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HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS

AIKEN-AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006

APRIL 14, 2017

MEDICINE AND

GOD

he ancients held that good health was enjoyed strictly at the pleasure and whim of the gods.

The Greek god of health, Aesclepius (Latin: Aesculapius), shown to the right, and his daughters (two of whom were Hygieia and Panacea) protected their worshippers from other gods who were the bringers of plagues like illness and death.

His staff, wrapped up by a serpent, is a symbol of medicine to this day, a clue that some things in health and medicine have changed very little over the centuries. More about that in a moment. Incidentally, the caduceus, two snakes wrapped around a staff with wings, is often incorrectly used as a medical symbol. The caduceus was the staff of Hermes or Mercury, the messenger of the gods, and has no connection with health and healing. The rod of Aesclepius is always a single serpent entwined around a staff, never a staff with wings.

A serpent seems a curious medical emblem at first, but its ability to shed its old skin makes it a powerful symbol of renewal and rejuvenation. Snakes were also familiar with

the underworld, considered a handy talent by superstitious ancients. In the case of Aesclepius in particular, legend has it that a snake taught him the secrets of the medical arts, inasmuch as Greeks believed snakes to be keepers of sacred knowledge about healing and resurrection.

Aesculapius, to use the Latin version, is no myth. He is thought to have been an actual practicing physician. After being mentioned by name in Homer’s Iliad, his reputation grew to cult status and eventually he was enshrined as a god.

Some in our age of knowledge and technology might consider the ancients and their belief in the connection between the gods and health to be quaint relics of the mythologies and superstitions of much more primitive times.

But are they really so distant? Today, especially when life-threatening tragedy, trauma or disease strikes, God is often invoked, either as the cause or the remedy. Take a few moments to ponder this common habit and it becomes readily apparent that it is a slippery slope indeed.

Please see GOD page 3

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

APRIL 14, 2017

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APRIL 14, 2017

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

The

GOD… from page 1

Proof that God was watching?

A young couple walked away from this scarylooking wreck on 15th Street at Riverwatch Parkway a few months ago after being T-boned by a driver who struck them after running a red light. Their car flipped 5 times, prompting the husband to post on Facebook, “God was looking out for us today.” His wife added, “He was definitely watching over our little family today.”

One might think that a loving and all-powerful God could have/would have stepped in before impact, but judging by a selection of responses to the accident (below, each shown verbatim in its entirety), that would be a minority opinion: • Praise the Lord!!!

• Thankful for God’s protection over ya’ll!

• Thank you Jesus!!!

• Thanking God for keeping y’all safe.

• God is good.

• Thank God! Its not yalls time yet!

• We are praising our Lord for His mercy in protecting them during this serious crash • God definitely had y’all in His hands!!

• I am so thankful God protected you both serious injury.

• So glad y’all are ok! God is good!

• Glad y’all are ok. God is good!!

• Our GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD • [You] have an amazing guardian angel!

• God def put a bubble around glad you both are ok!

• So thankful God protected y’all • God was with you guys, Praise GOD!!!

• Thank God for his protection.

• Praising God for your safety!!

• That right there is proof of God watching.

• Praises!!

• Wow God is so good. +

Advice Doctor ©

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and keep those we’ve lost in His heavenly place.”

If one of those murdered children had been yours, would you find it comforting to be told that “God called them home”? Would it draw you closer to God? Would it make you think of the well-known Bible verse that says “God is love”?

When Augusta Christian athlete Drew Passmore died recently after a car accident, WRDW News12 posted social media reactions from viewers, one of which was, “God doesn’t make mistakes” (or words very similar), the clear implication being that this was no accident; this was God’s handiwork.

These and millions of other similar statements no doubt stem from the common belief that God is in charge — of everything.

After all, no one is more powerful, right?

But if God is in control, why does the world seem to be out of control? Here’s a shocker for many: the Bible does not say God is in control. For instance, when Jesus said, ‘The ruler of this world is coming and he has no hold on me,’ he certainly wasn’t talking about his father. If not his father, then who? Another Bible verse names Satan as the god of this world, which, given the state of affairs around us, makes a whole lot more sense.

One of the more well-known personalities in the Bible is Job. We’ve all heard the story: Job endured tremendous trials when God gave Satan permission to temporarily torment the poor man. It’s a similar situation now: the Bible says the evil God of this world has only temporary permission to foster all of his mayhem.

Is this Good God versus Evil God competition just so much modern-day mythology? It’s easy to see how a thoughtful person would say so, concluding the whole “God is in charge” philosophy held little if any logic on September 11. Or after Sandy Hook. Or Columbine. Or when some family’s only child dies from cancer and well-meaning friends say it’s all part of God’s plan. Who knows how many atheists have been created from this common but illogical belief when tragedy strikes?

Is God plucking little girls from country roadsides or using deranged killers to help populate heaven? Does he use traffic accidents to deliberately take one teenager to heaven while protecting another family from injury (see box, left)?

The Bible writer James noted that no one under trial should ever think it’s God’s doing.

As another verse puts it, “time and chance happeneth to [us] all.”

The Bible describes its Author as “the God of all comfort,” never the source of our various traumas and tragedies. +

Dear Advice Doctor, It seems like most of the people who write in have questions about relationships at work, with neighbors, marriage mates, and so forth. My question is more medical: I get plenty of sleep, exercise regularly and have a good diet. Even so, I nearly always feel tired and run down. Do you have any suggestions that might help me combat this problem?

— Feeling run down Dear Feeling Run Down, You raise an excellent issue about a worsening problem nationwide. More than 6,000 pedestrians were killed last year, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. That is more than a 10 percent increase over 2015 — which also saw a steep rise compared with 2014. The GHSA report, just released at the end of March, noted “this is the second year in a row that we have seen unprecedented increases in pedestrian fatalities.”

Georgia pedestrian fatalities rose more than 21 percent between 2015 and 2016; in South Carolina the jump was nearly 16 percent.

What is the suspected cause? People distracted by phones while driving and walking. In the pre-digital era, you could go for a walk in your neighborhood, confident that your fluorescent orange reflective shirt would provide ample warning to drivers, day or night. These days, you could be wearing a neon sign for all the good it does if the approaching driver isn’t even looking at the roadway.

Not that drivers are the only ones to blame. People stare at their phones while walking along busy thoroughfares like Washington Road, crossing side streets without apparent awareness, highspeed traffic zipping past mere feet away.

Unfortunately, the near future doesn’t look particularly promising. Until people learn to control their screen time, more and more people are going to experience that run down feeling.

The solution lies with each and every one of us. + Do you have a question for The Advice Doctor about life, love, personal relationships, career, raising children, or any other important topic? Send it to News@AugustaRx.com. Replies will be provided only in Examiner issues.

AUGUSTA

One of the most telling examples in recent memory occurred when two young girls, sisters, were struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in nearby South Carolina. The minister who delivered the eulogy, quoted in an article in The Augusta Chronicle, said ‘God looked down and saw these two beautiful flowers and He said, “I will pluck these to plant in my garden.”’

Perhaps your view would be different, but for many a grieving parent the thought that God not only took away their children, but used a criminal to do the deed (because that’s what a hit-and-run driver instantly becomes) would be of little comfort. In fact, it might shake their faith in God to its very foundations.

And it isn’t just country preachers who give all the credit to God — and we mean all the credit, for anything and everything, no matter how heinous and diabolical.

When President Obama spoke to the people of Newtown, Connecticut, days after the horrific massacre of six- and seven-year-olds at Sandy Hook Elementary School, he noted how often we as humans are “unable to discern God’s heavenly plans.” Then, after reciting the names of each of the twenty young victims he said, “God has called them all home,” adding, “May God bless

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MEDICAL EXAMINER

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AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER

www.AugustaRx.com The Medical Examiner’s mission: to provide information on topics of health and wellness of interest to general readers, to offer information to assist readers in wisely choosing their healthcare providers, and to serve as a central source of news within every part of the Augusta medical community.

