Dr. Josyann Abisaab

Josyann Abisaab: Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Some Facts

IBS is a Common Problem

It is estimated that about 20 percent of Americans have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, also referred to as IBS. The syndrome is also sometimes called Spastic Colitis, Spastic Colon, Spastic Bowl, or Functional Bowel Syndrome.

Since IBS involves bodily processes which are not properly functioning, this disorder can be placed in the category of illnesses which are known as functional disorders. Discovering the true origin of this problem is notoriously difficult due to the problem of making an accurate diagnosis using normal methods.

Unknown Origin

IBS has not been linked to infections, any inflammation or structural defect. Both x-rays and blood tests do not show the presence of IBS in the patient’s body.

Symptoms of IBS include diarrhea, cramps, pain, and an abundance of gas, bloating and nausea. If a person has these symptoms over a period of time it is recommended that he or she be examined by a physician.

A doctor will try and ascertain whether or not the symptoms do indeed point to IBS by a thorough questioning of the patient, asking questions about eating habits, how long the problem has existed, and getting a complete medical history. If the doctor sees certain patterns he/she might conclude that the cause is IBS.

Some Foods Bad, Others Good

Although foods in and of themselves do not cause IBS, the ingestion of certain foods can exacerbate the symptoms. It is recommended that people with IBS avoid foods like dairy products, chocolate, high-fat foods, alcohol, caffeine and carbonated drinks. Keep a diary of what you eat and how you feel after. This is an excellent way to find out which foods cause the most trouble after eating.

Other foods might actually help to relieve some of symptoms of IBS. Fiber-rich foods such as apples, peaches and other fruits; or vegetables including broccoli and cauliflower can sometimes be quite helpful in reducing the symptoms.

Dr. Josyann Abisaab is an emergency room physician working at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Head Injuries and the ER

Many people are not sure when a visit to the ER is necessary. Some people are more inclined to play it safe and go regardless of the severity of the condition, while others prefer to wait things out. ER doctors such as Dr. Josyann Abisaab stress that it is important for people to be familiar with different levels of emergency, to avoid unnecessary visits or lack of necessary care.

Head injuries are common in sports. Parents often see their children take a blow to the head, and then get up and continue playing. They may even sit out for a few minutes. It is important to understand that concussions are a type of brain trauma, and they do not always result in unconsciousness. While an ER visit is not always necessary, it is important that you take the hit seriously and pay attention to any changes in the child’s demeanor. Sudden drowsiness, vomiting, uneven pupil dilation and even a split second of unconsciousness are probably signs of a concussion. Consult a doctor before making the trip, if you’d like, but don’t brush the occurrence off. Also, if a laceration occurred at the time of the blow, the child should definitely be examined.

Autumn Season Safety Tips: Josyann Abisaab MD

The season of “falling leaves” has given Autumn its popular moniker as the Fall season. But for doctors, like Josyann Abisaab MD, who staff the emergency rooms around the country, “fall” has taken on a whole new meaning. Forty-two million Americans seek emergency room treatment each year. Many of those injuries actually occur in the performance of ordinary household tasks – such as the outdoor yard maintenance so many of us set out to achieve each autumn. Leaf raking, lawn mowing, and roof inspections all have their potential dangers, including major falls, painful cuts and back injuries. Lawn mowers, in particular, must be viewed as the large, potentially harm-causing machines that they really are.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that more than 225,000 people were injured by power, manual and riding lawn mowers in 2007.

The good news, however, is that these dangers can be easily avoided by adhering to these few simple tips:

-- Turn your engine off before you begin any maintenance work on your lawnmower.

-- Don’t use your hands or feet to clear debris from under a lawnmower. Use a stick or broom handle instead.

-- Don’t remove safety devices, shields or guards on switches.

-- Never leave a lawnmower running unattended.

-- Wear protective gear like goggles and gloves, boots and long pants when mowing.

