Hemorrhoids have affected world history. On the day of his decisive defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was suffering excruciating pain as a result of severe hemorrhoids. Today, hemorrhoids are well-understood, preventable and treatable. The U.T. Health Science Center’s Nurse Practitioner Jan Seliga discusses preventing and treating hemorrhoids in the latest post to HealthConnection.TV.

What are hemorrhoids? (first question)

What causes hemorrhoids? (skip to 0:25)

Are there occupational connections to having hemorrhoids? (skip to 0:56)

Why are some hemorrhoids so painful? (skip to 1:11)

It is possible to have hemorrhoids without knowing it? (skip to 1:23)

Do over-the-counter treatments for hemorrhoids work? (skip to 1:40)

How serious are hemorrhoids? (skip to 2:00)

When is it time to seek medical treatment for hemorrhoids? (skip 2:28)

What are the medical treatments for hemorrhoids? (skip to 2:50)

Can hemorrhoids be prevented? (skip to 3:24)

Take any three of elevated blood pressure, excess abdominal fat, high triglycerides, high blood sugar or low “good” cholesterol and what you have is a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. With that diagnosis, you are at greater risk for heart attack, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke. The U.T. Health Science Center’s Dr. Patti Olusola talks about diagnosing, treating and preventing metabolic syndrome.

What is metabolic syndrome? (first question)

What are the risk factors for metabolic syndrome? (skip to 1:20)

Why is having metabolic syndrome so alarming? (skip to 1:58)

Are there signs or symptoms to look for? (skip to 2:20)

How is metabolic syndrome diagnosed? (skip to 3:11)

How is metabolic syndrome treated? (skip to 4:17)

Are children at risk for developing metabolic syndrome? (skip to 5:19)

Why is metabolic syndrome becoming more common? (skip to 5:47)

If you lose weight, what effect will it have on the risk factors for metabolic syndrome? (skip to 6:26)

Can metabolic syndrome be reversed? (skip to 7:23)

It has been known since the 19th century that radiation will kill cancer cells. The challenge has been to use radiation effectively while doing minimum damage to healthy tissue. Advances in radiation therapy technology have rendered radiation a much more effective weapon in the battle against many cancers.

What is radiation oncology? (first question)

How does radiation kill cancer cells? (skip to 1:26)

How effective is radiation in treating cancer? (skip to 3:10)

What types of cancers are typically treated with radiation? (skip to 4:27)

How is the decision made to use radiation, chemotherapy or both in treating cancer? (skip to 5:22)

How has radiation therapy improved? (skip to 6:20)

What are the potential side effects to treating cancer with radiation? (skip to 9:53)

The U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler has a new linear accelerator which delivers radiation treatment to patients. How is it different from most linear accelerators? (skip to 13:08)

What does the future hold for radiation therapy in the treatment of cancer? (skip to 16:34)

In 1971, the U.S. Congress passed the National Cancer Act and devoted millions of dollars to cancer research. Forty years later, that research is bearing fruit as many cancers have yielded to better detection, better treatment, better survivability and better cure rates. U.T. Health Science Center oncologist Dr. William Hyman discusses progress in the War on Cancer in this latest post to HealthConnection.TV.

Have we made progress in detecting, treating and curing cancer in the past 30 to 40 years? (first question)

For what types of cancers has there been the most progress in terms of survival rates and cures? (skip to 0:45)

For what types of cancers has it been the most difficult to improve outcomes? (skip to 1:38)

What do we need to do in order to wage a more effective war against cancer? (skip to 2:00)

If a young person starts smoking but quits early in life, is the risk of lung cancer still significant? (skip to 2:30)

As the population ages, cancer rates increase. Why is this so? (skip to 3:11)

Because of improved mortality rates for other diseases, have we statistically increased the chances for getting cancer? (skip to 4:12)

How has genetic research impacted the diagnosis and treatment of cancer? (skip to 4:48)

What does the future hold for genetic testing for cancer? (skip to 6:16)

Some have predicted that there will one day be a vaccine for cancer. How likely is it that this prediction will come true? (skip to 6:39)

Will there ever be a cure for cancer? (skip to 7:22)

When breathing becomes work, and when it’s the only work you can do, you have respiratory failure. Respiratory failure can be acute or chronic but in either case, left untreated many other health problems will soon arise. U.T. Health Science Center pulmonologist Dr. Leslie Couch discusses respiratory failure in this post to HealthConnection.TV.

What is respiratory failure? (first question)

What causes respiratory failure? (skip to 0:40)

What are the symptoms of respiratory failure? (skip to 1:50)

What is the difference between chronic respiratory failure and acute respiratory failure? (skip to 2:36)

What, besides smoking, can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? (skip to 4:18)

Who is at risk for developing respiratory failure? (skip to 5:00)

How is respiratory failure diagnosed? (skip to 5:53)

How is respiratory failure treated? (skip to 6:32)

What is the outlook for someone suffering with respiratory failure? (skip to 7:40)

If you eat too much, particularly if you eat a lot of starchy fatty foods, chances are your triglycerides will become elevated, putting you at risk for a host of health problems. On the other hand, triglycerides are an essential blood fat, made by your liver to provide instant energy when it’s needed. U.T. Health Science Center Physician Assistant Gerry Brown talks about triglycerides — the good and the bad — in this post to HealthConnection.TV.

