40: Top 5 Cliches That Could Save Your Life

Troy: Hey. It's Scot and Troy from "Who Cares About Men's Health." This next episode is something we actually recorded before everything got crazy with COVID, but we think it's very relevant, particularly at this time. We're going to talk about five boring things about your health. And sometimes boring is good. I mean, during this whole episode with COVID and a lot of the fear, I find myself just going back to basics, probably more than I have in a very long time.

So these boring things are very basic, but they're boring things that I think can make a difference in your health and I think just help you feel better overall.

Scot: I've got to tell you, any time my facial hair brushes against the windscreen on this microphone, it sends just these little shivers down my . . .

Troy: Ew.

Scot: Yeah, it's gross.

Troy: It's creepy.

Scot: It's just so gross, but you have to be close to the mics.

Troy: You do.

Scot: And every once in a while, my mustache bumps it and I'm like, "Oops, too close."

Troy: It's stuck in there. You can't get your face away. You're like, "My beard is stuck."

Scot: Like Velcro.

The podcast is called "Who Cares About Men's Health." We are giving you the information and inspiration to take ownership of your health and your health decisions for a better life today and also a better life in the future. That's kind of the added benefit. My name's Scot. I am the manager of thescoperadio.com, and I care about men's health.

Troy: And I'm Troy. I'm an ER doctor and I also care about men's health.

Scot: They're not cool, macho, or really all that exciting. Today, we're going to talk about the top five boring threats to men's health.

Troy: These are boring. I'm already falling asleep as you're saying this, Scot.

Scot: But you shouldn't, because they're boring, but they can lead to some serious issues down the road. Like when we first initially hear these, you're like, "That's kind of boring."

Troy: Like, "Really? This is what you're telling me? I've heard this before."

Scot: Yeah. So Dr. Madsen today is going to have the top five boring threats to men's health and some of the simple changes that you can make to improve your health and overall quality of life. So top five boring threats to men's health number one.

Troy: So the number one boring thing to tell you here is wear your seatbelt and wear a helmet. Prevent injuries from trauma. So the threat to your health is trauma. This is one of the most common things I see in the emergency department on a daily basis. It really affects males primarily. Women as well, but primarily males in their 20s and 30s getting injured and not having a seatbelt on if they're in a car or not having a helmet on if they're on a motorcycle or on a bike.

Again, it's boring. You hear it all the time, "Wear your seatbelt. Wear a helmet," but it's amazing the number of things I see where these serious injuries could be prevented with this.

And I remember one guy in particular who came in after a motorcycle accident, and this guy was a police officer, if you can believe it. This was not here in the state of Utah, so I'm not disclosing anything. But the guy came in after a motorcycle accident, did not have a helmet on, and he said to us, "I always thought the only reason to wear a helmet was to have an open casket funeral instead of a closed casket funeral." That was his response.

This guy, if he had had a helmet on in the motorcycle accident . . . he survived without a helmet, but he wouldn't have been admitted to the hospital. He wouldn't have had bleeding in his brain. He did fine. He got out of the hospital several days later, but without a helmet, he had those things and he would have walked away from the accident if he'd had a helmet on.

So it's a simple thing. It's incredibly boring. And like I said, a lot of people justify not wearing it because they say, "Well, if I'm in a motorcycle accident and I'm going to die anyway, so why wear a helmet?" You're not going to die. You're going to survive, but a helmet is going to make things much better.

Scot: Do you see other trauma things that are preventable by just easy, boring things, like people falling off ladders?

Troy: Absolutely. We see ladders. We see electrical injuries. That's the other thing, working around electrical wires, high voltage wires. We occasionally see that. Definitely falling off ladders. If you're on a tall ladder, have someone down there stabilizing the ladder. We see that quite often in springtime.

Scot: Oh, that's not masculine and cool.

Troy: It's really not cool. It's incredibly boring and lame, but have a second hand there to help you out. And if you're up on a high ladder, this is the other thing, have someone else at home. If you fall, they can call for help.

Scot: I do that all the time, like the only time . . . yeah, that is a conscientious choice I actually made, so I did something right. Yay.

