Articles written by Stephen Allen Christensen
Showing 1-100 of 287 Articles
|
Latex Allergy and Universal Precautions
Latex allergy is relatively uncommon in the general population, but its incidence peaked in the 1980s with the advent of universal precautions among healthcare workers.
|
|
Cholesterol and Lipid Metabolism
A visit to a busy doctor for a cursory review of one's lipid panel can be a bewildering experience: Good cholesterol? Bad cholesterol? How can the same molecule be both?
|
|
Phototherapy for Acne
The latest innovations in acne treatment include the use of targeted light energy, but long-term safety and efficacy have not been firmly established.
|
|
Oral Antibiotics for the Treatment of Acne
Oral antibiotics are commonly used for treating acne; they are usually combined with topical agents to improve results and reduce the likelihood of bacterial resistance.
|
|
Topical Retinoids in Acne Treatment
Contemporary treatment for acne usually includes the use of several agents simultaneously. Retinoids are often added to the therapeutic regimen.
|
|
Topical Antibiotics for the Treatment of Acne
80 to 90% of adolescents - and an increasing number of adults - suffer from some form of acne vulgaris. New forms of old treatments offer hope for frustrated sufferers.
|
|
The Connection Between Milk and Acne
For years, acne sufferers have been told that diet doesn't really contribute to their condition; however, research suggests that milk, at least, may play a role.
|
|
Antimony Poisoning From Toys
"Mr. Squiggles," a light brown version of the popular Zhu Zhu hamsters, might contain high levels of antimony, an arsenic-like metallotoxin.
|
|
How to Get Fit for the New Year
As usual, millions of Americans will resolve to get back into shape as another year winds down. Good health, however, implies more than sweating off excess weight.
|
|
Do Supplements Help to Prevent Colds and Flu?
At the height of the cold season - and with H1N1 influenza still a concern - many people wonder if only prescription drugs can forestall respiratory infections.
|
|
Cranberry Bog Homemade Beer
While eggnog and hot-buttered rum are traditional holiday beverages, this tangy, homemade brew is the ideal accompaniment for a football game or a gathering of friends.
|
|
Receptor Binding Domain Changes in H1N1
Even as some health experts anticipate a decline in swine flu cases, the virus is changing in ways that raise concerns about further pandemic waves.
|
|
Do Physicians Respect Obese Patients?
Obesity challenges and frustrates both patients and their doctors. Healthcare providers may show less respect for obese persons than for normal-weight individuals.
|
|
Revised Cancer Screening Recommendations
Recent changes in screening guidelines for breast and cervical cancer are based on population dynamics, not individual perceptions, needs, or fears.
|
|
Dealing with Pathological Gambling
Problem gambling impairs the social function of 10 million Americans. Like alcoholism or drug addiction, pathological gambling is treatable, but it may not be curable.
|
|
Fructose Consumption and Hypertension
The consumption of fructose in the United States has increased dramatically in the last century, paralleling the rising incidence of hypertension.
|
|
Red Yeast Rice for High Cholesterol
Red yeast rice has been used in China for a thousand years. Research supports its use as a lower-cost alternative to statin drugs.
|
|
Who Needs Antibiotics Before Dental Work?
Dental work has long been associated with bacterial endocarditis, but scientific evidence does not support routine antibiotic prophylaxis for people at moderate risk.
|
|
H1N1 Vaccine Facts
The 2009 H1N1 vaccine appears to be safe. Additional information about flu vaccines can help those who are still undecided about getting immunized.
|
|
Mediterranean Diet Improves Diabetes Control
Lifestyle changes are often critical for managing diabetes. New evidence points to specific dietary modifications that may delay the need for sugar-lowering drugs.
|
|
Who is at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency?
Vitamin D has received a lot of attention lately - as have its proven and unproven health benefits. Supplementation may be the key to ensuring adequate intake.
|
|
Therapeutic Value of Reishi
Reishi - the "10,000 year mushroom" - has been renowned for its medicinal properties for millennia. Research shows that its reputation may be well-deserved.
|
|
Medicinal Mushrooms
The medicinal powers of mushrooms have been recognized for millennia, but the full extent of their therapeutic properties remains largely unexplored.
|
|
Increased Intestinal Permeability
Leaky gut syndrome has been blamed for everything from acne to zinc deficiency. However, many conventional physicians dispute the existence of such a disorder.
