by Dr. Adam Seigers, Medical Health Contributor

Do You have diabetes? You probably would never know unless you have had a blood test to confirm an elevated blood sugar.

Like high blood pressure diabetes can go unnoticed for many years. In its most severe form, there can be increased appetite, thirst or urination.

Diabetes is defined as a blood sugar, when not eating, of 126 or more.

Normal fasting blood sugar is less than 100, but many people have blood sugars which classify them as prediabetic, falling somewhere between 100 and 126.

These individuals need to be monitored closely as they are likely to develop diabetes. Continue reading →

by Dr. Adam Seigers, Medical Health Contributor

Frostbite is a medical condition which results in damage to the skin and surrounding tissues as a consequence of exposure to temperatures below 32 degrees. It is most likely to occur in exposed areas, like ears and fingers.

As a rule, frostbite usually begins as frostnip, a cooling of superficial tissues without actual destruction.

This occurs because the body preferentially constricts blood vessels in the hands, and feet to preserve a normal core body temperature.

In the short term this protective strategy is helpful, though in the long term can be detrimental to tissues far from the heart.

Frostbite is classified into four stages or degrees.

These range from itching and pain to deep freezing involving the muscles, tendons, blood vessels and nerves. Continue reading →

By Dr. Adam Seigers

Do you or does someone you know smoke? You probably already know that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer by about 20 times.

Less well known is that smoking also increases the risk of cancers of the lip, esophagus, pancreas, voice box, bladder, breast, kidney and even the uterine cervix.

Smoking increases blood pressure, causes accelerated coronary artery disease, and can result in erectile dysfunction in men.

If you are thinking about quitting smoking, first choose a quit date. Continue reading →

by Dr. Adam Seigers

In the United States someone has a heart attack every thirty seconds. While the most likely time to have a heart attack might be Monday morning, you might consider the following before tipping your glass this holiday season.

Between Christmas and New Year’s each year millions of hospital admissions result from what we might jokingly call the holiday heart syndrome.

This syndrome is especially common in individuals who use alcohol or other drugs such as marijuana around the holidays.

Disguised in medical terms like “angina, myocardial infarction, presyncope, or atrial fibrillation” the holiday heart syndrome is primarily as result of four factors.

These include, stress, alcohol, added salt intake, and dietary over-indulgence. Continue reading →