Gardasil Vaccine Now FDA Approved to Prevent Throat Cancer

On June 12, 2020, the FDA has (finally) approved an expanded indication for the Gardasil-9 vaccine for the prevention of throat and other head and neck cancers caused by the HPV virus. This vaccine was originally designed to prevent cervical cancer, but is now indicated to also prevent vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancers [ link ]. This FDA approval is long overdue given throat cancer due to the HPV virus is THE most common cause of throat cancer for young adults under 50 years of age... eve…

6/13/2020 0

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Zytaze Dietary Supplementation Enhances Botox Injections?

A patient with spasmodic dysphonia recently asked me whether Zytaze dietary supplement would help enhance the effectiveness of the botox injections I perform to treat spasmodic dysphonia. This dietary supplement contains Zinc Citrate 25mg and Phytase 500mg. Phytase is an enzyme that effectively breaks down phytates commonly found in whole grain products and cereals. Phytase basically enhances zinc absorption in the gut. So what's so special about zinc as it relates to botox ? Theor…

10/18/2019 0

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Supplement Octanoic Acid May Help with Vocal Tremor

A fascinating study came out August 2019 that treated patients with vocal tremor with an over-the-counter supplement called octanoic acid , more commonly known as caprylic acid . The theory behind using octanoic acid (OA) comes from the observation that OA works similarly to alcohol (but without the side effects); alcohol often helps reduce limb and hand tremor and is thought to act centrally within the olivocerebellar region of the brain. Given that OA is thought to work the same way a…

8/27/2019 0

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Allergy Shot Given to CATS to Help People with Cat Allergy

A company has reversed the traditional allergy shot given to people with bad allergies and created an allergy vaccine which is given to cats to make them less allergic for people. Essentially, this new vaccine makes cats become hypoallergenic! Published in July 2019, the study outlined the use of a novel protein containing Fel-d1, the saliva protein that makes cats so allergic to people, along with a particle derived from the cucumber mosaic virus and a tetanus toxin–derived universal T-c…

8/15/2019 0

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If a LEGO is Swallowed, How Long Does it Take to be Pooped Out?

This is one of those published research papers I had to wonder if it was for real or not... but it appears to be genuine in spite of the jocular tone of the article. Published in the Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health , researchers swallowed small LEGO pieces and then monitored bowel movements to determine how long it took before it got pooped out. The general point of the study being that children often swallow toy objects and as long as it doesn't get stuck in the throat (and lack…

11/28/2018 0

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Potential Increased Long-Term Risk of Diseases with Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

The New York Times published a story on June 7, 2018 publicizing a Danish 2018 study that suggested that children under 9 years old undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy  are at increased long-term risk of respiratory, infectious, and allergic diseases. (Adults undergoing this surgery were not investigated.) All prior studies  evaluating for any adverse affects from surgical intervention looked more at any unusual immunological changes after surgery; these studies did not show a…

6/09/2018 0

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Tonsillectomy Has Higher Risk of Complications if Younger Than 3 Years

Tonsillectomy is commonly performed in children for really 2 main conditions... chronic tonsillitis (whether from strep of other) or obstructive sleep apnea . This surgery is overall considered safe and effective. However, experienced clinicians have also known that complications occur more frequently in children under 3 years of age. As such, for a very young child, this surgery is often recommended to be delayed if at all possible until a child is over 3 years old. But is this concern …

3/15/2018 0

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Tonsil Crypts Can Hide HPV in Healthy Adults

Fascinating research was published in Jan 2018 describing how the HPV virus can remain hidden from a normal human immune response within the tonsil itself. How can the HPV virus manage this neat act of espionage? By hiding in the biofilm within tonsil crypts. One can consider biofilm to be a thin layer of "sludge" that may coat the tonsil lining. This finding may also explain why HPV oral infection appears to be so prevalent  in so many adults and why HPV has now become one of th…

2/08/2018 0

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Is 1 Liter of Nasal Fluid Produced a Day Truly Normal?

Ask any ENT how much nasal drainage is normally produced by a healthy human nose every day and you will be told 1 liter. But that's not what this blog article is about. Rather, HOW was this amount determined? What is the research behind this volume? The answer is surprisingly difficult to find and still up in the air... If any readers can do some sleuthing beyond what I report below, I would be much appreciative! The vast majority of references found on simple google searching are quot…

12/15/2017 0

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Tonsillectomy Associated with Increased Pregnancy / Fertility Rates

Image courtesy of nenetus at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net A reader pointed this interesting research article from the United Kingdom that suggests females who have undergone tonsillectomy and/or appendectomy had increased fertility rates compared to women who have had neither surgeries. Fertility in this study was measured by time to pregnancy after surgery. The results reported are as follows: • During a mean follow-up of about 15 years after surgery, 53.4% of women who underwent tonsillec…

