Feb
18
2010
Why is this Flu season different than other flu seasons?
We are all facing two very similar but distinct forms of the Influenza virus this year. First, we have the seasonal Flu or the regular flu. The symptoms of that are similar to any other influenza like virus and not generally indistinguishable from the H1N1 Influenza virus (previously known as the Swine Flu virus). While your physician prefers to be very precise in evaluating each patient for the specific type of illness and virus upon presentation, it is somewhat more complicated this year since the viruses have symptoms that have initial presentations similar to each other. Not to mention all the other winter illnesses that are traditional residents for this cold and flu season time of year. The H1N1 is more dangerous just by the nature of how easily and widely it will spread this year and the number of people who are expected to contract the virus. Even though it is not any more virulent or deadly than any other flu, it is this fear of a pandemic spread that is causing the heightened vigilance by all health care workers.
Why are we so worried about the H1N1 influenza virus? Isn’t it basically the same virus as the seasonal virus?
The significant concern right now by the health care community is based on the fact that H1N1 is a new ...
Posted in: The Flu
Feb
18
2010
So much of what we know about children's health has changed over the last few years. We have seen a dramatic rise in diseases associated with childhood obesity. Much of what we have grown up thinking about obesity focused on adult Medicine. We have had a tendency to not worry about overweight children because we were all led to believe that these children would simply outgrow their baby fat, with no residual health concerns. Most parents still believe their children's excess weight will magically melt away when they get to school.
But with the lack of exercise, no play time or physical education, poor nutrition, and a sedentary lifestyle, children are remaining obese into adulthood. Recent research
has shown the longer a child stays outside the healthy norm (high BMI) for weight, the more likely they will suffer a negative impact on their health from being obese. We
now know the damaging effect of obesity on an individual's health starts sooner rather than later. Your child's diet, habits, level of activity, and family history all are
integral parts of heart health. While we continue to give quite a bit of credit to our family's genetic history, we must include lifestyle and cultural habits as an important
contributor to our family's heart health history. We are not powerless with this history. Whatever the age, we can make a difference in the health of our children's heart.
Heart ...
Posted in: Your Heart
Feb
18
2010
Childhood Type 2 Diabetes is on the rise. This is the type your child has a much higher chance of getting if they are overweight and obese.
Understanding diabetes?
Insulin is the key factor in the diabetes discussion. It is the body's regulator of sugar in the blood. When the insulin in your body stops controlling the sugar
level in your blood and the sugar stays high for extended periods of time then the result is diabetes. High blood sugar level over time has many negative effects on your body.
There are two major types of Diabetes.
Type 1 or insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus, where the body does not make enough insulin and the sugar level in your blood rises and cannot be controlled without giving
the individual insulin, from an outside source.
Type 2 diabetes or insulin resistant diabetes. In this type there is usually enough insulin in the body to start, it is just that the insulin your body makes does not
work as well as it should. Your body becomes resistant to the effects of the insulin that you make. In spite of you making more insulin in response to rising sugar, your
body becomes less sensitive to the insulin effects and sugar levels continue to rise.
What is the difference between how you get each type of diabetes?
You are born with the tendency to develop type 1. There is very little you can do to prevent ...
Posted in: Diabetes
