health matters

Back to School items are everywhere in local stores and the calendar says we're in August. Many college students will be heading back to school in the next couple of weeks with kindergarten - 12th graders soon to follow.

March is Multiple Sclerosis awareness month. To explain what multiple sclerosis is I was joined on WJON by Dr. Kathleen Rieke, the Director of Neurology at CentraCare, St. Cloud. Dr. Rieke says MS is where your body, for reasons we really don't understand, decides to attack the nerves of your brain and spinal cord.

During the Christmas season making sugary items from cookies to candies and other treats are often consumed by Minnesotans. This week on WJON's Health Matters program I talked with Registered Dietician Kari Collett from A-to-Zinc Nutrition.

Cold weather makes lot of things tougher. Dr. Mathew Janzen from Rejuv Medical joined me on WJON today for our Health Matters program. He says the death rate is higher in the winter months especially in the elderly population.

We have 3 levels to our ears; Inner, middle and external. Dr. Ted Truitt from St. Cloud ENT appeared on WJON's Health Matters program this week. An example of exterior ear issues include a build up of wax and swimmer's ear. Truitt says Q-tips are not recommended and can do more harm than good.

This week on WJON's Health Matters program I talked with Dr. Joel Baumgartner from Rejuv Medical. I asked him if cracking your knuckles can lead to arthritis. He says no although cracking your knuckles can be hard to listen to. Dr. Baumgartner says when someone is cracking their knuckles they are releases some gas.

This week on WJON's Health Matters program I talked with Family Nurse Practitioner Rebecca White from CentraCare about sexually transmitted infections. She says the most common are chlamydia and gonorrhea. Other sexually transmitted infections include syphilis, HIV and AIDS.

This week on WJON's Health Matters program I talked with Registered Dietician Kari Collett from A-to-Zinc Nutrition. She explained that beans are a great source of fiber but when people eat beans your intestines and colon have an excess of fiber that tends to produce gas within the intestines and colon and that gas us to have gas.

During the Pandemic in 2020 and parts of 2021 many people put on weight they are now looking to shed. This week on WJON's Health Matters program I was joined by Chief Integration Officer Garrett Ewers from Rejuv Medical. Our topic of conversation this time was on losing the "pandemic 15".

This week on WJON's Health Matters program I talked with CentraCare Dermatologist Dr. Liz Blixt about skin cancer. Dr. Blixt says there are 3 types of skin cancer; squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma. Blixt says melanoma is the most deadly of the 3 but basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma are both more common.