Predictions for “hot toys” this Christmas include some perennial favorites: Barbie's Dreamhouse, a car set (Monster Jam Garage this time), and good ol' Lite Brite. But here's the one I want: a 6-foot-long inflatable, remote-controlled, sound-equipped…
This week's guest columnist is Chioma Ekwueme, MD, a family practice resident at Ochsner University Hospital & Clinics.
My son recently had a swollen ear. The parent in me began to panic as the worst possible diagnoses flashed in my mind: severe…
Airline pilots practice emergencies that rarely happen. But if they do, pilots are ready to act quickly and save lives. The problem with emergencies is they require what the military calls “perishable skills,” a.k.a. “use it or lose it.” Every year,…
This week's guest columnists are Carrie Guidry, MD and Priscilla Tutu, MD, Family Practice residents at Ochsner University Hospital & Clinics.
The leaves are changing, and the air is (maybe) getting crisp. Soon, we'll be indoors with friends and…
In their third year of school, medical students begin to choose their specialties, rotating through each one - Internal Medicine, Surgery, OB/GYN, Psychiatry and Pediatrics. I have my third-year students read The Official MD Handbook. Written as…
This week's guest columnists are Aminah Phelps, MD, and Jacob Clement, MD, family practice residents at Ochsner University Hospital & Clinics.
Girls love pedicures, and some guys too! Feet don't get lots of pampering, so pedicures are a treat.…
When video recorders became available in the 1990s, parents used them to record children's behavior that looked like seizures. I attended a lecture titled “Things That Look Like Seizures, But Aren't,” where a neurologist showed tapes parents had…
This week's guest columnists are Marie Baker, MD, and Caitlin McDaniel, MD, family practice residents at Ochsner University Hospital & Clinics.
My 3-year-old came to me complaining, “My tummy hurts.” I'm thinking she just doesn't want to go to…
One of my residents was recently talking about the animated television series The Magic School Bus, which many current parents grew up watching. This resident, a former schoolteacher, was jealous of the show’s teacher, Ms. Frizzle. She wasn’t jealous…
This week's guest columnists are Drs. Keyana Varnado and Taylor Phillippi, Family Practice residents at the Ochsner University Hospital & Clinics.
“Ow, my ankle!” I yelled across the basketball court, exaggerating a limp. I'd fallen and hit my…
In the 1970s, as bicycle popularity was soaring, so were injuries and deaths from crashes. Modern bike helmets weren’t invented until 1975, so professional racers wore old-fashioned leather football helmets instead. While form-fitting and aerodynamic…
Red Velvet Ants. I'd always heard about them, but finally last week I saw a victim: Dad brought in his 4-year-old daughter who was stung at a picnic table. He described a large black spider or ant with red stripes crawling out between the boards,…
