MAKING SENSE OF HEALTH INFORMATION

It's difficult to search the Internet for medical information or read the latest headlines about recommendations for your health without feeling confused. 

The Internet is filled with innumerable websites on health topics, many of which are using Google, and other search engines, to direct traffic to their sites for profit in selling various products.  We discussed this issue at the last talk I gave on Scottsdale Healthcare Shea, and to help you with this, I have created a list of sites that provide legitimate and valid information on a variety of health topics.  

You can find this list at www.DoctorDoug.com on the 'LINKS' page at the following link:

http://www.doctordoug.com/links/index.htm

To get information on more topical issues of the moment, look to my Doctor Doug BLOG at:

http://www.doctordoug.com/wordpress/

There, you can find my latest comments on the medical topics that are making headlines in the news right now.

Keeping a perspective on the latest health news is important.  Using valid resources for information is essential.  Hopefully, our website can assist in providing that to you.

Yours in good health,

Dr. Lakin 

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Now is the time...... 

   "THE PATIENT PORTAL "

Join "Dr. Lakin's Patient Portal" on our website, www.doctordoug.com 

The new "PATIENT PORTAL" is an online direct, encrypted, and secure way to contact Dr. Lakin, request appointments, RX refills, get your lab results, share medical information with Dr. Lakin and the office, update your demographic information, and much more!

If you have any questions or need help, please contact Nan. 

 **CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 

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 Dr. Lakin's next series of presentations:     

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Yellow Eyelid Blobs Hint At Hidden Heart Disease. . . . . .

Patches often seen as cosmetic issue, but new study shows issue more than skin deep.

As it turns out, if somebody you know has these (and it can occur in younger people, too), you should encourage them to be checked carefully for heart disease.

A study published in the most recent British Medical Journal found that these patches, called xanthelasma, were predictors of heart attack, heart disease and death.

In men between the ages of 70 and 79, those with xanthelasma had a 12 percent higher risk of heart disease than men without the eye blobs. The rise in risk in older women was 8 percent.

Importantly, the yellow patches predicted heart disease independently of other risk factors like obesity and cholesterol levels. In other words, even if you had your cholesterol checked, and it was normal, you still had an increased risk of dying from a heart attack if you had xanthelasma. 

That's surprising because doctors have known for decades that the eye condition was a possible sign of high cholesterol. In fact, that's what the patches are, tiny clumps of macrophages, an immune system cell, stuffed with cholesterol. People with a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic disorder that results in elevated "bad" cholesterol levels, often have xanthelasma.

But in this survey of 12,745 people who took part in the Copenhagen City Heart Study over a period of 33 years, Danish researchers show that people with xanthelasma have a higher risk of heart disease regardless of their cholesterol levels.

The authors argue that this finding could have real clinical implications since the patches are usually regarded by those who have them as a benign dermatological issue.

Today, most people with xanthelasma are seen by dermatologists, when they want the blobs removed for cosmetic reasons," the authors of the paper write. "Some of these people may not have been managed according to their increased risk of cardiovascular disease." 

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Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis - you probably know that's an old wives' tale. Though it could injure ligaments around the joints and lead to weaker grips, there's no proof every pop puts you one step closer to arthritis - specifically osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis (OA) develops when the cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones in your joints breaks down. The bones then begin to rub against one another, causing pain. OA is the most common form of arthritis, but there's no cure, so the more you know, the better. 

Here are three more misconceptions about OA: 
    

Myth: Arthritis is a natural part of aging.

Yes, it usually appears after age 45. And yes, the older you are, the more wear and tear you have. But not every older adult develops osteoarthritis. Obesity is also a major risk factor - more weight means more stress on lower body joints. 
 

Myth: Meds should be your first line of treatment.

