The whole concept of life insurance is something that has to be clarified. To me, health insurance in the United States is basically what I would call “disease insurance.” Calling it health insurance is a misnomer. It is not for health, because if you are healthy they do not pay you. They dot pay a bill for anything to maintain health. They only pay for procedures and other things you do to treat a disease.

If you do anything to stay healthy, they do not pay for the costs you laid out. They do not pay for anything to maintain health. That is why I believe that health insurance should be called disease insurance. As it only treats diseases, it stands to reason that it should be called disease insurance.

Bio-identical Hormone Therapy

Bioidentical hormone therapy is only done to prevent disease; it does not treat disease. So that is the reason that health insurance will not pay for it. Our program is not used to treat any disease; therefore they will not pay. It’s prevention rather than treatment.

Again, our type of hormone therapy should always be called “bio-identical hormone therapy.” If you use hormone therapy with chemical hormones to treat a disease, then insurance will pay.

Not Accurate

Again, to me, health insurance is a misnomer, and is wrong. It should be changed. I don’t want change the system, as the system is fine. We need disease insurance. People who get diseases should be insured. But to sell someone disease insurance and call it health insurance is not accurate.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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• Is Someone Close to You an Alcoholic? (0)

Alcohol is by far the most-abused substance in the United States. Its role as an abused substance is made all the more prevalent still due to the fact that it is one of the few legal, recreational drugs.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 60% of adults in the U.S drank alcohol this past year. Over one-third of those people regularly consume five or more drinks in one sitting.

In my work as a counselor, I unfortunately come across alcoholism fairly regularly. It’s hard for those of us who occasionally take a benign, social drink to perceive just how bad alcoholism can be. Sadly, I see alcohol’s damaging affects far too regularly. The devastating impact it can have on the body, family and general lives of those afflicted is enough to make me stop and think every time a waiter offers me glass of wine or a buddy hands me a cold one on a hot summer day. Alcoholism occurs regularly and often right under our noses. Denial of the illness is one of its most characteristic symptoms. It is for that reason that the Alcoholics Anonymous program’s first step is such: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.”

If you suspect, even slightly, that a friend or loved one has a problem with alcoholism, seek help immediately. But how can you tell for certain? Such accusations are weighty and given the sensitive nature of the issue, you will want to be sure before potentially igniting an uncomfortable situation.

If you suspect a friend, relative or loved one has succumbed to alcoholism, but are uncertain, here are a few signs to help inform your decision to seek counsel or assistance. Remember alcoholism can be dangerous, even fatal, so you should not hesitate to seek help for your friend immediately.

• Health Symptoms are Noticeable – Certain ailments are often prevalent in alcoholics, even in the short term. Symptoms of hangover are nausea, stomach and head pain that often accompany dehydration. Oftentimes unconsciousness, blackout and amnesia can occur after a moderate dose of alcohol. Long-term affects can be far more serious and can include high blood pressure, brain damage and liver failure. So if you’ve seen someone close to you regularly suffering from the short-term health problems equated with alcohol, do or say something lest the problems escalate.
• Your Relationships is Affected by Their Drinking – Often drinking is the alcoholic’s first priority. This can be painful, because your loved one’s drinking seems to take precedence, even before your relationship.  This should be a red flag to you: The drinking has gone too far.
• School and Work are Suffering Due to Drinking- Drinking is too often the most important aspect of the alcoholic’s life. School or work are some of the first and more obvious things that begin to suffer as a result. If your loved one has begun to miss deadlines or school assignments and begun to slack at work or school, he may have fallen pray to alcohol abuse.
• Psychological Issues – Alcohol is often used as a means to self-medicate depression, anxiety, irritability and insomnia. Alas, drinking often aggravates and worsens these problems. An alcoholic will often attempt to cover up these self-medicating tendencies, so be wary and sensitive when approaching these issues.
• Inability to Stop – Perhaps the most obvious indicator that a true problem exists. An ordinary person can stop drinking, an alcoholic cannot. People addicted to alcohol suffer from cravings as well as withdrawal symptoms when they don’t drink. If you perceive these symptoms, don’t hesitate to intervene.

