Zabi Wardak MD

We understand that everyone is feeling concerned about coronavirus, COVID-19. We are following the guidelines from public health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other healthcare authorities to provide health care for our patients, as well as ensure the safety and health of our staff and the community. We are recommending and advising all our patients to help protect themselves, and their families from possible exposure to the coronavirus. At this point, accor...ding to the local public health authorities, we strongly recommend: 1. If you have flu like symptoms, fever, cough, runny nose, or shortness of breath, please call the office at 916 645 8302 before coming in for an in-person office visit. 2. If you have a routine schedule checkup or physical appointment, as recommended by CDC and local health authorities, please call the office to reschedule your appointment until later in the year. 3. If you have an urgent issue, please call the office to have an over the phone appointment scheduled. A staff member will provide guidance for your health concerns and make recommendations for next step. If an in person clinic visit is needed or recommended, you would be advised to return to clinic for an in person appointment. 4. Remember, call 911 or go to your nearest ER in cases of emergency. Practices recommended for staying healthy: * Avoid close contact with people who are sick. * wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, alcohol-based hand sanitizers can also be used. * do not touch your eyes, nose, mouth until you have washed your hands. * If you are sick, stay home and avoid close contact with everyone else. * Use a tissue to cover your cough, sneeze, or if your cleaning your nose. Dispose of tissue in a safe place and wash your hands afterwards. * Disinfect, and clean frequently used objects or touched surfaces. As we learn more about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), recommendations and guidelines are updated accordingly to provide the best and effective healthcare recommendations for our patients. Further information can be found at CDC.gov/covid19 and/or the cdph.ca.gov/covid19

The office of public health at Placer County has just reported the first death of COVID-19 in Placer County. Our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of this patient. Currently, Placer County has been declared a state of emergency. For those individuals with underlying health conditions that affect their immune system, such as diabetes, HIV and AIDS, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and cancer, it is recommended to stay home as much as possible. Make sure you have at least two week supply of medication on hand. Avoid visitors who have fever, cough, or sore throat. Wash your hands regularly before eating or touching your face. If you need to leave the house, minimize contact with other individuals and avoid touching common surfaces.

Placer County public health this morning reported a possible second case COVID-19 in a hospitalized patient. The new case is an older individual, who had traveled on the Princess cruise ship that departed from San Francisco to Mexico. Public health is working closely with CDC to confirm the diagnosis. Simple steps recommended to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses including COVID-19: 1. Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, if you don’t have acce...ss to soap and water, use alcohol-based sanitizer. 2. Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. 3. Stay home if you’re sick. 4. Regularly clean surfaces touched by other people and avoid touching surfaces when you’re in the malls, shopping centers or other public places See more

Understand the facts about COVID-19, and let's work together to stop spread of rumors: COVID-19 can infect anyone regardless of race, gender or ethnicity. People of Asian descent are not at increased risk of getting COVID-19, or more likely than others to spread COVID-19. The risk of getting COVID-19 in United States is currently low. Individuals who have traveled to the regions where COVID-19 has spread, may be monitored by health professional to protect other people in the... community from contracting the disease and to help them overcome the symptoms of the disease. According to our current knowledge of COVID-19, those individuals that have completed quarantine, and have been released from isolation, do not pose a risk to others in the community. Know the signs and symptoms of possible COVID-19 infection. If you know the signs and symptoms of COVID-19, you can help stop the spread of the disease. So far, we believe that the symptoms of COVID-19 are mild fever, cough, and shortness of breath. These symptoms tend to appear between 2 to 14 days after exposure. If you have traveled to regions where the disease is present in the last 14 days, or have come in contact with someone who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, please call you doctor and get their advise. Remember, there are simple steps you can take to stop the spread of disease and protect yourself. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for minimum of 20 seconds after coughing or sneezing, after blowing your nose, before touching your eyes, before and after eating, and after use of bathroom. Avoid touching unclean surfaces in the shopping centers and malls. Stay home if you are sick and always cover your cough and/or sneeze. This information is from Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Our understanding of coronavirus disease or COVID-19 is evolving, and you can get more detailed information at the CDC website below: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

There has been over 500 lung disorders, 98 hospitalizations only in California, and two deaths, across America, associated with vaping. Therefore, Department of Public Health has released an advisory urging everyone to refrain from vaping at this. You can access department of public health advisory here:

Dietary and herbal therapies for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee: The use of nutraceutical supplements is a noninvasive therapeutic strategy that can be used with or without pharmaceutical therapeutic strategies for preventing osteoarthritis of the knees and managing the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. The term nutraceutical is derived from nutrition pharmaceutics. Nutraceuticals are compounds isolated from herbal products, dietary supplements, specific diets, certain proc...essed foods and are used for health purposes beyond nutrition alone. In theory, nutraceutical supplements may promote balance of anabolic and catabolic signals in joints, therefore helping to regulate homeostasis of cartilage metabolism. Here is what the current guidelines suggest regarding nutraceutical supplements for prevention and management of knee osteoarthritis: 1. Glucosamine/chondroitin recommendations from guideline organizations emphasize a lack of proven benefit from these products. Professional organizations such as American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, American College of Rheumatology, Osteoarthritis Research Society International, and Canadian Orthopedic Association recommends against using glucosamine/chondroitin to treat patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knees. 2.Avocado soybean unsaponifiables (ASUs)- OARSI states that use of ASUs and its benefits is uncertain in patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis. 3. Rosehip - there is only mid-level evidence that Rosehip may reduce pain and use of analogies that in adults with osteoarthritis. 4. Curcumin or Turmeric - there is mid-level evidence that it may reduce pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. This product has to be used with caution in patients for taking antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy. 5. Boswellia Serrata Extracts - may reduce pain and improve function in adults with knee osteoarthritis. But patient is taking a diuretic medications need be cautious, because these often contain heavy metals and carry risk. 6. Collagen -containing supplements there is good evidence that these product may reduce pain and use of analgesics for up to 6 months in patients with knee osteoarthritis. 7. Vitamin E this product may improve pain and function at 2 months in patients with knee osteoarthritis who are awaiting total knee arthroplasty. 8. Green lipped mussel extract may not reduce pain in short-term or less than 3 months, but has been proven effective in reducing pain for patient who take the product consistently for 4 to 6 months for the purpose of reducing knee pain due to osteoarthritis. 9. Other herbals and botanical extracts with some evidence of efficacy for improving both pain and function include: ginger, Pinus Pinastar extracts, comfrey extract gel. 10. Other nutraceutical supplements without any evidence of clinically meaningful improvement in pain or function include SAMe, vitamin B, and vitamin D. See more

Diabetes is a chronic condition. Once diagnosed, you have to constantly think about better control of your glucose to reduce your risk of further complications from diabetes. Here are four steps that have always proven effective to better control your diabetes:

There is a lot of rave about keto diet recently, here’s a good article regarding information about different diets:

Certain Valsartan products have been recalled by FDA due to impurities and presence of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), considered a human carcinogen. If you are on valsartan, continue taking the medication and contact your PCP for an appointment to talk to them about a replacement product.

CDPH Confirms First Human West Nile Virus Illnesses of 2018 IN Sacramento.