As many as 40 percent of fourth grade children are now clinically defined as either overweight or obese. This is leading to an explosion of problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, Type II diabetes and other conditions that were once thought to be mainly adult health concerns. Dr. Jonathan MacClements discusses childhood obesity, including its treatment and prevention.
How much of a problem is childhood obesity? (first question)
Why is childhood obesity considered a health problem? (skip to 0:39)
How do I know if my child is considered obese? (skip to 1:00)
Can a child actually develop heart disease, Type II diabetes, high blood pressure or sleep apnea as a result of being overweight? (skip to 1:45)
Can being overweight affect when a child reaches puberty? (skip to 2:10)
What is the single most important thing to be done to reduce the likelihood of my child becoming obese? (skip to 2:32)
How can I involve my child in overcoming a weight problem without undermining self-confidence? (skip to 3:18)
Doctors today have an array of safe and effective medications for the treatment of heart disease. Each medication has a specific purpose and care must be taken when using them in combination. Dr. Dudley Goulden discusses heart medications in this post to healthconnection.tv from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler.
What are the differences between beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors and statins in the treatment of heart disease? (first question)
How successful are these drugs in treating heart disease? (skip to 0:55)
Are there side effects to be concerned about in connection with these heart medications? (skip to 01:26)
Is there any one medication that has proved better than others in treating heart disease? (skip to 02:05)
If I have high blood pressure, is it a given that I should be taking a diuretic? (skip to 02:42)
Are heart disease medications like statins, aspirin and beta blockers underutilized in treating heart disease in women? (skip to 03:20)
With respect to adults over age 50, what percentage of them suffer with high blood pressure? (skip to 04:12)
What is your opinion concerning a daily aspirin regimen with respect to preventing or treating heart disease? (skip to 04:46)
Are there potential problems with the long-term use of heart disease medications that could outweigh the benefits? (skip to 05:36)
Are there any promising new heart disease medications on the horizon? (skip to 06:23)
Many cancers are either curable or highly treatable if they are detected early. That’s why screening for detectable cancers at appropriate times and intervals is so important. Dr. Coty Ho, Chief of Medical Oncology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler joins us in this edition of Health Connection to discuss cancer screening for men and women.
What are the most important cancer screens for men? (first question)
What are the most important cancer screens for women? (skip to 00:44)
Who should have a colonoscopy and when? (skip to 01:14)
Recently, the government revised the guidelines regarding mammograms. What are your thoughts on this? (skip to 01:43)
What about the risks of false positives in cancer screenings? (skip to 02:52)
Does the PSA test for men make a difference in prostate cancer survival rates? (skip to 03:35)
In addition to making us lethargic and grumpy, inadequate sleep, particularly when it’s chronic, can lead to serious health problems. The U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler’s Dr. James Stocks talks about getting a better night’s sleep.
What is a better night’s sleep? (first question)
What stands in the way of a good night’s sleep? (skip to 00:45)
What are some of the more successful strategies for getting a better night’s sleep? (skip to 02:45)
Can chronic pain affect sleep quality? (skip to 03:28)
What does it say about the quality of my sleep if I never have dreams? (skip to 03:51)
If by my best estimation I’m getting a good night’s sleep, why am I still tired? (skip to 04:39)
Is there any harm in relying on prescription sleep medications like Ambien and Lunesta? (skip to 05:04)
Is self-medicating for sleep with drugs like Tylenol PM safe? (skip to 05:53)
While we associate immunizations with childhood, the fact is that adults also need to receive vaccines against serious and potentially debilitating diseases. University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler family medicine specialist Dr. Michelle Bosworth discusses adult immunization in this Health Connection post.
Other than an annual flu shot, what immunizations should an adult have? (first question)
What factors are considered in determining what immunizations an adult needs? (skip to 1:00)
Which vaccines are the most important for an adult to have? (skip to 1:44)
How concerned should we be about potential side effects from vaccines? (skip to 2:35)
If you’ve ever had chicken pox, are you at risk for getting shingles? Is there a vaccine? (skip to 3:35)
People will argue that the diseases for which we receive vaccines are now under control. Why do we need to be vaccinated? (skip to 4:40)
Which is more effective in delivering an immunization, an injection or the nasal mist? (skip to 5:21)
As the weather cools, more of us begin suffering from colds and influenza? But which is it? Is it a common cold or is it the flu? And if it is the flu, is it seasonal flu or the H1N1 so-called “swine flu?” Internal Medicine specialist Dr. Thomas Belt address these and other questions surrounding cold and flu season in this Health Connection post.
