Summertime & SUNBURNS: Just Say NO

Happy June 1st! With summer here, it’s time for my annual post on SUNSCREENS. Remember that “base tans” are a medical myth- no pre-tanning helps prevent sunburns. Period. As for sunscreens- which one is the best? Sprays are so fast and convenient- but do they work? Which ingredients matter?

Let’s start with SPF. What does it mean? Sun Protection Factor is a measure of a sunscreen’s ability to protect the wearer against UV radiation from UVB. Note that the sun produces both UVA and UVB, and BOTH cause damage that can lead to skin cancers. Right now, though, … Read more

A Doctor’s Travel First Aid Kit

Packing up for your summer vacation? If you are driving and have the luxury of a bit of extra space, you may want to consider packing a first aid kit to take with your family. If you already keep one in your car (hello, fellow soccer/dance/volleyball moms!) then let this be your reminder to pull that kit out of your car, CHECK EXPIRATION DATES, and replenish all your used up supplies.

What’s in my kit? A handful of medicines have earned their way into my ever-ready first aid kit. Here is my top 10 list:

  1. Ibuprofen- for headaches, muscle aches,
… Read more

Relief for Allergies!

Rainy days in May mean high mold counts on the Austin allergy scale. A nonstop sneezing reaction of my own has prompted me to blog about some belated good news for allergy suffers. Late last fall (October 2013), the FDA approved the first OTC nasal steroid for seasonal allergies- Nasocort AQ…and there was much rejoicing! I have maintained for years that I wished the nasal steroid sprays would have gone over the counter before the non-sedating antihistamines (like Zyrtec, Claritin & Allegra) primarily because the nose sprays have far fewer side effects.

People frequently initially cringe when I suggest a … Read more

Can Healthy Lungs “Collapse”?

My last blog entry talked about costochondritis, a common frustrating but benign cause of chest pain in young people. Today I would like to talk about a much less common but potentially far more serious cause of chest pain in young adults- pneumothorax, more commonly known as a “collapsed lung”. If images of television’s Dr. McDreamy dramatically inserting a chest tube into an ER patient pop up in your head, please keep in mind that this medical issue only occurs in just over 1 in 100,000 people in the United States per year. In my private clinical practice, I saw … Read more

Chest Pain in a Teen or Twenty-Something?

In otherwise healthy young adults, chest pain is rarely a serious medical problem. The vast majority of the time, chest pain is coming from the chest WALL, not the heart- which is typically the concern of the patient or his/her family. This chest wall pain is medically labeled as “costochondritis.” We see this more in young females than males, most often between the ages of 20 and 40 years, though younger teenagers may have this as well.

What causes costochondritis?

Sometimes the cause is obvious, such as a new weight lifting regimen or workout routine, or perhaps after a lingering … Read more

Is This Strep Throat?

Are you worried you might have “strep throat”? How can you tell when it is time to head to your family doctor for a sore throat? Certainly the majority of sore throats are not caused by the streptococcus bacteria, and do not require antibiotics. In fact, seasonal allergies often cause extremely painful throats, but do not involve bacterial infection at all. While there is very little in medicine that is completely black and white, there are several clues to clinicians that a particular sore throat may be caused by strep (and therefore, respond quickly to antibiotics.)

Typically with strep infections, … Read more

Painful Ankles…to X-Ray or NOT?

This month I am talking a bit about bone fractures and x-rays. As we try to “do no harm” in medicine, leading physician groups have been taking a closer look at procedures that have become automatic, and determine whether or not they are medically necessary- do they IMPROVE outcomes? One such procedure involves imaging ankle injuries. Both clinicians and patients often expect that a painful joint needs an x-ray as part of a thorough evaluation. When SHOULD we order an x-ray for a painful ankle? Current evidence suggests the answer to that question- at least for adults- lies in the … Read more

Do I Need an X-Ray?

When you hurt your back (or ankle, or wrist) and head to the doctor, should you expect an x-ray? In my last post, I mentioned that the only way to be certain whether or not a bone is broken is with imaging, and that is true. However, not every painful joint NEEDS to be x-rayed. I find that many patients are surprised or disappointed if I do not insist on an x-ray for an acute injury, but they are simply not always necessary, and radiation is not without harm.

XRAYS look at bones. They do not “see” cartilage, muscles, tendons … Read more

Spring Break: Alcohol 411

Spring Break is nearly here, and students everywhere are gearing up for a week-long party. Alcohol is often a large part of these festivities, so I think this is a great time to review some facts about alcohol dangers. In recent years, studies show that about a third of college students admit to binge drinking (consuming 5 or more drinks in a row.) The good news is that this number is down over 15% from over the last two decades, and actually, drinking trends in ALL categories are decreasing- whether the measurement is annual consumption, monthly, weekly or number of … Read more

“Don’t Let the Frostbite BITE”

Who doesn’t love FROZEN? Our family can’t stop singing the award-winning songs from Disney’s latest musical hit, so I couldn’t resist borrowing a line for my blog title today…However, frostbite is no laughing matter, and with the record low temperatures we have had this year, I thought I should say a few words about this cold weather danger.

What is frostbite?

Frostbite occurs when ice crystals literally form within the tissue in our fingers and toes and noses, damaging and often completely destroying the cells in the skin. Frostbite shows up when it the thermometer reads in the negative in … Read more