Submit editorial content to graphicadv@knology.net Direct editorial and advertising inquiries to: Daniel R. Pearson, Publisher & Editor E-mail: Dan@AugustaRx.com AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER P.O. Box 397, Augusta, GA 30903-0397

(706) 860-5455 www.AugustaRx.com • E-mail: graphicadv@knology.net Opinions expressed by the writers herein are their own and/or their respective institutions. Neither the Augusta Medical Examiner, Pearson Graphic 365 Inc., or its agents or employees take any responsibility for the accuracy of submitted information, which is presented for general informational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnosis and treatment, consult your doctor.

The appearance of advertisements in this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services advertised. © 2017 PEARSON GRAPHIC 365 INC.

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APRIL 14, 2017

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

#41 IN A SERIES

OLD NEWS

Who is this?

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POINTS OF INTEREST TO FORMER KIDS

by Trisha Whisenhunt, Senior Citizens Council

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his trail-blazing woman’s claim to medical fame is seems a bit far-fetched in 2017. But then again, progress often travels at a snail’s pace. And sometimes, as her experience shows, it’s one step forward, two steps back.

Born November 26, 1832, Mary Edwards Walker (shown above in 1911) earned her medical degree with honors from New York’s Syracuse Medical School in 1855, the only female in her class.

That same year she married a fellow student, Albert Miller, and together they started a medical practice. On her wedding day she wore a short skirt over full-length pants, refused to include the word “obey” in her vows, and kept her last name.

Yes, Mary Walker was a bit of a firecracker in her day.

Alas, apparently Albert Miller was too, because the pair soon divorced because of his infidelity. Before that, their joint medical practice failed, largely because female physicians were neither trusted nor respected in the 1850s.

When the Civil War broke out, Walker volunteered to serve in the Union Army, which had no female doctors. After Walker joined its ranks they still didn’t: she was allowed to practice only as a nurse. Even so, she served at or near the front lines, treating wounded soldiers at the First Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Fredericksburg, and in a Chattanooga hospital after the Battle of Chickamauga, all as as a full-fledged (but unofficial) field surgeon.

In September, 1863, she was finally hired as an assistant surgeon at a salary of $80 a month, the first female surgeon in US Army history. Her military service was marked by her opposition to the heavy reliance on amputation, something she thought should be viewed as a procedure of last resort, not standard practice.

Walker learned of Frances Hook, a girl who enlisted in the Union Army at age 14 while claiming to be a young man of 22.

Hook was captured in Alabama and even though discovered to be a female, was offered a commission by Jefferson Davis himself if she would fight for the Confederacy. Hook replied she would rather be a private in the Union Army than a Confederate lieutenant. When Walker heard about this, she campaigned (unsuccessfully) for Hook to be made a Union lieutenant.

Walker herself was captured in April, 1864, and held in a Confederate prison until released 4 months later in a prisoner exchange, just in time for the Battle of Atlanta.

After the war she was awarded a disability pension for partial muscular atrophy suffered while malnourished in prison. In 1865 she was recommended for the Congressional Medal of Honor by William Tecumseh Sherman and approved by President Andrew Johnson, citing her devotion “to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the fields and hospitals, to the detriment of her health.”

To this day she is the one and only female to ever be awarded the Medal of Honor, “America’s highest and most prestigious personal military decoration,” and the only woman to lose it: in 1917, two years before her death, her medal was revoked along with some 900 others, all of whom were instructed to return their harware. As you might expect, Walker refused. Her Medal of Honor was restored by President Carter in 1977.

Walker died at age 86, a year before passage of the 19th Amendment, a cause for which she had campaigned. +

PAY ATTENTION. YOU CAN AFFORD IT.

t is often suggested that bringing someone with you to any doctor appointment is a good idea. A second set of eyes and ears are always good policy, especially if you are receiving upsetting news or detailed instructions. As a matter of routine, doctors send us home with written instructions. Not everyone reads them. People fail to do this for a variety of reasons: they think they know what they’re supposed to do, the paperwork gets lost, they’re lazy, they don’t care, they don’t believe it’s important or they can’t read.

I know that last one may seem improbable, but you might be surprised at how many people have never learned to read. There are certain catch phrases that some people I come in contact with use when faced with having to read text on a page. Whenever I hear these, it lets me know they can’t read and need some help. I have developed strategies to deal with this problem that avoids

embarrassment.

But what if no one is around to help? Under some circumstances it could be a life threatening situation. I can’t imagine the hindrance this must be to a person throughout their life.

Not listening can cause the same problems.

Paying attention — and comprehending what is being said and the meaning behind the words — is a life skill that is invaluable to each of us.

Why are so many of us poor at it? It’s not difficult to acquire this skill, it just takes time and practice. As our mothers told us, we have one mouth and two ears, close one and open the other two.

This is a simple skill but so

vital to our well-being and ability to move forward in life. Listening can save us a lot of time, energy, money and grief. I have no problem asking for something to be repeated if I either did not hear it clearly or if I believe I missed the meaning of what was said. It saves feelings, avoids anger and increases productivity both personally and professionally.

Sometimes I think people choose not to hear what is being said, or hear only what they want to hear. For instance, the temporary ban on immigration was something least two previous Presidents also proposed or implemented. Then there was the uproar over abortion becoming illegal when all that was actually proposed was not the abolishment of the procedure but instead that it will not be paid for with federal and/or state funds. I could go on but you get the point. People get so upset because they are not listening. There is no reason to get indignant before you have all the facts, and you are not going to get them by misinterpreting or believing what you are hearing third hand.

We all need to pay attention and not assume we know, when in fact, we may not. When your doctor asks if you have any questions, your last one should be: “Is there anything I should know that I haven’t asked?” +

MYTH OF THE MONTH Copper bracelets can cure or prevent arthritis The human body as we get older is constantly breaking down and repairing itself.

Simply put, arthritis is a condition where the repair process fails to keep pace with the breakdown. Copper bracelets are sold with the promise that copper absorbed through the skin helps promote regeneration of cartilage at joint surfaces. And some bracelets, like the one shown here, have magnets thrown in as an added bonus (a subject which probably deserves an article all its own).

Copper is definitely an essential mineral with many uses in the body, but a little goes a long way. Some nutrients we need are measured in doses of milligrams (mg); copper needs are expressed in micrograms (mcg). An

mg isn’t much, but it takes 1,000 mcg to make one. Most people get all the copper they need through a normal diet, and diagnosed copper deficiencies are extremely rare.

In addition, it has never been proven that copper can be absorbed through the skin in a way that’s useful to the body. Conversely, excessive levels of copper in the body are poisonous.

There is currently no known way to cure or reverse arthritis — including by wearing a copper bracelet. + — by F. E. Gilliard, MD, Family Medicine 4244 Washington Road, Evans, GA 30809 706-760-7607

APRIL 14, 2017

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

WHAT EVERYBODY OUGHT TO KNOW res? k good eno r skin can ugh cer? son.”

H

o k

ABOUT HOW TO SOUND SOUTHERN EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT

ere in the South, we have unique sayings to make our language more colorful.

Other people borrow from us.

We don’t mind. They need all the help they can get. So as my good deed for this year, here is a brief, highly limited tutorial on how to determine if you have an inkling of southern dialect.

You might be Southern if you have ever said: • She’s fit to be tied. (She is powerfully upset.)

• Them young’ens are pitching a fit. (Kids having a tantrum.)

• Dark 30. (Thirty minutes after dark.)

• I ain’t leaving ‘til the cows come home. (Meaning dark 30.)

• Hold my beer and watch this.

• Every man deserves two good dogs and one good woman.

• I feel plumb pukified.

(Nausea and vomiting) • I got a weak stomach.

