbows, knees, back, and buttocks. The skin lesions began as red spots that developed into papules and then vesicles, which broke down as she scratched them. She reports normal bowel habits. She has no other medical …

MKSAP: 72-year-old man is evaluated for fatigue and dyspnea

mksap

Conditions and Diseases

October 6, 2012

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 72-year-old man is evaluated for fatigue and dyspnea. Over the last several months to a year, he has had increasing fatigue, exercise intolerance, and dyspnea on even mild exertion. He becomes short of breath walking across a room, although he is asymptomatic at rest. He denies chest pain, palpitations, syncope, orthopnea, and lower …

The CDC recommends hepatitis C screening: Should they be followed?

Kenneth Lin, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 5, 2012

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finalized new recommendations for one-time screening for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in all persons born between 1945 and 1965, a generation better known as the “Baby Boomers.”

The CDC’s new recommendations were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Previously, the CDC only recommended that persons with behavioral or medical risk factors for HCV be routinely tested. Its rationale …

Talk about hepatitis C screening at your next scheduled visit

Steven Reznick, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 4, 2012

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has requested that all individuals born between 1945 and 1965 be tested for the presence of the hepatitis C virus. This is a clear cut change in their policy which had previously asked that only high risk patients be tested.

Hepatitis C is a viral infection usually transmitted by blood to blood transmission. High risk patients include intravenous drug users who share needles, …

The impact of West Nile Virus on survivors

Wendy Station

Conditions and Diseases

September 22, 2012

Since 1999, when most people in North America first heard about West Nile Virus, we’ve been measuring the impact of West Nile by looking at its fatality count. It’s time to take note of the impact on the survivors of West Nile meningitis and encephalitis.

As of August 2012, an outbreak of 1,590 cases of West Nile virus in 2012 was confirmed by the CDC. This is the highest number of …

The decision to have a child circumcised

Natasha Burgert, MD

Conditions and Diseases

September 19, 2012

Soon-to-be parents come to “interview” me almost every day. Typically, they come prepared with a long list of questions for a pediatrician. I answer them as best as I am able.

For parents soon-to-be-expecting sons, I am frequently asked about circumcision.

Most parents are just curious about how the procedure is technically done, when their baby can get the procedure, and …

I hope my son never asks me if he can play tackle football

Manoj Jain, MD, MPH

Conditions and Diseases

September 18, 2012

Last fall, I went with my 12-year-old son to his middle school’s opening home football game. The bleachers were lined with parents, the smell of hot dogs and nachos wafted over the field, the announcer’s voice blared, and the cheerleaders jumped out of sync.

The boys were dressed in shoulder, chest, thigh and kneepads covered with clean white numbered uniforms. They each wore a helmet that seemed to weigh more than …

Restless legs syndrome in children: How the kids see it

Craig Canapari, MD

Conditions and Diseases

September 17, 2012

When I was a kid, my parents used to avoid giving me Coca-Cola after lunch. Not because they were overly concerned about my health. (If they had been, my mom wouldn’t have given me milkshakes when I watched Kung Fu Theater every Sunday afternoon. But that is a different story). The reason was that I would have really severe problems falling asleep about a quarter of the time. I would …

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