Dr. Lydia Online

Give yourself a break! Women, I'm talking to you: Why do we push ourselves beyond the breaking point during the Christmas season? Take a minute and let that sink in... Why? Didn't Jesus come to us lowly, born in a manger...to SAVE us? Eh? So I ask you again, Ladies: Why do we push ourselves beyond the breaking point during the Christmas season?  I have already seen casualties of the Holiday Rush in my office. Broken women, weeping, acutely ill with "The Crud" and about to throw out Baby Jesus with the bathwater of all of the stress of the holidays! This breaks my heart. Being the eternal problem-solver, I've created a bit of a weekly Prescription for you to beat back the Holiday Rush. You'll find it in the right column over here at the top. I'm calling it "Titrated Doses of Meaningful Change." It is immediate self-care, and through the year it will be a blueprint for helping you to make meaningful changes that will yield great

Early winter means early colds and flu, ya'll.  It's time to get your shelves stocked with doctor-approved supplements and learn some strategies that can protect you from viral illness, shorten the time you have one, or at least give you comfort when you succumb to "the crud." Yesterday, I asked our P.A. in the busiest urgent care in town, "What are you seeing this week?" His answer: "viral crud." That's right! Snotty noses, cough, low grade fever, body aches and nausea are all creeping around your local school and Wal-Mart even as we speak. No time to waste, people! Let's get down to what you can do to brace yourself for this year's inevitable viral smack-down! Supplements: 1. Elderberry Elderberry is an elixir to ward off the common cold. It is especially good in kids because it TASTES GREAT! Elderberry has powerful anti-oxidants that can halt viral replication.  It has been used as a preventative as well as treatment fo

I am so sick of snot!! Are you as sick of snot as I am? I've been dealing with snot and drainage myself for about a month now. If you're like me, you probably had a flare of allergies recently or have had a cold. I call that lingering clear snot and post-nasal drainage "post-inflammatory _______" (you fill in the blank). Fact is, it could be a lot of things. You may have chronic allergies, chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, it may be vasomotor rhinitis or that great waste-can diagnosis of "non-allergic" rhinitis.  You could even have picked up -sigh- another cold. You'll need to visit with your doctor to find out which one you're dealing with to get a definitive answer. Even that answer sometimes comes as a diagnosis of exclusion, so don't despair! So, what to do about this snot-plague on the human race? Well, there are a couple of things I can safely offer as over the counter treatments which will possibly help you now and help your docto

To start out, I needed some space. There's not time in a 20 minute appointment, a quick phone conversation or e-mail to say what all I need to say. I've got new ideas cooking, opinions to voice and needed a space where I can keep folks informed on what I deem IMPORTANT. So, I've turned to the virtual world to give myself some extra room. Ahh... The world seems bigger already. Let's get down to business. There are a couple of disclaimers here I need you to read before you enter this site. I've been trained to practice defensive medicine, so here goes... What this is NOT : This is not on-line doctoring, an on-line clinic or medical advice. If you have a medical condition, get thee to a physician, pronto. There's no substitute for a good old history and physical. I cannot give those services on a blog. For more information, visit my official disclaimer here. What this IS : My personal clearinghouse of ideas. Medicine changes daily, with new discoverie