The impact of COVID-19 on health conditions

Conditions
April 2, 2021

For the past year, we have been inundated with statistics about the impact of COVID-19 on our lives. Reports of daily case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths are so pervasive that they have become routine fodder for  “water cooler”  and dinner table conversations. Several early studies, looking at the pandemic’s secondary health implications, give us an inkling of just how broad and deep its impact has been.

Mental health

Perhaps the most visible …

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The impact of COVID-19 on health conditions

With Lynch Syndrome, knowledge alone isn’t power

Conditions
March 22, 2021

“The blood test shows a genetic mutation at MLH1. You have Lynch.” The words were spoken by my genetic counselor the minute I sat in my chair should have hit me harder, but I only felt numb. I glanced at my closest friend, the person they had insisted go with me to the appointment, and watched as tears filled her eyes. I glanced back at the genetic counselor and the …

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With Lynch Syndrome, knowledge alone isn’t power

When the teen with depression and anxiety is yours

Conditions
March 17, 2021

Every week, I see a teen with depression and/or anxiety. Sometimes that teen is mine.

And while I can certainly opine over the lack of mental health resources for our children and teens — you have to be a certain age, you have to have certain insurances, if you’re uninsured or underinsured, you can see a community health professional but only for eight sessions — what I really get frustrated with …

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When the teen with depression and anxiety is yours

Reflections on a year of COVID

Conditions
March 16, 2021

One year ago, on March 14, I worked my first of many COVID shifts as a hospitalist at a large academic teaching institution in Chicago.  In the beginning, I think most of us on the front lines felt a strange combination of duty, fear, and exhilaration. There was this novel virus, the world was shutting down because of it, and while the rest of society was stocking up on toilet …

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Reflections on a year of COVID

One year into the COVID-19 pandemic

Conditions
March 15, 2021

“Come to triage right now, and wear your N95. A patient going straight to OR and she’s having fever and chills.”

I was summoned to the triage area of labor and delivery for a patient brought in from the ultrasound clinic and found to have absent fetal heart tones. One of my colleagues started an IV, and I ran to the OR to set up for emergency general anesthesia. The patient …

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One year into the COVID-19 pandemic

Reimagining diet: Why cheating brings the win

Conditions
March 15, 2021

Keto, Mediterranean, Paleo, intermittent fasting. How many times have you or your patients been sucked into the latest diet trend only to crash and burn just a few weeks later? I have tried every diet in the books and every single time, draw the same conclusion: extreme dietary restrictions are not sustainable. So many of us lose weight with the newest trending diet only to gain it back months later …

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Reimagining diet: Why cheating brings the win

Could a glass of wine diagnose long COVID?

Conditions
March 12, 2021

Acute COVID-19 infection ranges from no symptoms (asymptomatic) to life-threatening.  What about long COVID (the symptoms occurring more than three weeks after infection, also known as post-acute COVID syndrome)?  Could there be thousands of people with “mild” long COVID who don’t know it? Could there be legions of people with new low-energy levels being misdiagnosed as depressed, stressed, having a sleep disorder, or being labeled “lazy”?  The inability to tolerate …

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Could a glass of wine diagnose long COVID?

A physician questions the COVID vaccine data from Israel

Conditions
March 6, 2021

Bloodletting may be the best-known example of a once widely used, faulty medical treatment, but there are many more. Hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women, famously touted by experts, turned out to be complicated and sometimes harmful.

The list of medical reversals is long, and one cause is common. When observational studies compare people in the community who receive treatment with those who don’t, the treatment …

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A physician questions the COVID vaccine data from Israel

A beloved COVID ICU patient turns to comfort care

Conditions
March 2, 2021

Everyone loved Mrs. Maria. She was everyone’s mom, grandma, teacher.

Maria grew up in poverty. Though her family was poor, she knew her parents and siblings loved her and loved each other. But the one thing she knew her passion was at was school. Every morning she couldn’t wait to go to school and learn more. And she knew one day she would be a teacher.

Throughout the years, Maria excelled in …

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A beloved COVID ICU patient turns to comfort care

A neurosurgeon explains why visualization works

Conditions
March 1, 2021

Brain science explains why visualization improves performance in the real world, helps make better decisions, and minimizes errors.

Before performing surgery, let’s say for a herniated disc, I stand in front of a white porcelain sink. Antiseptic bubbles cover my hands and drip from my forearms. The surgery takes place in my mind, playing like a movie on the inside of my eyelids: The setting of retractors, …

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A neurosurgeon explains why visualization works

6 ways to build trust with communities of color when distributing the COVID-19 vaccine

Conditions
February 24, 2021

As a Latina physician on the frontlines of COVID-19, it feels like a race against time to get as many vaccines as possible to the communities of color that are more likely to be infected, hospitalized, and die from the virus. A lot of effort right now is focused on the logistics of managing vaccines that need to be manufactured, stored, allocated, …

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6 ways to build trust with communities of color when distributing the COVID-19 vaccine

What happens to your child’s brain when you nag

Conditions
February 24, 2021

Part of your job as a parent is to teach your children, and there’s no way for a child to learn anything without making a few mistakes. Actually, a lot of mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes can be infuriating. They might be self-destructive mistakes. They might be mistakes that can cause harm to their siblings or classmates. They might be mistakes that happen over and over again. They might …

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What happens to your child’s brain when you nag

What’s in your grief toolkit?

Conditions
February 20, 2021

Loss is incurable, but grief is metamorphic. The end of another human life is a fluid experience for those left behind. For most of us, grief legitimizes the range of human emotion and, at least temporarily, erases the idea of being too sensitive.

There are many ways in which this paradigm is unequal, particularly for individuals who frequently confront death. It seems that when a challenge moves into the …

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What’s in your grief toolkit?

Changing the national conversation on wound care

Conditions
February 12, 2021

We all think we know what a bruise looks like. Black and blue, brownish around the edges. But depending on the circumstances, the same bruise can look different from one person to another.

To a well-loved child who skinned her knee, a bruise might look like a bad memory of an epic tree-climb attempt. To a patient with diabetes, a similar bruise might look like the onset of a life-threatening emergency. …

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Changing the national conversation on wound care

What the PlayStation 5 can teach the vaccine rollout

Conditions
February 10, 2021

It’s no surprise that the PlayStation 5 (PS5) has been extremely popular since its launch in November, with over four million consoles sold since launch. However, what is surprising is that the PS5 has broken all launch month gaming hardware sales records ever, despite its steep prices at $500 for the full console and $400 for the digital edition, not to mention its launch in the …

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What the PlayStation 5 can teach the vaccine rollout

Nursing home workers at catastrophic levels of burnout and trauma

Conditions
February 9, 2021

It’s been almost a year since nursing home workers began fighting on the front lines of COVID-19. They’ve witnessed and experienced extreme trauma. They’ve seen seniors they care for suffer in fear and loneliness during prolonged and repeated lockdowns.  They’ve seen residents fall catastrophically ill and too many of them die.

More than 17,000 seniors are dead from COVID-19 in Canada; Read more…

Nursing home workers at catastrophic levels of burnout and trauma

COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people with severe allergies

Conditions
February 3, 2021

The intensive care unit nurse was worried the COVID-19 vaccine would kill her.

In the past, just minutes after getting the influenza vaccine, she had hives, wheezing, and throat swelling. Her life-threatening reaction only resolved after an epinephrine injection and monitoring in the emergency room. She vowed never to get another vaccine.

With the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, she reconsidered her stance. Now she was in my clinic, …

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COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people with severe allergies

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