This was my latest monthly column in the Free Lance-Star on January 28th. The more heretical books I read about how clinical trials can be misleading, the more skeptical I get about being able to make a rational, informed decision about medical treatment/interventions. Despite my idyllic, relaxed retired life in the country, the old blood…
Read more
Anti-vaxxers Threaten The Herd Immunity
[caption id="attachment_2405" align="alignnone" width="446"] A Noisy Reason to Get Him Vaccinated[/caption] Herd immunity may make us sound like a bunch of cows, but it is an important phenomenon in the field of vaccinations. You get herd immunity when you vaccinate enough of the population that the illness can’t get a foothold. Widespread use of measles/mumps/rubella…
Read more
Is It All In Your Head?
Every doctor struggles with patients with somatic symptom disorder - or SSD to use the snappy new acronym that the DSM - 5 now calls it. A wonderfully insightful and informative new book Is It All in Your Head – true stories of imaginary illness by Suzanne O’Sullivan, MD, consultant in neurology and neurophysiology at National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, England helps explain it.
It is the subject of this month's column in the Free Lance-Star.
The doctor can't find anything wrong. The patient insists there's something wrong; It's an inflammatory situation.
Dogs, CleanFreaks and Healthy Babies.
Here’s a report of some exciting new research that has a multitude of storylines. It hits on: The importance of the microbiome to many aspects of our health – allergies and obesity in particular. Having a dog (or more precisely “a furry pet”) can influence the microbiome of babies – even before they’re born. It’s…
Read more