Jan19 18 by Daniel Pearson

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JANUARY 19, 2018

Popular anti-resolutions for the new year

Watch more TV Statistics say the average American spends a full 9 years of his or her life watching TV. Frankly, that’s just pathetic. We’re supposed to be the greatest country in the world and we can’t manage 10 years of lifetime TV watching? Come on, people. Get drunk more often The “occasional” drink ranks high on the Wuss Factor. Why drink at all if you’re not going to get serious about it? Among the expected results: cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes, and car accidents. Excessive drinking is the root cause of

nearly 100,000 deaths every year. Nearly? With just a little more effort, we can pull together and reach that sixfigure milestone. Increase your stress level All by itself, stress can weaken the body’s immune system enough to make you

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

sick. And lord knows, there is no shortage of stuff to stress out over. People who aren’t stressed are heartless, callous, self-centered narcissists who have no grasp of the enormity of the problems facing the human race. Don’t you dare be one of those people. Smoke more cigarettes Each and every year, an estimated 480,000

Americans die prematurely due to the effects of smoking. The work of these martyrs makes a significant and noble contribution in the fight against global population growth. But we could do so much more. Cut back on healthy foods The number of people on this planet who go to bed hungry 365 nights per year numbers in the billions. Billions. Every time you skip your daily five servings of fruits and vegetables in favor of processed factorymade foods, you make more food available for earth’s starving billions. Please. Do your part. Reduce exercise “Failure to launch” has many benefits. Just two of them, heart disease and obesity, help clear the way for coming generations in a big way: heart disease is the #1 killer of Americans. Combine the previous antiresolution and this one and what have you got? Eating delicious donuts on the couch. Fun! Please see ANTI page 10

DENTIST

“If it bleeds it leads” describes the principle that blood and guts, murder and mayhem attract more attention than peace and plenty. So it isn’t surprising that good news doesn’t make headlines. That doesn’t mean good news isn’t out there. In fact, here are several good news stories in the world of health and wellness from the past year. • Cancer deaths in the United States have dropped by onefourth since 1991, and deaths from breast cancer are down by 39 percent, says Time magazine. The two advances have saved an estimated 2 million lives, and nearly 325,000 lives respectively. • According to our neighbors down the road at the Centers for Disease Control, the measles vaccine saved more than 20 million lives around the world between 2000 and 2016. As recently as 2000, the worldwide death toll from measles was more than 500,000 annually. Thanks to a global campaign to eradicate the disease through vaccination, the 2016 measles death toll was less than 90,000. • The World Health Organization (WHO) reported late last year that global deaths from tuberculosis have fallen by 37 percent since 2000, saving some 53 million lives. • The World Bank says that premature deaths caused by the world’s four biggest non-communicable diseases — cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases — have dropped 16 percent since 2000. • Zika, one of the top health threats of 2016, all but disappeared in 2017. • Violent crimes and property crimes have dropped by 50 percent in the United States since 1990. +

ot everyone is out there sweating at the gym just because a new year rolled around a few weeks ago. For every person who has started walking before work or has given up cigarettes, there are probably ten more who are working on their 2018 anti-resolutions. What, you never heard of anti-resolutions? Let us educate you. Here are a few of the most popular:

JANUARY 19, 2018

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER M E DI C I N E

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Sick (almost) to death Last year, I took my husband to his primary care physician in Augusta for a routine visit. Fortunately, he gave my husband a clean bill of health, other than needing to watch his cholesterol. A few days later, my husband took ill. If you knew my husband, you would understand when I say he is a man who stubbornly refuses to see the doctor unless it absolutely necessary. I assumed he had picked up a nasty stomach bug, but couldn’t figure out where it would have come from, since he had not been anywhere since our visit to the doctor. As time passed, his symptoms became worse. He became very dehydrated, had excruciating pain in his abdomen, and was running a high fever. Finally, I rushed him to the hospital, and not a minute too soon. While we were waiting for the doctor to come in, my husband had an accident and was horribly embarrassed. The nurse was so pleasant and understanding, and hurried to try to give him some dignity back. She told us that based on what she was seeing, she wanted to take a stool sample, because she suspected something called clostridium difficile, or C. diff, which his test results later confi rmed. To make a long story short, it was determined that my husband had picked up this C. diff infection during our visit to his doctor’s office. Having spent my career in the education system, I was curious to learn as much as I could about his condition, and how this could have happened at a doctor’s office. I learned that C. diff is a potentially life-threatening infection that can

live in the environment up to six months, and that it is commonly transmitted from common surfaces such as a light switch or table top. I will spare you the details about how many germs are in pediatric offices or on magazines, but please don’t pick up a magazine at the doctor’s office. It took some time, but my husband eventually recovered from this ordeal and is doing well. What I discovered as a result of my research led me to write this. Apparently, it is very easy to contract any number of germs in a doctor’s office, dental office, and other places where you would assume you were safe. After speaking with the staff at the doctor’s office, I was even more surprised to learn that they have a cleaning company that only cleans the office three days a week, which in my opinion is not sufficient. I contacted the cleaning company to learn what they do to prevent bacteria from spreading, and was told that they don’t do anything differently than they would in cleaning a business office. I was absolutely shocked at this response, and could not believe that steps are not taken to thoroughly clean an environment that sees all sorts of germs and even blood on a daily basis! I find this unacceptable on so many levels, and hope that my story prevents others from suffering through what my husband did. Thank you very much for your time in reading our story. +

“The source was the doctor’s office.”

— by Susan Graves Aiken, South Carolina

Kid’s Stuff

NOTES FROM A PEDIATRIC RESIDENT by Caroline Colden, M.D., Children’s Hospital of Georgia

Embrace the ZZZs! Let’s talk about bedtimes for kids. It may not seem like a big deal, but the way bedtimes go down each night can have major impacts on children no matter how old they are. Even more important than an early bedtime is a solid, consistent, predictable bedtime routine for children. Studies have shown again and again that consistency and defined sleep routines promote improved quality of life, development, and growth of children as well as healthier living later in life. Children with consistent sleep routines that involve early bedtime tend to sleep longer and be more refreshed on waking. Brain development, motor skills, cognitive function, and performance in school are all positively impacted by better sleep routines and subsequent better sleep. A recent study found that school-aged children who went to bed late performed worse on tests and had greater difficulty with storing new information learned, recalling facts, and performing math. Babies and toddlers with late or inconsistent bedtime routines have been shown to have more difficulties with language and motor development, and can be potentially delayed in achieving some developmental milestones. Studies also show that increased temper tantrums and difficulties with emotional regulation are tied very closely to inconsistent bedtimes and staying up late. Studies also show that most children younger than 8 years of age are not capable of “sleeping in” the way an adult would to catch up on sleep. In other words, staying up late for a baby or toddler means less sleep overall, and that can continue to cause problems for the child as sleep deprivation builds up. When they are excessively tired, their bodies produce more “alert” hormones, paradoxically making them more likely to wake up frequently during the night and have more difficulty falling asleep despite being tired. Putting kids to sleep when they are drowsy but not yet asleep teaches them how to self soothe and put themselves to sleep, which especially comes in handy when children need to put themselves back to sleep if they wake up in the middle of the night. Different ages have different sleep and routine requirements, and studies have advised earlier bedtimes the younger the child is. Infants should be in bed around 7pm at night, whereas toddler and school-aged kids should have a goal bedtime of around 8:00 to 8:30pm. The time a child wakes up in the morning (or needs to wake up each morning depending on parent work schedules, school start times, daycare hours, etc) also plays a role in how early a child should go to sleep. 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night is ideal for children of all ages, including teenagers! Good sleep habits in the teenager population is an entirely different beast in some respects, and we will discuss it in the next edition of “Kids Stuff.” For now, though, what’s the big take home message? Embrace the ZZZs! +

