Category: Conditions

Multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children: a pediatric hospitalist’s conversation

Them: “I have never heard of this.” Me: “That’s OK, let me explain what is going on. Your child has a condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, which we call MIS-C. We see this condition after a COVID infe…

The orphans of COVID: Who will care for them now?

The 911 call came too late. Her daughter was 32 years old and usually quite healthy. But she refused the COVID vaccinations. She said she took her vitamins and was healthy and that “God is my pilot” and “I don’t want toxins in my body.” Her mother knew…

COVID-19 and a call for unity

It’s 2022. COVID-19 is still here, and there is little evidence that it’s going away. Coronaviruses have been here longer than us and will be here after us. For centuries, we have co-existed with viruses, and our God-given immune systems ha…

Balancing care during COVID

I started this commentary when the initial COVID spike involving the mass hospitalization of unvaccinated individuals occurred, and non-COVID patients requiring hospitalization were turned away because no beds, especially in intensive care, were availa…

Kissing disease’s link to multiple sclerosis

In recent decades, mounting evidence has suggested the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a ubiquitous member of the herpes family that causes infectious mononucleosis (a.k.a. the “kissing disease”), can cause multiple sclerosis (MS). Last month, a …

Viral nomenclature or a sign of our times?

As Pandora’s box of coronavirus opened in 2020, it engulfed our planet into an abysmal nightmare. As darkness fell, those of us in medicine sought refuge under a lamp called “knowledge” that sparked its flame from scientific evidence….

We are actually made of mucus

An excerpt from The Unseen Body: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy. Everybody learns in grade school that the human body is composed mostly of water—roughly 60 percent in adults goes the statistic. I learned this fact…

A message to new health care professionals

The health care environment you are about to enter is very different from the one that existed when you entered school. The COVID pandemic has changed us all, but we, the health care providers, have taken one of the biggest hits. We are exhausted physi…

Misinformation in transgender health care is harming patient care

Living in the U.S., chances are you get some regular mail that you never signed up for — a magazine, a journal, a sales flier. As medical professionals, we also get these free journals related to our field. We don’t always have the time to fact-c…

Recognizing high functioning depression

High functioning depression (or HFD) is the mental health diagnosis given to an individual who exhibits symptoms of high-level depression but manages to maintain overall functionality in life. An HFD person will often engage in activities that would be…