Lifestyles

To Your Good Health: Aspiration pneumonia after an adenoma

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was 47 when my first colonoscopy found a villous adenoma, and during the past 21 years, I’ve had eight or nine more without problems. But this week, I had another and wound up with aspiration pneumonia, despite having followed the prep instructions to the letter. I know my stomach was empty. How could this happen, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again? A friend suggested that it might have been “water brash,” which is associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Would they let me take an acid-suppression drug before the next ...

Friday evening TV

Bridge by Steve Becker

1. Six clubs. Partner’s four-notrump bid is the equivalent of a strong takeout double, so you should assume that he has adequate trump support for at least two suits. When he next bids five spades, you should assume that he is void of spades and that diamonds is not one of his suits, as ...

Letting children set their own boundaries

DEAR ANNIE: I am the grandmother of two. My almost-3-year-old granddaughter told me she does not love her “Uncle Dave.” I asked her why and she said because he tickles her. Her parents, my son and his wife, push their kids to “give hugs” upon visiting and leaving friends and relatives. I mentioned this to my daughter-in-law, and she seemed to brush it off. I also texted my son and he replied, “k.” My granddaughter’s birthday party is coming up soon, and Uncle Dave will be there. I plan on being vigilant so that she won’t be subjected to being touched in a way she is ...

Doctor won’t order magnesium test for patient on PPIs

DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently read in your column that you test your patient’s magnesium levels when they have been on long-term proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs). When I asked my doctor to include this in his order for blood tests, I was told that the test isn’t accurate, and he wouldn’t order it. Is there a special magnesium test that I can request? When I looked it up on the internet, this is what I found: “Standard magnesium blood tests (serum) are generally not considered an accurate indicator of total body magnesium. While they can detect severe deficiency, they are unreliable ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

Signals are among the most valuable tools the defenders can employ to help them overcome the natural handicap of defense. In general, these signals take two forms — they are either positive or negative. A positive signal when you are discarding or following to partner’s lead is the play of a card higher than necessary. Thus, if your partner leads the king of a suit and you hold, say, the A-8-2, the play of the eight is a positive signal asking your partner to continue the suit. If you were to play the deuce instead — a negative signal — you’d be asking partner to stop ...