Texas Tech Health Check

Send us Fan Mail According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 14.5 million people 12 years of age and older battle alcohol use disorder. Alcohol is the country’s most abused substance, and other than cigarettes, dealing with alcohol-related issues creates more costs per capita than do all other drugs combined.  This episode's guest is Susan Bergeson, Ph. D., a University Dist...

Send us Fan Mail How does the winter weather affect our skin and hair? To explain what happens when our skin and hair become dry is Dr. Michelle Tarbox, Texas Tech Physicians dermatologist. She talks to us about what to use to keep our skin and hair hydrated, why we should pay special attention to young and old skin and tips for keeping our skin healthy when we travel. 

Send us Fan Mail Thomas McGovern Ed. D.,  from the TTUHSC School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry shares  advice on how we can persevere when times are tough and how during the holidays we can honor friends and family members who have died.

Send us Fan Mail As you make plans for your holiday gatherings with your family, make a point of asking about your family’s health history and consider sharing your personal medical wishes and any necessary forms. Why should you do this now? Take advantage of having everyone at one place and being able to share with others as well and it’s always better to plan ahead. Dr. Kelly Klein, Texas Tech P...

Send us Fan Mail Texas Tech Physicians surgeon Dr. John Griswold gives advice on how to avoid injuries during the holidays, what we should include in our travel first aid kit and other ways to avoid at trip to the ER. 

Send us Fan Mail People who have a healthy lung capacity can send oxygen around their body faster but unhealthy lungs can slow us down or even make it difficult for us to talk. Smoking and vaping leads to unhealthy lungs. The Great American Smokeout this year is Nov. 18 but you don’t have to wait until then to stop smoking; your lungs and those of your loved ones will thank you. Here to talk to us...

Send us Fan Mail Diabetes is a long-lasting health condition that affects how our body turns food into energy. Who is at risk? What are some changes you can do now avoid being diagnosed or if you have been, what can you do to keep it under control? Here to talk to us more about diabetes is Dr. Shaili Felton, endocrinologist with Texas Tech Physicians and TTUHSC associate professor.

Send us Fan Mail Our guest for this episode is Dr. Kelly Bennett, a family medicine physician at Texas Tech Physicians and associate professor at TTUHSC. Dr. Bennett talked to us about seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a form of depression that’s common during this time of year in the northern hemisphere when the days get shorter and we’re exposed to less sunlight. Dr. Bennett also talked to us...

Send us Fan Mail In 2018 there were 5.8 billion prescriptions filled in the US. Nearly 50 percent of the US population takes a prescription medication. How can you be sure you are buying your medications from a safe and legal pharmacy?  Charles Seifert, Pharm. D., senior executive associate dean and Lubbock regional dean for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Jerry H. Hodge School of...

Send us Fan Mail According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2018, the latest year for which incidence data are available, in the United States, more than 1.7 million new cases of cancer were reported, and just under 600 thousand people died of cancer. For every 100,000 people, 436 new cancer cases were reported and 149 people died of cancer. Breast cancer is the second most co...

Send us Fan Mail According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic illness in the US with an annual cost in excess of $18 billion. More than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies each year. Hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis, is a common condition that causes sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, watery eyes and itching of...

Send us Fan Mail All of us age. There’s nothing we can do about it but the one thing we can somewhat control is how we approach aging. The director of clinical geriatric programs at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Garrison Institute on Aging Dr. John Culberson says that the best way to age gracefully is to stay active, eat healthy and to stay social. 

Send us Fan Mail Texas Tech Physicians surgeon, Director for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Clinical Research Institute, and University Medical Center Timothy J. Harnar Burn Center medical director Dr. John Griswold is this episode's featured guest. He explains what is sepsis, who is at risk for getting it, what are the symptoms,  and why it's important to pay attention...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to our new name--Texas Tech Health Check. Our new name reflects our goal to bring you evidence based health advice. Guests for this episode are TTUHSC Executive Vice President and Dean of the School of Medicine, Steven L. Berk, M.D., and Ron Cook, D.O., TTUHSC chief health officer and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine and Lubbock Health Authority. To...

Send us Fan Mail As most of us get ready to return to the office or get our children ready to go back to school, keep in mind what vaccines or boosters you, your loved ones or your children should get before going back to school or work.  Our guest for this episode is Dr. Richard Lampe, Texas Tech Physicians pediatrician and expert on infectious disease. Link to " The Vaccine Song " that...

Send us Fan Mail How can we practice good, oral health? This episode’s guest Dr. Joe Cordero, ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon at Texas Tech Physicians and chair of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center ENT Department tells us what to look for when self-checking for oral cancer. 

Send us Fan Mail Approximately one in 25 adults in the US will experience a swallowing problem. That’s difficulty or pain when swallowing or not being able to swallow at all—whether it’s liquids, food or saliva. Getting treatment from a speech-language pathologist can help. In this episode, Dr. Angela Van-Sickle , assistant professor, at the TTUHSC School of Health Professions, explains what cause...

Send us Fan Mail In part two of our look at mental health, TTUHSC Associate Professor and Licensed Psychologist Stephanie L. Moses, Ph. D.,  joins us once again from the Permian Basin to talk about how to manage stress, depression and anxiety; when to seek professional help; how to talk to your children about managing stressful situations; reminds us that it’s OK to not be OK and to tell our loved...

Send us Fan Mail In part one of a two-part series, TTUHSC Associate Professor and Licensed Psychologist Stephanie L. Moses, Ph. D., checks in on us and how we are doing, especially over such an uncertain and stressful time and reminds us to advocate for our mental health.

Send us Fan Mail Hearing loss affects young and old alike and you are never too young or too old to protect your hearing. There is also help, Hearing aids have come a long way--high-tech tiny computers have replaced the clunky, "banana" hearing aids. This episode's guest is Dr. Renee Zimmerman, assistant professor in the TTUHSC School of Health Professions.

Send us Fan Mail Dr. John Kidwell, colorectal surgeon at Texas Tech Physicians and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, talks to us about colon cancer, why early detection is key and walks us through what happens during a colonoscopy—one of the most common ways to screen for colon cancer—a disease that is the third most common cancer and the third leading cause of c...

Send us Fan Mail Kathryn Crain, senior director of clinical operations for the Department of Surgery at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, explains how health care providers and patients embraced telemedicine thanks to the pandemic.

Send us Fan Mail Jeanie Jaramillo-Stametz, Pharm. D.,  and Ronica Farrar from  the Texas Panhandle Poison Center explain what to do with your unused and expired medications and why we shouldn't keep them around.

Send us Fan Mail Guest Dr. Matthew Grisham talks about good gut health: why it’s important; what to look out for; what to do to get your gut back in check. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2015, an estimated 1.3% of US adults (3 million) reported being diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis). Dr. Grisham  is Chair and professor in th...

Send us Fan Mail Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression. Dr. Sarah Mallard Wakefield, chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, explains how the procedure works. Also hear a first-hand account from a patien...