5 Ways to Prevent Meningitis

Meningitis sounds scary and bad, but if certain precautions are taken, it is very treatable and preventable. 

A recent outbreak of 7 students at Princeton, and 3 at University of California Santa Barbara by 2 different strains shows the importance of these steps.

1.  Practice good hygiene.  Wash your hands frequently.  Yeah, your hands might get dry, but put some lotion on them.  It beats an ER visit or even hospitalization.

2.  Get the Quadrivalent Meningoccal vaccine.  Although the strains of Meningitis in California were not covered by the vaccine, you get enough coverage with this vaccine.  It is indicated at ages 11-18 and recommended in all first year college students.

3.  Cough into your arm.  People are always coughing into their hands.  The human mouth is quite filthy, and putting the germs in your hands just allows them to proliferate on another person.

4.  Sneeze into your arm.  Again, rather than explosion of mouth germs into the air around you, it is much better to cover your mouth with the bend in your arm. 

5.  Rent an apartment away from a campus dormitory.  Totally neglects the full college experience.  It is ok, I did it and survived.

by Justus Peters MD

 

Is the Annual Physical Exam Really Important?

A study that compiled information from over 180,000 patients done in Denmark showed no improvement in longevity of life in those who went to annual exams versus those who only went when they had a problem.  On average, about 7% of people died in each group, suggesting there was no mortality benefit to getting annual exams.

This study is flawed on account that each group did end up seeing a physician at some time in their life.  One group just got diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol more. 

What the study should have been showing is what the difference is in those who do the annual exam, and those who NEVER see a physician.

I think there will be showing a benefit in mortality between the number of people who see a physician versus those who don't.

However, back to the study; the fact that both groups saw a physician suggests that healthy individuals who see a physician only when needed probably do not have higher co-morbidities, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

So, the importance of the annual physical exam remains the standard of care for all individuals.  Finding that one melanoma on the skin could be the difference between life and death, just as seeing the one abnormal lead on an EKG, warns of pending heart troubles. 

Annual exams are important really for 3 main reasons:

1. Find cancer.  The annual Pap smear, mammogram, prostate exam and the colonoscopy are the best methods for preventive care in finding cancers.
2. Find Coronary Heart Disease.  Complaints of chest discomfort, tightness, decrease in exercise tolerance, shortness of breath all point to possible cardiac or pulmonary diseases which can be looked further into.
3. Find Chronic Diseases.  Finding Diabetes, Hypercholesterolemia, Autoimmune disorders, and Degenerative musculoskeletal disorders help physicians assist patients to improve their quality of life, and therefore their life expectancy.

I hope you all enjoy the articles.  Email me with any questions at runsinthewynd@gmail.com

What Causes a Thyroid Attack?

The thyroid, like all the organs in the body gets blood flow.  As an organ receives blood, it also receives hormones.  A thyroid attack is when the thyroid is delivered a substantial blow as to render it nonreactive, or even hyper-reactive.

Stressful events such as pregnancy and vaginal deliveries have been known to cause hypothyroid or acute thyroiditis.

Even stressful events such as motor vehicle accidents can render the thyroid hypo-reactive.

I like to tell my patients that the thyroid is a fragile reactive organ, thus environmentally challenged by what we do in our daily lives.

You may have a normal thyroid your entire life, until possibly even a heart attack.  That is enough stress to cause thyroiditis.

On annual exams, it is important to check the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which is the hormone released from the brain to tell the thyroid to work.  It is also important to check the Free T3, and Free T4, which are the hormones released from the thyroid gland itself.

By feedback mechanism, the thyroid gland and the brain work in symbiosis, but when the thyroid gland is not working, the brain has to put out more TSH to fire up the thyroid gland.

This is called Hypothyroidism.  Even slight elevations in the TSH can be a sign of Subclinical hypothyroidism. 

Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, weight gain or loss, headaches, hair loss, abdominal bloating, palpitations, cold intolerance, among other symptoms.

Don’t hesitate to see a doctor if you believe you have symptoms of low thyroid. 

Until next time, be safe and healthy.

Why Can't I Sleep

Having been resident a few years ago, I can tell how poor sleep affects the body.  There are many reasons why you can't sleep.  But also many things can help as well with poor sleep.

Being unable to sleep, also known as “insomnia,” affects one in five individuals.   This is a very common  problem.  The risk factors include medical illnesses, mental  illnesses, stress,  night shiftwork or rotating shifts.

We don’t know why, but it affects women more often, and occurs more often in people over the age of 60.

There are different kinds of issues with sleep.  Issues most commonly experienced is simply falling or staying asleep.  Also if you have non-restorative sleep, where individuals wake up not feeling refreshed or having poor quality of sleep then you have daytime fatigue and sleepiness during the day. 

If you have difficulty concentrating and remembering changes, or moodiness, irritability,  anxiety, or depression, it can stem from poor sleep.  You might even experience reduced motivation and energy.

