Christine Aguilera - Perfect C-Section

Christine Aguilera is a talented, beautiful young woman who is all over the magazines and internet with her beautiful new baby. It is a lovely sight to see and I am sure she influences young women around the world on the wonders of new motherhood. But my eyes and ears perked up when I read that she had a planned, elective (read "Doctor, I want that!") C-section at 37 weeks because "I'd heard

Electronic Health Record - tick tock, tick tock

Go into most doctor's offices or clinics across the United States and you will see racks of messy files, patient charts, stacks of paper ready to be filed and lots of little messages and bits of paper that have no home. You could not differentiate if it is a chart room from 1943 or 2008, except that now there is 20 times the paper to be filed.There is unanimous agreement from doctors,

Answer to Medical Quiz #7

The answer is #3, Leprosy. Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is a chronic infectious bacteria that affects peripheral nerves, the respiratory tract lining and skin. Interestingly, only about 5% of people who are infected with the disease actually develop any symptoms. The mode of transmission is unknown, thought to be by respiratory droplets. Treatment with oral antibiotics is

Medical Quiz #7 -How Smart Are You?

I'm back from Costa Rica with another New England Journal of Medicine challenge for you.This patient is an immigrant from Pakistan. These lesions are not pruritic (itchy) or hypoesthetic (decreased sensation). What is the diagnosis? Click on the image for a better view. The answer will be posted tomorrow.1. Granuloma annulare2. Scrofula3. Leprosy4. Pityriasis rosea5. Tinea Corporis (

A Little Time Off

The family and I will be taking a little trip so I'll not be posting EverythingHealth for about a week. Please click on some of the links to the right for a great potpourri of the medical blogs (and other favorites). Can you guess where we are going? (No it's not Hawaii)

Blue Cross-Outrageous Behavior

Blue Cross Insurance has now sunk to a new low. They have written letters to their "preferred providers" (I resigned from being 'preferred' years ago!) asking them to inform on patients who had preexisting conditions so they could rescind a patient's health care coverage.The insurer is sending letters to doctors with the patient's insurance application, asking doctors to tell them immediately if

Todays Chuckle - Cheap HMO

Thanks to MichaelClark for our joke of the day. How do you tell you have a Cheap HMO?The Top 10 Signs You've Joined a Cheap HMO 10. Annual breast exam conducted at Hooters.9. Directions to your doctor's office include, "take a left when you enter the trailer park."8. Tongue depressors taste faintly of Fudgesicle.7. Only proctologist in the plan is "Gus" from Roto-Rooter.6. Only item listed

One Year of Blogging

It was about a year ago that I became a blogoholic and started EverythingHealth. I've learned there are three different types of blogs. Anonymous bloggers that can say just about anything and rant and rave in an interesting fashion, companies or commercial blogs and blogs like mine that are transparent (you know who I am) and just want to express a point of view. Because I do a medical

Sweet Soft Drinks, Fructose Linked to Gout

The British Journal of Medicine reported on a 12 year study that showed sugar-sweetened soft drinks and fructose increased the incidence of gout.Gout is the most common arthritis in men and its prevalence has doubled in the United States within the past few decades. Coincidentally, that is the same period in which fructose sweetened soft drinks represent the largest single source of calories in

Answer-Medical Quiz #6

The answer is (drumroll....) #2 Pearly Penile papules. These are multiple tiny smooth, skin colored bumps that surround the coronal sulcus of the glans penis. They are completely benign and of no concern. Lots of smart people out there!!!

Medical Quiz #6

Here is our latest medical challenge and it is very common. What is the diagnosis? Click on the image for a better view and check back tomorrow for the answer: 1. Molluscum contagiosum2. Pearly penile papules3. Secondary syphilis4. Obstruction of smegma-producing gland5. Condyloma accuminatum

Lack of Primary Care Will Derail Reform

Health care reform is dead in the water unless we fix what is going on with primary care medicine in this country.Let's just play this out. We have about 47 million uninsured folks in the U.S. There aren't too many people who disagree with the need for universal coverage for all Americans. (How we pay for it is another topic... but expanding coverage is just good policy). At the same time as

Seven Medical Myths

I love the British Medical Journal because it is filled with wit and just good interesting stuff. Those Brits know how to keep it real! The December issue addressed medical myths that we've all heard for so long that everyone believes they are true. They chose seven to research and found no evidence to support them:1. People should drink 8 glasses of water a day. They found that most people

Answer - Medical Quiz #5

The answer to the tongue lesion image below is #1- herpetic glositis. A severe herpes virus infection can inflame the entire oral cavity and cause multiple lesions on the tongue, lips and oral mucosa.

Medical Quiz 2008 - #5

Here we go again with another medical challenge. What is the diagnosis for this condition?Click on the image for a better view. The answer will be posted tomorrow. 1. Herpetic glossitis2. Apthous ulceration3. Pemphigoid4. Scurvy5. Oral candidiasis