Genitourinary
Erectile Dysfunction : The Window To The Heart
Mae West, the sex queen of long ago, had a great one-liner when she greeted males, "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me?" This line always triggered a barrel full of laughs. But today it's no laughing matter that an increasing number of male are suffering from erectile dysfunction. A report in the British Medical Journal indicates that there's more to this problem than meets the eye. Dr. Geoffrey Hackett, a urologist at Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham, England, says most doctors are uncomfortable asking their male patients if they can have an erection. This oversight amounts to negligence as the onset of ED doubles the risk of heart attack. In fact, it can...Read More
Cardiovascular
PAD Prelude to Heart Attack
"Have you ever heard of Matthew's Law?" I asked a journalism student who recently interviewed me. Her assignment was to find out what young people could do to prevent health problems. The timing of the interview was good because at the time I was writing a column about peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a prime example of Matthew's Law. And did she, or readers, know about the ABI test? A report from the Mayo Clinic says that 10 million Americans have PAD. Another study from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, claims that five percent of men and two percent of women over the age of 50 have PAD. This increases the risk of heart attack six times. Mayo Clinic says 80 percent...Read More
Philosophy
Reader Reaction : Debbie’s Death and Euthanasia
Several weeks ago I wrote that Debbie, the world's oldest polar bear, had suffered a number of strokes. Her zoo keepers in Winnipeg decided she had suffered enough and painlessly ended her life. I also mentioned a good friend who, unlike Debbie, had endured an agonizing death. And I asked readers whether we needed a Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Humans (SPCH). I've spent hours reading the huge response, surprised by the reaction. H.F. wrote, "Thanks for your wonderful column that appeared in the Windsor Star. Yes, Yes, Yes, it's my prayer you will receive overwhelming support for it and that the law changes by the time I see the grim reaper. From The Winnipeg Free Press JY said, "My...Read More
Sex
Off-With-Your- Panties-Video’s At Age Six ?
"Do you know where your children are this evening?" It's a comment we often hear these days about parents who fail to keep an eye on their children's whereabouts. But suppose you're a diligent parent and they're in your own home. How safe are they when watching television? The question of how much in-your-face sexuality on TV adversely affects teenagers has been debated by psychologists for years. Now Anita Chandra, a behavioral scientist at the Rand Corporation, answers this question. She reports in the Journal of Pediatrics that the amount of time teenagers spend turning the channel to risque T V increases the risk of pregnancy before age 20. To reach this conclusion Chandra and her colleagues carried out a three-year survey of...Read More
Orthopedics, Surgery
What You Should Know About Ankle Replacement
"Should I have surgery to replace my painful ankle?" a friend recently asked me. He added, "I now wear an ankle support to play tennis and I want to get rid of it." Today, we all know friends who have had surgery to replace a worn out hip or knee. But an increasing number of people are also getting new ankles. What should my friend and others know before they make this decision? The majority of ankle replacements are due to osteoarthritis, the wear-and-tear type that occurs with aging. But, an arthritic ankle can also develop following injury to the joint many years earlier. Cartilage between bones deteriorates and finally bones grind on bones. Replacing an ankle is not minor surgery. Surgeons...Read More
Medicine
Torture at @ 2:00 am
What's the worst torture of all? Ask Thomas Sydenham and he would quickly say "gout". Sydenham, often referred to as the English Hippocrates, died in 1698 of gout. To my knowledge, no one since that time, has better described the intense pain associated with this disease. He wrote, "The victim goes to bed and sleeps in good health. About 2:00 A.M. he is awakened by severe pain in the big toe. The pain becomes intense, violent, tearing and so exquisite the big toe cannot bear the weight of bedclothes or the jar of a person walking into the room. The night is passed in torture." Gout has often been referred to as the "blue-blooded disease". It's easy to see why since it's...Read More
Philosophy
A Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Humans
Who was Debbie? If you missed her death notice, she was the world's oldest polar bear at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo who died at 41 years of age. Due to a number of strokes, zookeepers decided she had suffered enough and painlessly ended her life. But unlike polar bears, a friend of mine recently experienced an agonizing death which has prompted this column. I've often written that if I were allowed a committee to oversee my final hours I'd want a veterinarian to be part of that group. I'm hoping he or she would treat me the same way as Debbie, or a loving pet. Critics of active euthanasia say that allowing a lethal injection for those who only have days or...Read More
Genitourinary, Gynecology, Infection
Myths About Herpes
"How could it happen to me I'm often asked?" My answer? Genital herpes can infect anyone very easily. Especially if they fail to make love like the porcupine, very, very carefully. Today it's estimated that 50 million North Americans have genital herpes and each year another 500,000 are diagnosed with this infection. But there are many misconceptions about this common and worrying problem. Myth # 1- You can't get herpes from sitting on a toilet seat. Doctors have said for years that the herpes virus dies quickly on exposure to air. But Dr. Trudy Larsen, a researcher at the University of California, startled the medical world several years ago. She had a patient with an active herpes lesion sit on a toilet...Read More
Miscellaneous
Do You Need A Walletectomy?
