Medical

Many people wanting to slim down are jumping on the low-carbohydrate diet trend in an attempt to lose weight.  However, as dieters shed pounds, many are saying goodbye to carbs and hello to halitosis. 

Soccer season is full swing and a local foot and ankle surgeon strongly urges parents and coaches to think twice before coaxing young, injury-prone soccer players to “play through” foot and ankle pain.

As I meet more and more families faced with the costly challenge of, either for themselves or for an aging loved one, wanting to age in place in the comfort of their own home and looking to obtain in-home care to do so, I am concerned.  If long term care insurance is not in place, and with home care not being covered by private health insurance, Medicare or Medical, I see families hiring individuals privately, or worse yet, being misled by home care agencies that do not provide the protection of the “Employer of Record” requirements of state law, to care for themselves or a loved one. 

Dr. Fellows, a native of Illinois, studied in both the Midwest and Southern California. He graduated magna cum laude with a psychobiology major from the University of Southern California. He then earned his medical degree from the prestigious Northwestern University in Chicago. After a five-year general surgery residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, he returned to the University of California Los Angeles’s renowned program to complete his plastic and reconstructive surgery residency.

Summer is slowly ending and with autumn approaching Mother Nature is starting to make some changes.  Cooler temperatures and changing atmospheric pressure results in wind and cloud formations and ultimately rainfall.  As plants begin their seasonal changes yellow and gold leaves fall to the ground, tree pollination subsides and the grass pollens gradually decrease. 

In new research Ruth Bentler, P.D. of the University of Iowa found no difference in speech perception ability for hearing aid users due to the type of digital noise reduction or the type digital processor settings.  Dr. Bentler found “what did matter was the amount of audibility provided” by basic amplification.  She also found that while digital noise reduction improved comfort and “quality” of sound to wearers, it did not improve speech comprehension performance.  Dr. Bentler concluded “once optimal audibility is achieved for a given individual, it remains debatable whether further fine-tuning will enhance communication for that listener.”  So if we can know if audibility is achieved to technological and physiological limits, then we know the fitting is correct and maximum benefit possible is achieved. This is where we want all hearing aid fittings to be.

Most patients think of Botox as a wrinkle cure, however Botox plays a major role in facial shaping and sculpturing rather than just injecting wrinkles.

Mix a cardiologist with a rapper, author and a friend, and you get Dr. Samuel A. Kojoglanian, a.k.a. Dr. Rap, Dr. Sam, Dr. K.  Whatever his title, his mission in life is simple:”Mend hearts, heal souls, and rock this planet.”  He lives to inspire.  He loves to heal. He’s a man unlike any other.

In these tough times it is common sense to tighten our financial belts.  We are definitely not going to fly or drive as much as we did last year. We cut back on luxury items like going to restaurants, getting our nails done and frivolous shopping. Your health should not be included on this list of luxuries. Maintaining good medical and dental health is a great investment!

Constipation is a condition in which a person has uncomfortable or infrequent bowel movements.  A person with constipation produces hard stool that may be difficult to pass.  The person may feel as though the rectum has not been completely emptied.  Acute constipation begins suddenly and noticeably.  Chronic constipation, on the other hand, may begin insidiously and persist for months or years.

We talk of openness in a relationship, yet what does that mean?  Do we only address what is specifically asked?  Do we share every detail of our life so far?  Do we identify a growth on our partner’s back, knowing that cancer petrifies her?  What do we offer beyond what is requested?

We all know that being a good listener is a great asset, but how well do we listen to ourselves?  Do you listen to your body?  Our bodies are constantly communicating with our minds.  We feel tired, anxious, have headaches, insomnia, intestinal bloating, mental fog, menstrual cramps, hot flashes, back and joint pains and more, yet we “push on” with the seemingly important details of our lives.

Last month I wrote about the abundant health benefits eggs provide.  However, eggs are not all created equal.  And that’s where labels come in handy — if you know what they mean.  It’s easy to be mislead by labels on egg cartons, so let me clear up the confusion, and help you get the healthiest eggs, by telling you exactly what the labels do and don’t say.

Being female is the most important risk factor.  Certainly men get it, but it is almost 100 times more common among women.  What is it?  I am talking about breast cancer. 

1. “How do I know Colon Hydrotherapy will be useful to me?”  It is our belief that everyone can benefit from a gentle colon cleansing.  Today’s diets consist of refined, processed foods, high in saturated fats and low in fiber.  We believe eating these foods, overeating, ignoring the call to eliminate, stress, allergies and medications can contribute to poor colon health.

Headache is a subjective symptom.  It can be induced by various acute and chronic diseases.  As it covers a wide sphere, this section only deals in detail with headache as the predominant symptom.  If headache is an accompanying symptom in the development of a certain disease, it will disappear automatically as soon as the disease is cured.  This type of headache is not to be discussed here.

I have a bulimic patient who came for severe inflammation of molar teeth.  After reviewing the x-rays and oral exam, the patient was diagnosed as bulimia nervosa.  She has all molar teeth chipped out and front teeth eroded.  She lost the vertical height of teeth due to lack of enamel surface. 

When he’s not attending meetings and tending to bank duties, James D. Hicken, president and CEO of Bank of Santa Clarita, focuses his keen business sense and unique skills on two organizations whose contributions in the community transform lives.