Your Medical Questions Answered! What Is The Role Of An Internist?

When one gets to that certain age and way-outgrows their pediatrician, it’s time to take their healthcare a tad more seriously. One route is to find a good internist who can help you navigate your way through these new adult issues and problems as they arise. An internist is typically in for the long haul. Many patients make long serious relationships with their internists, ones that last a lifetime. An internist can be like a best friend—as they definitely got your back when things get rough.

                  

One thing an internist is not is an intern. No, no, no… two totally separate things. Whereas an intern denotes new and recent an internist denotes advanced and adept. While an intern can be an asset to a company, an internist has passed the intern phase by many, many years. An internist has studied advanced medical procedures and is a certified doctor with advanced degrees and post-graduate training in internal medicine. To sum up a primary care doctor, the American College of Physicians defined them as doctors who are specialized in the detection, prevention, and treatment of adult illnesses.

An internist studies and practices internal medicine. This is a medical specialty and they are skilled in the management of patients who suffer from multisystem disease processes, for hospitalized and/or ambulatory patients, and can also be major players in groundbreaking new research and education. Commonly, during medical school an internist would have spent approximately half of their seven years on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases that affect adults specifically. Just what type of person would be the most likely candidate to be an internist’s patient?

Typically, the patient of an internist would have been referred to them because their primary care doctor hits a wall, and had been unable to diagnose the root of the problem the individual is currently suffering from. It is only through the specialty of the internist’s training that answers shall be had. In other words, we older folk need a different doctor to diagnose our defaults; one that knows the ins and outs of our old bones. Hey, when you want the best you see a professional in an urgent care facility—a specialist—and that’s just what an internist is. In fact, an internist is commonly known as the “doctor’s doctor.” Knowing you are in the hands of someone that doctors themselves relay upon should definitely lesson the stress and make you confidant in their knowledge and skills.

What sort of medical problems send a person to an internist?

Ischemic or hemorrhagic blood vessels—two of the main causes of strokes and are the type of problems that an internist is trained for.

Osteoporosis— the thinning of bone tissue over many years.

Hypertension—high blood pressure.

Gastroenterology—disorders of the digestive system.

Lung disease—any disease that affects the lungs or the airways that carry oxygen, including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and asthma

Cardiovascular disease—problems with the heart, blood vessels or circulatory system in part or as a whole. Cardiovascular diseases include—but are not limited to—arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, endocarditis and problems with the peripheral vascular system.

For more information on a dedicated internist available at convenient hours and for affordable prices, please log onto find walk in clinic in NYC. This highly respected clinic is located just several blocks from Grand Central Station in state-of-the-art offices on Park Avenue. Dr. Fuzayloff is a board-certified good internist in NYC with a biology degree from St John’s University and who has also graduated with honors in Pathology and Nephrology from the New York College of Osteopathic medicine. He has dedicated his life to walk in clinic NYC. Please call 1-212-696-5900 to arrange a personal interview with Dr. Slava Fuzayloff today. 

Three Facts to Know About UTI

Have you been experiencing a burning sensation during urination, or a frequent urge to urinate even though you’ve just been to the bathroom?  These are the most common symptoms of cystitis, known colloquially as a UTI.   A UTI is usually easy to treat but can also cause serious complications if ignored, so if you’re feeling the burn, check out these facts and see if you need to pay a visit to your doctor.

What is a UTI?

Also known as a lower urinary tract infection (UTI) is technically an inflammation of the bladder.  Symptoms include feeling the urge to urinate frequently, and pain or a burning sensation while urinating. Some people also experience lower back or pubic bone pain.  In the elderly and in infants, symptoms of an infection may not be as clear cut, so these populations should be checked for it especially when exhibiting incontinence or lethargy.

More than half of women experience this type of infection in their lifetime, but they’re a much rarer occurrence in men.  Most internist attribute this to the fact that women’s urethras are shorter, as well as the fact that the placement of the urethra is in close proximity to the vagina and anus causes it to come in increased contact with the causal bacteria.  A man’s risk of these types of infection increases with age, due to the growth of his prostate.

What is the cause?

The main bacteria that cause UTIs are E. coli.  Women can get them as a result of frequent sex, since E. coli, which normally lives in our intestines and solid waste, may come in contact with the urethra during sex.  The sexually transmitted infections chlamydia and mycoplasma can also cause these infections.  The use of spermicides, diaphragms and catheters all increase the risk of infection.  Pregnant women are also at an increased risk of infection due to the fluctuation of hormones.

In men a UTI may be indicative of a more serious problem like an obstruction in the urinary tract, and so should be checked out as soon as possible.

How is it treated?

Usually UTIs are not serious and can be treated by course of oral antibiotics. For most otherwise healthy women, a treated infection should clear up in about six days. However, these infections have a high recurrence rate, so it’s important to finish all prescribed antibiotics even if the symptoms have cleared.  Those prone to UTIs should also take preventative measures when possible.  Doctors recommend drinking plenty of water to dilute your urine and urinating after intercourse to prevent bacteria from taking hold. Women should also wipe from front to back and should not use deodorants, powders in the genital region, as they are known to irritate the urethra.  Some studies have shown that the use of cranberry juice or cranberry extract supports healthy bladder infection treatment.

If left untreated, it may lead to an upper urinary tract infection, or a kidney infection.  Symptoms of a kidney infection include frequent and painful urination, back pain, fever, nausea and vomiting, and cloudy or bloody urine, and could cause permanent kidney damage or blood infection, so proper treatment of a UTI to prevent its spread to the kidneys is key!

If you’re in the New York City area and think you’re experiencing signs of a UTI, consider making an appointment at the Walk-in Clinic of New York City.  Find Walk in Clinic in NYC you can get prompt, same-day medical attention for a UTI or a variety of other minor illnesses without breaking the bank, even if you don’t have insurance.  You can even make an appointment online at sexually transmitted infections.