Category: Conditions

The ICU experience that changed a young doctor’s perspective forever

As a healthy 30-year-old intern with an infant, I never expected to land in the ICU on a random Thursday at 10 a.m. As I prepared to start my first precepted thoracentesis at the VA, I suddenly began to experience double vision. Assuming it to be a wei…

Candy weed: no protection for marijuana child poisoning

Timmy’s eyes were rolling side to side in his head as his limp body did not respond to his mother’s calling. He was rushed to the hospital and admitted to the ICU. The 4-year-old ate one of his mother’s cannabis-infused, rainbow-sherb…

Saving lives, one heart at a time: the fight against women’s heart disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease killed 314,186 women in 2021. This means that approximately one out of every five female deaths was d…

Building trust with patients: the power of credibility, trustworthiness, and likeability

An excerpt from The Mumbo Jumbo Fix: A Survival Guide for Effective Doctor-Patient-Nurse Communication. When advertising agencies launch a new ad campaign, one of their popular strategies is the testimonial. As consumers, we see testimonials all the ti…

The hormone nomenclature debate: Is a name change the key to patient safety?

In the latest issue of Clinical Endocrinology News, I found an interesting article reporting a proposal to change the name of a hormone. The rationale for the proposed change was “patient safety.” In 2009, a patient with known panhypopituit…

The middle road to childhood obesity treatment: Empowering kids with healthy habits

The new American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for childhood obesity have shifted from a “watchful waiting” method to “early and aggressive treatment.” Coverage of the guidelines in the Washington Post, the New York Times, an…

Jimmy Carter brings attention to hospice care: the compassionate side of modern medicine

The recent decision by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to transition to hospice brings much-needed attention to this crucial part of health care. Hospice care is an essential and compassionate component of modern medicine, providing support and care…

The rise of spiritual science: Uniting the soul and science

Until recently, mainstream science has not recognized the field of spiritual science because the consensus has been that science and spirit (soul) are like oil and vinegar — they do not mix. Science is all about facts and evidence relative to the hypot…

From toys to tragedy: the threat of button batteries to children’s health

According to a study published in Pediatrics, it is estimated that between 2010 and 2019, more than 70,000 emergency department (ED) visits in the United States were related to battery ingestion, mouth exposure, and ear or nasal insertion among childre…

The regret of leaving an old friend behind

I once knew a lady who eventually died from pancreatic cancer. She was in her early seventies at the time. Her name was Marilyn, and I went to grade school with her son Tom, so we had known each other for a long time. I was in my early thirties when th…