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Category Archives: Health
There is nothing inevitable or natural about chronic disease
“The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Doctor Quiet, and Doctor Merryman” is a favorite quote from Jonathan Swift. (Doctor Exercise is equally important.) Another favorite quote is from William Osler: “The desire to take medicine is perhaps … Continue reading
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Buy or lease a new car as we age? Does new technology help the aging driver?
From the NYT: “More than three decades ago, I fell in love with the first minivan I spotted parked in my Brooklyn neighborhood. Though I was never a “soccer mom,” I travel as if there were no stores at my … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Science and Technology, Transportation
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Hearing aids at the Mall – progress in much less expensive hearing aids
From the NYT: “A few years hence, when you’ve finally tired of turning up the TV volume and making dinner reservations at 5:30 p.m. because any later and the place gets too loud, you may go shopping. Perhaps you’ll head … Continue reading
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Can we stop antibiotics earlier than prescribed?
Why do so many prescriptions say, “Take for 10 days” or “Take for 7 days”? Well, we have 10 fingers and there are 7 days in a week. These are historic guesses because often the answers haven’t been critically studied. … Continue reading
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Primum Non Nocere
One of the first tenets of medicine is “Do No Harm.” Yet, the incentives in medicine (fee for procedure) often leads to too much being done. For example my brother recently had a second total knee replacement. Yes he’s overweight … Continue reading
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Should we record the visit with our doctor?
I used to be a bit nervous when a patient would ask if they could record our visit. Could it be made public, put up on YouTube or used in a later lawsuit? But in reality, it might be a … Continue reading
Add Ozone to the miseries of the Seattle Smoke
To quote Cliff Mass: According to Dr. Jaffe, we have not seen [ozone] like this in decades. So with smoke adding lots of particles into the atmosphere (documented in previous blogs), high ozone levels, a depressing sky with little visibility, and … Continue reading
Posted in environment, Health, Science and Technology
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The sad fact is that we frequently don’t know how to best care for the old
There’s a new book in progress about “oldhood.” Writer and Professor of Geriatrics Louise Aaronson points out in a NYT Opinion column that we don’t really treat the new-old and old-old any differently. Studies often don’t include the elderly. We don’t … Continue reading
Posted in Aging Sites, Health
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Street drugs, a threat to police officers
I used to use fentanyl frequently. Not recreationally, but medically in doing procedures such as a bronchoscopy. With the patient monitored, I would be gloved and masked and very small titrated doses of fentanyl and versed would at times be … Continue reading
Eclipse solar glasses
From Ann Milam: The market is flooded with “solar glasses” that are unsafe. Please check this reference from the National Science Foundation before ordering a pair: https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters
Posted in environment, Health
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Why I didn’t become a surgeon
Every medical student goes though a process of elimination when deciding what kind of doctor they want to become. We hear the old saying, “Internists know everything and do nothing; Surgeons know nothing and do everything; Psychiatrists know nothing and … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Health
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Cliff Mass’s updates on the smoke, fires and global warming
The following is from his website: Click here for more If you want to escape smoke, go south of Olympia or head to the coast. Now the bad news. Today is the good day for air quality around Puget Sound. The … Continue reading
Posted in environment, Health
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Air quality continues to deteriorate as B.C. wildfire smoke fills Washington skies
“SEATTLE (KOMO) — A thick, smoky haze from wildfires burning in British Columbia continued to blow into Washington on Wednesday, giving the skies an orange-brown tint and degrading the air quality. Air quality monitors with Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and … Continue reading
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Living with benign essential tremors
Try putting a pea on a fork and getting it gently to your mouth without shaking. I’ve not been able to do that for some time. I don’t have the tremor at rest which is so common with Parkinson’s often … Continue reading
Life support vs. comfort care – not always a clear choice
Ed Note: The following is not an unusual situation. Following an advance directive is not necessarily a clear choice. This young Critical Care physician has an ethical dilemma involving a loved family member. If interested, I have similar stories of … Continue reading
Posted in end of life, Health
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UW students create innovative devices to solve vexing medical problems
From Ann Milam: Published in the Seattle Times Last year, there was a national outcry after the price skyrocketed for a medical-injection device that counteracts the life-threatening symptoms of a severe allergic reaction. But for a team of students at … Continue reading
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From Canada – understanding U.S. health care
Ed note: When in Victoria recently I happened to spy this article in The Globe and Mail newspaper. They truly have trouble understanding our health care system. The answer: see below! “To Understand U.S. health care, think like an American.” “Don’t … Continue reading
Sunglasses won’t cut it: How to keep your eyes safe during the solar eclipse
From Ann Milam Jul. 25, 2017 at 7:27 AM A. Pawlowski TODAY The total solar eclipse is coming, and as the excitement builds, so does the worry that it will leave behind a nation of eye problems. On Aug. 21, … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Nature, Science and Technology
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Becoming an unexpected caregiver
When You Feel Like Strangling the Patient (Love and Support for the Caregiver) On-Demand Webinar: click here Here’s “a unique webinar featuring author and family caregiver Lauren Simon sharing her surprising experience as an unexpected caregiver. “When her husband Stephen Simon … Continue reading
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Your Life Your Choices
Below is a video of a program I’ve been involved with for the past 10 years giving presentations at Skyline and a variety of other venues. We all have the rights to make end of life choices and to have them … Continue reading
Posted in end of life, Health
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Enlightened Aging – Eric B. Larson, MD
ENLIGHTENED AGING: BUILDING RESILIENCE FOR A LONG, ACTIVE LIFE by Eric B. Larson, MD, and Joan DeClaire Eric Larson has presented on the topic of Enlightened Aging here at Skyline in the past. He heads up the research department at … Continue reading
Posted in Aging Sites, Health
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Being prepared for the unexpected
From the NYT: FEMA, the American Red Cross and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all provide checklists to help you get started, and many items they recommend overlap. Each agency offers a basic list, which includes water, food, a battery- or hand-powered radio, … Continue reading
End-of-life-care – US rankings surprisingly improved in some areas
Most folks wish to pass from this life in a home-like environment surrounded by loved ones. But in the past, most of us were whisked off to the hospital. Hospice care has had a huge impact by improving end of life … Continue reading
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The Smallpox Miracle
Smallpox dates back to the body of Pharaoh Ramses V, who died more than 3000 years ago. He had telltale pockmarks on his mummified skin. There have been horrendous repetitive epidemics over the centuries, for example an epidemic raged in … Continue reading
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Doctor, get off the computer!
I recently had my Medicare annual checkup. The checks in the checkup turned out to be the boxes on the computer screen carefully completed by my Internist. As she smiled and we chatted, there were a lot of computer screens … Continue reading