Have you or anyone you know thought of having knee replacement surgery? If so, I want you to know that I had it done in September of 2013. I have published an informative article, which I wrote, detailing the experience of getting both of my knees done within 48 hours.
There is light at the end of the tunnel my friends. I am living proof (pain free now for three years) and am so grateful to have had the surgery.
“The case against low-fat milk is stronger than ever,” announced Time magazine this spring.
“Some research suggests people who consume full-fat dairy weigh less and are less likely to develop diabetes, too,” the magazine-website declared.
Really? Based on what?
Time’s evidence: a new study reported that people who had higher blood levels of fats found in dairy foods had a lower risk of diabetes.
But the question Time didn’t ask:
Did these people get their higher levels from eating full-fat dairy products? Is that what they were eating?
Guess what? The researchers couldn’t tell because they didn’t ask. For all they knew, the study participants could have been eating low-fat, not high-fat, dairy.
After all, “a large amount of dairy fat comes from lower-fat dairy products like 1 or 2 percent-fat milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese,” says Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Whoops.
So maybe the study actually suggested the benefits, not the harm, of lower-fat dairy.
“You can’t simply generalize the results on the blood levels of those fats to the benefits of eating full-fat dairy,” Hu explains. You need to look at what people eat—not what’s in their blood—and when you do that you get a much different story than the one Time spread. Continue reading “Have you heard that high-fat dairy foods are healthier than low-fat?” »
To find out, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which sets guidelines for American medicine, did a thorough review of the medical literature on the topic.
Bottom line: Keep doing your preps, folks. The findings…
Colonoscopy is the only screening method that can actually remove growths—polyps—and get them tested to see if they are precancerous. It actually gets rid of the cancer threat. If all is clear, it’s repeated every 10 years. If a precancerous polyp was removed, it’s repeated more frequently.
But it’s not the only approved method…
If you have a stool test, a CT scan or a sigmoidoscopy and it finds a potentially precancerous polyp, you’ll still need a colonoscopy to remove it. While the USPSTF didn’t take a stand on which screening method is best, every health expert in the field agrees—any screening is better than noscreening. If you choose a colonoscopy, make sure you get it done right…
Colon cancer screenings aren’t exactly a fun topic. But it’s a tragedy that colon cancer still kills nearly 50,000 Americans a year. After all, if every person got a colonoscopy by age 50, about two-thirds of the cases of colon cancer would never have developed.
If you’ve ever been stopped cold by a charley horse, you know just how excruciating these muscle spasms can be. But are you sure it’s just a muscle spasm? Or is that leg pain due to something far more serious?
What can cause leg pain…
This is one to worry about. Even though the pain usually isn’t intense, it can triple your risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke.
What it feels like: About 10% of people with PAD suffer leg cramps, leg aching and leg fatigue that occur only during physical activity involving the legs (any type of activity can trigger it—even just walking). When you rest your legs, the discomfort goes away, usually in 10 minutes or less. As PAD becomes more severe and blood circulation worsens, pain can occur during rest and result in leg ulcers and even gangrene.
What to do: See a doctor. PAD is usually caused by atherosclerosis, the same condition that leads to most heart attacks. Your doctor will compare the blood pressure in your arms to the pressure at your ankles. If there’s a significant difference, that could mean that you have PAD and you’ll need an ultrasound of the legs to determine the extent and location of arterial obstructions. Continue reading “Here’s a way to tell what that leg pain really means…” »
It’s hard to imagine how a toothache could turn deadly—but it can. Even mild or moderate discomfort (for example, pain while chewing…sensitivity to hot and cold…and/or redness and swelling of the gums) can quickly turn into a potentially serious condition, known as an abscess, a pus-filled infection inside the tooth or between a tooth and the gum. Though the pain may be merely annoying in the beginning, within a day or so, it can turn into the intense, throbbing pain or sharp, shooting pain that is the telltale sign of an abscess.
Dangerous trend: The number of Americans hospitalized for dental abscesses is on the rise. Over a recent eight-year period, hospitalizations for periapical abscesses (infections at the tip of the tooth root) increased by more than 40%.
No one has a precise explanation for the trend, but some experts speculate that the high cost of dental insurance is preventing many people from seeking routine dental care and perhaps delaying treatment when a problem occurs. Medicare does not cover routine dental care, and many private health insurance plans offer very limited coverage.
If there’s a breach in a tooth’s protective enamel—from tooth decay, a chip or even gum disease, for example—you’re at risk for an abscess. Some cracks can be taken care of with bonding or a crown (see below). Some don’t need treatment at all because they don’t go through to the tooth pulp (the soft tissue inside the tooth). But if bacteria get inside the tooth, an abscess can form.