Obesity & Sleep Linked: E.R. News and Dr. Josyann Abisaab

A study recently published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine has found that insufficient sleep at night may actually have a lasting impact on obesity rates.  Babies and children under 5, the study showed, who got less than 10 hours of sleep a night, were more likely to be overweight or obese five years later.

As study author Dr. Janice Bell from the University of Washington explained,  "This is something we may be able to change to address the growing obesity problem."

Certainly, obesity rates are linked to more health issues and more resulting visits to doctors like Dr. Josyann Abisaab in the E.R.  If doctors and researchers can continue isolating the causes of obesity, this could help to reduce the problem and to create healthier situations for people and the health care community.

Good Healthy News for the Elderly

It seems like every day we hear another story of an elderly person fracturing a hip.  But today, it looks like this statistic is actually declining.  The study came from epidemiologists assessing a government survey of patients who had been hospitalized between 1990 and 2006.  The study found noteworthy decreases among men over 85 and women over 75.  This is extremely positive since what often happens with hip breaks is that the patient needs to be moved to a nursing home for at least a year to heal.  As well, such a fracture – if not cared for adequately – can result in many future visits to the ER. 

No one really knows what has caused this decline or if the trend is likely to continue in the future.  It could be the fact that there has been improved treatment for osteoporosis but that cannot be proved.  It could also be that since older people are generally in better shape, they are not falling as often. “Then there’s the cohort explanation. The older women who broke hips in the early 1990s — 1997 was the year that fracture rates peaked — were young during the Depression.” This might have been due to food shortages and malnutrition which meant they never developed sufficient bone density.  This news definitely takes off the pressure from doctors working in the ER like Dr. Josyann Abisaab who works at NY Presbyterian Hospital who can often be somewhat overwhelmed by individuals with breaks who need urgent care.

Diabetic Heat Issues: Dr. Josyann Abisaab

Emergency room doctors, like Dr. Josyann Abisaab, see an increased number of emergency room visits in the summer months from diabetics.  Researchers have found that diabetics show an increased frequency of emergency room visits, hospitalizations and even deaths due to heat illness during the hottest times of the year.  There are a number of reasons for this trend, many of which are addressed in this informative article.

Certainly, for anyone with diabetes, and for those treating them, it is essential to understand how heat influences and impacts diabetes.

Vitamin D for Optimum Health

Vitamin D is crucial for overall good health. What has now been discovered is that one can determine their body’s Vitamin D resources via their skin tone, nutrition and amount of sunshine absorbed. It was Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Charles B. Stephensen, along with his colleagues from the University of California-Davis, who conducted this research through their “development of a preliminary model that predicts an individual's vitamin D requirements.” It is not new that sun is a major source of Vitamin D.

But new research shows that this is dependent on one’s particular skin type, as well as latitude and how much protective clothing is worn. In terms of nutrition, a good source of the vitamin is salmon, milk, cereals, etc. Stephensen and his colleagues worked on this project with 72 young adult volunteers who recorded what they ate and wore photosensitive badges for 12 hours a day to help the researchers determine their level of sun exposure. The scientists have warned though that “some vitamin D levels indicated by the model exceed the level currently considered safe.” Vitamin D absorption is a great way of maintaining overall health and avoiding any kind of medical intervention.

New Discovery on Vitamin B3

Recent research has shown that B3 could possibly be used as an antifungal treatment.  The research was carried out by the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the University of Montreal, led by Martine Raymond, Pierre Thibault, and Alain Verreault (in conjunction with Alaka Mullick from the Biotechnology Research Institute of the National Research Council Canada.  This study was reported in Nature Medicine.  “Researchers found that genetic or pharmacological inhibition of Hst3 with nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, strongly reduced C. albicans virulence in a mouse model. Both normal and drug-resistant strains of C. albicans were susceptible to nicotinamide. In addition, nicotinamide prevented the growth of other pathogenic Candida species and Aspergillus fumigatus (another human pathogen), thus demonstrating the broad antifungal properties of nicotinamide.”  Thus if new therapies were developed to kill C. albicans this would help since it is one of the main causes of infections patients pick up in hospitals and is linked to high mortality rates.