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NEW PROFILES IN MEDICINE

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A FOUNDING FATHER As careful students of Augusta’s medical history know at a glance, this man is not a member of the musical group ZZ Top. Based on appearance alone the mistake might be understandable, but this gentleman was born well over 200 years ago. His name is Lewis DeSaussure Ford, and he is a true giant in the medical history of the city of Augusta and the state of Georgia. He was born in Morristown, New Jersey on Dec. 30, 1801. His father, the Honorable Gabriel Ford, served on the New Jersey supreme court, and although Lewis Ford never practiced law, the University of Georgia conferred upon him the degree of LL.D., an honorary legal degree in “appreciation of his intellectual attainments.” But we’re getting ahead of the story. When we left the younger Ford he was just a baby in New Jersey. He subsequently grew up in Morristown and pursued a medical education there,

graduating from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York in 1822. The newly minted doctor took his degree and immediately traveled to South Carolina, joining three relatives who had moved south earlier. One of those earlier Fords, Timothy (17631830), had established a law partnership with one Henry DeSaussure in Charleston. Years later that esteemed law partner was honored by giving his name to baby boy born to a supreme court justice in Morristown, New Jersey. Now that baby was a grown man, opening a

medical practice in Bamberg, SC. In 1827, he moved to Augusta, the city that was to be his home for the remainder of his long life. If you know that the fi rst school of medicine established in Georgia was founded in Augusta in 1828, you realize that Dr. Ford’s arrival and the birth of the Medical College of Georgia (then known as the Medical Academy of Georgia) are two very closely connected events. Indeed, Ford was one of the school’s founding fathers. He served as the school’s founding Dean, holding the position from 1829 until 1836, and he went on to teach there for more than 50 years. Aside from a few years as professor of chemistry, those five decades were spent in the education of as many as 2,000 doctors. Dr. Ford was noted as an expert in epidemic diseases, which might evoke images of faraway Please see PROFILES page 15

Editor’s note: this is a monthly series presented by Queensborough National Bank & Trust and the Medical Examiner profiling exceptional physicians and others of note in Augusta’s long and rich medical history.

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Why do I have to undress before surgery? It can sometimes seem completely unnecessary: they’re going to operate on your foot and you need to be completely naked for that? Obviously not every surgery — or surgeon — is the same, but the standard attire for patients going into surgery is the classic backless hospital gown and nothing else — unless it’s hospital-supplied booties. The reason for this long-standing tradition is similar to the reasons why people need to fast before surgery (as addressed in this space in the Jan. 5 Q&A installment). The reason people need to fast isn’t the surgery itself; it’s the anesthesia: being completely relaxed (inside and out) while lying flat on your back can allow the contents of the stomach to be aspirated into the lungs. In a similar vein, general anesthesia can relax the body’s normal bladder controls. For this reason patients are catheterized when under general anesthesia, even if the surgery is going to be on their foot. Electrodes will be placed on the chest for heart monitoring during the procedure. Again, that happens even if the incision will be on their foot. Surgical theaters are rigorously cleaned and disinfected with the goal of creating the most sterile environment possible. Street clothes don’t really fit into that equation. Some very modest people don’t enjoy the thought of an entire surgical team gawking at their naked body for an hour or more, or however long the operation lasts. They need not worry. First, there is the age-old maxim that medical people have seen it all a thousand times and couldn’t care less. Secondly, in most cases the entire body is draped with sterile coverings except for the small area of the actual incision. There will be no gawking. Having said all this, there are a number of surgical procedures that usually don’t require disrobing: cataract surgery and oral surgery are examples. +

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

#59 IN A SERIES

Who is this? ON THE ROAD TO BETTER HEALTH A PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE 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 by Marcia Ribble

ou can’t tell by looking at this photo, but this woman has an enormous brain. It’s her genetic heritage. Her name is Anne Wojcicki, and she comes from a family that has off-the-charts IQ. And billions in the bank. Born in 1973, she grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley in Palo Alto, California, a place which may have more brainiacs per square mile than any other place on earth. One of her neighbors when she was growing up was mathematician George Dantzig (1914—2005). If the name is unfamiliar, Dantzig once arrived late for a class at UC Berkely. Before his arrival the professor had scrawled two famous and notoriously unsolvable mathematical problems on the blackboard. Dantzig copied them down, thinking they were a homework assignment, and turned in his paper with their solutions a few days later. The story was incorporated into one of the opening scenes of the film Good Will Hunting. But back to the Wojcicki family. Anne’s mother was an educator, and her father a physics professor at Stanford. Her two sisters are Janet, an anthropologist and epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco; and Susan, who is the CEO of YouTube and a former executive at Google. Anne is the ex-wife of Google’s founder, Sergey Brin. She is the co-founder and CEO of the personal genomics testing company 23andMe. Launched in 2006, 23andMe initially offered customers a combination of ancestry and healthrelated findings based on analysis of their DNA from a saliva sample, but its personal genome service (PGS) was ordered discontinued by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2013 because the company lacked regulatory approval for what the FDA considered to be a medical device. While continuing to offer a personal genome test without any health results, the company obtained the necessary FDA approval and again began offering a modified health report in the fall of 2015. They currently offer a genome-based risk assessment for 10 diseases or medical conditions, giving customers a heads up on maladies to which they may have a genetic predisposition. (The ten include late-onset Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, celiac disease, hereditary thrombophilia, early onset dystonia, Factor XI deficiency, and Gaucher’s disease.) With the genetic profiles of more than 2 million customers in its database, 23andMe is sitting on a mountain of data, a fact that has raised questions in medical ethics circles about the privacy of the data. Who owns it? The individual or the company? Could insurance companies discriminate against people with a genetic predisposition for a certain disease? The company has sold to biomedical research and pharmaceutical firms raw, uninterpreted genetic data that is advertised as untraceable back to its source patients. In 2015, 23andMe announced that it was discontinuing the sale of data to pharmaceutical companies and would instead be using the data in-house in a newly launched drug development initiative. While the cost sequencing the human genome has dropped drastically, from $14 million for one person in 2006 to $1,500 in 2015, it is still far above the prices individual customers of companies like 23andMe pay — sometimes less than $100. No wonder 23andMe has reportedly yet to turn a profit. +

