Can Cancer Cause Red Patches on the Tongue?
Find out if cancer can cause the tongue to develop red patches. Have you noticed red patches on your tongue and are afraid it might be cancer? Well, here is some very reassuring news for [...]
13 Causes of Burning Lips Explained by Dermatologist
There's tons of causes of burning lips, and one of them is a pre-cancerous change. “Burning lips or its cousin burning mouth syndrome can result from a number of causes,” says Dr. Rebecca Tung, MD, [...]
Why Is Melanoma Survival Rate Higher for Stage 0 vs. Stage 1?
What’s different in the stage 0 melanoma patient than the stage 1 patient such that 10-year survival rate is higher? The earlier that melanoma is caught (or staged), the higher the survival rate when projected [...]
Melanoma Risk with Fair Skin, Brown Eyes vs. Blue Eyes
Find out if there’s a difference in melanoma risk in someone with fair skin and brown eyes vs. fair skin and blue. Lists of melanoma risk factors often include “fair/light skin and blue eyes.” Sometimes, [...]
Benign Cause of Brief Stabbing Pains in Breast
Find out a most unlikely, but harmless, cause of sudden-onset, brief stabbing pains in a breast; and it’s not a tight bra. Have you developed sudden-onset, stabbing, sharp or piercing pains in a breast? And [...]
Bilateral Ankle Edema: Causes when Tests Are Normal
A doctor explains what can cause swelling (edema) in both ankles when your heart, liver, kidney and other key tests are normal and you’re not obese. The following can cause swelling (edema) in both (bilateral) [...]
Sudden Brief Extreme Dizziness in Younger Adults: Causes, Solutions
A doctor discusses possible causes of sudden, extreme and brief dizziness in younger people. And solutions. There are MANY causes of sudden, brief episodes of severe dizziness in people who do not have any conditions [...]
Are You Rude Due to Your Hearing Loss?
If you have hearing loss, here’s why people get irritated when you ask them to repeat or why they say “Never mind, it’s not important.” Many people with hearing loss, impairment, who are hard of [...]
Tiny Red Spots in Toilet after BM or Urine: Unlikely Origin
Have you noticed tiny red dots against the toilet bowl after a bowel movement or urine output and wondered what’s wrong? Imagine turning towards the toilet to look inside after having a bowel movement or [...]
Zero Calcium Score in Asymptomatic vs. Symptomatic Patients
A zero calcium score is NOT an accurate predictor of cardiac events in patients with symptoms, but for those without symptoms, it’s over 95 percent. A group of people with symptoms like chest pain and [...]
Trouble Breathing During or After Exercise, No Chest Pain
Find out a most unlikely cause of difficulty breathing IN during or after exercise in the absence of chest pain in an otherwise healthy person. Suppose you just had your heart checked and everything’s normal, [...]
Sudden Difficulty Breathing Right After Cardio Exercise
Sudden difficulty taking breaths immediately after a cardio stint isn’t always exercise-induced asthma. If you think that your recent struggle with inhaling or taking breaths was your first bout with exercise-induced [...]
Can a Class 2 Heart Murmur Go Away on Its Own?
Have you been diagnosed with a class II heart murmur and are scared? In June 2011 a cardiologist told me I had a class II heart murmur on inspiration (inhaling). It was not something he [...]
Orange Urine vs. Dark Yellow: Telling the Difference
A proven way to tell the difference between orange urine, yellow-orange and dark yellow. If you’ve read somewhere that orange urine can be a sign of disease and are wondering if what you’re seeing as [...]
Can Angina Come and Go Every Second, Blinking On and Off ?
Do you get chest pain or what feels like angina that comes and goes, literally hurting one second then going away the next, like intervals? “By definition, angina occurs when the oxygen supply to the [...]
Angina During Rest but Never from Physical Exertion Possible
There's a type of angina that can occur at rest but not during exertion. Maybe you know that “unstable angina” can occur at rest, even during sleep and awaken the patient. But this type of [...]
Can an X-Ray Show a Heart Attack?
If you go to the ER complaining of chest pain or shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, the doctor will want to order a chest X-ray. You may wonder if this type of image can show a [...]
Shortness of Breath, Chest Pain: What if Tests Are Negative?
Find out what you should do if ER testing finds nothing wrong with your heart despite chest pain and shortness of breath. Chest pain is the No. 1 reason why people visit the emergency room. [...]
Do Clear Carotid Arteries Mean Clear Coronary Vessels?
Just because your carotid arteries are “clean” doesn’t mean you don’t have severe blockages in your coronary vessels. I was inspired to write this article after my father underwent an exam to see if there [...]
Catheter Angiogram for Chest Pain but Low Heart Disease Risk?
Low risk for heart disease but chest pain? Which test is warranted: CT angiogram or catheter angiogram? Find out what someone with low risk for heart disease should do if they have suspicious symptoms and [...]
