What is helpful for quitting?

The most important thing is wanting to quit, which you’ve already decided. Write down a list of reasons you want to quit (expensive, makes my clothes stink, gives me bad breath, smoker’s cough, get short of breath with little exercise, causes premature wrinkles, long-term health risks) and a list of reasons you like to smoke (helps me relax, like hanging out with my friends and they often smoke, etc.). You’ll need to look for strategies to help deal with the things you like about smoking, like other ways to deal with stress, especially if you get the urge for a cigarette (go outside and take a quick walk, close your eyes and picture yourself someplace wonderful like on a beach or by a waterfall). Do you have friends that don’t smoke or are also thinking of quitting? Enlist their help and support, especially if you’ll be going out with other friends that do smoke.

Do you smoke within an hour of getting up in the morning? Do you get irritable and anxious when you’ve quit before? These can be signs of nicotine addiction, which is more common in folks who smoke 10 or more cigarettes a day. If so, one of the nicotine replacement therapies (like the patch or gum) or the prescription drug Zyban might be very helpful. These treatments each are clinically proven to increase the quit rate, and used together increase the quit rate even more.

If you think you’d like to try one of these or you’d like some personalized advice on quitting, feel free to come to the Health Center and we’d be happy to help!

Here are some great web links that you might want to check out too:

Dr. B

2. I have a few questions about mono because I just found out my boyfriend has it.  He's been sick for about 2 weeks now.  Does this mean that I am going to get it?  How long is it contagious?  He said there was a 4-6 week incubation period, so does this mean that I'll probably get it from 4-6 weeks after our first kiss?  Is there anything I can do to prevent the effects (like take medicine) or do I have to wait until I experience the symptoms?

About half of adults have had mono as kids but it just looked like a cold so we docs don't normally test for it then.  So there's about a 50% chance you're already immune.  Your boyfriend was most contagious the first week or two of the illness, though some folks shed the virus (mostly in the saliva) for a long time.  Yes, 4-6 weeks is the typical time frame until the other person gets symptoms.  Unfortunately, if you're not immune and already incubating the virus, there's nothing to prevent the symptoms and no tests to tell at this point if you'll get it.  Fortunately most cases of mono aren't the horror stories that you hear about, though occasionally mono can be horrible.  If you would get swollen glands (neck or armpits are most common), sore throat, fatigue (beyond the normal college fatigue level;-)), or fevers, it probably would be worth getting checked by a doctor.  It usually takes 5-7 days of illness before our lab tests will show mono, but sometimes your exam will either make us very suspicious or it may look like it's very unlikely.

Dr. B

Where do you go when you have a health-related question?  Your friends?  Your Mom?  The internet?

First, we’re always happy to try to answer your questions here at the Health Center.  But if you would like to do some research on your own, I have a few sites that might be helpful for you to bookmark:

www.familydoctor.org   (good general medical information, flow sheets to check certain symptoms and whether you should be seen by a doctor for these)

www.cdc.gov

http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/default.htm  (en espanol)

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention with great links for travelers’ health topics:

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/

and info on many health topics, including women’s and men’s health, teen health, and many specific topics :

http://www.cdc.gov/health/

www.eatright.org

The American Dietetic Association

http://www.physsportsmed.com/personal.htm

Great journal with information for patients as well as physicians on many topics in sports medicine, nutrition, supplements, etc.

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query

Medline (search multiple medical resources on any medical topic)

www.nih.gov

National Institutes of Health-lots of topics again

www.healthfinder.gov

General info on various health topics, and list of many sites with reliable health info on almost any topic (also, en espanol)

Think something sounds too good to be true?  Check out: www.quackwatch.org

And it’s links to many worthwhile medical sites:

http://www.quackwatch.org/05Links/othersites.html

Could it be an internet medical hoax?  Check:

http://www.cdc.gov/hoax_rumors.htm

You can also look for the HONcode symbol on sites, which means that a site follows strict principles to offer reliable medical information for non-medical people.   This is a non-governmental organization.

http://www.hon.ch/

These links will also be on our website soon:

http://www.udayton.edu/~healthcenter/links.htm

Tell me if you find other great medical sites, and I’ll be happy to add them to our site!

Dr.B

 “Ask the Doc” is a service of the University of Dayton Health Center.  If you have any questions that would be of general interest, please send them to:

askthedoc@notes.udayton.edu

This e-mail is NOT checked daily.  Do NOT send personal or emergency questions; please come to the health center or dial 911 for emergencies!  This service is not intended to replace a visit with a physician.

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     "Ask the Doc" is only for questions of general interest to UD students. No individual replies will be made. If you have a medical question or problem that needs attention, please come to the Health Center for evaluation by a nurse or physician. If you have an emergency, dial 911. Health Center hours are posted on our home page.

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