Fun With Toenails
A couple of miscellaneous facts about what your toenails can tell you: 1.) A permanent line is left across the toenail (until it grows out) which indicates the presence of a 7-10 day fever. 2.) A slow return to it’s normal pink color upon squeezing of the nail, indicates poor circulation. 3.) If your entire nail is blue, this can indicate repetitive trauma caused by the shoes (perhaps improperly...
December 3rd, 2009 by ToddieM
Diabetic Feet
One of the many problems with diabetes is that it can affect your feet in a very negative way. What starts out as seemingly a harmless ingrown nail, can quickly proceed to gangrene and the loss of a limb. Many signs such as: absence of hair growth on the digits, loss of sensitivity (which can be determined by your podiatrist with the use of a special filament), the color and temperature of the...
November 29th, 2009 by ToddieM
Topaz Treatment for Plantar Fasciitis
One of the latest treatment modalities, Topaz treatment, is showing promise in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. What is good, in my opinion, is that the procedure is practically non-invasive. It can be done with a tiny stab incision, and patients need not worry about longer healing times. The principal behind which Topaz treatment works is to increase blood flow to the area, and to break up nocioceptors...
November 21st, 2009 by ToddieM
Danger of MRSA
With all this talk of the H1N1 virus, an alarming infection is being swept under the rug. MRSA, or methicillin resistant staph aureus, is running at rampant levels. An infection that once was caught mainly in hospitals (you’d be amazed how much you can pick up in a hospital), has now branched out to many athletic groups and locker rooms. MRSA infections also, interestingly enough, are misdiagnosed...
November 19th, 2009 by ToddieM
Platelet Gel and the Pittsburgh Steelers
Why is platelet gel or PRP (platelet rich plasma) becoming the latest rage in sports medicine/rehabilitation surgery? It is gaining attention simply because it works. What better healing factor than the very healing factors present in your own blood could there be? It has gained some attention in the media because football players such as Hines Ward, and Troy Polamalu, both from the Pittsburgh Steelers...
November 18th, 2009 by ToddieM
Chino Hills Podiatrist-What it takes to become one
Patients and friends are often asking me, what does it take to become a podiatrist? As a practicing podiatrist in the Chino and Chino Hills area for many years, I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked that question. The corollary to that question is always, “why did you want to become a podiatrist”? I dont know why-but some people just consider working with feet distasteful...
May 27th, 2009 by ToddieM
Pinpointe Foot Laser-Fungal Nail Treatment
Laser treatment for your fungal nails? I’ve blogged about the futility of fungal nails in a previous post. No more. The Pinpointe Foot Laser has arrived. Fungus be gone! One visit to a podiatrist’s office and thirty minutes later-you’re done! Painless, and without all the side effects that come with oral pills. The results are not immediate; and as the nail grows out in...
May 5th, 2009 by ToddieM
Swine Flu “Pandemic”
Being in the medical field, the news on swine flu has got my interest. I find it amazing that a flu that has approximately 200 confirmed dead in Mexico has managed to become front-page news. What most people don’t realize is that there are approximately 38,000 deaths a year from influenza. Not to put too fine a point upon it, is also interesting that news of the swine flu outbreak came shortly...
May 1st, 2009 by ToddieM
Ulcers and Foot Temperature
Let’s face it, diabetic foot ulcers are a major problem in today’s society. Would Temperature Monitoring Have Avoided This? Lack of sensation the feet cause pressure sores to occur. Whether normal person without diabetes would notice and adjust, a person with diabetes would fail to notice. Diabetics have literally walked on a nail or coin to the point of ulceration. A study recently...
April 30th, 2009 by ToddieM
Bunions-You Can Pay me Now or Pay Me Later
Bunions are progressive deformities. The longer they are left untreated, the larger they will grow. What can start out as simply a mild bump, can quickly progress to a both unsightly and very painful deformity. I remember the old Fram oil filter commercials where the technician slams the cash register door and others those famous lines,” you can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” ...
April 29th, 2009 by ToddieM