One of the things many seniors miss is the feeling of being touched gently and with real concern for our wellbeing. I’ve experienced that comforting touch several times lately, the fi rst time was at Physical Therapy. I had just gotten off the elliptical machine and was feeling a bit wobbly. The man who was working with me noticed and promptly secured around me one of the belts they use to hold up people who might have a tendency to fall. Doing that he put his hand on my back, just to let me know he wasn’t going to let me fall. When he got me seated, he told me that he’d noticed I didn’t look quite right when I came in, not my usual bubbly self. He asked if he could take my blood pressure. It was 64 over 40. He told me to sit and rest and that he’d retake it after I’d sat for a while. If it hadn’t gone up he was prepared to call an ambulance, but after about 15 minutes it went up a bit and after half an hour it was 110 over 59 and I was allowed to go home with instructions to call my pharmacist. But he didn’t trust that I was strong enough to carry myself out to to my car, so the belt remained on with him holding on to it with one hand and resting his hand on my back to let me know that he was standing behind me and was not going to let me go until he was sure that I was stableized and safe to drive myself home. I grew up in a family where we didn’t touch one another, unless my mom was spanking us with whatever she could lay her hands on, her hand, a belt, or a hairbrush, which she broke hitting my little sister. As I grew taller, approached and then surpassed her height, she became afraid that at some point I would

stop tolerating being hit and hit her back. So she told me to never hit her and if I ever did, I shouldn’t ever go to sleep because she would come in my room while I was sleeping and kill me. I never did hit her, but when I was pregnant with my fi rst child, she punched me in my belly. At that point, I looked at her in disbelief and simply said, “If you ever hit me again, I am going to hit you back.” She never did hit me again. At about that time, she stopped hitting all of my younger sisters, too. But she never did become a snuggly person, not even with her grandchildren, until shortly before she died. She got metastatic lung cancer and had only a few more months to live when I decided that she needed comfort more than I needed to be angry. So one day I just reached out and hugged her. It was like hugging a thick pillar, cold and unresponding. But after that day she warmed up to being touched, and in the days before she died she would reach up to me like a small child longing for reassurance. I remember her eyes lighting up, and as the hugging continued her body became soft and I could feel all her years of building barricades against love begin to melt away. When someone touches me in a way I feel is both comforting and safe, I remember my mom and how lonely she must have felt. Fortunately I believed in cuddling my kids, loved snuggling with them and the books they wanted me to read, the stories they wanted me to make up. We went through a period when they were teenagers and bristled at being hugged, but as they’ve grown older we hug each other a lot. We hug the grandchildren and the great grandchildren. That way they will always know the difference between hugs that are comforting, and touching that hurts, that feels like being abused. +

MYTH OF THE MONTH Raw food is more natural and nutritious To heat or not to heat: that is the question. Sometimes the answer is very simple: no one is going to suggest that eating raw chicken is a good idea. But for other foods, some people say that raw is healthier based on their belief that cooking and pasteurizing remove essential nutrients. They endorse and recommend raw or unpasteurized milk, dairy products, eggs

and juices. They do have a point: milk loses a “significant” amount of vitamin C through pasteurization. However, milk is not high in vitamin C to begin with. Even raw milk/ raw food proponents admit the risks include salmonella and E. Coli. infections. The main element that pasteurization removes is not key nutrients. It’s the risk of infection and illness. +

JANUARY 19, 2018

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

WHAT EVERYBODY OUGHT TO KNOW

eorge’s second wife was a heel-popping Panamanian beauty 15 years younger than him. George was tired a lot. Second Wife (with First Wife in tow) brought George into the ER one night. Both wives agreed something was just not right with George, and they were worried. Their eyes were filled with concern. Rivalry had no place with them. George had a haunted, greenish-yellow hue and looked like he was coming in second-best in the battle of life. His spirit was sapped. My lips said, “Hello, George. How are you?” My thoughts said, “Cancer.” X-rays and the lab confirmed my snap judgment: colon cancer. The news got worse. Palpable lymph nodes indicated metastasis. I laid out the expected course of possible management and treatment, as well as the eventual outcome. George went home to think about it. He missed his followup appointment and did not answer his phone. A month later he showed up in my office looking weak, but well-tanned. He had been to Panama to see a witch doctor at the insistence of Second Wife’s mother. The witch

ABOUT MANAGING DEATH

doctor had listened to George’s complaints, examined George, and viewed him with a handheld magnifying glass. The witch doctor gave George some powdered herbs to strengthen his spirits, but said in reality not even he could heal George. An honest witch doctor! Now, how does that grab you? Just goes to show that even semi-quacks are human and honest at times. George did not believe in witch doctors, but being the good man that he was, he had gone to manage his family. George figured that once his income stopped, Wife Number Two might never get back down to Panama to see her mother again. George was a good family manager. George elected to avoid surgery and chemotherapy. (Poisons, he said). A lawyer helped George get his affairs in order. A preacher helped George get his heart right with the Lord. When Death came George went peacefully. It was no great shock. George had everybody ready. Dying is a hard subject fraught with misconceptions and confusion. None of us actually want to die, at least not right this moment. None of us have real personal experience with dying, if you don’t count

t s e B the people the supermarket tabloids tell us have come back to life. We have had loved ones to die. We have gone through the disbelief, angry, hurtsad-depressed, and recovery sequences that are necessary to our sanity. At some time or another, most of us have been glad when somone died, regardless of how or why, just so long as it happened. People like Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein and Jeffrey Dahmer. Not many of us actually wanted to personally kill any of these rogues, but neither were we saddened when they passed on. Certainly I wasn’t. Some might say they would like to have had their finger on the trigger that sent these blights on humanity to their Judgment Day. But most likely that is just bluster. Taking a life is a bad thing and will haunt your dreams.

e n i c i d ME

The bottom line is that we are instinctively and horribly uneasy with death. The human mind can cope with almost anything … except the unknown. And Death is the ultimate unknown. But Death is a normal part of life. Death visits everyone. So what do we do? We do not fear Death. We manage Death. The certainty of death is hard-wired into our genetic makeup. We cannot change that. However, we can tweak inevitability and alter Death’s itinerary. How? If you want to hasten the arrival of Death: • Avoid regular medical checkups • Smoke tobacco • Drink more than one ounce of alcohol a day • Drive over the speed limit • Eat lots of fat and cholesterol • Participate in high risk activities

• Be more than 20 pounds overweight • Be sexually promiscuous • Use illegal drugs • Sleep less than 6 hours per night • Do things that are illegal, immoral, or fattening If you want to delay the arrival of Death: • Get regular medical check ups • Drive defensively, and never, ever speed • Foster strong family ties • Live a clean life • Go to church • Be active and stay in shape • Control your weight and diet • Do not drink alcohol • If you do drink, drink small amounts and only at home • Be in bed each night by 11 pm to sleep 7 hours • Do not use tobacco, first- or second-hand • Do things you enjoy unless they are illegal, immoral, or fattening • And by all means, laugh. + Bad Billy Laveau is a formerly-retired MD who wields a pointed sense of humor and now, tongue depressors too. BadBilly@knology.net or 706306-9397. F REE T AKE-HO ME CO PY!

