Jan22 16 by Daniel Pearson

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

JANUARY 22, 2016

Kid’s Stuff NOTES FROM A PEDIATRIC INTERN by Caroline Colden, M.D.

Let’s talk about reading When children come to see me for their well-child checks in my clinic, I try to talk with parents about reading books to and with children. At MCG, we try to even have books ready to give to the kids at their appointment to take home and keep. It’s funny to me, because even the really little kids who don’t really know what books are yet get excited when you give them a book. Maybe they just like presents, but almost all of the kids will immediately start to open the book (sometimes upside down) and look through the pages. Even if they cannot understand the words, the colors and pictures are still very stimulating to the children and their imaginations. Children are never too young to start having reading time. Even newborn babies can benefit from the activity. Studies have shown that just speaking and talking to a baby helps to stimulate language development and brain activity, and reading books is a perfect way to do this. As children get older, they will start learning new words and be able to put words, eventually sentences together. Reading can facilitate this process wonderfully, as it provides new vocabulary words to the child to store away in their arsenal of words, and it helps them to establish a baseline of good grammar. Some kids will love (even demand), to hear the same story again Please see READING page 4

got guns? Of course you do. This is America. It’s your Second Amendment right to bear arms. Living as we do in a nation said to have a “gun culture,” gun owners have the duty and obligation to keep their firearms safely secured and always properly used. This obligation is especially important when a gun owner is a parent or grandparent or an aunt or an uncle — in short, anyone whose home contains both guns and young people, even if only occasionally. You don’t have to think back too far to recall local news stories involving children and guns, often with tragic consequences. Just one example: a third-grader at W.S. Hornsby Elemetary School was shot and wounded last August when a gun brought to school by a fellow third-grader accidentally went off as the student played with the gun inside his desk. Fortunately, the bullet — from a .38 semi-automatic handgun — only grazed the other student, but it could have been far worse. The person charged in the incident? The gun owner, the boyfriend of the shooter’s

grandmother, who kept the loaded gun on the top shelf of a curio cabinet in the family’s kitchen. This headline-for-a-day story could be compared to the tip of an iceberg. The big picture: this is a huge issue, and coming to appreciate it should move gun owners to be safer and more responsible.

of Sidney’s Department Store and the CSRA’s unofficial firearms expert, for his words of wisdom on gun safety.

How We Compare Please see GOT GUNS? back cover Public health researchers recently completed an analysis of World Health Organization data from 2010 comparing gun deaths in 23 high-income countries. Where the U.S. stands among its international peers is, in the words of the researchers, “eye-popping.” The statistics involving guns and youth were particularly sad: of all the children (aged 0 to 14) who were killed by guns in all 23 countries studied, 91 percent lived in the U.S. + Among 15 to 24-year-olds, the gun homicide rate in the U.S. is 49 times higher than in the 22 other high-income countries. And that represents a drop from the last time the same figures were analyzed, in 2003! © What’s the solution? We asked Steven Fishman, owner SEE PAGE 3

URE! T A E F NEW

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JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

#15 IN A SERIES

Who is this?

ou’re looking at the face of a soldier whose nose was shot away on the World War I battlefield of Ypres. Actually, the photo above was an intermediate one. It came after the one below, taken soon after his return from the front.

father of plastic surgery. Gillies was born in 1882 in Dunedin, New Zealand, the youngest of eight children. He followed two older brothers to England’s Cambridge University, arriving in 1901 to pursued a medical career. He was 32 when World War I broke out and promptly joined the Red Cross. On the way to his commission in Belgium, a chance meeting with another surgeon who was treating jaw wounds with tissue taken from other parts of the body led to an appeal by Gillies to

The finished product is shown at right, taken years after the last procedure, when the patient was in his sixties. It shows a normal face that no one would suspect had been so horribly injured. The surgical artist behind the amazing transformation was a physician named Harold Gillies. Many view him as the

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the British Army to establish a plastic surgery unit. The request was granted almost exactly one hundred years ago, on January 11, 1916. Although the flood of patients with horrific war wounds was prodigious, Gillies set himself apart from the very beginning by aiming not just to restore function, but also to make the person look normal. This was something new in the field of plastic surgery. With a background in art, Gillies often made pastel drawings representing before and after faces, the “after” picture representing the ultimate goal of the procedures. Later he created plaster models of how he wanted the patient’s face to eventually look. Such ambitious goals required major innovations. One of the most significant was what Gillies called a pedicle tube. Imagine a patient whose jaw was shot off in battle. Gillies might take part of a rib and graft it in place to replace the jaw bone, then cover it with a flap of healthy skin

• ACNE • MOHS SURGERY

from the shoulder or upper chest. To keep that skin alive and infection-free, Gillies would keep it attached at its originating end, suturing it into a tube. You can see pedicle tubes in photographs 3 and 4 above. The tubes provided blood flow to the affected areas, encouraging grafts to “take.” Although many of the injuries treated by Gillies were ghastly and the steps to recovery were many and often strange looking, as the two patients here demonstrate, the final results were impressive. His success treating the most challenging cases imaginable led to many cosmetic surgery procedures after the war, but Gillies considered them to be secondary to treating injuries caused by accidents. Some cases involved both. One patient, Jean Dawnay, for example, was horribly burned at age 4 when her face was splashed with boiling tar and bitumen in a roadside accident. She was immediately taken to Dr. Gillies. She went on to

• MOLE REMOVAL • PSORIASIS

become a leading model for Christian Dior. He was also an early pioneer in cosmetic breast surgery and sex change operations, both condemned at the time by the medical fraternity and society at large. Gillies died in London in 1960 at age 78, about a month after suffering a “slight” cerebral thrombosis while performing surgery. In 1962 the distinguished British surgeon Sir William Heneage Ogilvie called Gillies one of only three men “in Europe or America who have taken a branch of surgery and by their own effort, by their leadership, their research and craftsmanship, have left it far higher than they found it. To say that of Gillies is an understatement: he invented plastic surgery. There was no plastic surgery before he came. Everything since, no matter whose name be attached to it, was started by Gillies, perfected by him, and handed on by him to lesser men who have often claimed it as their own.” +

• RASHES • WARTS • ITCH RELIEF

Caring for Patients Since 1969

JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

NEW

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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 that disappeared — temporarily — for reasons you’re about to read. We happy to have The Patient’s Perspective — and Marcia Ribble — reincarnated in this new format. Feel free to contact her at marciaribble@hotmail.com

Hi again! I’ve been away for a long time after some medical difficulties and a long rehab. It’s good to be back and writing again. I’m changing the focus a bit to broaden the scope of this column, although the emphasis on health, medicine, and wellness will remain the same, as will the general feeling or tone. Life is good these days. No hospital stays, no overwhelming tiredness, no non-driving months. In November of 2014 I went to the hospital and was admitted for several weeks, coming home the day before Thanksgiving. I was short of breath, couldn’t even get myself up off the toilet, and was weak in other ways when my granddaughter convinced me to go back to the hospital, mostly by getting two of my grandsons to load me into the car to go back to the hospital. Not an easy task, and involving a lot of pushing, shoving, and efforts I was too weak to help with. Might have been easier if I was one of those skinny frail old ladies, but I wasn’t, weighing well over 300 pounds. Once in the hospital, I was bedridden, with catheters, IVs, and other bodily invasions, designed to fill me with antibiotics, drain me of fluids, and otherwise bring me back to health. But when I returned home in late November, it was not the movement toward health we were looking for. I was home for a bit more than a month, and readmitted to the hospital in early January. I would then spend from January through May 22 in a series of hospital, down-step hospitals, and nursing homes. I had pneumonia, cellulitis, septicemia, and other stuff, any one of which might have done me in. But as my kids would say, I’m a tough old broad,

