Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common infections encountered by physicians in the primary and urgent care offices.  Most UTIs are bacterial in origin, with E. Coli being the most common cause.  The urinary tract includes the kidneys, ureters and bladder.  Women tend be affected by UTI much more often than men.

Common signs and symptoms of UTI include burning sensation with urination, urgency to urinate with increased frequency, and discolored or smelly urine.  However, sometimes its symptoms may be non-specific, such as fever, low back pain and nausea.

If your family doctor thinks you have a UTI, he or she will probably test a sample of your urine to see if it contains bacteria, glucose or blood.  If the test is positive, your doctor will prescribe an antiobiotic for a few days to effectively treat a UTI. Make sure you finish the entire course of the antibiotic as prescribed even if your symptoms improve in 1-2 days. Your doctor may also suggest a medicine to numb your urinary tract and make you feel better while the antibiotic starts to work. The medicine makes your urine turn bright orange, so don’t be alarmed by the color when you urinate.

Even though most UTIs are effectively treated with the antibiotics, a history of frequent UTIs warrants further evaluation and advanced testing as appropriate.  There are some simple and easy steps that can help you to prevent a UTI.  For example, do not hold your urine for a prolonged period of time when you have the urge to urinate; Wipe from front to back after bowel movements; Urinate after having sex to wash away bacteria; Use lubrication during sex; And avoid douching.

This information was written in accordance with the upcoming month of February being the American Heart Month.

Did you know that every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event?  That means by the time you finish reading this article, approximately 12 people will have had a heart event.  Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States and a major cause of disability.  Luckily, awareness of risk factors associated with heart disease and healthy lifestyle changes can greatly reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

There are several risk factors associated with heart disease.  This is a list of a few:

• Arrhythmia  (abnormal electrical activity in the heart where the heart beat may be too fast or too slow)
• High cholesterol,
• High blood pressure
• Obesity
• Tobacco
• Second hand smoke. 

 Many of these factors can be prevented by stopping smoking, limiting your exposure to second hand smoke, and seeing your family doctor on a regular basis to monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol.  Did you know that the providers at Care United are able to monitor and manage these conditions before they become a problem?  Our staff is able to manage conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol with preventative measures to help you to make the necessary lifestyle changes, as well as medications, if necessary  Speaking of lifestyle changes, there are many that can help reduce you and your family’s risk of developing heart disease.  Start slow with a few changes and as they become patterns in your day to day life, add more changes in order to prevent heart disease.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following: 

• Choose lean meats and poultry without skin
• Select fat-free, 1% fat, and low-fat dairy products
• Cut back on foods containing vegetable oils and ones high in dietary cholesterol
• If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation (no more than one drink per day for a woman and two drinks per day for a man)
• Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt (try and aim for less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day or less than 1,500 if you have or at risk of high blood pressure)
• Increase the amount of physical activity in your life to at least 30 minutes of activity per day

Conjunctivitis is an inflammation in a part of your eye. The conjunctiva is a thin lining that covers the whites of the eyes and the insides of the eyelids. This lining helps protect your eyes. The conjunctiva can be irritated by chemicals, contact lenses, dry eyes, allergic reactions, or foreign bodies, such as sand, in the eyes. Most often, though, conjunctivitis is caused by a virus and goes away in a few days without any treatment.

Sometimes conjunctivitis is a sign of a more serious problem. It might be a bad infection, a rare type of cancer, swollen glands on the edge of the eyelid (called styes), or an eye problem called glaucoma. Glaucoma is caused by too much pressure inside the eyeball. Sexually transmitted diseases (such as chlamydia infection) can also cause infections in the eye, but these are rare.

Conjunctivitis sometimes can be confused with a more serious condition called iritis . If you have pain in your eye or any sudden changes in your vision, call your doctor right away. If light makes your eyes hurt, you should tell your doctor as soon as possible.

The most common signs of conjunctivitis are bloodshot or watery eyes, stinging, and burning. Itching can be a sign of allergic conjunctivitis or a sign of infection. If your conjunctivitis is caused by bacteria (germs), you might have thick, white fluid or pus coming out of your eye. If a virus has caused your infection, the fluid coming out of your eyes usually is clear.

What can I do to keep from getting conjunctivitis?

Conjunctivitis that is caused by viruses or bacteria can be spread from person to person. It is important to wash your hands with soap often during the day. Try not to touch your eyes or rub your eyes with your fingers. If you have conjunctivitis that is caused by an allergy, try to stay away from the things you are allergic to.

