Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
To Hear Or Not To Hear – Cochlear Implant
Why would a deaf person not want to hear? After all, I've never met a blind person who doesn't want to see. Or a paralyzed victim who doesn't want to walk. One would think this matter would be as clear as 2 +2 = 4. But life is never that simple. Some people who are deaf are vehemently opposed to the use of cochlear implants, an electronic device that introduces deaf people to the hearing world. Are they right? Cochlear implant surgery is in effect, another type of bypass surgery. An electrical device is inserted into the ear which allows sound to jump across the diseased part of the organ. But it does not cure deafness. Hearing is present only when...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
Floaters – Simple Test Predicts Health Risk
Some people are prone to see pink elephants now and then for good reason. But others who never misbehave on Saturday night may suddenly start to notice spots, threads or cob-web like structures floating in front of their eyes. A few people find them terribly annoying. Others fret that they may herald the onset of a serious eye problem. Or even end in blindness. What causes these floaters? And when do they indicate an eye emergency has happened? Many people are too embarrassed to admit they see floaters. The admission is more likely to set the stage for a joke than a helpful reply. Yet most people can see floaters, if they look for them, against a clear sky or a...Read More
Genitourinary
Feeling a Little Sexy and Wonder Why? – Natural Viagra
Are you feeling a little sexy lately and have no idea why it's happening? If that's the case you had better check your medicine cabinet. You may be taking a well-known product sildenafil (Viagra) approved for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) without knowing it. How can this happen? Health Canada recently issued an alert to health care professionals about the safety of a herbal product called Hua Fo. Manufacturers claimed it was the "natural" Viagra for men. The suggested dosage, two tablets twice a day. What medical consumers don't know is that each tablet of Hua Fo contains 9.2 milligrams of sildenafil. That means a dosage of 36.8 milligrams of sildenafil a day. The recommended dose of Viagra for ED is from...Read More
Philosophy
Doctors Should Prescribe Marijuana for Those Who Need It
I've been a medical journalist for 27 years. It's made me a terrible skeptic. But for good reason. I've seen too many distortions of the truth in medicine. I've seen too many colleagues sit-on-the-fence rather than take a stand on controversial issues. I've seen too many fight the use of painkillers when they could ease the agony of dying cancer patients. Above all else I've seen too often a complete void of common sense. Now I'm seeing it again, patients who need marijuana to ease their suffering but can't obtain it. In July 2001 the Federal Government legalized the use of marijuana for terminally ill patients. And for patients suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, AIDS, severe forms of...Read More
Genitourinary, Orthopedics
Low Testosterone and Fractured Bones
"What makes men act the way they do?" one annoyed woman asked her friend. She replied, "It's testosterone, stupid." One of the reasons men differ from women is that they produce 10 times more testosterone. But like most things in life "10 times" doesn't last forever. There's mounting evidence that males experience their own menopause (andropause). And that the dwindling of the male hormone has far reaching consequences for males, particularly on bones and sexual drive. During the 3rd World Conference on "The Aging Male" held in Berlin, Germany, I interviewed Dr. Robert Josse, a renowned endocrinologist at the University of Toronto. Professor Josse said, "No one in the past has seriously looked at osteoporosis in men. We used to think that...Read More
Philosophy
95 Percent OK Prescription Farm Work
I recently reported that many women in hostels were spending government cheques on crack cocaine. That they refused to clean their rooms claiming they had "rights". My medical prescription was "farm work for a year" and I applauded Singapore's method of dealing with drug pushers. I asked readers for their opinion. A social worker writes," I've spent 30 years with these problems and nothing has changed about substance abuse. And I've seen the terrible effect of crack-cocaine on babies first hand. There should be harsh penalties starting at the bottom of the drug hierarchy. The top people can't be touched due to smart lawyers." A school-teacher says "I see drugs and welfare rampant in our schools. Time and time again authorities back...Read More
Cardiovascular, Sex
Frequent Sex Good For The Heart
Thank God researchers finally have good news! No dire warnings about the dangers of cholesterol. No alarms bells that we're all headed for Alzheimer's Disease if we live too long. Rather, there's a pleasant way to decrease the risk of dying from the nation's number one killer, heart disease. The prescription, frequent sex. No longer can we say that Europeans pride themselves on active sex lives while the English just take their hot water bottles to bed. After all, this second research study on sex originated in Bristol, England. Shah Abraham, a professor of social medicine at the University of Bristol, is the author of this heartening news. He reports that men who have sexual intercourse at least twice a week...Read More
Lifestyle
Is The Answer A Tax on Fatty Foods?
