Just as an apartment building uses a doorman and a surveillance system to identify and prevent unwanted visitors from entering the premises, the immune system uses an army of specialized cells, tissues and organs to survey and protect the body against foreign invaders.
Trouble swallowing in the elderly has received keen interest in recent years. Oropharyngeal Dysphagia — “OD” involves difficulty moving food or liquids comfortably from the oral cavity, mouth and throat, to the esophagus (food pipe). Some have proposed to characterize OD as a geriatric syndrome, a clinical disorder especially prevalent in the elderly.
Dysphagia (dys difficulty — phagia eating) is the medical term used to describe difficulty swallowing. Something prevents the comfortable passage of food or liquids from the mouth to the stomach.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) report, “An estimated 1 in 3 Americans have trouble paying their medical bills. They are gradually paying medical bills over time or they have bills they can’t afford to pay at all.”
Peggy is a 69 y/o lady who complained of an upset stomach and diarrhea. At first, she blamed it on what she ate the previous day. However, the diarrhea persisted, became more frequent and more explosive.
James Comey Jr., former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made a “gut wrenching” decision that made him “feel nauseous”. He seemed tense, anxious and probably didn’t get his usual good night’s sleep.
In 1965, Medicare was signed into law by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. It is a federal health care insurance program to help Americans 65 and older pay their medical expenses. At the same time, Medicaid was created for low income families.
Chronic cough is a common and puzzling symptom. It hides behind many masks, some more deadly than others. Patients have bounced from one specialist to another in an unsuccessful and costly attempt to get an accurate diagnosis and proper treatment.
Cancer patients who require round the clock opioids (e.g. morphine drip) for excruciating pain can become opioid tolerant and experience “breakthrough” pain. In this situation, fentanyl has been useful to relieve severe pain.
The first opioid epidemic in the United States came after the Civil War (1861-1865). This problem was caused, in part, by the administration of morphine to soldiers for their pain and injuries. The civil war ended, but the morphine habit has persisted.