Category: KevinMD

How to help your children manage migraines

Stress! It is a fact of life for all human beings. Stress is a normal reaction — psychologic and physiologic — to the everyday demands of life. When your brain perceives a threat, the body reacts with a fight-or-flight response, releasing hormones, inc…

A medical student’s biggest fear

It was the last week of my EMS elective. I was incredibly lucky to ride with one of the EMS captains who was eager to take me to any call that sounded interesting. We were called to a possible stroke. An 82-year-old woman with sudden-onset unilateral w…

Physicians shouldn’t get too attached to the organizations they work for

One of the biggest changes to health care over the last 20 years has been the corporatization of medicine, from small independent physician practices, to large corporations that now run the show. Medicine has gone from good old Dr. Johnson’s office aro…

Don’t forget this common trigger of cyclic vomiting syndrome

There is a condition known as cyclic vomiting syndrome which causes people to develop episodes or “attacks” of frequent vomiting lasting for a few days at a time without an apparent cause. Sufferers of cyclic vomiting are totally fine between episodes …

When medical experts say “first,” be careful

Spot the word “first” in a headline, and you might assume a major milestone has been reached. Think first person on the moon, first woman on the Supreme Court. But in health care news, things heralded for being first might not amount to a c…

Celebrities are bringing a myriad of health conditions into the public consciousness

It seems now as if every day and every month is associated with a “national day” or an “awareness month.”  Some such as “national taco day” may be less important than others, well depending on one’s priorities….

The financial disadvantages of being a doctor in California

Geographical arbitrage is a huge component to being able to build wealth in a timely manner.  For doctors, the formula for rapid wealth accumulation calls for geographical arbitrage even more strongly as our salaries do not have wide ranges across the …

3 things about psychiatry that don’t focus on pathology

I was asked to present information about mental health to a lay audience. This is both an exciting and daunting task. I imagine it’s like asking someone to talk about fish. There are so many kinds of fish! They live in many habitats! Some of them look …

Why women physicians should take control of their finances

When you think about the future of health care, what word comes to mind? How about the word, “female”? If it didn’t come to mind, it should because the landscape of the medical field is changing. As a result of that change, it is more…

Sex in the elderly is not a need. It’s a privilege.

If you’re sexy, fit and nimble, if you can part your thighs and bend your knees, if you can see your private parts without a mirror, ignore this. Move on. This is not for you. This is for those with flailing sex-drive and failing abilities whose sex li…