This week a change of pace. Recently I was questioned by the media about the obesity epidemic. This is what I told them. Media - It's been suggested that a tax on fatty foods would help curb the obesity epidemic. G-J - That's the wrong approach. No one has the Wisdom of Solomon to carry this out. It would be a taxation nightmare. There's fat in so many food products. Where would you draw the line? Media - But today supermarkets do offer a wide variety of packaged foods that are low in fat. G-J - That's true. But when tasty fat is eliminated from foods processors often make up the difference with sugar. You may end up with less fat but more calories. Media...Read More
Genitourinary
Is Circumcision Why We Need Viagra ?
When I researched this column on circumcision my initial reaction was "Wow". I thought the topic would be as easy to write about as rolling off a log but it consumed hours. I hadn't realized the male foreskin had triggered so many medical articles and so much controversy. Now I'm convinced that most families make a decision on circumcision without knowing much about this procedure. The question is, has male circumcision has increased the sale of Viagra? For some families the decision is easy. They believe circumcision should be performed for religious as well as for sound medical reasons. But if that's not the case, what should you do? A good start is a lesson on anatomy and its sexual implications. First,...Read More
Pain
New treatment For Tennis Elbow and Painful Heel
"Why has God done this to me?” a patient asked several months ago. She had developed tennis elbow and had been forced to stop playing her favourite sport. But to make matters worse she had also developed plantar fasciitis, commonly known as painful heel. And she having difficulty walking. But she learned that God hadn’t totally deserted her. Due to a new treatment she’s now back playing tennis and walking without pain. Tennis doesn’t rival skiing down the Alps to head the list of sports causing serious injuries. But it’s estimated that eight million North Americans suffer from tennis elbow. Another seven million from painful heel. And doctors have needed the wisdom of Solomon plus a little...Read More
Alcohol
Why I’m Not A Teetotaler
What’s the first thing I do after seeing patients all day? I take a 20 minute walk home, greet my wife, open up the bar and enjoy a drink while watching the evening news. Some evenings a glass of wine with dinner. There are 10 reasons why I consider this a healthy habit. One – I enjoy life and want to live longer. The American Cancer Society recently studied the drinking habits of 500,000 Americans. They found that one alcoholic drink a day in middle age decreased the risk of premature death by 20 percent. Two – Regular consumption of alcohol lowers the risk of heart attack by 30 to 50 percent! Alcohol dilates blood vessels and increases high density lipoprotein, (HDL)...Read More
Philosophy, Psychiatry
Can You Pass This Test?
