For more than 50 years The Austin Diagnostic Clinic has provided quality primary and specialty care to families in Austin and Central Texas. Let Our Family Care for Your Family.
The Austin Diagnostic Clinic's new locations in southwest Austin are opening soon!
ADC Westlake opens December 5 and ADC Circle C opens December 12. Our staff and doctors are getting ready to move out of our location on James Casey.
We wanted to give you a sneak peek and show you what the new clinics look like inside. Take the tour!
Patients who need a CT scan will be able to get higher quality images at a faster rate with less radiation exposure thanks to a technology upgrade at The Austin Diagnostic Clinic.
ADC Imaging is installing a new 128-slice CT scanner. CT, also called computerized tomography, takes a series of X-ray views of the body to create cross-sectional images of bones and soft tissues.
Traditional CT can emit up to 20 times the radiation dose of a regular chest X-ray.
But thanks to the new equipment at ADC, patients will be exposed to just a fraction of that amount, cutting exposure by at least 40 percent.
It’s also faster. The new CT scanner can scan 32 times faster than current technology and deliver higher quality images. That means patients and their doctors will be able to look at even more detailed images when making treatment decisions.
Patients will be able to undergo many advanced CT scans, including angiograms, cardiac CTA and cardiac calcium scoring.
ADC is the first imaging center in Austin to install the new technology, which is expected to come online December 12.
To make an appointment, call ADC’s Imaging Center at 512-901-8748.
Many families in Central Texas take to the skies in November and December to visit family and friends abroad for the winter break.
Adults are often interested in protecting children from diseases encountered in other countries, but according to Danielle Fryer, RN and Clinical Manager of ADC’s Travel Clinic, adults may need protection too, even if they were raised in the country they are visiting.
Now is the time to talk with our Travel Clinic staff about precautions you can take to protect yourself. Plan to visit the Travel Clinic 4 to 6 weeks before your trip, but if you forget, there are still benefits from coming in the day before you travel, too.
Make an appointment by calling 512-901-4486.
Tips for Travel Abroad from the US Department of State:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/tips_1232.html
Traveler’s Health Topics from the CDC:
If this is your first winter in Austin, prepare for some great surprises, like
year-round jogging on Town Lake Trail, the Zilker Holiday Tree, and a full calendar of seasonal entertainment. But one Austin winter tradition may come as an unwelcome surprise – the sneezing, wheezing, and itchy eyes caused by “cedar fever.”
“When cedar pollinates, Central Texas sneezes,” says Thomas Smith, M.D., an allergist with The Austin Diagnostic Clinic (ADC). “Many people are sensitive to cedar pollen, so they experience allergy symptoms from the time cedar starts pollinating in December until it finishes in February.”
The trick for newcomers is learning to distinguish between allergy symptoms and symptoms of colds or the flu, because the treatments are different. At first, it can be difficult to tell the difference because all three can cause symptoms such as nasal congestion, coughing and sneezing, muscle aches and fatigue.
“Where you don’t have overlap is that allergies cause more nasal itching and itchy eyes. The key word is ‘itching,’ because that probably indicates an allergy,” Smith says.
Also, allergies never cause fever.
“Viral respiratory infections like colds and flu sometimes cause fever, but not always. Adults may not have fever at all, or they may run a low-grade fever. They often have more muscle aches than fever with colds and flu.”
Cold and flu symptoms usually last about seven to 10 days and go away by themselves, while allergy symptoms last as long as the allergen is present. However, ongoing symptoms are no guarantee that new Austinites have allergies. Symptoms could be the result of a series of colds caused by unfamiliar viruses, Smith explains.
“When adults move into a new area, they encounter new viruses. What seems like a cold that lasts all winter may actually be a sequence of colds,” he says. “It’s similar to what can happen to children when they enter daycare. Children get an average of six viral illnesses during the winter, but children in daycare can get twice that many. Adults can also find themselves with more viral illnesses than normal when they are in a new environment.”
Sometimes, the only way to tell whether symptoms are caused by a viral infection or allergy is to analyze how they respond to medication. For example, antihistamines and decongestants are more effective for allergy symptoms than for colds. Symptoms that respond well to antihistamines are probably caused by allergy.
If you do use any over-the-counter medication, read labels carefully. “Exercise caution when using any medication,” warns Dr. Smith. “Many over-the-counter medicines may have a sedating effect. Over-the-counter antihistamines all have the potential to cause sedation and also to slow reaction time, which means it may be risky to drive while taking these. They also may affect children’s school performance. It’s always best to discuss medications with your physician before trying to self-medicate."
Allergy sufferers get the greatest relief by avoiding the allergen – which in the case of cedar fever means staying indoors as much as possible until pollination is completed – and using nasal sprays containing anti-inflammatory agents.
Regardless of whether symptoms are caused by allergy or viral infections, see a doctor if the symptoms shift to the chest.
“Allergy is a common trigger of asthma in adults, even those who don’t think they have asthma,” Smith says. “Up to 50 percent of allergy patients have some exercise-induced asthma during allergy season, so it’s pretty common.”
Chest symptoms to watch for include chest congestion, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. “All of these are signs of asthma. They shouldn’t be ignored because asthma isn’t a one-time thing; it’s repeated under the same conditions,” advises Dr. Smith.
Whether you’re new to Austin, or a long-time resident, it helps to keep these tips in mind the next time you start to sniffle. It may be something you learn to live with, or an illness that needs your doctor’s attention.
Did you know acupuncture can be used to treat chronic pain?
Dr. Everett Heinze recently spoke on KXAN about how it works and what patients can expect during an acupuncture treatment.
|
|
|