not ready to cash in my chips and go home to the great beyond just yet. They were trying to save my life, and I was complaining about the bed, the food, not being allowed to get up and walk to the bathroom, and the overall demeaning aspects of my stays. Some of you know what I’m talking about. They laid me down flat and brought me trays of food that I couldn’t figure out how to eat. They put me in a funky bed with a mattress that continuously inflated and deflated. I finally managed to get into a wheelchair and finally get some sleep sitting up so I could breathe. Towards the end they put me on massive doses of diuretics. The term peeing my brains out comes to mind. I peed through the diapers they put on me, puddled the bed, and sent puddles of pee onto the floor. Talk about embarrassing! During that period, I lost nearly one hundred pounds of fluid that had been stressing my heart and lungs and threatening to do me in. Being alive is worth the embarrassment that continued when I got home with a hospital bed, oxygen tank, and living room potty next to my chair. I couldn’t get up and fix my own food and was not able to do much more than watch TV and take naps, lot of naps. That was March and through the summer, as my body kept fighting to return to wellness. Today I’m cooking my own meals, driving to the grocery store to get groceries, and lots of other fun things, like going to my daughter’s in Charlotte and climbing up and down 18 steps to celebrate Christmas with three of my five children. This column is one more step toward wellness for me. I’m glad to be back! +

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

Dear Advice Doctor, I am at my wit’s end with my teenage son. His money management “skills” are a joke. He has a decent part-time job, but that money usually burns a hole in his pocket within one day, tops, and then he’s asking my husband and me for “loans.” He could win the lottery and be broke in a week. He has zero friends because they’re all sick of being asked for money. Since he’s 18, I want to kick him out and give him a taste of reality, but my husband disagrees. What do you think? — No-Money-Bags Mom Dear No-Money-Bags-Mom, Burns are one of the most common household injuries, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be serious. Infections are always a possibility, especially if they are left untreated. Depending on the location of the pocket you’re referring to, the burns could be in the chest, buttocks, or upper thigh. Remember: when clothing is involved, stop, drop and roll is always the first line of defense. A first-degree burn (and some second-degree burns, says WebMD) can be treated at home. The affected area should be gently but thoroughly cleaned, and a soothing antibiotic lotion containing aloe vera or hydrocortisone cream can be applied to the burned area. The wound can be loosely covered if necessary with sterile gauze, which the ointment will prevent from sticking to the wound. Your son should take aspirin or a product like Aleve or Motrin for pain and to help reduce inflammation. Avoid home remedies like applying butter to the burned area. Also, do not deliberately break small blisters. For those that break on their own, gently clean the area again, reapply antibiotic ointment and recover with sterile gauze or a non-stick bandage. + Do you have a question for The Advice Doctor about love, life, personal relationships, career, raising children, or any other important life topic? Send it to News@AugustaRx.com. Replies will be provided only in Examiner issues.

AUGUSTA

by Marcia Ribble

MEDICAL EXAMINER

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 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 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. © 2016 PEARSON GRAPHIC 365 INC.

JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

OLD NEWS +

POINTS OF INTEREST TO FORMER KIDS by Trisha Whisenhunt, Senior Citizens Council

THE TAIL OF TUCKER

READING… from page 1 and again from their parents, and some kids may want new books every night. Children may memorize the story and “read” it to their parents, or maybe make up their own versions of it based on the pictures they see. As children get older, many will insist on doing the reading, themselves and it only helps them become smarter, more verbal, and more literate. This will do everything to increase their chances of success later in life. It can even help children become confident as they show their parents how they are progressing and learning new skills. Reading absolutely encourages brain growth, the strength of short- and long-term memory development, the ability to think critically, and the ability to communicate with others better. Testing performance in school is much improved, and the chances of the child graduating high school and even obtaining higherlevel degrees are enormously greater. It encourages a lifetime of education and learning, and some studies show it even reduces the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s later in life. Furthermore, reading time with children is one of the most beautiful times a parent can spend with them. It’s automatic snuggle time, and a happy, soothing experience that the child will always have to remember. Like intellectual money in the brain bank, reading is an investment in the child and his or her future. It is a stress-reliever, too – studies have shown that reading (especially a good, engrossing story) allows the mind to relax, focus on things other than the person’s own stresses, and gently calms the brain. It also promotes sleep as the brain calms down, decreasing the incidence of insomnia and sleep disorders. It fights against conditions such as ADHD because it encourages focused thinking and limiting distractions. It is also a relatively free form of entertainment, especially if your books are from the library. Even if children are “too old” to be read to, reading next to them while they read has all the same benefits, and allows children to grow and explore different interests while still deriving the same beneficial quality time and mental health. So crack open a book tonight, and leave that tv remote alone for a while. Let reading time become that bedtime ritual, that beautiful bond, and that symbol of something precious that the child and parent share together forever. +

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n the morning of December 14 I hit and killed a family’s beloved pet. His name was Tucker and he was a beautiful, threeyear-old Golden Retriever. It was early and still dark with fog and drizzle. He had been in the side of my lane almost to the center of the road and I didn’t see him. After calming down and upon reflection, I realized he must have been sitting in the road when I came along. It had felt as if he were stationary, not walking or running, not trying to dodge the traffic. I believe he had already been hit. He was a large dog and if he had been standing or moving I may have seen him. I’ll never know for certain. Tucker’s pet parent was very generous of spirit; there was no blame or bitterness in his manner toward me. In fact, it was the opposite. He said more than once that it wasn’t my fault and he felt the blame was with him. He even offered to pay for the damage to my car, which I

refused. The holiday season is absolutely the worst time of year to have any form of

tragedy strike a family, and my heart goes out to them. I slept little that night and thought about how many times my dog has gotten away from me in spite of my best efforts. He is completely unaware of the danger of vehicles on the road and thinks it’s a game when I chase him. We all believe we drive safely and I like to think most of us do, but we could

do more. We all need to slow down but more importantly, we need to be kinder to each other. How much time is it really going to add to your arrival if you let one car out in front of you? If you realize you need to change lanes in the middle of traffic; don’t. Do the right thing and turn around at the next opportunity instead of holding up traffic. If we all were more kind to each other there would be fewer accidents. Let’s watch out for people, pets and wildlife on the roads. It’s not pleasant to be stuck in traffic, especially after working all day. We are tired and hungry; we may have had a tough day and are dealing with a headache or the prospect of having to cook and do other chores once we get home. All of this can add to an already bad mood. Taking it out on others while behind the wheel or showing our selfish side is not the answer and it doesn’t help our state of mind. I’m still not over Tucker. The experience intrudes upon me often, and the memory of kneeling beside him in the wet grass as he passed will stay with me forever. I am brokenhearted over it. I am told it will pass in time. Perspective is everything: I thank God he was not a child. +

MYTH OF THE MONTH Carrots are good for your eyes So which is it, myth or fact? That all depends on how you use them. If you poke them in your eye then no, they are not good for your vision. However, eating carrots is exactly what your mother or grandmother told you it was: good for your eyesight. Rabbits are said to like carrots. Have you ever seen a bunny wearing glasses? Carrots are rich in vitamin A, which helps the retina function properly. Yes, eating carrots can help your night vision too. Vitamin A helps promote formation of a

pigment called rhodopsin found in light-sensing structures of the retina. The more vitamin A is in your diet, the more rhodopsin your eyes produce. In addition to carrots, other good sources of vitamin A include spinach, kale, liver, sweet potatoes and broccoli. As a rule of thumb, most of us would do well to add more fresh and raw vegetables to our diets, carrots included. + — by F. E. Gilliard, MD, Family Medicine 639 13th St Augusta, GA 30901 706-823-5250

JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

WHAT EVERYBODY OUGHT TO KNOW res? ABOUT LONGEVITY AND PREP-PHOBIA

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When Klem Moody’s doctor made morning hospital rounds to update him on his lab test, Klem’s face was draped in sternness and his body bundled in street clothes. “I’m leaving ... right now!” “Wait! We’re not done with all your tests.” “You may not be done, but I am! Up ‘til last week, nobody knew I even had an arse. Since I have been here, everybody has stuck tubes in it and took pictures of it, ‘til I’ve had enough. I’m outa here.” Klem ran out the door like a moonshiner chased by revenuers. (And that, Dear Hearts, may be how we got the idiom, “faster than Moody’s goose.”) My recent Executive Physical went something like that as well. A well-known hospital caters to corporate executives, rock stars, pro athletes, and trust fund wonders. But they admitted me anyway. (A friend arranged a hefty discount because the true cost was far beyond my meager means.) They have wings named for various Fortune 100 dignitaries. After more than a century, they still do not feel the need to have “University” in their name. They had hordes of competent (and polite) doctors and nurses and technicians. They have multiple copies of every medical machine known to man. I saw five CT scanners in one wing. They gave me a going over (and through) that makes the Spanish Inquisition seem unintrusive in comparison. In my two days there, vampires vacuumed out blood specimens at least six different times. I got in and out of my clothes more times than Paris Hilton does on a holiday weekend. They ruined my impending Hollywood career by shaving my chest hair in an asymmetrical way that must be a secret signal to space aliens, or proof of the random numbers mathematical equation. k

+ I

THE AUGUSTA MEDICAL EXAMINER AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER

t s e B Five different doctors zeroed in on various body parts and areas of concern. Nurses and technicians zipped in and out like the shiny ball in a pinball machine. Before the GloFlo CT test, I was warned that I would feel like I was peeing in my pants, but that I was not. They injected the radioactive material. I got hot all over and was certain I had wet everything below the waist. However, disaster was averted. I was cheerfully dry. I twisted my finger and tore a fingernail getting off an examining table. They called out the SWAT Team and dialed up DefCon 3. Through my extra-ordinary communicative skills, I convinced them to treat me with a complimentary Curad Band Aid. My tetanus was up to date. To the horror of malpractice lawyers worldwide, I refused to file an Incident Report, thereby derailing a multi-million dollar medical neglect law suit. Finally, near the end of the second day, I saw a real, down home doctor. He treats patients rather than body parts or specific diseases. He was delightfully philosophical. He knew who Lightnin’ Hopkins and Jimmy Reed were. He

BORN IN AUGUSTA

e n i c i d ME

knew the background music for the current TV Viagra ad was Howlin Wolf, recorded over 50 years ago. A true Renaissance man was he. We talked about how medicine was descending into an abyss of highly trained technicians and machines, and few real doctors anymore. And, how that was both good and bad. So far, they think I will live. Treadmill: negative. Pulmonary functions: normal. Blood work: normal, except for a small elevation in cholesterol that has been stable for 30 years. Kidney function: normal, with the glomerular filtration rate of someone 20 years my junior. PSA: normal. Five pages of confusing normal blood test values. All sorts of normal scans and X-rays. More results are forthcoming after they have had time to calculate ratios and have a conference about how to best preserve Bad Billy for the

foreseeable future. I am glad it’s over and done. There is peace in knowing I am mostly normal, that I don’t have a hunk of cancer lurking about, and that acute myocardial infarctions and strokes are unlikely. Would I do it again? Sure. But not today. It’s your turn. That’s my gift to you to preserve your health. Besides, I break out in a cold sweat whenever I hear the word, “Prep.” Maybe I ought to sue them anyway, now that I have near terminal Prep-phobia. But all jokes aside, get an annual physical. It beats the hell out of your body dying and your family crying. + 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. Editor’s note: this vintage Bad Billy story originally appeared 4 years ago, in our Jan. 20, 2012 issue. Time flies! FREE T AKE-H OME C OPY!

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this surgeon knows who and trauma surgeon Fort, a French very ER physician on March It’s René Le who died man’s name. 30, 1869 and day for his 1901 on March to this was born is remembered facial fractures. Many 30, 1951. He system for main categories a classificationyou he discovered the Le Fort III creation of tell Fort II, and works will Le Fort I, Le say he created reference — still named will go so far as to patterns in of fractures it at that. Some examining fracture “Le Fort by — and leave this bold statement: cation system the the classifi book made skulls to see Ah, but one roof onto their cadavers. off a tavern he the face.” before. And tossed cadavers of fracture lines in had gone 9 natural pattern going where no man WHO? page Please see That is boldly

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Either way, when I got home my wife said, “Get that weird stuff off your chest.” She wasn’t amused by my story that it was the latest fad, and that I had so much chest hair because, growing up poor, I grew my own sweater to keep warm in the winter. But back at the hospital, their history-taking delved into everything I know and things I had not pondered in decades, and even ferreted out the name of my dog. The colonoscopy prep was draconian, but I survived and eventually felt clean clear through. The anesthesiologist said, “I will give you an IV anesthetic. You will tingle when it takes effect. Then you will wake up in the Recovery Room.” “What drug are you using?” “Propofol. You and Michael Jackson.” I felt fluid go in my arm. I blinked and was about to say I didn’t feel a tingle, but when I un-blinked, I was in the Recovery Room. An hour or so was pleasantly gone from my life. My colon was normal, they said. (I’m not even sure they did it. They could have just been telling me that, for all I know.) They said I could get a repeat in 10 years if I felt it necessary. Right now, I don’t feel the need. But if I ever do, maybe they will have a less torturous prep. (I can see why Michael liked Propofol. But did he need three gallons of it in his home? I think not. I calculate that three gallons would keep me under for a solid week.) They monitored my blood pressure hourly for 24 hours.

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JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Part Six of an 8-part series

Looking for Likes in all the right places.

16 for ’16

With the end of one year and the beginning of another, it’s a fitting time to consider ways to start the new year in a better state of mind and body. Each installment of this series, now through February, will offer simple ways to do just that by cutting bad things and adding good things. To read previous installments of 16 for ’16, visit issuu.com/medicalexaminer. simply to know your blood pressure. Grocery and drug store BP machines are not known for their accuracy, but they can give you an idea of your general range. A better option might be to make an appointment with your doctor, or have a friend who is a nurse measure yours when you’re relaxed. If necessary, you can then schedule a doctor visit. Of course, doctors can only fight against our lifestyle so much. After all, we’re doing whatever we do to ourselves 24/7; we only sit in doctor’s offices a fraction of that time. So the best steps a person with elevated BP can take are personal, not pharmaceutical, things like reducing salt in

+ #11 GET A HANDLE ON

YOUR BP There’s a reason why elevated blood pressure — sometimes called hypertension — is also known as “the silent killer.” It would be weird to have a killer cold (literally), yet not have a single symptom: no running nose, no sneezing, no coughs. Yet that’s exactly what can happen with hypertension. It’s a major candidate for a New Year’s resolution, since an estimated one-third of all people in the U.S. over age 20 have it. And it’s a chronic condition, so making a resolution to do something about it in late January is not against the rules. Obviously the first step is