See your doctor before you try to treat yourself. If you have a virus, your doctor might not recommend any treatment. If you have bacterial conjunctivitis, you might need to use antibiotic eye drops. If you have allergic conjunctivitis, your doctor might want you to put cold compresses on the eye or take a non-prescription antihistamine (such as Benadryl or Chlor-Trimeton). Your doctor also might prescribe a non-drowsy oral antihistamine or antihistamine eye drops.

If you wear contact lenses, take them out until you’ve seen your doctor or until your symptoms have completely gone away.

• This handout is provided to you by your family doctor and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Asthma is a lung disorder that occurs when your breathing tubes (airways) become narrowed. As the airways narrow, it can become harder to breathe. This can lead to symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. These symptoms can come and go, depending upon how narrow your airways are. Some people have only occasional asthma symptoms while others have asthma symptoms every day.

Scientists do not know what causes asthma. However, they do know that certain things can trigger asthma symptoms, including illnesses such as the common cold, pets, exercise, foods, or air pollution.Fortunately, there are effective treatments for asthma. Treatment can help to prevent breathing problems. Treatments can also help to improve breathing after your airways become narrow.It is important to work with a healthcare provider to determine which asthma treatments are right for you. In addition, you should see your provider on a regular basis to help you manage your breathing over time.Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) measures the rate at which a person can exhale. This rate depends upon the degree of airway narrowing. PEFR monitoring can provide data that can be used to make treatment decisions. Children five years of age and older are usually capable of performing peak flow measurements. The optimal treatment of asthma depends upon a number of factors, including the child’s age and the severity and frequency of asthma attacks. For most children, asthma treatment can control symptoms, allowing the child to participate fully in activities and sports.Successful treatment of asthma involves three components:·    Controlling and avoiding asthma triggers ·    Regularly monitoring asthma symptoms and lung function ·    Understanding how to use medications to treat asthma 

As the cold weather approaches, so does the incidence of RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus.  RSV is a viral infection which causes upper respiratory symptoms but is also the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation in the small airways in the lungs) in children. While RSV can affect all ages, the most severe cases are seen in children two and under. RSV is common cause of hospitalizations in children under two due to pneumonia and respiratory distress.  Infants and children infected with RSV will usually show symptoms, such as cough, runny nose or fever, within 4 to 6 days of infection. Typically children will recover in 1 to 2 weeks; however some children may continue to spread the virus for 1 to 3 weeks. The virus is spread when infected individuals cough or sneeze into the air and the infected droplets come in contact with another individual’s mouth, nose or eyes.  RSV is a virus so there is not a “cure” the body will have to fight the infection on its own, however there are symptomatic treatments. Antibiotics are usually not required unless there is an underlying bacterial infection, such as pneumonia.  There is a rapid test which can be done in the clinic to detect RSV, and a CXR can also be obtained to rule out pneumonia in suspected children. 

If you have a raised,red,painful sore on your body and have captured a spider or seen a dead one on your body or in your clothing you know you have a spider bite.  Unless you have actually seen the spider this “sore”  could be many other conditions including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus better known as MRSA.     Symptoms of MRSA can be a wound draining yellow white fluid or pus, fever , chills , redness and pain which if not treated with antibiotics and wound care  could result in adverse outcome.  Many of these symptoms could also accompany a spider bite so it is very important to seek medical treatment quickly.  Do Not  “open” the wound yourself, squeeze the wound, apply heat or hot compress to the wound this could result in more severe damage.  Any time you have a boil, or bite seek medical treatment from a health care professional as soon as possible.                                              

There are several causes of memory loss.  Although age is usually one of them, it is important to pay attention to other causes, especially when your daily life is affected by it.  Information is stored in three different parts of your memory: the short-term memory, the recent memory, and the remote memory.  Information stored in the short-term memory may include the name of a person you met a few minutes ago.  Information stored in the recent memory may include what you ate for breakfast today.  Information stored in the remote memory includes things that happened years ago, such as memories of childhood.  Although the recent memory may be affected by aging, the short-term and remote memories are not usually affected in this process.

Memory is also affected by several problems including depression, stroke, concussion or head injury, and alcoholism.  Dementia (such as Alzheimer’s Disease) is a major cause of memory loss and requires medial treatment because it gets worse over time.

If you are forgetting things much more often than you used to, have trouble learning new things and making choices, handling money, or forgetting to do things you have done many times before, it is very important that you seek medical attention.  A memory problem can become serious and start to affect your daily life.

It may be hard to figure out on your own, especially in advanced age, if you have a serious memory problem.  In that case, you should talk to your physician who can listen to your concerns and offer further evaluation as needed to help determine the exact cause of your problem.