11/26/2017 0

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Oral HPV Infection is Prevalent in Adult Men

A population study was published in October 2017 revealing a high prevalence of oral HPV infection in men between ages 18 - 69 years. This study is important because HPV is known to increase the risk of not only cervical cancer, but also oral and throat cancer. And in young adults under 50 years, it causes more throat cancer than even smoking. [ more info ] From a public health policy concern, more importantly, it is also "contagious" in that one partner can transmit their HPV in…

10/22/2017 0

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Surgeons Should Operate Naked to Decrease Risk of Surgical Site Infections

Image courtesy of adamr at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net This controversial claim was actually made by a well-respected surgeon, Dr. Dellinger , at a well-respected institution, University of Washington Seattle , and published in a well-respected journal, Clinical Infectious Diseases . Although this research article's title is certainly published in jest, there is an underlying more serious message. In any case, the argument goes like this:     • FACT : Humans constantly shed skin flak…

7/17/2017 1

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Expired Epipen Still Effective

Though one should always use an EpiPen that is not expired, it is better to use an expired EpiPen to treat anaphylaxis than to do nothing at all. A few studies published between 2000 and 2017 suggest that epipens have a shelf-life much longer than the printed expiration date. A study published in May 2017 as well as two earlier studies published in April 2015 and May 2000 suggest that even if the epipen is expired, it is still effective and safe for use in severe allergic reactions …

5/08/2017 0

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Is Eating Your Boogers Really Good for You?

On 4/26/17, a variety of media sources reported that a scientific study claimed that eating your own boogers is healthy for you. Given the sensational headlines and pertinent ENT topic, I decided to investigate this claim further and actually read the study that was quoted as the scientific source . To preface,  NOWHERE in the quoted research study was the claim made that one should eat, chew, or ingest any nasal secretions, boogers, snot-rockets, or any other nasal secretions whether wet…

4/27/2017 0

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Can Ear Drops Increase Risk of Eardrum Perforation?

With ear tube placement, there is a baseline 2-10% risk that a persistent hole in the eardrum will occur after the tubes come out. However, a study came out in April 2017 suggesting that commonly used antibiotic ear drops to treat ear infections when ear tubes are present may increase the risk of such persistent eardrum perforations after the tubes come out (post-TT TMP). Specifically, antibiotic ear drops belonging to the fluoroquinolone class is associated with an increased risk of per…

4/20/2017 0

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Increased Risk of Thyroid Cancer From Frequent Use of Disinfectants

Yale researchers have reported that regular exposure to biocides including disinfectants (such as doctors, dentists, nurses, etc) doubles the risk of thyroid cancer . This findings was determined through a population-based case-control study involving 462 thyroid cancer cases in Connecticut collected 2010-2011. Over the past decade, there has been an increased incidence of thyroid cancer every year and this report may explain part of this alarming trend along with possible over-diagnosis as…

4/03/2017 0

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Can Headaches Trigger Nosebleeds?

Image courtesy of stockimages at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net Ignoring high blood pressure headaches which can potentially rupture blood vessels in the nose leading to a nosebleed, can headaches in and of itself trigger nosebleeds? I encounter a few patients a year who report that a particularly bad headache triggered their nosebleed, also known as epistaxis . But can this actually be true? After all, headaches are common and nosebleeds are common. As such, statistically, two common events …

3/16/2017 0

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How Much Urine in Swimming Pools?

Image courtesy of Exsodus at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net In 2013, I wrote a blog article about how much fecal matter (i.e., poop) is typically found in swimming pools (up to 2.2 pounds in a typical pool if 100 different people enter the pool). We now have an estimate of how much urine (i.e., pee) is found in a typical pool. According to Canadian researchers , a 220,000 gallon pool, which is about one-third of an Olympic-sized pool, had 75 liters of urine while another smaller pool (110,000 ga…

3/02/2017 0

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High Blood Pressure Medication Helps with Nasal Polyps!

Verapamil , a blood pressure medication, may help with an uncommon disorder called nasal polyps  that afflict certain individuals causing significant nasal congestion, nasal obstruction , smell loss, and chronic sinusitis . Nasal polyps appear like a cluster of grapes within the nasal and sinus passages leading to subjective sino-nasal symptoms. Although sinus surgery can physically remove the nasal polyps , whatever trigger caused their initial formation can lead to their regrowth. As suc…

2/21/2017 0

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HPV Vaccine May Help Clear Airway Papillomas

Papillomas on the right vocal cord HPV vaccine like gardasil can be used to help prevent not only genital warts, but also oral warts and warts of the airway. Such warts are known as papillomas and can keep recurring after surgical excision leading to lifelong morbidity. Although gardasil and other HPV vaccines are typically used to vaccinate young tweens, it has been found effective even in much older individuals. In this study , the HPV vaccine decreased the incidence of surgeries for re…

1/31/2017 0

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