EverythingHealth

Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

2012-01-25T22:34:00.000-08:00

Heavy menstrual bleeding is common and 10% of all women experience it in their reproductive years. Women who are NOT in menopause and who have heavy bleeding that occurs during their regular cycle usually have a benign reason for the bleeding. Fibroids and endometrial polyps are common causes of heavy bleeding periods. Menorrhagia is the medical term for abnormally heavy periods. This

Migraine Headaches and Oral Contraceptives

2012-01-24T22:28:00.000-08:00

Women who are taking oral contraceptives (Birth Control Pill) and develop new migraine headaches or increased severity of headaches after starting the Pill should be told to discontinue the Pill. Women with migraine who use oral contraceptives are at a 2-4 fold increased risk of ischemic stroke compared to women who have migraines and are not on the pill. The risk of a young woman having a

A Novel Approach: Ask the Primary Care Doctor

2012-01-23T21:59:00.000-08:00

The government, academics and policywonks are always in the process of "redesigning" health care. Patients with increased health care needs are considered "complex" and these patients consume the major health resources (translate: "money"). In fact 65% of total health care expenditures are directed toward the 25% of patients with multiple chronic conditions. Eighty percent of Medicare

The Many Faces of Psoriasis

2012-01-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

This 26 year old female noticed that her nails had been changing over a 6 month period. Note the small pits and separation of the nail plate from the nail bed. This lifting is called onycholysis. There is only one disease where both of these findings are seen together and that is psoriasis. Most people think of psoriasis as a skin disorder with patchy silvery plaques that form on the

Bone Mineral Density Tests

2012-01-20T00:08:00.000-08:00

The recommendations for when and how often women should be tested for osteoporosis with bone density testing (DXA Scan) has been vague. Many women are tested in their early 50s when they go through menopause with follow up tests as frequently as every year. Others break a hip without ever being tested. A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine states that bone loss

Skin Conditions With Aging

2012-01-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

Patients often have growths or skin changes that they wonder about. After examining them, in many cases I say "happy birthday"...it's a manifestation of getting older. Aging leads to a number of skin and hair changes and when you add the effects of sun, smoking and the environment, the changes can be profound. Over time the epidermis thins and by age 60 the dermis is 20% thinner than before.

Haiti Remembered

2012-01-12T22:56:00.000-08:00

This is the 2nd anniversary of the terrible Haiti Earthquake that measured 7.0 on the scale. The disaster killed 316,000 people and displaced 1.5 million more. Even now more than 500,000 people are still in makeshift shelters and only half of the aid pledged for reconstruction has been spent. My organization sent medical teams and supplies to the disaster zone and our doctors and nurses

Patients Owning Their Medical Records

2012-01-10T22:09:00.000-08:00

Traditionally, the patient chart stayed in the doctors office and rarely did a patient get a glimpse of anything in the record. Photocopying the chart is expensive and no physician would let a chart leave her office because the record must be held safely for a minimum of 7 years. Now more and more offices are doing away with clunky paper charts and electronic medical records are becoming

Nail Trauma Paronychia

2012-01-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

My patient welcomed in the New Year by doing a midnight 21 mile run through the streets of San Francisco. It was a clear, crisp night and what a healthy and invigorating way to celebrate New Year's Eve! The next day, however, her 2nd toe looked like this. It was throbbing and tender to the touch. She did not remember any specific trauma. By the looks of the photo, it is a paronychia, an

Seven Tips for Healthy 2012 Planning

2011-12-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

As we welcome a new year it is an opportunity to re-evaluate, consider the coming year and make intentions for improving our health and sense of well being. EverythingHealth sifts through the latest medical literature and evidence to offer these proven recommendations for staying on top of your game. If you are 50 or older and haven't had a colonoscopy, schedule one in 2012. It's time!

Top EverythingHealth Books of 2011

2011-12-30T12:03:00.000-08:00

We at EverythingHealth love end of the year lists and we love reading. Here is our pick for the best read Health (and everything) books in 2011. (not in order...all are terrific) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot Cutting For Stone, by Abraham Verghese Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell The Help, by Katheryn Stockett The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande Middlesex,

Answer to Medical Challenge

2011-12-30T01:32:00.000-08:00

The answer to the CT scan image medical challenge is #3, Intercostal Muscle Rupture. The image shows subcutaneous emphysema and an intercostal muscle defect between the ribs. the patient recovered after repair of the intercostal hernia. Subcutaneous emphysema is air under the surface of the skin. It is not unusual for these muscles between the ribcage to be strained or even get small