Other signs to watch for: In addition to the symptoms described earlier, other red flags of a dental abscess may include persistent foul breath, a swollen face, jaw and/or neck glands and a fever.
Once the pain kicks in, people who have dental abscesses will often describe it as the worst they’ve ever experienced. If you’ve ever had a root canal (see below), you might have had an abscess.
• Get help immediately. An abscess will not go away on its own. Worse, the infection can spread as quickly as overnight (in some cases, however, it can take years to spread). An abscess can cause death when the infection spreads to the brain or heart or when swelling cuts off the airway.
When to be especially suspicious: If you have pain in one of your back teeth. They’re the ones that do most of the chewing, and they’re also the ones that are harder to reach with dental floss and a toothbrush. If you crunch something hard, such as a popcorn kernel, piece of ice or even an almond, a back tooth is the one most likely to be cracked.
Your dentist can diagnose an abscess in just a few minutes. All he/she has to do is gently tap on the suspected tooth with a small metal device and see if you wince. A tooth abscess will be very sensitive to pressure. An X-ray will confirm if there’s a pus-filled pocket near the tooth root.
You might be given penicillin or another antibiotic if the infection has spread beyond the tooth. In addition, your dentist will treat the abscess in one of three ways…
• Incision and draining. If the abscess is between the tooth and the gum, your dentist will make a small incision, drain out the pus and clean the area with saline. The pain will start to diminish almost immediately. Your dentist also can drain an abscess that occurs inside a tooth, but this won’t cure it—the infection will probably come back.
• Root canal. This is the most widely used treatment for an abscess near the tooth root. Your dentist will drill into the infected area, scrape away damaged tissue and drain the pus. After that, the canal will be filled with sealant, and the tooth will be crowned (a porcelain or metal cap is put over the tooth). If you get a root canal, there’s a good chance that the tooth will survive. The drawback is cost. Root canals usually are done by an endodontist (a dentist with advanced training). Expect to pay from $300 (for a front tooth) to $2,000 for a molar. The crown is an additional $500 to $3,000 (prices depend on where you live and whether you go to a specialist or your regular dentist).
• Extraction. This is the most permanent treatment for a deep abscess. It costs about $75 to $300 to remove a tooth—and once the tooth is gone, the abscess goes away with it.
Some patients save money by choosing not to replace an extracted tooth. But there are health risks associated with not replacing a tooth, such as increased chance of additional decay and infection, bone loss, poor chewing function and speech disturbances.
Better: Replace the tooth with an implant (at least $2,400) or a bridge (at least $1,100).
If you can’t see a dentist immediately: Consider going to an ER if you have severe pain and/or swelling. If you are having trouble breathing, go to an ER right away.
If you take care of your teeth, there’s a good chance that you’ll never have an abscess.
In addition to regular brushing and flossing and avoiding a lot of sugar-filled foods and drinks…
• Use fluoride toothpaste. It remineralizes tooth enamel and makes it stronger. This is particularly important for older adults, whose receding gums can expose parts of the tooth and leave it vulnerable to decay.
Also helpful: A fluoride mouth rinse. There are many brands in drugstores. They strengthen the enamel and reduce tooth decay.
• Don’t slack off on dental visits. Most people should have dental checkups and cleanings every six months. If you smoke or have gum disease, diabetes or any other condition that increases your risk for dental problems, it’s usually a good idea to schedule even more frequent dental visits.
Source: Samuel O. Dorn, DDS, chair of the department of endodontics and program director at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where he holds the Frank B. Trice, DDS, Professorship in Endodontics. He is the president-elect of the International Federation of Endodontic Associations and the 2013 recipient of the Coolidge Award given by the American Association of Endodontists for lifetime achievement.
If you’re aware of your heart health, you’ve probably read and heard a lot about risks for people who have diabetes. That’s because there’s a major connection between the two types of disease.
In fact, people who are diabetic are twice as likely to have heart disease than those who aren’t diabetic. It’s also true that someone who is diabetic who has a heart attack is also more likely to die from that heart attack.
Some of the reason for this may be the common characteristics of people who are diabetic and those who are at risk for heart disease. For example, many people who are diabetic are overweight, which is also a risk factor for heart disease. 
Diabetics are also more likely to be sedentary and to have high blood pressure. This combination of risk factors would make anyone at risk for heart disease. What may make diabetes a more special case for cardiac risk is the insulin-resistance that’s characteristic of it.
Insulin resistance is known to increase LDL and triglyceride levels (the bad cholesterol) and also cause HDL (good cholesterol) to be lower. This causes the advancement of hardening of the arteries. Continue reading “The Relationship Between Diabetes and Heart Disease” »