Troy: That's great. I mean, you are exactly right because we've had cases of people who said they fell and they went down and they broke a hip or broke a leg, serious injury. They had no way to get up and call for help. So at least have someone at home.

Scot: I go in and I tell my wife, "I'm going to go up and I'm going to be doing some work on the ladder, so keep an eye out for me for the next . . . until I come back in and say I'm done."

Troy: Exactly.

Scot: In case something happens.

Troy: Yeah, it's good advice. It seems like you're overdoing it, but have someone there and have someone stabilize the ladder if you're climbing up a tall ladder.

Scot: Top five boring threats to men's health number two.

Troy: So number two is just kind of like low-level anxiety, stress, depression. And this sounds boring because I think all of us at some point or maybe to some degree, we feel some level of anxiety with work. Maybe that progresses to depression. We really don't recognize it. Again, it sounds boring because we hear about it, we say, "Well, do what you can to help with your anxiety, but . . ."

Scot: And, "I'll deal with it."

Troy: Yeah. "I'll deal with it. I'll get through it. I'm just going to tough it out." But this is one of those things where this can be a very serious health threat. And the reason it is I think, number one, it can progress to where things get worse and we just don't realize it's getting worse.

One of the very common things I see in individuals in their 20s and 30s as well is people who are contemplating suicide, and so things have gotten worse over time to where they actually get to a point where they come to the ER either thinking about suicide and then deciding to get help, or even attempting.

Scot: And it started out kind of boring with just some anxiety of things that you just kind of are like, "Well, whatever."

Troy: Exactly.

Scot: And not recognizing it's turning into someone else. Is that because people can't recognize it? I mean, if you made me aware that that could possibly happen to me, would I be able to recognize if it's getting worse?

Troy: I think a lot of times it takes a wakeup call for us to recognize it, where things just get progressively worse, like, "Hey, I'm getting by. I'm showing up to work. I'm getting good reviews at work. I'm getting my job done. I'm fine."

Even though you just don't have the interest in things you used to have. You don't have the motivation. You just don't want to go to work because of that anxiety, and over time then it can really build up where it then comes to a head when something happens.

I mean, the other piece too, this affects everything else in your life. It's not just about going on to think, "I'm thinking about suicide." It affects your relationships, it affects your eating habits, it affects your exercise, all of those things, and affects your health as well.

Scot: Better to take care of it earlier. And of course, your example of burnout at work is just one of many potential mental issues that you might encounter.

Troy: Exactly.

Scot: So do the boring thing and take care of it before it becomes a bigger problem.

Troy: Yeah. Recognize it, jump on it, get it taken care of, address it, get the help you need.

Scot: Top five boring threats to men's health number three.

Troy: So number three is alcohol. And you hear about alcohol and you probably get tired of hearing about alcohol, but alcohol is another thing I see so commonly in the ER.

Scot: And are you talking about people that just get flat out drunk or . . .

Troy: I see a combination of things. There's the flat out drunk where their friends drag him in the ER, and maybe they're even so drunk and we need to put a tube in to breathe for them, put them on a breathing machine, intubate them, or they're drunk and they make bad decisions.

Scot: Just intoxicated.

Troy: While they're intoxicated.

Scot: Like a couple three drinks can get you to that point.

Troy: Yeah. Maybe a few drinks. It's not, again, like super drunk, but just a few drinks and then it becomes something where they either get injured or it's some sort of trauma. But then there are also the long-term consequences of alcohol as well. And we see people all the time with severe liver disease, sometimes so severe that they are requiring liver transplants, they're on the transplant list, or they have multiple complications or infections from that. That's probably one of the biggest things we see.

Potentially, there's heart disease down the road from this as well, maybe kidney disease, all sorts of things that 20, 30 years down the road become an issue. And maybe what's not a major issue now where you're getting flat out drunk and getting dragged into the ER, still, those drinking habits can become a problem.

Scot: They accumulate over time, even if it's only three or four drinks a day or . . .

Troy: Exactly.

Scot: . . . going out and tying one on, on the weekend.

Troy: Right, exactly.

Scot: Top five boring threats to men's health number four.

Troy: So number four is what we eat. And again, incredibly boring.

Scot: Oh my gosh. So boring.

