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Staph and Strep gone Wild

Be on the look-out for particularly virulent (toxic) strains of staph and strep.Staphylococcus and streptococcus are two infectious bacteria that can, and more commonly these days, become life and limb threatening. Largely due to the indiscriminate usage of antibiotics these days where a doctor over prescribes pills to treat “just in case”, massively resistant strains of infectious bacteria...

HIPAA Gone Mad..

Many people may wonder about what doctors think about HIPAA.  This very question, or something very similar to it, was asked at Yahoo Answers. I couldn’t help but put my two cents worth in on it. I can think of one historical incident where a political figure was compromised because of shock treatments that were uncovered in his medical past.  Thomas Eagleton, a VP choice of McGovern, had to...

Ingrown Toenail Treatment-Follow Up Care

The most common way I treat chronic, ingrown toenail pain is with phenol.  This chemical induces a chemical burn at the level of nail matrix (where your toenail is made). Because this becomes a chemical burn, the dead nail cells need an open conduit to drain.  This drainage process can take anywhere from one to two weeks. For this reason, I tell my patients that it is very important that they soak...

Plantar Fasciitis Timeframe-Healing Expectations

One of the first things I tell my patients who come to see me regarding plantar fasciitis is that it’s going to take some time. Plantar fasciitis, especially when it gets to the point of forming a heel spur, is a long developing process.  The spur you are seeing is literally the bone being pulled away by the tight fascia.  As you can imagine, this is not an overnight process. Plantar Fasciitis...

Tired Feet? Morning Walker Review

Morning Walker In this day and age of fast results, with less work we are introduced to yet another miracle product. The Morning Walker! The Morning Walker is an aerobic exerciser for the entire body, designed by “the principle of a goldfish”, but never goes into detail about what exactly the principles of a goldfish are. Some of its health benefits include: improves digestion, weight loss,...

Flat Feet-A Rather Severe Case

This young lady has a severe flat foot.  Her foot is so severely flat that her heels are everted in stance.  What that means is that her heel cannot get to ninety degrees with respect to the ground.  A normal heel makes a perpendicular relationship to the ground. As you can see from this photo, her heels are pointing out or everted. Flat Feet This type of foot would require special modifications...

Achilles Tendon-Could you have danger brewing?

The subject of this post could be life-changing.  It really can be. One of the few things I remember from my biochemistry days in medical school (I mean who really cares about the Krebs cycle) was when we had a guest lecturer.  I think he was a cardiologist. Anyway, he said that we as podiatrists could alert a patient to something that could truly be life-threatening.  All it takes is a simple palpation...

Is it a wart of something else?

One of the more common presentations to a podiatrist would be that of a plantar wart. Or is it? Many such lesions get referred to me by a general practioner as “evaluate wart” when the lesion in question isn’t really a wart at all.  I cannot fault them for such; I wouldn’t know the first thing about a heart murmur (well maybe enough to be dangerous). Medicine has become just...

Bunions and their causes

Another question I hear quite frequently in my office is “what caused my bunion”? One of the most common misconceptions is that they are caused by shoes.  A picture I still remember to this day is that of a happy African native who never wore shoes with bunions the size of Cleveland. Notice I said a “happy” native.  And that brings up an important secondary point.  While...

Plantar Fasciitis needs those Orthotics

Particularly, as it applies to plantar fasciitis and heelpain, Best Website Review Blog does a great job at explaining why orthotics are so vital when foot pain rears its ugly head. It also shows how common and wide spread the problem of plantar fasciitis really is. I often tell my patients that you would never go to the grocery store, and buy off the rack one of those reading glasses.  In much the...