eDocAmerica Health Tips

If I asked you how to improve the size or shape of your muscles, you would probably say ‘lifting weights,’ and you’d be right. Muscles grow when they are first broken down with forceful exercise, and then they repair themselves in an effort to meet the repetitive challenge. Interestingly, the…

In my most recent health tip I discussed the possible causes of hair loss. If you have treated all the potential “reversible causes” of hair loss that are within our control (such as optimizing your medications, treating scalp infections, reducing stress, avoiding certain hairstyles or treatments, eating healthfully, and treating…

Did you know that American men spend over a billion dollars a year on hair loss treatments? Interestingly, they spend over 4 billion on hair removal products.  So getting hair where you want it, and removing it from places you don’t want it, is a five billion dollar industry –…

You may have heard that there will be an eclipse on August 21, 2017 and that people are planning to view it in specific cities in the U.S. On that date, the Sun, Moon, and Earth’s orbits will line up such that the moon will completely cover the sun, casting…

Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the sheath of tissue on the bottom of the foot. It causes sharp foot and heel pain, usually worst when you first get out of bed in the morning.  It feels like walking on needles and can be very debilitating. There is conflicting information about…

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…

Clostridium difficile (known as ‘C. Diff’ for short) is a species of bacterium that can cause severe diarrhea requiring hospitalization. This bacterium normally lives in soil, water, deli meat, and human feces and we are exposed to it on a fairly regular basis. It may not cause symptoms until our…

Did you know that our bodies have mini “air bags,” located around our joints (the largest ones are in the shoulder, elbow, and hip) for protection? They are not actually filled with air – they are filled with fluid and are called bursae (plural). But they are designed to keep…

Sun safety – describes a range of behaviors that include wearing wide brimmed hats that cover the face and neck; the correct use of sunscreen of at least sun protection factor (SPF) 15 and limiting sun exposure during the hours of peak sun intensity, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. One…

The term “anemia” is quite broad, and simply means that there is a problem with a person’s red blood cells (sometimes there are too few, sometimes they are malformed). Red blood cells are manufactured in the bone marrow and are basically tiny sacks of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin molecules (centered around an…