With nearly 30 years of clinical experience, Illinois-based urgent care and family physician Dr. Lamont Tyler functions as the medical director of specialty physician services at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington. As a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), Dr. Lamont Tyler remains apprised of some of the latest developments in health care. As one of the largest medical associations in the nation, the AAFP strives to keep more than 120,900 members up to date on the latest developments in the medical community, including those related to new e-cigarette products. Following an unprecedented threefold increase in teen use of e-cigarettes, even as tobacco use continues to drop, the AAFP community at large remains concerned about the lack of FDA approval for such devices and research regarding their long-term health effects. However, a recent report presented at the 2015 American Thoracic Society International Conference suggests that e-cigarette use, or “vaping,” is not a successful long-term solution to smoking abstinence. Rather, the study indicates that many who use e-cigarettes also smoke conventional cigarettes, with no detectable reduction in smoking during three- and six-month follow-ups. The results of the study, authored by Riyad al-Lehebi, MBBS, of the University of Toronto, are based on currently available research of four studies and 22 published articles. A separate poll of 5,679 Americans by Reuters/Ipsos found that approximately 10% use e-cigarettes regularly and, despite the paucity of research, 80% consider e-cigarettes an effective way to quit smoking. Within the same sample, three out of four e-cigarette users continued to smoke traditional tobacco products.
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Dr. Lamont Tyler, medical director for OSF St. Joseph Medical Center PromptCare, shares his expertise with the community as host of the weekly show DocTalk on Cities 92.9 FM in Bloomington, Illinois. Dr. Lamont Tyler has also participated in a number of speaker programs, including Schand Morahan's hypertension initiative. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is dangerous in its subtlety. It is the most common root cause of many serious or fatal conditions, including heart disease and stroke, and is extremely dangerous to patients with diabetes, yet it typically appears entirely asymptomatically. In fact, experts estimate that close to 33 percent of patients with hypertension do not know that they have the condition. Those that are aware of their high blood pressure typically receive the diagnosis after visiting the doctor for an unrelated condition. Patients who have long-term severe high blood pressure, however, do experience certain side effects. They may feel fatigued, confused, or experience other neurological disturbances. They may present with severe headaches or other alarming symptoms such as difficulty breathing or chest pain. These patients often seek medical attention for a perceived cardiac episode or other severe medical event, though these symptoms actually alert medical professionals to the fact that the patient's sustained high blood pressure has caused damage to other body systems. Dr. Lamont Tyler, an authority on urgent and acute care, shares his medical expertise with the public on the radio show "Doc Talk.” On the weekly program, Dr. Lamont Tyler discusses a variety of topics, such as the flu vaccine and why getting it is a good health decision. The flu, or influenza, is a common but serious health problem that people are most likely to contract during the months from October to May. People who are otherwise healthy can get very sick from the flu, and for those whose immune systems are compromised, the flu can be life-threatening. Each year, thousands of people die from the flu, and around 90 percent of flu-related deaths occur in people over 65 years of age. Therefore, getting vaccinated for the flu is very important, especially among older people. When a person is vaccinated for the flu, they are exposed to an inactive form of the flu virus. This causes the individual to develop antibodies, which provide protection from the flu. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for the antibodies to fully develop. Therefore, it’s best to receive flu vaccine early in the flu season, rather than after an outbreak begins, for better protection. |
AuthorAs Medical Director of OSF St. Joseph Medical Center’s PromptCare, Dr. Lamont Tyler takes pride in the diverse array of services offered to all individuals on a walk-in basis. Archives
August 2017
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