Troy: "Do I have to hear more about this? We talk to this to death."

Scot: It's everywhere.

Troy: Yeah, we've talked it to death, but it's, again, one of those things where I think . . . I probably don't see it a ton in the ER in the 20s, 30s. It's more one of those things I'm seeing in people in their 50s and 60s. Sometimes I'll see a 50-year-old and you walk in the room and they look like they're 70, and that relates often to health habits from years earlier.

A lot of eating habits where . . . too many red meats leading to heart attacks, just not getting the food they need, and then they're paying the price with these health consequences 20 years later. Again, it's incredibly boring. I know we've talked about it before, but we see it all the time where it's a major health threat down the road.

Scot: All right. So watch what you eat. You don't have to be perfect. We talk about that a lot on this podcast, but just try to make more better decisions than not such better decisions.

Troy: Exactly. I mean, the big thing we talk about is increasing intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, those sorts of things. Those are going to be, I think, immediate health benefits. You're going to feel better. But avoiding that trip to the ER 20 years down the road for a heart attack.

Scot: Dr. Madsen just told us to eat our vegetables. That is the most boring thing I think you could possibly have told me.

Troy: I know. We've really hit rock bottom now.

Scot: Top five boring threats to men's health number five.

Troy: I think number five is people who just are not using the healthcare resources they have. If you're in a job, you very well may have and probably have health insurance. You've got so many resources with that. You've got a primary care doctor who can do cholesterol testing on you. That can be a wakeup call to making decisions that are going to, again, help you 20, 30 years down the road.

Oftentimes through your employer you've got resources for just basic fitness, different screenings, different things to help out with your body fat, body weight, those kinds of things to really, I think, help you feel better right now and have those long-term impacts.

Scot: Also, you have physical therapists if you have nagging health issues that are going on, because that knee problem today might mean you're not able to be as active as you want to be 10, 15 years from now. And then when you're not active, that leads to other things. It's this cumulative effect.

Troy: Exactly.

Scot: And then what about mental health too? If you're insured, a lot of times you have mental health benefits.

Troy: Typically, you do through your employer. Usually it's some sort of employee assistance program. We talked a little bit about that low-level stress and anxiety. That's a perfect time to go talk to these individuals. They can help you through different coping strategies, trying to evaluate things, give you another party's perspective. Someone who's unbiased to say, "This is what I am seeing. This is what I recommend." So a lot of great resources.

Scot: And put those stigmas aside for a lot of these things, that you're tough or you don't need to go to the doctor, any of those sorts of things.

I want to talk briefly about people that might not have insurance and how they should probably consider utilizing healthcare when they should, because they have to be a little bit more discerning.

Troy: They really do. And that gets tough because you're paying money out of pocket for these sorts of things, but you'll very often see healthcare screenings at different community fairs. I know the university does this. They'll do diabetes screening, these types of things. Beyond that, we'll find some good online resources a lot of times for different questions you might have about aches and pains.

But if you don't have insurance, it does become a little bit more of a challenge to really navigate a lot of these resources.

Scot: But if you can, I mean, it's a wise investment of money, especially like a nagging health issue, to perhaps go visit somebody about that as opposed to put it off, because eventually it will catch up.

Troy: Exactly. And that's kind of the point of all these boring things. I'm honestly kind of falling asleep over here, Scot . . .

Scot: That's bad news. That's bad news for us.

Troy: . . . because these are so boring. I mean, it's just like you hear these all the time, but every one of these things I can point to multiple cases I see on a regular basis in the ER of people who are there because of trauma, because of alcohol, not eating well, because mental health issues have just become an issue.

So if you can address the boring stuff early on, it becomes much less exciting, which is a good thing. You don't want to have to come see me for an exciting heart attack or something like that.

Scot: Paging Dr. Troy Madsen to Scope Studio for "ER or Not."

It's time for "ER or Not." That's where I come up with a scenario, give it to Dr. Troy Madsen, you get to play along at home, decide whether or not it's something you would go to the ER or not for, and Dr. Madsen will give us a definitive answer.

So today, it's more of a general "ER or Not." Like the ABCs of emergencies, how can I decide if something that's happened to me is a reason to go to the ER or not? Do you have some guidelines for us?

