The Scope Radio

Women make up 51 percent of the U.S. working professional population. That means more women then ever are in the workforce, climbing the corporate ladder. But is that new high-power job impacting your health? A recent study showed that women higher on the corporate structure, working 35 or more hours a week, were more likely to gain weight than women who worked less hours. What is it about these jobs that makes the weight stick? Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones sheds some light on the realities of the study and share some tips about how to keep yourself healthy when achieving your professional goals.

Pathology labs like ARUP see an increase in parasite cases during summertime. Hiking, swimming in pools, traveling and barbecuing are all common summer activities that can expose you to parasites. Kristen Case from ARUP joins us to talk about the infections she sees during the summer and what you can do to protect yourself.

There’s more than one good reason to get a flu shot while pregnant. Julie Shakib, D.O., M.P.H., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine and medical director of the Well Baby and Intermediate Nursery, describes her research showing that the flu vaccine not only benefits the mom, but the baby, too. She explains how it works, and why that is a crucial time for the baby to receive the benefits of the flu vaccine. Learn more.

Trauma is not something anyone chooses to go through. Fortunately, doctors can provide pain relief to help you on the road to recovery. However, traditional opioid therapy potentially can leave some patients with addiction problems after their injuries are treated. Luckily, there are alternative pain relief methods available to physicians. Dr. Thomas Higgins explains some of the potential problems with opioid therapy and the methods doctors can use to best alleviate pain from trauma.

Is your child a wax factory? Earwax can be gross for parents to deal with, but it has its purposes. Dr. Cindy Gellner shares with us how to clean out a child's ear the correct way and the dangers of using cotton swabs. She also discusses what to do and what not to do when it comes to your child's earwax.

The night shift in the emergency department is anything but boring. From burns to cuts, and fever to heart attacks, ER physicians see it all. The most difficult part of their job might be prioritizing whom to see first and who can wait. Emergency physician Dr. Troy Madsen walks us through a “typical” night in the ER.

In the past, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and other bowel inflammation conditions were treated with a gradual medication regiment. Today there is a multitude of potential treatments to help manage particular symptoms and conditions. Dr. John Valentine, a specialist in treating inflammatory diseases relating to the bowel, talks you through the wide variety of options available to patients today.

Don’t panic. Dense breast tissue is not cancer. The results are merely informing you that, like 40 percent of American women, your breast tissue is particularly fibrous. This does, however, make it more difficult for a mammogram to see through the entire breast. Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones explains dense breasts in further detail and what alternative screening methods might work the best for you.

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a complicated and dynamic genetic disorder that severely impacts multiple systems in the body. Its effects can vary drastically from person to person and complications from this blood-vessel disorder can be life-threatening. The HHT Center of Excellence at the University of Utah aims to provide comprehensive care for patients and families in need of treatment. Dr. Jamie McDonald, a genetic counselor and co-director of the center, explains how the center brings together nine departments and disciplines with modern research and extensive experience to help HHT patients from all over the world.

Level 1 trauma centers treat the most critical injuries that can happen: severe car accidents, falls from high places and other accidents with extreme injuries. These cases require immediate, expert care from multiple disciplines to get the patient stabilized and on the road to recovery. Dr. David Rothberg, orthopedic surgeon at the University of Utah, walks us through what it is like to be a part of a Level 1 trauma center team.

It’s been estimated that up to half of scientific studies are irreproducible, they can’t be replicated, and this is a big problem. A new study illustrates a case in point, calling into question previous results suggesting that cancer prevents Alzheimer’s. Heidi Hanson, Ph.D., M.S., a Huntsman Cancer Institute research associate and research assistant professor of family and preventive medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, discusses the research and reasons behind the contradictory findings. She also talks about why irreproducibility in research is pervasive and suggests some ways for overcoming it. Learn more about the research published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.

Warts are raised, round, rough growths on the surface of the skin. They are very common and most people have dealt with one at some point. Warts usually go away without treatment in two to three years, but what if you, or your child, don’t want to wait that long? It’s time to pull out that wonderful silver tape that seems to fix just about anything.

When you think about concussions and kids, contact sports tend to be the fist thing that comes to mind. But a CDC study reports concussions on the playground are also on the rise. To help us understand what’s going on and if you should be concerned, we asked concussion expert Dr. Greg Hawryluk for the physician perspective. He explains why he thinks that number is up and has some tips to help you determine if your child has suffered a concussion.

You are suddenly hit with a severe headache that you’ve never experienced before. Maybe you pass out; maybe it makes you sick to your stomach. Should you go to the ER? Emergency physician Dr. Troy Madsen says these “thunderclap headaches” might be a sign of something much more serious. On this episode of "ER or Not" we talk what potentially life threatening problems that a severe headache might be a sign of, and how to distinguish them from a normal headache.

For physicians, a significant amount of data is collected about a patient to better assist with their diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Andrew Bazemore is a physician and director at the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. He asserts that outside usual patient data collected, information such as education, social support and environment are also crucial to better health care and outcomes. He talks about what steps the industry needs to take to get a more complete understanding of patient health through more information.