Of course, the most dangerous symptom remains plain old denial. This is oftentimes the greatest hurdle to overcome when confronting a friend or loved one who abuses alcohol. Alcoholics generally believe they that they still retain control over the situation. Only once a problem has been acknowledged can help and intervention become truly effective. In the counseling work I’ve done with alcoholics, I always do my best to gently convince the alcoholic that his or her drinking has gotten out of hand. The most effective convincing though comes from close friends and caring family members. Nothing hits home to someone afflicted with alcohol abuse or addiction as seeing the damage they’ve wrought upon those they love most.

If you’ve begun to suspect someone close to you of succumbing to alcoholism, don’t wait. Seek the help of a professional counselor who can advise you on the best course of action. Be discreet and subtle, but don’t let your suspicions go unchecked. Get involved. Your decision to do so could save a life.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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All About Acupuncture

One of the best-known alternative therapies, acupuncture originated in China and has been around for centuries. Acupuncturists insert needles into some of the more than 1,000 acupuncture points located on the body.

Acupuncture for Weight Loss

You’ve done it all. South Beach Diet. Weight Watchers. Monitoring your food intake. Hitting the gym. But nothing seems to work. Its feels like you’re gaining weight from taking these measures, instead of losing it! That is why more and more people are turning to acupuncture, which studies have shown helps with weight loss?

Information on Chinese Herbal Medicine

Countries all over the world have used herbs to treat illnesses for centuries. Chinese herbal medicine is a major aspect of traditional Chinese medicine, which focuses on restoring a balance of energy, body, and spirit to maintain health rather than treat a particular disease or medical condition. Herbs are used with the goal of restoring balance by nourishing the body.

Fertility Issues and Acupuncture

Acupuncture isn’t just used to alleviate pain. Acupuncture, as well as herbal medicine, has been used for centuries to treat an array of fertility issues. So, if you and your partner are having difficulty conceiving, you may want to consider acupuncture as a means to stimulate fertility.

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Many people use teeth whitening treatments to help increase the brightness of their smiles. But what they might not realize is that they could actually be eating foods and drinking certain liquids that are working against them in that process.

The most obvious of these foods and drinks are things like coffees, teas, and dark wines—and most people understand that by now. All these liquids can stain teeth if you drink too much of them on a frequent basis. Another thing that is a little less known, however, is that berries can stain your teeth as well. This is a tough pill to swallow for some people, mainly because a lot of my patients who are interested in diet and health are eating a lot of berries in an effort to stay healthy. They think berries are healthy, so they should be eating a lot of them. And that is true.

I never try to discourage patients from eating healthy foods, even if they might slightly work against them in terms of staining the teeth. I would never advocate that people stop eating foods like berries. Instead, what I do recommend is that these patients who enjoy foods like that make sure they get into the office twice a year for cleanings. In fact, they might want to come in even more frequently depending on their specific situation for addition cleanings.

Any foods that are healthy will help perpetuate a healthy lifestyle. So even if a food can stain the teeth, if it is eaten in large quantities, it is still better for a patient’s oral health than something that is bad for them—like anything that is high in high fructose corn syrup. We try to discourage patients from eating anything that has a lot of corn syrup or sugar.

Sodas are bad for the whiteness and overall health of a patient’s teeth as well. One thing that a lot of people don’t realize, however, is that diet soda is just as bad for the teeth as regular soda. I have many patients who come up to me and say, “Well I drink diet soda, so I am being healthy.” These people do not understand why they are getting cavities in their mouth, since they only drink diet soda. They believe that because diet soda does not have sugar like regular soda, they won’t get all the bad effects of sugar on their teeth. Well the truth is, it is not just sugar that is bad for your teeth. It is carbonation, too.

