AskTheDoctor.com

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) due to smartphone use

2012-01-30T11:28:00.001-08:00

The number of questions our free medical Q & A website AskTheDoctor.com gets related to Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is growing largely over the last few years, especially with more people getting smartphones and texting more. The number of patients we physically see at our family practice due to RSI has also become a very large number as well. Remember to practice stretching exercises on your wrist and thumbs at least a couple times per week in order to prevent RSI. Try and avoid over texting if you can.

Sincerely,

AskTheDoctor.com Team

Cell phone doctor?

2012-01-18T07:01:00.001-08:00

80% of the population has cell phones and the nearest doctor to many of these people is many many miles away. What if we had as many doctors as we did cell phones? What if the doctor was your cell phone? Impossible? Stay tuned….

AskTheDoctor.com's Pink Eye Prevention Tips

2012-01-12T06:14:00.000-08:00

Pink eye is more common in children but the advice is equally applicable for adults and children. Groups exposed to cigarette smoke and contact lens wearers are at higher risk.

In terms of pink eye, we have to discuss primary prevention (protecting yourself from getting it) and secondary prevention (preventing it from spreading in the house once someone has it). The rules are the same in both cases

1/ wash hands regularly with soap and running water
2/ Avoid sharing personal items such as hand towels and face cloths
3/ Discourage eye rubbing and touching - especially when kids have colds or other respiratory infections.

Glaucoma Awarness Month

2012-01-12T05:04:00.000-08:00

January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness. Moreover, among African American and Latino populations, glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness, and it is more prevalent. Glaucoma is 6 to 8 times more common in African Americans than Caucasians.

Over 2.2 million Americans, and over 60 million people worldwide, have glaucoma. Experts estimate that half of them don't know they have it. Combined with our aging population, we can see an epidemic of blindness looming if we don't raise awareness about the importance of regular eye examinations to preserve vision.

Since there are no symptoms and once vision is lost, it's permanent. As much as 40% of vision can be lost without a person noticing.

Click here to read our article on glaucoma prevention

When is the best time to do a breast exam?

2012-01-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

According to a majority of the doctors at AskTheDoctor.com,

The best time to do a self-breast exam is 10-14 days after the last menstrual period (Day 1 of previous period). It is during this time the hormones are at its lowest levels so real masses (not lumpy lobules) can be detected. When doing a self breast exam, raise your hand above your head then using the other hand, feel for masses on the breasts. Do the same for the other breast. Breast cancer in your age group is very rare but it does happen. However, benign (non-cancerous) breast masses are common in women from all age groups. To be sure, have it checked by a doctor so a proper breast exam can be done and from there, a decision whether or not to do an imaging procedure (mammogram or ultrasound) can be made.

click here to see the question

Stretching Everyday good for your body

2012-01-09T11:54:00.000-08:00

Did you know that spending at least fifteen minutes everyday stretching, helps keep your joints from deteriorating. Muscles stay flexible and you are helping your body by preventing injuries. If stretching is not part of your daily routine, our doctors highly recommend stretching even for a few minutes right before bed every night.

Cardiovascular activity really important first thing in the morning

2012-01-09T05:18:00.001-08:00

Our doctors have found that people who exercise every morning for at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity have less health problems than people who don't. Keeping your heart rate at about 65% max for 30 minutes keeps your heart strong, improves blood circulation and helps burn fat. If a morning jog, walk, bike or swim is not part of your daily morning routine, we strongly recommend considering it.

The best activity to do in winter to keep fit and healthy

2012-01-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

Being in North America, most American and Canadians have to deal with winter for almost half of the year. Our doctors here at AskTheDoctor.com have voted and come up with the number one activity in the winter time they feel will help you stay fit and healthy!

The winner is...........

Cross-Country Skiing

A great winter activity to help you strengthen those muscles and burn lots of calories at the same time. Its a great activity you can enjoy even with the kids. Studies show people at an average weight of between 140-170 pounds can burn an average of 600-700 calories in just 1 hour of cross-country skiing.

Medical information more popular than Facebook?

2012-01-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

Did you know that people looking up medical information online is the third highest internet activity - higher than visiting Facebook. In fact, 83% of all internet users in the United States have looked for health information online. The only two activities more popular than this are reading an email or using a search engine.

The demand for online medical advice continues to grow as there are many popular websites out such as WebMD.com, Everydayhealth.com and AskTheDoctor.com

These websites will continue to grow as the younger internet using generation will require more healthcare attention.

Research shows that by 2015, there could be as many as 40,000 medical information websites in the United States alone.

Lets face it, people these days want to get everything online...first it was shopping, now its even health advice.

AskTheDoctor.com in the news

2012-01-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

We are please to let you know that AskTheDoctor.com, the world's leading source for free answers to medical questions was featured in the news in a few different places:

San Francisco Chronicle

Stanford University

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Doctor's Recommended: Healing Change of Seasons Chicken Soup Recipe

2012-01-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

The soup has a slightly bitter taste. To improve the taste, use it as a base for a hearty chicken soup!

Herbal Ingredients

1. Codonopsis root: This herb is thought to help tonify and strengthen “qi” energy and helps to build blood and nourish body fluids.

2. Astragalus root: Astragalus is a root thought to helps strengthen protective defenses, strengthen qi energy, nourish the spleen, and tonify the blood and lungs

3. Dioscorea (Chinese yam) root: Dioscorea is a herb believed to tonify and balances the lungs and the kidneys.

4. Chinese Lycii berries: Lycii berries is believed to strengthen the liver and the kidneys.

Instructions

1. Fill a large stock pot with water (2-4L). Add the above herbs to the pot and place the lid on. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. If the water level boils down, add water to refill if necessary.

