Recent Blog Posts

Medical Director Dr. Tom Brown Interviewed on Your Town – 102.9 WDRC-FM What is the goal of Alcohol Awareness Month? Each April since 1987, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) sponsors NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month to increase public awareness and understanding, reduce stigma and encourage local communities to focus on alcoholism and alcohol-related issues. This April, NCADD highlights the important public health issue of underage drinking, a problem with devastating individual ...

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In this country, 26 million people are impacted by Type 2 Diabetes, however, a quarter of them don’t even realize they have the disease. Dr. Tom Brown makes it a point of assessing a patient’s risk every day. The newly appointed Medical Director of the Urgent Care West Hartford location has a record of seizing the opportunity to delve beyond just routine questions with his patients. Click here to go to the Hartford ...

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November is here, which means that Diabetes Awareness month is here as well. At AFC Urgent Care West Hartford, we strongly encourage you to educate yourselves on the signs and symptoms of diabetes. Diabetes is a growing epidemic, especially here in the U.S. It threatens the lives of more and more people each year. In the U.S alone, over 25 million people are living with diabetes according to the CDC, and it is ...

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The way we view concussions and their seriousness has changed recently. In light of several changes brought to light by the NFL & MLB, concussions are now taken extremely seriously. In addition to now being classified as a brain injury, studies show that concussions can have effects that manifest later on in life. CT is in the forefront of taking this seriously. Recently, it has become a requirement for student athletes and their parents to be ...

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“Yes, mom, we heard you! We know it’s cold out there. We’re grabbing our coats right now!” “This scratchy throat and runny nose will definitely get better with some homemade chicken soup.” “Of course we promise to cough into our elbows.” We’ve all heard our mothers’ best remedies and advice for cold and flu season, as well as some old wives’ tales that have been passed along from generation to generation. Whether ...

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A popular question amongst swimmers ( and parents of swimmers) is ‘what is the difference between swimmers ear vs a common ear infection’. What most people know as a typical middle ear infection or “otitis media” is one that occurs when a child is sick with a cold. But what about swimmers ear? Isn’t that an ear infection as well? Although it is true that swimmers ear often occurs after swimming at the beach or ...

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Another warm winter means an early tick season! Unfortunately, the black legged tick, commonly known as a deer tick, and associated with Lyme Disease are back with a vengeance throughout Connecticut and the northeast. Lyme Disease is actually named after the town Lyme, Connecticut, where, in 1975, an unusually high rate of adolescent arthritis was being reported. Three years later, in 1978, researchers discovered that the disease that was causing adolescent arthritis was actually transmitted ...

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Confusion abounds as people try to decipher if they have bronchitis or pneumonia. The symptoms can mimic one another, and often times one cannot tell which ailment they are suffering from. At West Hartford we want to help you tell the difference. Let’s break it down: Bronchitis is a respiratory disease in which the mucus membrane in the lungs’ bronchial passages becomes inflamed. As the irritated membrane swells and grows thicker, it narrows or ...

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With men at a higher risk for the “silent killers” – hypertension and diabetes – getting a regular checkup should be a no-brainer. But more than half of men in the U.S. haven’t even seen a doctor in the past year! That’s a scary number when it could be a loved one’s health at risk. Urgent Care of West Hartford is urging men to come in for their routine exam. We’ve put ...

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Have you noticed that the bees buzzing around are a lot angrier these days? It's not your imagination…they’re mad. Late summer into early fall is the height of "angry bee" season. As bees and wasps near the end of their life cycle, they become increasingly aggressive and ready to sting. Everyone reacts differently to bee stings and it is important to differentiate between a "normal", non allergic reaction and an allergic reaction ...

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