Medical

Women pass through many “stages” of life.  Some of these stages are based on a woman’s hormone status: prepubescence, menarche or puberty, adolescence, childbearing, perimenopause and menopause.  Certainly, each of these phases has its own tasks and challenges, but perimenopause can be the most stressful due to its vagueness as a medical occurrence, its sometime drastic physical and psychological changes to a woman’s well being and its possible duration of ten years.

Aging well does not mean not aging.  But, successful aging involves good health, both physical and psychological.  While changes in our bodies and the way we think and feel are inevitable, the steps below can maintain, even improve your health well into your eighties, nineties, and beyond.

More than five million Americans, or 3.8 percent of our population work from home.  Whether it’s telecommuting or starting a home-based business, Americans are spending more time in home offices that are not ergonomically equipped.  The result is more back and neck pain from poorly designed chairs and workspaces, and more headaches and eyestrain from poor lighting.

For centuries people have found ways to treat diseases by using environments in which there is an increase in ambient pressure.  In the 1940s and 50s, the military began developing chambers that enabled them to safely rehabilitate divers suffering from decompression sickness.  With the ever-increasing advancement of technology, these chambers have become more varied in application and accessibility and therefore are now used to treat a wide variety of conditions.

“Inside every older person is a young person — wondering what the heck happened.”  Cora Harvey Armstrong

The next time you feel like you’ve endured a long day at work, think about the following description of a typical day for Joanne who is one of the millions of Americans, known as “The Sandwich Generation”, who are caring for an elderly parent or loved one, while also caring for their own children and family.

If you are a procrastinator, now may be the time to consider the health price you may be paying for this habit.  Procrastination may be the worst enemy of optimal health.  We think about exercising and eating healthy foods, however, postponing these changes is much easier than...

Most men and women these days don’t have a lot of time and are looking for a safe, non-surgical, clinically proven way to tighten and contour their skin, with improvements in tone, contour, and texture.

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese procedure in which points on the body are stimulated using a number of very fine needles.  Here are conditions and symptoms that may benefit from acupuncture, courtesy of the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine:

Have you been squinting all your life?  Most people squint when they are in the sunlight.  This is our eyes’ way of protecting itself from the harmful rays of the sun.  Even on overcast days, we are getting sun damage.  In fact, on overcast days, the UV damage is even greater because people tend to not wear eye protection and our pupils dilate larger allowing more of the harmful UV rays to enter our eyes.  The ultraviolet rays from the sun cause damage slowly over time.  This is one of the major causes of cataract formation in our eyes.  This ultraviolet damage can increase the rate of eye disease including age related macular degeneration, skin cancer, yellowing of the conjunctiva (the whites of the eyes), and much more. 

As I mentioned in the previous issue, the major drawbacks of orthodontic appliances, or traditional braces including metal brackets and wires, is visible.  Many patients never wear them for fear of looking unattractive during the bracing process.  Invisalign® is a clear or “invisible” alternative to metal braces, while Invisalign® straightens your teeth, not with brackets or wires, but with a series of clear, customized, removable aligners without tightening and adjustments.  Invisalign® trays are made of clear plastic, so they are practically invisible when they are on your teeth. 

First, surgery is performed to place the anchor.  Surgery can take up to several hours, and up to six months may be required for the bone to grow around the anchor and firmly hold it in place.  Some implants require a second surgery in which a post is attached to connect the anchor to the replacement teeth.  With other implants, the anchor and post are already attached and are placed at the same time.

Did you know that 90 percent of sports-related eye injuries are preventable?  I hope you’re not reading this after you’ve gotten a black eye.  According to Prevent Blindness America, these sports include football, baseball, and basketball, then water and racquet sports.  Also making it onto the list is the use of scooters and skateboards.  According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), there are about 600,000 documented sports-related injuries reported annually.  Over 13,000 of these result in permanent loss of sight.  The majority of these occur in persons under 30 years of age. 

“The pain in my foot never bothered me much.  Gradually, however, the pain became worse and now it’s persistent.  I feel a burning sensation, accompanied by numbness.  When I finally get off of my feet at the end of the day, the pain is excruciating.  The only relief I get is when I remove my shoe and massage my foot.”

Diarrhea is defined by increasing bowel movement, two to three times a day.  There are acute and chronic diarrheas.  Acute diarrhea is usually 90 percent self-limited and lasts less than three weeks.  Treatment may include re-hydration and use of anti-diarrhea agents.  Chronic diarrhea is more complicated.  The causes of chronic diarrhea may be grouped into seven major pathophysiologic categories: osmotic diarrhea; secretory diarrhea; inflammatory conditions; malabsorption syndromes; motility disorders and chronic infections.  Anti-diarrhea agents are used for treatment.

Can you feel it in the air?  It’s a new season and school’s out!  The energy is excited, fun, playful, joyful and expansive! It’s summertime!  This is the time of year when the sudden burst of energy from spring expands into the full bloom of summer.  It is during the next three months, June, July and August, that the flowers and trees and life all around us become more active and energetic.  Just as we started our new beginnings in spring, now we can utilize the energy of summer to bring these plans to fruition and then harvested in the fall.

Between 20 and 25 percent of Americans are suffering from eye or ocular eye allergy.  Most of these patients also manifest symptoms of nasal allergy or hay fever.

Whiplash is one of the most common injuries from auto accidents.  This happens when the force of an impact “whips” the head violently in one direction beyond its normal limits, then violently back in the opposite direction.  The result:  muscles, tendons, and ligaments supporting the spine can be overstretched or torn.  The spinal cord and delicate nerve endings in the neck can be stretched, pinched, and irritated.  The soft, cushioning discs occupying the spaces between vertebrae (spinal bones) can herniate (bulge), or even rupture (tear).