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your diet, cutting down on processed, fatty foods and alcohol, getting exercise, reducing weight, and eliminating tobacco use. You may do all of those things and still need meds to control your blood pressure, but those who rely on drugs alone are often fighting against the very medicines they are taking to reduce their blood pressure. Taking blood pressure seriously can pay handsome dividends, like significantly cutting your risk of suffering a stroke. #12 CUT IT OUT! What are we talking about? Stress. It’s omnipresent in today’s society, and it takes a multi-faceted toll on its victims. Faced with chronic stress, some people turn to drugs and alcohol for relief. Some suffer from insomnia, others have nightmares. Some experience loss of appetite. Some stressed + people become aggressive out drivers. Some people can’t concentrate; they experience headaches, back pains and upset stomach and digestive problems. Still others are irritable and angry all the time

and lash out at anyone nearby, whether the other person is connected to their stress or not. What can you do about stress? Sometimes stress arises from situations that feel beyond our control, like a cruel boss in a job we’re stuck in. Oddly enough, though, sometimes people step back and notice that the very person they despise is well-liked by others. The stress trigger is sometimes our own attitude toward a person or situation. Coping with any stressor using drugs or alcohol is a temporary fix at best; when the effects wear off, the same situation is still there, and might even be worse. It’s better to find support through a real live human being, a friend, family member or co-worker who has a sympathetic listening ear, or who is a complete 180 from the stressful situation. That can lighten the load considerably. Other often overlooked antidotes to stress include getting exercise. Taking a walk can be great therapy. Think about savoring a meal — or even a snack — as an Please see 16 for ’16 page 13

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re you a New Year’s resolution fan? Or a resolution hater? Both sides in this annual discussion have their valid points. On the negative side, by the time you read this many carefully made resolutions may have already slipped a little. Statistically, by this date (January 9) 25 percent of all resolutions have already gone down in flames; that many usually fail within the first week. By the six-month mark the failure rate is about half. And by this time next year, the wreckage of 88 percent of all those shiny new intentions of last week’s New Year’s Day 2015 will lie strewn across the landscape. On the plus side, that means a fairly decent 12 percent of all resolutions are achieved after a full year. Building on that positive note, making New Year’s resolutions is evidence of one of the finest aspects of human nature — that we continuously evaluate ourselves and constantly strive to improve, to be better husbands or wives, better moms and dads, better employees, better bosses, and just better human beings. The typical resolutions reflect those basic desires: the #1 resolution every year is always some form of better health. Lose weight. Get more exercise. Eat less junk food or fast food. Eat less, period. Quit smoking. Drink less, or quit altogether.

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You really can’t fault anyone for such noble goals. After all, health is the ultimate wealth. It’s the currency that makes every other endeavor in life possible. Speaking of currency, improving finances is, broadly speaking, the second most popular resolution category. Common examples include establishing and/or sticking to a budget; saving more; cutting impulse buys; getting a better job, a raise, or a promotion. The third-most common resolutions might be categorized as self-improvement: read more; temper control/ anger management; reduce or manage stress; watch less TV; get more education: learn a new language, skill, or hobby; improve your marriage and other personal relationships, and so forth. All of these are worthy goals. They are well worth pursuing, even if that means getting past occasional setbacks. Since failure is always an option, it’s good to expect it and be ready to keep making progress. There is nothing magical about January 1. If you haven’t made some kind of self-improvement goal, it’s never too late. If you’ve started and failed already, restarts are always allowed. Whatever you set your sights on, keep the letters shown below in mind, as well as what they stand for. Please see RESOLVED page 2

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AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING. Prefer paper? We’re all over town. If you prefer our digital version, we’re all over the world. The Medical Examiner is always available on your favorite device at ISSUU.COM/MEDICALEXAMINER or at the Medical Examiner blog (www.AugustaRx.com/news) on issue dates. Click directly from any Examiner page directly to websites listed in ads and articles. You can easily view back issues, too. +

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MEDICINE IN THE FIRST PERSON Everybody has a story. Tell us yours! Send your interesting (or even semi-interesting) stories to the Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta, GA 30903 or e-mail to Dan@AugustaRx.com. Tell us if you want it “by you” or if it needs to be anonymous. Thanks!

JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Southern Girl Eats 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 B Vitamins, which help with • Sea salt and pepper to taste have a little mushier texture fat, protein and carbohydrate • Flat leaf parsley to garnish, than potatoes. By combining metabolism. some of both the potatoes and finely chopped • Contains 76mg of calcium turnips.... the finished recipe per mashed cup. This is 8% of comes out the exact perfect Instructions: the recommended daily value. texture and consistency. Roast a whole bulb of garlic • Turnips contain 407mg of using the directions in the I also add a bulb of roasted potassium per mashed cup. link provided below. garlic to the mashed turnips Potassium is very important Peel the potatoes and scrub and potatoes. Throw in some for healthy blood pressure turnips clean then cut off the salt and pepper to taste and and fluid balance. ends. you’ve got a fabulous healthy • Low in calories and high in Cut potatoes and turnips and clean side dish. fiber. 51 calories per mashed into 1-2 inch chunks, making cup and 5 grams of fiber. sure that all pieces are about Ingredients: Fiber promotes a healthy the same size. • 2-3 medium russet potatoes digestive tract and low Place the turnips and • 2 medium turnips cholesterol. potatoes into a pot of boiling • 1 Tbsp. of ghee (Clarified I chose to split the ratio of water with 1/2 tsp. of salt butter with all milk fats my mashed potatoes with added. removed.) - Add a bit more if turnips. Turnips have a slight Boil over medium to you prefer horseradish flavor and they high heat until fork tender, • 1 bulb of garlic, roasted

Turnip Mashed Potatoes

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Alisa Rhinehart writes the blog www.southerngirleatsclean.com She is a working wife and mother living in Evans, Georgia. Visit her blog for more recipes and information on clean eating.

***”How to Roast Garlic” can be found on my blog at the following link: http://www. southerngirleatsclean. com/?p=2347 ***Nutritional information on the health benefits of turnips was found here: http://www.livestrong.com/ article/408477-the-healthbenefits-of-turnips/ +

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approximately 8-10 minutes. 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

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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 Medical 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) • 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 • Augusta U., Laney-Walker Boulevard transit stop, Augusta • 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. • Hartley’s Uniforms, 1010 Druid Park Ave, Augusta • International Uniforms, 1216 Broad Street, Augusta • Marshall Family Y, Belair Rd, Evans • Mellow Mushroom, 12th and Broad Streets, Augusta • 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... 800+ doctors offices throughout the area for staff and waiting rooms, as well as many nurses stations and waiting rooms of area hospitals.

JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Very little if anything about healthcare is inexpensive, and that includes medicine. Tiny pills can command large prices. Over-the-counter 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.

RESOLUTION #1. HOW CAN THE PHARMACY HELP? It’s the New Year and the number one resolution year after year is to lose weight. So let’s talk about how to lose weight and keep it off. I have lost weight several times and put it back on after the diet was over or when I didn’t have time to work out anymore. Work would get in the way and fast food lunches would add way too many calories. I have seen people try almost every diet and weight loss plan available and make great progress only to regain everything they lost. Losing weight and keeping it off requires a lifestyle change. Your present diet and exercise level was what got you to this point and only a permanent change will get you where you want to be. Let’s talk about the pharmacy option for weight loss. Diet pills typically are nothing more than a short term solution: they will suppress your appetite only as long as you take them. However, if you do not end up adapting your current eating habits, medication will not be a long-term solution. I do not recommend diet pills except as a jump-start to a diet and exercise program. My usual program starts heavy on the diet and a little light on the exercise part, because at your heavier weights most people don’t have the stamina for heavy exercise. By eating a well-balanced diet and watching your calories, you can start losing weight and then add in more and more exercise as your energy level increases. A well-balanced diet consists of a combination of fruits and vegetables in addition to protein and carbohydrates will allow you to feel full throughout the day. This will allow you to stick with the diet and not get burned out on your new goal. When you reach your goal weight,

