(For the rest of us)
Obesity rates in the United States are staggering. It is estimated that by the
year 2030, 86.3% of adults will be overweight or obese, and by 2048
all American adults will be overweight or obese (Kanaya, Vaisse, 2011).
With these statistics and the common knowledge that exercise and proper diet
are necessary to maintain weight, yet are blatantly disregarded, what can
primary care providers do pharmacologically to reduce obesity?
As a pediatrician I looked forward to getting my children vaccinated, knowing that they would at last be protected against deadly diseases. As a parent, I await those days with a bit of dread. No one likes seeing their kids cry, even for a really healthy and good reason. Sometimes it is tough to know how best to prepare for those moments. Here are a few tips to get you and your kids through the anxiety of getting shots.
Vitamin D is an important nutrient that should be evaluated and maintained in each adult patient. Because Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin, it is technically a hormone, and because hormone deficiencies disrupt homeostasis, overlooking this vitamin can have unintended consequences including prostate and colorectal cancer, metabolic syndrome and prediabetes (Bender, 2017). The protective benefits of a normal Vitamin D also include respiratory protection and all-cause mortality benefits (Wimalawansa, 2016).
Reading aloud to your child is an important part of family time that promotes parent-child bonding, brings balance to hectic family life and prepares your child for a lifetime of learning. Most experts recommend reading to your children daily, even to infants. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends reading at least a few minutes per day starting at birth.
So why the focus on early reading? Most studies show several benefits to regular reading in children including improved bonding with parents, better performance in all aspects of education (even math!), improvement in basic speech and communication skills, better logical thinking and better concentration.
Miguel Nunez, MD
Joseph Poole, FNP
Anxiety is defined as “fear or nervousness about what might happen” (Merrium-Webster, 2016). The condition of anxiety can include fear, nervousness, jitters and even panic. Anxiety is so prevalent, it is said that 25% of all adults will experience it one time in their lives, making it more common than depression (Satterfield, Feldman, 2014). The types of anxiety seen in clinic are exhibited in the following table:
Anxiety Disorder Prevalence in Primary Care (%)
Miguel Nunez, MD
Joseph Poole, FNP
Many people in our community have an easily manageable health problem that can quickly be identified, treated and resolved to prevent future health issues and mortality.
Risks of Hypertension
The most widely known events from having high blood pressure are often known and include heart attack and stroke. While these 2 outcomes are the worst end result from high blood pressure, other less known issues can occur: These include heart enlargement (which can lead to heart failure) and kidney disease (which can result in a patient needing dialysis from kidney failure). Eye damage (retinopathy) and artery damage (peripheral artery disease) can also occur.
5210-Ever hear those numbers? No, it’s not your middle school student’s locker combination, or one of an endless list of passwords.
Do you wish you could help your family eat healthier but feel overwhelmed by all the advice and information out there? Each seemingly contradicts the other. Do you worry about your children’s health, but are too busy with taking care of them, school, activities, work, etc., to be able to figure out and commit to the best way to make some changes? If so, there is a very easy way to help. It’s called 5210.
As a, wife, parent of twin girls AND twin boys and a pediatrician, my perspective of pregnancy, life as a working mother and plans for the future may be a little skewed. I see everything in two’s. Being pregnant and having a baby is a joy and it can also be scary. Being told that you’re having more than one can be even scarier, especially if you have just a little bit of knowledge.
Multiples occur in 3% of all pregnancies with twins being the most common. When carrying two babies the risk of maternal complications rise and prematurity is more prevalent. Higher order multiples occur in much smaller numbers and with even more possibility of complicated pregnancies, risk of prematurity and less chance of survival. In my case, as a pediatrician working full time, co-owner in private practice, considering pregnancy is a very serious one and then to be told that you were having multiples brings in a very different element.
What is colonoscopy? Do I have to get one? How often? Why do I need one? What is the goal of that test?
These are questions that one asks as they visit their physician for their annual exam. A colonoscopy is a test that where the physician looks with a magnifying camera at the inner lining of a person’s large intestine. Sample biopsies may be done at the time of the test. The colonoscopy test is typically performed for colon and rectal cancer screening, but the physician may order it for other reasons as well, which include: blood in the stool, abnormal test results from another colon test, family history of colon cancer, anemia unexplained otherwise. The stated are some indications for colonoscopy, but it is not an inclusive list.
It was a typical Tuesday in my former job as chair of surgery at Temple University in Philadelphia, but that morning I felt sluggish. Although I wasn’t feeling well, I knew I had three surgical operations to perform that morning followed by an afternoon full of meetings.
I trudged out of my apartment and started the 15-minute drive to work.
A few miles into my commute, a feeling of illness suddenly enveloped me. I had to pull over and call my chief resident to cancel the morning’s surgeries.
I turned the car around and headed back home to bed. The next three days were a blur of sore throat and fever; it was the first time I’d had the flu, and I swore that I would never endure that experience again.
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