Porter Hospital Blog

The holidays are upon us – and between the gift-wrapping, parties and cards, you may find yourself feeling a bit stressed. How is it that the best time of the year can be the most anxiety provoking? Let’s spend some time looking at what the stressors are this time of year, and some simple solutions [...]

The November issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine brings more attention to an increase of falls in patients who are on sedatives, sleeping pills, anti-depressants or benzodiazepines. We discussed the recent article, and how drugs such as Ambien, Valium and other drugs in this category are related to increased falls on Channel 7.
First, let’sw [...]

Last week, a government task force suggested new guidelines for screening women for breast cancer in a paper published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. Since that time, the public conversation about these new guidelines has been heated and, possibly, confusing to many of us.  Why there is so much public debate, and how [...]

Epilepsy, or seizure disorders, affect approximately 3 million Americans and each year 200,000 new cases are diagnosed. The cost spent in the healthcare system is about 15.5 billion dollars a year, but the cost to those who live with the disease is hard to quantify. As we discussed on Channel 7,seizures are not uncommon, in [...]

Preventing High Blood Pressure by Limiting Sugar
Before you pick up that next soda – with or without sugar – you may want to listen to studies presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual meeting in late October. The studies are showing correlations between health issues such as high blood pressure and our intake of [...]

As we watch the snowflakes falling on the first big snowfall of the year, it is time to step back and remember some important heatlh facts about shoveling. Months have passed since we last shoveled our walks. We all know the safety hazards associated with shoveling – back injuries, frostbite and heart attacks, so let’s [...]

A new study indicates that an IV bag with a diluted sugar solution – D5LR – may help sweeten your experience right after surgery. As reported today on Channel 7 news, a  new study from Yale University, which was  presented at this month’s  American Society of Anesthesiologists , delivers good news for all patients who fear the nausea [...]

The CDC released new information yesterday on who with H1N1 is most likely to end up in the hospital.  Last week, the shipments of nasal flu vaccine started arriving and being distributed, and this week the first doses of injectable H1N1 vaccine should arrive.
We’ve been hearing a number of questions from both our staff and [...]

It’s fall, and the signs of its arrival including the kids back in school, the cold weather we’ve seen this week and the changing leaves. Another, less welcome part of this is the beginning of cold and flu season. This year, with the H1N1 flu in the area, how to take care of our family [...]

The death of actor Patrick Swayze once again has pancreatic cancer on our minds.  This very aggressive cancer, which is the 4th leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women, remains difficult to treat.  There is a lot of research going on to determine what could help lower the risk of pancreatic cancer, [...]