Scot: Scot, this is a great time to think about it, because like you said, we really need to think about these resources in the ER and leaving these for the people who really need them right now.

So good rule of thumb is to think ABC, and we'll say ABCD. We're going to add a D as well here. So A is airway, B is breathing, C is circulation, D is disability. So if you're having issues with any of these things, you need to go to the ER.

So A would be airway. Your airway is blocked. You're just not getting air in.

B is breathing. I'm feeling short of breath. I just can't get a deep breath. I feel like my oxygen levels are low.

C is circulation. So that would be your blood pressure. My blood pressure is low, or maybe it's just really, really high and I'm having other symptoms with that, or I feel like I'm having a heart attack, something that's affecting my body's circulation, or certainly if you're bleeding, that's going to be losing blood and affect your circulation.

D is disability. That would be like a stroke. I'm disabled, and suddenly I can't use my left hand or my face is drooping.

So those are absolutely reasons to go to the ER. But if you don't have those things, there are lots of other resources you can use right now. And I think telemedicine is a great resource right now to call in and talk to someone on the phone, talk to a physician or a healthcare provider. Say, "These are my symptoms. I'm having this abdominal pain. This is where it hurts. What do you think I should do?" They may say, "Give it 12 hours, see where you are," or they may say, "Go to the ER."

So great time to use other resources, potentially go to the urgent care. I do know urgent cares have been really busy with lots of people with coughs and respiratory symptoms as well. But try to do something besides going to the ER, and only go to the ER if you are having those things. Otherwise, start somewhere else first. They'll direct you to the ER if that's where you need to be.

Scot: All right. Time for odds and ends. We're going to have a couple of things here that we need to talk about, a couple of current things we're going to talk about.

First of all, a little check-in to see how everybody's doing in a world of COVID-19. The person I'm most concerned about, of course, is emergency room physician, Dr. Troy Madsen, Troy as we call him on the show.

Troy: Thanks, Scot.

Scot: How are you holding up? How are things going?

Troy: I'm hanging in there, Scot. I've been thinking lately the best thing I can compare this to is just being on a really bad amusement park ride, and you kind of zone out for a second, you're just trying to get through it, and then you come to it again and you're just like,"Am I still on this?" Every morning it feels that way.

So getting through it though, working a lot of shifts, seeing sick people, definitely seeing COVID cases, which is a little unnerving as we see cases of physicians and nurses and PAs and nurse practitioners and techs and everyone else getting sick across the country. But we have not fortunately seen the numbers here that they're seeing in New York, which is just completely overwhelming. So we're fortunate in that sense.

Scot: All right. Well, that's good. And you're still healthy?

Troy: Staying healthy, trying to stay healthy. Focused on the core four. Sleep as much as I'm able to just depending on the shift schedule, but trying to stay healthy.

Scot: And that's how you're getting through it?

Troy: Getting through it one day at a time. I know it's cliché, but I think now it applies more than ever.

Scot: So how are you dealing with a stress or anxiety? Or maybe you just don't have any. I think that that could be an interesting quick conversation to have for those that maybe are. They might not be a physician like you are, but maybe they've got their own sources of stress, like perhaps lost their job, not sure how they're going to support their family, have a really sick person in their family. How have you been dealing with that?

Troy: I mean, first, to clarify, I have a very high level of anxiety. I think a lot of us do right now.

Scot: Sure.

Troy: So I don't want to give the impression I have no anxiety. For me, it's been my daily runs and then my long run once a week. And beyond that, I think it's been . . . again, just trying to take it a day at a time. I'm like, "Okay, what's on the schedule for today? And let's do our best with it."

I don't know what else to say, honestly. I think it's challenging for all of us right now, but I think we're all kind of in that situation.

Scot: I think a philosophy I've been adapting that you just mentioned there is I've just got to keep my attention on the thing in front of me, like the task at hand or the job at hand. I can't think too far ahead. I can't look too far in the future. I just really have to focus on a day.

Same with my wife. She just really needs to focus on the here and now because if you start thinking about the future, then your mind goes . . . it gets a little crazy with you sometimes, at least mine does.

