Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science by Richard Preston I think I liked it. There were some parts that didn’t really click for me, esp. the stories of the Unicorn tapestry and the semi-biography of Craig Venter. These stories didn’t really seem to fit with the […]

The public’s desperation for cure has brought about the development of quackery in modern medicine. I have thought about this post for a while, torn between posting what is right and morally responsible and not making waves.  Choosing the public’s health and safety overrides my fear of making waves.  An obvious charlatan prompted this post […]

Why are children not being vaccinated? This scares me to death.  I am at a loss as to why parents would not want to protect their children from entirely preventable, horrible diseases.  Not only are these people putting their own children’s lives at risk, the risk the communities lives by degradation of herd immunity. Here […]

Deer season is time for fall food recipes I am running out of venison in my freezer.  The weather is beginning to turn fallish.  That means it is time to climb back in a tree and get meat for the next year!  Since I can no longer bow hunt (bad shoulder),  I have purchased a […]

I was clicking through email this morning and came upon an article on Medscape that intrigued me.  It was a post on recommended books for med students to read (as if they have time).  It made me realize that I have been very lax in my reading of late.  I thought this is a good […]

I have had to ask myself, do patients know what different medical terms mean?  In writing these blog posts, I have come to realize that there are many terms that the lay public may not be familiar with that I use to describe various illnesses.  This posting will just be a listing of some commonly […]

Bladder infection vs. kidney infection: What is the difference? Urinary tract infections (UTI) can occur in any part of the male and female urinary tract.  See below for illustrations of the urinary system Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common presenting infection problem for healthcare services.  They can occur in any part of the […]

I know, I should have posted this in the summer!  The fact of the matter is though, a great many outdoorsmen and women are hitting the field and woods this time of year.  It has not frosted yet so tick problems need to be a real consideration.  Many people forget or are surprised by the […]

One of the frequently encountered complaints in America’s emergency rooms is that of a spider bite.  While spider bites do occur, they are relatively uncommon.  There are only 2 native types of spiders in the US that cause significant morbidity in the patient population.  These are the brown recluse and the black widow.  While other […]

I just wanted to take this opportunity to impress the need to get vaccinated for influenza.  According to the CDC data, 80,000 people died from the flu last season.  900,000 were hospitalized.  Of this number, reported children’s deaths were 180.  I suspect this number is much higher as the officially listed cause of death is […]