Reduce pain and improve joint function - that's the goal of osteoarthritis treatment, and medications (from over-the-counter acetaminophen to prescription pain pills) certainly help. But according to the Arthritis Foundation, simply moving your body is the best medicine for OA, and it's an effective first step. Gentle exercises, such as walking or swimming, help strengthen muscles and bones, increase flexibility and make joints more stable. That'll also help you lose weight, which will further reduce joint strain.

Myth: Supplements cure joint pain.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are two that are reputed to battle osteoarthritis, but an analysis of 10 studies showed these supplements don't do much to relieve pain associated with knee and hip OA. Another supplement that probably doesn't work: vitamin D. It has been suggested it can help treat knee OA, but it does not appear to lessen the symptoms or slow its progression.

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Are Yours Crusty or Wet? . . . .The Truth Behind Eye Boogers (ew!) 

Some of the evidence of a night's sleep are visible when you lift your head off the pillow -- bed head, morning breath, dried-up drool, and eye boogers.

And while the cause of most of these sleep remnants is fairly obvious, the reason behind those sometimes-sticky, sometimes-crusty gobs of crud that can dot the lashes or cling to the corners of the eye is less clear. Why do our peepers churn out this gunk at night and what's in the stuff? For answers to these important questions, Body Odd turned to an eye expert.

"The general consensus is that this debris is the stuff leftover from dried out tears," says Dr. Sherleen Chen, director of the cataract and comprehensive ophthalmology service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston.

Tears are made up of water, protein, oils, and a mucous layer known as mucin, which typically coat the surface of the eye to moisten and protect it from viruses and bacteria.

But when your eyes are closed and your eyelids are not blinking, dirt and debris within the eye isn't continually washed over by tears, which would help to dilute them. So at night, dryness causes the stuff in tears to precipitate out, explains Chen. Then the crud collects toward the inside corner of the eye, where tears usually end up.

Eye boogers can also accumulate on the outer corners of the eye or anywhere along the lash.

Throughout her years of medical training and specializing in ophthalmology, Chen says she's yet to come across a technical term for "eye boogers," so she simply refers to it as "mattering." But in everyday conversation, it may go by the name "sleepy sand," "eye goop," "sleep," or "sleep dust."

There's also the question of its consistency -- sometimes "eye boogers" are wet and sticky and other times they're dry and sandy. Does this depend on how long they've sat there or how much sleep you've gotten?

Chen says the texture is a function of a person's tear film. The crud is crumbly in people whose eyes tend to be dry --  their peepers have more solids and not enough liquid.

Folks who have more allergies, tend to have more mucous, which gives eye crud a wetter, gunkier quality to it.

People who wear contacts are prone to forming more "sleepy sand" because the lenses

irritate the surface of the eye, so it produces more mucous to protect itself. People who have allergies affecting their eyes or who rub them a lot, such as small children, may also have more eye crud.

If the indoor air is dry, you may also wake up with more "sleep dust." Although not an attractive look first thing in the morning, the stuff is basically harmless.

Chen says the best way to clear eye boogers is to lay a hot washcloth on the lid and lashes for a minute or two, then gently clean them off.

You thought they would be gone by now, right?
But those allergies that have been torturing you since the end of summer are still around. Recently, a USDA-led study found that ragweed pollen is lingering up to 27 days longer than it did in the mid-1990s.The reason? Climate change, researchers say. Warmer temperatures promote longer blooming seasons for allergen-producing plants such as ragweed. Up to 20% of Americans are sensitive to ragweed, and there's no cure for ragweed allergy.
But you can ease symptoms by taking these steps:

Ragweed pollen is particularly light; it can travel up to 400 miles. So the pollen that's riding the breeze into your home can make symptoms worse. The same is true when you're driving: Crank up the AC to help filter and dry the air.

 

Find current pollen level readings in your area at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology's National Allergy Bureau (aaaai.org/nab). Pollen levels peak in midday.

October: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. . . . 

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, aside from skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), an estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States this year. An estimated 40,170 women are expected to die from the disease in 2009 alone. Today, there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States. 

