Health information

QUESTION: A bump inside my eyelid has been diagnosed as a “chalazion”
The
doctor says I may need surgery to get rid of it
Can you please tell me what
this thing is, and where it came from?

ANSWER: Within the human eyelid there exists a stiff plate of dense fibrous
tissue, call the “tarsus,” which helps maintain the shape and form of the lid.
The tarsus contains rows of glands called “meibomian” glands, in which the
chalazion may form
It occurs when the duct of the gland becomes stopped up,
after an inflammation for example
In the beginning there is a slowly growing
swelling of the lid that may look like a stye, because it too is hot and red,
sometimes painful
But after a few days, it becomes painless, but still
continues to grow
In many cases the chalazion may disappear after a few
months on its own
This can be helped along by using hot compresses and local
antibiotic ointments when the bump first appears
However, if after 6 weeks
it is still present, the physician may have to open the chalazion surgically,
and remove its contents with a procedure called incision and curettage, a
relatively minor operation that is performed with local anesthesia, usually in
the doctor’s office.

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.

Nimotop
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Nimotop (Nimodipine) is used to improve symptoms caused by spasms as a result of a brain hemorrhage (ruptured blood vessels).

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QUESTION: My increasing difficulty with breathing has been finally diagnosed
as “congestive heart failure”
Now I face a whole bunch of tests and am
worried that perhaps much of this is unnecessary, and even expensive
Do you
think that a complete workup is needed when the diagnosis is already worked
out?

ANSWER: Not only are your doctor’s tests necessary, they may be critical in
pinpointing your actual condition and saving your life
Congestive heart
failure (CHF) can take either of two forms: a reduced level of cardiac
performance not capable of meeting the needs of your body, or hypertension
resulting from the after effects of a heart attack or chronic salt and water
retention.
Chest radiography standard x-rays can uncover signs of hypertension and
measure the amount of fluid retention taking place in the chest
The size and
silhouette of the heart itself can be studied on the x-rays in order to
diagnose specific types of heart disease.
Echocardiography uses sound waves to analyze the heart’s function,
particularly in cases where the organ is performing poorly
The activity
within the different chambers of the heart can be studied individually,
pinpointing the site of reduced function
The technology allows the doctor to
compare the heart while pumping and at rest to determine its “ejection
fraction,” (which tells how much of the blood in the heart has been pumped out
to the body); with a lower than normal reading indicating that your heart has
become weakened.
Refinements of the craft include two-dimensional echocardiography, in
which the ultrasound beam reveals a cross-section of the heart’s activity, and
doppler echocardiography to learn the blood flow rate
(Previously, a
catheter had to be inserted into the heart to determine these findings).
Based on his or her preliminary findings, your doctor will determine which
tests are appropriate to your situation
While follow-up tests may be called
for to clarify a difficult diagnosis, they serve one purpose: to eliminate
any doubt as to your best course of treatment, and help assure your recovery.

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.

Aristocort
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Aristocort (Triamcinolone) treats severe allergies, skin problems, asthma, arthritis, and other conditions.

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QUESTION: I know we are only getting half the information we need from our
daughter-in-law, but fear that her description of my son’s condition is wrong.
She keeps telling us about cirrhosis, but we fear that she means it is cancer.
Are they the same thing?

ANSWER: I’m sure many individuals have thought of the same question, and the
answer is no
Cirrhosis is a condition of the liver which follows a wide
variety of chronic and progressive liver diseases
The result of these
diseases is to scar the liver so the normal architecture, that is the pattern
of cells within the liver, is disrupted, and although the liver tries to heal
itself by growing new tissue, this tissue too is of an abnormal pattern
In
the United States, it’s alcohol that is the most common cause of cirrhosis,
while chronic hepatitis is the most important cause of cirrhosis in other
countries
In cirrhosis, the liver is large, but as the disease progresses,
the liver may shrink and become smaller than usual
A cirrhotic liver does
not function well, and patients experience symptoms of fatigue, malaise, and
loss of vigor, although these findings can sometimes be associated with other
diseases
As for cancer of the liver, here the pattern and form of the cells
themselves change and take on specific appearances which can be diagnosed
using microscopic techniques
Primary liver cell cancer develops in from 5 to
20% of patients with cirrhosis, although it can also occur in people who have
never had an underlying liver problem
To look at it another way, cirrhosis
is present in from 40 to 80% of all patients who have primary liver cell
cancer, but the two diseases, although occurring in the same individual, are
different
I am sure your daughter-in-law is telling the truth, but in a
manner she hopes will not cause you any extra worry.

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.

Micardis
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Micardis (Telmisartan) is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension).

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QUESTION: I think it is just another scare tactic, but our teacher says that
using cocaine can cause a hole in your nose
Would you please tell us the
truth, and how it could happen if it is so?

