Two days ago, I got a text from my wife reporting to me that the A/C was out of commission, and it was hotter than a pepper sprout in the house.

I sent one of my sons home from work to fix the problem by pouring white vinegar down the doo-hickey thing and shop vac the outside A/C drainpipe, but when I got home the house still felt like a sauna.

I then checked & replaced the dirty A/C filter, and vacuumed out the vent area thinking for sure it would kick on at this point, but after all that work it was still 84 degrees in the back part of the house.

I had run out of my own wisdom, waived the white flag, and called the A/C guy.

Our four youngest kids saw their opportunity to capitalize on the moment and decided to 'set up camp' in the coolest room in the house…mom & dads' room.

The next day, the A/C guy discovered that the circuit breaker was accidentally turned off by the repair guys who were fixing our oven just the day before.

Once the problem was identified, the fix was easy. Cool air flows once again.

Although everything is back to normal, the kids decided to extend their stay and spend another night in our room where the 'grass is greener on the other side.'

I got to ponder about our recent A/C crisis and realized the same principle to solving the A/C issue rings true for solving a health issue...you must find the true source of the problem.

I thought the white vinegar, shop vac job, and new filter would solve the issue, but it did not work because I was trying to solve the wrong problem.

I see this with my patients all the time.

They come in and tell me they tried this exercise or that stretch or this pill or that course of treatment, but the true source of the problem was never identified so they do not see results because they are trying to solve the wrong problem.

Sometimes the health problems they present with are very complicated, compounding, and colossal which makes it consumingly challenging to resolve and these require great patience on the patient's part to persevere in the process.

However, at other times, identifying the health problem is simple & easy.

For example, yesterday a patient came in with a new complaint of intense itching for the past few weeks over her right shoulder area.

I briefly assessed the situation and afterward suspected the problem was environmental.

I asked her, "What kind of laundry detergent do you use?"

She said, "Seventh Generation. I don't do well with the standard detergents."

Then she paused as if she had an aha moment and said, "My daughter just moved back home from college a few weeks ago and is using her own generic laundry detergent to wash our towels!"

In this case, it is probably the laundry detergent causing the itching, and cutting out the detergent will cause the itching to cease.

If that works, great, solving the problem will be like flipping the circuit breaker switch.

If it does not, then you continue to investigate, dig a little deeper, and try to find another cause and solution.

Whatever your health challenge may be, I would encourage you to not give up on the fight as little problems inevitably become bigger ones if neglected and ignored.

Remember your health affects everyone you know and everything you do.

Have a Great Weekend!

- Dr. Derek 'No More Slumber Parties' Taylor
(561) 867-1020