Doctors can help by ordering blood and urine test to evaluate for liver or  kidney issues,  even for chemical imbalances such as low magnesium. 

Keeping a sleep log to record your sleep habits and patterns over 1 to 2 weeks can help us detect which habits are bad. 

Finally, we can order a sleep study, called a polysomnography, which is overnight test that can diagnose problems such as sleep apnea.

We can treat insomnia with medications.  But it is important to use the bedroom for just sleep and intercourse.  Having a TV in the bedroom is the first thing that makes sleep poor.  Using relaxation techniques in bed helps as well. 

Lunesta and Ambien are two of the most commonly used sleep agents.  They are well tolerated.  I do not use Ambien in older age groups above 65, but Lunesta appears cleaner with less side effects. 

Until next time, stay healthy!

What Causes Depression? How do I know I am at risk?

If I could change the diagnosis of "Depression" from being a medical diagnosis to a "normal" state of flux in life, I would.  A lot of things can make us depressed.  A lot of things make us happy. 

The problem is when we get down for long enough, then our brain chemicals start "acting out."  What I mean by "acting out," is that they are not doing their job.

The natural brain chemicals—serotonin is a finite chemical that makes us feel good.  The more of it, the better we feel, the less, well the worse we feel.  When we run out of our feel good chemicals, we get depressed.

Take a look at the most common risk factors for depression:

1.      Family history

2.      Chronic pain

3.      Chronic medical problems

4.      Female sex

5.      Low income

6.      Job loss

7.      Low self esteem

8.      Low social support

9.      Prior depression

10.  Single

11.  Divorced

12.  Widowed

13.  Younger age

14.  Traumatic brain injury

Does this meet one or more of your criteria?  You may need more feel good chemicals if you have been “down,” for over 2 weeks. 

Symptoms can include worsened sleep, decreased interest in hobbies, feelings of guilt, hopelessness, decreased energy, decreased concentration, decreased or increased appetite, and/or thoughts of suicide. 

If you have had the above symptoms for over two weeks, please see a doctor right away.  If you can’t see one, please email me at runsinthewynd@gmail.com 

Smoking Hearts

If there was one thing you could change to prolong your life, your quality of living, and benefit daily from, would you do it?

I tell smokers to quit every day in my clinic.  I tell them to watch the Allen Carr YouTube video on how he quit smoking, how he learned to rationalize against smoking. 

Cigarette smoking is main preventable cause of premature death in the developed world—440,000 deaths every year in the U.S. 

Here are 6 things that occur when you smoke that lead up to a heart attack:

1.       Your vessels all over the body constrict.

2.      Your blood pressure rises.

3.      Plaque builds up in the vessels.

4.      Hardening of the vessel walls occur.

5.       Thrombosis can occur (blood clot in vessel).

6.      Heart attack.

Here are 6 reasons to quit today:

1.      Reduces risk of heart attack or any heart related condition by 50%

2.      Reduces risk of Thrombosis

3.      Reduces chances of developing several types of cancer.

4.      Improves stamina

5.      Improves senses of taste and smell.

It is the most difficult thing to quit.  I know that.  Wellbutrin and Chantix help your chances by 40%, nicotine gum, and patches can help.  But the first thing you have to do is make up your own mind you want to quit.  After that, it can be a journey for your body and soul—mostly for the better.

 

Storytellers' Campfire Radio Show

Greetings readers,

 

I had a very nice radio show interview with the Storytellers Campfire Radio Show.  Please take an opportunity to listen in.

 

Here is the Show Link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/storytellers-campfire/2013/02/11/a-walk-in-my-moccasins-memories-of-a-deaf-physician

 

            

Storytellers Campfire Radio Show

Literacy & Educational Program

5806 119th Avenue SE #114

Bellevue, WA 98006

www.storytellerscampfire.org

Does Low Thyroid Cause Obesity or is it the Other Way Around?

Many people think that when they start gaining weight, it just might be a thyroid issue, but that isn’t so.  There are more than 99 reasons why obese people can develop a thyroid issue just as well as a thyroid that isn’t functioning can cause obesity. 

Research shows that more than 100 different chemicals reside in one single fat cell, and only 1 of the chemicals is good.  That means that all the inflammatory mediators released from one single fat cell causes havoc amongst the metabolic processes in the body—including the thyroid metabolism.

It is essential that if you are obese, that your thyroid be checked to see if you may need thyroid hormone.  It is just as well to continue to diet and exercise to get rid of those extra fat cells that cause havoc to metabolic processes all over the body.

Even Subclinical Hypothyroidism should be treated to improve thyroid metabolism. 

Flu update:

This Flu season is the one of the worst ever with the CDC claiming 18 states in epidemic levels.  There has been a 10-fold increase in the number of flu victims this time compared to last year. 

Although the Flu vaccine is 70% efficacious, it is essential and ethical for you to get your flu shot, not just for yourself, but to protect your family and your community. 

Email me with any questions:  runsinthewynd@gmail.com