|
|
Become a Master Gardener
As volunteer assistants to county extension agents, Master Gardeners have fulfilled the educational needs of home gardeners and landscapers for more than 35 years.
|
|
Bursitis
Joint pain is a common problem, but tenderness and swelling around a joint aren't necessarily signs of arthritis; they could be due to bursitis.
|
|
Water Harvesting
Growing demands on dwindling water supplies necessitate wiser management of this precious commodity. Unfortunately, outdated statutes can hamper conservation efforts.
|
|
Constitutional Typing for Better Health
One of the oldest philosophies of health maintenance is that of constitutional typing: a person's diet should conform to his or her underlying temperament and biology.
|
|
How Fever Boosts Immunity
Parents often administer medications to their children to prevent the onset of fever following immunizations. New evidence casts doubt on the wisdom of this practice.
|
|
Health Benefits of Acetyl-L-Carnitine
Carnitine is a coenzyme that allows cells to burn fats for energy. While it doesn't appear to help with weight loss, it may play a role in a variety of other conditions.
|
|
Alpha-Lipoic Acid
Alpha-lipoic acid is a fatty acid that is found in all cells. It serves several vital functions in oxidative metabolism, but its value as a supplement may be overstated.
|
|
Tamiflu Resistance in Pandemic H1N1
As pandemic H1N1 sweeps through schools, communities, and countries, it is beginning to reveal its adaptability: Mutations may render drugs like Tamiflu less useful.
|
|
Retroviruses
Retroviruses are a diverse group of RNA-containing viruses that contribute to several human diseases. They may one day be exploited to cure illnesses, too.
|
|
Exercise for Cancer Patients
For years, physicians have recommended rest for cancer patients both during and after therapy. Recent evidence shows the benefits of exercise for these individuals.
|
|
Whooping Cough
Despite the availability of an effective and relatively safe vaccine, pertussis remains a cause of serious and sometimes fatal illness in children.
|
|
Favorite Zucchini Recipes
By summer's end, a lot of gardeners have had their fill of zucchinis. Never fear; these prolific vegetables can still find a multitude of uses in the kitchen.
|
|
Slug Control for All Seasons
Slugs and snails are hardy, well-adapted organisms that can decimate a vegetable or flower garden overnight. Controlling their numbers requires year-round vigilance.
|
|
What to Do for a Child with Croup
The respiratory distress caused by croup can be alarming for both patients and parents; knowing how to respond when croup strikes will help to alleviate those fears.
|
|
Mild Viral Rashes in Children
A rash on a child always raises parental concerns, but most viral illnesses that cause rashes are mild, self-limited, and don't even merit immunization.
|
|
Lumbar Disk Injury
Two years after acute, uncomplicated lumbar disk herniation, there is no difference in outcomes between surgical treatment and conservative management.
|
|
Viral Rashes in Children
Many common pediatric viral infections are associated with rashes. Owing to vaccination programs, most of these conditions aren't as prevalent as they were 20 years ago.
|
|
Bladder Cancer is More Common in Men
Bladder cancer is the 4th most common cancer among men; exposure to certain agents increases one's risk.
|
|
Declining Nutrient Levels in Vegetables
Nutrients in some vegetables have decreased over the past 50 years, but American eating patterns may render those declines irrelevant.
|
|
Drugs to Avoid During Pregnancy
Although the full potential for fetal harm is undefined for many medications, the Food and Drug Administration determines "best guess" safety profiles for most drugs.
|
|
Classifying Drugs for Use During Pregnancy
Many medications are associated with adverse effects during pregnancy; some drugs are safe; others might be prescribed in spite of their risks; some should never be used.
|
|
Using Honey in Cooking and Baking
"If you a cook of note would be,
Use honey in your recipe."
(Harriett M. Grace - 1947)
|
|
Nasal Irrigation with Saline
Jala Neti is an ancient technique associated with the practice of Yoga. Modern adherents extol the benefits of sinus irrigation, and research shows they may be right.
|
|
Daytime Sleepiness
Occasional daytime fatigue can be due to transient stresses or temporary sleep deprivation. Persistent sleepiness, however, should be evaluated.
|
|
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome is a relatively common hormonal abnormality in women. Diagnosis is based on signs and symptoms; cystic ovaries are not always present.
|
|
Seasonal Affective Disorder is Underdiagnosed
Seasonal affective disorder is not a unique mood disorder; rather, it is classified as a form of major depression that recurs at certain times of the year.
