Baby boomers have been encouraged, during the past several months, to get screened for hepatitis C. What is interesting and not clear to me is the reason this age group of people has not been targeted. It is also unusual that not one of my patients has requested a...
Heart failure is one of the most common reasons people over the age of 65 are admitted to the hospital. It is an abnormal condition in which the demands of the body cannot be met by the heart, meaning the pump has failed. This condition is characterized by shortness...
Recently, it was reported that the health of truckers is very poor and this puts the lives of others, who share the road with them, in peril. The lifestyle of these men and women is not ideal because of very poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and in my opinion, their ill-suited insight about health issues.
I have seen several truckers who have had their keys taken away because of elevated blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, obesity, and sleep apnea. The companies for whom they work are demanding that they resolve their health issues. It comes as a major surprise that too many of them cannot make changes overnight for uncontrolled diabetes or high blood pressure.
Another realty facing truckers is the fact that they cannot return to work until the health issues are addressed.
The Tuskegee experiments have largely gone unappreciated regarding their effect on the African American community, almost 40 years later.
In 1977, President Bill Clinton invited the eight survivors to the White House to formally apologize for one of the “most macabre clinical trials in American history.”
During this ceremony, Herman Shaw, one of the study participants, made these comments, “The wounds that were inflicted upon us cannot be undone. I’m saddened today to think of those who did not survive and whose families will forever live with the knowledge that their death and suffering was preventable. In order for America – black, red, white together – trusting each other, caring for each other and never allowing the kind of tragedy which has happened to us in the Tuskegee study to ever happen again.”
It is a part of our DNA to show, love, redemption, and forgiveness.
You may have experienced an African American man, in health distress, say “I’ll be all right,” regardless of the current or future gravity of the illness. Recently, I was talking to one of my patients who indicated that he would not allow his family to call 911,...
This health tip is for people older than 50 years of age. Fifty is a young age in 2016. African Americans who exercise improved their overall quality and longevity. Current studies reveal that people who live in the southern area of the country are less likely to be...
I have observed, over the past several months, African American men die violently on our streets and in our neighborhoods. The subsequent focus is on the imminent grieving of the loved one, particularly, mothers, wives, sisters, or female significant others. These...
African Americans, historically, have not been very transparent about a family medical history regarding mental issues. Some think that death from suicide does not occur in the black community. This certainly is not the case. Death from suicide has increased over...
It has been suggested that the first encounter African Americans have with a primary care physician is for early childhood immunizations, childhood diseases, or a sports physical. A subsequent relationship with a physician is usually absent unless there is an injury...
The manner in which we live and manage our activities and actions contributes greatly to the medical problems that are experienced today. As you reflect, obesity was not a health several decades ago. Research reveals that the consumption of fast food is directly...
One of the benefits of practicing medicine, in the African American community, is hearing many funny stories that affect patients who provide entertainment about their health concerns. One of my patients wanted to be checked for heart disease and related to me that...
I have observed, over the past several months, African American men die violently on our streets and in our neighborhoods. The subsequent focus is on the imminent grieving of the loved one, particularly, mothers, wives, sisters, or female significant others. These...