I was recently overseas and was taken aback by a billboard advertisement that I wish I had seen in the United States. While I couldn't read the entire advertisement since it was in a foreign language, it showed a picture of a woman sneezing into a tissue with the premise of the message saying, "we know you’re feeling bad, but you don’t need antibiotics for a virus." This is such an important message, and I wish it were broadcast more in the United States. I get it, though: You started with a sore throat which was 3 days of misery, and now you have sinus congestion and a horrible cough that has ..read more

This op-ed is reprinted from STAT News, an online publication focusing on health, medicine, and scientific advancements with over 2 million monthly readers. Dr. Wenzell has previously written about Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs) and how they negatively influence the pharmaceutical market, but solely blaming them overlooks the other underlying issues that lead to unclear and inflated prescription drug pricing. They are a symptom of an underlying disease, and focusing only on eliminating them is treating a fever and ignoring the infection. This op-ed explores Mark Cuban’s success with simplif ..read more

This article is a follow up to my video discussing seasonal allergies (aka “hay fever” or allergic rhinitis) and how I treat it to relieve symptoms of sinus congestion; stuffy ears; and itchy, watery eyes. This article will instead focus on a few treatments that may be effective for seasonal allergies but have unwanted side effects, making them worse options. Antihistamines and Dementia Risk “First generation” antihistamines like diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or chlorpheniramine all tend to cause drowsiness due to crossing into the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). This may contribu ..read more

At the Cost of Our Health: Part 1 I switched to Direct Primary Care for many reasons, many of them related to the hidden and irrational pricing incentives in our healthcare industry. Healthcare costs have increased dramatically faster than inflation for the last three decades, and this series aims to explore some of the reasons why this has happened as well as potential solutions (hint: I think DPC helps solve many of them!). Read on for more about some of the largest “middlemen” in healthcare that most people are unaware even exist. Introduction Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are often hidd ..read more

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Introduction: Exercise is often first thought of as a weight loss tool, but it provides numerous other health benefits even more effectively than its use for weight loss, for which it is at best slightly effective. This article explores the incredible ways in which exercise can improve your overall well-being and why I often help develop exercise regimens for my patients, focusing on its impact on hypertension, depression, anxiety, osteoarthritis, bone health, and osteoporosis. Hypertension: High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects millions of Americans, increasing the risk of heart atta ..read more

Given the alluring title of my blog post, as you probably guessed, the answer is potentially YES. Ranging from technology such as the Apple watch to our old “tried-and-true” yearly mammograms, doing too much for your health can sometimes lead to a false sense of disease and harm. Now, before you cancel your mammogram or smash your Apple watch (please give it to me before smashing it), I’m not at all saying that these things are bad. I’m a very firm believer in the value of yearly mammography. The issue is how we should interpret and digest those results. In this blog series, I will be taking ..read more

DISCLAIMER: The blog post below is not medical advice but rather simply informative and interesting. Note this is NOT currently an FDA-approved treatment. There have been some new studies and findings that have started to catch my attention regarding a compound called Psilocybin. For those of you unfamiliar with this compound, you might be familiar with its other name: Magic Mushrooms. Perhaps, now we have a good explanation for all of the “peace and love” in 1969. I’ve been following this development over the past few weeks actually. I had an encounter with a friend’s brother who was visiti ..read more

With COVID garnering all of the recent press and everyone’s attention, it seems that we have lost track of an old enemy that I am concerned may be lurking in the background setting us up for a problematic autumn.   For the past 2 years, influenza has been all but absent.  There are many speculations as to why with some of the theories being:   1.       Increased social distancing and masking efforts along with hand hygiene behaviors that came with a higher alert for COVID.  Experts believe that these mitigation efforts may have helped curb infl ..read more

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