Health professionals answer questions at outreach forums
Visiting specialists from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Southern California, along with physicians and staff from the Guam Seventh-day Adventist Clinic, took the time on Saturday to answer health-related questions in two interactive forums that attracted a number of attendees eager to understand more about ailments and diseases afflicting them or their loved ones.
The Agana Heights event was attended by roughly two dozen people who asked an array of questions on topics ranging from inflammation, medication and diabetes to the impacts of mental health on physical health.
Of particular concern to one attendee was pain he was experiencing in his knees because of inflammation. Dr. Jared Santana, an internal medicine specialist and assistant director of the SDA Clinic, in response, said he worked in a knee pain clinic in Texas.
"I do have a case, I remember. The lady was 92 years old. She was in rumba classes, and she was into dancing, and she came to see me because she had this terrible knee pain. I remember, I asked her, 'What do you do? What anti-inflammatory medicines do you take?' And she said, 'I don't take any. I take turmeric,'" Santana said.
He said that for inflammation, turmeric is the most potent anti-inflammatory food.
"It's very powerful stuff. I believe some people do grow it on Guam, but you can buy it. You don't even have to spend a lot of money buying the tablet or capsule form. You can buy it in the grocery store," Santana said.
That question prompted another attendee to ask about the effect painkillers and turmeric have on the liver.
Dr. Sergio Infante, a nephrologist who also is the medical director of Loma Linda Medical Center for Dialysis, said "painkillers are one of the most misused medications that we have in our society. One of the reasons why it's misused is because you can find it in the store around the corner. You can buy in excessive amounts. Nobody is going to tell you about that."
He said that any pill introduced to the body has an impact.
"Every type of pill that we put in our system will have a side effect. ... We have to be very careful with the utilization of pain medications. Ideally, somebody has to let you know. This is the reason why you are here, and I really appreciate your presence because this can prevent a lot of things in the future," Infante said.
He said painkillers should be taken only when really needed, and he urged attendees to refrain from taking supplements.
"I strongly encourage you all to try to avoid taking supplements," Infante said, noting that the ingredients could be toxic.
Dr. Michael Robinson of SAC Health at Loma Linda pointed out that there are alternative methods, such as applying ice, that could reduce inflammation.
"That's another great thing you can do instead of taking these medications. Turmeric, as long as it's from the store fresh, is more powerful," he said.
The panel of specialists also answered questions posed by The Guam Daily Post about mental health and its impact on physical health.
"Especially during the pandemic, it was high-stressed, as we all know. That's when I saw mental health rates go up. It was often that I would get patients that had questions on suicide, but during the pandemic every week I was getting it every week, sometimes more than once a week. I know also when a patient's mental health is struggling, it increases your risk for other diseases as well, too. Your mental health is very important for your physical well-being," Tina Heinrich, a physician's assistant with the SDA Clinic, said.
The specialists also addressed how mentality can stand as a barrier in accessing health care.
"Near our hospital in California, this is a big hospital, a 1,200-bed hospital with all the access to care possible, it's in a blue zone of the world. But the funny thing is that five miles away from the hospital is the most underserved population in the United States. Over there we have a clinic called the Social Action Clinic. ... At the beginning, we used to see people without any access to care, zero. Immigrants, undocumented people, unfortunately they were getting to the clinic only when they were very sick. Nowadays, the clinic has evolved. There's many more resources. Obamacare is available, so health coverage is much better, and we are starting to see people come to the physician to see if things are OK and that's the way it should be," Infante said.
He stressed that everyone should evolve to that point where health care is preventive and general checkups are routine.
The Agana Heights health forum was one of two events held on Saturday. The second forum was held at the Dededo Senior Center. Both events were sponsored by the Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
"We're encouraged that folks were willing to come out and ask questions they likely had on their minds for a while. This is significant because whenever we increase the health literacy of our community, amazing things can happen. The more health literate, the better (the) consumer of health services and the less waste of those services," said Carmen Kasperbauer, the outreach coordinator.
"At both events - Dededo and Agana Heights - the doctors and their teams were able to respond to several questions from the public. After the program, several attendees inquired about the next ... program. While we don't yet have a date, I can safely say that we look forward to hosting in more villages in the future."
