Infection
Beijing Trots And Other Travel Hazards In 2008?
How many people will travel to China for the Olympics this summer or elsewhere on this planet? I don't know. But I do know many will raise this silent prayer to the Almighty, "Please, above all other worldly goods, grant me a bathroom". Desperately needing a toilet is as close to panic as it gets when one isn't available. But toilets can be the least of your worries if you fail to take other precautions when travelling. To get an update on medical problems facing travellers I interviewed Dr. Jay Keystone, Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and Director of Medisys Travel Clinic in Toronto. He is emphatic that long before you pack your bag it's prudent to obtain...Read More
Infection
The Hazards Of A Well-Made Bed – Dust Mites
What do you sleep on? Of course, the normal reply is the mattress. But few people realize they're also resting on millions of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinuscan (dust mites). So what are these crawly creatures doing in your bed and how can you decrease the risk of their intrusion? And you had better think twice before you makie the bed. Dust mites are related to spiders and will never win a beauty contest. They're ugly, menacing, micrsoscopic in size, have eight legs and you can put either 1,000 mites or 250,000 of their fecal pellets in half a teaspoon. Dust mites accumulate in rugs, fabrics, and furniture. But they prefer our warm beds, pillows and blankets where they live along with vast amounts of...Read More
Infection
A Revolutionary Way To Prevent Cold Sores
Do you want to avoid that ugly cold sore (herpes labialis) before it even starts? Few people who feel that dreaded tingle and know an attack is imminent, would pass up that chance. Now, a new therapy called "InterceptCS" employs a revolutionary technique, "Thermal Defense Technology", that prevents cold sore outbreaks. Herpes labialis is caused by the herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1). Today about 80 percent of North Americans are infected with this common virus which starts early in life but lasts a lifetime. The first attack strikes between six months and 14 years of age when the virus enters the body through tiny cracks in the skin. But after the initial attack HSV-1 travels along sensory fibers to the facial and cranial...Read More
Infection
How To Improve Your Immunity
A reader asks "Please write about natural ways to strengthen the immune system. I want to avoid taking the flu vaccine" This is a good question because every year 40,000 North Americans die during the flu season and thousands more hospitalized. So what steps will strengthen your immunity and insure you'll be around another day? And what has an accidental discovery by an insurance company to do with immunity? Boosting the immune system is more complicated than lowering blood cholesterol or building muscles. After all, germs are everywhere and it's hard to escape them. Besides, they're not all on the toilet seat. Dr. Charles Gerber, a leading microbiologist at the University of Arizona, says the toilet seat contains a mere 49 germs...Read More
Infection
New “Sahara Desert” Drug Cures Head Lice
Why am I scratching my head? It's because I'm writing about head lice and even the thought of having this crawly beast, "Pediculosis capitis", in my hair triggers this reaction. It also makes me understand the traumatic, emotional and embarrassed reaction of parents (and child) when they're told, "Sarah (or Johnnie) has head lice." Now that school has started, over a million parents in this country will hear this news. Fortunately, a new "Sahara Desert" treatment rids families of this common pest. One child in 10 will contact lice by grade six and many myths surround this parasite. Lice do not transmit communicable diseases. They can't jump or fly as they don't have wings. Short hair does not protect children from...Read More
Infection
Course “101”: Treating and Preventing Colds
