People who get preventive care have a lower chance of needing expensive emergency room visits or hospital stays. Visiting your doctor regularly even when you don’t feel sick lets you make early changes to manage issues like high blood pressure that helps avoid more serious problems, such as a heart attack.

What is preventive care?

Preventive care is health care you get before you have a health problem. It often includes:

• Checking blood pressure, weight and height
• Talking to your doctor about habits like exercise, nutrition and drinking
• Screening for cancers
• Getting vaccines
• Testing bone density

When I see a patient for preventive care, I also offer screenings and tests based on who they are and where they are in life, tailored to their age, family health history and other personal details.

Catching small signs before they turn into big problems

One of the most important parts of my job as a family physician is helping patients understand their personal health risks. During a routine annual checkup, your doctor will look at things like your blood pressure, lab results, family history and lifestyle.

From there, we can estimate your risk for health problems like heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Then you’ll make a plan together to avoid those conditions so you can keep doing the activities you enjoy as long as possible.

‘I feel fine. Do I really need a checkup?’

I’ve had new patients whose first words to me are, “I haven’t seen a doctor in 10 years, by the way.” Sometimes it’s because they didn’t understand why they should see a doctor when they felt healthy. Other times it’s because they didn’t have health insurance or they didn’t know that most insurance plans cover annual wellness visits for no extra cost.

If that’s your situation, don’t worry. No doctor I know has ever turned away a patient for missing out on preventive care earlier. We’ll welcome you through our doors. We want to meet you where you’re at, help you understand your health and show you how to reach your personal health goals.

Don’t stay away just because you haven’t noticed any health problems. Many serious conditions, like high blood pressure, diabetes and some cancers, start quietly without making you feel sick at first.

Regular doctor visits when you’re healthy can make all the difference. Researchers found that up to 100,000 lives could be saved every year if everyone in the United States got the preventive care that experts recommend.

Schedule a preventive care visit today

Getting regular preventive care is the easiest, most effective way to protect your health.

Don’t wait until you feel sick. If you haven’t had a checkup in a while, find a doctor and make an appointment today so you can start working together on a personalized plan to stay healthy.

About Dr. Askari

Anna Askari, MD, MS, FAAFP, is past president of the Orange County chapter of the California Academy of Family Physicians and district medical director of the Amazon One Medical Orange County District.

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In America, air pollution is the largest source of environmental toxins, leading to over 100,000 premature deaths each year. The greatest source of air pollution for you is your own car or pick-up truck. Fortunately, there are ways to limit your exposure to this type of air pollution.

Why environmental toxins contribute to chronic disease

Air pollution is loaded with poisonous chemicals. These chemicals get into our bodies in obvious ways—such as inhaling them—but also in not so obvious ways, like through our skin! These chemicals that contact our skin are either called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and can be directly absorbed at levels equal to or greater than inhalation. From there, they immediately travel into our blood stream.

Air pollution chemicals also get a second chance to enter our bodies the same way as “third hand smoking” does—by being brought into our homes or work spaces on our hands and clothing. These chemicals do not simply “decompose” or magically disappear. They are left on surfaces we touch, especially food, and are scattered about indoors from our clothes.

Commonly, they end up in dust, which can get everywhere with just a little breeze or air current. This contaminated dust can get onto your food, cooking areas, plates and utensils. That means you can ingest and absorb them through the gastrointestinal tract into your circulatory system even if you don’t breathe them in.

Unfortunately, when these chemicals get into you (and the food you eat), they are stored in fatty tissues, bones, blood and organs. Over time, they accumulate, which increases the risk of disease and premature death. But these chemicals don’t need years to cause trouble. Studies show that in cities, strokes and heart attacks increase during high air pollution days and shortly thereafter.  

Car air pollution

The greatest source of exposure to these chemicals is your car or pick-up truck. The level of air pollution is highly concentrated around idling vehicles compared to the surrounding ambient air pollution, and open vents and windows expose you to additional air pollution while driving. Thankfully, you can control and limit these exposures.