Calling all Bad Billy fans! More than two dozen of Bad Billy’s personally handpicked stories are collected together in his first book. Get yours today at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com For personalized autographed print copies, call 706-306-9397

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Southern Girls Eat Clean Turnip Mashed Potatoes Mashed potatoes are a staple side dish at our house. We love them. In an effort to add more nutrition and less unhealthy fats to my mashed potatoes, I have added many different ingredients to our favorite side dish. At one time or another I’ve tried adding extra virgin olive oil, chicken or vegetable broth, plain unsweetened almond milk, garlic powder or other dried herbs and horseradish. Even though all of these ingredients gave the potatoes okay flavor and texture, none of them would fool your average non-clean eating person into believing they are “just as good as regular” mashed potatoes. A few months ago when the turnips started to arrive (They are in season October through March in our area) it brought to mind the mashed turnips that my grandmother used to make quite often. I did a little research on the nutrition benefits of turnips and liked what I found. • Turnips have the antioxidant Vitamin C and supports tissue repair and immunity. • Turnips have most of the Cut potatoes and turnips texture and consistency. B Vitamins, which help with into 1-2 inch chunks, making I also add a bulb of roasted fat, protein and carbohydrate sure that all pieces are about garlic to the mashed turnips metabolism. the same size. and potatoes. Throw in some • They contain 76mg of Place the turnips and calcium per mashed cup. This salt and pepper to taste and potatoes into a pot of boiling you’ve got a fabulous healthy is 8% of the recommended water with 1/2 tsp. of salt and clean side dish. daily value. added. • Turnips contain 407mg of Boil over medium to Ingredients: potassium per mashed cup. high heat until fork tender, • 2-3 medium russet potatoes Potassium is very important approximately 8-10 minutes. • 2 medium turnips for healthy blood pressure • 1 Tbsp. of ghee (Clarified and fluid balance. *”How to Roast Garlic” can butter with all milk fats • They’re low in calories and be found on my blog at the removed.) - Add a bit more if high in fiber. 51 calories per you prefer following link: mashed cup and 5 grams • 1 bulb of garlic, roasted http://www. of fiber. Fiber promotes a • Sea salt and pepper to taste healthy digestive tract and southerngirlseatclean. • Flat leaf parsley to garnish, low cholesterol. com/?p=2347 finely chopped I chose to split the ratio of my mashed potatoes with **Nutritional information Instructions: turnips. Turnips have a slight on the health benefits of Roast a whole bulb of garlic horseradish flavor and they turnips was found here: using the directions in the have a little mushier texture http://www.livestrong.com/ link provided (box, right). than potatoes. By combining article/408477-the-healthPeel the potatoes and scrub some of both the potatoes and benefits-of-turnips/ + turnips clean then cut off the turnips the finished recipe ends. comes out the exact perfect

Turnip Mashed Potatoes

Check with a fork after 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the water off and place into a large mixing bowl. Using a potato masher, mash the turnips and potatoes until they are smooth. Remove the garlic from the skin and add to the bowl with the mashed turnips and potatoes. Use the masher again to mash the garlic in with the vegetables. Add in the ghee and give a good stir so that the garlic and ghee are well incorporated.

Add salt and pepper to taste. (I add approximately 1/2-1 tsp. of salt and 1/2 tsp. of pepper.) Add a little and taste and add more if you need to. Place into a serving bowl and garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley. Serve immediately. + Alisa Rhinehart writes the blog www.southerngirlseatclean. com She is a working wife and mother living in Evans. Visit her blog for more recipes and information on clean eating.

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JANUARY 19, 2018

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY by Ken Wilson Executive Director, Steppingstones to Recovery Really?!!! Your way is the only way? No, I’m not talking about religion here (but there are a lot of parallels in this subject!). I’m talking about recovery. I’ve listened to recovering people for over 30 years who tout what worked for them. I repeat, for THEM. And sometimes they think it’s the ONLY way. As if we were all Pringles chips. Well, I’m going to list here the most

common paths to recovery I’ve encountered. And save my punch for the end of the list. First, there’s traditional “treatment” – whether inpatient, residential, or Intensive Outpatient. Treatment is nothing to sneeze at. Necessary in most cases of actual alcohol or drug dependence (aka “alcoholic” or “addict”). Because knowledge is power...knowledge helps us get ahead in life, especially if you know more than the one

you’re competing against for instance. And treatment gives knowledge...in most cases, really good knowledge. Second, there’s just going to AA or NA. Okay...no problem. Millions of people have gotten clean and sober via these groups. Millions more in these groups have never been to traditional treatment... some of whom scoff at those fortunate enough to go to treatment...and some of whom don’t scoff and wish they had the opportunity. Thirdly, there are religious programs such as Celebrate Recovery (CR) or Alcoholics Victorious. I’ve seen many get well in these programs who didn’t get well in traditional treatment programs or AA/ NA. And of course, I’ve seen people get well in AA/NA who didn’t get the drift in religious treatment programs. Fourthly, nowadays there is a newer program out there called Young People in Recovery. They feel that recovery is not necessarily sobriety but socialization. They schedule open social events and ball games in the view that almost everybody is in recovery from something, not necessarily alcohol or drugs even (like CR, above). Fifthly (is that even a word?!!!), there’s going to church with renewed vigor. No treatment, no 12-step meetings, just dedication to religion, holy scriptures, and prayer. Okay. I’ve seen it work for people who didn’t make it in one of the programs cited

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN A monthly series by an Augusta drug treatment professional above. Sixthly (a word? Certainly not “seventhly!”), there’s willpower alone. Brute personal emotional and mental stamina. Some achieve a measure of sanity this way... some do not and are what we might call a “dry drunk,” someone has all the traits of an active alcoholic (or addict) but who isn’t actually drinking. It’s a possible downside of this method. Seventh, there’s Rational Recovery for atheists and agnostics. Their suggestion is to “tame the addictive voice” in the brain...to get hold of the ole’ cerebellum and re-program it with different resolutions. No groups here... no higher power...because for this program the alcoholic/ addict is the Higher Power and is in no need orf relying on others for accountability or support. Eighth, there are pharmacological methods alone – Antabuse (see

previous columns about this miracle pill) or perhaps Vivitrol shots (to block the opiate receptors so intake of opiates won’t be felt!). Suboxone (Buprenorphine) alone could be in this category. A downside of this method is the high possibility of “switching chemicals” as the real addiction is to a change of feeling – not to the drug itself. I could go on. But I’m trying to make this point: Whatever you do, just do Something! Also, get smart(er) and do some research...utilize tried and proven (we call it “evidence based” nowadays) programs to increase your chances of success vs. repetitive failure. In this new year, if you’ve resolved to do something good about your growing chemical abuse, try to remember that the only person who had much success with doing it My Way (and my way only) was Frank Sinatra. +

