Texas Tech Health Check

Send us Fan Mail Eating disorders can cause a lot of harm to children and adolescents, but treatment is available. Our guest for this episode is Rosa Gomez de Jesus, M.D., Texas Tech Physicians pediatrician. Dr. Gomez explains the different types of eating disorders, warning signs, treatment and advice for parents and caregivers to help their children.

Send us Fan Mail It’s the time of year when we go over the list of things we need to do to prepare for the fall and winter – take warmer clothes out of storage, get our cars serviced, prepare our lawns and gardens for the upcoming harsh weather and get vaccinated against flu, COVID and RSV. Our guest for this episode is Fiona Prabhu, M.D., School of Medicine Professor, Director of Community Engage...

Send us Fan Mail According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity is a serious problem in the U.S. and puts children and adolescents at risk for poor physical and psychological health. How can parents and caregivers help their children manage their weight? That’s what Amanda Masters, M.D., Texas Tech Physicians pediatrician and associate professor in the School of Med...

Send us Fan Mail Our guest for this episode, Christina Sanders, D.O., associate professor in the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine Department of Neurology and a pediatric rehabilitation medicine (PRM) and brain injury medicine (BIM) physician, goes over different types of brain injuries, symptoms, treatments and long-term effects of letting it go untreated. Dr. Sander...

Send us Fan Mail There are few more painful or confusing experiences than a gallbladder attack. This episode's guest, Justin Vaughan, M.D., Texas Tech Physicians surgeon, explains what a gallbladder does and how gallstones are formed, what triggers an attack and the risks associated with not getting treatment. 

Send us Fan Mail The annular solar eclipse will cross North, Central and South America on Oct. 14 and it will be visible in parts of the U.S., with the greatest path visibility in Texas. Everyone should know by now not to stare directly at an eclipse but may not know why. Our guest, Kelly Mitchell, M.D., Texas Tech Physicians ophthalmologist, explains why we shouldn’t look directly at the eclipse...

Send us Fan Mail There are nearly  6 million children in the U.S. with asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What can you do if your child has asthma and how can you encourage them to be active without triggering an asthma attack? Our guest for this episode is Adaobi Kanu, M.D., is a pediatric pulmonologist for Texas Tech Physicians. She explains what asthma is, what...

Send us Fan Mail Plastic surgery is more than just improving someone's appearance. It involves much more, including procedures such as repairing complex wounds. For a variety of reasons, some people choose to get plastic surgery abroad, but they might come home with more complications. Guests for this episode, Bryce Stash, M.D., and Deepak Bharadia, M.D., Texas Tech Physicians surgeons, expla...

Send us Fan Mail Alcohol use tends to be higher among college students compared to non-college youth. Frequent heavy drinking (binge drinking) can greatly increase one's chances of developing an alcohol use disorder, which can cause serious physical and emotional damage. This episode's guest explains the dangers of college binge drinking and alcohol abuse and provides strategies for stud...

Send us Fan Mail How can parents and guardians and college students themselves make sure their first year of higher education is a fun yet safe and productive experience? Our guest for this episode is David Edwards, M.D., medical director for TTUHSC's Student Health Services,  and associate professor of Sports Medicine in the School of Medicine. Dr. Edwards talks to us about physical and ment...

Send us Fan Mail Synthetic opioids like fentanyl, are oftentimes mixed with other illicit drugs, such as cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin and marijuana, leaving many users unaware they were taking fentanyl. What does this mean for someone who is mentally ill or is taking other prescription medications? Our guest for this episode is Poorvanshi Alag, M.D., assistant professor in the School of Med...

Send us Fan Mail More than 25 million adult Americans experience temporary or chronic urinary incontinence. It can happen at any age too. For women, what are the causes and treatments? Guests for this episode are Melissa Sanford, M.D., Texas Tech Physicians urologist, and Kristen Sharma, Texas Tech Physicians urology family nurse practitioner. They answer our questions and explain what happens dur...

Send us Fan Mail According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2015-2019 Black men were 1.2 times and 1.7 times, respectively, more likely to have new cases of colon and prostate cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men. Additionally, they have lower 5-year cancer survival rates for most cancer sites, as compared to non-Hispanic white men. We’re a few weeks past Men’s Heal...

