General Health

October 5, 2022

Breast cancer risk lower with physical activity

Increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary time may reduce a woman’s breast cancer risk. This encouraging finding is based on research published in the British Journal of […]

October 4, 2022

Tuesday Patient Stories – Kissimmee Tales Chapter 6B – Cowboy Country

For the next few months, I’m excerpting chapters from the first of two books about my early years in family medicine in Kissimmee, Florida – The […]

October 1, 2022

Saturday Book Report – THIS NEXT WEDNESDAY October 5 watch or record my national address about my WWII book this Wednesday

This coming Wednesday, October 1, 2002, I’ll be addressing a national audience to talk about my WWII book, At First Light: A True World War II […]

September 30, 2022

Exchanging 30 minutes of social media a day with exercise benefits mental health

According to a report in Medical News Today, replacing 30 minutes of social media use per day with physical activity can enhance emotional well-being and reduce […]

September 29, 2022

Thursday Ask Dr. Walt – Primary or secondary prevention?

Dear Dr. Walt, I overheard two friends talking about preventive medicine. They were talking about primary and secondary prevention, but I’m not sure I understand the difference. […]

September 28, 2022

A new study shows that too much TV time really may harm your brain

HealthDay reported that older adults who get a lot of “screen time” may have an increased risk of developing dementia — but a lot depends on what […]

September 27, 2022

Tuesday Patient Stories – Kissimmee Tales Chapter 6A – Cowboy Country

For the next few months, I’m excerpting chapters from the first of two books about my early years in family medicine in Kissimmee, Florida – The […]

February 21, 2011

Physical activity helps improve walking speed in those with osteoarthritis

MedPage Today reported that, according to a paper in Arthritis & Rheumatism, “increasing physical activity over two years can improve function and even walking speed among […]

February 21, 2011

Study warns that splitting pills can be dangerous

Physicians frequently recommend that caregivers split pills to give patients smaller doses than are available by prescription, but that process can produce wide variation in dosages, […]

February 25, 2011

Shingles vaccine dramatically reduces risk of outbreaks

Readers of this blog know of my fondness for immunizations. For my patients, I recommended the shingles vaccine for people 60 years of age or older […]

February 28, 2011

Are full-body airport scanners safe?

Air travel has not been the same since September 11, 2001, when 3 commercial airplanes were hijacked and transformed into lethal weapons. Air passengers have since […]

March 2, 2011

Health officials urging adolescents, adults to get whooping cough booster shot

The Chicago Tribune reports that “whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory infection marked by violent coughing, has made a comeback in Chicago and in other parts of […]

March 11, 2011

ATTENTION: Daylight savings starts tomorrow — don’t let it disturb your sleep pattern

Well, technically this year’s DST (or what some countries call “Summertime”) begins on Sunday, Mar. 13, 2011, at 2 am. And while it may be time […]