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then a few calories can be added back into your diet so you maintain your new weight instead of losing more weight. One suggestion: instead of setting a single weight goal, try setting an ultimate goal but then set several intermediate goals that are easier to reach. Each goal you strive for can build on the previous one. I started out with a diet and exercise program I chose from a website that stresses a healthy diet and 30 minutes of exercise a day. I modified the workouts to fit my schedule and previous injuries but always kept moving and doing some type of exercise. Lately, to work in better with my family schedule, I have been walking in my neighborhood. This started with a few miles in the evening and over time the distance has increased. I am continuing to track my calories and maintain a balanced diet as stressed by the program. So far I have lost forty-eight pounds and have maintained that weight through the holidays and the first of the year. Just remember that a new lower weight is a journey and every step you take that puts you closer to your goal is a step in the right direction. Make a few positive changes that you can live with and maintain those changes. Then, when you are comfortable with your new lifestyle, make a few more changes to further the process. Every change you make will take you one step closer to the new lifestyle you are seeking. The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. So start with small measures on both sides of the equation (diet and exercise) and continue taking those small steps until you reach your goal. My first step was cutting out sugary sodas (I used to have six a day) and replacing those with water and unsweet tea. Remember, artificial sweeteners are not good in large amounts either. My next step was to cut back on portion size so I could continue to treat myself with my favorite foods, but now with a lesser amount. Work on these tips and you too can lose weight. + Written for the Medical Examiner by Augusta pharmacists Chris and Lee Davidson Questions, comments and article suggestions can be sent by email to cjdlpdrph@bellsouth.net

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JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Useful food facts from dietetic interns with the Augusta Area Dietetic Internship Program

SHOPPING FOR RESOLUTIONS by Kaylee Paciora, Dietetic Intern

January marks the beginning of new gym membership season as many people make New Year’s resolutions to become healthier. But a gym membership alone is not the solution. Being healthier is a package deal that requires the fighting power of both food and lifestyle choices. People often do not fully commit to living a healthier life because of their busy schedules, and the belief that healthier food is more expensive and time consuming than other food options. But what if there was a way to make healthy home-cooked meals for less money and less time than it would take to eat out? Now that New Year’s resolution is looking like it might make it past the six-week mark! (New Year’s resolutions last an average of six weeks.) Studies have shown that cutting out two fast food meals per week by eating at home can save up to $2,000 per year, and that eating out took longer than making a home-cooked meal. Knowing what to look for and how to shop in the grocery store can save both time and money. The phrase “shop the perimeter” is a real concept when it comes to grocery stores. This is where the most nutritious foods are, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy. Inside the aisles is where

the prepackaged, not as nutritiously dense foods lie. Another tip: foods that are impulse items with less nutritional benefit are often placed at eye level on store shelves; steer away from these. When buying fruits and vegetables, try to purchase produce that is in season, since it tends to cost less than nonseasonal fruits and vegetables. Fresh veggies are going to be the healthiest choice, but if canned or frozen is more affordable, pick those without added sauce or seasoning. Frozen fruits and vegetables are essentially the same as fresh, with a little extra water due to packaging. When selecting canned options, pick ones that are lower in sodium, and rinse the contents with water to remove the extra salt that is used as a preservative. Buying produce in bulk can also save money, but spoilage can be a concern.

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PARAMEDIC

DON’T LICK THE BEATERS

Freezing produce is the best way to avoid wasting food. This way it stays fresher longer and can make for great smoothies. To save cooking time at home, cut foods into small pieces to cook faster. When there is less food surface area, it takes less time to cook the food. Prepare larger meals over the weekend or whenever more free time is available; then portion the meal out for the rest of the week so that it is easy to just grab from the refrigerator and go. Crockpot cooking is another way to save time in the kitchen. Place all the ingredients into the pot, and by the time you return home from work the crockpot contents should be fully cooked and ready to serve. The after-dinner cleanup crew will certainly appreciate the one-pot job. Using a grocery list when shopping is another proven money (and diet) saver. Lists help to keep people on track and remember everything needed while at the store. Before shopping, check pantries and cabinets and use what is already there. A grocery store trip may even be entirely avoided. Lastly, never go to the grocery store hungry. There are already too many temptations at the store to begin with, and going there on an empty stomach suddenly makes even unhealthy junk food look much more appealing. By leaving the junk food at the store and out of the house, keeping that New Year’s resolution of a healthier diet will be more attainable. Healthier lifestyle changes may seem daunting at first, but with these tips healthy choices will be a breeze. Take baby steps first by making a few changes here and there before diving into the deep end. Work your way gradually up to a completely new lifestyle. Too many changes all at once is why people break their New Year’s resolutions. Make the changes for life, not just for six weeks! +

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+ 10

JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Boardwalk to Bark Place Kennnel & Daycare welcoming dogs 30 lbs and under 5873 Huntington Drive Grovetown, Georgia (706) 840-3141 www.boardwalktobarkplace.com

PET VET

10 QUESTIONS FOR YOUR VET Here are 10 questions the FDA says you should ask your vet when medication is prescribed.

Giving the right dose at the right time of the day will help your pet get better more quickly.

1. Why has my pet been prescribed this medication and how long do I need to give it? Your veterinarian can tell you what the medication is expected to do for your pet and how many days to give it.

4. How do I store the medication? Some medications should be stored in a cool, dry place. Others may require refrigeration.

MEMBRANE

2. How do I give the medication to my pet? Should it be given with food? Your pet may have fewer side effects, like an upset stomach, from some drugs if they are taken with food. Other medications are best to give on an empty stomach. 3. How often should the medication be given and how much should I give each time? If it is a liquid, should I shake it first?

5. What should I do if my pet vomits or spits out the medication? Your veterinarian may want to hear from you if your pet vomits. You may be told to stop giving the drug or to switch your pet to another drug. 6. If I forget to give the medication, should I give it as soon as I remember or wait until the next scheduled dose? What if I accidentally give too much? Giving your pet too much of certain medications can cause

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serious side effects. You’ll want to know if giving too much is a cause for concern and a trip to the animal emergency room. 7. Should I finish giving all of the medication, even if my pet seems to be back to normal? Some medications, such as antibiotics, should be given for a certain length of time, even if your pet is feeling better. 8. Could this medication interact with other medications my pet is taking? Always tell the doctor what other medications your pet is taking, including prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines, and herbs or other dietary supplements. You may want to write these down and take the list with you to the vet’s office. 9. What reactions should I watch for, and what should I do if I see any side effects? Your veterinarian can tell you if a reaction is normal or if it signals a serious problem. You may be asked to call your vet immediately if certain side effects occur. FDA encourages veterinarians and animal owners to report serious side effects from medications to FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine at 1-800-FDA-VETS. For a copy of the reporting form and more information on how to report problems, visit the Web site, How to Report An Adverse Drug Experience. 10. When should I bring my pet back for a recheck? Will you be calling me to check on my pet’s progress, or should I call you? Your vet may want to examine your pet or perform laboratory tests to make sure the medication is working as it should. +

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JANUARY 22, 2016

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

From the Bookshelf The blog spot — Posted by Megan Babb, MD on Jan. 13, 2016 at kevinmd.com (edited slightly for space and content)

