Cholesterol: The good, the bad, and the ugly

By Ethan Ben-Sorek, M.D.  What is cholesterol, and what do the numbers that your doctor gives you mean?  “Cholesterol” is a steroid alcohol present in animal cells and body fluids.  It can be taken in by the diet [exogenous], or made by the liver [endogenous].  We use cholesterol to make bile acids which then is…

Read more

Summer Safety

Joshua Frank, M.D. Now that summer is approaching, our kids will be outside playing, swimming and having fun. With this fun, we must remember a few ways we can keep our kids safe, including using sunscreen and insect repellant, practicing smart pool and bicycle safety and remembering the importance of keeping our kids well hydrated.…

Read more

Secondhand Smoke

Why is My Child Coughing? Vlassi Baktidy, M.D. “You mean that my child’s cough is from asthma? No one in our family has asthma.” “What do you mean I have emphysema? I have never smoked.” As a pulmonologist, these are questions I hear on a regular basis. Patients and their families are often confused as…

Read more

Kids, Asthma, and Allergies

Lisa Katz Buglino, D.O. Did you know that the beginning of the school year is when most children with asthma have a flare of their symptoms?  Not only is asthma one of the most common diseases of childhood, but it is also one of the most common reasons why children miss school.  Despite better understanding and improved…

Read more

Get Children Outdoors for Good Health

Karl Neuman, M.D.  Do your kids a favor. Pry them away from their TV, video games, computers, and smart phones – forcefully, if necessary. Ignore their yelling and sarcasm. Then kick them out the door – literally, if need be. If they threaten to report you to child welfare services, inform them that merely being…

Read more

Family Travel: “Baby Discrimination”

By: Karl Neuman, M.D. Fasten your seatbelts – family air travel is heading for turbulence. Children are becoming persona non grata in the supposedly friendly skies. London’s Daily Mail reports that several major airlines are considering child-free sections on aircraft and child-free flights. The Wall Street Journal asks, “Will new airline seating proposals create “baby ghettos” in the back of…

Read more

Dangers of Expired Medications

Times are tough and money is tight all over. It’s tempting to save unused medications past their expiration date; however, time affects medications much as it does food. An expired medication may become toxic over time due to degradation of chemical components or even growth of bacteria and mold. Using these expired medications can create…

Read more

Children’s Travel: Medication interactions

By: Karl Neuman, MD Are you familiar with the harmful effects that may result from medications you give your children? That when you give more than one medication, the two may interact and cause adverse reactions not caused by one alone? That travel-related factors can cause additional interactions? Reactions to medications are common. Each year, more…

Read more