Tag Archives: disease

Are You 100% Honest With Your Doctor?

Posted on by
14

Photo of a Doctor

If I had to guess, I’d bet that most people have lied to their doctor.  Speaking for myself, sometimes it’s just easier.  Now, I realize this is a stupid thing to do, but I guess I can take heart in recent news out of Dr. Barbara Korsch’s recent work out of the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine in knowing that I’m not alone.

In fact, Korsch, the author of The Intelligent Patient’s Guide to the Doctor-Patient Relationship, led Fox News to recently explore the greatest areas of whopperdom faced by physicians when trying to treat their patients.

1.         Not taking prescribed medication correctly, completely, or … at all.

As embarrassing as it might be to admit it, “If you don’t tell us you’re skipping pills, we’ll assume you’re taking them and they aren’t working, so we might change the dosage or the prescription”—which may put off your recovery and cause side effects, says Laura Knobel, MD, a family physician in Walpole, Massachusetts, and a member of the board of directors for the American Academy of Family Physicians.

And when you toss antibiotics before you’re done with the full course, you may not kill off all the infectious bacteria in your body, leaving them resistant to drugs and possibly causing the illness to come back with greater force.

There’s a real science to pharmaceuticals, and the balance is often a dicey one.  Doctors making sound medical decisions operate under …

Continue reading →



You Might Also Like ...

Exposing the Reality of Breast Cancer

Posted on by
20

photo of woman giving self breast exam pictures

Though the Christmas and New Year holidays are almost definitely clouding most people’s ability to think beyond the next week or so, I’m sure you guys remember that October 2010 was breast cancer awareness month. We raised awareness here on Zelda Lily and, here in the UK, fundraising events took place and pink ribbons were abundantly in evidence. But, over in New York City, black-and-white posters advertising the SCAR Project were presenting an altogether more honest and authentic picture of breast cancer. The posters featured a pregnant woman with a large surgical scar over the right half of her chest – the place where her right breast would once have been. The copy underneath the image read ‘Breast Cancer is Not a Pink Ribbon.’ The poster, even as I …

Continue reading →



You Might Also Like ...

Making an Active Choice for Healthier Kids (And Healthier Yous)

Posted on by
9

Photo of Children Eating Apples

As school heads back into full swing, there’s often a feeling of guilt on the part of parents. After all, leaving your kiddos in the hands of a school system that might or not be taking in loco parentis to heart is a bit frightening.

Perhaps to alleviate potential parental anxiety, Womenshealth.gov recently gave out some tips for what parents can do to give their children the best in terms of both help and well being.

1. Encourage your kids to catch all the Zs they can.

Adequate sleep and rest are essential, Dr. Peter Richel, a pediatrician at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., said in a hospital news release. His advice in this regard? Establish fixed bedtime routines and avoid booking too many extracurricular activities.

You know, it’s funny about kids and sleeping. My about-to-turn-sixteen-year-old daughter is a hard-core night owl. I cannot seem to convince the kid to go to bed at a normal hour (except every morning at 5:30 a.m. when I’m shaking her awake, at which point she laments her decision to stay up until two in the morning), and she’s almost proud of the fact that she spent much of her Honors Biology class last year asleep.

On the contrary, my little one totally resents the concept of naptime at school. Hates it. Wants to be learning (or on the playground) every minute.

It just got me wondering why younger children are given structured “rest time” of which they’re resentful while adolescents, who could probably use a mid-day siesta far more, struggle to say awake.

Odd.

2. Kids need to eat healthy.

Make sure your children get three healthy meals a day, [Dr. Richel] added. Breakfast is particularly important, and eating together as a family helps promote good communication skills.

I don’t think this is news to anyone. What’s worthy of conversation, however, is the follow through put forth by most parents.

And I’m guilty of this. One of my children has a cold Pop Tart for breakfast every morning, the other a cup of coffee.

Continue reading →



You Might Also Like ...

Women’s Facial Hair an Unspoken Topic

Posted on by
134

There are some things that are just not talked about in polite conversation. Menstruation (although we’re shaking up that shit here at ZL). Being the “other woman.” Oral sex proclivities. STDs.

Women’s facial hair unquestionably falls under that category. I run around hiding my Nair behind the cough medicine if I know anyone will be using my bathroom, and I have a tendency to take out the tweezers to do some necessary plucking at stoplights.

Let’s face it, it’s freaking embarrassing for a lot of women to have facial hair. I 100% fall into this category, and I don’t think I know of any women that haven’t had to address the occasional chin sprouts from time to time (maybe I just have hairy friends).

But embrace it?

The Guardian’s Julie Bindel is taking a long, hard look at the idea.

We all have an achilles heel, and mine is facial hair. I hate it, both on myself and other women. I have a particular terror of fuzz appearing on my face, and always carry one lone item of beauty equipment: tweezers. Luckily, I am not particularly afflicted, although in recent years I have noticed one long black hair that sprouts from my left cheek, another under my chin, and a few barely noticeable ones above my lip. The second they appear they are instantly torn asunder.

Yeah, seriously, it’s like a never-ending battle. And I’m glad that Bindel mentioned hating facial hair on other women as well, since I thought maybe I was just a horrible person. I sat at a meeting not too long ago next to a woman with a hair on her face that had to be an inch and a half long. I wanted to pull it out. I wanted to tell her to pull it out. Instead, I did nothing, but it’s a crying shame that, whenever I see this very nice lady, my first thought will always be, “Big black hair!” [Ed. Note: Kind of like that scene between Austin Powers and Fred Savage's character in the Austin Powers Goldmember movie -- "Mole!"]

Continue reading →



You Might Also Like ...