Save money on poison ivy

Posted on November 3, 2010 by admin
Poison ivy rash

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Poison ivy.

Is the itch driving you crazy?
Are you willing to pay anything for relief?
 
Whoa, there. Now don’t do anything rash. (Cute, huh?)

First, are you sure it’s poison ivy? Or poison oak or sumac? If so, read on.
If not, see your doctor or visit www.webmd.com/allergies/tc/poison-ivy-oak-or-sumac-topic-overview.

OK, say you’re sure you’ve been exposed to the offending plant and have developed a rash.

You have three choices:

1. Do nothing and wait it out. The rash is not contagious and will resolve on its own with time – usually 2 or 3 weeks. This option is good for people with minimal symptoms, and best of all, it’s FREE. Continue reading →

Posted in Antihistamine, Benadryl, Cetirizine, Claritin, Hydrocortisone cream, Itching (skin), Itchy rash, Poison ivy, Poison ivy - rhus dermatitis, Poison ivy rash, Rash, Rash, Steroids - corticosteroids, Zyrtec | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Save money by avoiding the seven deadly sins

Posted on October 31, 2010 by admin
Table of the Mortal Sins [detail].

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Musings for a Sunday morning . . .

Pride leadeth to depression and weight medication,

Envy yearneth for facelifts and hair transplantation.

Gluttony causeth obesity and drunken disease,

Lust resulteth in pregnancy and dread STDs.

Anger yieldeth angina and stress ulceration,

Greed assureth anxiety and much agitation.

Sloth alloweth unfitness through excessive rest –

Abstain from these sins, and you’ll be at your best.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (www.kff.org) the direct medical cost of STD treatment in America is $8.4 billion/year.

Potential savings to America by avoiding the seven deadly sins:
at the very minimum $8,400,000,000 annually.

© Cynthia J Koelker, MD – All Rights reserved

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Posted in Mental Health, Obesity, Spiritual health, Weight | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Save money on nosebleeds

Posted on October 29, 2010 by admin
Dr. Schreiber of San Augustine giving a typhoi...

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The vast majority of nosebleeds do not require a doctor’s care.  Of the hundreds of patients with nosebleeds that I’ve seen over the years, about 90% could have been treated effectively at home.

The most common reason patients present to the doctor for nosebleeds is that they have not applied pressure to the nose effectively.

Some people tilt their heads backwards – don’t.  This makes it seem like the bleeding has stopped, but all it does is make the blood drain down your throat, which can cause nausea or even vomiting.

Others put ice on the back of their necks – don’t bother.  This does nothing to stop the bleeding.  Applying ice to the nose might help a little, but certainly not as much as direct pressure. Continue reading →

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Healthcare costs in the free market – Unpopular positions – Part 3

Posted on October 28, 2010 by admin
Hearing aid, photo taken in Sweden

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America has a choice. Healthcare can either be part of the free market – or not.  Or it can remain a hodgepodge mixture – as it already is.

According to Abraham Lincoln, “I am a firm believer in the people.  If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis.  The great point is to bring them the real facts.”

America, you, the people, need to decide.  Education is the first step.

Healthcare has two primary elements: products and services.  Today we’ll discuss products.

Healthcare products include items like crutches, wheelchairs, hearing aids, eye glasses, artificial hips, splints, medications, lab tests, etc. Continue reading →

Posted in Health care cost, Health reform, Hearing loss, Medical testing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Know what you’re NOT paying for – Unpopular positions – Part 2

Posted on October 26, 2010 by admin
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Me...
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Healthcare spending cannot be controlled unless everyone has a stake in it.  And people can’t have a stake in it unless they know what things cost.

The patients most aware of costs are those who pay themselves – naturally.  Those least aware are those who don’t.

An excellent example of this in recent years is the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole.”  In 2010 Medicare Part D will pay about 75% of the first $2830 in medication expenses.  The next $4,550 is payable by the patient at 100%.  Over $7,380 Medicare covers about 95% of drug expenses.

Many of my Medicare patients were dismayed to find they’d entered the so-called Medicare doughnut hole, the middle $3-4,000+ of drug costs for which they bore complete responsibility.  The reason for their surprise?  Continue reading →

Posted in Health care cost, Health reform, Medicare, Medications | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Other people’s money – Unpopular positions – Part 1

Posted on October 25, 2010 by admin
Medicare and Medicaid as % GDP
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As long as we’re all spending other people’s money, health care spending will never decrease.

Why bother to ask the price of a CAT scan if you’re not the one paying? So what if an MRI costs $4,000? I need it, don’t I? But would you still need it if you had to pay the whole fee? Is it worth $4,000 to you? Perhaps $500? Maybe fifty bucks?

When your tire tread runs thin you weigh the risk and inconvenience of a blow-out versus the cost of new tires. Maybe you make the right choice, maybe you don’t.

Of course, the stakes may be higher with health care – sometimes life or death. And yet, when people have no personal accountability for their health care expenses, they simply don’t care how much is spent on their behalf. None of us cares that much about saving America money. Continue reading →

Posted in Insurance, Medicaid, Medicare | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Save money on massage therapy

Posted on October 23, 2010 by admin

 Foot Massage Sign

As I was going through my business cards I came upon one from a school of massotherapy.

Although insurance rarely covers massage, it often helps an ailing back or sore muscles. People benefit from being touched. Did you know that babies who have no human contact beyond feeding rarely thrive and often die? Man (or baby) does not live by bread (or milk) alone.