Minimize car idling, minimize pollution

While switching to an electric vehicle is one way to reduce your exposure to air pollution, they remain expensive. But there is a way that you can reduce your exposure to air pollution: don’t let your car or truck idle.

An idling car produces concentrated ground level air pollution, and choosing not to idle will reduce your exposure and others (especially children) around your car. When you are not driving your car or truck, turn it off. It turns out that idling is also bad for your vehicle’s health. Idling for more than 10 seconds actually puts more wear-and-tear on your engine—gasoline or diesel—than turning your engine off and on again. In cold weather, it is bad for the engine to warm it up by idling, and is best done by driving slowly until the temperature gauge starts to change.

By minimizing idling, you’re not just avoiding breathing unnecessary fumes and getting them on your skin, clothes, in your grocery bags and more. You’re also not exposing others in your vicinity. Think of kids putting things in the back of the vehicle or getting them out while surrounded by a mostly invisible cloud of chemical-laden exhaust. Turning your car off instead of idling it reduces that pollution exposure, increases vehicle longevity and also saves money on gas and repairs.

Engage the air recycle button

Another thing you can do is to use the air recycle button in your car ortruck. The air recycle button should be used all the time with the windows closed. It’s the same symbol in every car, which is a U-shape arrow on its side.

The air recycle button is important because it blocks polluted outside air from coming into the cabin and, at the same time, circulates the cabin air through your vehicle’s HEPA filter to clean the air. Without engaging the HEPA filter, you’re basically collecting the ambient air pollution and concentrated exhaust from the cars and trucks in front of yours into your cabin.

There are other benefits, too. In the summer, the air recycle button actually cools the cabin air quicker, as the A/C does not have to keep cooling incoming hot air. In the same way, in the winter the cabin warms up quicker.

Avoiding pollution as a pedestrian

While there are fewer ways to avoid air pollution when you’re walking around vehicles, there are a few key tips to keep in mind. First, walk upwind of car fumes if possible to avoid fumes from wafting to you on the wind. Second, hold your breath as you walk by idling cars.  

Air pollution isn’t just an idle threat

Chronic air pollution exposure should not be ignored. It’s associated with many common health conditions, from hypertension and emphysema to lung cancer, dementia, type 2 diabetes, pediatric asthma and more. Significant health benefits could be obtained if unnecessary car and truck idling was avoided throughout America with billions of gallons of gas and diesel saved each year.

Talk to your family doctor about air pollution and how to avoid it and possibly prevent a disease or limit worsening one. Staying healthy is a journey, but it’s also one where creative solutions are plentiful.

About Dr. Kazal

Louis A. Kazal, Jr., M.D., is a Professor of Community and Family Medicine at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire, Board-Certified in Family Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians

The post Air pollution, chronic disease and what you can do about it appeared first on Family Doctor.

That’s why, as a family physician and expert on immunizations and public health, I’m worried about the resurgence of measles in our communities. In every year since 2023, we have sequentially had exponentially increasing cases of measles and multiple outbreaks across the United States.

Last year, Texas was in the news with a large measles outbreak that involved hundreds of cases. And right now, it’s South Carolina that’s made headlines with another outbreak, rapidly approaching 1000 cases. Overall, it looks like 2026 is on pace right now to easily surpass the more than 2000 United States measles cases diagnosed in 2025.

While this is a growing health hazard, the good news is that there are clear steps you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community from measles.

Why measles is serious

Measles is more serious than other viral diseases because of two unique features: its severity and its ability to spread very easily.

An acute case of measles usually begins with fever, cough, runny nose, and conjunctivitis, symptoms similar to other respiratory illnesses. The classic red rash begins on the forehead and moves down over the body a few days later. But measles can also result in a variety of more serious, long-term complications. Measles can cause life-threatening pneumonia and can damage your immune system’s ability to fight off other diseases, even those you’ve been vaccinated against in the past. If measles spreads to the nervous system, it can result in a devastating and even fatal neurodegenerative disease that appears years after a person appears to recover from the acute infection.

That’s obviously bad enough, but a compounding problem is that measles is extremely contagious. If you have measles and you’re in a room with 10 unvaccinated people, you’ll probably give it to nine others. Compare that to the flu, where you’d likely give it to only two or three others. And because measles is airborne, you don’t even need to be in particularly close contact with someone who has the disease to catch it. Public transportation and large events are opportunities for spread when vaccination rates in a community are low.

How to prevent measles

The best way to prevent measles is by getting vaccinated. Measles vaccines are safe and effective, and they’ve been around for a long time. For decades, the measles vaccine has been given along with vaccinations against mumps and rubella in what is often termed the “MMR” vaccine. The first measles vaccines became available in the 1960s, and they’ve been given to hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

The MMR vaccine has a very long historical precedent of being safe and is one of the most effective vaccines that we have. It’s given in two separate doses, and those who receive two doses have better than 95% protection against measles.

Even a very, very effective vaccine doesn’t provide 100% immunity. The more measles there is around, the more likely it is that a person vaccinated might contract the measles. That’s why it’s so important for all of us to play our part to protect ourselves and our communities: the more vaccinated people, the less measles can spread for anyone.

It’s never too late to catch up and get vaccinated

The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that a child complete their measles immunization between 4 and 6 years old. But if you’ve never gotten vaccinated for measles or didn’t get both doses, the good news is that you can absolutely catch up at any time.

The MMR vaccine is widely available nationwide and is safe for adults as well as children. Some older adults may not need the full two-dose vaccination if they were alive when measles was a common childhood infection. But no matter your age, you can talk to your doctor to learn more about vaccines and to get your measles vaccine if you need one.

About Dr. Morris

Laura Morris, MD, MSPH, FAAFP, is a professor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and Chief Medical Officer at MU Health Care. She is also an AAFP Vaccine Science Fellow.

The post What I tell my patients about measles appeared first on Family Doctor.

Infants are precious, and every parent I talk to wants to protect them as much as possible. One of the best ways to do that is with vaccines. However, you might have heard some confusing news about the hepatitis B vaccine recently. The reality is that vaccinating your newborn for hepatitis B is a low-risk way to help safeguard your child against an incurable and potentially serious disease.

What is hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is a virus that can attack the liver. It causes liver inflammation, and chronic exposure to the virus can lead to liver cancer or liver failure. The virus is spread by bodily fluids and can be transmitted through blood, sexual contact or sharing needles. Pregnant patients can also spread the virus in utero to a baby.

You might not know if you have hepatitis B

Family physicians often call hepatitis B a “silent epidemic” because people often don’t know they have it until they are tested or develop another health issue later in life. Some of my pregnant patients have tested positive for hepatitis B during routine obstetric bloodwork and had no idea they were infected. That’s not uncommon, as the data shows that about half of U.S. adults with chronic hepatitis B don’t know they have it.

People infected with hepatitis B might not know they’re carrying the virus for a few key reasons. Primarily this is because the virus can lie dormant without symptoms for a long time, only emerging later in life or flaring up at the same time as another health issue. Additionally, hepatitis B has good staying power. Many viruses don’t survive more than 48 hours outside the body, but the hepatitis B virus can stay potent for up to a week outside the body.

Hepatitis B and children

There’s a common misconception that hepatitis B is “just” a sexually transmitted infection. That’s not true. A single drop of infected blood—on a washcloth, a toothbrush, a razor or anything else—has enough of the virus to infect others. And since so many folks do not know they are infected, it’s easier than you might think to get infected at school, day care or even with contact sports.

Why is the hepatitis B vaccine important?

Here’s the good news: Hepatitis B is totally preventable. For decades, we’ve had access to a safe, effective vaccine that can prevent infection. In 1991, the United States began recommending that all babies receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, and over 100 other countries also recommend the vaccine for newborns.