AN OPEN LETTER TO JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE My name is Megan. I am a family medicine doctor practicing in Northern California, and I spend my day (my often 12 hour day) in a quiet office where I see 18 to 22 patients with various complaints. I heard recently that you and your wife have chosen not to vaccinate your precious baby. My first thought was, why in the heck are they not vaccinating their child? Then my next thought was, why in the heck am I hearing about your child’s immunization status? Why does this become a social frenzy that is shared with the world? I mean, I’m sure in a few years the world will not be hearing about whether you decide to get a colonoscopy or not. We probably also won’t hear in a few years whether or not Jessica decides to get routine mammograms, and if she does, I doubt we will hear if she decides to start at 40 years old versus 45 years old, or if those mammograms are going to be once a year or once every two years. But when the world does hear about your decision not to vaccinate, all it does is cause confusion in our society. All it does is make those who look up to you think this decision is the right one and in turn, they follow suit. This, unfortunately, leads to the unnecessary spread of disease and illness. If this information is correct and you have decided not to vaccinate, if you bear with me I will tell you why I think your decision is not a good one. Let me tell you about a patient. Imagine a middle-aged female whom we will call Jane. She goes to see the doctor with a complaint of nipple retraction. Three days and about 4 hours later she is back, sitting in another doctor’s office being told that definitively from biopsy she has breast cancer and that this cancer has metastasized to nearby organs. She is now undergoing intense chemotherapy and has just undergone radical mastectomy and has lost both of her breasts. She is also a single mom who has kids. She still has to get up, get her kids ready for school, pack their lunch, drop them off, run her errands, pick her kids back up from school, make dinner, put the kids to bed, go to sleep, then repeat this all the next day and the day after that. She doesn’t have the luxury to not be a mom while she is trying not to let cancer kick her ass. The problem is, even with her weakened immune system she can’t avoid the public. She has to go to the store. She has to provide food for her children. She has to be around people. She has no choice. As a result, she has to rely on those in her community to be vaccinated, because all those who are vaccinated help protect her as she fights what is likely the hardest fight of her life. A child who is not vaccinated against say, measles, puts her life in danger. A child who isn’t vaccinated against influenza also puts her life in danger. In fact, any unvaccinated individual puts her life in danger. You see, vaccinations don’t just protect the individual; they protect the community. They protect vulnerable people like Jane. I understand that you (like most other parents) are just trying to do what they feel is best for their child. I cannot fault you for that. However, I implore you: do your research, educate yourself on the topic, and have an open discussion with your doctor. Listen to the medical community and trust that we know what we are doing. Trust that when we say vaccinations are safe, they are safe. I wouldn’t trust us to write Grammy-award winning lyrics for you, but I would trust that after a minimum of 13 years of education, we doctors know a thing or two about medicine and at the end of the day, we all come from the best of intentions. This is why my job is important. I help protect your little one because I help educate the community that surrounds your little one. I encourage vaccination. Please think about it. Vaccines aren’t so bad. It’s the diseases they protect us from that are. #TrustmeImadoctor.

Do your research. Educate yourself.

Sincerely, Megan Babb, MD Megan Babb is a family physician. +

This book is about a certifiably Bizarre (note the capital B) physician of the late 1800s, one Spencer Black. This book tells a story that could not happen in 2016. For one thing, Spencer Black would be in a hospital for the criminally insane. For another, the man was a gifted writer — among many other talents — and kept a diary that reads like the finest novel. Diaries entries in 2016 (also known as Facebook posts) consist of things like snapshots of pizza, and comments like, “Chillin wit my peeps.” Compare that with these words penned by Black in Philadelphia of the late 1860s: “We were all quiet, for calling attention to ourselves would have done us no service. We slowly moved across the bridge to the newly established residence of a deceased soul. The narrow stream below, too dark to see, trickled quietly. It was damp and wet that night...steam rose off our aged horse. The mist of her breath was comforting; she

was an innocent creature, our accomplice. They called us resurrectionists, grave robbers.” If only grave robbing was as weird as the life of Spencer Black ever got. But it got even weirder. A lot weirder. A chance visit to a traveling sideshow of circus freaks led Black into a macabre offshoot of medicine entirely of Black’s own creation. It all started with a jar containing the mummified remains of a child whose deformed legs bent the wrong way at the knees. Black purchased the specimen for the enormous sum of

$200 and upon dissecting it became convinced that it was the real carcass of a mythical fawn/human hybrid. Believing that alone would be strange enough, but Black went on to attempt to build his own menagerie of nature’s freaks. (See the cover illustration, left.) For one experiment, he grafted the wings of a large bird onto the back of a pig. Not a dead pig. A living pig. The goal was a pig that, if it couldn’t fly, at least it could flap its wings. Ticket sales at Black’s own travelling freak show would make him a wealthy man. When his experiments on living creatures failed, Plan B involved creating facsimiles of bizarre creatures convincing enough to fool paying customers examining the artifacts of Black’s creation bobbing around in jars of brine. It all reads like some bizarre fantasy. + The Resurrectionist by E. B. Hudspeth; 192 pages, published in 2013 by Quirk Books

Research News Sugar: not so sweet after all The MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas released a study earlier this week which discovered a possible link between high amounts of dietary sugar and an increased risk of breast cancer, and metastasis to the lungs. Researchers said this is a significant finding, inasmuch as per capita sugar consumption in the US has surged to over 100 lbs. per year. The growing popularity of sugar-sweetened beverages and of ever-larger serving containers are contributing to an epidemic of obesity, heart disease and cancer, said study authors. Previous research has suggested a strong link between sugar and development of existing cancer. Texas researchers said their study was the first of its kind to investigate the direct effect of sugar — specifically table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup — has on cancer formation. Although further research is needed, this study suggests that dietary sucrose and

fructose induced production of breast tumor cells. Race bias in the exam room? Physicians get lower marks in nonverbal communication when dealing with seriously ill black patients compared to their white counterparts. At least that’s what a small University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study released this week found. Thirty-three physicians (the overwhelming majority of them white males) were involved in the study, which put them in realistic situations in which black and white actors portrayed patients (each with a “family member” at their bedside) with plummeting vital signs related to either metastatic gastric or pancreatic cancer. The “patients” all acted from identical scripts. The doctors were unaware of what the study was examining. Physicians, scored using a point system for their verbal and nonverbal skills in interacting with the patient and family members, averaged 7

percent lower scores for their nonverbal interactions with black patients than with white patients. Physicians were more likely to stand right at a white patient’s bedside and touch them in a sympathetic manner. Hidden camera images from the study show the same, as well as contrasting images, like a doctor standing near the door of a black patient’s room holding a binder in front of him. Body language, say Pitt researchers, is an important tool to build (or destroy) trust and confidence in the medical profession, and can have significant treatment ramifications. Building trust encourages patients to take a greater roll in decisionmaking on more aggressive life-sustaining measures, or end-of-life care. Doctors, say the authors of this study, can help patients’ families in these difficult situations by being careful to avoid communicating any unintentional biases. +

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JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE EXAMiNERS +

by Dan Pearson

I need to hire a There is a guy we use carpenter. Do you whenever something know a good one? comes up.

Is he good?

He is.

How good?

The Mystery Word for this issue: DERMAPICA

EXAMINER CROSSWORD

PUZZLE

ACROSS 1. Hanging or dimpled ______ 5. Prohibit 10. Little devils 14. Dynamic start 15. Wide open 16. It can come before Evans 17. Farsightedness 19. Old 20. Donkey 21. Sticky strip 23. An old broken-down horse 24. Proverb 27. Excellent 29. Remedy 30. Like pie? 31. Ex-_____ 32. Sub follower 33. Do no... 34. Examples: IHOP and CVS 37. In three parts or divisions 39. Common burn type 40. Meat _____ (carnivores) 41. Rude, unrefined person 42. Eggs (Latin) 43. Operated 44. Feeling of regret (or hunger) 45. Music for two 46. Flat and circular in shape 49. Passageway 50. Lab assistant? 51. Farmer’s residence (in song) 52. Acronym at Augusta U. 53. Off-Broadway award 55. Inhabitant of Naples 60. These days it can begin with an e 61. Down-filled quilt 62. Type of list 63. Sea eagle 64. Sting 65. Scorch

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 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

U T T C F A E A N N H O L L R U I S E H T R G G E I D

QUOTATION PUZZLE

Click on “READER CONTESTS”

E C E E I N N U N C E A I I E T M T P S C A R O L

DOWN 1. Set a limit for 2. Diaz novel: This Is How You Lose ____ 3. Last word in Sendak’s Wild Things title 4. Medicinal amount 5. _____ Inn 6. Self-esteem 7. Sometimes it’s by fire (not literally) 8. Place for beehives 9. Harvests 10. McKinley’s first lady 11. Very generous or forgiving 12. Fold 13. Marshgrass 18. Breast cancer early-screening detector (abbrev) 22. Engraver 24. Severe/sudden 25. Indian millet; sorghum 26. Dispute settlement option 27. Type of house or hand

28. Savannah sound 30. They might burn from gossip 33. Like some owls 34. New CMC acronym 35. Stomach scar 36. Roofing stone 38. Noteworthy accomplishment 39. Muscle ______ 41. Greek pastry 44. Top of the head of a bird 45. Numerals 46. Examination 47. Contractions 48. Loans 49. Knee injury letters 52. Applesauce magnate 54. Achieve barely, as a victory 56. For each 57. Nail starter? 58. Dental org. 59. And not

— Martin Luther King Jr.

