Medical Minutes

In the spring, many people turn to flip-flops for their everyday footwear. While thin, flat, rubber shoes are inexpensive and convenient; they can be painfully bad for your feet and legs. When the weather gets warmer, we commonly see an increase in tendinitis, stress fractures, and other injuries. This increase in injury can, in part, be attributed to America's favorite go to summer footwear.

There is no question that the profound hormonal changes of menopause make women feel and look differently. This complex transition often affects moods, sleep, health and appearance. While it is vital for all women to focus on the many health aspects of aging, it too is important to love and accept yourself as you move through new stages in life. Fortunately, there are ways for you to both look great and feel good as you approach 50 and better.

Americans have many reasons for not scheduling routine exams and, of course, there is a laundry list of explanations commonly used to excuse unhealthy behaviors and habits. For some, scheduling an appointment seems unnecessary either because they feel well or their health is not a priority; while others put off making an appointment because they fear a diagnosis. Sadly, neglecting our health can be costly or even deadly. Many medical conditions, like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancer, may be ‘silent’ until there is a complication.

FREE PHYSICALS: MAY 5th & 6th @HHS, 7:00PM – DOORS CLOSE AT 6:30PM, you must be there before 6:30…

• May 5th 2015 – GIRLS Physicals @ Highland High School
• May 6th 2015 – BOYS Physicals @ Highland High School

Fatigue, depression, mood swings and sleep disturbances are frequently associated with menopause, but they may also be signs of a thyroid condition. According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), millions of women with menopausal-like symptoms, even those taking estrogen, may be suffering from undiagnosed thyroid disease.

Emily Dickinson penned this couplet, “Surgeons must be very careful when they take the knife! Underneath their fine incisions stirs the culprit — Life!” Naturally, all physicians, not just surgeons, deal with our individual lives. As we celebrate Doctor’s Day at the end of this month, Portneuf Medical Center wants to express its appreciation to all of our community physicians. Please accept our sincere gratitude for the very personal care we receive from your gifted minds, hearts, and hands.

Hormone fluctuations are common during specific times during a woman’s life. For example, during the week leading up to menstruation, women may experience mild depression, anxiety, irritability and/or mood swings. Each time your hormones do a little dance, your brain chemistry has to compensate. When the change is small, that compensation occurs quickly, and you hardly notice any symptoms. However, during the transition between perimenopause to menopause, hormones make significant fluctuations and each swing can change the brain chemistry that controls emotions and moods.

When someone has a sudden or unfamiliar pain or discomfort in the chest, the first thought is typically, “Is this a heart attack?” While a heart attack is a potentially deadly or disabling condition, many different problems can bring on chest pain. In some cases the underlying cause may have nothing to do with your heart.

From routine management of painful urinary tract infections to state-of-the-art robotic cancer surgery, the doctors at the Portneuf Urology Clinic offer the full range of urological care for men and women.

While heart disease continues to be the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States, advances in surgical treatments, which include an increasing array of innovative, minimally invasive procedures, are already making a difference in the length and quality of life for thousands of patients each year. With the development of new techniques and operations as well as the refinement of well-established surgical procedures, physicians and surgeons are able to more effectively prevent, eliminate, detect and/or manage heart disease and its related conditions.