(Nausea and vomiting) • Last time I felt this bad, I died.

• I got the piles.

(Hemorrhoids) • If your brains were dynamite, you couldn’t blow you nose.

• He smokes like a freight train.

• She had her hair fried, dyed, and laid to the side. (Got a permanent) • I know what stick shift, three on the tree, and four in the floor means.

• I know what three deuces and a Continental kit means.

• You could hang meat in here, it is so damn cold.

• Colder than a witch’s titties in a brass bra.

• She’s got snakes in her head.

• She’s so crazy when she took the MMPI, her doctor committed suicide.

• Old lady’s flying the flag.

(Wife is on her period. No sense in going home early.)

• Faster than a scalded house cat.

• Faster than greased lightning.

• Looser than Moody’s goose.

• Tighter than Dick’s hat band.

• Quicker than a duck on a June bug.

• Good Yankees visit and then go home. Damn Yankees visit and stay.

• I can set a bush hook or run a trout line.

• Pretty enough to make a foot-washing preacher run away from home.

• As pretty as you are, if you ain’t married, you must know a lot of stupid men.

• You cook so good, I’m going home and slap my mama.

• Are y’all going (one), or all y’all (many)?

• Her shorts are so tight, looks like she was born in them and grew considerably thereafter.

• Her shorts are so tight, if she had a dime in her pocket you could tell if it was heads or tails.

• She’s got her war paint on.

(Heavy makeup) • Ugly as a stick.

• Uglier than the south end of a north-bound bull.

• She’s so ugly, she hurts.

• Like ugly on an ape.

• She is so fat, when she walks, the dirt shakes.

• She’s so fat, when she stops walking, she jiggles for three more minutes.

• When she walks, it looks like two pigs fighting in a burlap bag.

• Shaky Pudding. (Nickname for a girl with an exaggerated walk.)

TO ADVERTISE IN THE MEDICAL EXAMINER CALL (706) 860-5455 OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY! WELL, TECHNICALLY THEY’RE SITTING AROUND. CALL TODAY AND GIVE THEM SOMETHING DO TO.

HE

T

t s e B • Madder than a wet setting hen.

• Nervous as a long tail cat in room full of rocking chairs.

• Nervous as a whore in church.

• About as funny as a poot in a space suit (Not funny at all.)

• So quiet you could hear a grasshopper burp.

• Slicker than snot on a brass doorknob.

• There were people there from no-teeth to no-teeth (all ages).

• Armadillo is possum on the half shell.

• Religion is important, but football is serious!

• Her mouth is so big, when she burps, it echoes.

• Snores so loud it rattles the rafters.

• Don’t come knocking when we’re rocking.

• Grandpa kicked the bucket last night. (Died) • Hotter than a fresh f**ked fox in a forest fire.

• Hotter than the hinges on the Gates of Hell.

• Hotter than plastic seat convers in a convertible in August.

• She’s a potato chip girl.

(Frito Lay) • Tastes worse than slimy ditchwater.

• Slower than Christmas in July.

• Who needs a grill? Give me a hubcap and some charcoal.

e n i c i d ME

• Beer butt chicken is a waste of good beer.

• Anything over a C+ in college is wasted effort.

• Fixin’ to go over yonder • Tireder than a whore on Sunday morning.

• My get up and go, done got up and went.

• Smarter than a college ‘fessor.

• Meaner than a junkyard dog.

• Drunker than Cooter Brown.

• Beat with an ugly stick.

• Fell out of Ugly Tree and hit every limb on the way down.

• Rumors about her bloomers.

• Ain’t no cobwebs on them bloomers.

• Got more (anything) than the law allows.

• Quit school because recess was too long.

• So lazy dead lice fell off him.

• I ain’t broke, but I’m bent.

• She stays in the bathroom longer than Smokey Bear stays in the woods.

• She’s got more shoes than a 1,000 legged worm.

• My house is funeral ready.

(Cleaned perfectly.)

• Act like you got good sense whether you do or not.

• You would be acting stupid — if you were acting.

• More than a little bit stupid.

• Half a bubble off center. (weird or mildly mentally deranged) • I’m fixin’ to mash this button.

Just knowing these few phrases means you got a little South in your mouth. +

Bad Billy Laveau is a formerlyretired MD who wields a pointed sense of humor - and now, tongue depressors too.

He speaks and entertains at events for audiences not subject to cardiac arrest secondary to overwhelming laughter and glee. BadBilly@knology.net or 706-306-9397.

F REE T AKE-HO ME CO PY!

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MEDICAL EXAMINER

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HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS • HEALTH • MEDICINE • WELLNESS

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APRIL 14, 2017

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

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- said no one ever.

That is certainly said about some local publications, but we actually Like and prefer being article-HEAVY and ad-LITE. ...within reason We’d also kinda like to stay in business too. So:

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APRIL 14, 2017

Southern Girls Eat Clean Avocado Egg Salad Egg salad sandwiches can be found on our table about every other weekend.

It’s a great Saturday or Sunday lunch meal. Egg salad is quick to put together and when we are busy with things around the house we can quickly grab a sandwich and keep going.

Of course, I used to make egg salad the typical way. Chopped boiled eggs, mayonnaise, sweet pickles, garlic powder, salt and pepper were the ingredients of my old recipe. Once we started cleaning up our diet I looked around for a healthier recipe for egg salad. I tried several different recipes. One of them used plain hummus in place of the mayo. It was not bad, but we just didn’t fall in love with it.

I browse quite often on Pinterest and one day I came across a very different egg salad recipe by www. honeywhatscooking.com. It piqued my interest so I pinned it to my “Salad Anything� board.

As I usually do, I changed up the recipe a good bit, but Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich the idea is essentially the same: eggs and avocado. I delicious option for your egg coarsely chop. Place into the really love how the changes salad sandwich. Serve it up bowl with the egg. turned out. on a healthy bread such as Using a fork, press the You get the creaminess of Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain avocado and egg against the the avocado to take the place bread or Rudi’s gluten free sides of the bowl to break of mayonnaise in this egg multi-grain bread for an into smaller pieces and blend salad. You’ll taste the bright awesome lunchtime meal together. freshness of the lemon and Once the eggs and the tang of the Dijon mustard. Ingredients: avocado are at your desired The parsley and spring onions • 3 pastured boiled eggs, consistency add the lemon add flavor and texture as well. chopped coarsely juice, Dijon, garlic powder, Not to mention, you’ll get two • 1 large ripe organic fresh parsley, spring onions great proteins at once. avocado, chopped coarsely and salt and pepper to the The health benefits of both • Juice of 1 lemon mixing bowl. the eggs and the avocado • 1/2 Tbsp. of Dijon mustard Using a spoon, mix all the are wonderful. If you choose • 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder ingredients well until blended pastured eggs that is even • 1 Tbsp. of fresh parsley, together. better. I believe that God finely chopped Serve on a healthy bread intended chickens to peck • 1 spring onion, finely with a side of fresh raw the ground and eat bugs and chopped (light green and dark vegetables. + worms. The health of the green parts only) animal is definitely related • Sea salt or Real Salt brand Alisa Rhinehart is half of the to our health. A pastured and cracked black pepper to blog southerngirlseatclean. chicken is healthier because it taste. com. She is a working wife lives as it should. We benefit and mother living also when we eat the eggs Instructions: in Evans, Georgia. that they lay. I love Pasture Boil the eggs and set aside Visit her blog for Verde brand pastured eggs to cool completely. more recipes and and I find these delicious and Once cooled, chop the eggs information on healthy eggs at Earth Fare. coarsely and place into a clean eating.