(Source:  American Academy of Family Physician)

Vitamins are substance found naturally in the environment.  The human body uses them to stay healthy and support its functions. There are two types of vitamins: Water-soluble and Fat-soluble.

Minerals are also found naturally on earth and in the water. Plants and animals use them to get nutrients.

Food is the best source to obtain vitamins and minerals.  Most people do not need to take additional vitamins.  However, your doctor may recommend taking extra vitamins if you have certain health problems. For example, people on a strict vegetarian diet may need Vitamin B12 supplement; whereas women may need additional calcium and vitamin D supplements to prevent Osteoporosis.

Vitamins and minerals can be dangerous if consumed in excess.  Therefore, you should never take extra vitamins without talking to your doctor first.

(Source: www.FamilyDoctor.org)

There has been ten confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Forney,TX.

Swine Influenza is a respiratory disease caused by type A Influenza virus that commonly infects pigs, causing seasonal outbreaks of disease among swine. Due to the ability of the virus to mutate, or change, sporadic human infections can occur. The symptoms of Swine Influenza are similar to seasonal influenza and typically include fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and runny nose.

Most of the confirmed cases of Swine Flu in the United States have thus far been mild and have resolved without complication with the exception of 1 infant death in Texas. The management of Swine Flu is essentially no different than the management of Seasonal Flu, and there is currently no evidence that it is more dangerous. Persons with Swine Influenza are contagious for up to seven days after the onset of illness and possibly longer if still symptomatic.

Travel to areas where outbreaks have been reported is a key risk factor. Health personnel should be notified immediately if you have a respiratory illness and have a travel history to any of the following areas within the last 7 days:

o       Mexico

o       San Diego or Imperial County, CA

o       Guadalupe County or San Antonio, TX

o       Dickinson County or Wichita, KS

o       New York City, NY

o       Lorain, OH

This information may change daily, so it is important to watch for updates from the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu). You should also notify health personnel if you have had direct contact with a person or animal with a known case of Swine Flu.

Just as with any respiratory infection, one should always cover their mouth when coughing and wash hands frequently. Testing protocols for Swine Flu vary from state to state. Patients should contact their personal doctor, local urgent care center, local hospital, or local health department to determine whether they are an appropriate candidate for testing and where such testing can be done.

It is important to know that we are still experiencing regional cases of the seasonal form of Influenza A. If one tests positive for Influenza A, a confirmatory test will need to be sent to identify whether it is the Swine Flu strain. Currently, the number of seasonal influenza cases far outnumbers Swine Influenza cases. Patients with confirmed cases of Swine Flu will be asked to stay at home while they recover unless they are very ill. They will be asked to stay in one room of their house to limit unnecessary exposure to others.

Regular antibiotics are NOT effective against any strain of influenza. The antiviral medications Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) and Zanamivir (Relenza®) have both been shown to be effective at lessening the severity and symptoms of Swine Flu. These medications should be used ONLY for confirmed cases of influenza or for high-risk cases while awaiting confirmation.     <!–[endif]–>

If you have had contact with someone with a known case of Swine Flu, but have no symptoms of disease, you should notify your healthcare provider so that you may be evaluated for a medication shown to help prevent illness in those exposed. Please do not ask for Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) or Zanamivir (Relenza®) “just in case.” Your healthcare provider will not be able to dispense these medications for that reason. By far the best prevention is frequent hand washing. It is also advisable to keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth.

- Article from the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Physician Assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs), collectively known as Mid-Level Providers, are nationally licensed health care professionals and work along-side physicians in various branches of medicine including Family Practice, Pediatrics, Surgery, Emergency Medicine, and Urgent Care.   They are authorized to function independently with physicians’ oversight and perform a broad range of tasks such as comprehensive physical examination, treatment of acute and chronic illnesses, interpretation of blood tests and x-rays as well as writing prescription medicines.  This aids physicians facilitate service collaboratively in a timely fashion especially when dealing with a large patient volume.PAs and NPs undergo extensive education before they are eligible to practice medicine.  It includes several years in school with clinical expertise.  During training, they are taught to understand their limitations and refer patient care to the physicians under special circumstances.  PAs acquire national certification after succeeding in the examinations developed by the National Commissions on Certification of PAs (NCCPA) in conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners.  They are trained in Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).  Similarly, NPs are certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) in conjunction with the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).  At Care United Medical Center, our PAs and NPs are capable of managing various illnesses and injuries including lacerations, fractures, incision and drainage of skin infections and splint/cast applications.  Care United Medical Center is proud to have the highly skilled mid-level providers that work under the supervision of board certified physicians. Available for extended hours for patients’ convenience, we function as a team and provide a broad spectrum of services