What are the health risks of eyelash extensions?

Conditions
May 20, 2013

“Something bad has happened. I’ve got eyelash extensions,” singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth confessed on the “Late Show with David Letterman” last year while wearing large dark sunglasses, and visibly drowsy on Benadryl. “Here’s the problem: The glue has formaldehyde in it, and I’m allergic,” Chenoweth said. “I swelled up and I’m sneezing. . . . It looks like I have lips on my eyelids.”

The Broadway star is far from …

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What are the health risks of eyelash extensions?

Health risks of tattoos and tips for safer inking

Conditions
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 …

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Health risks of tattoos and tips for safer inking

How to avoid Zumba injuries: 10 physician tips

Conditions
July 29, 2012

Zumba, the Latin dance-inspired fitness craze, is a great way to burn calories, up to 500 per hour. It also gives you a good cardiovascular workout without making you feel like you’re exercising. This increasingly popular workout attracts a diverse crowd at dance studios and health clubs, including a sizable number of those 50 and up.

But for people who are out of shape, taking the first classes can be like …

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How to avoid Zumba injuries: 10 physician tips

Why I vaccinated my sons against HPV

Meds
December 21, 2011

I knew it was more than a tragic coincidence when two of my friends, middle-aged men without the usual risk factors of tobacco and alcohol use, developed late stage (IV) tongue cancer, reportedly the identical condition with which actor Michael Douglas was diagnosed last year. Cancers of the mouth and throat are growing so quickly that experts in the medical and scientific community are calling this an “epidemic,” for which …

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Why I vaccinated my sons against HPV

Women are now choosing safer options for beauty

Patient
August 9, 2011

Women have a long history of risking health for beauty. But several developments over the past few months suggest they might be starting to choose safer options.

1. Temporary tattoos. The latest trend on the runway and in the beauty isle is temporary tattoos, according to the advertising firm JWT. Chanel now offers limited-edition skin art, and Beyoncé has signed up to help sell Temptu’s product. Permanent tattoos not only cost …

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Women are now choosing safer options for beauty

Prevent foot fractures while wearing heels

Conditions
May 17, 2011

As 30-year-old New Yorker Carrie Donnelly began her bachelorette party in her new black open-toe five-inch heels, she fell, her foot going one way and her ankle the other.

“When I woke up the next day, my ankle was throbbing and had become extremely swollen,” she said. It was a month before her wedding—the last thing she wanted to do was to walk down the aisle in a cast.

Super-high heels like …

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Prevent foot fractures while wearing heels

10 health dangers that your teen may face

Patient
March 3, 2011

It’s not easy being a parent of teens these days. Previously rational children transform into moody, unreasonable creatures whose need to shock is only surpassed by their efforts to fit in.

Add a measure of impulsiveness and experimentalism, and it’s no wonder risky behavior skyrockets during these years. What a parent can do is to keep the lines of communication open, stay informed of the health dangers of some of the …

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10 health dangers that your teen may face

Permanent makeup risks and dangers

Conditions
January 2, 2011

“She just got permanent eye liner and eyebrow augmentation—looks fab,” emailed one of my closest friends last month, about her coworker. “I am seriously considering permanent liner/eyelash augmentation. Do you have any interest in doing this with me?”

I understood the appeal … I’d never have to reapply makeup after showering at the gym, save time on my morning routine and enhance features like thinning lashes and brows. Although we had …

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Permanent makeup risks and dangers

Is your child’s behavior due to ADHD?

Conditions
November 8, 2010

When my oldest son was 13 he began to do poorly in school. He often forgot to do his homework, or he did it but forgot to hand it in. He had difficulty paying attention during tasks, was extremely disorganized, and his teachers said he was easily distracted. They suggested that his behavior fit with many of the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but since this was mostly …

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Is your child’s behavior due to ADHD?

Are toning shoes safe or effective?

Patient
September 23, 2010

Grandmother Pat LaColla, 82, was lured by the hype—”get in shape without setting foot in a gym”—when she bought a pair of Skechers last year, wincing at the $100 price tag. Toning shoes like those she bought are the newest craze in athletic footwear, projected to grow 500 percent to become a $1.5 billion market this year.

Although the designs vary, toners typically have strongly curved, thickened soles. From the moment …

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Are toning shoes safe or effective?

Creatine causing muscle cramps and how supplements may be dangerous

Meds
August 18, 2010

About a month ago, a 44-year-old insurance executive came to see me with complaints of headaches and muscle cramps. His pain was caused by the typical cluster headache located behind one eye, accompanied by one-sided tearing and nasal congestion, and often triggered by occasional wine or chocolate. The muscle cramps mainly affected the legs and seemed to worsen after exercise.

When I got the results of his lab work, I was …

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Creatine causing muscle cramps and how supplements may be dangerous