If you have a suggestion for a future topic for Dr. Manetta to address, send an email to itc@towncrier.com.
Share/Bookmark A year ago, I saw a cartoon with two people sitting across from each other at a table. One said, “I remember when we used to sit and talk about our problems over cigarettes and coffee. Now cigarettes and coffee ARE our problems.” The TV, internet and papers bombard us day and night with [...]
Share/BookmarkNumber one rule is to avoid extremes: there is no need to climb to a tree dressed in a diaper and eat only nuts for the rest of your life. Neither should we neglect our bodies or plunge into dietary excesses and fight all preventive medicine. It is difficult to determine what is necessary to [...]
Share/BookmarkIt is estimated that about half of all Americans take nutritional supplements. The question is why? The Food and Drug Administration states that “unlike drugs, supplements are not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent or cure diseases.” That means that supplements should not be advertised, as is common practice, as if they would “lower blood pressure,” [...]
Share/BookmarkSooner or later we are all going to need to be admitted to a hospital. Most of the time the decision is made for us by our physician. Unless you are going to be admitted for a very minor procedure (very few “minor” procedures require hospital admission), I would suggest patients should investigate all available [...]
As we approach the end of the year and we start to contemplate New Year’s resolutions we must remember that nothing is as important as preserving our health.
Share/BookmarkAs of Nov. 9, 419 cases of fungal meningitis and 32 deaths can be traced to a compound pharmacy in New England. Today, most medications are mass-produced. A compounding pharmacy produces medications, which are custom-made for the needs of a patient. The medications must be prescribed by a licensed physician. The compounding pharmacist follows the [...]
Share/BookmarkI thought it would be best to alternate my health columns between policy issues affecting health care and pressing health care problems affecting all of us. From the beginning of the human race, mankind had to deal with diseases. Infectious diseases were the most common threat to humans. This was made more serious by the [...]
Share/BookmarkEditor’s note: Beginning this week, we will have a monthly health and healthcare column. Dr. Alberto Manetta is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine and a part-time Hill resident. The Affordable Care Act, which was signed March 23, 2010, enacted comprehensive reforms in health care and health insurance. On June [...]
