Family Medicine

• Physicals
• Immunization
• Acne Treatment
• Childhood Asthma
• Scoliosis in Children

A family physician is board-certified in family medicine. Training is focused on treating an individual throughout all of his or her life stages. Family physicians will see anyone with any problem, but are experts in common problems. Many family physicians deliver babies in addition to taking care of patients of all ages. Family physicians complete undergraduate school, medical school, and three more years of specialized medical residency training in family medicine. In order to remain board certified, family physicians take a written examination every six, seven, nine or 10 years.

There is a current trend among family physicians to adopt a practice model called the micro practice, or "Ideal Medical Practice". These practices focus on reducing their overhead and increase their utilization of technology. Because the overhead is reduced, the need to see a high volume of patients to generate more revenue is diminished. This allows the doctor to spend more time with their patients, which results in higher satisfaction for the patient and the physician.

Physicals

A physical examination together with a medical history is used by your doctor to assist in the diagnosis process. Physical examinations are great for the fact that they can be interpreted immediately. Physical examinations are not only reserved for patients experiencing symptoms but is also recommended as a way of ensuring your general health is good – you won't always notice symptoms when something is wrong. For example, your blood pressure may be high but you may not be experiencing any obvious symptoms. There can be great variation in how detailed a physical examination depending on the patient's requirements. A physical examination may be brief but a complete physical examination involves evaluating everything from the patient's appearance to specific organ systems. All the information is recorded which then becomes your medical record.

Immunization

Parents are constantly concerned about the health and safety of their children and they take many steps to protect them. These preventive measures range from child-proof door latches to child safety seats. In the same respect, vaccines work to safeguard children from illnesses and death caused by infectious diseases. Vaccines protect children by helping prepare their bodies to fight often serious, and potentially, deadly diseases. Vaccine-preventable disease levels are at or near record lows. Even though most infants and toddlers have received all recommended vaccines by age 2, many under-immunized children remain, leaving the potential for outbreaks of disease. Many adolescents and adults are under-immunized as well, missing opportunities to protect themselves against diseases such as Hepatitis B, influenza, and pneumococcal disease. Public health agencies and doctors work closely to improve and sustain immunization coverage and to monitor the safety of vaccines so that this public health success story can be maintained and expanded in the century to come.

Acne Treatment

It's important to know that there is no true cure for acne. If untreated, it can last for many years, although acne usually clears up as you get older. The following treatments, however, generally can keep acne under control.

If you are experiencing acne problems, remember that your pediatrician can help you. And as you begin treatment, keep these helpful tips in mind:

• Be patient. It takes three to six weeks to see any improvement. Give each treatment enough time to work.
• Be patient. It takes three to six weeks to see any improvement. Give each treatment enough time to work.
• Be faithful. Follow your program every day. Don't stop and start each time your skin changes. Remember, sometimes your skin may appear to worsen early in the program before you begin to see improvement.
• Follow directions. Not using the treatment as directed is the most common reason the treatment fails.
• Don't use medication prescribed for someone else. This holds true for all medications, especially Accutane. Doctors prescribe medication specifically for particular patients. What's good for a friend may be harmful for you. Never take Accutane that's prescribed for another person.
• Don't overdo it. Too much scrubbing makes skin worse. Too much benzoyl peroxide or Retin-A cream makes your face red and scaly. Too much oral antibiotic may cause side effects.

Many people don't understand acne and may say hurtful things about it. Although acne may bother you, keep in mind it's only temporary. With present-day treatment, it usually can be controlled.

Childhood Asthma

Asthma is the leading serious chronic illness of children in the U.S. In 2005, an estimated 6.5 million children under age 18 (almost 1.4 million under age 5) currently had asthma, 3.8 million of which had an asthma attack, and many others have "hidden" or undiagnosed asthma. In 2005, the highest current prevalence rate was seen in those 5-17 years of age (97.2 per 1,000 population), with rates decreasing with age. Overall, the rate in those under 18 (89.0 per 1,000) was much greater than those over 18 (72.1 per 1,000).

Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15. Approximately 32.6 percent of hospitalizations due to asthma in 2005 were in those under age 15; however, only 27.8 percent of the U.S. population was younger than 15 years of age.

Asthma is the most common cause of school absenteeism due to chronic disease; in 2003, children reporting at least one asthma attack aged 5 to 17 years missed 12.8 million school days due to the disease.

Even though asthma cannot be cured, it can almost always be controlled. For this reason, the American Lung Association has chosen control of childhood asthma as one of its top priorities. Talk to your physician. The better you and your child understand asthma and its treatment, the better you will be able to control it.

Scoliosis in Children

Within osteopathic circles, it is well known that scoliosis (apart from structural scoliosis) can often be corrected - especially if the problem is detected early among young children whose skeletal structures are not yet fully developed.

Among older children and adults, scoliosis can at least be minimized such that it does not result in severe deformity, nor present any serious health problems. In some cases, even among adults, the degree of spinal curvature can be reversed.

The doctor will perform the scoliosis screening that will cover:

• Spinal curvature analysis
• Leg length discrepancy analysis
• Biomechanics of the feet
• Based on the results of the screening test doctor creates the treatment plan which is unique to that patient.

Some of the tools and techniques used in osteopathy for correcting scoliosis include:

• Osteopathic manipulation;
Postural exercises such as Alexander Technique and physiotherapy; Correction for leg length discrepancy and flat feet through the use of orthotics.

Osteopaths can also advise on exercise therapy - such as mobilization-based exercises - that can help reverse scoliosis. Exercises that emphasize good posture, such as yoga, can be helpful as well.

Detect scoliosis as early as possible; ask about our scoliosis screening test for you and your children.