In the early months of the pandemic, telehealth use rose dramatically. But fewer people are using digital tools to connect with their doctor these days. Claims for telehealth service fell 5% in March of this year from February, which fell 16% from January.

Possible reasons include the use of vaccines, which has made it easier for patients to visit clinics. Mental health remains the top telehealth service.

Make That Another, and Another

Nearly one in four U.S. adults say they routinely have three or more alcoholic beverages during one sitting, according to a new national poll out of the University of Michigan. One in 10 said they also partake of other substances, such as marijuana, that can interact with alcohol in risky ways.

Nearly 15% said their drinking increased during the pandemic, primarily to cope with boredom, pain, stress or boost their spirits, so to speak.

Body of Knowledge

Blood makes up about 8% of your total body weight.

Get Me That, Stat!

Postpartum mental health visits rose 30% more than expected during the pandemic, according to new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Counts

90: Percentage of food allergens linked to seafood.

Source: Food and Drug Administration

Doc Talk

Labyrinthitis: A disorder that occurs when the inner ear becomes inflamed and irritated, which can lead to dizziness and balance problems.

Phobia of the Week

Omphalophobia: A fear of belly buttons.

Food for Thought

The FDA is cautioning folks who are allergic to seafood to not eat 17-year or Brood X cicadas, which apparently taste like shellfish. The insects are a species of periodical bug that spend the bulk of their lives underground or out of sight, emerging as adults only at set times. The Brood X cicada is a large brood that appeared this year after a 17-year absence. They are found primarily in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Indiana and Tennessee where, of course, real shellfish is pretty scarce.

Best Medicine

First guy: My girlfriend left me because she couldn't handle my OCD.

Second guy: What'd you do?

First guy: I told her to close the door five times on her way out.

Observation

"Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid."

— German poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)

Medical History

This week in 1865, Dr. Joseph Lister became the first surgeon to perform an antiseptic operation by liberally applying carbolic acid as a disinfectant. Lister had studied Louis Pasteur's germ theory of disease that suggested infections are caused by bacteria. Lister knew carbolic acid had been effective in municipal use for treating sewage, so he decided to try using it to kill germs that would otherwise infect wounds. He poured it on bandages, ligatures instruments and directly on the wound and hands. The first patient to benefit was James Greenlees, 12, whose broken leg was treated after being run over by a cart. The dressing was soaked with carbolic acid and linseed oil. The wound healed without infection.

Perishable Publications

Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases such as "nonlinear dynamics." Sometimes they don't, and yet they're still hard to figure out. Here's an actual title of actual published research study: "The Nature of Navel Fluff," which was published in the journal Medical Hypotheses in 2009.

The author's rather small study sample — his belly button — led to the conclusion that most navel fluff is cotton fuzz from T-shirts, gathered and collected by abdominal hair.

Side note: Assuming an average T-shirt (180 grams) can be worn up to 100 days a year, such a shirt could suffer a weight loss of up to 182 milligrams (0.1%) per year just by fibers lost into the navel.

Med School

Q: If you were born with an extra finger, where would it most likely be?

a) Next to your pinky finger

b) Next to your thumb

c) In the middle

A: a) It's pretty common to be born with more than 10 fingers or toes. The condition is called polydactyly, and it occurs in one in 1,000 babies. Extra fingers are usually smaller than normal and may not even have bones in them. They're harmless and tend to run in families. Most often, the extra digit is near the pinky and can be surgically removed after the child's first birthday.

Curtain Calls

A 29-year-old Florida angler was pulled from his boat after hooking a blue marlin during a 1994 fishing contest. Chris Bowie's hands became tangled in the line and the fish dragged him underwater. Neither the fish nor Bowie were seen again.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Quangpraha at Pixabay