Articles

Agi's original medical advice columns appear the last Wednesday of every month in the Ahwatukee Foothills News. Click here to visit their web site.

Click to email Agnes Oblas, ANP-C

What is Syndrome X?

If I were to say that Mr. John Doe is suffering from Syndrome X, would you suspect that he had been abducted by a UFO and returned infected with an alien strain of bacteria, or that he is at risk for diabetes and heart disease? read more...

Don't let diabetes get the best of you

It's 10 p.m., do you know where your A l c is?

I have a very clear recollection of the first time I heard the term hemoglobin A l c. read more...

The real story behind shingles

Shingles is a fascinating medical entity and I wonder why, during two years of writing this medical column it never occurred to me to write about Shingles. So, sit back, relax and read on. read more...

Valley Fever cases on the rise

When someone has a cough that doesn't get better, friends or family usually encourage their loved one to seek medical attention with the admonition, "Maybe you have Vallye Fever." They may not be too far off track. Arizona's department of  Health Services has reported an alarming increase, 2,300 cases to be exact, in just the first four months of 2006. read more...

To butter or not to butter; ah, that is the question

There are lots of questions in health care that are subject to debate, and the butter vs. margarine argument is one of them. And we owe it all to Napoleon III. read more...

Patients, prescribers responsible for knowing proper pills

Nursing students are indoctrinated in the five R's of medication dispensing: The right patient, the right medicine, the right dose, the right time, the right route (by mouth? by injection?).

I suppose the need for that kind of brainwashing came about because a prerequisite for medical students obtaining their medical degree is that of illegible handwriting. read more...

Getting to the heart of the matter about murmurs

Mitral valve prolapse is a common and usually benign heart condition. An estimated 4 percent to 7 percent of the population has this condition and the majority of these individuals do not suffere any symptoms at all. read more...

Baby boomers taking yoga seriously, with good reason

First there was the jogging craze with jazzercise, step aerobics, speed-walking, swimming, and biking following at a quick pace.

Then they started telling us if we weren't wright training also we weren't exercising right. read more...

Preserve birthday fun with healthy lungs

Pretend it's your birthday and there's a beautifully decorated birthday cake in front of you with candles lit and glowing.

Friends and family members gather around to root you on to take the deepest breath you can to blow them all out just as fast as you can. read more...