The vaccine is particularly important because there is no cure for hepatitis B. The only way to help protect your child from hepatitis B is the vaccine.

There are many possible outcomes if your child gets hepatitis B, and some are very serious. Liver failure is a possibility, which can result in death.

Pediatric vaccines are here to keep us protected at birth, and the hepatitis B vaccine has done just that. Before the 1991 vaccine recommendation, 18,000 children per year were diagnosed with hepatitis B as a new case. Since newborns started being vaccinated for the virus routinely, that’s dropped to 20 children per year. Extrapolate the data, and you get 90,000 deaths that have been prevented in just a few decades.

Your family physician is your trusted resource

Every parent wants to make the best decision for their child with the information available. Your family physician stays up to date on science-backed evidence about diseases and vaccines to help you make those decisions. We can talk you through any questions you might have about your or your family’s care and provide our scientific and medical expertise.

Treating parents and their children is one of my career joys. We all care about the success and health of our kids, and if we could bubble-wrap our babies, we would. While we can’t do that, I tell my patients that vaccines are the next best protection.

About Dr. Briggs

Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, FAAFP, has delivered more than 1,000 babies since opening a private practice northeast of San Antonio over 15 years ago, where she practices full-scope family medicine.

The post Why it’s important to vaccinate your infant for hepatitis B appeared first on Family Doctor.

A study by the AARP found that more than half of people who care for family say it’s hard to look after their own mental health. About two out of five feel lonely. Even though it’s tough, you need to make time for yourself. Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish—it’s necessary!

Taking care of yourself is important all year long, but it can be especially challenging during busy times like the holidays. Extra activities, family visits and special events can add more stress to your routine. That’s why it’s helpful to use your self-care skills to manage holiday demands and keep things simple.

1 Take care of your body

Try to get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, and move your body—even a short walk or some stretching can help. Visit your family physician for checkups, vaccinations and if you aren’t feeling well.

2 Pay attention to your feelings

Your feelings are important. Talk to someone you trust about how you feel. Don’t compare yourself to others. It’s okay to feel unsure sometimes. Remember, you’re doing your best!

3 Set limits

Know how much you can do and ask for help when you need it. Build a team of people who can help you care for your loved one. Make sure you save some time for yourself.

4 Watch for changes in yourself

Notice if you start feeling worse or acting differently. Ask family or friends to let you know if they see changes in you.

5 Get support

You don’t have to do everything alone. Join a group for caregivers, either in person or online. Talking to others who understand can help you feel better.

By sharing exactly what you need, you give others a chance to do something meaningful for you. Whether it’s asking someone to listen, help with chores, make a meal, run errands, or give you a break, being clear about your needs makes it easier for others to support you. Don’t be afraid to speak up; asking for help is a sign of strength and can make a real difference in your life.

6 Give yourself grace

Remember, you don’t have to do everything perfectly. Plan ahead and make a list of what’s most important to you and your loved one. It’s okay to say “no” to things that feel too hard or tiring. Keep some fun traditions, but don’t worry if you need to change others. Enjoy simple moments, like sharing a snack or listening to music together. The love you have for each other is the most important thing.

The post The best self-care tips for caregivers appeared first on Family Doctor.

One of those social determinants of health is food insecurity, and my practice works with many patients who have food insecurity. Unfortunately, many of my patients worry about where their next meal is coming from. And with SNAP benefits in disarray due to the government shutdown, food insecurity has only gotten worse.

If you’re worried about getting enough food for you or your family, you’re not alone. Your doctors and health team are on your side.

Resources are out there

The temporary pause on SNAP benefits isn’t the only economic impact on food insecurity. In many cities, the cost of living continues to rise, and the proportion of income it takes to afford basic necessities is also getting larger. Layoffs are happening at many companies at a high scale, too.

I’m reminded of when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, when so many of my patients were losing employment and their source of income.