Carbonation of any kind is bad for the health of the teeth. Even someone who drinks excessive amounts of Perrier water—and this person probably believes they are drinking Perrier to have a healthier lifestyle—is putting their teeth at risk. Cavities can be a big result of too much carbonation in a diet. Ingesting too much carbonation in beverages over a long period of time can cause root cavities and root decay, in fact, which are not what you want to be experiencing. So it is important that people remember that carbonation is bad—just like sugar.

When patients are purely thinking about the whiteness or their smiles, they need to remember that eating healthy is always the way to go. Even if eating healthy means drinking a little more tea or eating a few more berries, just make sure to brush frequently, floss once every 24 hours, and check in with your dentist at least twice a year for cleanings. If a patient does that, then he is already ahead of the game.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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Your loved one may also be well enough to live alone, but may experience health incidents frequently enough that you want to find an option aside from always calling an ambulance. For example, if they have asthma, they might be able to go days, weeks, even months where they are fine on their own. But an asthma attack can occur at any time, and can occur frequently. It does not have to be a serious emergency, but it needs immediate attention. Dale Anderson is president of Right At Home in-home care agency in Tacoma, Washington. There, the agency offers a personal response system as part of their services, so your loved one can contact a caregiver at any time and receive emergency attention, without first calling the hospital. (Personal response systems that do instantly contact the emergency services first are available, as well.)

A personal response system is small, light, portable, and able to be transported everywhere your loved one goes, usually within a couple hundred feet away from the home. It is always on, always monitoring. If something should happen, your family member simply presses the button on his monitor. This immediately sends a signal to send help to the home. Many systems also have a two-way voice interaction feature, where the operator at the system’s call center can speak to your loved one and see what’s wrong.

Deciding who the system should connect to is usually based on the condition of your family member. Those with illnesses that have them experience dangerous attacks should connect right to emergency services. But those who have a less serious condition can connect to their caregiver to let them know they need help. The personal response system can determine when the caregiver visits the home to provide medical attention and assistance. Or, it can also be used in addition to regular care. Unless you and your loved one choose 24-hour live-in care, there is always the chance of an emergency occurring when the caregiver is not present. With a caregiver on hand, either on a set schedule or on an as-needed basis, as well as a personal response system, your family can rest assured that your loved one is safe. You can feel confident that they will never be alone in an emergency, and will always get the attention they need.

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If one of our elderly parents has diabetes, it can be scary to leave them living alone. Maybe they’ve just developed it, maybe they’ve had it for years but have been able to manage it. Now, however, they don’t have someone to help them with their diet, or to help them remember to take their medication. You want them to be able to remain comfortably in their home, but you need them to take care of their disease. That’s why Dale Anderson and his Tacoma, Washington branch of in-home care agency, Right At Home offer specialized diabetes care.

You know for sure you need someone to help provide care for your parent. Even if you stop by several times a week, an elderly person with diabetes most likely needs daily care, since the point is to help maintain healthy life everyday. When it comes to finding a caregiver, you could opt for an agency that offers general elder care. But, it would make an astronomical difference to choose an agency that actually specializes in diabetes care, like Right At Home does. Why? An elder care worker can help give medicine, and he can provide a lot of general care like housework, personal care, and companionship. But he does not have the specialized diabetes training that an agency like Right At Home offers.

Diabetes care involves several aspects of care that would really only be mastered by a trained diabetes caregiver. Meal preparation is a large part of diabetes care, since so much of the disease relies on diet maintenance. A specialized caregiver – this could be a certified nursing assistant or registered nurse, depending on the stage and severity of the diabetes – would be well-versed in the dietary needs of a diabetes patient. They could do the grocery shopping for a diabetic menu that your parent would actually enjoy meeting. They could cook and prepare meals and never add an ingredient that could be potentially dangerous or unhealthy. They can consult with your parent and even you and the family about the diet and nutrition.

