30Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

Spare the Rod? Is Spanking a Child Harmful or Helpful? – Part 3 – Does physical punishment establish the moral righteousness of hitting other persons?

Children's Health, Parenting
Opposition to parents spanking their children has been growing significantly in elite circles over the past few years. And, my blogs on spanking are among the most read of those I publish. Therefore, I’ve decided to, with the help of the research of my friends Den Trumbull, MD, S. DuBose Ravenel, MD, to look a the arguments used against spanking, to see if they hold any water. This is the third of a 12 part series. Argument #2: Physical punishment establishes the moral righteousness of hitting other persons who do something which is regarded as wrong. Counterpoint: According to an investigation by Drs. Trumbull and Ravenel, performed for the Family Research Council, the "spanking teaches hitting" belief has gained in popularity over the past decade, but is not supported by objective…
Read More
29Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

An uninsured gorilla in Colorado Springs receives specialist service faster than a Canadian human might

Bioethics, Medical Economics
There's been big news at our local zoo, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, here in Colorado Springs. Rafiki,  a 25-year-old silverback lowland gorilla, took ill. When he did, medical attention was available immediately. Some of the finest doctors in the world converged upon him, determined to quickly find and fix whatever was wrong. Fortunately, his waiting time for tests was far less than many people in countries with nationalized healthcare. (more…)
Read More
28Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

The Ten Commandments of Preventive Medicine – Part 6 – Alcohol

General Health, Men's Health, Nutritional Health, Woman's Health
In my latest book, 10 Essentials of Happy, Healthy People, I teach people how to utilize these ten essentials that are necessary to live a happy and highly healthy life. Under The Essential of Self-Care, teach what I call “The 10 Commandments of Preventive Medicine. Here’s the sixth installment of this ten-part series. (more…)
Read More
28Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

What’s the most convicting argument against abortion?

Bioethics
The baby. The unborn child is the best argument against abortion. The one thing in which the pro-abortion movement experienced the most success was stripping the unborn child of his or her personhood. “Just a clump of cells,” they said. “Just tissue,” they tried to tell pregnant women. “Nothing more than a blob of flesh,” they told moms-to-be. Medical science has proven them wrong. (more…)
Read More
25Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

The Grass Is Not Always Greener: A Look at National Health Care Systems Around the World – Part 2 – Canada

Bioethics, Medical Economics
In the midst of our national debate about healthcare reform, people on both sides of the debate seem to pick and choose among the facts and myths about the nationalized healthcare available in a number of other countries. The fact is that every nationalized health care system in the world is battling issues of rapidly rising costs and decreasing access to care. But, these systems also have some very attractive benefits. So, let's take a look at the pro's and con's of the Canadian system. (more…)
Read More
23Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

Spare the Rod? Is Spanking a Child Harmful or Helpful? – Part 2 – Do studies show that spanking is an improper form of discipline?

Children's Health
Opposition to parents spanking their children has been growing significantly in elite circles over the past few years. And, my blogs on spanking are among the most read of those I publish. Therefore, I’ve decided to, with the help of the research of my friends Den Trumbull, MD, S. DuBose Ravenel, MD, to look a the arguments used against spanking, to see if they hold any water. This is the second of a 12 part series. Today we'll start looking at the arguments used against spanking. Argument #1: Many psychological studies show that spanking is an improper form of discipline. Counterpoint: According to an investigation by Drs. Trumbull and Ravenel, performed for the Family Research Council, researchers John Lyons, Rachel Anderson, and David Larson of the National Institute of Healthcare…
Read More
23Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

Surgeon Reports Abortion Ups Breast Cancer Risk

General Health
According to LifeNews.com, a prominent breast cancer surgeon and professor has written a new article for a medical publication saying that abortion increases a woman's risk of contracting breast cancer. On the other hand, miscarriage has no effect while a full-term pregnancy lowers the breast cancer risk. (more…)
Read More
20Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

The Ten Commandments of Preventive Medicine – Part 5 – Dental Health

Children's Health, General Health, Men's Health, Woman's Health
In my latest book, 10 Essentials of Happy, Healthy People, I teach people how to utilize these ten essentials that are necessary to live a happy and highly healthy life. Under The Essential of Self-Care, teach what I call “The 10 Commandments of Preventive Medicine. Here’s the fifth installment of this ten-part series. (more…)
Read More
19Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

The Grass Is Not Always Greener: A Look at National Health Care Systems Around the World – Part 1

Medical Economics
In the midst of our national debate about healthcare reform, people on both sides of the debate seem to pick and choose among the facts and myths about the nationalized healthcare available in a number of other countries. The fact is that every nationalized health care system in the world is battling issues of rapidly rising costs and decreasing access to care. But, these systems also have some very attractive benefits. So, let's take a look at the pro's and con's of each system. (more…)
Read More
19Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

How to Keep Normal Labor Normal – Part 3 – Philosophy

Woman's Health
This blog series is designed to help women who are developing a birth plan join together with like-minded birthing professionals so as to have a shorter and safer labor and birth. Today we’ll look at the costs of “birth philosophy.” Although written primarily for professional birth attendants, I hope information will be helpful to lay women planning their birth. Today we’ll look at the first “P” of my 10 “P’s” of keeping labor shorter and birth safer -- philosophy. In the past, labor has been viewed by many (perhaps most) physicians as a process that can and must be managed by physicians for their pregnant patients. Standard obstetrical text books discuss the three “P’s” of labor management: Power, Passage, and Passenger. Some have expand these basic 3 to include a fourth “P”:…
Read More
16Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

