Health

When your doctor doesn’t take Medicare

What does it mean when a doctor tells you he or she has “opted out” of Medicare?

Coyote, foxes positive for rabies in Young

The discovery of rabid foxes and coyotes near Young has prompted the Gila County Health Department to issue a warning and ask people to report abnormal wildlife behavior in the Young and Pleasant Valley areas.

New OB/GYN joins PRMC staff

OB GYN Frank Waechter, M.D., has joined the medical staff of Payson Regional Medical Center after relocating from Livingston, Texas where he has practiced as an OB/GYN since 2005. Previously, he worked in Nebraska — near his hometown.

When skin patches lose all color

I have vitiligo, and it keeps spreading over my body. My father had it on his legs. I’m an older lady of brown complexion. This vitiligo is so embarrassing. I wear slacks every day, except to church. Do you know of any cover-ups for it?

Husband thrashes about during sleep

Every now and then, my eyelid twitches. I don’t think it’s due to me being tired, because it can happen when I am wide awake in the morning. And I don’t think it’s due to stress — I love my work. Furthermore, I don’t drink any caffeinated beverages. What do you think is the significance of this?

IBS — uncomfortable, but not fatal

IBS — Irritable Bowel Syndrome — is uncomfortable, but it’s not fatal, Dr. Ihor Zakaluzny told Senior Circle members at a Lunch and Learn earlier this month. Zakaluzny, with Payson Surgery Associates, is a board certified general surgeon with extensive experience in gastrointestinal endoscopy and diseases, general gynecology, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgeries, as well as interest in surgical nutrition and surgical infection.

Some tips for coping with juniper pollen

Confirm it’s the junipers with a blood test or a skin prick test.

The sneeze of Spring

Misery loves company among allergy sufferers

Puffs of orange dust move lazily up into the air as soon as the warm spring sunshine hits the pollinated buds on the junipers.

When the heart has become a weak pump

The eye doctor said it means my cholesterol is high. My family doctor said it is fine, and it happens with age. Have you heard of this? What causes it?

Keeping hands healthy

Pain, stiffness, cramping of ‘trigger finger’ may stem from tendon swelling, strain

Our hands get lots of action and sometimes all that movement can result in problems like trigger finger and carpal tunnel syndrome.

The debate over circumcision

What does the gallbladder do? I’m going to have mine out. How does losing it affect life?

Foundation provides list of resources for persons with HIV

Site has more than 500 entries on testing, doctors, prevention

Arizona’s first comprehensive online database of services, providers, physicians, case managers, testing locations and more, and one of the few sites of its kind in the nation, directly connect those affected by HIV/AIDS to the resources they need.

Take salt of earth in small doses

When I travel to Colorado, I am urged to drink glass after glass of water to allay the effects of altitude. Do you think this is valid advice?

Remote link between heartburn, cancer

At a recent cocktail party, a nurse admonished me for chewing ice. She said that it indicates an iron deficiency. I get blood work done every six months. My doctor has never said anything about an iron deficiency or any other issue. I am 65 and in good health