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Emily Johnson,
MD
FCMH Medical and
Surgical Associates
1510 Columbus
Ave., Suite 230
Washington Court
House, OH 43160
740-636-1650
Rakesh Nanda,
MD
FCMH Medical and
Surgical Associates
1430 Columbus
Ave., Suite 106
Washington Court
House, OH 43160
740-335-2654
Gregory Schall,
DO
FCMH Medical and
Surgical Associates
1430 Columbus
Ave., Suite 106
Washington Court
House, OH 43160
740-335-2654
Q
My 4-year-old was
recently diagnosed with a
speech disorder. How common
are these disorders?
A.
Speech problems a"ect about 8 to
9 percent of young children. $e dis-
orders refer to di&culty pronouncing
sounds, problems with speech quality
or interruptions in speech *ow. Most
have no known cause.
Language disorders, which are
separate from speech disorders,
a"ect up to 8 million Americans.
$ey include problems understand-
ing or using speech and writing, and
they can result from things such as
hearing impairment and autism.
In adults, stroke, brain injury and
dementia are o#en responsible for
these problems.
Speech and language disorders
can interfere with school, work and
life in general. But with the assis-
tance of a speech-language patholo-
gist, they don’t have to. Techniques
such as using exercises to strengthen
the muscles that form sounds and
practicing conversational skills can
help make it easier for people to
communicate.
Q
I’ve heard about the
HPV vaccine. Who
should get it?
A.
Ideally, girls and boys should
be vaccinated against human
papillomaviruses (HPVs) before
they become sexually active. Here’s
why:
$e vaccines help prevent
infections from certain HPVs that
are passed from person to person
during sexual contact.
$ese HPVs are linked
to genital warts and
several cancers, in-
cluding cancers of the
cervix, vulva, vagina
and anus.
$e vaccines may not work as
well, or at all, once someone is
infected with an HPV.
Vaccination is available for:
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Girls and women ages 9 to 26
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Boys and men ages 9 to 26
HPV vaccination is especially
important for girls. Widespread
vaccination could help prevent
about two-thirds of cervical cancer
deaths, saving thousands of lives in
the U.S. alone.
Q
Can men develop
osteoporosis?
A.
Many people may think that
osteoporosis is a health issue for
women only. But the disease—
characterized by weak, brittle
bones—will lead to breaking a
bone in as many as 1 in 4 men older
than 50.
While it’s true that women’s
bones typically weaken earlier and
faster than men’s, by the time men
and women are in their mid-60s,
they are losing bone mass at the
same rate. Weaker bones o#en lead
to fractures, which can harm your
quality of life or even cause death,
especially in men.
$e best way to determine your
bone health is to get a bone
mineral density test. To %nd out
more, talk with your doctor or visit
www.morehealth.org/test.
Want more health tips from our
physicians? Visit our provider blog
at
www.fcmh.org
.
Q&A
www.fcmh.org
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