Paging Dr. Frischer
|
Dr. Alan Frischer is former chief of staff and former chief of medicine at Downey Regional Medical Center. Write to him in care of this newspaper at 8301 E. Florence Ave., Suite 100, Downey, CA 90240. |
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Tussis
Tussis: It's Latin for cough; a bodily function we can all relate to. Typically it's merely a simple reflex due to allergies, a cold, or asthma, but it can unfortunately be one of the sympto... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Cancer Screening
Doctor, do I have cancer? Can you run all of the tests to check?" These are questions I hear regularly. The answers are more complicated than you would think. Science has indeed come a long... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Anxiety Disorders
If you tend to have feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness, it's possible that you are suffering from an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders affect at least 19 million adult Americans, an... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Burn Injuries
Each year, a half-million people in the United States seek treatment for this. Of those, approximately 40,000 will be hospitalized and 5,000 to 6,000 will die. A terrible disease? Not exactl... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Weight Loss
Many of my patients believe that if you are born heavy, then heavy you shall stay. The corollary, of course, is that thin people will always be thin, no matter what. While it is true that p... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Sneezing
What's the best way to spread up to 100,000 germs 150 feet, at up to 100 miles an hour? Through "sternutation," of course?more commonly known as sneezing. You would not want to be the reco... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Energy Bars
As a runner of long distance races, I long ago discovered energy bars. In fact, Clif, maker of a wide variety of bars, cleverly sponsors my running group. In return, they gain a large loyal ... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Sex
Today's topic is near and dear to most of us: It's been scientifically demonstrated that it is healthful to have sex. However, before we proceed further, I must say that many of my patients ... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Twinkie
I cannot imagine how many times in my professional career I've made fun of the Hostess Twinkie. Everyone knows them; the Twinkie has become a cultural icon. It is a food (if I may be so bol... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Heart Attack
You think that you are having a heart attack! What are the symptoms? How do they show themselves? What brings them on? It's actually not at all unusual in my daily practice for a patient t... |
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Tattoos
It's inevitable that my columns are often a product of personal experience - typically regarding my three daughters. So far, today's topic has not affected my life at home, but I'll bet that... |
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Multivitamins
Nearly every one of my patients has asked at one time or another: "Should I take a multivitamin, and how do I choose?" There are so many options. Should your multivitamin include additional ... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Mammograms
You are a woman who is over the age of 40, and your doctor recommends a routine mammogram. What do you do? Are mammograms helpful? Can they harm you in some way? And, why didn't one catch th... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Fibromyalgia
There are diseases that many doctors just love to avoid: they do not lend themselves to easy diagnosis. Neither blood tests, nor x-rays, nor special exams will help to identify them. For the... |
|
|
Paging Dr. Frischer - Diet Soda
When I first met my wife, she was a slender 18 year-old, drinking diet cola and eating chocolate. My obvious question was "Why the diet drink, if you're eating chocolate?" Her answer: "You h... |
|