|
|
Symptoms of Hormone Imbalance
Although the concept of estrogen dominance hasn't gained secure footing among doctors, evidence supports its role in PMS, depression, and other syndromes.
|
|
Health Care Reform and the Insurance Industry
American health insurance is a defective product. It is purchased by customers in good faith, but its purveyors often fail to deliver on their promises.
|
|
The Role of Smallpox in Disaster Preparedness
Two generations of children have reached adulthood in the United States without smallpox vaccinations. As immunity declines, nearly all Americans are susceptible.
|
|
Concerns About Gardasil's Safety Still Circulate
"The FDA adverse event reports on the HPV vaccine read like a catalog of horrors."
(Thomas Fitton, President, Judicial Watch)
|
|
Age Related Macular Degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration accounts for nearly 60% of blindness in elderly adults of European descent. No reliable screening protocols have been established.
|
|
Relieving Pain with Acupuncture
Chinese physicians have practiced acupuncture for millennia, believing the technique improves the flow of energy, or "qi," through diseased areas of the body.
|
|
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy and Causalgia
Persistent pain caused by soft tissue, bone, or nerve injury can be out of proportion to the original injury and is sometimes mistakenly minimized by physicians.
|
|
H1N1 Influenza and the Cytokine Storm
With the reopening of schools and the resurgence of 2009 H1N1 ("swine flu"), health experts worry about an unusual pattern of severity.
|
|
Recipe for Canned Green Tomato Salsa
Every year gardeners are faced with a surplus of tomatoes that didn't ripen before the killing frosts arrived. Never fear; those golden-green orbs can be put to good use.
|
|
Acne Rosacea
Rosacea (acne rosacea) affects at least 14 million people in the United States. It is a chronic, often progressive disorder; treatment is based on disease severity.
|
|
Growing Blackberries on Purpose
Why would anyone deliberately cultivate blackberries, when they grow rampantly along the roadsides? Inviting these unruly plants into one's garden isn't just a wild idea.
|
|
Making Blackberry Wine
Making one's own blackberry wine is a great way to use all of those extra berries that inevitably spoil before they can be converted to jams, syrups, and pie fillings.
|
|
Receptors in Breast Cancer
Since 2001 the incidence of breast cancer (and its associated mortality) in the U.S. has declined, due in part to therapies guided by receptor status.
|
|
Another Adverse Effect of Tamoxifen
Although it prevents the recurrence of hormone-sensitive breast cancers, tamoxifen increases the risk for developing estrogen receptor-negative cancers.
|
|
Recipe for Garden Walk Pepper Slaw
When it's time to surrender to the weeds, the bugs, and the premature frosts, it's nice to know that all of that extra garden produce can be put to good use.
|
|
Is Peppermint Oil Toxic?
Peppermint oil has found sundry uses in our world, including candies, gums, beverages, ice creams, toothpastes and herbal medicines. But an overdose can be lethal.
|
|
Testing for H1N1 Suspended in Many Areas
Even as students return to school and share germs, specific testing for H1N1 has been suspended. Are public health experts overlooking an emerging and ominous problem?
|
|
Herbal Simpling
Although modern living has frayed the connection between people and the natural world, it is still possible to safely collect medicinal herbs from one's environment.
|
|
Curing Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes
Few things are more discouraging for a gardener than the development of blossom-end rot in a stand of tomatoes. Those precious plants don't have to be destroyed, though.
|
|
What to Do with Surplus Garden Produce
Summer is winding down. The garden is producing more zucchinis, tomatoes, beans, carrots, and cauliflower than any family wants to eat. What can one do with it all?
|
|
Alternative Treatments for Varicose Veins
Varicose veins are a common and sometimes painful problem. Conventional treatment often involves invasive procedures, something many people would like to avoid.
|
|
H1N1 (Swine Flu) and Health Care Reform
A healthcare system that limits access for the poor and under-insured will be incapable of responding to a pandemic in a timely fashion.
|
|
Alternative Treatments for Endometriosis
Once a woman has been diagnosed with endometriosis, she is often left with few viable choices for treatment. Conventional therapies can be overwhelming.
|
|
Docosahexaenoic Acid is an Essential Nutrient
Docosahexaenoic acid is essential for normal neurologic and hormonal function. Modern diets may not contain enough DHA, and humans don't produce much via metabolism.
