📚 Reading Room

Welcome to a curated library of posts I’ve written over the past 3 years. Consider this your own cozy reading room. Get your wool slippers and chai tea, let the cat out if you are allergic, and find curious bits of knowledge and overlooked ideas here at your own pace. The full archive of everything I’ve written is also available, but this reading room will organize some of the evergreen highlights.

You will also find a link to my Quick Boost series and occasional podcast at the end.

~ COVID ~
My self-treatment plan for Covid as of January 2024
Covidlandia 2024 (curated Covid-19 updates relevant to primary care):
     * January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, Sept, Oct, Nov, 
Nasal sprays for Covid treatment and prevention
Nitric oxide nasal sprays like Enovid
Intranasal Neosporin and potential utility
2023 - Holiday planning around Covid, Fall considerations, and the XBB booster
Medications that help prevent long Covid
Paxlovid - (1), (2), (3), (4), (5 in defense of Paxlovid) 
Rapid antigen testing
Covid vax for children


~ WELLBEING ~
Channeling the parasympathetic nervous system
You are a hero
Cold hands, warm stressed heart
Insomnia tips and treatments
Shadowboxing for exercise and ego
Shinrin-yoku, aka forest bathing
Naps, hurkle durkle, and floor time
Taking a walk after dinner
Take paternity leave


~ PREVENTION ~
The shingles vaccine may reduce dementia risk, too
Preventing memory loss
Fresh wounds and scar reduction
Should I get the new RSV vaccine? | Updated for 2024
Alcohol risk versus benefit
Best hydration choices
Airplane safety with infections, blood clots, and radiation
Reducing risk of Covid on planes, with poor ventilation demonstrated
Acing your blood draw
The importance of primary care


~ HUMANISM ~
The Last Visit
Helped, heard, hugged?
Keep gliding
Most people do not listen with the intent to understand
An Ending
Doctors and patients as commodities
Vive la résistance in doctoring
That little souvenir of a terrible year
A scar is a story
Floaters
Another
The strength in frailty
New Years 2022 greeting card
A progress note for Mr. Santa
What grows beyond
100 long years
Xrays and a walk through the garden
Watching my grandfather watching the sky


~ HEALTHSPAN & LONGEVITY ~
Boosting our metabolism
New Year's resolutions
Giving thanks for longevity
Reducing your risk of death over the next decade by 50%
Side sleeping, the glymphatic system, and better brain health


~ VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS ~
Does Prevagen really work?
Multivitamins - heroes or zeroes?
Vitamin D (part 1) (part 2)
Calcium and vitamin D crib sheet
Collagen supplements
RFK Jr's less than ideal health ideas


~ ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE ~
Ways to reduce exposure to micro and nanoplastics
Is tap water safe to drink?
Microplastics and nanoplastics in bottled water
Clean air, CO2 monitors, and ventilation
High CO2 levels inside your car
A family physician for the voyage to Mars


~ INFECTIOUS DISEASES ~
H5N1 bird flu, December 2024 update
The best time to time a flu shot
MPOX
Mosquito repellents and control
Intranasal Neosporin for Covid and flu someday?
Why we keep our daughter up to date on vaccines


~ CARDIOLOGY ~
How to really check your blood pressure | 2024 validation
Cardiovascular risk calculator: your score
Healthy eating to lower ASCVD risk
Do cholesterol medications (statins) cause diabetes?
Home AED's for everyone?


~ PULMONOLOGY ~
Pneumonia shots protect against viral illnesses, too


~ ORTHOPEDICS ~
Knee injection series
Stand up to gravity with better posture


~ DERMATOLOGY ~
Minoxidil for hair loss
Armpit microbiome manipulation
The case for getting some sunlight


~ PSYCHIATRY ~
Depression is not just a chemical imbalance 
Propranolol as needed for situational panic attacks
A medical narrative of resilience


~ GASTROENTEROLOGY ~
Antacids and increased dementia risk
Cologuard - the test most people shilly shally
Rehydration salts and other options for diarrhea/vomiting
Constipation 
Fatty liver/steatosis, MASLD, MASH


~ ENDOCRINOLOGY ~
Ozempic/Wegovy and the questionable risk of vision loss


~ GRAB BAG ~
Ninja tricks for interpreting medical news
Fever and heart on Thanksgiving
The Great American Eclipse of 2024
How to save a life with Narcan, Epipen, and CPR
Top primary care research studies of 2021 (1), (2), (3), and 2022 
2022 highlights on Examined
A medically historic walk in Philadelphia
2024 election devastation, and ways to deal

Medications ~ Gear ~ Treatments ~ Products ~ Tests ~ Life Hacks ~ Vaccines


The EXAMINED PODCAST. A conversational format to expand upon ideas.

What notes would a cat write if she could?
How did that cat get in here? Well, she does look appropriately studious at least. No worries. I’ll get some Benadryl.