If you love egg salad you mixing bowl. absolutely must try this fab Peel and remove the recipe. A much healthier and pit from the avocado and

We

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Pharma cy 4 11

OUR NEWSSTANDS Medical locations: • Children’s Hospital of Georgia, Harper Street, Main Lobby • Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Ctr, 15th St., Main Entrance • Dept. of Veterans Affairs Med. Center, Uptown Div., Wrightsboro Rd., main lobby • Doctors Hospital, 3651 Wheeler Rd, ER Lobby Entrance • Eisenhower Hospital, Main Lobby, Fort Gordon • George C. Wilson Drive (by medical center Waffle House and mail boxes) • Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home, main lobby, 15th Street • Augusta U. Hospital, 1120 15th Street, South & West Entrances • Augusta U. Medical Office Building, Harper Street, Main Entrance • Augusta U. Medical Office Building, Harper Street, Parking Deck entrance • Augusta U. Hospital, Emergency Room, Harper Street, Main Entrance • Select Specialty Hospital, Walton Way, Main entrance lobby • Trinity Hospital, Wrightsboro Road, main lobby by elevators • Trinity Hospital Home Health, Daniel Village, main lobby • University Health Federal Credit Union/ University Hospital Human Resources, 1402 Walton Way, Main Lobby • University Hospital, 1350 Walton Way, Emergency Room lobby area • University Hospital, 1350 Walton Way, Outside Brown & Radiology/Day Surgery • University Hospital - Columbia County, 465 N. Belair Road, Main Lobby • University Hospital Prompt Care, 3121 Peach Orchard Road, Augusta

Around town: • Barney’s Pharmacy, 2604 Peach Orchard Rd. • Birth Control Source, 1944 Walton Way • GRU Summerville Student Bookstore • Blue Sky Kitchen, 990 Broad Street • Columbia County Library, main branch lobby, Ronald Reagan Drive, Evans • Enterprise Mill (North Tower), 1450 Greene Street, Augusta • Daniel Village Barber Shop, Wrightsboro Road at Ohio Ave. • Family Y (Old Health Central), Broad Street, downtown Augusta • Hartley’s Uniforms, 1010 Druid Park Ave, Augusta • International Uniforms, 1216 Broad Street, Augusta • Marshall Family Y, Belair Rd, Evans • Parks Pharmacy, Georgia Avenue, North Augusta • Southside Family Y, Tobacco Road, Augusta • Surrey Center, Surrey Center Pharmacy, Highland Avenue, Augusta • Top-Notch Car Wash, 512 N. Belair Road, Evans • Wild Wing Cafe, 3035 Washington Road, Augusta

Plus more than 875 doctors offices throughout the area for staff and waiting rooms, as well as many nurses stations and waiting rooms of area hospitals.

APRIL 14, 2017

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Very little if anything about healthcare is inexpensive, and that includes medicine. Tiny pills can command large prices. Over-the-counter and generic medications may be less expensive, but are they also less effective? Find the answers to lots of your drug store questions in this column written by Augusta pharmacists Chris and Lee Davidson exclusively for the Medical Examiner.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO GET WELL: MONEY

I

n our current economy, it pays to shop around for the best bargain possible for everything. Whether you shop at multiple markets ensuring the least expensive grocery bill, shop only the clearance sales for your clothing, or scour the internet for the best price on a new vehicle, we are all looking for new and better ways to reduce our monthly bills. However, it isn’t necessarily in your best interest to go the cheapest route on your healthcare, especially when it involves your prescription medications.

Unfortunately, medications of all types have been increasing in price exponentially. Never mind the $1,000-per-pill “specialty” medications; even the old stand-by inexpensive medications have begun increasing in price at an astronomical rate. For example, a bottle of 500 tablets of a medication that used to be $3 to $4 for the pharmacy to purchase may now cost $300 to $400.

Unfortunately, we have all heard about the price-gouging on Epi-Pens (the injection used for anaphylactic reactions). Anyone without prescription insurance is not likely to be able to afford many medications at those rates.

These days even people with insurance may find that medication costs are out of the affordable realm.

Many people look to alternative solutions to combat ridiculously high prices. Some options that are available are store or manufacturer coupons, prescription drug discount cards, lists/websites that indicate which stores sell the medications at the lowest cost. With drug discount cards, one issue is that the price is not always the cheapest available.

The store’s cash price (no insurance or cards) may actually be cheaper than the “discount card” price. Manufacturer coupons may or may not be applicable due to issues with the patient’s insurance. Many cards may not legally be used if the patient

has any sort of state or federal government-related insurance plan – including teachers, military retirees and Medicaid and Medicare plans.

The other possibility is using the lists that claim to show the cheapest possible places to purchase each medication. In this case, the patient may actually get the cheapest medicine, but at what cost? Using multiple pharmacies for any reason can be very dangerous. A patient may be using multiple physicians and multiple pharmacies, often for cost or convenience reasons. In doing so there is a much larger risk of drug-drug interactions, duplication in therapy, and inappropriate medication regimens.

If that patient is also paying “cash” prices instead of insurance, the risk becomes even greater. One physician may not know that another has prescribed a given medication, or that a patient has a medication allergy that they have longforgotten. In a multiple pharmacy situation, it is very easy for someone to end up with medications that absolutely do not need to be given together.

Give yourself the best possible chance at a good medical outcome and shop around — but use one pharmacy that gives you the best overall deal without putting your health at risk.

After all, saving money is not worth compromising your health or life. + Questions, comments and article suggestions can be sent by email to cjdlpdrph@bellsouth.net Written for the Medical Examiner by Augusta pharmacists Chris and Lee Davidson (cjdlpdrph@bellsouth.net )

Healthcare costs can be hard to swallow.

But if your pills are, let us know.

We’ll try to help.

P

GREAT COFFEE DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME OR WORK

ARKS

HARMACY

Hometown. Not big box.

437 Georgia Avenue, North Augusta, SC

803-279-7450 parkspharmacy.com

ORDER AT WWW.7SOUTHCOFFEE.COM

Thanks for reading!

APRIL 14, 2017

9+

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Ask a Dietitian BE WELL, NOT OVERWHELMED

by Sohailla Digsby, RDN, LD In effort to achieve an enviable state of health, could Americans be causing a flood of stress hormones that counteract intentional efforts? Many can be found judging every bite of food against the recommendations of this year’s fads. Though this strict food judgment and rule-keeping may end in fewer doctor visits, it may be amounting to more counseling appointments and increased disordered eating. Cholesterol has gone down, meanwhile anxiety has gone up. Turns out the co-pay is the same: poor overall well-being.

Is it possible that healthseekers are trying so assiduously to eat wisely and stay with current trends that despite their zeal, intentions are backfi ring? Derailed by insignificant details.

Despairing in comparing.

Following fads that are depleting funds. Ultimately “majoring on the minors.”

With dedicated efforts, could you be becoming your own greatest stressor? Are you enforcing over-righteous rules that you can’t keep in the real world without creating a proportionately unhealthy fi xation?

Below are 7 musts for vitality on your journey to being your personal best.

• PLAY! The “E” of exercise is for Exhilaration, so “Move it! Move it!” whenever you can and at the intensity that is appropriate for the best you (which may not to be the same as someone else’s best).

Don’t “go hard or go home,” rather “stay and play!” Do your best to energize yourself

with make-it-count movement at the proper intensity level for your current season of life.

• CHECK! Set short term goals and check them off as you achieve them. Making small changes creates a sense of satisfaction as you gain new healthy habits due to daily repetition.

• VISUALIZE! Replace “count” with “click.” Be wary of number-crunching.

Tracking every calorie and daily scale fluctuations may

DO YOU HAVE ORTHOREXIA? Consider the following questions. The more questions you respond “yes” to, the more likely you are dealing with orthorexia (an obsession with eating foods that one considers to be healthy).

• Do you wish that occasionally you could just eat and not worry about food quality?

• Do you ever wish you could spend less time on food and more time living and loving?

• Does it seem beyond your ability to eat a meal prepared with love by someone else – one single meal – and not try to control what is served?