|
|
How Cyclooxygenase Works
Cyclooxygenase is an enzyme that helps convert arachidonic acid to prostaglandin-like molecules; these "prostanoids" fulfill a multitude of biological roles.
|
|
Cabbage Loopers
While the sight of an inchworm arching across a leaf might delight a youngster, it should trigger alarms in the minds of gardeners who grow cruciferous vegetables.
|
|
Vitamin B12 and Pernicious Anemia
B12 deficiency can lead to a spectrum of illnesses. Due to the widespread use of acid-blocking agents, this condition may be more common than statistics indicate.
|
|
Anemia in the Elderly
Although anemia is fairly common in older people, it is not a normal consequence of aging. A cause can be found in 80% of elderly individuals.
|
|
Vitamin B6 for Colon Cancer
Recent studies reveal that vitamin B6 may help to prevent colon cancer. Unfortunately, many Americans' diets may not provide sufficient levels of this vital nutrient.
|
|
Factors That Affect Hepatitis C Treatment
Hepatitis C affects about 4 million people in the United States. Response to treatment can be predicted from social, viral, and host factors.
|
|
Aspirin and Colon Cancer
Studies show that aspirin reduces the risk of colon cancer. Unfortunately, most experts agree that the risks of taking aspirin outweigh any cancer-prevention benefits.
|
|
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
In contrast to the popular notion that it is difficult to treat, obsessive-compulsive disorder responds well to many different therapies.
|
|
Keloids and Hypertrophic Scars
Abnormal wound healing can lead to scarring that presents cosmetic, functional, and therapeutic challenges.
|
|
Transfer Factors and Hepatitis C
In the US, treatment for chronic hepatitis C is currently limited to interferon and ribavirin. At least one non-prescription supplement may prove useful, as well.
|
|
Flaxseed Lowers Total and LDL Cholesterol
A new meta-analysis of studies investigating flaxseed's health benefits supports the notion that this grain exerts cardioprotective effects.
|
|
Getting a Child to Sleep Through the Night
Normal infant development involves gaining independence from constant parental care; sleeping through the night is part of this process.
|
|
Herbs and Herbal Medicine
"Herb: (noun)...any plant used as a medicine, seasoning, or flavoring..." (Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition 2005)
|
|
Exercise During Pregnancy
For years, pregnant women were advised to avoid strenuous exercise; over the past decade, attitudes toward activity during pregnancy have undergone a refreshing change.
|
|
Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy
Most women experience some degree of nausea or vomiting during pregnancy; some develop profound symptoms that can adversely affect maternal and fetal health.
|
|
Medicinal Pansies
Variously known as Johnny-jump-ups, heartsease, bird's eyes, wild pansies, or love-in-idleness, these small, hardy flowers have a solid reputation in herbal medicine.
|
|
Wegener's Granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis is an uncommon inflammatory disease of small blood vessels. New treatments offer hope to patients but are fraught with side effects.
|
|
Legal Controversy Over Lyme Disease
Connecticut's attorney general is questioned over the manner in which the Infectious Diseases Society of America promulgated its guidelines for treating Lyme disease.
|
|
Recognizing and Responding to Stroke
Signs and symptoms of stroke can be confused with other conditions; waiting too long to seek medical care may limit eligibility for clot-dissolving therapy.
|
|
Microscopic Hematuria in Adults
Urine normally contains a few red blood cells; when three or more cells are seen in a high-power microscopic field, further evaluation is warranted.
|
|
Vaginal Bleeding in Late Pregnancy
Vaginal bleeding after the 20th week of gestation is associated with increased risks for both mother and infant; early detection of its cause can mitigate complications.
|
|
Achillea millefolium
Commonly known as bloodwort, soldier's woundwort, milfoil, or nosebleed, yarrow has been used as a healing agent for thousands of years.
|
|
Reiter's Syndrome
Reactive arthritis is triggered by an infectious agent outside the joints; a specific genetic makeup increases one's risk of acquiring this condition.
|
|
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most recognizable and well-known disorder on a spectrum of conditions caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
|
|
Red Clover
Bee bread, cow clover, or meadow clover...is Trifolium pratense a useful medicinal herb or just another "natural" cure that interferes with mainstream medical treatments?
|
|
Athlete's Foot
Athlete's foot, or tinea pedis, can range from mild flaking of the skin to severe inflammation with blistering, itching, and pain. Recurrence is common.
|