Troy: I completely agree. And that's the conclusion I've come to. I'm not thinking a month or two down the road. I'm saying, "Okay, this is what I've got today." Either I've got a shift, or I don't have a shift and I have other things I'm working on, and this is what I'm working on and that's it.

Scot: So in football, don't they say keep your head down for running backs, keep your head down and your legs moving? Isn't that something they say?

Troy: Since you're such a big sports guy. They may say that. I'm sure someone at some point has said that. But that makes sense now more than ever. Keep your head down and your legs moving and just keep plowing forward the best you can.

Scot: Yep. One yard at a time.

Troy: One yard at a time. Exactly.

Scot: Mitch, how are you doing?

Mitch: I'm doing okay. I've actually taken up crocheting as a way to get away from screens and just do something. That's how I've been keeping sane, is unplugging a little bit every day. I think with everything going remote, it's all screens at all times and you have the news coming in all day long. And so every night I sit in my little front room, I'll make myself a drink, have a tea, whatever, and I crochet and listen to podcasts.

Scot: Totally smart to unplug like that. I never used to be the guy that would walk around looking at my phone when I walked, checking in on stuff, but I'm becoming that guy and I'm not exactly sure why. I don't know if it's lack of social contact. I don't know if it's a need to see what is going on in the world. I've never had that problem and that's a brand new problem of mine. So maybe crocheting is my answer too.

Mitch: Everyone is getting a really poorly done scarf for Christmas this year.

Troy: I'm so excited. Can you crochet masks? I wonder how effective those would be.

Mitch: I don't know.

Scot: I'm guessing not.

Troy: Not at all, but it would look cool.

Scot: I'm doing all right. I'm not in nearly the situation that you are, Troy. I mean, I don't have a tremendous amount of anxiety because my job doesn't necessarily cause that, although there is a certain amount of stress to try to get everything done.

I have learned some things about myself through a world of COVID. First of all, the only constant I still have is I come back into the house at least once because I forgot something. My wife joked about that. I cannot leave the house in one time. I have to come back. I'm about ready to start looking for black market barbers at this point because I'm getting a little scraggly.

Troy: Get some clippers. I will cut your hair.

Scot: How are you going to do it from six feet? How are you going to do it physically distanced? You going to put them on a big long pole? That's not going to look good. That's not going to be a good final product.

Troy: We'll make do.

Scot: You're not going to get straight lines doing that, I have a feeling.

Troy: It's true.

Scot: And apparently, my new coping mechanism is mini peanut butter cups I've discovered. So that is the new addiction of late. Just trying to keep it together.

Troy: It sounds like you're hanging in there though.

Scot: I think my sense of humor is what's doing it because I feel like all my routines are falling apart. I'm having a hard time maintaining my diet, maintaining my exercise routines, but I guess I'm laughing, so that's good. When that stops, then I need to worry.

Troy: And I do appreciate all the COVID memes. You've got to have some humor in all this. So you need those, I think. Dark humor, but you need it.

Scot: All right. Odds and ends number two of two. "Who Cares About Mitch's Health" 5k. Mitch got new shoes. How exciting is that?

Troy: Congratulations, Mitch.

Mitch: I ordered them forever ago, and we're in this world of COVID where the two-day delivery no longer exists. And so I was originally told I wouldn't be getting these until May. And so they showed up this last week and it was good. It was a pleasant surprise. It was like a miracle that I finally got my shoes.

And they fit great. They feel great. But when I run, I don't know if you guys have ever had this, but I feel like my form may be better. I feel my ankles are probably not rolling as much as they used to. My knees are feeling okay, but I'm getting sore spots on my behind. I'm getting sore spots on my shins. I don't know if it's the shoes or if it's the training program ramping up. I'm not sure.

Scot: Thoughts, Troy?

Troy: I have various aches and pains at various times and I find the biggest thing . . . I don't know, Mitch, if you're trying to do a lot of stretching too, but I found at first I was running a lot and I wasn't stretching, but as soon as I started stretching more . . . and I do a lot of foam rolling. I have a spot, like my left hip, left buttock, man, that just drives me crazy. But I'll foam roll that and it makes all the difference in the world. So I'd say any stretching, foam rolling you can do, that's what I've found is really key.

