Diagnosing Strep Throat

Pharyngitis, or strep throat, or sore throat, are all terms that we use interchangeably, but actually, not every sore throat is a strep throat. Strep throat is a bacterial infection caused by the Streptococcus bacteria. That bacteria actually needs to be treated with an antibiotic. Believe it or not, in most cases, you don’t need an antibiotic for treatment. In most cases, it’s a viral origin. Now, how do doctors tell that? The best way to tell is through a test to see if there is a bacterium. If there is a bacterial infection, then doctors go ahead and treat it with an antibiotic.

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Risks Associated with Concussions

There are professional football players who have won great awards, but they have also suffered incredible injuries. Some of the most severe are through concussions. Basically, when a person sustains a concussion, they have a certain degree of pain, a certain amount of problems, some neurologic changes, but it’s hard to measure what the long-term effects are. Once a person has a concussion, we know this. There is a greater risk of multiple concussions and potential brain damage. Rest can help, but not in all cases.

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Vitamin D and Breast Cancer Risk

Boosting levels of vitamin D and calcium in post-menopausal women did not help them reduce their breast cancer risk.  This is the first real test on whether vitamin D actually causes poor health as opposed to just being a marker for poor health, and it failed.  So far, we have a few good studies to show that people with low vitamin D levels are more prone to illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, but there is no evidence yet that giving people vitamin D supplements will reduce their disease risk.  In a study of more than 36,000 post-menopausal women, those taking vitamin D and calcium supplements for seven years did not have any lower risk for breast cancer than those taking a placebo.  However, the door isn't closed on vitamin D and breast cancer just yet.  It is possible women need to take the supplements when they're younger to get benefits, or perhaps they'll even need higher doses. 

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Possible Causes of Irregular Periods

Many women complain about irregular periods and there are all sorts reasons for this. One of the classic reasons is something that a lot of people aren’t aware of…if you’re not eating a proper diet, or you’re exercising too much, or you’re too thin, it can actually affect the hormonal balance in the body. As a result, you can get periods which are not following the normal cycle, and when they don’t, that’s when you run into these difficulties. It’s very important that if you’re someone who deals with irregular periods and has to deal with the frustration, you understand that you get worked up and have the hormonal issues looked at.

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A Look at Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches are very interesting. They’re difficult to treat because in many cases it’s tough to tell if someone has a migraine. The thing about migraine headache that’s important to realize is there’s often some sort of aura, some sort of sense that something’s not right. Perhaps there’s a strange smell. The smell of coffee when there is none, or a zigzagging of lights, that sort of thing. Migraine headaches can be treated with medication, especially if they’re treated what we call prophylactically, before the headache occurs because you sense it’s coming on. It’s a very good way to approach it.

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Evaluating Calf Tenderness

Calf tenderness is a problem which definitely has to be looked into.  It's a key issue because if it's ignored, it can lead to problems associated with a rupture or a pull of a muscle in the calf.  That's important because that's not as easy to treat as the simple calf tenderness.  People who have those sorts of pulls or problems actually can have difficulty walking and have more severe damage as time goes on.  The most important is stretching.  

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Holiday Advertisements and Depression

One thing doctors hate about this time of year, for their patients’ sake, is the fact that there are so many advertisements showing people celebrating and being happy. If you’re not in that situation, and how many of us are, that you’re constantly celebrating, you tend to feel down. You suffer from feelings of depression. Here’s a major belief; you need to realize that a lot of the advertisements that are done at this time of year are done to sell product. They don’t necessarily mean that this is reality. You have to be very careful and not get carried away.

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