How right were mothers and teachers when they told us to sit up straight? What can we do to improve brain function? Is it necessary to take antibiotics before dental procedures when you have a faulty heart valve? And if you have back pain do you need a walletectomy? For years doctors have prescribed antibiotics to patients with heart problems who are scheduled for dental procedures. It was believed that cleaning the teeth, or other dental work, would create small cuts in the gum allowing bacteria to invade the blood stream and cause further injury to heart valves. This condition, infective endocarditis, is rare, but dangerous complications and can result in abnormal heart rhythm, heart failure, stroke and death. A recent study...Read More
Nutrition
How To Get A Big Gut
"How did it ever happen?" You wonder when you look in the mirror. Your stomach used to be flat. Your pants weren't tight. The conclusion is obvious. You've developed a large gut, like millions of other North Americans. And if you're unaware of how this happened, a report in Nutrition Action Health Letter provides the answer. It lists several sure-fire ways to develop a gut. One - Surround Yourself With Food Always have goodies in the house that are loaded with calories. Cookies that sit in a jar on the kitchen counter containing 150 calories per cookie. It's so easy to put your hand in the cookie jar and so why not enjoy four of them? Now you've already used up 600...Read More
Cardiovascular
Zona Plus : A Hand Held Device To Treat Hypertension
Could experiments on F-16 fighter pilots help to decrease the need of blood pressure pills? In the 1960s an Air Force study was conducted in an endeavour to increase a pilot's ability to withstand the huge G-forces and prevent him from them from blacking out during aerial combat. Researchers discovered that exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles could decrease the effect of gravitational forces. They also demonstrated that hand gripping exercises could fight hypertension. Now, because of this research a hand-held computer device called "Zona Plus" is available to lower blood pressure. The Harvard Medical School initially thought the Zona device was a hoax and carried out research to prove it was fraudulent treatment. But to its embarrassment and amazement it discovered...Read More
Miscellaneous
Medical Myths That Should Die
A sage African American once remarked, "It's not the things you don't know that gets you into trouble, it's the things you know for sure, that ain't so". So here are some medical myths that just ain't so. Myth # 1 - Wearing a copper bracelet cures arthritis. Those who promote copper bracelets say that copper is absorbed through the skin and helps cartilage regenerate. But this fact has never been proven. There's no evidence that copper can regenerate the damaged cartilage that's causing pain. Our bodies need only small amounts of copper and we get this in our daily diet by eating vegetables such as potatoes, beans and peas. Copper is also present in nuts and grains such as wheat and...Read More
Alcohol
Cabernet Sauvignon And The 99 % Brain
This New Year's Eve would you like a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to prevent Alzheimer's Disease. Several months ago I suggested that this might be a good practice to stop the ravages of this disease. But was it questionable advice? Researchers at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital spiked the drinking water of female mice with Cabernet Sauvignon for seven months. Another group was given just water. Both groups were then placed in a maze. They discovered that the Cabernet Sauvignon mice found their way out of the maze quicker than teetotaler mice. I couldn't resist sending along this news for wine lovers. Now another study shows I'd better take another look at the effects of alcohol on the brain. Carol Ann Paul,...Read More
Philosophy
Do You Have A “One Problem” Doctor?