• Are you constantly looking for ways foods are unhealthy for you?

• Do love, joy, play and creativity take a back seat to following the perfect diet?

• Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet?

• Do you feel in control when you stick to the “correct” diet?

• Have you put yourself on a nutritional pedestal and wonder how others can possibly eat the foods they eat? + (source: National Eating Disorder Assn)

not help you. Take a mental snapshot of a plate before eating: will it fuel you with energy and focus for the next few hours? Will it contribute to a balanced, healthy life with your long term goals in mind?

• FIGHT! Refuse to fall prey to fads and gimmicks. (“Bananas make you fat?

Truth: too much of anything can.)

• STRATEGY! Think through worthwhile strategic splurges in advance. Mindfully savor each bite, not because you’ve earned it, but because gratifying food in moderation is a healthy part of life.

• ESTEEM! Compliment people on things other than appearance, and be careful not to praise health extremism. Behaviors or physiques that require all-consuming effort or inordinate restraint may lead to deficiencies, illness, injury and psychological illness, especially when applauded.

• CHOOSE! “Choose your hard.” True, staying committed to cooking healthfully at home and to regular exercise is hard, but so are giving yourself insulin injections and taking days off from work for preventable illness. Making daily choices that support lifelong wellbeing will make a difference over time!

Be on the lookout for sneaky habits wearing false halos that may creep into your life despite your good intentions.

Becoming “your best you” is an effort that considers you as a whole person in proper balance. +

What you put behind our garage doors is completely up to you.

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+ 10

APRIL 14, 2017

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER Part N of a 26-part series

This shirt could be yours

FREE!

Flesh-eating bacteria Thanks to the Aimee Copeland case, in 2013 this very newspaper made the statement that Augusta well might have been the only city in the nation where everyone knew what necrotizing fasciitis was.

It was a local case that captured world-wide attention.

Headlines about “flesh-eating bacteria” tend to grab people’s attention.

Necrotizing fasciitis is very rare (0.4 cases per 100,000 people per year in the US), but when it strikes, it proves to be fatal about 25 percent of the time. Untreated, or not treated rapidly or aggressively enough, 25 percent becomes the survival rate. Even when it isn’t fatal, treatment often involves multiple surgeries to remove infected tissue to stop its rapid and relentless march through the body.

Amputations — plural — are also common. As Canadian science fiction writer Peter Watts, who contracted the disease in 2011 noted, “If ever there was a disease fit for a science fiction writer, [this]

IS FOR NECROTIZING FASCIITIS has got to be it. [It] spread across my leg as fast as a Star Trek space disease in timelapse.”

This runaway freight train of a disease can start simply enough: from a break in the skin from a cut or burn or even a surgical site. Risk factors include having a weakened immune system and chronic health problems like cancer or diabetes, or liver or kidney disease. WebMD says even a muscle strain or bruise without a break in the skin can be its starting point.

Symptoms include skin that is red, swollen and hot to the touch at the wound site, and pain that is much worse

that would be expected. Fluid discharge and blistering from the wound are often seen, and vomiting and diarrhea are also commonly seen.

Faced with the prospect of such a horrific disease, prevention is obviously paramount. Despite how rare necrotizing fasciitis is, no one should view the care of any wound as insignificant.

Carefully cleaning and dressing a wound to remove initial bacteria and prevent further infection is a simple but effective key to cutting the chances of being the next victim of this rare infection.

Handwashing is another preventive step.

Another key to survival is prompt medical treatment for any wound that seems to be getting rapidly and exponentially more painful.

It’s better to be safe than sorry. Necrotizing fasciitis is rarely contagious, but anyone who has been around someone with it who then begins to experienc symptoms of infection should see their doctor immediately. +

Daniel Village Barber Shop We’ve just added this shirt to the haul winners of the Mystery Word contest receive — in addition to gift cards from Wild Wing Cafe and Scrubs of Evans.

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Remember: the Mystery Word is always hidden. It is never in plain sight and it’s never in an article. See all the deets on page 14.

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MAKERSON DENTAL

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We’re on Wrightsboro Rd. at Ohio Avenue. +

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY Because no one lets their fingers do the walking these days.

On page 15 of every issue.

APRIL 14, 2017

11 +

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

The blog spot From the Bookshelf — posted by Brian C. Joondeph, MD, on April 4, 2017

8 THINGS DOCTORS SECRETLY WANT TO TELL THEIR PATIENTS As the repeal of Obamacare is debated, one common theme is: “What will happen to patients?” Many questions loom. But what about doctors? What about how they’re doing?

There are things doctors want to tell their patients, not only about health care reform — but also about their health and more. Here are few things that I, for one, want my patients to know: 1. I’m worried about health care reform, too. I appreciate the challenges for patients under Obamacare — high premiums, deductibles, and copayments; narrow networks limiting the choice of physician. But I have challenges, too.

I’m a small-business person — and when I’m forced to do more while getting paid less, at some point I can’t stay in business.

Rules, regulations, and more hoops to jump through all distract me from my job of taking care of your medical problems.

2. If you’ll be late or need to cancel your appointment, let me know! I understand your life is busy and complicated. There will always be issues with traffic, family, work conflicts — or maybe you just forgot about your appointment. But my appointment slots are my practice’s lifeblood — and missed appointments mean lost revenue and other patients having to wait longer for their appointments. Many restaurants ask for a credit card, which will be charged if you’re a no-show; same goes for flights and hotel reservations. More doctors are doing this now, too.

3. You really need to ... [fill in the blank]. Telling you that you need to lose weight, stop smoking, stop drinking, or some other bad habit doesn’t mean I’m fat-shaming you or that I am insensitive, sexist, racist, or any other epithet. It’s for your own good. And it’s part of my job. You’ve probably heard these things before in your life, but that doesn’t mean your doctor will just give up on trying to change any of your unhealthy habits.

4. Think before you call us. Most practices have a designated physician on call at night. If your question can wait until morning, then please don’t call the doctor in the middle of the night. A call that disturbs a good night’s sleep makes the next day more challenging. I might be operating or seeing a bunch of patients the next day. Physicians need their rest, too, to be at their best. This does not mean, of course, that you shouldn’t call if you have a legitimate emergency, no matter what time of time or night.

5. Be polite to my staff. Please don’t take out your frustrations on my staff. If an employee acts inappropriately, tell me. But if I’m running behind schedule or you haven’t met your deductible, that is not an excuse to be rude. They’re doing the best they can in a stressful environment. Persist and you will likely be told that you will be happier seeking care from another practice.

6. I can’t always run on time. Emergencies, challenging patients, new problems — these are always part of my day.

I work in a world of unpredictability. Someday you might be the emergency patient that puts my schedule behind — but you will be happy for that extra time with me.

7. Saying “thank you” goes a long way. My staff and I work hard. We want the best results for our patients.

When we hit the mark, say thank you. It can be verbal, a hug, or a plate of homemade cookies. Everyone likes to be appreciated, and when it’s acknowledged, we will go out of our way to meet and exceed your expectations.

8. I’m only human. We have our good days and bad days just like anyone else. We try to always have a smile on our faces, be upbeat and cheerful. But we, too, are affected by life’s challenges — work, family, finances, health, and so on. Don’t be too quick to judge and criticize!

The practice of medicine is unique and wonderful. And challenging, too. I hope this provides a glimpse of what the person in the white coat is thinking. +

I work in a world of unpredictability

Brian C. Joondeph is an ophthalmologist

The Jazz Age was a fascinating time. Best-selling author Bill Bryson wrote a fascinating book about just one season in one year of the Roaring Twenties: One Summer, America 1927. Although it isn’t a book that falls into our standard categories for this space (health, medicine, etc), we highly recommend it.

But more was going on in 1927 and the rest of the era than notables like Babe Ruth and Charles Lindbergh.