I checked our local school of massage therapy and found that a massage by a student massotherapist is discounted 50%, or as little as $25 for an hour of treatment. Checking online, I found prices at other schools to be about $25 to $35 for a 50-60 minute student massage. Some schools offer additional discounts for seniors, bringing the price as low as $15. 

Saturday’s a day off for most people (though here I am working at my office). Wouldn’t you rather be getting a massage? Why not call your local school of massotherapy and ask the cost of a student massage? Perhaps next weekend you can ease your bodily aches with massage instead of medicine. I could use one right now . . . my neck is stiff from sitting at this desk so long. Time to go home and have some puppy therapy instead.

© Cynthia J Koelker, MD – All rights reserved

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Posted in Alternative health care, Massage | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten ways to save money on tootsies

Posted on October 22, 2010 by admin
From Gray's Anatomy.
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One money-saving tip for each toe:

For one big toe: Gout. You don’t need prescription medication to treat gout (usually). Save yourself an office visit by using OTC anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin for under $5. If you do need a prescription, print out a copy of the $4 list from your local pharmacy and take it to your doctor – many $4 options are available. Learn more about gout at: http://mayoclinic.com/health/gout/DS00090

Post-surgery toe with removed nail shard
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For the other big toe: Ingrown nail. Prevention is best if at all possible. Make sure you cut your nails such that sharp corners cannot pierce your skin. Most so-called ingrown nails are not exactly ingrown; rather the edge of the nail has grown too far into your skin, causing irritation and sometimes infection. Avoiding undue pressure on the nail, i.e. properly-fitted shoes, helps prevent recurrences. Occasionally an infected nail can be permanently cured with a $4 antibiotic. However, these infections tend to recur and eventually require excision of the lateral portion of the nail. Some doctors advise this minor surgery for the first occurrence, to save pain, time, and aggravation on future recurrences. Continue reading →

Posted in Athlete's foot, Broken toe, Fractures, Gouty arthritis, Hematoma, Ingrown toenails, Metatarsalgia, Plantar wart, Raynaud's phenomenon, Skin diseases, Subungual hematoma, Tinea pedis, Toenail fungus (onychomycosis), Wart | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Save money on spider bites

Posted on October 22, 2010 by admin
Magnified 20,000X, this colorized scanning ele...

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If you think you’ve been bit by a spider, but didn’t see the spider bite you, the bug-bite lesion you’ve attributed to a spider is more likely a MRSA infection.

MRSA is methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, a germ that commonly infects the skin and occasionally infects the heart, lungs, blood, and bones.

If you’re young and healthy and have a good immune system, you may decide to give an alleged spider bite a day or two to go away. Draw a circle around the border of the lesion with a ballpoint pen, so you’ll know for sure if it’s enlarging. If it is, see your doctor. Continue reading →

Posted in Bug bite, Insect bite or sting, MRSA, Skin infection | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Save money on swimmer’s ear

Posted on October 21, 2010 by admin
de: Struktur von Essigsäure; en: Structure of ...
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It’s the 4th of July!

Of course, you go swimming. Unfortunately you come down with a case of swimmer’s ear. Your doctor orders a prescription. When you visit the pharmacy you can’t believe a little bottle of ear drops costs $100!

Perhaps you’d like to try this 10-cent home remedy first: make a 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar and fill your ear canal with the solution 4 times a day for 2-3 days. If you notice no improvement, you can still buy the prescription. If it is helping, continue the treatment until your ear feels fine, then 2 or 3 days more.

Why does this work? Continue reading →

Posted in Ear infection, Infection, Swimmer's ear | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Save money on depression

Posted on October 20, 2010 by admin
The King James Version of the Holy Bible inten...

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In reviewing some of the medical literature, I’ve been impressed with how science is confirming what Christianity already knew, that is, that just as bad thoughts actually harm the mind, thinking good thoughts can have a reparative effect on the mind.

Some of these changes may actually be demonstrable on SPECT scans, according to Dr. Daniel Amen, author of Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.

You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a SPECT scan, though.  You can try this prescription for free.  Did you know you can form a new habit in as little as two weeks?  Two weeks of the following prescription should make a noticeable difference.  Why not try 5 minutes of this simple exercise before each meal?

Philipians 4:8 KJV

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Continue reading →

Posted in Depression, Depression, Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Save money on the freshman fifteen

Posted on October 19, 2010 by admin
Book vending machine at Gatwick Airport, Londo...

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For today’s post I asked another author to contribute to our money-saving forum.

What’s the best way to save money on weight loss? 
Don’t gain weight in the first place, of course.

Here’s what Camille McConnell, author of Stop Eating Today! has to say on the subject.

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I can’t sleep. It’s 4:40 am and, no, I’m not usually this much of an early bird. I don’t care about catching worms, I really just like to sleep. But I can’t.

I’ve got Freshman 15 on my mind. It’s May and most of the college Freshman are home now. My friend’s sister came home from her Freshman year at college at least 15 pounds heavier and a little depressed. A lady who just bought my book, Stop Overeating Today!, told me her daughter just came home from her Freshman year and is at the heaviest weight she’s ever been at and that she’s struggling. My aunt brought in a relative who had a rough Freshman year due to the unhealthy college lifestyle – poor sleeping, poor eating, etc. Continue reading →

Posted in Freshman fifteen, Obesity, Overweight - obesity, See weight, Weight, Weight gain, Weight loss | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment