What’s your blood count? Blood pressure? Bone density? PSA? If it is abnormal, odds are that you will want it to be normal. In doing so, you are making the same leap of faith that your doctor is making when he commences treatment: that treating the numbers will...
A US appeals court has overturned a conviction of a former drug rep for encouraging doctors to prescribe a drug “off label”. The court ruled this violated the First amendment rights and that the federal government had failed to show his comments were false. I am no...
The human body needs “fuel” and gets it in the form of food. Food is converted into energy in the body, which is technically referred to as glucose. Glucose is transferred through the blood and this is why anyone with the medical condition known as...
It is taken as read that check ups and screening are good for us. The logic is almost intuitive. Finding disease early is better than finding it late as treatment can be more effective. Also not everything has symptoms so testing and checking may uncover problems...
We all know that smoking is not good for us. Over the last 50 years there has been a significant reduction in smoking rates in Western countries from nearly 80% in the 1950’s to under 20% today. In the less developed world, large numbers still smoke. This infographic...
Falls are never fun. When we are young we can pretty quickly bounce back and keep going. In the elderly though a fall can lead to a hip fracture. This in turn can trigger a serious chain of events including loss of independence and even death. In the USA each year...
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, was the first of the symptomless conditions that modern medicine has treated. For the vast majority of people you only know if you have it when the doctor takes your blood pressure. And that is also the only way you know if it is...
It is interesting how events coincide. Some say there is no such thing as coincidence. Last week a review of mental health services in WA was handed down. In the same week a Royal Commission was called into Pedophilia in Australia. And we are not alone. Until...
My kids will tell you that when they were in college I would often call to see how they were doing. Did I ask about classes and studies? Nope. How about friends and dates? Heaven forbid. School sports? You are kidding, right? No, if you polled my children, they...
I have a confession to make. I like watching The Jerry Springer show. Not every week but whenever I feel like a laugh or to see how “the other half lives”. It may come as a surprise to many but as a doctor, the tales I hear are less dissimilar to reality TV than you...
