We’re constantly hearing about how heart disease is the nation’s “number 1 killer.” Yet if I took a survey of my patients, I’m sure most of them would say they’re more worried about cancer than having a heart attack. Especially my female patients. So when the subject comes up, I take the time to point out that heart disease kills about 500,000 women each year–more than 10 times the number who die of breast cancer–and half those deaths are from heart attacks. To which I quickly add there are more effective strategies for preventing a heart attack than there are for preventing any other chronic disease.
Hair Problems
Whether you realize it or not, every day you lose some hair. Your body then replaces it with some new strands as part of the many renewal processes that are built into our systems. As you age, the reappearance of new hair gradually slows. This phenomenon is more noticeable in men, whose “male-pattern baldness” is genetically determined and can begin as early as age 20. For women, hair normally thins after age 50, and significant hair loss before that age is rare. Hair loss can also be tied to a wide variety of conditions not related to your family history, such as nutritional deficiencies, side effects of illnesses or a particular drug, child birth, hormonal shifts, or periods of increased stress.
Gum Disease
If you’re ever sitting in the dentist’s chair, bracing yourself for an procedure called “scaling,” which cleans out the bacteria in your infected gums, just say to yourself, “This could have been avoided. I did not have to be here.” Some Americans must be getting the message and finally are brushing and flossing more efficiently, because serious gum problems are on the decline. Nevertheless, gum disease continues to cause more tooth loss than cavities, and is second only to the common cold in terms of prevalence (98% of people over age 60 have some degree of gum disease). And now, researchers have linked severe gum disease to an increased risk of both heart disease and strokes
Gout
You don’t forget your first gout attack. Pain wakes you up in the middle of the night. Of all things, it’s your big toe that hurts. You try to go back to sleep, but the pain keeps getting worse and by morning, your poor toe can’t even stand the pressure from the bed sheet. Gout, which affects mainly middle-aged men, begins with unusually high blood levels of a waste product called uric acid. Normally uric acid is excreted in the urine, but in a gout-prone person, it precipitates as crystals in certain joints (the big toe, knees, elbows, fingers). The result is a local (and painful) inflammation. The crystals can also accumulate in the skin and in the kidneys (where they can cause kidney stones or even kidney failure).
Gallstones
Having a gallstone or two (or even more) is very common: A third of all women (it’s mainly a female condition) will have them by age 60. Fortunately, most people live peaceably with their gallstones without any symptoms whatsoever. It’s when gallstones act up that you need to do something. A painful “gallbladder attack” may occur when a stone decides to move, or simply may follow bouts of indigestion, especially after a meal rich in fatty foods. A double bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a shake should simply be renamed a “Gallbladder Special.”
Flu
Although medical textbooks list hundreds of different illnesses, a bad case of flu is high on the list of those that make you feel the sickest. Those who have really had the “flu” (and I’m not talking about a bad cold, although a mild case of the flu is indistinguishable from a bad cold) will know exactly what I’m talking about. It seems that your every muscle aches; you feel so weak you can barely click the remote on your TV; your mind is so foggy that comic books are challenging; and your throat is raw from a cough that brings up no phlegm. Conventional medicine can offer some help: If you’re at a high risk for flu, vaccines can reduce your risk of getting flu during an epidemic; antiviral medications can help (somewhat) check the spread of the germ to other members of your family; antibiotics can help you deal with bacterial superinfection, if you develop one.
Flatulence
Benjamin Franklin wrote a whole pamphlet on the subject. He suggested that if people added to their diet certain perfumes and flowers, they would soon be breaking wind as delectable as summer breezes. Of course, two hundred years later, our intestinal air is, well, as succulent as ever. Most of us, like it or not, do have our own ‘factory-installed’ Whoopie Cushions. The flowers didn’t work and flatulence prevails. Certainly one of those health issues in the realm of the genuinely annoying rather than medically serious, flatulence can still cause considerable discomfort, noise, and embarrassment. (Unless you’re about eight years old, in which case, expect considerable popularity among your peers.)
Fibromyalgia
If the muscles in your upper back and neck ache all the time for inexplicable reasons, it’s possible you have fibromyalgia. Virtually every day, patients (mainly women) come into the office with what turns out to be this condition. Either they describe long-standing symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, or they’re aware of their diagnosis but were told by their doctors that nothing could be done to help them. While at present no doctor, including me, can cure fibromyalgia, there is plenty we can do to help you feel better. In fact, our integrated approach, using conventional medicines, supplements, and other measures we recommend at WholeHealth Chicago, has produced real benefits for hundreds of my patients.
Fibrocystic Breast Changes
By the time they’ve reached their mid-forties or so, almost half of all women develop some degree of a condition called fibrocystic breast syndrome (FBS) in which their breast tissue becomes either more dense (“fibrous”) or it contains fluid-filled cysts, which can be tender or “lumpy.” In addition, because these cysts are under hormonal control, they often change size during a woman’s cycle and become exquisitely tender and painful during the week or so before her menstrual flow begins.
Fatigue
Occasionally, however, the electrical system in the brain goes awry, and an electrical storm erupts in one tiny portion of the brain. The result is an epileptic seizure. Seeing someone suffer an epileptic seizure is probably scarier than experiencing one yourself–in fact, the person loses consciousness too quickly to be aware of what’s happening. Through the ages, lots of stereotypes (good and bad) have been attached to anyone who had seizures. And it’s well worth repeating that people with epilepsy are just as smart, creative, and productive as everyone else.
