Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Lately my teenager has been fascinated by medical dramas. Although my “doctor self” is usually rolling my eyes throughout the program, it’s often a good conversation starter. One recent show featured a pregnant woman who experienced one medical crisis after another. Her kidneys, liver, and lungs failed in succession as the team raced to identify the underlying obstetrical problem and find a treatment. At the climax of the episode, her heart stopped. Of course, being television, the corre...
With the rapid rise in internet use among children, the dangers of online exploitation have grown alarmingly. Children’s access to the internet has become nearly ubiquitous, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote learning, online gaming, and social media are now integral to daily life, meaning more children, even preschool-age children, are regularly online, often unsupervised and unprotected. This new reality demands that we consider not only physical safety for our children, but also the dangers they are facing online. The S...
The saying goes, “newer isn’t always better,” and while I typically tend to agree with that, newer might be better when it comes to glucose monitoring technology. In recent years we have seen rapid development and uptake of new types of glucometers, leaving fewer and fewer patients with diabetes using the old standby fingerstick method of blood sugar monitoring. Let me be clear: not every patient with diabetes needs a fancy new continuous glucometer (CGM). The cost might be higher, and there...
As I peer out my kitchen window the landscape is a bit boring in October. I have to smile as I think about a recent outing. Friends from our garden club went to visit and have coffee at the Harvest Moon Pumpkin Patch at Oakland. These seasoned gardeners were enticed to be kids again and boy, did we enjoy the outdoors. Adults and children should always take advantage of the great fall temperatures and a chance to visit a pumpkin patch. The landscape at Harvest Moon was beautiful, with maple...
The saying goes, "newer isn't always better," and while I typically tend to agree with that, newer might be better when it comes to glucose monitoring technology. In recent years we have seen rapid development and uptake of new types of glucometers, leaving fewer and fewer patients with diabetes using the old standby fingerstick method of blood sugar monitoring. Let me be clear: not every patient with diabetes needs a fancy new continuous glucometer (CGM). The cost might be higher, and there is...
Artificial Intelligence or A.I. has gone from science fiction to a reality. This technology continues to evolve and find new applications in the world, including the world of medicine. With any new advancement, there are pros and cons to be considered when implementing it into regular use, especially in medicine. In 2023 the Journal of Medical Internet Research published an article where they had ChatGPT take two of the three USMLE exams. Step 1 is taken by third-year medical students and all...
Good dental health in children is crucial for overall well-being. Healthy teeth enable proper chewing, speech development, and contribute to self-esteem. Prioritizing dental health through education, preventive care, and regular check-ups lays the foundation for a lifetime of healthy smiles. The following topics are common discussion points of children's dental health. First dental visit Children should visit the dentist by their first birthday or within six months after their first tooth...
School is back in session so it is time for a little pop quiz. What is an item that almost every student carries? If you said backpack, you are off to a great start. Do you know what it takes to be at the head of the class? Let’s find out if you are a star student or need to brush up a little on your backpack knowledge. Most students carry a backpack filled with their books at some point during their school day. Did you know a heavy back pack can cause neck, shoulder or back pain? Those narrow s...
It is miraculous to consider how much access and exposure we have to information through our computers, phones, televisions, radios and newspapers. Unfortunately, we need to be on guard because too much of this buzz can be false information. Marketing (sales) can be good and important as it moves commerce, and I'm not saying industry doesn't sponsor credible scientific research. However, marketing can be harmful when selling a weight-loss program that gives false hope, when peddling virility...
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer (not counting skin cancer) in both men and women, only behind prostate in men and breast in women. Although it is the second most common, it remains the leading cause of cancer death in America. Approximately one in five cancer deaths a year are attributed to lung cancer. More Americans die every year of lung cancer than colon, prostate and breast cancer combined. Lung cancer is considered a silent killer and is often diagnosed at a late stage, when t...
It’s that time of year when looking out my kitchen window, the blooming plants have likely reached their peak growth. Things are gorgeous. Of course there are a few plants that are either stressing from the intense heat a few weeks ago or are just bloomed out. You have to overlook these plants and enjoy what you have. In my garden, it’s fun to clip bouquets using the multi-colored zinnias, delicate cosmos and annual asters that are blooming. I’m lucky that friends gifted me with garlic chive...
Our brain releases chemicals into our body that impact functions in our body, such as our mood. There are four chemicals that commonly support “feeling good,” and they are also known as “happiness chemicals.” These four chemicals are dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. Dopamine provides us with pleasure, motivation and learning. Known as the reward chemical, dopamine may help us feel determined to accomplish our goals or meet our needs. Oxytocin is often known as the love hormone...