As it turns out, 100 years ago also saw the birth of forensic science, and this is the central theme of Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer (and UGA grad) Deborah Blum’s book.

The new science was born, at least in the U.S., with the 1918 hiring of Charles Norris as the first scientifically trained medical examiner in New York City’s history. Also hired

by NYC that year: Alexander Gettler, the first forensic chemist ever employed by a U.S. city.

Together they made for a formidable team in the fight against crime at a time when poisonings in The Big Apple were as common as gun deaths in Chicago are today.

Poison was the murder weapon of choice because without a way to trace the

untraceable, poisoning was practically the perfect crime.

As chronicled by Blum, Norris and Gettler invented much of their detection techniques out of thin air (and scientific knowledge). They devised innovative and creative tests and experiments that were revolutionary in their day, a period of American history that has been called “a remarkably deadly time.”

After all, not only were poison-wielding murderers lurking, but Prohibition also launched untold numbers of kitchen chemists, churning out drink by the jug or by the barrelful, virtually every drop of

it of unknown quality.

In fact, this book’s chapters are chemicals: chapter 1 is entitled Chloroform; chapter 2, Wood Alcohol (see previous paragraph); chapter 3, Cyanides; and so forth, through arsenic, carbon monoxide (a weapon borne of the brand-new autombile age), mercury, etc.

Each chapter links the spotlighted chemical with a corresponding crime, some of them subtle and ingenious, slow and methodical, others quick and dirty and painfully brutal. In an 1896 case from the book, a New York physician killed his wife with a morphine overdose, then used belladonna drops in her eyes to counter the telltale contraction of her pupils morphine caused.

In the showmanship often characteristic of the day, the doctor was convicted when a chemist demonstrated the process for the jury by killing a cat right there in the courtroom.

History is facinating, and so is this book. + The Poisoner’s Handbook — Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

by Deborah Blum, 336 pages, published January 2011 by Penguin Books.

Research News Type 2 breakthrough?

A team of researchers at the University of California at San Diego is testing a new drug that they say could reverse Type 2 diabetes.

The pill targets the enzyme LMPTP, which weakens the body’s sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that regulates the body’s sugar levels. By inhibiting that enzyme, the drug in effect reawakens the body’s ability to recognize and regulate insulin.

While reversing diabetes has been the aim of many researchers around the world, the UCSD tests mark the fi rst time medication alone has been the proposed method.

So far the drug has only been tested on mice, but it successfully restored insulin sensitivity without known side effects. Human clinical trials are still some distance down the road.

The cause of OCD Speaking of mice, German researchers discovered that mice with a deficiency of a protein called SPRED2 engage in excessive grooming and other OCD-like behaviors. They say SPRED2 is like a knob that enables thoughts to be controlled. Restoring SPRED2 holds promise of minimizing compulsive behaviors.

Smoking causes 10% of all deaths globally That’s the finding of a study published April 5 in The Lancet. The better part of a billion people still smoke despite the ongoing war on tobacco (one in four men and one in 20 women). A 2005 World Health Organization pact signed by 180 nations agreed to enact legislative bans on cigarette advertising, levy high taxes and ban smoking in public places.

Significant drops in

smoking prevalence have occurred: between 1990 and 2015 smoking prevalence among men dropped from 35% to 25% and from 8% to 5% among women. Even so, the battle is far from over. The senior author of the Lancet article calls 933,000,000 daily smokers around the world “a very shocking number,” saying a lot more work remains to be done.

As one local example, the Medical Examiner has long thought it extremely bizarre, shocking even, that Augusta’s University Hospital encourages smoking by providing designated smoking areas. Adding insult to injury, some are located so publicly that patients, some of whom might have asthma, emphysema or other breathing difficulties, have to walk through a tobacco cloud to enter main UH buildings.

Puzzling, indeed. +

+ 12

APRIL 14, 2017

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE EXAMiNERS

THE MYSTERY WORD

+

How’s med school coming along?

It’s fascinating.

Right now we’re studying drugs.

by Dan Pearson

Is it interesting?

Dozens so far.

We’re studying histamines right now

There’s a lot to learn.

What drugs in particular?

Actually, I’m more of an antihistamine guy.

The Mystery Word for this issue: HEARTAC

© 2017 Daniel Pearson All rights reserved.

Simply unscramble the letters, then begin exploring our ads. When you find the correctly spelled word hidden in one of our ads — enter at AugustaRx.com

EXAMINER CROSSWORD

PUZZLE ACROSS 1. The Blue Goose by another name 6. Put coins into, as a slot machine 10. A Nissan model 14. ______ football 15. 6th month of the Jewish calendar 16. Above 17. Early follower 18. Smoking is a common one 19. Anatomic fold or wrinkle 20. Abraham, for instance 22. 36-As can remove them 23. Beginning 24. Arranged in zones 25. Sled 28. Nurse’s ________ 29. Ike has one here 30. Pertaining to tailors 35. Homophone of 28-A 36. Type of surgeon 38. Nail location 39. Tube found in the throat 41. Teenage bane 42. 3-D follower 43. _______ figure 45. Having branches 48. Kareem’s middle name 50. Wane; subside 51. Agreeable, esp. in taste 55. Pre-Easter season 56. Country in South America 57. Embed 58. Otherwise 59. ______ man 60. Artificial breathing hole 61. Go to ______; deteriorate 62. Two cups 63. Friends in London

All Mystery Word finders will be eligible to win by random drawing.

We’ll announce the winner in our next issue!

VISIT WWW.AUGUSTARX.COM 1

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QUOTATION PUZZLE 32

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Click on “READER CONTESTS”

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DIRECTIONS: Recreate a timeless nugget of wisdom by using the letters in each vertical column to fill the boxes above them. Once any letter is used, cross it out in the lower half of the puzzle. Letters may be used only once.

Black squares indicate spaces between words, and words may extend onto a second line.

Solution on page 14.

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2017 All rights reserved. Built in part with software from www.crauswords.com

DOWN 1. Irving title character 2. Operatic melody 3. 42-A intro 4. Using no fluid, like some barometers 5. Enthusiastic; eager 6. Record-setting NFL QB 7. Decree 8. Apiece 9. Musical doctor?

10. M.E. 11. Soft palate lobe 12. Procreate biblically 13. Efface 21. Powdery residue 22. Town on Clark Hill Lake 24. Tubular pasta in short pieces 25. Foretell (Scottish) 26. Dr. Ellison, featured in this newspaper last May 27. Scopic prefix

— Cartoonist Bill Watterson

28. They appear “in the Heart” 30. Nearby Valley?

31. Sun Devils’ univ.

32. Scratch 33. First-class 34. Lecherous look 36. Stage 37. ______ Olmsted 40. Schemed 41. It used to be called Marthasville 43. Fed. med. agency 44. _______ Speaks 45. Breath sound 46. White poplar tree 47. The house of a parson 48. Moses’ brother 49. ______ force 51. Medical prefix 52. Ink spot 53. Weak, like an excuse 54. Nestling hawk 56. Knight backer

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by Daniel R. Pearson © 2017 All rights reserved. Built with software from www.crauswords.com

U D O K U

DIRECTIONS: Every line, vertical and horizontal, and all nine 9-square boxes must each contain the numbers 1 though 9. Solution on page 14.

Use the letters provided at bottom to create words to solve the puzzle above. All the listed letters following #1 are the first letters of the various words; the letters following #2 are the second letters of each word, and so on. Try solving words with letter clues or numbers with minimal choices listed. A sample is shown. Solution on page 14.