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.

6 3

X A M I N E R

9 8

3 1

5 3

Solution p. 14

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.

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 1

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 1

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4

1.ACCCTMMDFYY 2.NAAAROOOOOH 3.VEENNUUUUDI 4.MNBTRREA 5.THTT 6.AE 7.I 8.N 9.S

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 22, 2016

13 +

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE BEST MEDICINE ha... ha...

“Well,” says the boy, “it wouldn’t be a great loss, and it probably wouldn’t be an accident either.” Moe: Did you hear that Donald Trump wants to ban the sale of pre-shredded cheese? Joe: That’s news to me. What’s his reasoning? Moe: He wants to make America grate again.

onald Trump is visiting an elementary school and in one of the classes the teacher asks Mr. Trump if he would like to lead the discussion of their vocabulary word for the day: tragedy. So Mr. Trump asks the class for an example of a tragedy. One little boy stands up and says: “If my best friend is playing in a field on his farm and a runaway tractor comes along and knocks him dead, that would be a tragedy.” “No,” says Mr. Trump, “that would be an accident.” A little girl raises her hand: “If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy.” “I’m afraid not,” explains the candidate. “That’s what we would call a great loss.” The room goes silent. “Isn’t there anyone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?” Finally at the back of the room, little Johnny raises his hand. In a quiet voice he says: “If a private jet carrying you was struck by a missile and blown to smithereens, that would be a tragedy.” “That’s right!” exclaims Mr. Trump. “And can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?”

A man takes his wife out for dinner and dancing. They see a guy on the dance floor doing it all - break dancing, moonwalking, back flips, the works. The wife turns to her husband and says, “See that guy? 20 years ago he proposed to me and I turned him down.” “Wow,” the husband says. “Looks like he’s still celebrating.” What do you get for the woman who has everything? A divorce. Then she’ll only have half of everything.

16 FOR ’16… from page 6 antidote to stress. It may not sound like a lot, but compare slowly eating something you enjoy — which happens to be healthful and nutritious too — compared with angrily and rapidly wolfing down junk food during a stressful event. One tactic can help restore calm and physical and emotional equilibrium, the other can keep the stress and its negative effects going forward. Find activities that are productive, yet offer an escape from whatever your stress triggers are. In other words, pursuing a relaxing and interesting hobby versus watching a made-for-TV movie in a darkened room. Which one of those strikes you are more likely to refresh a stressed-out person and recharge their batteries? One additional anti-stress tip: jealously protect your sleep. Go into relaxation mode an hour or so before bedtime. Learn to keep aggravating thoughts of stressful incidents from the day out of your mind as bedtime approaches. Adequate sleep can be a powerful protection against stress, while sleep deprivation can contribute to an attitude where everything creates stress. Sleep tight. + Previous “16 for ‘16” suggestions are available in back issues of the Medical Examiner beginning November 6, 2015. They are available for browsing any time at www.issuu.com/medicalexaminer

Serving the Medical, Dental and Education Communities since 1976

Joe: Is there any difference between unlawful and illegal? Moe: Sure. One is against the law and the other is a sick bird. Will glass coffins be a success? Remains to be seen. Moe: Did you hear that the movie theater was robbed? They took more than $500 worth of merchandise. Joe: That’s terrible. What did they get? Moe: Four large popcorns, two bags of Skittles and four medium Diet Cokes. +

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+ +

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

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+ 14

JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

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

...cleverly hidden in the p. 10 ad for OVERHEAD DOOR COMPANY OF AUGUSTA-AIKEN Congratulations to KELSEY DEAL, who scores a coveted Scrubs of Evans gift card, 2 movie passes courtesy of Health Center Credit Union, and a $20 Wild Wing Cafe gift certificate. Want to find your name here next issue? 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! 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. 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.

EXAMINER CLASSIFIEDS HOMES, APARTMENTS, ROOMMATES, LAND, ETC. HILTON HEAD For sale: Hilton Head oceanfront timeshare, 2 bdrm, 2 bath, first week of March. $790 OBO. More info: (706) 738-2292

(706) 564-5885 HOUSEBOAT FOR SALE Tradewinds Marina, 30 minutes from Augusta. Live at the lake - or have a second home there with NO grass to mow! Recently upgraded. $65,000 Text me at (803) 640-9732 for pics

WANTED Room / roommate in the “Hill,” downtown, Martinez, West Augusta, or North Augusta. I can pay $100 - 150 per week or $400 - 600 per month. I’m a clean, trustworthy, business oriented, 52 yr old, social drinking, single male. You can CALL me between 11:00 am - 11:00 pm @ (706) 251-5554 I will pay a $20 - 50 referral if you know of someone looking for a good roommate or already has a place and I move in. Thanks.

SERVICES

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.

F. E. GILLIARD, MD FAMILY MEDICINE Acute & Chronic Illnesses Occupational Medicine PROMPT APPOINTMENTS 706-823-5250

HOUSE TO LEASE 2 bdrm, 2 full baths, fenced yard, hardwood throughout, screened porch, room for garden, sunny windows, close to Summerville and downtown campuses $750/mo 706-2317697

MISCELLANEOUS

AUGUSTAGAHOMESEARCH.COM Foreclosures • MLS • Builders • Rentals

KING-SIZED bed frame with rails, dark wood, some surface scratches but overall

HOUSE CLEANING Your house, apartment, rental move-outs. Thorough, dependable. Weekly, or whatever schedule you prefer. References. 706.267.9947 BIBLE BY PHONE - Free daily Bible readings; for Spiritual Encouragement and Growth. Call 706-855-WORD (9673)

SUNSET MEMORIAL GARDENS Opening and closing at Sunset Mem. Gardens in Graniteville. Sale: $760 (Value: $1520+) Call 706-736-0596

very good condition. $90 Call 706-3730193 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 WANT TO BE HEALTHY? (Energy, weight loss, mental clarity) Go to gethealthyat.le-vel.com See video and Facebook. Sign free as customer. BEING PAID WHAT YOU ARE WORTH? Then make more money! Watch movie all out interview: ExtraMoneyInterview.net 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) 295-3033 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 or (706) 829-1729 PET CARE in Martinez-Evans area. Dogs to 40 lbs, $9.00. Cats (1-3), $9.00 For interview/information, phone 706-829-1729

The new scrambled Mystery Word is found on page 12

SENDING US A CLASSIFIED? USE THE FORM BELOW AND MAIL IT IN, OR GO TO WWW.AUGUSTARX.COM AND PLACE & PAY CONVENIENTLY AND SAFELY ONLINE. THANKS!

THE PUZZLE SOLVED

WHAT’S YOUR DRUG OF CHOICE? (OURS IS COFFEE)

Augusta Medical Examiner Classifieds

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING FORM Name Address Work number (if applicable) ( ) Home phone ( ) Category of ad (leave blank if unsure):

M A

SEE PAGE 12

QUOTATION

In case we need to contact you. These numbers will not appear in the ad.