Have you seen this sign in your doctor's office? It reads, "One problem per visit, please." An editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says this sign is popping up in the offices of some family physicians. So how will the one-problem- doctor affect your medical care? How did this asinine situation happen? One evening I attended a dinner to hear the President of the Ontario Medical Association announce an upcoming meeting with provincial health officials about the OMA fee schedule. The President gave the usual rally-the-troops speech but left immediately to catch a plane as she had to see patients the next morning! Can you imagine the uproar from Canadian Auto Workers if their president was a part-time leader who...Read More
Orthopedics
Rotator Cuff Injury and Damn the Exercise
Why is it so hard for me to have a good night's sleep? Like most people I'm not as wealthy as I was since the stock market developed terminal cancer. But that isn't causing my insomnia. Rather, every time I roll over in bed both shoulders remind me that they're not in great shape. So what have I done to end up with two painful shoulders? Several years ago I gave up tennis due to a back problem. So I decided to take up trap shooting where I can stand still. I've enjoyed this activity more than any sport. And for most of the time God was in heaven, the sun was shining and birds were singing. But then I got careless....Read More
Orthopedics
Single Injection Treats Osteoporosis For One Year
There's a major problem with human behaviour. Unlike elephants, humans have a great propensity to forget. In fact, they often forget to do the simplest of tasks such as taking medication on a regular basis. This pitfall can have dangerous consequences. Now, due to advanced technology, it's possible to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis (brittle bones) with just a single injection every year. And that's pretty hard to forget! The figures are frightening. Studies show that one in four women and one in eight men over age 50 has osteoporosis. Today over 1.4 million Canadians suffer from it. And due to an aging population, we can expect more hip and spinal fractures the result of osteoporosis in the years ahead. Who develops this crippling...Read More
Philosophy, Psychiatry
Why Do You Laugh ,There Is No One With You?
What prescription could I write to ease this patient's trouble during the holiday season? I knew that Prozac or St. John's Wort was not the answer. Nor could any of the other drugs that I normally prescribe ease her suffering. Finally, I realized the best prescription was staring me right in the face. So as she left the office I wrote a few numbers down on my prescription pad. And I hope that some readers will do the same thing. What diagnosis did I write in her record? It was Loneliness. I've never seen it in the index of any medical textbook. But at this time of year, and at other times as well, it's one of the worst medical problems....Read More
Philosophy
Coping With The Mother Of Economic Disasters
Sheer chance had me aboard the Holland America Line in the middle of the Pacific Ocean when the stock market crashed with devastating results. If I'd been in Canada I could have cried on my financial investor shoulder's while asking why so much hard earned money was going down the drain. And as the news became progressively worse I wondered if I could even afford a canoe to return to Canada. So how did my psyche cope with this "mother" of all economic disasters? Hopefully it will help others who have seen their finances melt. One I knew that unless I could walk on water there was no way of getting off the ship until it reached Honolulu. I concluded that there...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
Don’t Fire Until You See The Whites of Their Eyes – Macular Degeneration
What do people fear the most? It's often said that giving a speech tops the list. But a recent survey shows it's losing one's sight. Today, with an aging population, an increasing number of people face the ultimate fear, a condition called, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that destroys vision and can even lead to blindness. For the first time a new medication, Lucentis, is available that stops and can even reverse vision loss caused by the most serious form of this debilitating disease. "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" was a command given the British soldiers. But if these soldiers had AMD they wouldn't have fired a single shot. AMD destroys the macula, a tiny spot in...Read More
Gastroenterology, Nutrition
Detox Diet – It’s Like Sticking A Potato In The Car’s Exhaust Pipe!
