Anita Bennett MD

Infection caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis (also called meningococcus) is a very serious illness. It can cause meningitis, which is an infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord, and can also cause infections in the blood, and can result in death or serious disability. This infection…

On a recent visit to see my mother, I watched her check her blood pressure with her home machine.  I was surprised to find out that she wasn’t really following the best procedures for getting an accurate blood pressure reading.  I thought a discussion of home blood pressure monitoring would…

Recently, I was asked a question about when a person should be started on blood pressure medication.  This made me think about how the treatment recommendations have changed over time, several times in fact since I was in medical school.  The latest guidelines for treating blood pressure were published in…

I got heatstroke once when I was hiking in Arizona. As I was coming down the mountain in the final mile, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of nausea and I started dry heaving. At the time I was confused about what was happening, because I thought I had been…

People who live in the southern and central United States, areas of the country where bites from the lone-star tick (Amblyomma americanum) are common, are reported to be at risk of developing an allergy to red meat.  The allergy is thought to develop as a result of exposure to a…

Many people have heard of the term “bursitis”, but few know what a bursa, the structure that is affected in bursitis, actually is.  In the body there are over 150 bursae (the plural of bursa).  A bursa is a small jelly-like sac, which serves as a cushion to decrease pressure…