Normal Stress Test but a Massive Heart Attack the Next Day ?
A cardiologist explains why you can have a normal stress test one day and then a massive heart attack the next. You’ve probably heard of instances in which a person had a normal stress test [...]
Is Exercise Safe if You Have PVCs 24/7?
A cardiologist addresses exercise safety in people with many PVCs, even nonstop. Some people have premature ventricular contractions seemingly nonstop, thousands and thousands a day, and fear that exercise may not be safe for them. [...]
How Does Exercise Suppress PVCs?
A cardiologist explains how exercise suppresses or inhibits PVCs: premature ventricular contractions. Though some people with PVCs wonder if it’s safe to exercise, it’s a well-documented fact that exercise suppresses PVCs. In fact, many individuals [...]
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Prevention: 7 Lifestyle Changes
Making lifestyle changes to help prevent a DVT is as easy as 1 through 7. Deep vein thromboses are much more common than you think and are very dangerous, requiring immediate medical intervention. “The problem [...]
ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM: Surgery, Drugs, Watchful Waiting
An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a very serious condition, but not all cases require treatment. The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. It comes out of the heart and travels all the [...]
Peripheral Neuropathy Misdiagnosis: Doctors Miss Disease
Just because doctors haven’t mentioned peripheral neuropathy as the cause of your pain, doesn’t mean you can’t have it. “Peripheral neuropathy” means disease of the nerves of the peripheral nervous system, and I know at [...]
What’s the Death Rate of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair?
The death rate following the repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm is something that you'd definitely want to know. However, if your doctor is already discussing surgical treatment with you, it's a safe bet that [...]
How Long Does It Take DVT to Get to Lungs After Breaking?
A DVT (blood clot) that's in your leg has a chance of breaking apart or completely dislodging and then going to your lungs...and how long this takes is not what you may think it is. I [...]
Can You Get a Pulmonary Embolism without a DVT?
Find out the interesting answer to the question: Can a pulmonary embolism form in the absence of a DVT? “By definition a PE is an ‘embolus’ that has traveled to the lungs," says Seyed-Mojtaba Gashti, [...]
Can a DVT Cause Swelling in the Ankle Only & Nowhere Else?
How likely is it that the swelling in only one ankle, but nowhere else in the leg, is being caused by a deep vein thrombosis? A DVT typically causes swelling up and down the lower [...]
DVT in Neck after CABG: Shouldn’t Patient Get SVC Filter?
What should be done when a patient gets a DVT in the neck after coronary bypass surgery? Seems like an SVC filter should be placed? Following coronary bypass surgery (a.k.a. CABG), it’s possible for a [...]
Risk of DVT in People Who Use Wheelchairs
Is deep vein thrombosis common in people who use wheelchairs? Since prolonged “inactivity” is a risk factor for developing a DVT, the logical conclusion would be that this condition is quite common in people whose [...]
How Long After Air Travel Does DVT (Blood Clot) Risk Last?
So you've been cramped on that airplane for hours and are finally walking on the ground; how long after will DVT blood clot risk last? “As far as I know, DVT forms while traveling," says [...]
Diarrhea, Stomach Pain: Crohn’s Disease: PillCam Can Diagnose
Suffer from stomach pain and diarrhea? This could be Crohn’s disease, which can be diagnosed by swallowing a pill that has a camera. Crohn’s disease often presents with two key symptoms: diarrhea and stomach or [...]
NOISE INDUCED HEARING LOSS Causes, Prevention, Who’s at Risk
Noise pollution is a very real problem, says the EPA, yet few people take the risks of hearing loss seriously. We are still in the Dark Ages when it comes to understanding the risks of noise [...]
Can Being Around Screaming Kids Ruin Your Hearing?
An audiologist addresses a fair question: Can hearing be damaged by screaming children? I was inspired to interview an audiologist for this article because my sister has been diagnosed with bilateral moderate hearing loss. She [...]
Hearing Loss from Group Fitness Classes: Truth or Hype
Anybody who’s health conscious will want to know the truth about hearing loss dangers from pounding music in group fitness classes. Imagine you, the group fitness class enthusiast, are transported back in time about 60 [...]
Can Slamming Weights at the Gym Cause Hearing Loss?
It’s time for the big boys to admit it: Slamming and banging weights will likely damage hearing over time. For this article on hearing loss resulting from weights being thrown, slammed and banged around at [...]
Wood Chipper Can Damage Hearing: Wear Ear Protection
I’m stunned that often, I see men without hearing protection working around wood chippers. Wood chippers can be screaming loud, yet many workers continue to “chip” without protection for their ears. A typical wood chipper comes [...]
Can a Deep Vein Thrombosis Be Permanent?
Warning: A DVT can leave permanent effects. You want to do everything possible to avoid this very serious (and highly avoidable) condition. A vascular surgeon responds to the question: Can a deep vein thrombosis become [...]