True food allergic reactions cause anaphylaxis. Eating even a tiny bit of the allergenic food causes the patient to quickly develop symptoms that can include shortness of breath, hives, vomiting, diarrhea, throat swelling, passing out and, at times, it can be fatal. The patient makes IgE allergy antibody to the food. The cause of the reactions can be determined by the history and confirmed by allergy skin or blood testing. Once we know the allergenic food, a treatment plan can be put into...
Everyone we know, meet, or pass in the grocery store has their own set of personal life experiences that are unique from our own. We all come from different places, have our own set of genetics, and have different parents or families, which is part of what makes us unique from each other. We can even have different experiences than our siblings who grow up in the same home as us. Our experiences are part of what help us learn, create adaptations to the world around us, and how we continue to...
Pain in your mouth is difficult to ignore, especially when it affects everyday activities like speaking, eating, or sleeping. Here are some of the most common reasons to visit your dentist. The first sign to visit your dentist is a persistent toothache. Sometimes our teeth can hurt temporarily due to things like teeth whitening or sinus issues. However, if a toothache does not go away, or goes away and then comes back, this is a good sign to visit your dentist to identify the source of pain. Pai...
Mental health treatment within the criminal justice system plays a pivotal, yet often overlooked, role in both the well-being and rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals. This is often overlooked by the general population due to attitudes against the incarcerated and the lack of overall media attention. It is my belief that change needs to take place. Firstly, while many in society have negative outlooks on incarcerated or previously incarcerated individuals, most fail to realize that approximately 45% of Americans have had an immediate...
"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands." It's a song familiar to all of us. However, how familiar is the awareness of our body clues of feeling happy to all of us to truly "know it?" Recognizing body clues and sensations to aid in the next steps of labeling emotions is the first key skill in emotional intelligence. Unfortunately, these are not skills we are taught. Mental health development across the lifespan is as vital as physical and cognitive development. Understanding the...
When it's hotter than blazes and mosquitoes are a biting, do you question just why you are gardening? I do. Then the next day, the morning is cool, a breeze comes up and as I look at my flowers out my kitchen window or prepare a pitcher of cucumber water, it's all worth the sweating and bites. Well, the bites are questionable. Looking at the flowers out the window and mornings on the patio are my favorite. The morning light just seems to make the flowers show off. We all enjoy our flowers and ve...
Doctors are taught medical terms and jargon in medical school like a secret code. Many medical terms are rooted in Greek and Latin. Over the course of our training, these words become second nature and we become fluent in this medical "language," although we are also expected to talk to our patients using simple terminology. However, most specialties in medicine still use the original Greek and Latin roots for their names. Once you know where these names come from, everything makes sense. Most...
As husband and wife urologists, we talk a lot about the urinary tract and how it affects our patients. In women, the most common urinary concern is incontinence, or the involuntary leakage of urine. There are several causes and many treatment options exist depending on the type. The two main types of urinary leakage in women are urge urinary incontinence and stress urinary incontinence. For women with urge incontinence, treatment is aimed at improving quality of life disrupted by overactive...
As perennial flowers bloom out during their season and others wait their turn, there are blooming annuals for a quick glimpse of color. Even then, there are times when looking out my kitchen window that the greens in the garden take front stage. I’ve just trimmed the spent iris and peony pods. Looking out my window the hostas are well leafed out. I’m a hosta fan and I’m fortunate I have shade for them. There is a variety of them in the flower garden and they put on quite a show. I don’t know th...
Doctors write prescriptions for medications all the time. However, have you ever heard of a doctor prescribing a walk in the park? While this prescription will not fit in a bottle, it can pack some powerful health benefits. It may sound strange, but doctors actually can prescribe time outdoors to their patients with the help of a national program, ParkRx.org. This free online program can help a patient track their outdoor activity and discuss more outdoor exercise options with their doctor. In...
My name is Joanie Holm. I am a certified nurse practitioner in Brookings, South Dakota, and I am the person fortunate to have been the life partner of the original Prairie Doc, Richard P. Holm, M.D. Rick and I were married for 40 years before his passing in March 2020. During those wonderful decades together, if I could point to one powerful action that strengthened our relationship with each other, with our family, our community and with our patients, it would be the act of kindness....
We've all heard it, April showers bring May flowers. For Nebraskans it's May showers that have helped kick in the May flowers and we hope this just continues. We sure don't want more storms. We've lucked out where I live that iris stems stand tall and the winds haven't caused any damage. Others haven't been so fortunate. I guess that is why when a flower bud opens, we better enjoy the show. I look out my kitchen window and realize what a blessing it is to be able to view the flowers. Not only...
It has been a few years since my children were babies. Having spent my youth as a babysitter and a career in pediatrics, I was pretty comfortable in watching the developmental of babies, toddlers and young children. (Teenagers are another story for another day.) That isn't always the case for young parents who may not have experience with this age group. Babies develop in a somewhat predictable fashion. As you think of a newborn, you might think of the poor neck control which changes drastically...