ANSWER: What you heard is true
Nasal septal perforation (hole in the wall
of the nose) can be caused by sniffing cocaine or heroin
The condition also
can be due to other causes such as excessive nose-picking, chronic infections
caused by syphilis, tuberculosis, leprosy, or other conditions, and even
excessive use of vasoconstrictor (causing constriction of the blood vessels)
nose sprays.
Frequent sniffing of cocaine produces chronic nasal irritation which
leads to “runny and/or stuffed-up nose,” hardened mucus (and sometimes total
lack of it), difficulties with the sense of smell, and, finally, “holes in the
nose.” The combination of the effects from frequent sniffing of cocaine;
vasoconstriction, nasal crusting and the heavy nose-picking which often
follows crusting, damage the nose until blood virtually stops flowing into it
and the cartilage becomes severely damaged to the point of developing holes.
You can believe your teacher on this one.

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.

Rumalaya
Our price: $29.15
Rumalaya is a unique complex herbal formula that helps maintain healthy joints and reduce morning stiffness.

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QUESTION: My 15 year old son has a whole lot of pimples popping out on his
chest
If I didn’t know better, I would think it could be acne, but believe
they only crop out on the face
What could this rash be?

ANSWER: Acne can cause pimples on the chest and back as well as the face.
Teenaged boys suffer especially from acne “pimples” in that location
But
there are other skin conditions or infections and some medications that can
cause skin outbreaks on the chest.
The best way to find out what you your son has is to see your doctor.
All skin eruptions are best diagnosed when examined directly
Acne pimples
are primarily blackheads (or comedones in medical terminology)
If this
outbreak is composed of small whiteheads (pustules) or reddened bumps
(papules), the condition may be a folliculitis, or an infection of the hair
follicles, or perhaps it is just a case of prickly heat
However, neither of
these usually occur on the chest.
The problem may be a skin infection, and your doctor may check for this
by seeing if there are bacteria in the pustules
It sounds like this problem
is causing both you and your son a bit of anxiety, which can only be relieved
with the personal diagnosis your physician can supply.

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.

Zyban
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Zyban (Bupropion) is an antidepressant and indicated as an aid to smoking cessation treatment.

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QUESTION: Although the medication was supposed to calm my nerves, I became so
jumpy and restless that finally the doctor told me to just stop taking the
pills
I thought tranquilizers were supposed to quiet you down, but that
wasn’t the case with me
Can you figure out what went wrong in my case, and
please explain it to me?

ANSWER: The restlessness you describe is a syndrome aptly called “akathisia”,
which is Greek for “no sitting down.” It is a common side-effect of several
medications for anxiety and for other psychiatric problems
Up to 20% of
patients taking antipsychotic medications may develop this syndrome.
Akathisia can also develop on its own in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
People suffering from akathisia feel very restless and are also very
physically active
They fidget, and cannot stay seated without squirming for
more than a few minutes
They often stand up and walk or march in place, if
they are not allowed to walk about
Many patients state that their
restlessness is relieved by the activity.
The problem with akathisia as a drug side effect is that it’s often
thought to be a worsening of the anxiety or psychosis that the drug was
supposed to treat
Instead of reducing or eliminating the medication,
physicians may be fooled while treating a patient who paces the halls of a
hospital or marches in place and may increase the dosage of the medication,
which only makes the behavior worse.
The medications that can cause akathisia include many commonly used
tranquilizers, which have a proven desirable effect for the condition of most
patients
If the medication cannot be discontinued, because it is having a
much desired result, the akathisia side effect can be reduced with other
drugs
In your case, the solution may be to try another tranquilizer that
won’t cause the same disruptive side effect.

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.

Lopid
Our price: $1.5
Lopid (Gemfibrozil) is used along with a proper diet to help lower fats and cholesterol in the blood.

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QUESTION: Though she tries to hide it, a co-worker drinks too much
She is
also the one who complains most bitterly about her lack of a “good” sex life.
Can it be the alcohol that is creating her sexual problem?

ANSWER: That’s a difficult question to answer because alcohol can be both a
liberator and an inhibitor
Some women report great sex while intoxicated,
while others can’t perform
This seeming contradiction could be due to the
fact that sexual problems relative to alcohol have more to do with the reasons
for drinking rather than the results of it.
Unlike their male counterparts, alcoholic women usually identify the
onset of excessive drinking with a specific stressful event, like a divorce,
loss of a loved one, or a health problem such as infertility or breast cancer.
Drinking numbs the senses, takes the pressure off, relieves guilt, anxiety, or
fills a void
Often, alcohol is used to “loosen up,” and dull anxieties which
might inhibit sexual pleasure
In fact, it’s not uncommon for women who have
always used alcohol in this way to fear sex while sober
They associate
arousal with inebriation, and early sobriety (three months to a year) may be
temporarily fraught with loss of desire or an inability to orgasm.
Conversely, there are alcoholic women who perform well sexually only when they
are sober.
The truth is, alcoholism is an unpredictable addiction
Personality
changes, depression, family conflicts, impaired performance on the job, and
self-hatred are all common by-products which could lead to sexual problems.
Physiologically, alcoholism can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and
cystitis, which are sure to have some impact on sexual function
Some studies
even suggest that as high as 74% of chemically dependent women have been
sexually or physically abused, often times resulting in an aversion to sex, or
painful and difficult intercourse
Though I can’t evaluate your co-worker’s
problem with any degree of certainty, I am sure that professional counseling
would help overcome both her problems.

