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Let’s start treating gun violence like the epidemic it is – Commercial Appeal
A recent Time magazine article suggesting that we should treat “gun violence as a disease” rather than just as a crime got me thinking. I vividly recall the debate several decades ago when alcoholism was suggested to be a disease and not just a behavior problem or…
Yoga continues to surprise with potential health benefits – Commercial Appeal
I began one of the longest days of the year with a sun salutation — a mountain pose, the lunge, the downward dog, the plank pose, baby cobra, child’s pose, powerful pose (essentially a squat) and back -to-the-mountain pose. June 21, the day close to the summer…
Coping With Election Stress With A 5-Minute Loving-Kindness Meditation – Huffington post
Manoj Jain MD MPH and Mark Muesse Ph.D If you are like us, you are exasperated with the rollercoaster ride and the vitriol of the presidential race. Many of us feel the opposing candidate is so deeply flawed that he or she represents a real danger to the country. And…
Research suggests Tylenol can dampen emotional as well as physical pain – commercial appeal
Last week, when I stubbed my toe on our family room coffee table, a throbbing pain ensued. Over the next two to three days, as the bruise turned pink and then purple, the pain persisted. During the same time, I had a case of the blues. I am overstressed at work with…
Mississippi leads nation in measles vaccination rate – Commercial Appeal
Mississippi ranks 50th in the nation in infant mortality, 50th in physical activity, 50th in heart disease deaths and 49th in overall health. We in Tennessee rank only slightly better, prompting one of my public health colleagues to remark, “Thank God for…
A peek behind the curtain into Lashondia Palmer’s journey from acute illness to health – Commercial Appeal
When I first saw Lashondia Palmer, 41, in Baptist Memorial Hospital’s intensive care unit, she looked as if she were in a torture chamber. On a special bed rotated at 180 degrees, she was facing the floor, with a dozen black belts and blue pads strapped to hold…
Measles outbreak shows consequences of vaccination myths – Commercial Appeal
Last week, Stephanie Morris, a nurse in the intensive care unit, stopped me. In the hospital, Stephanie cares for the sickest of sick patients, but at home she cares for her two children, ages 8 months and 2 years. And with the outbreak of measles, she is concerned…
Unprecedented measles outbreak prompts questions – Commercial AppeaL
Amid an unprecedented outbreak of six measles cases in Shelby County, parents are asking questions about potential exposure to the infection. Dr. Manoj Jain, an infectious disease doctor who also writes a column for The CA, answers common questions about measles….
Beware sexual transmission of Zika virus – Commercial Appeal
Some years ago, when a biologist studying mosquito-borne viral illnesses returned from abroad to his home in Colorado, he became ill with fever, rash, joint pain and body ache. Soon his wife, too, became ill with similar symptoms. The children remained healthy. The…
Understanding root causes is first step in confronting violence – Commercial Appeal
At a time when our lives are filled with news of violence, it seems appropriate to talk about peace. With the attacks in Paris, San Bernardino and Brussels fresh in our memory, with Sandy Hook, Charleston and the Wisconsin Temple shooting not yet faded from our…
Quest for meaning makes satisfying midlife – Commercial Appeal
When he turned 45, Mitch Alsup bought a red Corvette. Mitch is a quick-talking guy with dirty blonde hair and a short, trim physique. He has a ready smile and is willing to share his story. “As a kid, I use to go down to the Chevrolet dealership and sit in a…
Let’s all do our part to reduce food waste – Commercial Appeal
I am about to place my plate in the sink, until I see a single pea left on my plate. I recall a recent article in National Geographic that stated that one-third of all the food we produce is wasted. I have a Zen moment, and think of the journey the pea made to reach…
Yes, we can teach greater compassion – Commercial Appeal
Last week, an old friend of mine, Arun Gandhi, came to Memphis to speak at Rhodes College on “Conscious Compassion and Commitment — Ingredients of a Peaceful Society.” Arun is well suited for this: He is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, the mentor to Dr….
