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Matthew Hoffman, MD

Matthew Hoffman, MDMatthew Hoffman, MD

Internist, WebMD Medical Expert

Internal Medicine

131 Answers25 Followers26,649 Helpful Answer Votes
 

Bio

Matthew Hoffman, MD, has written for WebMD since 2006.

He worked for CNN as a medical consultant during the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign, and also contributed to production on health-related programs such as House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. As a freelancer, he has also written for numerous publications in Atlanta and North Carolina.

Credentials

Organization Affiliations:
  • Emory University
 

My Answers

A. Dysentery is severe diarrhea, with blood and mucus in the stool. Dysentery is caused by bacteria or other agents that can infect our intestines...
A. The first thing to do for an earache is to find out why it’s aching. The main concern would be for acute otitis media, an infection of the middle ear...
A. Not being able to urinate at all, despite a strong urge to, is an urgent problem. Usually, the severe discomfort or pain that results drives a person...
A. No. Your heart keeps right on beating, even through the worst sneezing fit you can imagine. Coughing, sneezing, bearing down, and other activities...
A. No, Vicodin contains acetaminophen (the medicine in Tylenol) and hydrocodone (a narcotic). Aspirin and hydrocodone are available together in...
A. Cardiomegaly is an enlarged heart. In most cases, enlargement of the heart occurs over an extended period of time (weeks, or more often, years), due...
A. Dyslipidemia means an abnormal amount of lipids, or fats, in the blood. Lipids are essential to life, but an excess of certain lipids can increase...
A. Alprazolam (Xanax) is an anxiety-relieving medicine that starts to work within about an hour after taking the pill. The level of drug reaches a peak...
A. Cocaine provides its high by quickly achieving high levels in the bloodstream during use. Smoking or injecting cocaine results in peak blood levels...
A. Vicodin includes a combination of acetaminophen  and the opioid hydrocodone. There are several different dosages of Vicodin, with the...
A. The appendix is a thin tube about 4 inches long that protrudes off the large intestine where it joins the small intestine. In most people, the...
A. Porphyrias are a family of medical conditions in which a substance called heme is not produced properly. Heme consists of a compound called porphyrin...
A. A pulled hamstring (hamstring strain) is one of the most common exercise-related injuries. A hamstring strain occurs when a movement stretches the...
A. Eyes look red or bloodshot when the tiny blood vessels on the surface of the eye (the conjunctiva) expand and become swollen with blood. Most often...
A. That depends on your energy reserves; in other words, how much meat you have on your bones at the time you take your last bite of food. Starvation...