You never know what the news will bring in an age of spy balloons and UFOs. However, on the medical front, healthcare problems have changed in the wake of the pandemic. Mental health and addiction issues have exploded. Depression and suicidal thoughts in children are higher than I’ve seen in my entire career. It appears […]
Our church has initiated a new plan for prayer. We will have an unofficial schedule during which we are advised to pray wherever we are three times daily. I like this idea. It seems an appropriate discipline in a time when the idea of spiritual discipline is often viewed as too rigid or antiquated. While […]
Weight loss is a big deal and a big business. Turn on the television, cruise the internet, open a magazine and you’re bound to find something about how you can lose weight, and enrich someone else along the way. Not only is weight loss big business, it’s a critical health intervention in a nation plagued […]
Diabetes, like so many diseases, is a complex disorder. When it comes to what we usually call type 1, or insulin dependent diabetes, we really aren’t sure how it begins. Some researchers believe it is genetic, others believe it begins with an infection that attacks the pancreas, thus causing insulin-producing cells to cease to function. […]
I just saw a patient who had elevated blood pressure. He had a history of this and took appropriate medication. He had no symptoms or complaints, except that the number was up more than normal. His wife informed me, with a smile and a shake of her head, that he checked his blood pressure all […]
I’ve seen a lot of wounds over the course of my medical career — some of them from car crashes, others from assaults. Many of them have been work-related injuries or resulted from the use of tools around the home. Still others have been due to animal bites or stings. The injuries I listed above […]
I just saw a post on social media that proclaimed, “An ectopic pregnancy is not a real pregnancy.” This was, of course, in response to legal questions in the wake of Roe v. Wade. It was also wrong and confusing. As Christians, it is incumbent on us not to simply be people who scream slogans […]
July is upon us, and it’s a big month in the world of medicine. July 1 is traditionally the day that medical school graduates start their residency training. It’s a time of anxiety for those physicians and also can be a time of confusion for people being seen and treated by them in hospitals and […]
The practice of medicine is complicated and requires very specific knowledge and skills. However, no matter how much we doctors know, there are things that limit the health and access of patients. The problem is, these things are inglorious and easily overlooked by an already overstressed and understaffed healthcare system. I’ve learned over the years […]
Spring is upon us, and there’s work to be done. I’ve already been cutting back the overgrown Mountain Laurel on our drive, and my wife has taken her beloved riding lawnmower for its inaugural spin. Both activities, and many more typical of summer life, have the potential for creating cuts, scrapes and holes in the […]