At that time, and now, many of my patients were simply at a loss about what to do. My clinic’s message has been consistent: Programs are out there to help you get food. We encounter some shame around getting assistance, but there is no shame in making sure your family has access to what you need to survive. If you need help, ask for it—and your doctor will do our best to help.  

Neighborhood Navigator

There are a variety of tools out there that may work for you. While you can always use Google or other services, what you find may not be local or tailored to your needs.

One tool that we use all the time in our practice—a tool that you can also use on your own—is Neighborhood Navigator. What Neighborhood Navigator lets you do is drill down to a ZIP code level to help you determine what resources may be available where you live. It also allows you to filter the services that you’re looking for, which dampens some of the noise around what’s out there.

Good food is still important

I understand that getting any food on the table is better than going hungry. But in the long term, it’s not just important to get food—finding a quality source of food that’s fresh and healthy will have an outsized impact on your health.

This is especially true if you’re a patient with a condition that requires you to have a reasonable sense of what’s going on with your nutrition, such as type 2 diabetes. So even if you can already get some food, resources like Neighborhood Navigator can help you find the food that will allow you to live a healthy life.

How to help

The charitable food sector is large and does great work, but for every meal these organizations provide, people count on the SNAP program to provide so many more. So if you’re in a position to help bridge that gap, your efforts can go a long way.

Start by asking your community health center what they need. Food is a big one, of course, but there are other things that you can donate or buy that can help folks get food as well as other needed household or hygiene items. One example is diapers. With inflation and low wages, acquiring diapers is very challenging for a lot of patients. Every dollar they have to spend on diapers is a dollar they can’t spend on food.

Community health is not just about physicians. And it’s not about just doing a good thing once. It’s continuing to be a source of volunteerism and assistance to your neighbors—particularly those who may be more vulnerable. A lot of the health centers that I’m aware of now have relatively robust websites and social media accounts where you can learn about what’s going on in your community.

Don’t forget about your friendly neighborhood family physician

Lastly, remember that having a usual source of health care is essential to making health primary for you and your family. Be sure to visit your friendly neighborhood family physician!

About Dr. Lee

Jay W. Lee, MD, MPH, FAAFP is a family physician who is passionate about providing care to all people. He serves as Medical Director at Integrated Health Partners of Southern California, a clinically integrated network serving over 350,000 patients whose medical home is at one of nine community health centers in three counties.

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So what should you do if you’re pregnant and have a fever or pain that you’d normally treat with Tylenol? I’m a family physician and the mom of a son who has autism, and my short answer is: Talk to your doctor.

Here’s why.

What is autism?

Autism was first described in 1911 by Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Eugen Bleuler and recognized as a distinct condition 32 years later. However, acetaminophen wasn’t widely available until the 1950s.

Over the last 50 years, more and more families have been faced with the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Having researched possible causes for years, I understand that autism is a condition with many factors and that, despite many theories researchers have tested, nobody knows what’s causing the increase in diagnosis.

In fact, Dr. Zeyan Liew, an associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health who has spent years investigating possible causes for neurodevelopment disorders says, “There is no proven causal relationship between acetaminophen use and autism.”

Does Tylenol cause autism?

You might have heard that some research shows associations between frequent and prolonged use of acetaminophen and higher rates of neurodevelopment disorders. But there are four important facts to keep in mind:

• None of those studies were conclusive.
• Those were observational studies, which researchers use to see whether there’s some sort of connection between two or more factors, not experimental studies that could show one factor causes another.
• Fevers are also associated with increased rates of neurodevelopment disorders, and acetaminophen—Tylenol—is the only over-the-counter medicine approved to treat fever during pregnancy.
• Research published in JAMA last year found that using acetaminophen as directed was not associated with the risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability.

Can you take Tylenol while pregnant?