What are triglycerides? (first question)

What is the difference between triglycerides and cholesterol? (skip to 0:32)

What purpose do triglycerides serve — are they important to good health? (skip to 1:00)

How do you measure triglycerides? (skip to 1:21)

What things can cause triglyceride levels to be too high? (skip to 1:43)

Can you have high triglycerides without having high cholesterol or do they always go hand-in-hand? (skip to 2:26)

There’s a debate in the medical community regarding high triglycerides — are they a risk factor in and of themselves or only when combined with other disease markers such as high cholesterol? (skip to 2:45)

What is the medical treatment for high triglycerides? (skip to 3:28)

Are supplements such as Omega-3 fish oil effective in treating high triglycerides? (skip to 4:04)

Are there lifestyle changes that can be made to reduce high triglycerides? (skip to 4:40)

Acne, with its skin blemishes and pimples, is commonly associated with adolescence. But adults, and particularly adult women, can be plagued by acne, too. The U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler’s Dr. Christine Powell talks about diagnosing and treated adult acne.

What is adult acne? (first question)

What is it that makes women particularly susceptible to adult acne? (skip to 0:28)

Are there different causes for adult acne in men? (skip to 0:41)

How is adult acne treated? (skip tp 1:37)

Are over-the-counter products, such as Proactiv, effective in treating adult acne? (skip to 1:31)

Do diet and nutrition play a role in making acne better or worse? (skip to 2:00)

When is it time to see a doctor for acne? (skip to 2:23)

How do you know if what you have is acne rather than rosacea. And define rosacea? (skip to 2:47)

What are the most common myths about acne? (skip to 3:21)

Are there common mistakes that people make in treating acne? (skip to 3:41)

What is the best way to deal with a pimple or a skin blemish connected to acne? (skip to 4:00)

One of the most frightening prospects of getting older is the prospect of losing one’s mind. Some of us are just naturally at greater risk for dementias such as Alzheimer’s Disease but of us are at greater risk because of factors that we can control. U.T. Health Science Center nurse practitioner and gerentology specialist talks about Alzheimer’s and dementia in this post to HealthConnection.TV.

What is the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease? (first question)

What are the risk factors for developing dementia or Alzheimer’s that can’t be changed? (skip to 1:25)

What about factors that we can do something about now to reduce the risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s? (skip to 1:51)

There is a new study that links diabetes with a significantly higher risk for all types of dementia. What can you tell us about this study? (skip to 2:43)

Why would things such as high cholesterol and atherosclerosis increase the risk for dementia? (skip to 3:20)

What is the connection between Homocysteine blood levels and dementia? Explain Homocysteine blood levels. (skip to 4:07)

What effect does smoking and alcohol use have on the risk for developing dementia? (skip to 5:04)

What about other risk factors such as high blood pressure, depression and high levels of estrogen? (skip to 5:41)

Are there any promising treatments on the horizon for dementia? (skip to 7:09)

For many, when the weather begins to cool from the heat of the summer, the suffering begins. Fall and winter allergies bring on itchy eyes, sneezing, coughing and general misery and particularly so for many in East Texas. In this post to HealthConnection.TV, the U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler’s Dr. Jonathan Buttram talks about preventing or at the very least coping with the discomfort of fall allergy season.

What are the most common things to which people will have an allergic reaction in fall and winter? (first question)

How does the weather affect fall allergies? (skip to 1:07)

Many allergic symptoms are similar to the symptoms of a common cold. How do you tell the difference? (skip to 1:37)

With ragweed, dust, mold and other allergens in the air, how do you tell what you are actually allergic to? (skip to 2:22)

Why, when allergens are in the air in great quantity, are some people apparently unaffected when others suffer terribly? (skip to 2:49)

Allergy shots take time to take effect and I need relief right now. What can I do? (skip to 3:31)

What is the difference between a decongestant and an antihistamine? (skip to 4:32)

Are there common sense preventative measures that can be taken to reduce the severity and impact of fall allergies? (skip to 5:07)

Are there alternatives to taking regular allergy shots? (skip to 6:20)

Should someone with allergy symptoms consider a board-certified allergy specialist as opposed to going to the family physician for allergy treatment? (skip to 7:14)

With respect to the flu you really have two choices. Run the misery of getting it, or, get vaccinated against it. In this post to www.HealthConnection.TV, Family Medicine physician Dr. Wyn Andrews from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler talks about ways to prevent the flu and ways to deal with the flu if you should be so unfortunate to get it.

When is the best time to get vaccinated for the flu? (first question)

Who should be vaccinated? (skip to 0:37)

Fact or fiction- can you get the flu from getting the flu vaccine? (skip to 1:22)

Why do some people insist that they got the flu as a result of getting the vaccine? (skip to 2:06)

Explain the different ways to receive a flu vaccination including the new “intradermal” vaccine. (skip to 2:55)

How do you know if what you have is really the flu and not just a common virus like a cold? (skip to 3:54)

Are there medications that will reduce the severity or duration of flu symptoms? (skip to 5:00)

Apart from bed rest and drinking fluids, are there other comfort measures that can be taken for the flu? (skip to 5:45)

How do you know when it’s necessary to see a doctor in connection with flu symptoms? (skip to 6:27)