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JANUARY 19, 2018

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Ask a Dietitian

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attitudes we have around food and our approach to food at home guide our children’s behavior. This is the key to healthy eating! In order for children to ultimately have the motivation to choose healthy foods, they must have the foundation of a healthy environment. It’s the behavior and modeling that is learned, not instructions. A child that is told to eat healthy foods but sees the adults in her life drinking sugary sodas or sports drinks and snacking on cookies will not likely develop that healthy foundation. On the other hand, a child that is brought up in an environment where the adults model the healthy behaviors that are desired will develop those same healthy behaviors, such as: snacking on carrots, nuts and seeds or fruit, taking a walk or playing a game after dinner instead of fi xating on dessert, and drinking water throughout the day. Here are the behavior do’s and don’ts to help your children enjoy healthy foods. • Do offer a variety of foods in the house, but embrace a healthy house environment so that the choices are mostly healthy. Examples include: fruit out on the counter (always available), cut vegetables available for snacking, and hummus for dipping. Don’t have sugary foods in the house. If there are sweets in the house, keep them somewhere out of sight, so that they’re less likely to be chosen. • Don’t “push” fruits and vegetables with bribes, begging or nagging. Also, parents also should not promise dessert in exchange for dinner food. Children are so smart, and they interpret our efforts to mean that the fruit/vegetable must not taste good or else we wouldn’t have to try so hard. • On the other hand, when we constantly discourage other foods (junk food and sugary foods and drinks), children interpret that to mean they

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As a busy working mom and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, I try my best to offer my family a variety of wholesome healthy foods. Like most parents, I hope that my children will choose healthy foods with or without me influencing their decision. As parents it’s our job to decide what, when and where children eat. It’s the child’s job to decide how much to eat. When we allow children to decide what to eat or when we don’t allow them to decide how much to eat, we’re overriding these roles. Children must be permitted to regulate how much they want to eat at a meal. If it seems like a child eats too little for dinner and we push them to finish, that’s our arbitrary measurement of satisfaction. The child knows when he’s full. For this reason, it’s also important to communicate meal times with children. If a child says he’s full at lunch, remind him the next time to eat isn’t until afternoon snack (such as “after nap” or “after we visit our friends” to help them understand time). This is especially important at the last meal of the day. Supper should be the last eating occasion, so I always emphasize this. “Is your tummy full? This is the last time to eat until we wake up tomorrow.” Let the child decide if he’s full with this reminder. The

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Sex, sex, and more sex Speaking of fun: indiscriminate, casual, unprotected sex gives birth to 12 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases every year in the U.S. alone — and probably a few babies, too. Some STDs are fatal, which means the parents of those babies won’t have to put up with the sass and disrespect of their own children when they become teenagers. That’s a win. Don’t wear seatbelts Sure, driving kills more people in the 1 to 35 age group than anything else, but tyranny has killed millions too. Be a patriot. Don’t let the government tell you what to do. Being unbuckled is your vote for personal freedom. + Editor’s note: This article previously appeared in the January 24, 2014 issue of the Medical Examiner.

should seek out these foods with or without our permission. Consider allowing some of these highly desirable foods at snack times or as part of meals (although not as dessert) without much fanfare, so that children get to enjoy them and appreciate that they are a “sometimes” food/drink. We made cookies for the holidays as a family activity. For several meals, I included a cookie with their lunch or supper alongside their meal (not after). Of course, they ate the cookie first, but they enjoyed their meal and the cookie wasn’t conditional.

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• MOST IMPORTANTLY: Model the healthy behavior you want to see in your children. You are their biggest influence! When Mom and Dad choose to snack on carrots or grapes, children learn that those are appropriate snacks. When Mom and Dad eat dessert after every meal, your children will expect the same. This goes both ways, so choosing to model healthy food behaviors is the most important thing you can do for them! To help you on your journey here are some health snack ideas. Mix and match these snacks for variety: • Carrots (+ hummus) • Cut up fruit • Dried fruit – apricots, plums, etc • Cheese stick • Pretzels + peanut butter • Ants on a log (celery + peanut butter + raisins) • Almond butter on crackers • Avocado on toast or wheat crackers +

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Roger M. Smith, M.D. announces the closing of his practice for ophthalmology at 820 St. Sebastian Way, Suite 5-A. Please contact the office immediately for records at (706) 724-3339, or Augusta Data Storage (706) 793-0186

Obviously the online edition of the Medical Examiner has just posted. Full color on every page. Clickable links. Read it 24/7. Go to issuu.com/medicalexaminer

JANUARY 19, 2018

11 +

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

The blog spot From the Bookshelf — posted by Edwin Leap, MD, on November 2, 2016

A FRAZZLED DOCTOR LEARNS HOW TO RELAX I’m in the midst of a run of shifts in the emergency department. I’m doing locums away from home. Last night, I left work at about 3:30 a.m. (My shift was 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.) It was busy, not “crazy busy,” just “normal busy.” I finished my last note, wrapped up the information about the one patient I was leaving behind with the valiant night doctor and headed out. Sometimes it all leaves me overwhelmed. I’m sure I’m not alone here. We query, examine, order, report, consult, discuss, cajole, argue, consult, conclude, admit, discharge and all the rest over our eight to 12 hours of patient care. That’s a lot of interaction. Thus, walking out of the double doors into the warm June night was delightful. It was a relief. And best of all, it was quiet. I crossed the parking lot to my car and drove a short distance to the hotel where I was staying. I played the radio because I was fatigued. But when I stepped out of the car, even in the confines of the city, I was met by a cool breeze. Oh, delight! I took my things to my room down the quiet hall, then walked back outside and sat on a bench. I couldn’t resist. There was still a cool breeze, precious in the Southern summer. I looked at the crescent of the moon over the city and listened to the cars on the nearby highway. Nobody asked me to look at an EKG, enter an order, plan a discharge, write a prescription, close a wound or make any sort of decision at all. It was simply quiet. It’s a rarity in the world of medicine. No, it’s a rarity in the modern world. We are never farther away from the press of mankind than the phone in our pockets. Arguments, news (good and bad), discussions, work, duties and forms are all waiting for our addicted eyes to look from the moon to the web. And how often, electronics aside, do we separate ourselves from our fellow men and women and simply enjoy solitude? It is for this reason that, on certain night shifts that are slower, I have been known to wander the halls of hospitals. My footfall in empty hallways, the closed doors and darkened offices are a reassurance that — at some point — rest and sleep are out there. Even if I’m not sleeping, someone is. It reminds me of this quote:

Nothing is ever farther away than the phone in our pockets

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” — Blaise Pascal Certainly, much of man’s unhappiness stems from never being able, being allowed, to sit quietly in a room alone. I slept. Tonight I work again, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Whatever. I only hope that I can carry the moon, the breeze and the quiet with me. And that they will be there for me again tomorrow tonight — hopefully at 2 a.m. rather than 3 a.m. But, I’ll take what I can get. May you have times of precious solitude as well. + Edwin Leap is an emergency physician who blogs at edwinleap.com and is the author of the Practice Test and Life in Emergistan.

