Health

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and as an internist and a wound care specialist, much of my day-to-day routine is treating people with diabetes. Many people are aware of what diabetes is and are affected by it, but most do not know about the major complications associated with it or what to do about them.

In this blog, I’ll address one of those major complications: diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Most people are unaware of how dangerous a DFU can be and what other complications it can lead to. I am hoping to bring awareness to this issue.

What is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)?

The term pulmonary fibrosis generally relates to diffuse scarring in the lungs, as opposed to local scarring that can occur following a pulmonary infection or trauma. There are many different causes of diffuse pulmonary fibrosis, among which idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common. While IPF is often classified as an uncommon lung disease, the recognition of this form of pulmonary fibrosis seems to be increasing. Early IPF may be asymptomatic.

Healthy aging is not the simple absence of disease in the age group above 65. It is a set of habits and behaviors to be implemented at the age of 40 and beyond if we want to keep an active, independent lifestyle in the geriatric population. Adequate physical activity, heathy nutrition, use of preventive services, judicious use of medications and awareness of mental health problems are areas that merit special attention.

Childhood obesity continues to rise around the world, and the World Health Organization has called it one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. We know it’s on the rise and we know it’s a health risk, but what can we do as parents and as a community to stop it?

As a primary care physician, one of the best tools that I can offer my patients is immunization, as it helps to prevent disease before it happens by providing the immune system with a “home-court advantage,” or as I like to tell my patients, “the answers to the test before it has to take it.” August is National Immunization Awareness Month, so it is fitting to focus on vaccines, in this case the HPV vaccine.

What is HPV, how is it spread and why should I vaccinate myself and/or my children to protect them from it?

As the summer vacation ends and the new school year approaches, parents prepare their children to do their best in school - proper nutrition, regular physical activity and optimal healthy sleep. Sleep profoundly affects school performance. Sleep has very important effects on growth, healing, immune function, cardiopulmonary function and metabolic activities. Sleep in humans is a biologic function as important as breathing. All mammals and birds sleep and sleep deprivation has serious consequences.

If you are reading this, chances are you are fully immunized. That means when you were a child, your parents took you to the doctor for your checkups and you got all of your shots. Since then, your immune system has protected you from a host of infectious diseases that used to kill a lot people. But you’ve probably never thought of it like that, so let’s take a look at how immunizations save lives every day.

When I think about some of the more controversial public health issues that we see in the U.S., vaccinations are usually at the top of the list. People argue back and forth with pro and anti-vaccination stances but oftentimes are unfamiliar or unclear about the actual data regarding vaccines. I am not using this space to take a pro- or anti-vaccine status, but to take a moment to explain what vaccines are, why we use them, what they can do and who should avoid them.

What are vaccines?