While you might be worried by the government’s recent unexpected announcement, remember that your family physician is your trusted advisor any time you hear new health care information that might affect you in the news. Bring up any concerns you have at your next office visit. If you’re pregnant now, you can make an appointment specifically to talk about using acetaminophen.

If you get a fever or significant pain while you’re pregnant, ask your family doctor or obstetrician for advice before you take any over-the-counter medicine.

Although any medication usually has more risks during early pregnancy, for decades, Tylenol has been considered safe during pregnancy for fever management and pain relief. Acetaminophen is a useful tool to treat pain and fever, but as with all medications, there are risks and benefits that your doctor can help you consider.

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About Dr. Nguyen

Mary Nguyen, MD, FAAFP practices family medicine at a private practice in Castroville, TX. Dr. Nguyen is also an associate professor for the UIW school of osteopathic medicine.

The post Tylenol, autism and pregnancy: what you need to know appeared first on Family Doctor.

I like to talk through the benefits and potential risks of vaccines with my patients. These conversations help them feel more confident about getting recommended vaccinations. And this isn’t just true for the COVID-19 vaccine. I also help my patients understand the importance of other vaccines for adults and children.

For example, one of my older adult patients had a number of questions about vaccines during her annual wellness visit. I’ve been Ms. Sharon’s (not her real name) family doctor for several years. She trusts the medical information and advice I give her. I began by answering her questions about the COVID-19 vaccine. Then, Ms. Sharon wanted to know if she still needs to get other vaccinations, such as those that prevent the flu and pneumonia. She also wondered if certain vaccines were more important to get than others.

Visit Our Interactive Symptom Checker

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Visit the Symptom Checker

I explained that the top priority right now is to get the COVID-19 vaccine. But COVID-19 is not the only illness that threatens a person’s health. It’s still very important to get all of the vaccinations your family doctor recommends. Since Ms. Sharon is over 65 years of age, I recommended that she should get the pneumococcal vaccine. It protects against pneumonia. Also, I urge all of my patients to get a flu shot every year during flu season.

I told Ms. Sharon, “Imagine having COVID-19 and the flu or COVID-19 and pneumonia. Having both at the same time could make you severely ill. You might even end up in the hospital. But if you’re fully vaccinated against all of these illnesses, it helps decrease your risk of getting really sick.” She said this made sense to her.

Together, Ms. Sharon and I made a plan for her to get the COVID-19 vaccine and the pneumococcal vaccine. Since flu season was almost over and she was being careful to avoid exposure to germs, she could wait until the fall to get her flu shot. Ms. Sharon felt comfortable with this vaccination plan. She was happy that we had talked through her questions and thought about her health care needs.

During another visit, my patient Jeanette (not her real name) asked me if her 11-year-old daughter really needs to get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine since it’s not mandatory for school. I explained how this vaccine protects against diseases caused by HPV, including cervical and esophageal (throat) cancer. This was something she didn’t know. I also shared that my own daughters will be getting the vaccine as soon as they’re old enough. That’s how important I think the HPV vaccine is and how strongly I believe in it. I told Jeanette, “It’s a safe, effective vaccine that can reduce your daughter’s risk of certain cancers to give her a healthier future.” She agreed that this was important and scheduled an appointment for her daughter to be vaccinated.

These conversations with my patients take some time, but they’re worth it. I’m glad to listen to their concerns about vaccines and answer their questions. It shows my patients I believe vaccines are very important. They protect people and communities from preventable illnesses. Also, having a strong, personal recommendation from their family doctor helps my patients decide to get needed vaccinations.

Quick Tip

Have questions or concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine? Talk to your family doctor! Many of my patients have asked me what I think about it. I explain why getting the COVID-19 vaccine is the best way to protect themselves and their loved ones. It prevents people from getting severely ill. It is even decreasing death rates in our community. I’m also eager to tell my patients about my personal experience getting this vaccine. And I let them know that the side effects are almost always mild and only last a day or two.

This resource is supported by a Cooperative Agreement (1 NU66IP000681-01-00) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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