They are also trained to remind your parent to take the insulin or any other necessary medications everyday at the right time. If need be, they will give medication. This is all in addition to the general care that a non-skilled caregiver would offer. A few hours a day might involve, in addition to the diabetes care, running errands and light housekeeping. But a live-in nurse would do housekeeping, errands, companionship, even hygienic assistance. The hours and services would be decided by you and an agency representative, all tailored to comfortably meet the needs of your parent. The idea is to keep your parent safe and healthy while still maintaining the quality of independence, dignity, and happiness.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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John Barnett of Orlando Acupuncture says back and neck pain are the top two reasons that people seek relief with acupuncture. But he says that acupuncture can treat almost any pain you can think of from migraines to elbow pain to hip pain.

How It Works

There is a growing biomedical understanding of how how acupuncture works. It is known that acupuncture stimulates pain-relieving chemicals (endoprhins) and reduces stress hormones.   It also increases blood flow, and it is this improved circulation that allows it to treat so many conditions.

At a typical appointment, the first step is that the acupuncturist will use one or more of the 5 methods (such as listening, looking, or feeling) to diagnose your condition.  Then you will lay or sit down and relax while the acupuncture needles are inserted.  The needles are retained for 20 to 60 minutes. During this time, many patients fall asleep, and at the end, feel relaxed as well as energized.

A common question is “Do the needles hurt?” No, they generally do not hurt.  There is often a sensation that people feel with acupuncture, but most often it is not pain.  A tingling or dull, achy sensation is common, but some patients feel nothing at all.  The needles are thin and solid, made of stainless steel with a laser sharp tip. All needles used must be single use, and come sterilized in sealed packaging so there is virtually no risk of infection.  Side effects of acupuncture treatments are rare.  The most common is minor bruising at the insertion site of some of the needles.

The best thing about acupuncture is that you often begin to see results right away.  The total number of treatments you’ll need will vary based on your health issues, severity of pain and how long it’s been going on. To get the best results from acupuncture, see an acupuncturist as soon as pain hits. But remember that it’s never too late to see one.

Check with your health insurance provider to see if they cover acupuncture. Some do and some do not.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

I

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A good place to start is looking for someone who is a board-certified dermatologist. To do that, start with the American Academy of Dermatologists’ website. They only list dermatologists who are accredited, and can help you find someone within your local area.

Beyond that, it’s good to see some sort of credentials beyond just the fact they are board-certified. You might want to find out where they went to school and what kind of training they have. It’s also nice to see they are part of professional societies, and are on staff of the local hospital.

I think that the best thing, however is word of mouth. Ask other people who they like, and who they would recommend. If someone you trust has had a good experience with a specific dermatologist, there is a good chance that you will too.

Saying that, I think that is helpful to think about the three components which I believe make a good doctor. They are:

1. Smart doctor: Your dermatologist should be a smart, capable doctor who knows what he is doing and will give you a correct diagnosis. That is the hardest thing to evaluate, however, if you are not a doctor yourself. One shortcut there what might be to ask a doctor you trust to recommend a good dermatologist to you.
2. Good office: Your dermatologist should run an office in a well-organized, friendly and capable manner. You could have a great doctor and have a horrible experience if the office is run poorly. You want an office where the patients are seen on time and where you are not spending two hours in the waiting room. Where the facilities are clean and organized, as you do not want them losing your chart. And where the staff is nice, so when you get to the front desk they do not just grunt and motion for you to sign in. One thing to pay attention to is how you are treated when you first call on the phone. That is an excellent way to get some sense of what the staff is like. Listen to how knowledgeable they sound, and how many times the phone rings before they pick up. It annoys me when a doctor’s office closes for lunch when people who work need to call at that time. It’s basic stuff like that which makes all the difference.
3. Excellent bedside manner: You need a nice, respectable doctor with a good beside manner. There are doctors who are smart but they are like tyrants. They have tempers and they do not look up from their chart when you see them, they do not respect your time and they do not call you back when you call and leave a message.

Apart from checking credentials, finding a good doctor who is capable and competent, respectful and courteous and has a well-run office is important. These are all things that you can somewhat evaluate by speaking to people who have been to the office before you, and can relate their experience to you – good or bad.

