Wellness Weekly

The Physical Exam: Last week I made a comment about preferring an old fashioned clinical exam to an MRI. This week a WSJ article discussed the reliance on scanners and diagnostic tools over medical history and physical exams. The article was written by a practicing MD. He stated that doctors often feel less confident about their abilities to diagnose and have great fear of missing something important. He also noted that fewer people are becoming internal medicine or family practice physicians and the void is being filled by other professions such as nurses and physician assistants who rely even more on the tools as they have had less medical training. The current trend is to use technology over skill and I do hope that it reverses.

Fat $$: A thorough article on the search for a weight loss pill was printed in Business Week on March 6th. The common theme for the weight loss drugs in studies or development is the side effect issue. Most companies are struggling with the number of suicides and also depression in persons who take the study drugs. To date, there has been no safe AND effective weight loss pill. This does not mean that weight loss is impossible; it means that diet and exercise are the preferred method to achieve it. Eating less and moving more when one has done the opposite for most of their life is incredibly challenging. It is hard. It is worth it. The outcome of obesity is an obesity related illness and that illness can lead to disability, years of healthy life lost and premature death.

Mom’s Fault: Some research is under way to determine if a heavy or obese woman who is obese during her pregnancy predisposes her child to obesity. An obese gene or an obese prenatal environment are suspected culprits. This hasn’t yet been proven or even suggested by the research. That being said, preventing obesity does begin in childhood and children who are overweight or obese by age nine are more likely to continue to be obese throughout their shortened life.

Pregnancy and Smoking: A study of 18,000 British babies found that those whose mothers quit smoking during pregnancy were happier than those whose mothers had continued smoking. We all know that a happy baby is a happy family. Of course, quitting smoking will also cut the risk of the baby’s dying from SIDS and being born prematurely by as much as 50 percent.

Water Woes: A story out this week noted that some water supplies have been found to contain at miniscule levels, prescription drugs or metabolites of the drugs. Whether you A) believe the report or B) worry about a consequence from the water, remember this, disposal of medications should be done in a safe manner. The only safe way that I am aware of is to bring unused meds to your pharmacist or any pharmacist and ask him or her to dispose of them. Industrial dumping or industrial waste is an entirely different matter and may be under the auspices of the EPA. I hope that the story, whether you believe it or think as my brother in law (the bottled water industry is behind the story), gets the issue out in the open. Every drug has some side effect and though we may or may not be adversely affected by these trace amounts, our plant and animal life may be. This environmental thing, well it affects ALL species in the end.

Wishing you wellness and clean water