Entries by Chet Zelasko

Probiotics Can Cut C. Diff Rates

The authors reported that there were 39 studies included in the Cochrane review; 33 on adults and six on children. They included studies that were in-patient, out-patient, and using varying strains and quantities of probiotics. Here’s what they found. There was moderate evidence that the use of probiotics together with the administration of antibiotics did […]

Can Probiotics Prevent C. Diff?

Probiotic research is hot right now. Researchers are trying to figure out what these beneficial microbes can do for our health for a number of reasons. What types of infectious diseases can be prevented, whether food-borne or not? What are the best microbes to treat specific conditions? After all, there are estimated to be around […]

Digital Media and Relationships

In observing the people at Paula’s high school reunion, the one thing that stood out was that the relationships the classmates had formed during their time together had endured. True, they had a small graduating class with fewer than 75 students, but even in bigger schools with hundreds of graduates, there are groups of students […]

Is There a Link Between Digital Media and ADHD?

Today it’s difficult to find teenagers who don’t have their eyes glued to a cell phone. They’re texting, checking social media, playing games, or doing just about anything other than talking to other teens—even if they’re sitting across the table from one another. Researchers from California universities wanted to find out if the digital media […]

50 Years of Friendship

Paula and I attended her high school class reunion this past weekend. It was great to see people reminisce and catch up; some of them hadn’t seen each other for 40 or 50 years or more. Some still live in the same community, some left but came back to live near where they grew up, […]

Getting What You Need from Your Office Visit

Here’s what we know. Patients get frustrated with office visits because they don’t always feel that they’re being heard. Research confirms that even when the physician asks “What brings you in today?” patients are usually interrupted before they can finish their reason. Where does that leave us? Let’s take a look from the physician’s perspective. […]

You Have 11 Seconds: Go!

Did you ever leave a doctor’s appointment feeling that you never really described what the problem was or that you got sidetracked onto less important issues? Even if you went in organized to the extent that you could, your real concerns were shoved aside? I know hundreds of people who’ve felt that way. Let’s get […]

The Unproductive Office Visit

I recently got an email from a long-time listener to my local radio show Dr. Chet’s Straight Talk on Health. The gist of what she wrote went something like this. “You always tell me to work with my physician for my better health, that they should be my partner for good health. What if I […]

Travel Bugs: Everywhere but Planes

Given the results of this study, where would a person most likely pick up a bug while traveling? Remember, the results of the air and physical locations of the plane that were tested and sent for analysis showed no measurable respiratory viruses of any kind, so the authors speculated about the most likely locations for […]

The Safest Seat on a Plane

If you want to boost your odds of remaining healthy after a flight, let’s begin with the location of your seating assignment. Researchers determined that the people in the center of coach had the most contacts with other passengers and flight crew. That makes sense. Everyone with the need is going forward or backward to […]