Most of the sun damage your eyes take doesn’t happen during an eclipse. It happens on ordinary days — driving, fishing on Table Rock, working outside, sitting on a dock in July. UV exposure adds up over years, and by the time it shows up as a cataract or a growth on the surface of the eye, the damage is … Read More
Poison Ivy: What Actually Works (and What Doesn’t)
Around 85% of people are allergic to poison ivy, oak and sumac. Only about 10 to 15% seem genuinely unable to react. Here are the facts and the fictions, because there is a lot of confident misinformation about this plant. FICTION: “I’ve never gotten it, so I’m immune.” This is the one that catches people out. The reaction is an … Read More
Lyme Disease in Missouri: How Common Is It Really?
The lone star tick — the female’s single white dot makes her easy to identify. This is the tick behind most of Missouri’s tick-borne illness. Summer in the Ozarks brings lake days, hiking, yard work — and ticks. Every year patients come in worried after finding one attached, and the first question is almost always the same: “Can I get … Read More