Epilepsy
Occasionally, however, the electrical system in the brain goes awry, and an electrical storm erupts in one tiny portion of the brain. The result is an epileptic seizure. Seeing someone suffer an epileptic seizure is probably scarier than experiencing one yourself–in fact, the person loses consciousness too quickly to be aware of what’s happening. Through the ages, lots of stereotypes (good and bad) have been attached to anyone who had seizures. And it’s well worth repeating that people with epilepsy are just as smart, creative, and productive as everyone else.
Endometriosis
Although theories abound, just why some women develop endometriosis and others don’t remains a mystery. Or why endometrosis produces painful or heavy periods in some and no symptoms in others. Or why some women with endometriosis are infertile and others are not. What doctors do agree on is what endometriosis is. Pieces of the lining of the uterus called the endometrium find their way outside the uterus and into the pelvis, where they implant themselves and grow.
Eczema
Eczema is a skin inflammation that has symptoms of itching, scaling, and even the formation of blisters. Some forms of eczema are better known as dermatitis, such as contact dermatitis or seborrheic dermatitis. Eczema is easy to diagnose and not at all dangerous. But it’s a real challenge to treat effectively and permanently. While many cases of eczema clear up by themselves when whatever irritating substance that started the whole thing is avoided, some cases can be incredibly stubborn. They disappear only temporarily when cortisone creams are applied, then return like an unwelcome relative on your doorstep.
Earache
The anatomy of our middle ear changes as we get older, so adults get less susceptible to earaches following a cold than small children are. It’s a good thing, too, because for grown-ups to be walking around pulling at our ears and crying our eyes out would be a pathetic sight indeed. When the middle ear does get infected (a condition called otitis media), it’s definitely painful. But also uncomfortable in its own special way is the maddening itch of swimmer’s ear (otitis externa). Disconcerting, too, is the clogged and muffled hearing of excessive earwax, or the blockage and ringing sensation following scuba diving or air travel. You’ll need to see a doctor if any of these lasts for more than two or three days.
Diarrhea
It’s best to have a positive mental attitude when struggling with a bout of simple diarrhea. It may be comforting, while you’re sitting there, to realize how none of the Beautiful People has ever been spared the experience. Believe me, the likes of Oprah, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise have all been there, just like you. Be philosophical and accept your body is doing its job. Your intestines are simply struggling to deal with the water you were told not to drink, the leftovers that tasted a little funny while you were eating them, or the virus which recently arrived in your neighborhood. Of course, any episode lasting more than a week, or accompanied by fever, severe cramps, or bleeding needs medical attention. As do episodes of recurrent diarrhea.
Diabetes
Most of the people with diabetes that I see have the adult-onset type 2, which typically develops after age 40. Conventional medical treatment for this condition is certainly very good, and someone with well-controlled adult-onset diabetes can expect a perfectly normal life span. But too often, both physicians and patients consider diabetes a “medical problem”–meaning all a patient has to do is take his medicine, watch his sugar intake, and check in with the doctor every so often.
Depression
Usually when I hear someone complain about “feeling depressed,” it just means they’ve had a bad day or are feeling temporarily down. As a medical condition, however, depression is quite different: It’s a mood disorder that can range from mild but persistent melancholy, to alternating moods of elation and despair, to a despondency so severe that a person can even feel suicidal. Fortunately, there are lots of options for people with depression. At WholeHealth Chicago we suggest a wide range of treatments–from counseling, lifestyle changes, and natural therapies to supplements and even prescription medications.
Cuts and Scrapes
After 40 years, you’d think I would have learned how to shave without leaving a piece of my face under the razor. And when I consider the cuts and scrapes that appear out of no where on my fingers and hands, I realize that someone in my family is always shouting for a bandage. During their routine check-ups, patients are constantly showing me kneecap scabs where they embarassingly tripped on a curb, or the shin recently scraped against a coffee table, or the long scratches left by an annoyed cat. In other words, whether we’re 7 or 70, we’ll always be victims to wounds of the flesh. Our WholeHealth Chicago recommendations will not help you become more coordinated, or more adept with sharp objects, but instead we offer a few simple ways to ease the pain and speed up the healing the next time you scratch, scrape, slice, or dice yourself.
Crohn’s Disease
We don’t understand a lot about Crohn’s disease, but we do know that more and more young people are being diagnosed with it. Crohn’s is a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. It strikes mainly adolescents and young adults, and manifests itself as abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea, and weight loss. The small intestine is primarily affected, and the patient develops real problems in absorbing important nutrients. Physicians use the anti-inflammatory drugs sulfasalazine and steroids to reduce the inflammation. As the disease seems to be related to alterations in the immune system, they sometimes add medications to suppress immunity as well. Unfortunately, the disease often progresses despite drug therapy, and surgery is frequently needed for infections and intestinal obstruction.
Cough
As any doctor will tell you, there are coughs–and then there are coughs! All coughs, though, are a response by your body to rid itself of something that wants to get out. This could be infected mucus in your lungs or the piece of popcorn that “went down the wrong tube.” Basically this means you don’t always want to interfere with the process. You feel the first type of cough, called bronchitic, deep in your chest. For these coughs, you need an expectorant to help the lungs bring up phlegm, to be “productive,” as doctors say.