BMN Blog

As a primary care physician, some of the most common complaints I see are cough, sore throat, runny nose, congestion, and/or fever. These symptoms are usually caused by one of the common cold viruses (rhinovirus, adenovirus, metapneumovirus, RSV, influenza, etc.). Most patients present on day two or three of the illness, wanting treatment to speed their recovery, often because they can’t afford to miss much school or work, and they usually ask for an antibiotic.

"Doc, I've got sinus" is a  phrase I often hear as we begin to interview a patient in my Otolaryngology (ENT) practice at ENT Associates of Alabama office at Grandview. And while I understand the patient's colloquial use of "sinus,” to an ENT doctor, sinusitis is a specific problem affecting the paranasal sinus' (air-filled bone spaces that surround the nasal cavity) as opposed to rhinitis, which involves inflammation and /or infection in the nasal cavity. So I want to take the opportunity to explain the differences between the two terms and  how we treat each entity.

Nasal obstruction is a significant source of decreased productivity, decreased quality of life, and disruption in overall sleep and restfulness. There are many possible causes of nasal obstruction, including allergies, viral upper respiratory infections, nasal/sinus infections, or even very rarely sinonasal malignancies. Primarily, nasal obstruction is a factor of three sites that work together within the nose to create resistance to nasal airflow.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a common problem affecting nearly one-third of the adult population. The long-term health effects of untreated OSA are beginning to become established and are frightening: increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, dementia, pulmonary hypertension.

Healthcare professionals are all well aware of what a clinical trial is, how they work, and the possibilities   that are provided to those who participate. However, the majority of Americans have not participated or heard about opportunities to participate in clinical research. According to a survey conducted by Research!America in partnership with Zogby Analytics (2017), fewer than 10% of Americans actually participate in clinical trials. Digging further into the reasons why, 55% of those surveyed stated that they were not aware or lacked information regarding clinical trials (Research!America, 2017).  

Sleep is a very important activity, that we often take for granted. It is especially important in children as it allows for proper neurological development. One disorder that is more and more common is sleep apnea, or interrupted sleep from breathing issues. We generally associate sleep apnea and distressed breathing while sleeping with adults, but it does occur with children - actually in 3-5% of children.

Treatment options for asthma and other atopic conditions continue to evolve. In regard to asthma treatment, we primarily use inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators, we treat flares with steroids, and we offer allergy shots to patients with allergy triggers. Yet a significant proportion of patients remain poorly controlled and susceptible to morbidity from their asthma and the toll steroids take upon them.