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Taking probiotics after antibiotics to avoid potential problems

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your recent column about a person who was refusing antibiotics due to a fear of a Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) recurrence. I am interested in your thoughts regarding people who take probiotics to restore a healthy gut biome. Relatively healthy people ingest probiotics to maintain good digestive health. Shouldn’t people take probiotics after taking antibiotics, especially after experiencing such a drastic condition like C. diff? Good gut health, including a proper gut biome, is critical to overall health. There are numerous published, peer-reviewed ...

Here’s what Trump is turning the US economy into

Columns

When he ran for president again in 2024, Trump made three promises to the American public: First, he said he’d “secure” the southern border. Most Americans now believe he’s gone too far in this. Second, he’d avoid foreign wars. He said: “We’ve spent $8 trillion in the Middle East, and we’re not fixing our roads in this country? How stupid. How stupid is it? And we’re not fixing our highways, our tunnels, our bridges, our hospitals, even.” Umm. How well has this promise turned out? His third promise was to bring prices down and create more jobs. He said: ...

Free speech isn’t just for laughs

Columns

Following reports that Bill Maher will receive the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to believe it. “This is fake news,” she told CNN. “Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.” Ah, guess again. On Thursday, the center confirmed that Maher was the pick. (This reversal was first reported by Politico.) The annual award, presented by the Kennedy Center, will be given on June 28, right before the performing arts center closes for a two-year renovation. In the spirit of the honor, Maher thanked “the Mark ...

Floater in man’s eye signifies a posterior vitreous detachment

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 73-year-old man who had worn glasses since the age of 12 until a successful laser surgery from 22 years ago, which resulted in near 20/20 vision. My vision has changed little since the surgery. My eye health has always been very good, if not excellent, but after a recent two-hour airplane flight, I noticed a small “blob” in my right eye. Every time I moved my eye, it moved with my direction of vision. There were also brief flashes of light that occurred sporadically for about 24 hours. They haven’t returned. I underwent an urgent eye exam, which showed ...

Stop hiding voter data

Letters to the editor

Caroline Machiraju Camp Hill Pa.’s Secretary of State Al Schmidt refuses to give its voter export to the Department of Justice, which wants to validate that only citizens are voting, by cross-checking social security numbers. Why? That’s a question that Rep. Brad Roae asked Schmidt during the budget hearings. Schmidt gave a nonsensical reply, stating DOS wants to “protect” personal information. Roae aptly responded “With all due respect, Mr. Secretary, the federal government already has everybody’s social security numbers — they’re the ones that give them out.” It ...

War or health care

Letters to the editor

David Whiteman Centre Hall President Trump says he launched a war to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and attacking the United States. Many experts—including our own intelligence analysts — question whether that threat was ever imminent. The threat to Americans’ health, however, is real. Health care is increasingly hard to afford, driven in part by last year’s budget bill and the expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies for people who buy their own insurance. Republicans argued that adequately funding health care was not worth increasing the budget ...