Jan Haig

Signature Healthcare • 17th March 2026

Is Insomnia a Symptom of Dementia? A Risk Factor?

Another sleepless night, spent tossing and turning for hours?
When you’ve had fewer than seven hours of sleep, you don’t perform at your best, physically or mentally.
Many chronically sleepless patients are concerned about long-term brain health. Fueled by media reports, they fear a pattern of insufficient sleep heightens their risk of some form of dementia. They wonder: Is insomnia a symptom of dementia? Does lack of sleep cause...

Signature Healthcare • 24th February 2026

Flu A vs. Flu B: It Helps to Know the Difference

Have you ever had the flu? Would you know if you did?
The flu is a broadly used term. People frequently mistake common colds, allergies, and even stomach bugs for “the flu.”
Influenza has been around for centuries, but it wasn’t until 1933 that medical science isolated the flu virus. It’s uniquely different from Parvovirus B19, SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19), and the thousands of other viruses in circulation today.
Flu often comes o...

Signature Healthcare • 17th February 2026

Testosterone Pellets: Are They Medically Necessary (and Safe) for You?

Testosterone replacement therapy helps many men recapture the vitality, confidence, and vigor they had before their testosterone (T) levels dipped. But not every T therapy suits every routine.
Today, some men are turning to testosterone pellets, frequently promoted by clinics claiming to specialize in hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
A brief outpatient procedure implants six to 10 rice-sized pellets under the patient’s skin, typ...

Signature Healthcare • 13th January 2026

What Is Dense Breast Tissue? What to Do if It Shows Up on Your Mammogram

Have you had a mammogram lately? If so, you may receive a post-visit letter stating that your results show “extremely or heterogeneously dense breast” tissue.
What is dense breast tissue? Should you be alarmed? Does dense breast tissue require any action?

Signature Healthcare • 30th December 2025

Why Does My Blood Pressure Fluctuate So Much Within Minutes?

Back when I made hospital rounds, staff would often report to me that a particular patient’s vital signs were “stable.” But the interesting thing is, vitals are only truly stable if a patient is deceased!
Joking aside, in those of us who are very much alive, vital signs fluctuate constantly. Many aspects of day-to-day life can affect our body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure, minute to minute, or eve...

Signature Healthcare • 23rd December 2025

Can Anxiety Cause High Blood Pressure? A Physician Explains the Connection

If you’re anxious occasionally, or more than occasionally, you may wonder, “Can anxiety cause high blood pressure?”
High blood pressure is a medical condition known clinically as hypertension. Doctors treat hypertension because a blood pressure above 120/80 is associated with an increased risk of vascular disease, which can damage the heart, brain, kidneys, eyes, or other organs.
In North Carolina, approximately 37.5% of...

Signature Healthcare • 9th December 2025

What to Eat to Balance Hormones: A Physician’s Guide

Hormones are vital to our health, an intricate system to be respected and honored.
But is our hormone health inseparable from our genetic makeup? And should we focus on considerations like what to eat to balance hormones?

Signature Healthcare • 2nd December 2025

Why I Chose Concierge Medicine for My Patients (and Myself)

Patients today are weary of the traditional healthcare model. They often find it difficult to schedule time with their healthcare provider, then feel rushed through office visits with little opportunity to chat meaningfully with the doctor...

Signature Healthcare • 11th November 2025

Why Is Pancreatic Cancer So Deadly? Are We Making Progress Against It?

If you know someone with advanced pancreatic cancer, you’ve likely heard their prognosis is poor... Why is pancreatic cancer so deadly? A major reason is the difficulty in diagnosing the disease in its earlier stages...

Signature Healthcare • 4th November 2025

Is Cancer Hereditary? Understanding Your Family’s Risk

“My dad died of cancer, and I’m feeling nervous about it. Am I at risk as well?”
If your parent or other family member succumbed to cancer, you may feel anxious or overwhelmed by the question, “Is cancer hereditary?”...

Signature Healthcare • 23rd September 2025

Not All PT Is Created Equal: The Different Types of Physical Therapy

Do you tediously walk the treadmill at your physical therapy (PT) visit while your therapist seems to be preoccupied elsewhere?
Perhaps it’s time to consider a physical therapist who takes a more holistic and individualized approach to your needs. There are many types of physical therapy, but in each, your therapist should view you as a whole person, not a point of injury.

Signature Healthcare • 16th September 2025

What Causes Pain With Intercourse? And What Can You Do About It?