I've often wondered who the most interesting person was of all those I've interviewed over the last 27 years? It's a tough decision. After all, how do you eliminate a two-time Nobel Prize winner like Linus Pauling? Or the discoverer of the Aids virus? Or The Queen of England's personal physician. But in these recent black days my mind has returned repeatedly to Dr. Thomas Hackett, a professor of psychiatry at The Harvard Medical School. In these post-Bin Laden times, see if you flunk or pass this quiz. We all have various hobbies. But I would have liked to have accompanied Dr. Hackett as he relentlessly pursued his interest year after year. His passion? Tracking down World War I fighter pilots. Why...Read More
Orthopedics
New Treatment For Tennis Elbow and Painful Heel
"Why has God done this to me?" a patient asked several months ago. She had developed tennis elbow and had been forced to stop playing her favourite sport. But to make matters worse she had also developed plantar fasciitis, commonly known as painful heel. And she having difficulty walking. But she learned that God hadn't totally deserted her. Due to a new treatment she's now back playing tennis and walking without pain. Tennis doesn't rival skiing down the Alps to head the list of sports causing serious injuries. But it's estimated that eight million North Americans suffer from tennis elbow. Another seven million from painful heel. And doctors have needed the wisdom of Solomon plus a little luck to ease the...Read More
Dermatology, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat, Psychiatry
The Dangers of Tongue Piercing
Why in the name of Heaven do they do it? And the locations? One of the first rings I encountered in my office was in the belly button. The next one in a very intimate part of the female anatomy. That's the one that made my white hair stand on end. Then others began to appear in the lips, cheeks, nose and tongue. Now several reports indicate that placing a ring in the tongue can trigger life-threatening complications. Drs. Richard Martinet and Elizabeth Cooney are infectious disease specialists at Yale University. They recently reported on one 22-year-old woman who got more than she bargained for after tongue piercing. Following the procedure she developed pain and a foul discharge at the site of...Read More
Archive, Surgery
“Critical Mass” Is The Name of the Game In Surgery
Suppose you need a radical cancer operation. Or angioplasty to remove a blockage in coronary arteries. Or a coronary bypass operation. Who should perform these procedures? Where should they be done? These are questions that patients and families of an aging population are asking more often. The answers may mean the difference between life and death. One component of the answer is "Critical Mass". Or, put another way, the old dictum is still true, "Practice makes perfect." Whether you're a plumber or a surgeon the more work you do the better the results. Dr. James Hollis, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, stressed this point at a meeting of the American Heart Association. Patients, he said, were more...Read More
Archive
Bad Boys Have Big Balls
How do you know if your male partner is cheating on you? Some women look for evidence of lipstick on the collar. Or suspect a clandestine affair when he returns home at 1:00 AM night after night. Still others hire a detective at great expense to follow their partner week after week looking for proof of infidelity. But now there's a unique and inexpensive way to assess promiscuity. All you have to do is buy a pair of plastic callipers. Then at the right moment you make your move. He'll be in for the surprise of his life when you say, "Darling tonight I want to measure your testicle?" Dr. Robin Baker is an evolutionary biologist and popular science author. He recently...Read More
Archive
Beware of Flatus this Christmas
Why would anyone spend time studying rectal flatus? After all, hell would have to freeze over before this research would win the Nobel Prize in Medicine. But it is rather refreshing, if you will pardon the pun, to learn that a researcher is investigating this malodorous human problem. So none of us should turn up our nose at this unique study. Or get careless at a Christmas party. Dr. Albert Tangerman is a Dutch gastroenterologist at the University Hospital Nijmegen. He must also be a super salesman who could sell refrigerators to the Inuit! Dr. Tangerman persuaded six adults to collect their flatus. I must admit I would have relished being a fly on the wall watching this experiment. The subjects were asked...Read More
Archive
It’s time to give thanks for medical advances
IN 1842, DR. WILLIAM Ferguson, a young, ambitious surgeon at King's College Hospital in London operated on eight patients, each suffering from a strangulated hernia. One patient, in preparation for surgery, had been strapped to an operating table. Opiates helped to dull the man's senses to a slight degree, but as the surgeon's scalpel cut into flesh, terrible screams reverberated throughout the hospital. Like most patients in those days, he finally fainted. The operation was successful, but when he awakened he faced yet another life-threatening peril — post-operative infection which was routine then and which few survived. Unlike most surgical patients he recovered, and to show his gratitude asked the doctor to let him become his servant. At this Christmas, 1982, we should all...Read More