QUOTATION PUZZLE SOLUTION: “Intelligence plus character is the true meaning of education.”

AD COPY (one word per line; phone numbers MUST include the area code):

— Martin Luther King Jr. .25

.50

.75

1.00

1.25

1.50

1.75

2.00

2.25

2.50

2.75

3.00

3.25

3.50

3.75

4.00

4.25

4.50

4.75

5.00

5.25

5.50

5.75

6.00

6.25

6.50

6.75

7.00

7.25

7.50

7.75

8.00

8.25

8.50

8.75

9.00

The Sudoku Solution

COFFEE IS GOOD MEDICINE

(Copy this form or continue on additional sheet if more space needed.)

Send this form with payment to:

AUGUSTA MEDICAL EXAMINER, PO BOX 397, AUGUSTA, GA 30903-0397 Total ad cost by number of words as shown above: $

VISIT DRUGOFCHOICECOFFEE.COM

WORDS BY NUMBER “Your faith can move moutains and your doubt can create them.”

Multiply by number of times ad to run: x Total submitted: $

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.

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JANUARY 22, 2016

I DON’T ALWAYS CHECK THE MEDICAL EXAMINER BLOG

BUT WHEN I DO I REALIZE I’M TOTALLY MISSING OUT WHEN I DON’T. www.AugustaRx.com/news

STAY HEALTHY MY FRIENDS. +

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This could be yyou. The Medical Examiner can be delivered right to your door! Use the handy form on page 13

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE DOCTOR IS IN Vaping your way to a smoke-free life?

You want to stop smoking? You think the answer might be to start vaping? When I recently prescribed Chantix for a patient, the cash price at a local pharmacy was upwards of $400. Increases in the out-ofpocket costs of pharmacologic smoking cessation have left many of my own patients to consider everything from hyponosis, the patch, gums, and yes, vaping. A recent study of smoking cessation in patients whom were also on methadone maintenance therapy demonstrated an average 70% reduction in daily cigarette use. From a cost perspective, it seems counterintuitive that an insurance carrier would not cover a medication designed to save money in the long run, but I’m not here to judge. I’m here to minimize the sequelae of systemic diseases that lead to a host of peripheral problems. In my practice, smoking cessation is such low-hanging fruit to start patients on the right track. Smoking places the body at increased risk for hypertension, kidney disease, urologic cancers, ED, and decreased male fertility, among literally countless other diseases.

The jury is out on the long term safety of using aerosolized nicotine, but the lack of inhaled tar, ash, and cancer-causing nitrosamines is a sure benefit. Also, the titratable (measurable and adjustable) doses of nicotine in electronic cigarettes allow patients to gradually lower or increase the dose of the medicine as needed on their path to quitting. The main theme here is, if you smoke, stop. Just stop. Taking Chantix and similar products or starting a new vaping habit simply adds a new set of possible risks and side effects. People have often quit before and succeeded without anything other than pure will power. Taking that first beneficial step can lead to a cascade of

changes that gets people out of a course heading for disaster. If you read this and you smoke or vape, yes, you do have the power to change, and yes, you should do so by any and all healthy means necessary. So do it! + Dr. Darren Mack is a graduate of the Medical College of Georgia and is a urologist with offices in Evans and Aiken. He may be reached at (803) 716-8712; via Twitter: @doctordmack David Russell Photography and Instagram: @aikenurology The information provided in this article is not a substitute for an evaluation by a licensed health care provider.

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JANUARY 22, 2016

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

GOT GUNS?… from page 1 It’s Not Rocket Science Fishman’s advice is simple. “Don’t point guns at people and pull the trigger.” That’s easy enough to remember. When it comes to situations where that advice must be ignored, Rule #2 comes into play: “Never put anything in front of the muzzle that you do not intend to destroy.” Are you getting the picture? Guns are not toys. They are not items to play around with. They are not intended to be used by children. They’re actually designed to be deadly, so it should be no surprise when they are. “You have to focus on the use for

which a gun is intended,” said Fishman, “just like any other tool.” Focusing on a gun’s lethal potential and the law of unintended consequences means Rule #2 can only be ignored in non-emergency situations by complete fools, “and I do not suffer fools lightly,” says Fishman. Example, please? “Do not put a laser sight on your pistol and then tease your cat with it.” That is not focusing on the use for which a gun is intended, and is the kind of thing that tends to lead to tragic accidents. Fishman is the kind of guy who doesn’t go too many places unarmed

other than the shower, and that’s not a habit he just started last week. He and his wife raised two kids in that environment, and neither child ever took a gun to school and shot another student. What’s his secret? Tell a child, “No matter what you do, do not look in that drawer,” and suddenly that’s the only thing they want to do. So in the Fishman household — and this should be true in yours if you have guns and young ones coexisting — the rule was: Never touch a gun unless I’m with you, but any time you want to touch a gun, just let me know.

In other words, kill the curiosity. It’s kind of like the old adage that if a child wants to smoke, give him all the cigarettes he can handle. His interest in cigarettes will quickly vanish. Another Fishman maxim for homes with both guns and kids: if you preach that guns are not toys, then no toys shall be guns. Toy guns and real guns can get switched around. Solution: no toy guns. Politicians in Atlanta and Washington can draw up new rules to add to the hundreds already on the books, but none of them will matter if you - as a gun owner - don’t apply the simple rules of safe, responsible conduct and plain old common sense. +

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY DERMATOLOGY

ALLERGY

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

CHIROPRACTIC

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

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

Steven L. Wilson, DMD Family Dentistry 4059 Columbia Road Martinez 30907 706-863-9445

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

FAMILY MEDICINE F. E. Gilliard MD, Family Medicine 639 13th Street Augusta 30901 706-823-5250 Industrial Medicine • Prompt appts. Urgent MD Augusta: 706-922-6300 Grovetown: 706-434-3500 Thomson: 706-595-7825 Primary Care Rates

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MEDICAL MASSAGE Medical Massage Stuart Farnell L.M.T. 803-646-1846 jsfarnell@att.net www.FarnellClinic.com

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

Steppingstones to Recovery 2610 Commons Blvd. Augusta 30909 706-733-1935

Group & Benefits Consultants Inc. 3515 Wheeler Rd, Bldg. C Augusta 30909 706-733-3459 Floss ‘em or lose ‘em! www.groupandbenefits.com

Jason H. Lee, DMD 116 Davis Road Augusta 30907 706-860-4048

Ideal Image 339 Furys Ferry Rd Martinez 30907 1-800-BE-IDEAL • www.idealimage.com Schedule a FREE Consultation

OPHTHALMOLOGY

DRUG REHAB

COUNSELING

Dr. Judson S. Hickey Periodontist 2315-B Central Ave Augusta 30904 706-739-0071

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

DEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRICS

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

DENTISTRY

LASER SERVICES

PHARMACY Medical Center West Pharmacy 465 North Belair Road Evans 30809 706-854-2424 www.medicalcenterwestpharmacy.com Parks Pharmacy 437 Georgia Ave. N. Augusta 29841 803-279-7450 www.parkspharmacy.com

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

...SENIOR LIVING

Cornerstone Compassion Center 420 Warren Road Augusta 30907 706-228-5359 or 706-394-6518 Assisted Living • Personal Care

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

THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE Centered in Georgia Diane Young L.M.T. 4488 Columbia Rd Martinez 30907 706-251-2244

VEIN CARE Vein Specialists of Augusta G. Lionel Zumbro, Jr., MD, FACS, RVT, RPVI 501 Blackburn Dr, Martinez 30907 706-854-8340 www.VeinsAugusta.com

WEIGHT LOSS Medical Weight & Wellness Specialists of Augusta Maycie Elchoufi, MD 108 SRP Drive, Suite B Evans 30809 • 706-829-9906 YourWeightLossDoctor.com

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