For more information, click here.

The Battle of Good vs. Bad Cholesterol. . . . .

Having too much "bad" LDL cholesterol - the kind that clogs arteries - in your blood and not enough "good" HDL cholesterol can raise your risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke. So it stands to reason: Lower LDL and raise HDL, and your risk decreases. But recently researchers found that taking a common HDL-boosting drug did not protect people with cardiovascular disease from heart attack and stroke. Research continues, but what experts know for sure is that taking steps to cut bad cholesterol can help keep you healthy. Medications (such as statins) help; so does a better diet. Start with these steps: 

Cook with olive oil.

It contains heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and a potent mix of antioxidants that help lower LDL cholesterol. Extra-virgin is best, but it's high in calories, so stick to 2 tablespoons a day.

                                                           - The Doctors, USA Weekend

Fluzone High-Dose is a influenza vaccine designedspecifically for people 65 years and older. 

Also, ageing decreases the body's ability to have a good immune response after getting influenza vaccine. A higher dose of antigen in the vaccine is supposed to give older people a better immune response and therefore better protection against flu.

It is very important that you get a flu vaccination. The CDC is
recommending everyone get a flu vaccine this year, and there will be a good supply for all who wants it.

Please call our office for your flu vaccination appointment today! 

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Recipe:
Simple, Sensational Pumpkin Bread. . . . . . .

At the Movies With Barb A....... 

A MUST SEE!          + + + + +        

GREAT                    + + + +

ENTERTAINING       + + +

RENT THE MOVIE    + +

FORGET IT!              +

+ + + + + THE HELP    
My friend Joan and I went to see this one, and since we are of two different generations, we had several different reactions. There is no doubt that this was one of the funniest films out there lately. It was filled with in depth issues the colored faced during this era. I was a child in this period and we did have "Help" six days a week. My favorite was Dorothy - a very pretty girl. She arrived after breakfast and left after dinner dishes were done. It makes me sad to think back on this time because there were issues that came up. One was the use of the back door only. That is a terrible thing to remember. However, we laughed and laughed and cried at times. Such a good film.

+ + + + + SARAH'S KEY
This was a tense exhausting movie. Kristin Scott Thomas was soooo good. It was rather a detective story during the time of the Holocaust in France. There are two timeframes in the movie. Sarah as a 10 year old child in France and Julia an American journalist in France in the present time. Little Sarah has hidden her brother in a closet when the Germans come to take her family away. She locks the closet and promises to return while keeping the key. Julia's husband renovates his family apartment which once was occupied by Sarah's family. Many secrets are revealed. Awesome revelations are discovered and lies uncovered. You may need to take notes while watching.

+ + + + + MONEYBALL   

 There are a few stars that I refuse to see in films. Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt to name a few. I just have my personal reasons. However, after reading the reviews of money Ball a couple of Fridays ago, I just had to go. I slipped in not telling anyone I was going-----everyone knows how I feel about Brad Pitt. (I mean how could he leave Jennifer Aniston?!!!!) I do however adore baseball. Raising 3 boys, I lived at Little League. Now I watch my grandson who plays infield at Desert Mountain High School. Now I do the Diamondbacks. Well Brad Pitt hit an "in the ballpark home run" with this one. He was great, the film was great and I just loved it. It was about the baseball business - not the game - and statistics. It had depth, some good laughs and some really touching moments. Jonah Hill was also fantastic as Peter Brand. There are going to be some awards with this one. PS I probably won't see Brad Pitt's next movie however.

"NOT MANY MOVIES TO REPORT TO YOU OUT THERE.
AS YOU KNOW, I AM A DIAMOND BACK FAN WITH WEEKEND SEASON TICKETS. THESE ARE THE ONLY ONES I SAW.
THE SEASON IS OVER NOW SO I WILL GET BACK TO REPORTING TO YOU."

See you at the movies!  

                        Barb A

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