April is Alcohol Awareness Month, as it has been every year since 1987. In 2016, the theme is: “Talk Early, Talk Often: Parents Can Make a Difference in Teen Alcohol Use.” Alcohol Awareness month is sponsored by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) who, according to their website, hope to increase:...Read More

Addiction, left untreated, has the power to take everything from a person – including one’s life. It is a disease that does not discriminate about who it affects. It is not uncommon for people who abuse drugs and alcohol to lose their friends, family, and livelihood; what’s more, for those active in addiction who happen...Read More

When people think of the prescription opioid epidemic that has been plaguing this country for some time now, often the first drug that comes to mind in OxyContin ® (oxycodone). The drug is quite effective at combating severe chronic pain and was widely prescribed by many primary care physicians since the late 1990s. Unfortunately, while...Read More

A new study suggests that children diagnosed with mental health disorders are more likely to experience problems in adulthood. Researchers from Duke University found that children with a mental illness were six times more likely to have trouble as young adults, compared to those without psychiatric disorders, a news release from Duke Medicine reports. The...Read More

The science is irrefutable; consuming alcohol during pregnancy can lead to serious, lifelong health problems for a child. While most women are aware of this, every year a significant number of babies are born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), more commonly referred to as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Unfortunately, many women are unaware of...Read More

“The human capacity for guilt is such that people can always find ways to blame themselves.” Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design Longitudinal study examines excessive guilt  Researchers at Washington University of St. Louis have been conducting a 12-year longitudinal study to determine if there is a connection between childhood guilt and eventual onset of mental...Read More

Have you ever had a bone fracture? If you answered the above question in the affirmative, then chances are when you were discharged from the hospital emergency department or the orthopedist’s office you were provided a prescription for pain. Maybe you have never experienced a broken bone, but one of your family members has had...Read More

Richard Linklater at the 2007 premiere of The Hottest State in Austin, Texas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) “Where did the time go?” This proverbial question is one that you hear a lot. It is the question asked when we are a guest at a wedding, high school graduation, family reunion or funeral…we look around and maybe...Read More

Check out this “snippet” of information about CODEINE This past week the major news outlets have been reporting on the results of a new study that examined how often hospital emergency department physicians prescribe codeine to patients ages 3 – 17. We will talk more about the study, but first we would like you to...Read More

Facebook logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia) What do you glean from FACEBOOK? You might think glean is the wrong verb to associate with FACEBOOK; however, we really do learn, discover, or find out about news or new ideas, usually little by little on FACEBOOK. Of course there are always the items that go “viral” – the...Read More