Conditions

The teacher who changed my life through reading

Raymond Abbott

Conditions

March 21, 2023

It is near summer now as I write this brief narrative. This time of year, when I turn on my car radio, I sometimes hear various individuals talking about summer reading, past or present.

These programs got me thinking about Percy Holmes, or the late Percy Holmes, an English teacher I had in the tenth grade at Haverhill High School in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

I remember Mr. Holmes as a dapper little man, …

Revaluating mental health assessments: It’s not just the patient you should consider

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Conditions

March 21, 2023

I believe that mental health care is one of the most underrated areas in health care. Mental illness is an epidemic plaguing virtually every corner of the world. While great strides have been made in identifying and treating mental disorders, particularly in wealthier countries, many people remain without adequate care for their conditions. The numbers are staggering. According to the World Health Organization 2020 report, almost 1 billion people worldwide …

Breaking down barriers: How technology is improving diabetes management in underserved communities

Anonymous

Conditions

March 20, 2023

Despite advancements in health information technology (HIT), the prevalence of diabetes in the United States continues to be high and is the seventh leading cause of death. Diabetes management in underserved communities has challenges concerning health care access for high-risk groups, often resulting in debilitating health outcomes worsened by adverse socio-economic consequences. Optimal HbA1c levels, controlled for by risk reduction, are essential. If diabetics encounter barriers to health care services, …

Yoga and self-care won’t cure my Crohn’s disease

Kristen L. Cole, PhD

Conditions

March 19, 2023

Inflation and rising interest rates have given way to a record high of $930.6 billion in credit card debt.

I am among many people who have gone into credit card debt by spending too much on health and wellness.

Several years ago, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is not the same as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBD is …

What causes fainting and how to prevent it during needle procedures

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Conditions

March 18, 2023

Fainting, or syncope is a temporary loss of consciousness when the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen. Many things, including dehydration, low blood sugar, or anxiety, can cause it. As all doctors know, a common trigger for fainting is seeing blood or a needle.

Emotional fainting is very common in humans, especially in younger people, but it is extremely rare in non-human vertebrates. Fainting may be a response that Homo sapiens …

Healing through love and spirituality

John T. James, PhD

Conditions

March 15, 2023

As I write this, a friend from my church is going through terrible setbacks as he awaits a new heart. He has been lovingly supported during his lengthy trials by church members. They visit him in the hospital and at home and support his wife with meals as she cares almost around the clock for her husband. His journey into medical care began several years ago when he experienced heart …

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Healing through love and spirituality

Lifestyle change: the forgotten solution in health care

Tyler Petersen

Conditions

March 15, 2023

Lifestyle change is a first-line treatment for many diseases. However, change is inherently challenging. This difficulty is exacerbated by a lack of lifestyle change “breakthroughs,” whereas multiple pharmaceutical breakthroughs have occurred over the years. Thus, pharmaceutical interventions are emphasized.

For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new obesity treatment guidelines that included medications and surgery. 60 Minutes recently aired a segment with physicians claiming that obesity was mainly genetic and …

Breaking the cycle of childhood obesity

Martin C. Young, MD

Conditions

March 14, 2023

Every specialty has its burden, and pediatric endocrinology’s is obesity. Primary care providers refer because they or the child’s parents suspect the cause is hormonal. It almost never is. The overly adipose child invariably has, using older terminology, exogenous obesity.

Traditionally, this has implied excessive calorie intake and inadequate expenditure (the “overactive fork and underactive foot”), arising from sloth and gluttony. I don’t share this belief. Over the years, I have …

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Breaking the cycle of childhood obesity

The holistic solution to obesity: Addressing mind, body, and behaviors for lasting weight loss

Roopal Lalaji, PsyD

Conditions

March 13, 2023

Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro. These names have entered our common parlance within the last year via news articles, television stories, and celebrity exposes. Everyone from Hollywood to your neighbor seems to be on medication for weight loss or trying to find a way to access one via their medical provider, from primary care physicians to dermatologists. The widespread demand for these medications has resulted in a shortage for those who could …

Loving our pets through loss: Coping with the death of a family member

Nancie Wiseman Attwater

Conditions

March 12, 2023

My husband passed away six months ago, and it is quite evident to me that not only do I miss him, but so does our dog Grace. She adored Bill and would scamper to find him if I directed her to “Go find dad!” I no longer use the word dad, as that sets her off on a sad but fruitless chase around the house.