Medical Challenge

2011-12-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

For my non medical readers, this is an abnormal CT scan. The CT scan takes a transverse image sliced through, so you are looking at the patient sliced in half transversely. This is the chest area. I will orient you: The whitish circle and v-shaped part is the vertebral column. So you know that is the back. Bone shows up whiter than organs. The small whitish lines in a circle are the

High Ratings for Personal Physicians

2011-12-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

It's time for some good news! A study that looked at online patient ratings about their physicians from 2004 through 2010 showed that the average physician rating was 9.3 out of 10. That is amazingly high and shows that patients (at least the ones who posted on Dr.Score) are very content with the care they receive from their doctor. Even though some patients will post a nasty comment

Holiday Dinner from the Boss

2011-12-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

Marney is bossy. Click to read her instructions for the Thanksgiving Potluck and be glad you aren't invited. EverythingHealth tip: Stay out of the stores today. Rest, play games with the kids, Take a long walk in nature with the entire family and the dog and then drink the rest of the Christmas wine.

Happy Holidays EverythingHealth

2011-12-24T11:01:00.000-08:00

I get a lot of pleasure out of being a health blogger and it is only possible because of you, the reader. Thank you for visiting EverythingHealth and allowing me to keep my mind sharp by researching articles and healthy living for you to read and enjoy. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, and may we all have a wonderful 2012, no matter where we live on Earth.

Kwashiorkor in Northern California Means Fraud

2011-12-21T17:20:00.002-08:00

Kwashiorkor in Niger Is it plausible that one small hospital in rural Northern California treated 1,030 cases of Kwashiorkor within a two year period? Before you answer that, let me explain what Kwashiorkor is. It is a severe form of protein malnutrition...starving to death actually. It is the type of starvation you see in African children. It is so severe that the patient needs

Strange Compulsion

2011-12-19T22:36:00.000-08:00

Pica is a medical term that refers to people who eat substances that are not nutritious like clay, dirt, paper or starch. Lithophagia is the eating of rocks or pebbles. The Xray above is from a 48 year old homeless man who came to the emergency department with abdominal pain, constipation and intermittent blood in his stool for 2 weeks. The abdominal Xray showed small radio-opaque pebbles

Osteoarthritis

2011-12-14T18:50:00.000-08:00

Severe osteoarthritis of the hands One of my patients came to see me today with severe right knee pain. This is not a new problem, and in fact, we have been dealing with flare ups of her osteoarthritis for years. It mainly affects her knees and hands and today her right knee was swollen and felt like the "bone was rubbing together" with each step. She could hardly walk because of the pain.

Affordable Health Care Act Provides Senior Benefits

2011-12-13T00:32:00.000-08:00

While the courts and politicians wrangle about the Affordable Care Act (ACA, "Obamacare"), some of the benefits have kicked in for Medicare beneficiaries. The Act empowered the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to eliminate co-payments for a number of preventative services and to cover services that were not included before. Patients on Medicare now receive: Bone mass measurements

Women Don't Need As Many Pap Tests

2011-12-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

Women have been told they should have screening for cervical cancer with a pap test every year. The visit to the gynecologist or internal medicine physician has been a right of passage for most young women and most are very compliant with that annual visit throughout their lives. Well, the times they are a-changin' because new guidelines issued by the US Preventative Services Task Force and the

Fingernails

2011-12-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

Let's see how much you know about fingernails? The arrow points to what part of the fingernail? 1. Lunula 2. Eponychium 3. Cuticle 4. Nail groove 5. Proximal nailfold If you answered #1, you would be correct. The lunula is most noticeable on the thumb. Did you know that nails on your dominant hand grow faster than nails on the nondominant hand? As you age, nails are usually thicker

Unhealthy Food at Childrens Hospitals

2011-12-08T08:24:00.000-08:00

A study published in the journal Academic Pediatrics reveals that 93% of California children's hospitals offered unhealthy food to outpatients, visitors and staff in the cafeteria and snack bars. Said another way, only 7% offered healthy food. What did these foods consist of to be called "unhealthy"? Try fried food, sweetened beverages, burgers and lots of sugary sweets. The study found that

Don Berwick Says Medicare is Wasteful

2011-12-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled when Dr. Don Berwick took over as head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It was a politically charged appointment and the GOP wasn't standing for his type of medicine. He would have never been confirmed and now he is saying goodbye to Washington. Dr. Berwick admits Government is more complex than he realized and said "Government decisions result from the

Scientists and Tattoos

2011-11-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

Prof Datta's Love Tattoo A surprising number of scientists have tattoos hidden under their lab coats and these tattoos are examples of their cool geekiness. Prof Sandeep Robert Datta has a tattoo of a twisting ladder of DNA. The DNA message spells out the initials of his wife, Eliza Emond Edelsberg. True love manifested through amino acids that are the building blocks of protein!!!