"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
A pediatric research group in England has developed a balloon that you blow up with your nose…to help reduce ear infections in children. By having children blow up the ballow with their nose, the child clears & opens the Eustachian tube, thus reducing pressure in the middle ear and allowing improved clearance of infection. When …
A new blood test has been developed at Harvard Medical School that will tell you a list of all of the viral infections you have had in the past, among the several thousands of possibilities. This means we will know every type of common cold virus (there are approximately 200 of those), as well as …
MYTH: Valley Fever, also known as Coccidiomycosis, is a fungal infection found commonly in the Southwestern US. Named after the San Joaquin Valley in California, not our Valley of the Sun, it is caught by inhaling infectious spores from aerosolized dust and the fungus is ubiquitous in Phoenix dust. Dogs are more susceptible to Valley …
Read More “MYTH OR FACT: YOU CAN CATCH VALLEY FEVER FROM YOUR INFECTED DOG”
Resistant bacteria are constantly emerging in the real world. In the hospital, the pressures that broad-spectrum antibiotics apply to bacteria reproduction makes the bacteria ripe to respond with novel and aggressive resistance strategies. The recent UCLA Reagan Medical Center scare has brought this issue to light. This highly resistant germ, is called a CRE infections, …
Nutritional Immunity is a natural method for fighting infection, a defense that the body has developed to rob viruses and bacteria of vitally needed nutritional substances and thus prevent their ability to reproduce and cause infection. Researchers have reported that the body’s defenses fight with bacterial over iron molecules, to prevent the bacteria from obtaining …
Statin medications such as Lipitor, Crestor, and Zocor are used to prevent heart attacks and strokes, but there has been evidence that they can prevent injury and death from serious infection. The data has been mixed on this topic, and a recent report supports the use of these medications, particularly for people already on the …
A recent data review has demonstrated that the Shingles Vaccine can be safely given to patients with immune suppression (either from medications like steroids or from their underlying medical condition). This is good news and makes the data for the Shingles Vaccine more an more encouraging. The Shingles Vaccine has been available for the past …
Sepsis is the medical term for overwhelming bloodstream infection. This is a dangerous condition that can occur in a variety of situations including pneumonia, kidney infections, gallbladder infection, and colon infection (among others). The bacterial germs that cause these infections are variable resulting in a ‘best guess’ approach by the treating physician. Usually, this selection …
Read More “RAPID DETECTION OF BLOODSTREAM INFECTION IS ON THE WAY”
West Nile Virus is an infection we seen now every summer her in Phoenix. It is an uncommon viral infection transmitted by misquitos and can cause meningitis and encephalitis (brain infection) Although only 60-70 cases are seen in Phoenix each year, there are many more cases that fortunately remain minimally symptomatic, and thus are not …
Diagnosing diseases in travelers can be difficult. The tests are often inconclusive or based on a series of blood tests done before and after the illness. The usefulness of accurate diagnosis ‘after the fact’ is of interest, but not particularly practical. That is why this new test, available in just another week, will allow be …
The final gasps of the flu season are present. We are barely above the background ‘noise’ of the statistics for flu. It appears the season is over . Hallelujah! Should be a good summer. Except for the poor air quality due to the fires, there should be little virus to bother our respiratory tracts, so …
Statin medications, like Lipitor, Zocor, and Crestor, have been shown in some studies to prevent infection or death from serious infection. This has been one of the ‘added’ benefits I’ve touted for people who were ‘on the fence’ about trying these medications to treat their cholesterol. Unfortunately, in this large study reviewing the history of …