Voices of the People

• Dr. Andrea N. Price M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
  • Vaginitis and Yeast Infections

    Well sisters, summer is upon us.  The time has come for cookouts, swimming, jazz in the park, hot summer nights and …VAGINITIS!  One hour too many spent in a wet swimsuit or sweaty work out clothing, and you'll soon find yourself frantically searching for a drugstore open after midnight.   Even worse (from my perspective anyway), you'll page your OB/GYN, awakening him or her from a peaceful slumber around 2:00 A.M.  You tell the answering service, "No it's not a life or death emergency", but the intense itching and burning in your nether regions sure feels like an emergency.   

  • Well Woman Care - Health Maintenance

    This past weekend I met a lovely, dynamic, 45-year-old African American woman at a baby christening.  She is a classic example of the mother, sister, wife, girlfriend, superwoman who is well known, respected and indeed, is the backbone of our community.   This woman is very well educated, a conservatory trained vocalist and performer, and she is active in her church’s music ministry. She is a wife, mother of a teenage son, and a dedicated teacher in the public school system.  Upon engaging this woman in conversation it quickly became apparent that this sister who does so much for so many was seriously neglecting her OWN health.   She has not had a routine Pap smear in 5 years, nor has she ever had a screening mammogram. She is also overweight and suffers from sleep apnea as a consequence.  Medically speaking, she is taking an extreme risk with her life.

  • Emergceny Contraception

    If I had a nickel for every time a panic stricken girlfriend has called me in the wee hours of the morning yelling,  ” Andi, I messed up, what do I do now…?”  Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t ever have to go into the office, or rush into the hospital at 2:00 A.M. to deliver a baby again. Yes, at some unfortunate time or another, most women have experienced and regretted unprotected sexual intercourse. Whether it was a broken condom, getting swept away in throes of passion  (yes, this happens, but this excuse doesn’t fly with me), diaphragm slippage, or sex without consent (rape), an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy does not have to be your fate.  Forget about old wives tales such as standing on your head or Coca-Cola douches preventing pregnancy.  Several real options exist in the form of emergency contraception that can be utilized after unprotected sex has occurred. 

  • Urban Legends, Spam Email & the CA-125 Hoax

    If you've had an email address for at least a year, you will quickly begin to recognize them.  The message indicates you (the reader) should forward this message to as many people as possible.  It may be: a new virus, a contest for free money or vacations from leading tech firms, local crime alerts, terminally ill children pursuing a world record, expensive cookie recipes, online petitions, pending government intrusion and taxation, and an immediate blessing from above if you forward the prayer chain to 10 people, etc.  Perhaps you have personally forwarded a few of these messages to friends or family out of honest concern, only to find out later it was an email hoax.   The number of spams, urban legends and email hoaxes is virtually staggering, yet they all carry the same primary characteristics; a bit of truth mixed with fiction and an encouragement to forward to as many people as possible. 

  • Do you really need that hysterectomy?

    When I first arrived in the rural heartland from the big city a couple of years ago, one of the very first things I noticed was the sheer volume of patients who had hysterectomies performed…and at a very young age.  It seemed as if the majority of women in their late 30's who had finished childbearing had no uterus.  After a year I nearly forgot what a cervix looked like and when I ran across a woman over the age of 40 who had managed to retain her uterus, my nurse and I literally would get excited.  It seemed as if the most common reason for removing a uterus was the identical reason people give for wanting to climb Mt. Everest, or even the reason the chicken crossed the road…because it was there!

  • Until There’s Male Birth Control, There’s still “The Pill”

    Since its introduction in 1950, it has been praised, protested, hotly debated and a never-ending topic of discussion in many circles.  I’m talking about the most popular form of reversible birth control, the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) or what’s popularly known as, “the pill”.  The one irrefutable fact is, the pill remains the most widely used form of hormonal birth control and is one of the safest, most effective methods for preventing pregnancy.  While most men will rarely admit in sharing the responsibility or fully understanding birth control, I believe many men are fans of its benefits (if for no other reason than saving themselves a late night trip to the 24-hour drug store).