O 1 2

1 1

2

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5 6 7 8 P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 1 2

1

2 1

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4 U 2 3

M 1

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1.GENBAAWWMY 2.IREOOOXSA 3.PANFTUY 4.EDTP 5.PCE 6.RTE 7.DF

SAMPLE:

1. ILB 2. SLO 3. VI 4. NE 5. D =

L 1

O 2

V 3

E 4

8.U

I 1

9.L

S 2

B 1

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by Daniel R. Pearson © 2017 All rights reserved

BY

P T R A A E T A R N L T E U H P T N U T

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2017 All rights reserved

Solution p. 14

WORDS NUMBER

T L T A K

D E C M N L I O E O I E Y W E N ’ S R ’ H

APRIL 14, 2017

13 +

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE BEST MEDICINE

Moe: Looks like my personal trainer job is toast. The gym said I’m not big enough or strong enough.

Joe: What are you going to do?

Moe: I guess I’ll hand in my too weak notice.

Moe: This is the second job I’ve lost in a row.

Joe: What happened to the last one?

Moe: You like coffee?

Joe: It’s not really my cup of tea.

Moe: I’m thinking about opening a countertop business.

Joe: You’ll go broke, I’m warning you.

Moe: What makes you think that?

Joe: Because everything you do will be counter-productive.

Moe: The company where I work tests their products on animals, Joe: That’s terrible. I’m totally against that.

Moe: Me too. It’s disgusting.

Joe: What do they manufacture?

Moe: Hammers.

Moe: Do you or a loved one suffer from mesothelioma?

Joe: I wouldn’t say a whole mess o’ thelioma, but definitely more than I’d like. +

Why subscribe to the Medical Examiner?

Because no one should have to make a trip to the doctor or the hospital just to read Augusta’s Most Salubrious Newspaper.

+ +

SUBSCRIBE TO THE MEDICAL EXAMINER By popular demand we’re making at-cost subscriptions available for the convenience of our readers.

If you live beyond the Aiken-Augusta area or miss issues between doctor’s appointments — don’t you hate it when that happens? — we’ll command your mail carrier to bring every issue to your house!

NAME ADDRESS CITY

STATE

ZIP

Choose ____ six months for $20; or ____ one year for $36. Mail this completed form with payment to Augusta Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta GA 30903-0397

Editor’s note: Augusta writer Marcia Ribble wrote a long-time column in this paper entitled The Patient’s Perspective reincarnated in this new format. Feel free to contact her at marciaribble@hotmail.com Many people are resistant to changes in their lives, often because their experiences of past change have sometimes left them feeling uncomfortable, at risk, or just plain not in control of the situation. My first year in Kindergarten was such an experience for me. I only had to walk around the block and across the street to Merrill School, which I had done before, but not with a bunch of strange kids, a crossing guard, and numerous other issues for a fi rst-time school kid and the fi rst of my siblings to go to school. I was scared. The janitor was at the school door and I felt intimidated by him, later to face his threats to turn me upside down and dunk my pigtails in his mop water.

My shyness didn’t help either. But I did have my beloved lavender blue plaid dress my grandma had bought me. I wore it as often as my mother would allow me to. Somehow it comforted me through standing on the side of the playground at recess, not playing with anyone. It was there when my teacher scolded me for “wasting paper” because I’d only color it on one side, because Mom taped my pictures on the fridge and the backs didn’t show.

I survived and even became good at going to school and dealing with my shyness, through grade school, high school, a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree, and even a PhD. I’m old now, and still shy, but able to work beyond that most of the time.

Seniors like me can have similar issues of unfamiliarity when confronted with changes in our health, our living arrangements, and even with smaller changes, like a change in medication, or a change in how we go about taking care of our medical needs. I recently received a letter from my health insurance company. In it they said they would no longer pay for costs associated with my diabetic testing supplies and that I must start using a different company’s testing supplies. It was a bit like learning to use a new smart phone or a new computer. The new testing supplies came in three fancy boxes with several little books of directions.

The testing machine and strips looked pretty much like my old kind, so I figured it would be pretty easy to use. Wrong! It worked for a couple of days and then I started to get mysterious messages. “E–1” it said in the place where the numbers should be.

I tried it over and over again over a couple of days and I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. Was I too slow getting the drop of blood on the strip? Did I put the strip in wrong? Am I a 73 year old idiot?

Finally I called customer servicing and talked to a very kind young man who helped me to troubleshoot. Because I have arthritis in my hands, it’s hard for me to get the strips out of the container, so in the past I put them out on a flat surface so I could pick one up at a time. Turns out my new strips cannot take being outside of the container and E-1 means an error in the test strips.

Now I use a tweezers to lift one out at a time and all is well in my testing life again. Go figure! +

than Less +

a million people can’t be wron g.

Advertise here s!

wo engineering students were standing at the base of a flagpole looking up toward its top.

Just then a woman walked by and asked what they were doing.

“We’re supposed to figure out the height of this flagpole,” said one, “but we don’t have a ladder.”

The woman looked into her purse, pulled out a wrench and loosened the four bolts securing the flagpole, then laid it down with the help of the two future engineers. She took a tape measure out of her purse, stretched it out and announced, “Twenty one feet ten inches,” then walked away.

“Lot of good that does us,” said one student to the other. “We ask for the height and she gives us the width.”

A PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Call us today! (706) 860-5455

of companies who already support u

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Moe: My wife yelled at me today. She said, “You weren’t even listening to me just now, were you?”

Joe: What did you say back?

Moe: I said, “What a weird way to start a conversation!”

ON THE ROAD TO BETTER HEALTH

ns the te Join

ha... ha...

Moe: I was working in the packing department at this factory and we got a big shipment of bubble wrap.

Joe: Sounds pretty routine.

Moe: Exactly. So I said, “Hey boss man, what do you want me to do with this bubble wrap?”

He said, “Just pop it in the corner over there.”

Joe: And? Moe: Took me like five hours. But I did it.

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APRIL 14, 2017

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE MYSTERY SOLVED

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The Mystery Word in our last issue was: SILENCE

...very cleverly hidden (in the abandoned diner) in the p. 10 ad for EXAMAGEDDON THE WINNER: VIRGINIA SUMMERALL Want to find your name here next time? If it is, we’ll send you some cool swag from our goodie bag. The new Mystery Word is on page 12. Start looking!

The Celebrated MYSTERY WORD CONTEST ...wherein we hide (with fiendish cleverness) a simple word. All you have to do is unscramble the word (found on page 12), then find it concealed within one of our ads. Click in to the contest link at www.AugustaRx.com and enter. If we pick you in our random drawing of correct entries, you’ll score our goodie package!

That’s how many back issues of the Medical Examiner are available at issuu.com/medicalexaminer You can subscribe to the online edition free!

SEVEN SIMPLE RULES: 1. Unscramble and find the designated word hidden within one of the ads in this issue. 2. Visit the Reader Contests page at www.AugustaRx.com. 3. Tell us what you found and where you found it. 4. If you’re right and you’re the one we pick at random, you win. (Winners within the past six months are ineligible.) 5. Prizes awarded to winners may vary from issue to issue. Limited sizes are available of shirt prize. 6. A photo ID may be required to claim some prizes. 7. Other entrants may win a lesser prize at the sole discretion of the publisher.

The new scrambled Mystery Word is found on page 12

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The Augusta Medical Examiner publishes on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month.

Your ad should reach us no later than 7 days prior to our publication date.

EXAMINER CLASSIFIEDS HOMES, APARTMENTS, ROOMMATES, LAND, ETC. FOR RENT 2000+ sqft warehouse space w/ loading dock, Walton Way Medical District. Available immed. $850.00/mo. incl. utilities. 706-564-1644 ROOM FOR RENT with private bathroom and full house privileges. Martinez $600/mo (706) 840-6860 FOR SALE 3 bedroom/2 bath, single garage Townhouse in Martinez. Master/ bath down, 2 upstairs bedrooms share bath, large loft for office, playroom, den; wood-burning fireplace, covered back porch. Freshly painted with new flooring, lighting and ceiling fans. Easy access to Riverwatch Parkway, Washington Rd, I-20, Augusta. 1987 sq.ft. $147,900.

