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7 Nissan 5760 - April 12, 2000 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Home and Family
Your Medical Questions Answered!
by Joseph B. Leibman, MD

Diplomate, Board Certification of Emergency Medicine

Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine Ma'ayenei Hayeshua Hospital

I want to acknowledge that I enjoy hearing from my readers; I am very elated to hear that people are enjoying my columns. I have to especially thank my British readers who have written many times. If you live in Australia or South Africa and receive the Yated, I'd love to hear from you as well.

I appreciate the letter I received from one of the staff at the Yated, especially her comment that my articles have given her a feeling of gratitude to Hashem for her good health. I do hope others feel similarly, no matter what you lack, if you have health you really have it all. I do regret that you are unable to send chicken soup.

One of my readers from my home town in Kiryat Sefer felt that posters must be designed to push the public into better hand washing and covering their mouths when they cough. This is a wonderful idea, but we can not expect that our Ministry of Health will be too helpful, as they are overwhelmed as it is. This requires a class in a school or a group of retirees to approach locally the health organizations (Kupot) and make an arrangement with them to hang up their posters.

My favorite Rosh Kollel correspondent asks what can one do about secondhand smoke. As this requires etiquette according to the society one lives, I appeal to my readership on what ideas they have.

A reader from Ramot has many questions about a number of diseases. Erysipelas, or cellulitis is an infection of the skin which can be problematic. Usually it is found in patients who already have some sort of blood vessel disease, so due to lack of blood flow it heals slowly. The skin is red and hot. The short term solution is antibiotics -- the ones covering the two bacteria -- strep and staph -- that cause this problem. Support hose, exercise and warm soaks will help the situation. Long term solutions include a visit to the vascular surgeon who has many therapies that can help, such as whirlpools. Hernia was another question but I hope to dedicate, iy"H another column to this subject alone.

He also asks about alternative medicines, and I will repeat my feeling on this, although I have discussed this before in the past. Alternative medicines are rarely tested in a scientific manner, and as such I worry about safety issues. They are not subject to quality control in their manufacturing processes. They can be full of impurities and additives that are poisonous (dolomite, a calcium supplement, often is laced with lead). Whether or not they work is a different story, but that matters more for the person taking them.

If you trust them and you know they are safe, then I see no harm in taking them provided they are not taken instead of proven therapies. A person can lose a kidney for example by taking herbs instead of antibiotics for a urinary tract infection. On the other hand, medicine has little to offer for the treatment of benign lower back pain, so here alternative therapies may be an idea.

He also writes asking about Anti Cardiolipin syndrome. This is a very rare syndrome which may contribute to strokes in patients with Lupus. A rheumatologist may be the address for more information on this subject. Thanks to all who have written, and keep writing me in care of the Yated.

The allergy season is almost upon us and antihistamines may have troublesome side effects for many of us. Inhaled nasal steroids can give relief if started a few weeks before the season starts. A safe and convenient way of doing this is Flixonase, by Glaxo. This could be the easiest way to end the suffering from seasonal allergies.

The Glaxo company sponsors this column.

 

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