Leigh Vinocur, M.D.

A new study brings great news for us guilt-ridden moms who used pacifiers to calm our kids.

It's been 15 years for me, but I still remember the dilemma when I took my newborn baby home from the hospital: To suck or not to suck? As a working mom,...

Celebrity chef Paula Dean's confession about her diabetes has created quite a stir. However, according to the American Diabetes Association, Type 2 diabetes, the kind that Paula Dean developed, is on the rise. Over 8 percent of the U.S. population, almost 26 million Americans, have diabetes; 7 million...

Any mother who has had a teenager is very familiar with the eye roll, the exasperated groan and, of course, the blame for just about everything that is wrong in the world! Just in case you busy multi-tasking moms out there don't have enough worries to feel guilty about, now,...

It was an epiphany for me; I had just watched my second husband drive off with all his belongings. When I saw the last of his car drive down our driveway and turn into the street from our bedroom window, I ran back and slumped down in a corner of...

Those irresistible deals on Black Friday might come with a bigger price tag than you think! The recent economic climate of unemployment, declining home values with record number of foreclosures, rising energy and food prices, along with rising credit card debt can take its toll on your health.

A...

The recent announcement by celebrity and TV host Giuliana Rancic on the "Today" show about her newly diagnosed breast cancer at the age of 36 illustrates the emotional toll this disease takes.

Breasts define our Class in the animal kingdom, which is called Mammals. These mammary glands distinguish us...

This summer, a majority of the country is experiencing a severe heat wave. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) more than 132 million people have been under an excessive heat advisories for long periods this summer, with record-breaking temperatures in the triple digits.

Hopefully you don't slice your finger cutting a bagel and rush to your local emergency department only to find it is closed! An alarming new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that almost one-third of emergency departments have closed in...

Ironically, April is both Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Awareness month as well as Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness month. Many people don't even realize how these two diseases are linked and how they both pose a serious health risk, especially for our adolescent boys.

As far as STDs,...

Measles is nothing to sneeze at and hopefully it shouldn't be something you sneeze from today in the United States. But measles has been in the news lately. A sick passenger arriving from London to the United States and traveling through four cities eventually was diagnosed with measles. This has...

February is designated as American Heart Month to bring awareness to the fact that heart disease is still the number one killer in America. However, no one expects teens, who are athletes no less, to succumb to heart disease.

Every year we hear about cases in the media of...

The tragedy in Arizona was a perfect illustration of how our emergency trauma system works in the United States. Everyone marveled at the speed at which Congresswoman Giffords was treated. It took only 38 minutes from transport to the operating room (OR) of a Level I Trauma Center at University...

As we enter this busy holiday travel season it appears that deep vein thrombosis or blood clots are not the only worry on air travelers minds when it comes to health risks. The new concern, that has the media buzzing, is exposure to radiation from the new airport scanners.

It is probably one of the most significant medical breakthroughs of this past decade. A vaccine to prevent cancer! We now better understand the link between cancers and viruses and how some viruses such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) can change cells and cause them to become cancerous. In essence...