Doctor Column

RSV Threat to Infants and Elderly

Imagine looking at your 6 month old child or grandchild frantically gasping for air, breathing rapidly with a whistling or rattling sound in the chest, and the baby’s ribs pulling in and out, and stomach moving up and down. You rush the infant to the emergency department (ED) of your hospital in critical condition. When you get there, you discover that the ED is crowded, doctors scurry about, and other children are experiencing similar problems.

Troponin Test and Heart Attacks

“Doctor, am I having a heart attack?” Everyday thousands of patients with chest pain ask emergency department (ED) doctors that question. With advances in medical research and a blood test, doctors can advise patients with a high degree of confidence: “You’re not having a heart attack.”

CBD: Yellow Light for CBD — “How Can I Separate Fact from Hype?”

I recently went to my local pharmacist to pick up a prescription. On the counter was a brochure about CBD. A picture of an attractive young woman’s face was 50% covered with words: such as migraine headaches, pain, inflammation, anxiety, memory loss, depression, appetite, sleep fertility motor control, immune function, pleasure and reward. The message was clear; use CBD and get relief from these disorders.

Ten ‘Q & A’s About Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive, movement disorder of the brain that usually develops slowly over time that gives rise to unintentional or uncontrollable movements. It is classified as a movement (motor) disorder because it causes tremors, balance instability, slowness of movement and stiffening movements. But non-motor symptoms of PD such as depression, fatigue, anxiety, loss of taste and smell are serious concerns of people with PD.

Omicron Booster Shots Save Lives! Updated COVID-19 Shots

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the emergency authorization requested by the pharmaceutical companies Moderna, and Pfizer- BioNTech to distribute their reformulated versions of the COVID — 19 vaccines to be distributed in September 2022. It is estimated that delaying the roll-out of the vaccines till November of this year would result in more than100,000 additional hospitalizations and in thousands of additional deaths.

Drug Disposal: How to Get Rid of Expired or Unused Medications

Unused or expired medications pose a health risk to you and your family. Safe disposal of unneeded medications lessens the likelihood of unintended poisonings. One option is to find a drug-take back location and deposit the medicines at that location which might be a hospital, pharmacy or police station. If drug-take back programs are not available, you can get rid of medicines at home by properly placing them in your trash or by flushing them down the toilet or sink.

Drug Expiration Controversy: “Is it Safe to Take Expired Medications?”

Melissa, a three year old, has a history or recurrent ear infections. It’s the weekend, it’s one o’clock in the morning and Melissa is irritable, tugging at her right ear and has a slight temperature. This has been the prelude to a spike of 103 F temperature, crying and piercing screams due to her painful ear infections. Her mother has left over liquid antibiotic medication that the child’s pediatrician prescribed six weeks ago for her ear infections. Her mother thinks it over, “Should I give the baby the antibiotic. Is it safe to do so?”