When you catch a cold, you can blame a virus — actually, you can blame over 200 viruses that hang out in the air you breathe and the surfaces you touch. The rhinovirus is the most common culprit, but respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and coronavirus come in a close second. ...
There’s so much to keep track of with your child’s health, and it’s hard to remember the schedules for each type of check-up. From developmental checks, well-child visits, and immunizations to sports physicals and sick visits, it’s tricky to keep up with all the requirements. At Redwood Family Health Center, now...
Diabetes mellitus is a collection of diseases that influence how your body processes blood sugar. Although all four types of diabetes involve too much glucose in your blood, the causes, characteristics, and treatments differ. If you have diabetes, you’ll need ongoing care from a medical team that understands the unique...
You dress your kid in a winter coat to protect them from the cold and strap a helmet on their head before they ride their bike because you know that the old adage is true: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You’re committed to keeping your...
They call it the common cold for a reason: Millions of people get them yearly Most get 2-3 colds per year It’s the number one reason for missed work and school Although colds go away in about a week, and there’s nothing you can do to speed up the process, there are...
Even when a sports physical isn’t required as part of your registration for organized sports, it’s a good idea to schedule one for yourself or your kids. At Redwood Family Health Center, board-certified family physicians Venkata Vallury, MD, and Visalakshi Vallury, MD, and our medical team offer sports physicals for adult and child athletes at every...
They call hypertension the “silent killer” because it sneaks up without warning and can be life-threatening when it does. That’s why we check your blood pressure every time you visit us at Redwood Family Health Center in McKinney and Farmers Ranch, Texas. Elevated blood pressure indicates a serious health condition that can...
Only lung cancer deaths surpass breast cancer deaths in American women. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 30% of the cancers women develop will be breast cancer. In 2022, that means 287,850 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 43,250 will die from it. Those are sobering statistics,...
By interfering with your blood sugar levels, diabetes puts you at risk for a long list of health conditions, including heart disease, gum disease and tooth decay, chronic kidney disease, hearing loss, nerve damage, and mental health issues, to name a few. Two of the most common diabetes complications affect your eyes...
Your first pregnancy was an adventure. If you’re like many women, you followed the growth and development of your baby over the months and anticipated their arrival with growing enthusiasm — and maybe a little anxiety. After all, being a first-time parent can be intimidating, and the onslaught of information...
You may have been surprised to hear you have high blood pressure. After all, you feel fine and have experienced no symptoms. That’s why hypertension is so dangerous. You can live with it for months or years without realizing you have it, while it slowly damages your veins and arteries and...
Type 1 diabetes requires lifelong insulin therapy — there’s no way around that. But type 2 diabetes is different. With the right lifestyle changes and medication, you can manage your symptoms and live a fairly normal life. Does that mean you can reverse type 2 diabetes if you try hard...
You typed “symptoms of high blood pressure” into your search bar and came up empty. And you won’t have much more luck here. That’s because high blood pressure — also called hypertension — has no symptoms to warn you that you have it. In fact, that sneaky characteristic led to...
The average American adult gets a cold 2-3 times a year, and kids get even more. That makes the common cold the most prevalent health problem facing people of all ages. When you experience the telltale signs of congestion, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, and runny nose, all you want is...
The adage “you are what you eat” is especially true for children. In addition to fueling basic metabolic functions, proper nutrition: Builds your child’s immune system so they can fend off infectious diseases Contributes to proper brain and organ development Promotes cognitive development Proper nutrition establishes a strong physical, mental,...
After your body absorbs all the beneficial nutrients, everything you eat and drink eventually gets filtered through your kidneys and turned into urine. When you pee, you get rid of waste, salt, electrolytes, chemicals, toxins, digestive byproducts, and even hormones. But your urine also passes out things like medications and...
Regular medical check-ups are important for every aspect of your health. The reason you see your eye doctor and dentist every year is to monitor your vision and oral health and detect any problems early so you can treat them before they progress into a serious condition. The same is...
Like most cancers, cervical cancer has a better cure rate when it’s caught early. And that’s where the Pap smear, also known as the Pap test, comes in. Dr. Venkata Vallury here at Redwood Family Health Center in McKinney and Farmers Branch, Texas, performs Pap smears regularly as part of...
Diabetes is a life-changing diagnosis. There’s no cure, and there are many lifestyle factors and test results you need to juggle all day, every day. That can be tough if you try to do it on your own. Fortunately, you don’t have to. Dr. Venkata Vallury, our experienced physician here...
Whether they try their hand at tennis, volleyball, soccer, baseball, or one of the many other sports available to kids these days, if your child is one of the 70% of kids ages 6-12 who join a team or play an individual sport or one of the 8 million teenagers...
Most people think of children when they think of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) — and rightly so. For many years, experts believed that one of the key factors in an ADHD diagnosis was the presence of symptoms prior to adolescence. But new research may suggest otherwise. Many adults have lived with...
High blood pressure, medically known as hypertension, is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke, and it’s on the rise. More than 100 million adults in the United States have hypertension, according to recent statistics, and because hypertension rarely causes symptoms, many of them are unaware of it....