What we need to know about the Zika virus – Commercial Appeal
Every few years it seems a new virus captures the public’s attention. Over a decade ago, it was SARS, which had people in Hong Kong wearing masks, then it was avian flu, then H1N1, then the West Nile virus, and then Ebola, and now it is Zika. We don’t know…
Air quality in New Delhi sounds warning for Memphis’ future – Commercial Appeal
It’s Jan. 1, 2016, and I just landed in New Delhi, India, for a medical conference. The city of 16 million, like any other city, has large factories, miles of concrete structures, traffic gridlock and millions of cars spewing pollution. And today, like every…
Bringing metrics and accountability to government – Commercial Appeal
At peak time, 6 p.m., the average 911 call answer time is 150 seconds. In June, 10,000 youths participated in athletic activities. In August, 244 complaints about potholes were resolved in an average of 11 days, with over 60 percent in less than 5 days. This data…
Pharmaceutical market puts profits above all – Commercial Appeal
A grandmother develops a boil which turns out to be a difficult-to-treat staph infection (MRSA). She needs high-powered antibiotics. A middle-aged man who received a blood transfusion decades ago now has hepatitis C and needs anti-viral medicine. A young woman with…
Carter sets humble example with Habitat for Humanity work – Commercial Appeal
Last month, a house was being built in the Uptown neighborhood — not by construction workers, but by the former president of the United States, Jimmy Carter; the future Mayor of Memphis, Jim Strickland; and dozens of other volunteers. The volunteers, many of whom…
Research shows that processed and red meats increase risk of cancer – Commercial Appeal
I am standing in line at the lunch buffet at my hospital and I have an option: a red meat steak entree or an eggplant parmesan. If each day I choose the red meat or a processed meat entree, I increase my chance of colorectal cancer by almost 20 percent. If I am…
A doctor puts his mind to mindfulness
A few summers ago during a week-long vacation, I started playing a mind game. In the mornings, I would sit outside on a comfortable deck chair, surrounded by the shrill call of cicadas, and gaze across the lawn into the trees. After getting settled, I would close my…
Super sweet soda is way too accessible – Commercial Appeal
I am standing at the kitchen counter and conducting a simple demonstration. In a tall glass of carbonated water, I begin to add teaspoons of sugar. I put in one and then two teaspoons (this is what I add to my tea or coffee). Then I add three and then four teaspoons….
Teenage years marked by changing brains, bodies – Commercial Appeal
Pencil marks dot up the white door frame of my 16-year-old son’s room. The highest is at 5-feet-8 inches, and it reads “Dad.” Just last month one evening, my son stood tall against the door frame, and I reached above my shoulder. We posted it…
On International Peace Day, commit to nonviolence in your own life – Commercial Appeal
On International Peace Day, commit to nonviolence in your own life For years, I had driven by it, admiring the architecture, but I had never visited it until this summer. The building, one of the newest and most beautiful in Washington, D.C, is on Constitution Avenue…
We Have More in Common Than in Conflict: Reflections for International Day of Peace – Huffington Post
For years, I had driven by it, admiring the architecture, but I had never visited it until this summer. The building, one of the newest and most beautiful in Washington DC, is on Constitution Avenue near the Lincoln and the Vietnam Veterans Memorials. Completed in…
Santhara — Jain Way of Death with Equanimity – Huffington Post
Last month, a deeply religious man in India ended his life in a way that has been practiced for millennia by devout members of the Jain religion. His death made headlines when a state court in Rajasthan declared the practice, known as Santhara, illegal. The Jain…
Coordinated Care Can Reduce the Spread of Resistant Infections – Huffington Post
It was a week into my elderly patient’s hospital admission when he began to have fever and profuse diarrhea, some 10-12 bowel movement a day. The diagnosis was not hard to make: a stool test showed he had C difficile. Another patient, a thin women in her late…
The benefits of meditation – Commerical Appeal
This summer’s Disney-Pixar movie “Inside Out” makes us think about our thinking. But, I wonder, first of all, “can we even think about our thoughts?” In fact, over the summer with campers at Lausanne Collegiate School, from junior kindergarten to seventh grade, I was…
His wife is ill. He’s a doctor. Isn’t he supposed to know what to do? – Washington Post
Two weeks after my wife has a hysterectomy, she begins experiencing fevers that rise and spike each evening: 99.2, then 100.7, then 101.5. I am an infectious-disease doctor and a consultant for Medicare. And I am puzzled and a bit frightened. “What do we do?” asks my…
Facing consequences can help change harmful behaviors – Commercial Appeal
Sitting across the desk at the car dealership, Steven Ethridge, a soft-spoken salesman, was copying down the VIN number of our newly purchased van. “Last year, I couldn’t read the numbers,” he casually remarked. As a doctor, I was curious why a middle-age man would…
Rising Insurance Premiums and the Future Costs to Health Care – Huffington Post
Recently, health insurance companies across the nation have petitioned to increase premium rates for customers covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In North Carolina, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) has proposed a 25.7 percent raise in premiums; in New Mexico,…
Quality Improvement Projects in India
Books
Mindfulness
The Mindfulness Model
Management of Infectious Diseases
Roadmap for Quality Improvement
Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle Rejuvenates a Marriage
MAHAVIRA – The Hero of Nonviolence
Cook Books