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This is an appropriate book to review for this issue in light of the “Who Is This?” article on page 4. As the cover of this book suggests, it’s about trees, large and small. But mainly it’s about one colossal tree, the biggest one on planet Earth: the family tree of humankind. The branches and twigs of this massive tree were built by you and me. After all, our little family tree is in their somewhere, made up of brothers and cousins and nephews and great-great-greatgreat grandparents. But lest we forget — and we always do — we (and by “we” I mean you, the person reading this, and me, the person writing this) are related to everyone else on this planet, from British royalty to the poverty-stricken denizens of the slums of Calcutta, from Mother Teresa to (sorry to break this news) Harvey Weinstein. That’s true whether your personal beliefs lean toward Charles Darwin or Adam and Eve. In fact, while researching this book the author, A.J. Jacobs, discovered that he and Barack Obama are cousins. Distant, but still cousins. And

that Warren Buffett, Halle Berry and Albert Einstein are also in his extended family tree. But so is serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Jacobs also discovered that he is married to his cousin. But then, so are all the rest of us. (She greeted this news, Jacobs writes, with all the enthusiasm of someone who finds a dog hair in their ravioli.) Jacobs does a thorough and admirable job of exploring what a fascinating and dangerous journey genealogy can be in the precise DNA-driven worlds of ancestry.com and 23andMe. The danger can be far more vexing than fi nding a stray hair

on your plate. People who get genetic testing can opt to add their information to the testing fi rm’s database. By that means some people are found who don’t want to be found, like long-gone deadbeat dads. Other people, cyber criminals, would like to steal this information. He also pulls back the curtain on the complicated nomenclature of relativity, like explaining the difference between a second cousin and one who is “twice-removed.” Geneticists say, by the way, that the most distant relative we have is a 70th-cousin. Reading this book is a strong reminder of something we all know, yet seldom pause to consider: gun rights advocates and leftist commie liberals are blood relatives. So are Jews and Arabs, and Black Panthers and KKK members. It reminds me of a question a cousin of mine asked a few years ago. If everyone is related, then “Can’t we all just get along? +

It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by A.J. Jacobs; 352 pages, published in November 2017 by Simon & Schuster.

Research News Slow down on fasting The health benefits of fasting are advertised as significant, ranging from the simple — weight loss — to the sublime: cancer prevention and even prevention. A Jan. 8 article on MedPage Today says the science behind intermittent fasting is shaky. The practice can take a number of forms: not eating past a certain hour of every day, alternating days between normal eating and very light eating (30 percent of normal), and patterns, like the 5:2, where a person eats normally for five days, then fasts or severely restricts eating for the next two days. In all cases, the results are marginal. In one weight loss study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, two groups were compared: an alternate day fasting group and a normal calorie-restricted group. Measured at 6 and 12 months, neither weight loss

approach demonstrated a clear benefit over the other, although more people had dropped out of the study from the fasting group because they couldn’t maintain the regimen. The fasting group likewise showed no benefits in cardiovascular markers like cholesterol and blood sugar levels, although researchers noted that people taking insulin or medications to be taken with food could create problems by fasting. (See the full article on the Medical Examiner’s Facebook page: facebook.com/AugustaRX ) Gluten-free diet shows benefits Let’s clarify that headline. A gluten-free diet, says a just-published study, is not a healthy diet for the vast majority of people. It is also not a sound basis for a weight loss plan: gluten-free foods are generally higher in calories. Gluten-free diets are generally

less nutritious, say researchers, and put their practitioners at risk for deficiencies in iron, folate and B-complex vitamins. To compensate, gluten-free people must take dietary supplements. The diet also results (obviously) in low fiber intake due to the avoidance of whole grains. These conclusions were gleaned from a survey and study of 1,500 US adults without celiac disease who adopted a gluten-free diet. Results were published January 13 in the Journal of Pediatrics. So how is the gluten-free craze beneficial? It’s now a $5 billion industry, but it’s more than just authors capitalizing on the fad to sell millions of diet books. The people who really need to go gluten-free — people with celiac disease — now have a wealth of food choices where once they were limited to a few bland choices via mail order. Yay for them! +

+ 12

JANUARY 19, 2018

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE EXAMiNERS +

Well that was certainly annoying.

What happened?

by Dan Pearson

I went to the library and told them I was looking for a book by Shakespeare.

That’s exactly what I hope you said she asked me. William..

But which one?

The Mystery Word for this issue: SNIDETT

EXAMINER CROSSWORD

PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Cry of a goose 5. Upper joint 10. Medical mag. 14. On sheltered side 15. Its capital is Valletta 16. Woodwind instrument 17. Suffuse with light (Literary) 18. Prepares for publication 19. John of WJBF 20. A flat stone in a garden path 22. Former Braves pitcher who died at age 29 24. Front part of the leg 25. Hindu deity 26. _____ ulcer 29. Canaanite god 30. Relating to birds 31. Performed vocally 32. Small drink of liquor 36. Pays to use 37. Word often hyphenated with out and on 38. Master (in Africa) 39. Type of cap? 40. Mr. Copenhaver 41. Post-mortem stiffness, in brief 42. China intro 43. Having sound 44. This can be paid 48. A vacation can be this 49. Beaten egg dish 50. Without human feeling 54. Days of long ago 55. _____ nerve 57. Peruvian Indian 58. Operatic melody 59. AU Summerville library 60. Putin’s no 61. Uber competitor 62. Satisfied

24 26

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

Click on “READER CONTESTS”

QUOTATION PUZZLE

29 31

42 46

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

O A B M N N U E I

27. Level 28. State tree of Maine 29. The Battle of ____ County Jail was fought Jan. 26, 1779 31. Surgical _____ 32. Diminishing; declining 33. Hindu music 34. Soon, in poetry 35. Store or market 38. Grill 40. Local Hospital 42. Honey maker 43. Intoxicated 44. Jelly for 42-D? 45. The Centers for Disease Control is its neighbor 46. Letter cross-line 47. Fabric crease 48. Composure 50. Let it stand (Latin) 51. Irish singer 52. Palmetto util. 53. College entrance tests 56. Shade of green

DOWN 1. One of two equal parts 2. Potpourri 3. Famous clownfish 4. Inspiration for Neil Young’s Ohio 5. Substance that causes vomiting 6. Burdened 7. Radar screen image 8. First NL player to surpass 500 career home runs 9. Washcloth 10. Jasper, artist born in Augusta 11. Embarrass 12. Stupid person 13. Company purchased by CVS in December 21. Front of the lower legs 23. To be unwell 25. Donald opponent in 2020? 26. Riverwalk, for instance

T ’ W H O E P A L N T E I R T S

E O U T

63. Practical jokes

D O U V

Solution p. 14

I T P N

L E A G E E N Y K I K — Dwight Eisenhower

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.