How do I know if it’s a cold and how do I know if it’s the flu? (first question)
Are the symptoms different for seasonal flu as opposed to H1N1 flu? (skip to 2:03)
If I have flu-like symptoms, how do I know when it’s time to call the doctor? (skip to 2:55)
How do physicians determine whether or not I have the flu? (skip to 4:16)
How is the flu treated? How is a common cold treated? (skip to 5:23)
Are there comfort measures or over-the-counter medications for the flu? (skip to 6:40)
Is there anything that is effective for nasal discharge in connection with colds and flu? (skip to 7:20)
For some, it comes on with stress and eases when the stress is gone. For others, it’s a chronic condition that greatly interferes with daily living. Constipation, diarrhea or a particularly vexing pattern of alternating between the two, are common symptoms. The precise cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is not known, but there are effective treatments. U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler Gastroenterologist Dr. Bola Olusola answers the most frequently asked questions about IBS.
What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)? (first question)
One of the diseases we begin to worry about in the fall and winter is pneumonia. For most people, pneumonia is an uncomfortable, sometimes temporarily debilitating disease that runs its course on its own. For others, however, pneumonia can cause severe complications and can even be life-threatening. U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler pulmonologist Dr. David Coultas answers questions here regarding pneumonia.
What is pneumonia and how serious is it? (first question)
What are the symptoms of pneumonia? (skip to 0:54)
What is the “walking pneumonia?” (skip to 1:39)
How do you treat pneumonia? (skip to 2:12)
Is there a vaccine for pneumonia? (skip to 2:59)
Are people on acid reducing medications more susceptible to pneumonia? (skip to 3:40)
What are the chances of contracting pneumonia? (skip to 4:48)
What can be done to reduce the chance of getting pneumonia? (skip to 5:04)
As a woman reaches menopause, one of the decisions she may be called upon to make is whether or not to replace the hormones once manufactured by her ovaries with hormones from an outside source that are taken orally or absorbed through a cream or patch. Some fear that hormone replacement therapy increases the risk of health complications such as breast cancer. Others believe that the risks of hormone replacement therapy are very small and are outweighed by the benefits in the areas of heart disease and diabetes prevention as well as in improved quality of life.
In this video, Dr. Ralph Turner, a gynecologist and Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, answers common questions regarding hormone replacement therapy.
What is hormone replacement therapy? (first question)
What are the current guidelines regarding hormone replacement therapy? (skip to 2:14)
As a woman ages, what are the pros and cons as they relate to hormone replacement therapy? (skip to 2:44)
What is the downside to hormone replacement therapy? (skip to 4:02)
What should a woman who is experiencing menopausal symptoms do? (skip to 5:05)
How does a woman decide whether or not to begin hormone replacement therapy? (skip to 6:14)
Welcome to the new face of Health Connection! For nearly 20 years, the doctors and medical professionals of The U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler have answered your health questions on radio via one minute vignettes on everything from asthma to vitamins. Now, Health Connection is a video series that is like a one-on-one consultation with members of the medical staff of The University of Texas Health Center at Tyler. We hope you enjoy the new format and we hope you will share the information you find here with your friends and family members.
What is H1N1, sometimes called the “Swine Flu” and how should we deal with it? Dr. Jeffrey Levin is the chair and Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. He answers questions including:
What is H1N1 and where did it come from? (first question)
What are the symptoms of the H1N1 virus? (skip to 2:00)
Is it true that H1N1 is easier to get and more severe than seasonal flu? (skip to 3:30)
How can you tell if you have H1N1? (skip to 4:53)
Who is at greatest risk of contracting H1N1? (skip to 5:49)
Why do we need to get two flu shots this season? (skip to 7:14) and
What can we do to protect ourselves from getting sick with the H1N1 virus? (skip to 8:20)