Spare the Rod? Is Spanking a Child Harmful or Helpful? – Part 1 – Introduction

Bioethics, Children's Health, Mental Health, Parenting
My blogs on spanking are among the most read of those I publish. This may be due to the fact that opposition to parents spanking their children has been growing significantly in elite circles over the past few years. Therefore, I’ve decided to, with the help of the research of my friends Den Trumbull, MD, S. DuBose Ravenel, MD, to look a the arguments used against spanking, to see if they hold any water. First, some introductory comments to begin this 12 part series. Drs. Trumbull and Ravenel write: No doubt much of this opposition springs from a sincere concern for the well-being of children. Child abuse is a reality, and stories of child abuse are horrifying. But while loving and effective discipline is quite definitely not harsh and abusive,…
Read More
15Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

Is the 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Safe? An Update

Children's Health, Men's Health, Parenting, Woman's Health
I'm getting tons of emails and questions at the practice about the safety of the Swine flu vaccine (the Swine flu is now officially called the "2009 H1N1 influenza). Will it be safe? Will it cause cancer? Will it contain preservatives or adjuvants? One friend wrote: Are you taking it? Are you recommending it to your family. Here are my answers and the latest update: (more…)
Read More
15Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

How many uninsured people need additional help from taxpayers?

Bioethics, Medical Economics
To my surprise, the most popular blogs I've ever written are on healthcare reform. So, now that we are on the eve of the Senate unveiling its healthcare proposal, I want to put you in the decision-maker's seat. Which of the uninsured would you cover, if you could make the decision? I hope you'll take the time to consider this blog and then post your vote in the comment section below. (more…)
Read More
14Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

Retail medical clinics offer low-cost care at similar quality to physicians’ offices

Medical Economics, Men's Health, Parenting, Woman's Health
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine has found that “retail clinics provide less costly treatment than physician offices or urgent care centers for 3 common illnesses, with no apparent adverse effect on quality of care or delivery of preventive care.” The 3 illnesses were otitis media, pharyngitis, and urinary tract infection (UTI). (more…)
Read More
14Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

Vaccine Myth #2: Vaccines Don’t Work

Children's Health
This is the second entry in a series from my book God’s Design for the Highly Healthy Child. Probably the best recent example of the positive impact of vaccines is the Hib vaccine, which prevents meningitis, ear infections, and other serious infections caused by the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib). When the current Hib vaccine was introduced to this country in 1990, Hib was the most common cause of bacterial meningitis. For decades, Hib had caused approximately 15,000 cases of meningitis and 400 to 500 deaths every year. After the current Hib vaccine was introduced, the incidence of Hib meningitis declined to fewer than fifty cases per year—typical of all widely used vaccines. (more…)
Read More
13Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

Faith-Based Health and Healing – Part 5 – What Causes Sickness?

Alternative Medicine, Children's Health, General Health, Marriage and Family Health, Men's Health, Mental Health, Parenting, Woman's Health
Theologians tell us that, in one sense, from a Biblical perspective, all sickness has its ultimate origin in sin because human suffering stems from the fall and the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:15 – 17; Romans 1:28 – 32). But that’s not the way many people think of sin causing sickness. It’s very common for me to see patients who believe that their sickness or disease is caused by a specific sin or wrong decision. There are others who believe that all illness is due to specific sin. Is this true or false? More Information: (more…)
Read More
11Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

How to Keep Normal Labor Normal – Part 2 – The Costs of Abnormal Labor

Children's Health, Woman's Health
This blog series is designed to help women who are developing a birth plan join together with like-minded birthing professionals so as to have a shorter and safer labor and birth. Today we’ll look at the costs of “abnormal labor.” Although written primarily for professional birth attendants, I hope information will be helpful to lay women planning their birth. The medical literature has many, many articles that discuss the potential risks and costs for not keeping normal labor normal; including: increased dystocia (dysfunctional, abnormal labor), increased fetal distress, and the increase in unnecessary operative deliveries. (1)  Increased dystocia Although, “… dystocia has remained a poorly defined term,”(1) for the purposes of this paper “... dystocia is divided into two major categories. The first category of dystocia, true cephalopelvic disproportion, is characterized…
Read More
10Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

FDA panel backs Gardasil (HPV vaccine) safety and efficacy for genital warts in young men

Cancer, Children's Health, Men's Health, Parenting
News outlets are reporting that an FDA advisory panel "endorsed the use of" Merck's Gardasil "for boys and young men." The panel "voted in favor of the safety and efficacy of" the vaccine "to inhibit genital warts in boys and men ages nine to 26," the New York Times noted. The vaccine is already "approved ... to protect girls and women ages nine to 26 against certain strains of" human papillomavirus (HPV). (more…)
Read More
09Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

President Obama’s Speech on Healthcare Reform – Did He Lie?

Bioethics, General Health, Medical Economics
Earlier today, I gave you a report card you could use to grade the President's speech tonight on healthcare reform. By my count, the president failed (with a grade of 30 out of 100). Early returns showed others agreed with me. He graded 0% by 28% of voters, 10-30% by 50% of voters, 40-50% by 13% of voters, and 60-70% by 3% of voters. In other words, only 7% of voters gave him a passing grade. However what was most shocking was when South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" during the President's speech. Not the most polite thing to do. But, who was telling the truth? The President? Or, the Representative? (more…)
Read More
09Sep 2009 by Walt Larimore

Healthcare Reform that Most Americans Support

Medical Economics
Readers have sent notes to this blog asking, in essence, "Dr. Walt, what healthcare reform do you support?" And, in his labor day speech about healthcare reform, President Obama had sharp words for those of us who have loudly opposed his proposals in public forums. He said, "What's your answer? What's your solution?" Then he said, "The fact is, they don't have one. It's do nothing." He could not be more wrong. So, here's not only what I support, but what most American's support. (more…)
Read More