X A M I N E R

5 3 2

6 7 4 2

8 1

9 3 7 5 8 2 9 8 9 6 7 2 1 9

1 7

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.

R 1 2 3 4

N 1 2

A 1 2 3 4

. 1 2

’ 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A I 2 3 4 5 1 2

8 9 10 — Salvador Dali

1.PHOFINNRY 2.FEEEETOOA 3.RAAVVU 4.CLFEER 5.RHEL 6.C 7.T 8.I 9.O 10.N

SAMPLE:

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

L 1

O 2

V 3

E 4

I 1

S 2

B 1

L 2

I 3

N 4

D 5

WORDS NUMBER

THE MYSTERY WORD

JANUARY 19, 2018

13 +

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE BEST MEDICINE ha... ha...

The

Advice Doctor

repeat whatever the doctor said from the other end. When Moe got to the end of the hallway the doctor said “thirty.” Sure enough, Moe replied “fifteen.”

Moe: I want to learn how to drive a stick shift. Joe: What’s stopping you? Moe: I can’t find a manual.

hree men are on a boat one day. They are all smokers and they have four cigarettes among them, but nothing to light them with. How do they solve their dilemma? Medical Examiner-approved correct answer: They all decide to quit smoking. Actual joke answer: They throw one of the cigarettes overboard and the entire boat becomes a cigarette lighter. Two Irishmen are walking down the street one day looking for work. One sees a sign that says “Tree fellers wanted.” He turns to his friend and says, “Aye lad, ‘tis a pity there’s but the two of us.” Moe was experiencing hearing loss, so he went to the doctor and explained his symptoms. The doctor checked his ears completely and thoroughly and couldn’t fi nd anything wrong. He told Moe his hearing should be perfect. Moe disagreed. “I’m telling you, doc, I’m half deaf.” The doctor was skeptical, so he decided to perform a hearing test to convince Moe that his hearing was fine. He instructed Moe to go to the very end of the hallway in his office and then

Moe: What do you call a Communist sniper? Joe: A Marxman. Moe: I hate it when people don’t even know when to use your or you’re. Joe: I know. There so stupid. Moe: I can never remember what the difference is between an alligator and a crocodile. Joe: That’s easy. You just have to pay attention to whether it will see you later or in a while. Moe: Did you hear about the dentist who married his manicurist? Joe: No. How is it working out? Moe: They fight tooth and nail. Moe: If a person who stutters goes to prison, do they ever finish their sentence? Joe: Sure. It just takes them longer. Moe: I have to replace the airbags in my car. Wonder why they’re so expensive? + Joe: Inflation.

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

Dear Advice Doctor, I few months ago I hurt my back, and ended up being unable to work. I had a little savings, but that quickly evaoprated. Things were looking pretty desperate until I remembered my cousin in Charlotte. He is rich, and I knew he could help me get through this rough patch without even noticing it. Except for one thing: he said no. This is a guy rolling in money, and he couldn’t even spare a few thousand dollars for his own flesh and blood family. I will probably never speak to him again. Unless I can come up with a good way to get even. Any suggestions? — Money Talks: It says goodbye Dear Money, I understand how you must feel at a time like this, but I think it’s important that you not let his rejection affect your conduct. You can be the bigger man in this situation. And from what I can gather from your letter, I believe it is medically urgent for you to get in touch with your cousin right away. You see, countless studies have been done which prove that money is really, really dirty. It’s nothing that anyone should be rolling in. When you consider that coins can circulate for twenty or thirty years, it’s no surprise that they carry all kinds of germs. They change hands thousands of times, and never get cleaned. Paper money doesn’t last as long (from 4 to 15 years, depending on their value: ones have the shortest lifespan, hundreds the longest), but its makeup, linen and cotton, means that bills are actually cloth, not paper. They are absorbent, and are very convenient hosts for all kinds of pathogens. The Southern Medical Journal randomly tested $1 bills in 2002 and found that 94 percent of them tested positive for pathogenic, or potentially pathogenic, organisms. New York City investigators in 2017 found hundreds of species of microorganisms on $1 bills, including E. coli, MRSA, streptococcus, staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, vaginal bacteria, DNA from pets, saliva, fecal matter and numerous viruses. Another study reported in 1996 by the Journal of Analytical Toxicology tested $1 bills from cities across the United States. Nearly 80 percent were positive for cocaine. Pretty nasty, isn’t it? You really should warn your cousin not to roll in this stuff. But let’s say you only have a few bills. Definitely not enough to roll in. Just enought to buy a donut or maybe a hot dog or candy bar. Or popcorn at the dollar movie. Here’s a handy tip: never handle money and then food without washing your hands fi rst. And don’t ever lick your fingers when counting cash. It’s called filthy lucre for a reason! + 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.

Why read the Medical Examiner: Reason #41

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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

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+ 14

JANUARY 19, 2018

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE MYSTERY SOLVED The Mystery Word in our last issue was: CONTAGIOUS

...cleverly hidden on the yawner’s shirt in the p. 15 ad for SLEEP INSTITUTE OF AUGUSTA THE WINNER: KAYLEE RAMOS 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 PUZZLE SOLVED H A L F

O L I O

N E M O

P A R K

E V E N

P I N E

K E N T S T A T E

R O Y A L

E M O R Y

S E R I F

P L E A T

E M E S T H I I C N S D B O E C E T O R S

L A D E N S T E N T P E A

B O W L T A I T S P H A K R I B A A L U N G R Y B K E R E S O P A I S O U L T I C E S E T E D

J O H N S

A B A S H

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The Celebrated WORDS BY NUMBER 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! 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.