Making love should be a pleasant experience, but many females quietly endure physical pain with intercourse.
Research suggests that painful intercourse, or dyspareunia, may affect two in 10 American women at some point in their lives. Other studies put the number as high as 74%...

Signature Healthcare • 9th September 2025

Leaking When You Laugh? An Expert Explains Stress Urinary Incontinence

Oops, there’s that trickle again.
If you “leak” more than occasionally or often find yourself in a frantic dash for the ladies’ room, you may have stress urinary incontinence. It’s an involuntary loss of urine when you laugh, sneeze, cough, exercise, or generate other pressure on the bladder.

Signature Healthcare • 2nd September 2025

Is This Innovative Bladder Pain Treatment Right for You?

Let’s get personal:
- Do you feel the need to urinate a lot?
- Do you feel pain or burning when you go?
- Does the feeling persist or perhaps worsen as your bladder fills?
For many people, bladder pain is a chronic condition that hurts their quality of life.

Signature Healthcare • 29th July 2025

The Benefits of Probiotics: A Healthier Gut for a Happier You

There are certainly times when probiotics for gut health may be appropriate and important for patients. But the truth about probiotics is that no single product ranks as “best.” And we still have a lot to learn about them.
The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract contains a wide array of microorganisms: bacteria, yeasts, b...

Signature Healthcare • 22nd July 2025

Your Overnight Hospital Bag Checklist: What to Bring to the Hospital

Every hospital stay is unique.
You may be in for an overnight observation or a procedure with a planned stay of a few days. Perhaps you undergo regular cancer treatment or have a chronic health condition like emphysema that calls for intermittent hospitalization.
Most hospital visits, though, are unplanned, and you may unexpectedly find yourself in the emergency room!
In the former cases, you typically have plenty of time to consider what...

Signature Healthcare • 15th July 2025

Fuel Your Focus: An Anti-Inflammatory Diet Plan for Optimal Brain Health

Have you ever experienced temporary brain fog? Perhaps you forgot a doctor’s appointment or suddenly found it difficult to complete simple paperwork.
To a certain degree, cognitive decline is part of the aging process, and occasional brain fog can become more common as we enter middle age. Over 28% of participants in a recent study reported that they sometimes experience confusion or forgetfulness, feel mentally exhausted, or struggle to...

Signature Healthcare • 8th July 2025

Savor the Benefits of Mindful Eating

Do you ever eat hastily in the car while running errands? Nosh at your desk while you work? You’re not alone.
We’re a nation of hurried, distracted eaters. We wolf down meals while watching TV, scrolling through our phones, or even standing at the kitchen counter...

Signature Healthcare • 1st July 2025

The Power of Creatine for Women's Health and Fitness

Is creatine good for women?
An online search gives you a mixed bag of results, and clicking one brings an instant chain of creatine marketing hype to your phone or computer. Much of it features inflated promises, intended to generate maximum clicks and product sales...

Signature Healthcare • 24th June 2025

Is Your Chronic Cough Actually GERD Cough?

GERD can sneak up on you in the form of a cough.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD) is a digestive disorder where stomach acid and food back up into the esophagus, the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach...

Signature Healthcare • 17th June 2025

Hypothyroidism vs. Hyperthyroidism: How Are They Different?

We all experience a fatiguing day every so often. Yet chronic fatigue, coupled with fairly rapid weight gain, may signal a thyroid condition.
And you may be surprised to learn that ongoing jitters, accompanied by weight loss, can point to the thyroid as well...

Signature Healthcare • 10th June 2025

Are You Eating Enough Protein?

When most people hear the word “protein,” they think of a nutrient that builds big or healthy muscles.

But it takes at least 10,000 different proteins, working together, to keep the human body fully functional...

Signature Healthcare • 3rd June 2025

Cold Plunge Benefits: Does Chilling Out Bring Better Health?

Have you been dunked or doused in ice-cold water lately… on purpose? Many people are giving it a try.
A cold plunge, also known as an ice bath or cold-water immersion, is a dip into cold water for a few minutes at a time. “Plungers” partially or fully submerge their bodies in water below 60°F (16°C) — even as low as 38°F (3°C).
The purpose of a cold plunge is to stimulate the body and mind through cold exposure, as well as reduce mus...

Signature Healthcare • 20th May 2025

Optimal Vitamin D Levels: How Much Do You Need?

Every few years, there’s a fresh wave of interest in vitamin D. The medical community asks, “What is an optimal vitamin D level?” — as they assess recommended levels and analyze D’s role in our health...