Send us Fan Mail Suicide is one of the top three leading causes of death among children, youth and young adults under the age of 34. Adolescents who have had negative life experiences can be more prone to suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts. It's something that we need to talk about more openly, says Natalie Scanlon, Ph. D., assistant professor and clinical psychologist in the Texas Tech Un...

Send us Fan Mail June is National Men's Health Month and our guests for this episode talked to us about testosterone. Pranav Sharma, M.D., division chief of urologic oncology, and clinical medical director and Melissa Bowyer, APRN, both in the Bernhard Mittemeyer Clinic at TTUHSC, explained what testosterone is and what it does and doesn't do, what causes low testosterone, what happens w...

Send us Fan Mail For this special episode, we invited members of our university’s leadership to discuss health care and health sciences education in the past couple of years and what we can expect in the next few years as well. Guest host: TTUHSC President Lori Rice-Spearman, Ph. D. Guests: Ron Cook, D.O., MBA, TTUHSC chief health officer and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicin...

Send us Fan Mail It’s the unofficial start of summer around here which means there is also the potential for injuries from burns. John Griswold, M.D., Texas Tech Physicians burn surgeon and medical director for the Timothy J. Harnar Burn Center. Dr. Griswold shares with us the kinds of burns he sees more often during the summer months and how we can avoid them. He also tells us how to treat less s...

Send us Fan Mail Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (or ADHD) has been trending in the news and on social media. Many adults were diagnosed with ADHD over the COVID-19 pandemic, giving them answers to behavior they might not have been aware were symptoms of ADHD. Esther Schwartz, Ph. D., staff psychologist in the department of family and community medicine, is our guest for this episode. She...

Send us Fan Mail Child abuse and neglect are serious public health problems and adverse childhood experiences that can have long-term impacts on health, opportunity and wellbeing. Children with disabilities may be at higher risk for abuse or neglect than children without disabilities.  Patti Patterson, M.D., Texas Tech Physicians pediatrician, tells us what makes children with special needs especi...

Send us Fan Mail May is Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Awareness Month and our guest this episode, Adaobi Kanu, M.D., answers our questions about CF. Dr. Kanu is pediatric pulmonology CF center director at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She tells us who is at risk for being diagnosed with CF, how treatments have improved in the past few years, and what you can do to help friends or loved ones...

Send us Fan Mail You may have heard about these new “weight loss” medications, whether it’s a celebrity or someone you know taking these medications to drop some pounds. Perhaps you’ve heard that some people with diabetes are having a difficult time paying for or finding this medication that they rely on. Either way, you probably have questions. Here to walk us through it is Drew Payne, D.O., inte...

Send us Fan Mail Get rid of your unused or expired meds at the upcoming Medication Cleanout scheduled for April 22. The event happens twice a year in Lubbock, Amarillo and Abilene, Texas. Our guest for this episode is Jeanie Shawhart, Pharm. D. She is a pharmacist and managing director of the Texas Panhandle Poison Center . Dr. Shawhart explains why it’s important to get rid of those medication yo...

Send us Fan Mail Acne can be a problem for us, including adults. What should you do if you get a pimple or an acne flare-up? Michelle Tarbox, M.D., is a dermatologist at Texas Tech Physicians and an associate professor at TTUHSC. Dr. Tarbox explains how acne forms, why we get it, how to treat it and what to do if we get a pimple right before an important event.

Send us Fan Mail Be prepared before hitting the trails and know what to do in case of an emergency or how to avoid finding yourself in an emergency situation. Brian Kendall, M.D., emergency medicine, is a clinical assistant professor and clerkship director at TTUHSC. He shares with us what he packs in his first aid kit, how to avoid the most common injury and what to do in case of an emergency. 

Send us Fan Mail More than half of the world population works and we spend a significant amount of our lives at our jobs. How can we manage stress at work so that it doesn’t affect our home life and our physical health? Logan Winkelman, Ph. D., is this episode’s guest. She has advice and tips on how to handle the stress that comes along with starting or changing careers, working with people who ar...