Mitch: And you do it after the runs?

Troy: I do stretching before. I know Scot's a bigger believer in an active warm-up, but I always stretch before, but then I will regularly foam roll just at various times in the day. Like if I'm watching TV or something or listening to music or a podcast or whatever, I'll just foam roll during that and it just feels great.

Mitch: Do you guys have any suggestions for stretches or whatever? Because I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just like . . . I grab my knee and whoosh it around, or I bend over. I'm just doing what I think I've seen other people do.

Scot: I have this great trainer. His name is Google. Just go ahead and Google "running stretches," and you'll find some that are pretty common among most people. And like Troy said, I like active warm-ups a little bit more. So if you're more interested in that, I'll stretch after I do an active warm-up beforehand. For me, that works. I don't know what the research says on any of this. That's something we probably should do an episode on. But you could Google active warm-ups for running and you can find some of those routines as well.

Mitch: Sure. I'll take a look.

Scot: All right. Good luck. Keep it up, Mitch. I'm proud of you.

Mitch: Thank you.

Scot: You're an inspiration that you've actually maintained this. Like I said, I'm struggling, so I admire that you've been able to maintain your training regimen. So nice work.

Mitch: For me, it's definitely become . . . it's what's helping keep me sane. And on top of that, I've been legitimately surprised about . . . we have some listeners, I have some friends, I have some mild acquaintances that I haven't talked to in years and years that are all interacting and going on their own runs and sharing their own pictures and whatever. And so the running has become not only a physical break, a mental break, but it's also become this interesting social connection that I didn't think I'd have.

Troy: All sorts of benefits. I agree. That's what I love about it. It gets me outside every day. That's probably the biggest thing, but it's great you're keeping it up and moving forward with it.

Scot: All right. Time for "Just Going to Leave This Here." It might be health-related. It might be completely un-health-related and totally random. Troy, why don't you go ahead and kick off "Just Going to Leave This Here"?

Troy: Well, I'm just going to leave this here. A couple of weeks ago when this pandemic really started to kick in and cancellations started, I talked about this need for fosters for animals. Well, the amazing thing is . . . I think probably one of the coolest things that has come out of this is the number of people who are now fostering animals. And it has nothing to do with what I said on the podcast, but people have really stepped up. I think they're home, they've got time, so they're taking animals into their home. There are record number of fosters nationwide.

So if you're fostering animals, thanks for what you're doing. But also just know that it's cool to see how people have stepped up in a time of need and really reached out to help these animals in need where more animals were being turned into shelter. There was a threat of euthanasia with these animals and people are taking them into their homes. So really cool to see that.

Scot: Very nice. Just going to leave this here. One of the things that has come out of this whole COVID pandemic that's been kind of a silver lining is my wife and I go on nightly walks and it has just become the highlight of both of our days. And I think we've had better conversations than we've had in a long time and we talk about very deep things. And I think we just have a better connection as a result of all the craziness that's going on.

So that is one thing that I'm going to go ahead and say I'm grateful for. They say that you should exercise recognizing things you're grateful for. That can help your mental health. So that's what I'm doing. I'm recognizing that I'm grateful for that.

Troy: Nice. Did you go for a nightly walk last night and see the full moon?

Scot: We weren't out that late. Sometimes I don't even look up on these nightly walks. It's weird. I could walk blocks and realize I haven't looked up once. So I do notice that the skies are really clear. Like, it's really crisp at night, the stars and the moon and that sort of thing. And I imagine it's because fewer people are commuting to work.

Troy: Right. It's cleared the air, which is great.

Scot: Time for the things that you say at the end of podcasts, because we are at the end of our podcast. Troy, go ahead and start.

Troy: So you can subscribe anywhere you subscribe to your podcasts. Feel free to get in touch. We'd love to hear from you, hear what your thoughts are, what you'd like to hear on the show. Contact us at hello@thescoperadio.com. Also, check us out on Facebook, facebook.com/whocaresmenshealth.

Scot: And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so we can be delivered to your preferred podcatcher every single week. And thank you for listening and thank you for caring about men's health.