How to Think Like a Doctor

My flagship book How to Think Like a Doctor is available as a free Kindle eBook for the next five days. It really is amazing: there are more than 10,000 copies out there. Keep the ball rolling. If you don't have a Kindle, you can download the free Kindle Reader to any PC, tablet, iPod, or smartphone. I personally have over 1400 eBooks and about 1200 were free.

The following excerpt is from the Preface:

I came to Nicaragua originally to teach medical English to Nicaraguan medical students and intended to use this version as their textbook. My eventual goal is to revive Chairman Mao’s concept of Barefoot Doctors and make quality medical and health care available to underserved areas of the world. It is not only a dream of mine but is the logical follow-up to my first non-profit endeavor The Medicine Cabinet, with which we collected, repackaged, and sent medications and medical equipment to areas of need. Our first shipment was sent to the Rwandan refugee camps in Zaire in 1994 and was one of the first humanitarian projects to arrive there since the tragedy was not recognized as a humanitarian crisis by developed nations for several months.

The world desperately needs kind, compassionate, and capable health care workers. Ironically (and sadly), this is the polar opposite of what is happening in the United States now where a “good doctor” is now defined by how quickly he or she charts. I personally do not want to go to the grave with the epitaph “Here lies Michael Mangold, a good doctor because he charted on time.”

Lastly, a portion of the proceeds from the sales of this book will help fund the Barefoot Doctors Project, Nicaragua.

Mangold MD, Michael. How To Think Like a Doctor (A Quiet Revolution) (Kindle Locations 15-21).  Kindle Edition

GET OUTSIDE, PLAY WITH YOUR DOG, AND EAT DIRT

"Atopic dermatitis (AD)" is the medical term for what is more commonly called "childhood eczema." A new study out of Harvard shows that lower levels of prenatal maternal Vitamin D (25(OH)D) correlates with a higher risk of atopic dermatitis in early childhood. The researchers did not find a correlation between Vitamin D intake and early childhood eczema but did find a slight correlation between intake and mid-childhood atopic dermatitis.

In my own practice, we drew Vitamin D blood levels on approximately 1000 patients. ONLY ONE patient had a normal level. All of the rest were below normal. Granted, this was in a predominately White suburb of Milwaukee but the message is clear: get your Vitamin D on. If you can get outside, do it. Observe the normal precautions against sunburn, of course. If you cannot get outside every day, consider taking Vitamin D as a supplement. As always, discuss this with your health care provider first. Personally, I take a fish oil/Vitamin D combination capsule twice a day. Each capsule contains 2,0000 International Units (I.U.) of Vitamin D3 and 600 mg of Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Vitamin D supplementation is also an effective treatment for AD.

Other non-medical treatments (meaning that you don't need a physician's prescription) for AD include probiotics (the greater the variety of bacterial strains the better), moisturizers, and possibly a gluten-free diet. Exposure to ultraviolet light also helps flare-ups.

Prevention entails letting "kids be kids." Those who are raised in a "sanitized" environment develop eczema more often than children who habitually play outside. In the dirt. And children who are exposed to dogs while growing up also have a lower risk of developing AD.

So the moral of the story is this: get outside, play around, and pet your dog. Sounds like a prescription for a good life anyway.