What Is Urinary Incontinence? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

medical number :: Article Creator

Doctors Think You Should Schedule These 3 Medical Tests Right Away

I never miss my monthly pedicure, and by the time I leave the hair salon my next appointment is already on the books. Even my regular date with my dental hygienist for a cleaning never gets missed. It's other preventive things on the to-do list that seem to get put off, and put off, and put off…

So for the benefit of us all—and to begin the year with a focus on better health—here are three tests we need to schedule now. And unlike a pedicure or a hair appointment, these three could save your life.

Mammogram

Despite pink ribbons everywhere each year, breast cancer awareness campaigns, sports teams boosting awareness by dressing in pink, and encouragement from celebrities with breast cancer such as Cynthia Nixon, Christina Applegate, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the majority of women in this country do not get mammograms. In a recent survey of women over 40, 23% of women said they had never had a mammogram and 59% did not get one annually. Diagnoses of breast cancer have increased every year over the past two decades or so. Why, when known risk factors such as genetics have not changed? What has changed is that women are living longer, and the older a person is, the more likely they are to get breast cancer. And over the past few decades obesity rates have increased, alcohol use by women has gone up, and people are less active—all these are established risk factors for breast cancer. And while the effect of hormone disrupters in the environment is controversial, those chemicals are likely to have had an impact too.

Here's what isn't controversial: Though the number of cancer diagnoses is increasing, the number of deaths from breast cancer is decreasing. The women least likely to die are those who are diagnosed when their cancer is at an early stage. And mammography is the best strategy for early detection.

Hearing test

Most people don't have a problem admitting that they need glasses, but for many, nothing says "I'm really old!" like a hearing aid. Yet one in seven middle-aged people is hard of hearing. By age 75, about half the population has hearing loss.

Still, only 16% of people between the ages of 20 and 69 who need hearing aids use them, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. And while being a little hard of hearing might be a bonus in some situations (think hanging out with adults who don't share your politics), most people would prefer not to miss out on what everyone else is saying. So if every time you go to a restaurant you need to mime to communicate, or you find that you're nodding and smiling only to discover that your coworker just told you their mother died, it's probably time to get your hearing checked. Aside from avoiding social faux pas, there are compelling health reasons to visit an audiologist, starting with brain health: A 2023 study funded by the NIH was conducted on nearly 1,000 hard-of-hearing adults ages 70 to 84 who had a higher-than-average risk of developing dementia. Half were given hearing aids—and that group had an almost 50% reduction in cognitive decline over a three-year period. Multiple other studies have confirmed that people who use hearing aids have lower rates of depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

Hearing affects balance as well, so hearing aids also decrease the risk of falling down and breaking a hip. This means getting hearing aids can literally save lives, as about one in three adults 50 and older who suffer a hip fracture dies within a year.

Colonoscopy

This may get the prize for the least popular test even though it's been proven that proper screening significantly reduces the risk of colon cancer—and in the past 15 years there's been an alarming upward trend in the number of young people diagnosed with the disease. There's a long list of excuses people use to avoid getting it done, with "Colon cancer doesn't run in my family" at the top. But genetics accounts for only 5% to 10% of colon cancer cases. Then there's the "I can't face the prep" excuse, and I get it, nobody wants to gag down two liters of vile-tasting stuff that triggers hours of pooping. Well, there's one improvement: The FDA recently approved a new prep drink (Suflave) that does the job just as well and tastes delicious (or at least they say it does).

I know the whole idea of signing up for a procedure that involves baring your butt to a stranger (who then inserts a really long tube) may be as appealing as getting a root canal, but anyone who has been diagnosed with colon cancer will tell you that doing an icky prep routine and having an embarrassing procedure is far better than having surgery and chemotherapy. Yes, there are loads of excuses for putting it off, but I don't recommend that. It's unclear why so many people are getting colon cancer—most experts attribute it to obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, and (possibly the biggest factor) an unhealthy diet of ultra-processed foods that alters the bacteria in the gut. It's projected that by 2030 colorectal cancer will be the leading cause of cancer-related death in people ages 20 to 49, which is why new guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommend that initial screening should start at age 45 rather than 50 (as had been recommended before) for asymptomatic people at average risk.

So no more excuses: Schedule your mammogram, hearing test, and colonoscopy—it'll be a great start to both a healthier year and a healthier life.

COLUMN: 'Amazon Medical' Just Doesn't Sound Right

I pay Amazon an annual fee to buy and get my stuff delivered post haste. Oftentimes it's delivered a few hours after it's ordered. Amazon's business model seems to encompass much of our lives, including, as I recently learned, health care. A friend has been going to One Medical Seniors, a rebrand of Iora Seniors that Amazon bought in 2021 for $ 3.9 billion. The company has offices in a number of American cities.

Health care management in America continues to disappoint as it undergoes confusing, radical changes within the current corporate model, where almost anything goes. Two Colorado companies — Bright Healthcare and Friday Health Plans — failed after making promises they couldn't keep. Sometimes it seems corporations' objective is to stir everything up so vigorously that in the resulting turbulence, no one can make sense of medical care. Physicians and patients have been taken hostage by forces that squeeze the business of healing the sick from every angle.

Although most physicians didn't go into medicine to get rich, to Wall Street, health care is a mine with rich veins of profit. In the profit mining, some companies commit corporate larceny. The best example is HCA's payment of $1.7 billion in 2002 to the feds for Medicare fraud.

For-profit medicine in America started with two lawyer-entrepreneurs, David Jones and Wendell Cherry, who started a for-profit nursing home company in 1961, selling that company in 1972 to buy hospitals. Humana, the for profit hospital company, was born in 1974. Humana went through several iterations; the hospital part was acquired by HCA. Today's health-care picture is a mix of for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals, entities that squeeze every dollar out of the business.

As the business model changed around them, physicians did the best they could to adapt. From solo practices, groups formed for better bargaining power. Amazingly, doctors made no attempt to fight the new corporate masters. Rather, they fought each other to curry favor with the new corporate landlords.

When there's turmoil between owners of a health-care institution and the workers, the greatest losers are the patients. Since profit is the primary motive, patients are but numbers; you squeeze as many of them as you can through the turnstiles. This explains the ethical infractions of behemoths like HCA.

Over the last three decades, as venture capital, insurance companies and sundry corporations have aimed to extract as much profit as they can from the health-care business, they have come between doctors and their patients. I often imagine large insurance companies' departments named: The Rejection Department. It's one way profits are made — deny, refuse service, stonewall your clients.

The independence of physicians' practices has been jeopardized and, in some instances of corporate consolidation of practices, abolished. Today, 10% of all U.S. Physicians are employed by United Healthcare's Optum Health. When a corporation, be it Amazon, United Healthcare, Kaiser, employs health-care providers, employers always have the final say.

Receive updates from our editorial staff, guest columnists, and letters from Gazette readers. Sent to your inbox 12:00 PM.

Increasingly as reimbursements falter, doctors are seeking corporate employment. The current system in America leaves most medical graduates in debt, sometimes to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars, something especially true for minority and underprivileged students. In our plans to increase numbers of doctors from society's underrepresented sectors, let's be mindful of the price of the prize — large school debts.

My concern about Amazon's venture into the health-care arena was sparked by what I know about health-care corporations. That said, I am grateful that ACA, also known as Obamacare, was passed into law, through a fortunate concatenation of a number of improbable circumstances. Since 2010 Republicans have tried and failed to repeal it more than 50 time — a sign that, perhaps, universal health care beats all profit-based systems.

The foregoing is belied by the potential merger of Cigna and the current Humana, a merger that will clearly lead to further curbing of competition in the health-care market. Cognizant of this and what has been lost over the years, a new group, Take Medicine Back, led by Dr. Robert McNamara, is trying to organize American doctors to reform and take medical practice back from corporations.

In the end, whoever doctors work for, they must remember their allegiance is to patients — the tenets of the Hippocratic oath their north star.

After all is said and done, it is sad, corporate money is the lifeblood of the political system.

It's hard to see change coming to decelerate corporatization of America's health-care system.

Pius Kamau, M.D., a retired general surgeon, is president of the Aurora-based Africa America Higher Education Partnerships (AAHEP); co-founder of the Africa Enterprise Group, and an activist for minority students' STEM education. He is a National Public Radio commentator, a Huffington Post blogger, a past columnist for Denver dailies, and is featured on the podcast, "Never Again."

Huntsville Medical Expert Shares Tips To Keep You Safe This Holiday As RSV, COVID, Flu Numbers Rise

Huntsville Hospital urgent care representatives say they are helping 60 to 70 patients a day. They say 33% of those patients are experiencing RSV, COVID and flu-like symptoms.

Jillian Kay

Feeling sick this holiday season can put a damper on your plans with loved ones.

Huntsville Hospital urgent care locations are seeing a spike in patients this time of year.

If you're headed to a family gathering this weekend, one medical expert says there are some steps you can take to keep you and your loved ones safe.

Huntsville Hospital Urgent Care Chief Medical Officer Dr. Matthew Browning says they're helping 60 to 70 patients a day.

He says 33 percent of those patients have flu and COVID-like symptoms.

Among that percentage, Browning says he's seen an increase in RSV, flu and COVID cases this week.

He says the Southeast has the highest flu rate in the country with the largest number of positive cases.

That's why he says you can never be too careful.

"If you're having symptoms and before I even go to a family gathering, I probably would go ahead and get tested because you want to know if it is RSV or COVID or the flu," said Browning. "Some of those may have medications for COVID and for the flu. They can minimize your symptoms and help with your recovery."

Browning also says urgent care wait times can vary this time of year as they are short staffed for the holidays.

He recommends reserving an appointment time online, but says they also accept walk-ins.

If you do experience flu-like symptoms, Browning recommends taking care of yourself by drinking plenty of water, taking Tylenol if you have a fever and cutting down on meeting with people in person.

He says protecting yourself and others this holiday season is the best gift you could give.

RSV Treatment