Author - The Durango Herald

Prevent arthritis by taking care to protect joints

Perhaps because I’m getting older myself, I’ve been thinking a lot about arthritis lately. In dealing with older patients, I find that one of their greatest fears is a loss of function or ev...

DATE: Nov 3, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

This treatment is not pretty, but it appears to work

Last week, Dr. Matt Clark’s column acknowledged the immense numbers of gut bacteria, characterized in new terminology as the “microbiome.” The microbiome – the trillions of micro...

DATE: Oct 27, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

Microbiome may hold keys to good health

The relationship between humans and microbes is being redefined and the human microbiome may be on the cutting edge of the future of modern medical science. What is the human micr...

DATE: Oct 20, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

Healthy choices made daily yield a healthy future

Some folks suffer the misfortune of unexpected, unpredictable and unpreventable illness. For the rest of us, which is the majority, a healthy life is built upon a series of simple decisions ...

DATE: Oct 6, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

Sadly for some, it’s that time of year again

With the passing of the autumnal equinox and fall’s beginning Sept. 22, seasonal affective disorder also will arrive. SAD is a form of depression that an estimated 5 percent of t...

DATE: Sep 29, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

Your pancreas plays a vital role in your health

I once heard a prominent surgeon begin a presentation with the quip that all he had learned in surgical training could be summed up with the advice to (surgically) “stay away from the pancre...

DATE: Sep 15, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

Kids courting serious trouble when they huff

School is well underway, so here’s a pop quiz – for you parents. What is most commonly the first drug of abuse among children and adolescents. Alcohol? Not quite. Marijuana? Think...

DATE: Sep 1, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

In Colorado, Lyme disease is not a scourge

My family enjoyed many summers in north-central New Hampshire. The evening routine included body inspections on us kids for the presence of ticks. The family dog was scrutinized ...

DATE: Aug 24, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

School is starting, so remember good hygiene

In many ways, the return of school children to the classroom kicks off the unofficial start to the cold and flu season. While there are many variables unrelated to reading, writing and arith...

DATE: Aug 18, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

HPV vaccine a safe way to prevent cancer

Cancer research has come a long way in recent years. For some researchers, the “holy grail” is a vaccine to prevent cancer. Imagine that you could create a safe, effective vaccine...

DATE: Aug 4, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

Pain keeps us alive and helps doctors diagnose

Pain is a condition familiar to all and in no need of definition. Pain sensation is one sensory perception experienced through our nervous system. Others are touch, vibration, pr...

DATE: Jul 28, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

Risks, benefits of medication must be weighed

Patients commonly come to me with their “bag of pills” wondering what they are all about. The fact is that medications as a form of treatment can be confusing for many people. T...

DATE: Jul 21, 2013 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch