Why do they ask you to turn and cough at the doctor? Just male patients actually.

Thanks.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: This relates to an inguinal hernia, where part of the small intestine falls through a weak spot in the muscles at the bottom of the abdomen and finds a new resting place. (It can occur in women, too, when the intestine goes through the abdominal muscles and may create a visible bulge in the lower abdomen.)

Although I recommend that you search Medline Plus at http://medlineplus.gov/ for inguinal hernia, or ask your doctor, to get more information, the following information culled from links at Medline Plus may help.

Coughing, forcing movement of the muscles, seems to make any defect in the muscle walls or a protruding intestine more obvious to the touch, hence this method of exam in men, whose physiology lends itself to this type of hernia and to detection through this type of exam. Persistent heavy coughing apparently can even be one of the causes of this, having something to do with putting stress on the muscles.

Has it been proven that marijuana is more unhealthy than alcohol or tobacco? For example, there is a consensus that cigarette smoking causes cancer. Is there a similar consensus regarding the risks of marijuana?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: We librarians (and AP is one of them) aren’t supposed to discuss medical issues. You might want to explore the fine MedLine Plus web site, although you won’t get alternative viewpoints there such as what you might get at the websites of NORML or the American Medical Marijuana Association. MedLine Plus links to material from the National Library of Medicine, as well as to “trusted” sources such as the Mayo Clinic and various medical professional societies.

I don’t know about more or less unhealthy than alcohol or tobacco, but from many of the sites (and even from alternative sites), there appears to be some agreement in the carcinogenic effect of the tars (particulates) in the smoke, and also that it’s dangerous, for instance, to operate heavy machinery while under the influence of cannibis (you knew that, right?).