Archive
Readers support criticism of refined sugar
What's the verdict? Several months ago I warned people of the dangers of refined white sugar in processed food products. The Canadian Sugar Institute was not amused. It charged that I'd made false, misleading and exaggerated statements about its product. M. W. Davidson, president of the Institute, publicly contested the statements, and sent a formal request to the College of Physicians and Surgeons that I be disciplined. I've since received numerous enquiries about the final verdict. A man from Toronto wrote, "I'm concerned that the CSI would resort to this tactic. Dr. Gifford-Jones should not be disciplined for telling it the way it is. This unwarranted attack indicates his comments hit too close to home. Me thinketh the CSI doth protest...Read More
Archive
Statements about sugar rile industry spokesman
One of the world's most powerful industries says I should be punished for misleading you. The president of the Canadian Sugar Institute, M. W. Davidson, has sent a letter to the Ontario College of Physicians and surgeons. As a representative of the sugar industry he charges that I've made "exaggerated, misleading and even false statements about sugar," that I'm "misinforming Canadians," that I have "a disregard for fact in a quest for headlines" and that I should be disciplined by the College. Why is the sugar institute annoyed? They say there's no verification of 10 miIlion sugar-induced diabetics in North America or that sugar per se causes obesity. And that Canadians do not consume 130 pounds of sugar a year. Who is...Read More
Archive
Canadian diets need more fiber foods
Last week I told you that I had taken a calculated guess when I bluntly asked Mrs. Gifford-Jones if she was trying to do me in. Why had I taken such a gamble? Because I had examined my own household to see if we were practising preventive medicine. My findings owed that some dietary habits needed a change. The research was the simple task. But how could I convey the delicate message to Mrs. G-J? At the least provocation Mrs. G-J will happily abandon the kitchen. And I'd be left wearing the apron. I decided that the best approach was to appeal to her logical mind. Did she know that appendicitis, varicose veins, hemorrhoids and constipation were extremely rare in rural Africa? That diverticulosis...Read More
Sex
What You Should Know about Teenage Sex
Mr. D. H. of Winnipeg writes, “I am a Gifford-Jones fan because I like your practical approach to medical problems. I particularly enjoyed your article in which you advised there's no need to hang from a chandelier to have satisfactory sex. I hope you will write more columns on this universal subject. I would be interested to know your thoughts on teenage sex.” Another reader Mrs. H. N. of Windsor writes, “My daughter says that most of her high school friends are no longer virgins. Recently one of them became pregnant. Would you do a column on teenage sex and how parents can cope with this matter?” Many letters are sent to me about sexual problems of all kinds. A large percent...Read More
Archive
Many questions raised about Swine Flu
Last week I talked about the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918. It killed 21 million people in 11 months, more than twice as many as died in years of war. The problem is will it happen again? Even if it does, there are many questions to answer. Will it be as lethal a disease with the availability of present day antibiotics? Will it be the swine flu virus that causes the influenza? Could the vaccine be worse than the disease for some people? In essence, should Canadians run for the woods or roll up their sleeves for the shot? The current fear of Swine Flu stems from a happening at Fort Dix in New Jersey in January 1976. Several healthy recruits...Read More
Archive
You should know about Swine Flu vaccine
Most Canadians are in a no-man's land state of mind about the Swine Flu vaccine. Some patients quickly say they don't believe in flu shots. Others conclude they don't want to risk having a reaction from the vaccine. Still others say that they will ask their doctor what to do. If they follow this latter course. I wish them luck. Doctors I've asked seem as non-plussed about whether or not they would take the vaccine as patients. One surgeon thought it might interfere with his operating for a day or two. Many were undecided on the issue. A few thought they would wait until an epidemic seemed more likely before they rolled up their sleeves. And a couple had a novel...Read More
Archive, Medicine
Consumers Beware
Is it possible to believe what the doctor tells them? Or are there too many "Water-gate-type physicians" around, who too frequently lead patients up the primrose path? It is a question more and more North Americans are asking these days and ending up with incomplete answers. A few people still have implicit, faith in the medical profession. Just look at their track record. Antibiotics save untold thousands from dying of pneumonia and a host of other diseases. Cortisone enables other thousands to be free of wheelchairs. Cardiac pacemakers add years to the lives of heart patients. Surgeons are transplanting hearts and kidneys. But others feel doctors have fallen from their exalted perch, that you simply can't and shouldn't believe them. How much truth...Read More
