Month: November 2024

Let’s be clear that we’re explicitly discussing the types of sexual behaviors that will lead to transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Over the next two days, we will run the gamut of sexual behavior and its implications. This is the fourth in an ongoing series on HIV and AIDS. For an explanation … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: Your HIV and STD Risks From Specific Acts of Sexual Intercourse →

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If there could possibly be anything cool about tetanus, it’s that the overwhelming majority of us have never seen it and never will. At first thought, that could seem odd because if you ever end up in an emergency room with a cut or scratch, you’re sure to hear about it. Those two facts are reconciled … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: Tetanus (Lockjaw) →

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I’ve had many occasions to tell a patient they were HIV(+). Over the last 20 years of my doing so, that message has changed from a death sentence to the acknowledgement of a chronic disease that will need to be battled for a lifetime. That said, the responses still haven’t changed much. There are differences … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: The Day You Get Diagnosed With HIV →

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Today, your sexual IQ goes up, and hopefully your risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, goes down. This is the fifth  post in a series on HIV and AIDS. For an explanation of what AIDS is, click here. For an explanation of how HIV is contracted, click here. For an explanation of the signs and … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: Your HIV and STD Risks From Sexual Activities Other Than Intercourse →

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Are you taking the young ones trick-or-treating this year? Straight, No Chaserand the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) want you to have a safe halloween. Today and tomorrow’s posts will offer safety tips and treatment considerations in the event something goes wrong. Remember: have a SAFE HALLOWEEN! Swords, knives, and other costume accessories should be … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: Halloween Health Tips →

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I feel your frustration everyday. You call me, and you text me. You send me articles and ask my opinion on the newest health claim on the Internet. That’s right, I’m your information and advice guy. Thus, please allow me to offer you some basic principles to help you in your analysis of what you’re … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: Medical Myths, Health Fraud Scams and Your Boogie Men →

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I’ve always found the psychology of patients to be fascinating. Patients who present to emergency rooms most often are consumed with the fear of the unknown and are ultimately focused on the question of “What’s wrong with me, doc?” Of course in the emergency room (ER), we are less focused on what you have and more … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: Patient Psychology, Expectations and Communication →

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In the previous Straight, No Chaser, we discussed the frailty of  diabetic skin and discussed how that sets one up for skin infections, abscesses, ulcers, amputations and even death. Your best defense from these set of illnesses and tragedies is knowledge, prevention and prompt action.  Here are some steps you can take to better care for the diabetic … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: Fifteen Tips to Care for Diabetic Skin, Part 2 →

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If you are diabetic or caring for a diabetic, one of the things you’ve likely noticed is that the skin doesn’t always seem to look, feel or perform normally. Perhaps the first thing I’d want you to know as a means of understanding what’s going on is this combination of facts: the skin is the … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: The Skin Problems of Diabetics, Part 1 →

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In the previous Straight, No Chaser, we offered you tips for a safe Halloween. However, safety tips are only as good as your inclination to use them. Even when an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, you should still have access to that pound. In this post, we remind you of the treatment measures … Continue reading Straight, No Chaser: Treating Halloween Mishaps →

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