Health information

QUESTION: I know doctors use telescopes to look into your bowels and stomach.
However my problem lies within my lungs, and my doctor has suggested the same
procedure looking into my lungs
Can that be done?

ANSWER: Those aren’t telescopes, those are endoscopes, and yes, there is a
special endoscope for looking into the throat and lungs
A bronchial
endoscope, or bronchoscope, uses optical fibers to view the lungs, the throat,
the voice box, and the windpipe
It can also remove foreign objects or take a
small sample of tissue for analysis.
You can undergo bronchoscopy either as a hospital patient or as an
outpatient
Before the test, you’ll be given a medication to relax you and to
reduce secretions in your lungs
While you lie on a table, your doctor will
spray your nose and throat with a local anesthetic and insert the tube through
either your nose or mouth
Breathe slowly and try not to cough
Although
your throat will feel full, you will still be able to breath around the
bronchoscope.
The test will provide your physician with a great deal of very important
information about your lungs which can be important in establishing the
correct therapy for your condition.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Paxil
Our price: $1.82
Paxil (Paroxetine) is an anti-depressant drug.

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QUESTION: I greatly appreciate the convenience that a microwave oven can
provide a homemaker
However, where my baby is concerned, I am a fanatic
about details, and so want to know if is it all right to heat a baby bottle in
the microwave?

ANSWER: To properly respond to your question, I must use “Yes and No” as my
answer
Using a microwave to heat a baby bottle or baby food doesn’t make the
food dangerous nor does it destroy any nutrients in the food (or at least no
more than heating on a stove would)
The hazard in using a microwave comes
from the fact that the food gets hot but the container often stays cool to the
touch
If you take what feels like a comfortably warm bottle out of the
microwave, you may not realize that the milk inside may be near boiling unless
you test it.
There have been several incidents where small children have scalded their
mouth and face with hot liquids right out of the microwave
In some cases,
the extremely hot liquid causes internal burns, as well
In these situations,
the container was not as hot as the liquid and the child didn’t feel the heat
until too late.
“Yes”, you can use a microwave to heat a baby bottle, but “No,” unless
you use caution and test the heat of the contents of the bottle yourself
Try
sprinkling a few drops on your wrist, just to be sure
In similar fashion,
keep small children away from microwaved foods until you check to see that
they are the right temperature for safe eating.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Parlodel
Our price: $2.2
Parlodel (Bromocriptine) is used to treat persistent breast milk production, lack of a menstrual period, infertility, and other conditions associated with high prolactin levels.

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QUESTION: With everyone on the band wagon, my question may seem naive, but I
hope you will give it the attention I believe it deserves
Does breast cancer
screening really reduce deaths?

ANSWER: You bet
It is a lifesaver
Since breast cancer can be treated most
successfully at its early stages with a high chance of cure, any method of
early detection is bound to reduce deaths.
Proof of this comes from a one study (and there are others) of more than
8,000 women who were screened and followed for more than 10 years
One out of
every seven women who had biopsies was found to have cancer, and about 10%
with cancer died from the disease for an overall survival rate of better than
90%.

Age and tumor size seem to be important factors in survival
If you are
under 50 years the survival rate is 84%, but if over 50 years the survival
rate jumps to almost 95%, according to this study.

Tumors 1 cm in diameter or smaller are less deadly than large ones
The
highest survival rate of almost 97% was in women whose tumors could not be
felt at all but showed up on mammography.

Older women also had a higher survival rate in cancers detected by
mammography alone (no biopsy)
All of the 45 older women in this group were
alive after 10 years compared to 88% of the younger women.

These findings are not related to the type of treatment or to the skill
of the physicians
They simply reflect the results of routine screening, and
point out just how important it is in saving lives
I can’t think of a better
bandwagon to jump on than this one, because breast screening really saves
lives.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Tentex forte
Our price: $8.25
Tentex Forte is a unique all-natural complex multi-ingredient formula that is a safe non-hormonal, sex stimulant.

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QUESTION: It would seem from all the people who I know that have had it that
heart bypass surgery is becoming a common procedure
Is it an operation that
everyone with diseased heart arteries should have?

ANSWER: I have a fairly direct answer to this question and it is a resounding
“No”
When you have coronary artery disease, your heart’s arteries are
obstructed, or clogged
This condition can be present in varying degrees of
severity, and in a portion of one or in all of the heart’s arteries
When a
bypass is performed, the diseased artery is “bypassed” with a “new” artery,
usually an artificial graft or possibly one fashioned from a section of a
vein removed from the leg.
There are also other ways to treat coronary artery disease
Some are
medical therapies and there are other surgical procedures besides bypass
The
only way to know the exact nature of coronary artery disease and the best way
to treat it is by using a diagnostic procedure called “angiography”
This
allows the doctor to take a type of x-ray picture that shows the actual state
of the arteries that carry blood to the heart, and discover if any of them are
partially or totally blocked
Everyone with chest pain does not necessarily
require this procedure, so your doctor will be evaluating your total situation
before he asks you to have one done.
However, once the procedure has been performed, a specific diagnosis can
be made about your condition which will determine whether surgery might be the
best course for you to take
Since bypass surgery was introduced in 1968, it
has been studied by many different researchers in many different settings.
Coronary artery disease is very complex, and we do not know all about it that
we need to know
However, the National Institutes of Health in 1985
recommended some guidelines to help physicians evaluate those circumstances
which will benefit most from bypass surgery
Among those diagnoses that
warrant bypass surgery are uncontrollable chest pain with severe heart artery
obstruction and greater than 50% obstruction of left main coronary artery.
One of the diagnoses that was listed as a debatable cause for bypass surgery
is the obstruction of all three of the main heart vessels, if the heart is
still functioning well, where medical treatment may offer satisfactory
results.
There is usually sufficient time before making a decision about heart
surgery for you to become well informed about your need for it, as well as the
risks and the chances for the outcome you are hoping for.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Levitra
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Levitra (Vardenafil) is an oral therapy for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Having the long-lasting effect of 25 hours, and the start time of 25 min, Levitra represents an uncontested advantage in comparison to Viagra.

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QUESTION: There is a lot of discussion at our plant that concerns the amount
of risk we run of developing cancer from exposure to all the things found in
the workplace
Is there any way you can figure out your chances of developing
cancer at work?

ANSWER: It’s a tough call
There are many factors that go into determining
whether an individual has developed a cancer because of exposure to
carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals or substances) on the job
Some cancers
may not show up until 20 years or more after exposure and may be linked to
many different causative factors, such as smoking
Other types of cancers are
rare and are strongly linked to specific carcinogens.
Smoking, the leading cause of cancer in the United States, also appears
to amplify the risks of other carcinogens, especially those like asbestos that
cause lung cancer
A smoker exposed to asbestos runs a much greater risk of
lung cancer than someone who only smokes or who only was exposed to asbestos.
Different carcinogens also vary greatly in how great a risk they pose.
For example, asbestos is well known to be carcinogenic, but wood dust also
causes cancer in a small percentage of people who inhale it for many years
A
worker may be exposed to many different chemicals over the years, and, of
course, might smoke, which clouds the picture.
The first thing your physician would do if occupational induced cancer is
suspected is to take a most careful history, asking many questions about every
place you worked and every substance you worked with and around
Then he or
she must compare the type of cancer you have with any known carcinogens you
were exposed to, looking for a link.
Even after a complete examination and study, and with all the currently
available tests, it is often difficult to obtain a precise answer to your
question.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Monoket
Our price: $0.35
Monoket (Isosorbide-5-Mononitrate) is used for preventing symptoms of angina(chest pain).

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QUESTION: Is there any truth to the idea that caffeine in large doses can
improve athletic performance?

ANSWER: As a stimulant, caffeine is a double-edged sword that may enhance
your performance in endurance activities (long distance events) but poses
greater health risks that far outweigh any slight performance benefits.
Hence, it is banned by the International Olympic Committee if present in the
urine by more than 15 mu_g/ml
It does not significantly improve performance
for maximal short-term exercise bouts.
Caffeine supposedly assists in endurance events by stimulating the
central nervous system (increasing alertness), increasing the breakdown of
fatty acids (instead of muscle glycogen for energy), and increasing muscle
contraction
Meanwhile, caffeine also masks fatigue, an important warning
sign, which may fool athletes into thinking they are performing better
But
for the body, it’s a different story.
Headaches, tremors, nervousness, increased urine production and heart
beat irregularities are harmful effects of caffeine used even in the 200 to
500 mg range
And these dangers increase in severity as the dosage is
increased
Even die-hard endurance athletes would admit that such
caffeine-induced symptoms as increased urine production, irritability, dry
mouth, ringing in the ears, impaired sense of touch, increased muscle pain,
headache and heart beat disturbances probably cancel out any supposed
advantages towards increased endurance performance.
In medicine, much as in life, there always seems to be a price that must
be paid for every desired effect
Sometimes, the advantage is just not worth
the cost.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Celexa
Our price: $0.7
Celexa (Citalopram) is used for treating depression.

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QUESTION: In the last three years, I have lost two brothers and a sister to
one form of cancer or another
Although I am not sure, I believe my father
died from cancer as a young man
It looks like the odds are stacking up
against me if cancer is an inherited disease
Is it?