706-836-7001.

ROOM FOR RENT 1 room, private bathroom, 2bdrm MH on private lot. Clean quiet neighborhood. Non-smoker. $600 monthly. Must be stable, verifiable references and income. Cable and Internet included. Warrenville, 5 min from Aiken, 20 min to Augusta. (803) 270-2658 POND VIEW! Evans all-brick 2-story with solar panels. Avg. electric bill $170 in Northwood, 3,400 sqft. Call 1-800401-0257, ext. 0043 24/7 for price and details.

SERVICES PETS Dogs walked, cats sat, in the comfort of your home by retired pharmacist.

No kennel noise, fleas, disease, transport cost/time. Avail 7 days/wk in Martinez/ Evans. $15 per visit. References. Call for free interview at your home. Call Buddy for your buddy: (706) 829-1729

HOUSE CLEANING Your house, apartment, rental move-outs. Thorough, dependable. Weekly, or whatever schedule you prefer. References. 706-877-0421 F. E. GILLIARD, MD FAMILY MEDICINE Acute & Chronic Illnesses Occupational Medicine PROMPT APPOINTMENTS (706) 760-7607

MISCELLANEOUS QUEEN SIZED Black wrought iron bed frame and 2 night stands. Excellent condition! $800. Call 706-306-4666 SUNSET MEMORIAL GARDENS Opening and closing at Sunset Mem. Gardens in Graniteville. Sale: $760 (Value: $1520+) Call 706-736-0596 ANTIQUE maple dinette set with buffet corner cabinet table with pull-out leaves.

Four chairs with two captain’s chairs.

Excellent condition. $300. Double bed early 1930s with mattress spring coverlet shams $150. Call (706) 860-2170 CEMETERY SPACES (2) Sunset Memorial Gardens, Graniteville SC adjacent to lighted military flagstaff, includes granite bench with urn space, installation and inscription. All $4700 ($8600 value).

Spaces only: $2700. Call (803) 2953033 FISHING CLUB wants more grey-haired members. Meet 2nd Thurs of month at Harbor Inn Restaurant, 12 noon.

“Adventure Before Dementia” Info: (706) 736-8753

Please support our advertisers!

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QUOTATION QUOTATION PUZZLE SOLUTION: Page 12: “I won’t eat any cereal that doesn’t turn the milk purple.”

— Bill Watterson

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WORDS BY NUMBER “A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.”

— Jonathan Lockwood Huie

APRIL 14, 2017

Q: How do we get loved ones to eat when they live in a nursing home?

IT’S A QUESTION OF CARE Nutrition for nursing home residents

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Last month, we addressed how to encourage your loved one who lives at home one to eat more food. This month, we will address how to encourage your loved one who lives in a nursing home to take in more nutrition.

• One idea is to visit during mealtimes and actually eat with your loved one. Many residents in nursing homes eat in congregate dining halls, and you can join them. The socialization piece of this is very important and will hopefully persuade him or her to eat more of what is offered.

You can eat the same food, comment positively about it,

and encourage them to try certain things they might not normally try. If they eat alone in their room, joining them during mealtime gives them some company and is particularly beneficial.

• Another way to tempt the taste buds is to remember that you can always bring in foods from the outside. These could be prepared foods from restaurants or they could be some of their favorite snack foods or drinks. (Be sure to not start a tradition that you cannot uphold. They very well might get used to expecting this extra food, and you may not be able to always show up at the same time or with the same items.) It’s always nice to get a treat, and bringing treats periodically

can encourage them to eat more, and in turn, increase their metabolism so they eat better at regular meals as well.

• Lastly, if someone is drinking Boost or Ensure as a meal supplement or replacement, ice cream and/ or peanut butter can often be mixed with the drink.

The ice cream provides extra calories and often a better taste, while the peanut butter provides calories, protein and some extra fat. This can be especially helpful if someone wants something that tastes more like a treat or if your loved one has a tendency to lose weight and you’re working hard to keep their weight up. +

For the last decade, Amy Hane has been committed to serving the CSRA community by guiding those going through mental, physical and social issues related to caring for an aging or disabled loved one. She assists families with transitions to higher quality care for the safety and wellbeing of all involved.

Amy holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of South Carolina, is a licensed Master Social Worker in South Carolina and Georgia, an Advanced Professional Aging Life Care Manager and also a Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager.

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PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY ALLERGY

Tesneem K. Chaudhary, MD Allergy & Asthma Center 3685 Wheeler Road, Suite 101 Augusta 30909 706-868-8555

CHIROPRACTIC Evans Chiropractic Health Center Dr. William M. Rice 108 SRP Drive, Suite A 706-860-4001 www.evanschiro.net

COUNSELING Resolution Counseling Professionals 3633 Wheeler Rd, Suite 365 Augusta 30909 706-432-6866 www.visitrcp.com

DENTISTRY

DERMATOLOGY

Georgia Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center 2283 Wrightsboro Rd. (at Johns Road) Augusta 30904 706-733-3373 www.GaDerm.com

DEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRICS Karen L. Carter, MD 1303 D’Antignac St, Suite 2100 Augusta 30901 706-396-0600 www.augustadevelopmentalspecialists.com

DRUG REHAB Steppingstones to Recovery 2610 Commons Blvd.

Augusta 30909 706-733-1935

FAMILY MEDICINE

F. E. Gilliard MD, Family Medicine 4244 Washington Road Evans, GA 30809 706-760-7607 Industrial Medicine • Prompt appts.

Urgent MD Augusta: 706-922-6300 Grovetown: 706-434-3500 Thomson: 706-595-7825 Primary Care Rates

OPHTHALMOLOGY Roger M. Smith, M.D. 820 St. Sebastian Way Suite 5-A Augusta 30901 706-724-3339

PHARMACY

YOUR LISTING HERE

SENIOR LIVING

Augusta Gardens Senior Living Community 3725 Wheeler Road Augusta 30909 SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY 706-868-6500 www.augustagardenscommunity.com

SLEEP MEDICINE Sleep Institute of Augusta Bashir Chaudhary, MD 3685 Wheeler Rd, Suite 101 Augusta 30909 706-868-8555

TRANSPORTATION Caring Man in a Van Wheelchair-Stretcher Transports • Serving Augusta Metro 855-342-1566 www.CaringManinaVan.com

VEIN CARE

Medical Center West Pharmacy 465 North Belair Road Evans 30809 Vein Specialists of Augusta Dr. Judson S. Hickey Your Practice 706-854-2424 Periodontist And up to four additional lines of your www.medicalcenterwestpharmacy.com G. Lionel Zumbro, Jr., MD, FACS, RVT, RPVI 501 Blackburn Dr, Martinez 30907 2315-B Central Ave choosing and, if desired, your logo.

Floss ‘em 706-854-8340 Augusta 30904 or lose ‘em! Keep your contact information in Parks Pharmacy www.VeinsAugusta.com 706-739-0071 this convenient place seen by tens of 437 Georgia Ave. thousands of patients every month. N. Augusta 29841 Jason H. Lee, DMD Literally! Call (706) 860-5455 for all 803-279-7450 116 Davis Road the details www.parkspharmacy.com Augusta 30907 Medical Weight & Wellness 706-860-4048 Specialists of Augusta THE AUGUSTA Maycie Elchoufi, MD MEDICAL EXAMINER Steven L. Wilson, DMD 108 SRP Drive, Suite B Psych Consultants Family Dentistry Evans 30809 • 706-829-9906 AUGUSTA’S 2820 Hillcreek Dr 4059 Columbia Road MOST SALUBRIOUS YourWeightLossDoctor.com Augusta 30909 Martinez 30907 NEWSPAPER (706) 410-1202 706-863-9445 www.psych-consultants.com

WEIGHT LOSS

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

APRIL 14, 2017