2. Using a slotted spoon, or strainer, remove the herbs from the pot. You can drink it as a broth, use it as a base for soup recipes, or place it in a mug or thermos and sip it throughout the day.

To make the chicken soup, you need:

• 1L organic homemade chicken broth
• 2 organic free range chicken breasts – cooked ( I bake mine) and shredded
• 2 cups of chopped green cabbage
• 2 celery stalks – chopped
• 2 carrots – chopped
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 tsp fresh ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic – chopped
• 1 cup of fresh parsely
• 1 tbsp of fresh rosmary
• 2 bay leaves
• add salt and pepper as needed for taste – especially to cover up the taste of the herbs

Instructions: 

1. Bake you chicken breasts for 40 mins at 350F – take out of the oven and allow to cool and shred 
2. Sautee garlic, onions and ginger for 3 mins in a little olive oil (for flavour, not too much!) 
3. Add shredded chicken – mix 
4. Add all the vegetables and mix for about 3 mins 
5. Add about 2 tsps of sea salt 
6. Add Change of Season Soup, Chicken Stock and Bay Leaves 
7. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 1.5 hours – slowly add additional salt and pepper until desired taste is reached 
8. Add Parsley and Rosmary and simmer for another 30 min

I love pouring this soup over some freshly made brown rice – makes for a hearty meal!

Enjoy!

How AskTheDoctor.com Continues To Be Free

2012-01-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's to everyone! Hope everyone had a great holiday season.

We wanted to start off this post by addressing a couple concerns our users have had.

Recently here at AskTheDoctor.com we have gotten some emails and feedback from our users that they would like to see our website not post the answers on the world wide web. We do keep the answers anonymous but we must publish them to create content. The reason we are able to keep the website free is because of the content being created.

Let me break it down as follows:

1. Without content there will be no advertisers on our website.

2. Without advertisers, there will be no money coming to AskTheDoctor.com

3. Without money, there will be no doctors working for the website (nobody works well and for free for long term and trust me we have tried this out for the last few years)

4. Without doctors, there will be nobody to answer users questions.

As you can see us posting the answers anonymously is very important to the building of a large medical library of questions and the continued growth of the website so we can keep offering this free service. Remember 100% of advertising income goes into paying back all the doctors who are answering questions.

I hope we have been able to answer any of our users concerns with this post. Feel free to visit our website and send us a message with any comments or concerns you may have.

Contact Form For Ask The Doctor

Just another quick reminder that our top 10 physician recommended things to do in the new year list is out as well!

Knee Pain/Knee Replacement

2010-11-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

One of our users at AskTheDoctor.com asked us a great question today on issues with their moms surgery a few years ago. Please feel free to read about the knee replacement question.

Sniffling and Snorting noises from Husband

2010-10-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Ask The Doctor: Hello there, im fed up of hearing my husband constantly sniffing through his nose and grunting and clearing his throat. What could be the cause? Its so annoying and sounds horrible. Thank you!

Dear Joanne: Hello, your husbands Throat clearing could be explained by different origins but one thing is common, its due to clearing out of mucous, or perceived mucous, from ones throat or the area behind the tongue down to the vocal cords. However the most common causes could be explained by allergies, sinusitis or rhinitis if the presence of post nasal drip is noticed, Tonsillitis might also be one possibility.A good examination done by an ENT might be necessary to rule out the exact diagnosis and possibly the need of Antihistamines might be suggested by your physician. I wish him a prompt recovery.

see original answer at: http://www.askthedoctor.com/index.php/topics-a-z/35-allergies/13213-sniffling-and-snorting-noises-from-husband.html

ask your own question at: http://www.askthedoctor.com/index.php/ask-the-doctor.html

What are they symptoms of a miscarriage?

2010-10-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Ask The Doctor: What are they symptoms of a miscarriage?

Dear ED: Miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before the 20th week. About 10 to 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage and occur because the fetus isn't developing normally.
Vaginal spotting or bleeding (although spotting or bleeding in early pregnancy is fairly common), Pain or cramping in your abdomen or lower back and Fluid or tissue passing from your vagina are common signs and symptoms found in miscarriage. Also body aches; fever and chills can be found. When these symptoms are present usually before the 12th week of pregnancy, a visit to the doctor is granted to rule out this possibility.

Please see original article at: http://www.askthedoctor.com/index.php/parenting-pregnancy/196-general/29457-what-are-they-symptoms-of-a-miscarriage.html

Blood Pressure

2010-10-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

We here at AskTheDoctor.com were reading the news today and noticed blood pressure checks seemed to be a very hot topic of the day. We have lots of great real questions and answers on this subject. Please use the link below (please note if you want to ask your own question, use the Ask The Doctor free service tab):

http://www.askthedoctor.com/index.php/topics-a-z/305-high-blood-pressure.html

Extreme Bloating After Abortion

2010-10-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

One of the most common asked questions on our website is about the topic of abortion. Here is a very common question related to this topic that we find to be very popular:

http://www.askthedoctor.com/index.php/parenting-pregnancy/162-abortion/1099-extreme-bloating-after-abortion.html

AskTheDoctor.com Blog Arrives!

2010-10-25T22:12:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the official AskTheDoctor.com blog. Here you will find some great news and information about our free to use website that lets you engage our team of medical physicians. We are glad to join the blogger community and we will be very active. We will also be posting some great current news in this area that you will not find on our website.