I am a diabetic. Why does my doctor tell me to wear white socks?

Proper foot care is essential for the health of diabetic patients. This involves wearing comfortable shoes, frequent foot exams, and wearing white socks. The reason is because diabetes causes small blood vessels to die thereby killing the nerves they supply and making healing of wounds especially difficult. The patient can become numb in the feet… Continue reading I am a diabetic. Why does my doctor tell me to wear white socks?

What is walking pneumonia, what causes it? How do you treat it?

“Walking pneumonia” often refers to a respiratory infection with the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae. It commonly affects school aged children and is spread by respiratory droplets. This is considered an atypical pneumonia as the patient usually experiences mild symptoms such as a low grade fever, cough, and runny nose which can last from days to weeks.… Continue reading What is walking pneumonia, what causes it? How do you treat it?

I was opening my shed in my backyard and a bunch of bats few out. I didn’t get bit but should I go to the hospital to get checked out for rabies or should I wait and see if I start feeling sick?

Yes, you should go to the hospital immediately for rabies prophylaxis. Bats are known carriers of rabies and they don’t have to bite to transmit rabies. Studies have shown that bats can transmit the rabies virus to humans through aerosolized particles of saliva and feces. Rabies is almost universally deadly once symptoms start but rabies… Continue reading I was opening my shed in my backyard and a bunch of bats few out. I didn’t get bit but should I go to the hospital to get checked out for rabies or should I wait and see if I start feeling sick?

When would you use a sigmoidoscopy over a colonoscopy?

The advantage a sigmoidoscopy has over a colonoscopy is that the bowel does not need to be prepared. In other words, whereas a colonoscopy requires the patient to clean their colon with bowel prep, a sigmoidoscopy can be performed on an unprepped patient. Therefore, if an emergency or unstable patient requires direct visualization of the… Continue reading When would you use a sigmoidoscopy over a colonoscopy?

Can I get rabies from a rat bite?

There has never been a documented case of rabies transmission through rat bite. In fact, rabies is transmitted through saliva and rats have “dry bite” because their incisors are outside of their oral cavity. Therefore, rats are rarely infected with the rabies virus and the CDC does not recommend rabies prophylaxis for rat bites.