"How do you treat a cold?" Sir William Osler was once asked by a colleague. He was one of this country's greatest physicians. "I tell them to go to bed, hang their hat on the bedpost, start drinking whiskey and stop when they see two hats", he replied. This facetious remark had some merit years ago. But today there's less chance of a hangover and greater chance of relief if you use a more modern therapy. It's hard to escape the cold virus. Consider the number of times a friend blew his nose, then had no hesitation in shaking your hand. Every day we also touch door handles, telephones and other objects infected with the virus. And studies show the virus...Read More
Infection
How NHL Players And Olympic Athletes Fight Colds
How would you like to be a NHL hockey player, reach the Stanley Cup playoffs, then suddenly develop a severe cold? Or train for the Olympics and then be knocked out of competition by a cold? It's a fear that never leaves athletes. Now Canadian scientists have finally developed a pill that fights this common problem. In fact, and this is hard to believe, Cold-fX is even good enough to make Don Cherry, hockey's outspoken personality, a believer! Don Cherry, whom we either love or hate during NHL intermission crossfire with Ron Maclean, told me that as a young boy he suffered from bronchial asthma and every winter had several colds. The colds continued during his hockey career. Later, when he...Read More
Gastroenterology, Infection
Travelling Without Montezuma’s Revenge – Dukoral
Friends frequently ask me, "What antibiotics and other drugs are you taking with you for Montezuma's Revenge when you travel to foreign countries?" They are surprised when I tell them I don't carry any medication. I add that recently I visited Egypt and cruised up the Nile River to the Aswan dam without packing any medication. My son and I didn't lose one minute from an attack of travellers' diarrhea during the trip. Was this just luck, or did I have a secret weapon to counter this terror-inducing disorder? On some other trips I've lifted my eyes to Heaven and prayed, "Dear Lord, above all other worldly benefits please quickly grant me the sight of a bathroom". I'm sure other travellers...Read More
Infection, Nutrition
Picky Eaters: The Terror Of Being Invited To Dinner
What's the worst fear for some people? It's not standing before a crowd and giving a major speech. Nor is it the apprehension of being crushed in a crowded elevator or flying. It's the terror of being invited to dinner at a friend's home. A report in the Washington Post outlines the overwhelming fears of picky eaters. Billy Shore is founder and chief executive of the anti-hunger charity Share Our Strength in Washington. So surely he has no hang-ups about food. But that's not the case. Shore hates the "taste and texture" of all vegetables except spinach and corn on the cob. So how picky can you get? The next time you're at a dinner party do a little detective work and...Read More
Genitourinary, Gynecology, Infection
A Condom In The Mail? – Chlamydia
"What a unique way to get attention" I thought as I opened the morning's mail. What usually arrives on my desk is a host of medical reports. So I was surprised when two condoms fell out of one envelope. I wondered what was expected of me at 10:00am? And have I since put these condoms to good use? Eventually I discovered that Toronto Public Health had initiated a communication campaign for doctors to alert young people to the dangers of sexually transmitted infections (STI), particularly chlamydia. To see the whole campaign visit www.gettested.ca The package also contained informative posters about STI for examining rooms and an offer to doctors of a free supply of condoms for patients. It was hoped this would...Read More
Infection
0157:H7 Is Not the Number Of A Car License
"I'd prefer to have the red snapper without the spinach" my wife said to the waiter. Like many people she was concerned about the recent outbreak of infection resulting from contaminated California spinach. But if you think the "all-clear" has been given to eat spinach and other greens, you had better think again. Bacteria such as E.Coli 0157:H7 always win when you toss caution to the wind. And can organic foods protect you from this disease as some believe? This recent outbreak of E. Coli 0157:H7 is not the first. The bacterium was first identified in 1982 when some people ate uncooked beef. The spinach implicated in the current outbreak was grown in three California counties, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara....Read More
Infection
What’s So Important About “5,230” ?
"Yes, we will start publishing your column on October 9, 1975". Clark Davey, managing editor of The Globe and Mail added, "You realize your life will never be the same again". How true. Now 30 years later I've written a column 52 weeks a year for a total of 5,230 articles. But what an experience and one I would not have missed. But have I learned anything" First of all I've become more skeptical of some medical procedures and drugs. I realize some medication is life-saving, but more and more we hear about drug reactions. I believe you could toss most medication in the ocean and so much the better for humans, so much the worse for the fish. I wonder...Read More
Infection
This Fall Think About Lyme Disease
Do you believe you must be in an infected area to get Lyme disease? If you do, think again. A 10 year study reports that you can catch this malady in your own backyard. And since spring and fall are prime times for this disease, being forewarned is forearmed. Particularly since a bite of the deer tick can have far-reaching health consequences. Lyme disease was first suspected in North America in 1975. In Lyme, Connecticut an unusual number of children were developing what was initially thought to be juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. So a team of scientists from Yale University were sent to study this cluster of patients. These children all exhibited a "bull's-eye" rash. In addition, they also suffered from muscular,...Read More
Infection
Pleasures and Dangers Of Hot Tub Baths
Have you just checked into a hotel, gone to the health club in dire need of relaxation? So now you're sitting in a hot tub and the world looks a lot better? Unfortunately, you should know there are pleasures and hazards to most things in life and hot tubs are no exception. One of the hazards is "Hot Tub Lung" (HTB) infection and you may want to think again. Perhaps as you were reaching to turn on the jets you saw this message out of the corner of your eye, "Persons suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or other health problems should not enter the spa without prior medical consultation and permission from your doctor". There may also be...Read More
Cancer, Gynecology, Infection, Nutrition, Women's Health
Garadsil – A Vaccine To Prevent Cervical Cancer
Some patients you never forget. Years ago, a young talented pianist after years of dedicated study, was scheduled to give her first piano recital in Toronto. For months she noticed vaginal discharge and did nothing. Finally, due to abnormal bleeding she consulted me. Pelvic examination revealed an extensive cancer of the cervix. She died a few months later and never gave her recital. Now, a vaccine "Gardasil" will prevent these needless deaths. Worldwide cervical cancer strikes half a million women each year and 250,000 die from this disease. What causes these cancers was unknown for many years. Now, we know that the majority are due to infection with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The Human Papillomavirus is an extremely common virus and there...Read More
Infection
Do You Suffer From “Potty Paranoia?”
A reader from Windsor, Ontario writes, "I'm a frequent traveler and some bathrooms are filthy. Were Mothers right when they said, never sit down on a public toilet seat? If you do, what is the risk of acquiring an infection? Or, I am worrying needlessly?" Many people share this woman's fear of a public toilet seat. One survey showed that 30 per cent of people "hold it" rather than use a public toilet, 40 percent flush the toilet with their feet and 60 percent hover over the seat. Toilet seats won't trigger a worldwide pandemic of infectious disease. But do I ever sit down on a public toilet? The answer, a thundering "no" but then I'm a male! My research reveals it's...Read More
Infection
Go Fast, Fast, Fast To Survive Brain Attack
Why did one person die from a stroke while stroke destined another to spend the rest of life disabled? And why did still another return to a normal life following a life-threatening stroke. The reason is that some people are "stroke smart". They know that speed can often mean the difference between a return to walking, or being confined to a wheelchair for life. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Canada and the U.S. But it's the # one cause of adult disability. Dying is not a good thing, but being severely disabled from stroke may be a worse disaster. Unfortunately, only three percent of stroke victims are treated within the first crucial three hours of attack. There are...Read More
Genitourinary, Gynecology, Infection, Sex
Sexually Transmitted Disease In Middle-Aged Adults
"Do you know where your children are and what they are doing?" is a question that often worries parents. Today sexually transmitted disease (STD) is on the rise in the teenage population. But what about the other side of the coin? A recent report shows that there's also good reason for teenagers to ponder, "Where are my parents tonight and what are they doing?" Studies show that STD rates, particularly chlamydia, are soaring in middle-aged adults. Dr. Colm O'Mahony is a urologist at the Countess of Chester NHS Trust in the U.K. He recently reported to the Women's Health Education and Research Society that now there is now a "second wave" of STDs occurring. The first wave is in the 16 to...Read More
Infection
Should You Sack a Doctor Who Wears a Necktie?
What happens when researchers show patients photos of doctors? Some show physicians dressed casually in open neck shirts. Others in sneakers and jeans. Still others with neckties and wearing a white coat. Then patients were asked, "Which doctor would you prefer?" The experiment showed that time and again patients chose the doctor with the tie and white coat. But is this the right choice? Researchers at New York Medical Center of Queens recently reported these interesting findings about neckties at the meeting of the American Society of Microbiology. The authors of the study revealed that although wearing a necktie and white coat provides patient confidence, it also carries a risk. To prove their point they tested the neckties worn by 42 male...Read More
