What the Health?!
A 48-year-old woman who had worn a hearing aid for many years was recently admitted to the ER for a severe earache. When her hearing aid was removed, the startling source of her pain was revealed.
Find out what was discovered inside her ear canal!
To Spank or Not To Spank?
House Bill 2699, a proposed law intended to define corporal punishment in the Kansas statute, has recently been denied a hearing in the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee.
If passed, the law would have permitted parents to legally hit their children hard enough to leave red marks or bruising. Parents would have also been enabled to grant permission to caregivers and teachers to strike their children. Current Kansas law allows spanking, but it does not specify details on how the punishment can be carried out. By dictating the manner in which a child could be physically chastised, proponents of the bill hoped it would protect children from abuse.
The Doctors weigh in on the controversial form of discipline.
“Hitting a child should never happen in the spur of the moment, in anger,” pediatrician Dr. Jim Sears says. “Study after study has shown that kids who are spanked fix their behavior in the short term, but it usually increases misbehaviors later.”
Controlled Heroin Dosing
The Harm Reduction Coalition, a non-profit organization that promotes the health and dignity of individuals and communities impacted by drug use, believes that medically supervised heroin dosing can help gradually wean opiate addiction. Hypothetically, by providing clean pharmaceutical-grade drugs, the controlled injections could also be effective in preventing accidental deaths from overdoses and impurities, as well as reducing the spread of dangerous blood-borne diseases, such as hepatitis and HIV.
The Doctors debate the pros and cons of the radical initiative targeting heroin addiction in America.
Ask Our Docs: Parenting Edition
From treating childhood ADHD to parenting children with severe food allergies, Dr. Sears and OB-GYN Dr. Jennifer Ashton answer questions from concerned parents.
Celebrity Health Scare
“Working in the industry for so long, I’ve always had different looks, so I’m used to wearing wigs,” Countess says. “In 2004, my hairstylist introduced me to front-laced wigs, and I fell in love with them immediately.”
Lace front wigs are designed with a sheer fabric on the underside, which blends seamlessly with skin tones and creates the appearance of natural hair growth. They have become the style of choice for the majority of women who wear hairpieces, and in Countess’ case, she wore her lace front wig as often as possible.
Five years later, however, Countess developed a severe scalp infection, which resulted in skin discoloration in the affected area, as well as dramatic hair loss. “I let this go by for six months,” Countess says. “What I didn’t realize was I had a bad reaction to the glue that I used to apply the wig.”
side effects
she experienced from wearing a lace front wig too regularly.
Simple Superfoods
The term “superfood” has become a nutritional buzz word over recent years — but what makes a superfood stand out among other sources of nourishment?
From pure orange juice to fresh strawberries and more, health and nutrition expert Heidi Skolnik and The Doctors reveal five superfoods to put on your next grocery list.
Restaurant Rat Map?
Could you unknowingly be dining with rodents? The Doctors discuss a new interactive map of New York City
that shows residents which restaurants may have a rat problem.
• To learn more about the New York City rat map, click here.
Doctor on Demand: Diagnosing Pediatric Rashes
Jacquie’s 10-month-old son, Zander, recently developed a patchy, red rash under his thighs. Over the past two months, the rash spread to his stomach and calves. Jacquie tried oatmeal baths and coconut oil to treat Zander’s skin, but both were ineffective in reducing the inflammation. “The rash feels very bumpy and coarse, and he scratches it every time he gets a chance,” Jacquie says.
Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Dr. Ian Smith explains how the groundbreaking Doctor on Demand app can help Jacquie get to the bottom of her son’s mysterious rash — without the hassle of scheduling a doctor's appointment.
• See the Doctor on Demand app in action!
Doctor on Demand is published by Doctor on Demand, Inc., which is owned, in part, by The Doctors’ executive producer Jay McGraw. Dr. Ian Smith is a shareholder in Doctor on Demand, Inc. Dr. Anna Harbison is a participating physician in Doctor on Demand.
