Fauquier Hospital Featured in the Washington Post

Not sure how I missed it, but I was recently informed that Fauquier Hospital was featured in the Washington Post on March 24, 2009 after the hospital received a "designated" status by Planetree Organization. That's a great honor especially when considering Fauquier Hospital is one of only 8 hospitals in the entire country with that honor.What exactly does this designation mean in terms of patient care?• Private patient hospital rooms• Family and...

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Epiglottitis Killed President George Washington?

I came across a great blog post by Michael Hebert regarding a book review of Joseph Ellis' biography His Excellency: George Washington.Apparently, at the age of 67, President George Washington died in 1799. I quote from the blog post the following account:"One morning in mid-December 1799, Washington went out, as it was his daily habit, on horseback from his home to inspect his Mount Vernon property. That particular day the weather was very cold...

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Reuters: Damp house linked to kids' risk of nasal allergies

Reuters published a story on July 30 regarding a Finnish study that found that those children who lived in homes with dampness or mold problems were more likely to develop allergic rhinitis during the 6 year study period.16 percent of children whose parents reported dampness in the home went on to be diagnosed with allergic rhinitis over the next six years. That compared with just under 12 percent of children whose parents reported no dampness problems....

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NYT: Can Foods Trigger Migraines (and Other Symptoms)?

The New York Times published a story on July 26, 2010 discussing how foods can indeed trigger migraines. The story quotes a study where patients were tested for IgG food allergies and their diet modified to either include or exclude the suspect foods. What they found is that diet restriction based on IgG antibodies is an effective strategy in reducing the frequency of migraine attacks.Patients should be aware that IgG food allergies are NOT the life-threatening...

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USNews: Cold versus Allergies... How to Tell The Difference

US News and World Report came out with a story on July 27, 2010 regarding how one can tell the difference between an allergy versus a cold, especially since each has symptoms in common.Especially with mild symptoms, it may be hard even for an ENT to distinguish the two. Add chronic sinus infections and flu to the mix, it can be downright difficult without allergy testing, CT scans, and other types of testing to come up with a correct diagnosis.To...

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RANDOM: Orthopedics versus Anesthesia (Humor) [video]

A friend forwarded this video to me... Though it is about ortho vs anesthesia, this type of conversation (or at least small elements of it) unfortunately happens all too oft...

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WP Medical Mystery: Sudden Hearing Loss

The Washington Post on 7/27/10 published a story in its Medical Mystery segment describing a patient who had sudden onset of hearing loss in one ear with tinnitus (or buzzing in the ear). This sudden hearing loss is known as sudden sensorineural hearing loss and is considered an urgent issue for which a patient needs to see an ENT as soon as possible.Why? Because treatment is most effective if given within 4 weeks of hearing loss onset. Treatment...

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Mattress Wedges for Reflux Treatment

I often see patients with throat symptoms of reflux including:• Cough• Throat-Clearing• Phlegmy or Mucus Sensation in the Throat• Mild Sore Throat• Swollen sensation in the throatetc, etc, etcAlthough this can be treated with medications including proton pump inhibitors (prilosec, prevacid) as well as H2-blockers (zantac, pepcid, axid, etc), there are some lifestyle changes which also can be just as if not more effective than medications. Such lifestyle...

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Regular Cell Phone Use May Cause Tinnitus

Regularly using a mobile phone for at least four years seems to be associated with doubling the risk of developing chronic tinnitus (persistent ringing/roaring/hissing in the ear) based on a small study published online in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Analysis of the results showed that the patients who had used a mobile before the onset of tinnitus were 37% more likely to have the condition than those in the comparison group. Those who...

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Airline Sued Over A Toddler Screaming On The Airplane

Time Magazine published a story 7/20/10 describing a situation where Qantas Airlines was sued by a passenger who allegedly lost her hearing when a toddler on board screamed near her.The passenger claimed that the Qantas flight crew was negligent in failing to take precautions to protect passengers and that she had suffered permanent hearing loss as a result.Of note, the patient already wore hearing aids due to hearing loss.Though most reasonable...

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Substance That Protects Farm Children From Developing Allergies and Asthma Later In Life Identified

That beneficial substance identified is the plant sugar molecule arabinogalactan. It has been well known for some time that children who grow up on farms are less prone to allergies and allergic asthma. However, just what it is that protects them remained a riddle for a long time until now.European researchers collected and analyzed stable dust from diverse farms in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. What they found was arabinogalactan, a large sugar...

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Effective Home Treatment for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

A research article was published in July 2010 that found use of a device called "DizzyFIX" had cure rates for BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) of ~88% which is similar to standard treatment (Semont and Epley maneuvers) performed by a physician.Although there are YouTube videos on how to do the Epley and Semont maneuvers correctly, unfortunately, patients rarely do it correctly when doing it privately at home resulting in prolongation of...

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Bursts of Fast Irregular Clicking Noise in the Ear

Every once in awhile, I see a patient who complains of an irregular clicking (or vibration) noise in the ear that occurs in bursts and may last anywhere from a few minutes every few days to as long as days or weeks at a time.Click.... click... click, click, click... CLICK... click, click... click... Click Click... click... ... ... ... CLICKThese irregular clicking noises in the ear should NOT be confused with tinnitus. Rather,...

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Doxycycline Helps Shrink Nasal Polyps

A new research study was published that showed that the anbitiotic doxycycline (as well as methylprednisolone steroid) significantly decreased nasal polyp size compared with placebo. The effect of methylprednisolone was maximal at week 3 and lasted until week 8, whereas the effect of doxycycline was moderate but present for 12 weeks.What patients suffering from nasal polyps need to realize is that such effects from steroids and even doxycycline are...

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Facial Fracture Face Mask for Athletes?

I often see kids/adults with minor facial fractures that do not require any surgical intervention. These same kids/adults often play sports that often led to their initial facial fracture which they do not want to give up until complete healing has occurred (baseball, basketball, skateboarding, etc).Here's one for nasal fractur...

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Why Do People Have Morning Breath?

The answer is actually pretty straight-forward... The human mouth is actually considered one of the dirtiest mouths among animals. In fact the human mouth contains so much bacteria, a human bite is considered more "dangerous" from an infection standpoint that a bite from a dog.During the day, we constantly swallow and eat/drink which washes away the bulk of the bacteria. We also brush our teeth and gargle our mouths which also helps.Unfortunately,...

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