COVID-19

Treatment: Early treatment is best, and approach depends on timing and symptoms.  Paxlovid is working very well when started early.  We may use Budesonide and Dexamethasone, and home oxygen in severe cases.  COVID has evolved a lot and our treatment does too. We use best medical evidence. 

Vaccinations and Prior Immunity are the best defense against COVID19.  Vaccines turn potentially serious illness into a cold.   Vaccines help the body respond faster to infection, but do not always prevent it.  This is a great discussion on current controversies and censorship by Dr Prasad, We Need to Talk About the Vaccines, Public Debate on Side-Effects is Being Censored.  

Vaccine Controversies:  There is a lot of misinformation. ZDoggMD.com has several excellent videos and Vaccine Details from CHOP.  

ZDogg COVID Update Jan 24, 2022
COVID and Exercise YouTube

Bronchitis and Colds

Antibiotics are not needed for colds:  We take no pleasure irritating patients or parents.  Antibiotics treat bacterial 
but not viral infections.  95% of upper respiratory colds, including bronchitis, are viral.  Some are allergies or caused by chemicals (smoke or vaping).  Treat symptoms.  Mayo Clinic Guidelines  

Weight Loss

The new weight loss drugs are working very well for most people, but do have some side effects (we source semaglutide for ~$250/month.) There are few simple solutions to anything in medicine. Semaglutide (Ozempic & Wegovy) and Mounjaro primarily cause nausea for 10-20% when first started and for some people it is too much to continue, particularly if start at higher dose. This article is a good summary: Obesity Drug Side Effects. In short, long-term weight loss is successful with exercise plan and better nutrition, to avoid repeating the weight gain. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03183-3

Cholesterol, Heart Disease, and Statins

Measuring cholesterol is our best indicator for preventing heart disease.  Statins are very safe medications used for decades to prevent and treat heart disease.  Beware those criticizing statins in order to sell their own supplements.  Dr Peter Attia MD provides an excellent summary of statins and controversies.  Cardiac screening includes traditional LDL, and also Lipoprotein A and Apolipoprotein B for more detailed understanding, along with CT Calcium score to directly evaluate artery damage.