"Do you think my daughter and me should agree to a "detox diet?" a reader asked me. She added that several friends had already undergone detoxification and had never felt better. So does it make sense to purify our body? After all, who doesn't want to feel healthier. Proponents of this therapy have a rationale that's appeals to medical consumers who are apprehensive about our polluted world. They contend were'e constantly accumulating toxins in the body from air, chemicals in the water, processed foods, perfumes, artificial drinks and a host of other things. And, that in today's society, it's virtually impossible not to have a polluted large bowel. And that if you think you're an exception, think again. Web sites provide detox...Read More
Nutrition
Milk Helps to Prevent Stroke
Dr. David Young, a Professor of Physiology at the University of Mississippi once remarked, "potassium is like sex and money, you can't get too much." Now a study conducted in Hawaii shows that potassium helps to circumvent the risk of stroke, one of the leading causes of death in this country. Dr. Deborah Green is a researcher associated with the Queen's Medical Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii. To determine the benefits of potassium she and her colleagues followed 5,888 men and women ages 65 and over for eight years. Their conclusion? Patients with low levels of potassium were twice as likely to suffer "ischemic stroke", the type of stroke in which a blood clot cuts off the supply of oxygen to the brain. But...Read More
Gastroenterology, Surgery
Napoleon Didn’t Have a Choice For Treating Hemorrhoids
Would Woodrow Wilson have negotiated a more lasting peace treaty following World War I if he had not complained about tight-fitting shoes? Would Napoleon have won the Battle of Waterloo if he had not been suffering from hemorrhoids (piles) while directing the battle on his horse? Small annoyances might have changed history? But unlike Napoleon patients today no longer have to endure the pain of hemorrhoids. Piles affect 90 percent of the population at some time in their life. And in spite of being a common condition little research has been done on this problem. After all, cancer and cardiovascular research is well respected, but what doctor wants to tell people he's a pile expert. It was due to this lack of...Read More
Dermatology
Mayo Clinic’s Four Habits For A Healthy Skin Winter and Summer
"Please write more about how to keep skin looking young." Or, "What can I do to keep my skin from drying up like an old prune during the winter months." I receive many requests like these asking me to write about medical problems. But whenever I write about skin care the response dwarfs other mail. So what does a prestigious Clinic say about aging skin? Mayo Clinic doctors don't bother to soften the truth of how we gradually lose our baby-soft "body glove" in which we were born. Their studies show that our oil producing glands become less active and blood vessels decrease leaving us with thinner, fragile and finely wrinkled skin. But four habits will help to keep some of...Read More
Cancer
Sorry Doctor, I’d Prefer An Opinion From The Dog
What do dogs have that's lacking in humans? Harry Truman, the straight-talking former president of the United States, remarked that, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." But friendship is not the dog's, only virtue. A dog's nose has 220 million cells that detect odours compared to a mere five million in humans. And although none have yet graduated from The Harvard Medical School, they can often outsmart doctors in recognizing serious disease. In 1989 the British Journal 'Lancet" reported that a female half-Border Collie was indeed a woman's best friend. Her dog kept sniffing at a mole on her thigh, but ignored other moles. In fact, the dog had actually tried to bite off the mole when...Read More
Vitamins
Vitamin D Therapy: Course 101
A reader remarked, "I remember your column on vitamin D of several years ago. The one that said you could stand out naked all day in winter and never benefit from the sun. What is your current thinking about this vitamin?" Others ask, "how much vitamin should I take?" Here are the facts you should know about the sunshine vitamin. One In the 1900's researchers discovered that a lack of D caused rickets. The result was bow-legs and knock-knees. Today rickets is rare due to better nutrition. But reports from Boston show that rickets is on the rise again. For instance, in a study at The Harvard Medical School, 24 percent of teenagers of both sexes 11 and 18 years of age...Read More
