NEW PROVIDENCE INTERNAL MEDICINE

NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2003

This is our first electronic newsletter!  We hope to communicate with our patients more effectively  with this format.  Please let us know if there is anything  that you would like to learn about our practice or  specific medical topics in these newsletters.  We welcome your feedback.

From the Front Office:

We just got a new computer system so we can keep better records and bill more efficiently.  You'll need to fill out a new demographic sheet so we can have the most up to date information about you.  If you haven't filled out a new demographic sheet since July 2002, we'll ask you to complete one when you come in for your next visit, or you can download from our website: Patient Information.

We'll need to see your  insurance card at each visit so we can confirm there haven't been any changes in your insurance.

Did you know?:

We now have a dietitian working in our office.  Lorri Katz is a medical nutritionist who has been in practice since 1983.  Lorri sees patients at our office 3 days per week and some Saturdays.  Feel free to call her at: (973) 984-0662. 

Medical Topic for the month:

Cold and Flu Season is Here

 By James J. Hakim MD, FACP

            Colds and flu seem to engulf school, the workplace and us at home this time of year.  Everyone around us is getting sick.  How can we stay healthy?  What should we do when we get sick?  Lets review some basics.

             Colds and flu-like illnesses are cause by a wide variety of viruses.  These are tiny infectious germs that are much smaller than bacteria but just as troublesome.  Usually, the start of a viral illness begins with a sore throat.  Later nasal congestion, a runny nose and sometimes a cough develop.  Fever, chills, and body aches are common with flu viruses. 

             One can catch a viral infection in different ways.  Although being in close proximity to a sick person can get you sick.  The more common way is when we touch something that has been handled by a contagious person.  We get the germs on our hands and then bring them to our eyes or nasal area and infect ourselves.  The infectious person may have touched “your phone” as long as three days earlier.  So the important thing to remember is to wash your hands frequently to help remove the germs we pick up. 

             If we get sick there are some easy things to do to help us feel better.   Unfortunately, antibiotics don’t work against viruses.  They only kill bacterial infections.  If you get the flu, however, we have two new antiviral agents that can shorten the duration and severity of the flu.  These must be started within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms to be effective.  These agents do not help cold viruses.  We are left with treating the symptoms until our bodies rid us of the infection. (Usually in 7 to 10 days.)  Zinc lozenges and echinacea may have a role in treating a cold.  The best therapy is to use Sudafed for congestion, Tylenol or Advil for fever aches and pains, and Robitussin DM for cough.  If your cold symptoms last more than a few days or are complicated by wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pains, ear pain or any unusual symptoms then please see your doctor.     Sometimes viral infections lead to bacterial ones.  This may be treated with an antibiotic. 

             As always, eat properly get plenty of fluids and exercise to stay healthy.  And call your doctor for advice or problems as they arise. 

For more advice on details of over the counter medications to treat a cold, please see our web site at: http://www.npinternalmed.com/i_have_a_cold.htm