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Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
With summer approaching, an understanding of summer heat upon the human body can help prevent heat-related illnesses.
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“It must be my fault”
Although many people are aware of the effects of alcohol abuse on family and friends, missing from this equation is a child’s reaction to a parent who drinks too much.
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Forget the palms, check the nails
Many diseases can alter the appearance of our fingernails and toenails. Curvature changes, discolourations, lines and pits are clues used to diagnose various conditions.
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Club Drug Use Carries Uncertain Risks
When discussing the potential side effects of drugs, risks must be viewed within a realistic context. Indeed, my last column on Ecstasy, or MDMA, and today’s on GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) and ketamine, contain information that is factually correct.
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The Club of Tortured Souls
Recently, one of my patients with bipolar disorder took Ecstasy at a rave. Within 60 minutes she had collapsed on the dance floor from dehydration.
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Science Fiction is Becoming Science Fact
If your doctor offered the option of a blood test to determine what diseases your child will develop in their lifetime, what would you do? This option is soon to be a reality.
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Southern Exposure: Day of the Tentacle
The thrill of the winter sojourn to warmer climes and ocean activities like scuba diving, surfing and snorkeling, among others, can lead many to overlook other notable health and safety precautions.
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Painful to lose independence
Watching someone we love lose their sense of self has become an all-too-common occurrence in Canada and, indeed, in many parts of the world. Even as adults, our childhood image of our parents is firmly imprinted into our minds. The piece-by-piece loss of this image is painful to witness and frightening to the afflicted.
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Waiting for the cows to come home
Mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE) remains in the news, with two more cases reported in cattle this month in Alberta.