Very soon after Bill died, it …

Sleep matters: Addressing the neglected vital sign

Emily Kahoud

Conditions

March 12, 2023

It wasn’t until I reflected upon how many times the highway rumble strip had potentially saved my life that I sought the help of a physician trained in sleep medicine. Prior to that, no doctor had ever asked me about my intractable insomnia.

Sleep is increasingly being recognized as an underappreciated vital sign. An estimated 50 to 70 million Americans may have a sleep disorder, and according to the Centers …

Help is out there: a waitress’ story of hope and inspiration

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

March 11, 2023

I treat myself to the same restaurant for breakfast once or twice a month. There she is again, the same waitress with those same sad eyes. She knows my name, but I don’t know hers. Sometimes she has a bruise on her forehead or bruises up and down her arms, and I can see through her makeup.

My heart aches because even though I don’t know her, I know her. It’s …

COVID-19 is still a global health issue but we can responsibly live with it

Melvin Sanicas, MD

Conditions

March 11, 2023

The World Health Organization (WHO) first declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020, when, outside of China, there were fewer than 100 cases, and there were no deaths. This formal declaration by the WHO has been renewed 12 times, most recently last month the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee advised the WHO that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to be …

The power of first impressions: How false information can stick

Anne Bremner, JD & Doug Bremner, MD

Conditions

March 10, 2023

An excerpt from Justice in the Age of Judgment: From Amanda Knox to Kyle Rittenhouse and the Battle for Due Process in the Digital Age.

In the early 1970s, a group of researchers at Stanford University placed advertisements in a newspaper offering two dollars to people who would participate in an …

Breaking the cycle of addiction treatment scams: a physician’s guide

Jack McGeachy, MD

Conditions

March 10, 2023

You sigh as you see the name on the next chart. “Good grief, this poor woman,” you think as you place your hand on the doorknob.

“Doctor, I really tried. I really tried this time!” she sobs.

“Cheryl, I know you did. But you’ve got a disease, and you need treatment.”

“Doc, I can’t go back there again. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I’m going to lose my job. I can barely …

The vaccination dilemma: Protecting patient rights or caregiver freedom?

M. Bennet Broner, PhD

Conditions

March 10, 2023

Recently, I heard a news report regarding several state attorneys general suing the federal government to eliminate the requirement that health care providers be immunized against COVID. They argued that as fully immunized individuals still contract COVID, and that allowing unimmunized people to be rehired would relieve provider shortage, the regulation was unhelpful.

Initially, I agreed, as rehiring these individuals would generate some relief for those staff members who have worked …

Nurse’s whistle of hopelessness: a tale of a dangerous workplace with no safety measures

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

March 9, 2023

I finally found time after retirement to clean out my nurse’s book bag. It contained items such as a stethoscope, extra playing cards for patients, highlighters, various pens, a penlight, a notebook with important phone numbers throughout the health care system, tourniquets for IVs, and a plastic whistle.

This health care system, which has a revenue of $5 billion per year and spans throughout America, is quite complex. Let me explain.

The …

Research literacy bridges the medical mistrust gap

Janice Phillips, PhD and Nikki Hopewell, MSc

Conditions

March 9, 2023

A long inglorious history of medical racism and mistreatment has dire health consequences. Consider the atrocities associated with experimentation on African Americans without informed consent during the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972), which eroded the trust in the medical profession and medical research, and undermined the nation’s ability to achieve health equity.

Medical mistrust continues to worsen due to the negative health care experiences African Americans still endure today. For …

Fool women twice? Drug makers revive menopause as a “disease.”

Martha Rosenberg

Conditions

March 8, 2023

In the words of the late soccer great Pelé spoofed on Saturday Night Live, women’s health has been “very, very good” for drug makers. In 2002, 61 million prescriptions were written for women in the U.S. for hormones to treat the so-called “disease” of menopause (which was once treated with electroshock therapy—yes, ECT).

Until the government-sponsored Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) found in 2002 that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) …

Grieving parents want the truth

Colin Campbell

Conditions

March 7, 2023

Adapted from Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose.

I am glad I got to watch my kids die. To be clear, I’m not glad they died. I am heartbroken and devastated, and there is a never-ending hole of aching and pain in my heart. My teenage …

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Grieving parents want the truth

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