If you are looking for a competent dermatologist, ask friends you trust for their recommendation or inquire at your general physician’s office. It’s important to find someone both competent and knowledgeable, who is also pleasant and has a nice bedside manner. Find a dermatologist you deserve.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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Going to your dermatologist on a regular basis to stay healthy is just a matter of getting a baseline skin exam. You get undressed, the dermatologist examines your skin and looks at your moles. It’s quick, it’s easy, and there’s no need to feel embarrassed.

People have skin exams for a variety of reasons. They include:

• Suspicious-looking moles, growths or any type of skin lesions
• Early signs of skin cancer, such as a new growth, a change in a mole, or a sore or irritation that refuses to heal
• Fifty or more moles around the face and body
• Family history of skin cancer
• Previous personal history of skin cancer

Based on what kind of sun damage you’ve had in the past, your family history and what moles you have, the dermatologist will then come up with a plan in terms of monitoring your skin. That will be once a year or several times a year, depending on those factors.

Whenever the dermatologist sees something suspicious, he or see will either magnify it and look at it closer, or take a piece off and send it to the lab. That will give the patients complete peace of mind to know that everything on their body is safe – or will be treated appropriately.

Not Wasting Doctor’s Time

Nobody should be made to feel inferior or embarrassed to see their dermatologist, and you should never think asking about something that worries you is silly.

The best advice I can give is to follow the rule of thumb that something that is there for more than a month should be looked at by a professional. If you have a mole or something suspicious for just three days, don’t run to your dermatologist. Wait and see if it goes away within a month, and if it doesn’t, then make an immediate appointment.

Most doctors would rather see it and tell you it’s nothing, than have you neglect it and have something that could have been treated early. After all, it only takes two seconds for us look at it, as we are trained to spot anything suspicious right away. And it could save you a lot of trouble down the road.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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Excessive sweating has a medical term, which is hyperhidrosis. The common areas people experience this often debilitating condition is their underarms, hands and feet. Sometimes the cause is genetic, and a doctor can determine the correct diagnosis and make sure it’s not linked to something else, such as diabetes or hyperthyroidism.

Stopping the underarm area from perspiring to excess is easy. Most of the time I can give patients a prescription antiperspirant. It’s a real lifesaver: It totally shuts off the sweating and makes life a lot more bearable for the patient.

These prescription antiperspirants are different from antiperspirants you get over the counter. You do not put them on every day; you start off probably three times a week. They become more effective the more often you use them. Eventuall,y you may use them once every two or three weeks.

Less Effective on Hands and Feet

Unfortunately, they are not effective on the hands and feet. The skin is so thick there that it is hard for any medicine to penetrate it. For people who have hand and foot excessive sweating, the other option would be a pill. That is what I use most often.

Interestingly, no pill is specifically designed to stop sweating, so we take advantage of other pills where the side effect is that it makes you sweat less. I use Robinul to dry up certain gastro-intestinal, or GI, secretions. I think they might use it for ulcers. We take advantage of the fact that it dries you out. The main side effect, funnily enough, is dry mouth.

BOTOX for Sweating

There are many other treatments. But if you fail one of those two treatments, the next step would be BOTOX, which is more and more commonly used these days to treat hyperhidrosis. We inject the BOTOX into the palms or underarms, and it blocks the chemical transmitters which cause us to sweat. It lasts about six months, so people end up doing it twice a year.

Iontophoresis is another option that I will occasionally use for hands and feet. It works by blocking the sweat glands with an electrical current, although nobody is exactly how it works. There are people who like it but it’s a little time-consuming. You have to sit with your hands in the machine 20 minutes each night, and the machine itself is expensive and does not work for everybody. So we might as well use BOTOX, which works for everyone.

The most important thing to know about excessive sweating is that it can almost always be cured, or at least made bearable. Visit your dermatologist for a consultation to see which form of treatment is most suitable to your needs.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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