WRITER WANTED

Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.” — Salvador Dali

The Sudoku Solution 9 1 8 6 7 5 4 2 3

7 5 2 9 4 3 8 6 1

4 3 6 2 1 8 5 9 7

1 7 5 4 3 9 2 8 6

8 4 9 7 2 6 1 3 5

6 2 3 5 8 1 7 4 9

5 9 7 8 6 4 3 1 2

3 6 4 1 5 2 9 7 8

2 8 1 3 9 7 6 5 4

QUOTATION QUOTATION PUZZLE SOLUTION: “Never waste a minute thinking about people you don’t like.” — Dwight Eisenhower

The new scrambled Mystery Word is found on page 12

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

PROFILES … from page 3 tropical destinations or Third World countries, but unfortunately, one could practice that specialty right here in the Garden City during the 19th Century. In fact, Dr. Ford distinguished himself during two Yellow Fever epidemics that swept through Augusta, in 1839 and again in 1854. (Across the entire U.S. there was not a single case of Yellow Fever in 2015.) After helping to quell the outbreaks, Ford went into public health mode, campaigning for the city government to remove rotting accumulations of trash that were breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that spread the disease. Speaking of the city, in between fighting epidemics, practicing medicine and educating future doctors, Ford somehow also found time to run the city. He was elected mayor in 1846 after previously serving several terms on the Augusta city council. When hostilities by the

Northern aggressors erupted, Ford immediately (October of 1861) began to serve, appointed as surgeon in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States at the 2nd Georgia Hospital in Richmond, VA. He was already 60 years old at the time. After a brief medical leave the following spring, Ford was discharged from the front and sent back to “take charge of the hospital at Augusta, GA.” He ultimately resigned from the Confederate Army in 1863 while the war was still raging, his resignation apparently accepted by Jefferson Davis himself. In 1865, Ford took advantage of Lincoln’s gesture of amnesty to all in the southern states, applying for a pardon and signing an oath of loyalty to the United States on August 5, 1865. Even so, the Southern Historical Association’s Memoirs of Georgia made note of one post-war episode in Ford’s life. “After the war,” it said,

“when a military satrap established his headquarters at Atlanta and threatened to imprison any man who dared to counsel the citizens of Georgia contrary to the views of the United States government, this venerable patriot [Ford], intense in his love of liberty, and fearless of the consequences to self, delivered two addresses to his fellow citizens, urging them not to adopt the reconstruction measures proposed by the military authorities.” Quite a stand for a transplanted Yankee. Dr. Ford contributed extensively to the Southern Medical and Surgical Journal from an initial paper in 1837 to his last, accepted in 1880. Ford was also a founding father of the Medical Association of Georgia. When it was convened for the fi rst time in Macon, eighty of the most distinguished physicians from around the state were present as newly enrolled members. From that

deep pool of talent, it’s noteworthy that Dr. Lewis D. Ford of Augusta was chosen as the fi rst president of the association. Dr. Ford died in Augusta on August 21, 1883. He and a number of his family members are buried at Magnolia Cemetery. But his death did not mark the end of the Ford family’s influence on medicine in Augusta. His son, Henry William DeSaussure Ford (1834-1906) not only practiced medicine in Augusta but also served as a professor of anatomy at MCG, helped found City Hospital, served as an Augusta city council member, and was president of Richmond Academy. What’s more he had the unusual distinction of serving as the Dean of the Medical College of Georgia three different times over a four-decade span (18761880, 1893-1894, and 1903-1906), a testament to his abilities and character as a leader. +

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Georgia Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center 2283 Wrightsboro Rd. (at Johns Road) Augusta 30904 Medical Center West Pharmacy 706-733-3373 465 North Belair Road www.GaDerm.com Evans 30809 Vein Specialists of Augusta Resolution Counseling Professionals 706-854-2424 G. Lionel Zumbro, Jr., MD, FACS, RVT, RPVI 3633 Wheeler Rd, Suite 365 www.medicalcenterwestpharmacy.com 501 Blackburn Dr, Martinez 30907 Augusta 30909 706-854-8340 706-432-6866 Parks Pharmacy Karen L. Carter, MD www.VeinsAugusta.com www.visitrcp.com 437 Georgia Ave. 1303 D’Antignac St, Suite 2100 N. Augusta 29841 Augusta 30901 803-279-7450 706-396-0600 If you would like your www.augustadevelopmentalspecialists.com www.parkspharmacy.com medical practice listed Your Practice in the Professional And up to four additional lines of your choosing and, if desired, your logo. Directory, Keep your contact information in Steppingstones to Recovery Psych Consultants call the Medical this convenient place seen by tens of 2610 Commons Blvd. 2820 Hillcreek Dr Augusta 30909 thousands of patients every month. Augusta 30909 Examiner at Literally! Call (706) 860-5455 for all 706-733-1935 (706) 410-1202 706.860.5455 the details www.psych-consultants.com

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JANUARY 19, 2018

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

FOURTH IN A SERIES

The vitamin alphabet Let’s review our progress so far. Vitamin A needs no introduction. Vitamin A is vitamin A. It’s a little more complicated with the B complex of vitamins. Vitamin B1 is also known as thiamine.Vitamin B2 sometimes goes by the name riboflavin. And today’s focus is on vitamin B3, aka niacin. Like all B vitamins, niacin is water soluble. Vitamins that are fat-soluble are stored by the body, so their levels often don’t fluctuate much. Water soluble vitamins are not stored by the body, so our diet (or if necessary, supplements) must provide a steady supply. Another trait all members of the B family share is their role in helping convert food into fuel, or to put it a different way, to convert carbohydrates into glucose, which is the body’s fuel. B vitamins also

help the body process fats and protein into usable components. Niacin is also noted for its importance in helping the body’s nervous system function properly, promoting good liver health and function, in healthy hair, eyes and skin, and in improving circulation. Niacin has been used to help lower elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels, but this is not something to self-administer or do in consultation with “Dr. Google.” In fact, high levels of niacin can cause unpleasant and even dangerous side effects. These include flushing and redness of the face and skin, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision and upset stomach and diarrhea. Liver damage can occur, and high doses of

niacin can interact negatively with other medications, including cholesterol-lowering drugs. High doses of niacin should only be taken upon the recommendation of and

under the supervision of a doctor. When needed they are normally administered temporarily in gradually increasing doses over a relatively short period of time. Normal and adequate levels of vitamin B3 are easily supplied by a good diet. Peanuts, salmon, tuna, beef liver and kidney, beets, and sunflower seeds are among the better sources of niacin in the diet. In addition, many breads and cereals are fortified with niacin. Other foods like poultry, eggs, red meat and dairy products contain an amino acid that the body readily converts to niacin. Although highly uncommon in modern times, at least in the Western world, niacin deficiency over time leads to pellagra famous (or infamous) for giving its victims

The Four Ds: dermatitis, dementia, diarrhea, and in extreme cases, death. The history of pellagra is in part a Southern story. After a turn of the century outbreak in Alabama, its circumstances fooled the medical profession and sent it down blind alleys for years. Afflicting poor black patients at the Mt. Vernon Insane Hospital, a facility for the “colored insane,” pellagra was judged (based on further studies in 1912 in Spartanburg, SC) to be an infectious disease caused by racial and hereditary factors, cured by “social betterment.” It was years before researchers (like Augusta’s own Virgil Sydenstricker - see the 10/20/17 Medical Examiner at issuu.com/MedicalExaminer/ docs/oct20_17 for more info) realized that pellagra is a disease caused solely by a lack of niacin in the diet. +

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