ANSWER: It appears likely according to some research
However, don’t panic
and live the rest of your life constantly fearful that you are going to
develop cancer
A great deal of scientific progress is being made these days
in preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer.
In your case, one of the most important things that you can do is to see
your doctor one that you trust and can talk with easily regularly.
Your physician will discuss your family’s medical history thoroughly
It
is highly important that you tell the doctor all details about your family and
yourself, and that you follow the doctor’s directions PRECISELY.
With knowledge that the possibility of hereditary cancer exists, your
physician can give special attention during regular exams to those organs that
may be most vulnerable
There are several procedures that may be indicated,
such as colonoscopy, that will search out any new growths in your large
intestines (such as polyps), and allow treatment before any cancer can get a
foothold
Though there is some discussion about the value of yearly or
routine physical examinations, they are most important in your case
Good
health should become your byword, with attention to diet and exercise and the
knowledge that your best defense is one that allows for early detection and
treatment
With all these positive steps taken, you probably will live a
longer and healthier life than many of your associates and friends, who are
not as attentive to their health needs.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Evista
Our price: $0.85
Evista (Raloxifene) is used to prevent and treat bone loss (osteoporosis) in women after menopause.

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QUESTION: What is the name of the artery operation to prevent stroke? Is it
safe? There is someone in our family who may be in need of such an operation.

ANSWER: Although I’m not sure from your letter just what information you are
seeking, I suspect you mean a surgical procedure called “carotid
endarterectomy”
I’ll proceed on that assumption and answer your questions,
because I believe many other readers may also be interested
When performed
under optimum conditions, carotid endarterectomy can prevent stroke
Those
conditions include operating on patients that exhibit the traditional symptoms
of ischemia (when there is a lack of oxygen being delivered to the brain
because of obstructed or blocked blood vessels) or impending stroke: partial
paralysis or numbness in the limbs on one side of the body, speech loss, and
partial vision loss
For these patients, carotid endarterectomy is considered
a safe and straightforward procedure
The operation attempts to clean out the
passage of the obstructed vessels, allowing the blood to flow freely towards
the brain.
But for patients who exhibit widespread symptoms, such as overall
paralysis or total vision loss, or for those who exhibit no symptoms at all,
the procedure can be dangerous
At best, under these conditions, there is no
guarantee that the procedure will prevent stroke
At worst, the operation
itself could prompt stroke
In these cases, the physician relies upon the
patient’s past history of stroke and evaluates the possibility of a future
stroke against the potential danger involved in performing the endarterectomy.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Atacand
Our price: $0.65
Atacand (Candesartan) treats high blood pressure and heart failure.

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QUESTION: I am basically a thin person, but have cellulite on my hips and
thighs
Is there anything special I can do to get rid of this? Can you
explain what cellulite is?

ANSWER: Cellulite is really no different from regular fat
It is a word used
to describe the bumpy orange peel appearance of fat that most frequently
appears on women, on their hips, thighs and buttocks
Researchers have
compared fat biopsies taken from people with cellulite deposit areas with fat
taken from people free of cellulite
They found that the fat is essentially
the same
The ripple-like appearance is thought to be the result of the
connective tissue that envelops each fat cell and separates the cells into
compartments
These cells bulge as more fat is stored in them due to weight
gain.
Although some men are afflicted with cellulite, more women develop the
problem because their outer layer of skin is thinner and female areas of fat
are larger and more rounded.
If you are thin, but have patches of cellulite in the common areas, then
it will be tough if not almost impossible to get rid of it
Unfortunately,
fat does not always accumulate evenly over the entire body, but in areas of
high concentrations in some anatomical areas
There is no such thing as spot
reduction, and I advise you against believing any advertisements that promise
such results
In reality, exercise along with a low calorie diet will help
take fat off from all areas of your body, and may be of some help
Exercising
the areas where you have cellulite will tone the underlying muscles, but it
won’t necessarily remove fat from that area of the body.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Accutane (Anti - Acne)
Our price: $1.25
Accutane (Isotretinoin) is used for treating severe acne.

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QUESTION: I am aware of many types of sexually transmitted disease because of
the many articles that now appear on this subject
My question goes a bit
further, for I am concerned with the possibility that one can develop cancer
from viruses which may be transmitted in this way
Is there any way in which
this can happen?

ANSWER: Unfortunately, the answer to this question is “yes”
A papilloma
virus may cause a condition known as Condylomata Acuminata which has been
linked to squamous cell cancer of the cervix in many studies
Genital warts
appear as a growth commonly found on the vulva, under the foreskin or on the
skin of the anal region initially as soft pink or red swellings that rapidly
multiply and take on a cauliflower like appearance
The condylomata virus is
infectious and is transmitted sexually
There is an incubation period of from
1 to 6 months between infection and the appearance of the lesions.
Squamous cell cancer of the cervix is never found in virgins, and is
extremely rare in monogamous relationships
Women who are found to carry the
virus are estimated to have a 1,200 to 2,000 times greater risk of cervical
cancer than women who have never been infected by the virus
There is no
treatment which is totally satisfactory, but the warts can be removed by
application of extreme cold (cryotherapy), electrocauterization, or the
application of podophyllin or trichloroacetic acid
Any woman diagnosed as
carrying the virus should have regular Pap smears and be carefully monitored
for the possibility of cervical cancer.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Tenormin
Our price: $0.25
Tenormin (Atenolol) is prescribed for patients with high blood pressure (hypertension).

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Dilantin
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Dilantin (Phenytoin) is used for treating certain types of seizures.

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