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.

Himcolin
Our price: $34.1
Himcolin gel helps achieve longer-lasting erections.

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QUESTION: Can a seizure by a chronic alcoholic develop while they are
actually drinking? We are faced with an emergency room diagnosis that claims
this is so, but always thought that the shakes were prevented by drinking in
the alcoholic
Could you please explain?

ANSWER: It’s an unfortunate truth that an alcoholic can become accustomed to
very high levels of alcohol
Withdrawal sets in when the alcoholic gets less
to drink than their usual intake
Symptoms of alcoholic withdrawal are
seizures, hallucinations, elevated temperature, agitation, impaired
coordination, and/or tachycardia (racing heartbeat)
The “shakes” we call
“Delirium Tremens” (DTs) usually begin within 24 to 48 hours of lessened
alcohol intake and usually subside within 72 hours.
Pity the poor emergency room physician who receives a patient in alcohol
withdrawal! He has a great deal of sleuthing to do
He must rule out head
injury, epilepsy, hypoglycemia, psychiatric disorders and intoxication, all of
which can mimic some of the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal
In the hospital,
the withdrawing alcoholic can expect to be given intravenous glucose,
acetaminophen if temperature is elevated, a sedative or tranquilizer if
agitation is acute, and a blood alcohol test
Later, the doctor may
administer thiamine and folic acid, since these are often deficient in chronic
drinkers.
This emergency medicine is also preventive medicine
The idea is to head
off the potentially fatal DTs
I can give you no better reason for getting
the withdrawing alcoholic to a hospital right away
Remember: Alcoholism is
a disease, and the people who suffer it have the right to the best medical
care we can give them.

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.

Brite
Our price: $16.65
Brite Cream, based on Hydroquinone, treats hypo-pigmentation.

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QUESTION: Though my yearly allergies are very annoying, I just can’t bring
myself to those tests which involve all those needles being stuck into you.
Are there any other tests that can help discover the cause of my problems, and
perhaps lead to some treatments that can help?

ANSWER: You can’t escape getting stuck entirely, but one way of getting
tested is more comfortable than another
The many injections or skin
scratches used in traditional allergy testing can be replaced by one stick to
draw a blood sample
One blood sample is all that is needed for RAST
(radioallergosorbent test) to measure the body’s response to allergens
RAST
is a test conducted outside the body, or “in vitro” (it comes from the words
for “glass,” because of the methods that used test tubes for investigations
and experiments).
The traditional method of allergy testing involves injecting the skin,
using a skin scratch technique, usually on the back, using many different
allergens, and watching the body’s reaction to each of them
This method,
because it takes place in the body, is known as “in vivo” testing.
RAST is more expensive than the customary scratch testing, but it is also
more convenient, less time-consuming, and can tell us more precisely if a
certain allergen is the cause of your allergy problem
You are lucky,
however, as recent developments in new medications which are quite effective
in controlling some of the annoying symptoms of summer allergies may be
enough to help bring you the relief you are seeking.

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.

Feldene
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Feldene (Piroxicam) is used for the treatment of inflammation and pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

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QUESTION: Could you please tell me if the term “anaerobe” describes a
dangerous condition or disease? This information is most important to me, so
please include this answer in your column.

ANSWER: You must be listening in to conversations at your doctor’s office!
Anaerobes are a type of bacteria
All bacteria are divided roughly into two
types: those that must have oxygen to develop, “aerobic” bacteria, and those
that can live and grow without it, “anaerobic” bacteria or simply “anaerobes.”
As with other microbes, not all anaerobes are dangerous
As a matter of
fact, anaerobes are commonly found on our skin and mucus membranes, where they
do no harm until damage or disease lets them into deeper tissue
There,
little oxygen is present and anaerobes are in a situation that favors their
growth and an infection occurs
Some infections called mixed infections are
caused by combinations of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria.
The classic anaerobic infection is gangrene, where tissue that has had
its blood supply (and thus oxygen supply) cut off, becomes anaerobically
infected, and dies
Abscesses (pockets of infection that are closed off) are
commonly caused by anaerobes, as is peritonitis
The hallmark of an anaerobic
infection is a foul or putrid odor.
Anaerobic infections can occur after surgery, especially abdominal
operations, but surgery is also one of the best ways to treat an anaerobic
infection
Simply opening up and cleaning out an abscess will let in oxygen
that stops the anaerobic growth
In some cases, a surgeon will put in a
drainage tube to drain the infection site
Anaerobes are hard to kill with
antibiotics, but some strains of anaerobic bacteria do respond to drug
therapy.
Now, if this information was about a condition you are suffering from,
and I haven’t made it all quite clear, go back to that doctor’s office and get
the information you need to understand what is going on and calm your fears.

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.

Norpace CR
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Norpace CR (Disopyramide) is used to treat abnormal heart rhythms.

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