Diagnostic Testing and Care for the Clermont Community

At Urban Health, we take pride in providing the residents of Clermont and the surrounding communities of Central Florida with compassionate and quality healthcare for all the adult stages of their lives. For your convenience, we offer many diagnostic testing procedures in our office.

Dr. Jaime C. Gonzalez, Dr. Jose A. Moreno rely on their clinical skills to ensure a timely diagnosis and the proper treatment plan.

The following are some of the in-office diagnostic testing that is available at Urban Health:

Allergy testing determines your body’s reaction to potential environmental, food, or other toxins, called antigens. Testing methods include skin tests, a blood test, or an elimination diet.

A skin, or patch test, involves placing a small number of suspected allergens under the skin’s surface.

Reactions such as redness, swelling, or itchiness at the site indicate that your body may be having an allergic reaction. A blood test identifies antibodies for substances that are causing allergic reactions.

An elimination diet involves keeping a detailed journal of your daily diet and systematically removing potentially allergy-causing foods, and re-introducing and monitoring any reaction.

The goal of doing allergy testing is to identify the antigens, so that treatment, such as immunotherapy, can mitigate or eliminate reactions.

Bone Densitometry measures bone loss and detects osteopenia or osteoporosis. A bone density test uses a small amount of radiation in an x-ray to determine the strength of the bones. Commonly tested sites are the spine and the hip bones.

This test predicts your chances of sustaining a bone fracture. If indicated, treatment can begin to slow down or reverse bone loss.

Common causes of bone loss are aging, family history, excessive alcohol use, smoking, and chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, gastric bypass surgery, and eating disorders or the usage of certain medications.

Treatment includes medicine, a healthy diet, and weight-bearing exercise to strengthen the bones.

An Electrocardiogram, also known as an EKG, records the electrical activity of the heart. It is a painless and non-invasive test used to detect abnormalities in the functioning of the heart.

It is commonly used to evaluate persons with symptoms such as chest pain, dizziness, heart palpitations, weakness, fatigue, or a family or prior history of heart disease or damage.

An EKG is done by attaching several small electrodes to the patient’s arms, legs, and chest. The wires from the electrodes connect to a machine, which records the action of the heart.

Your primary care doctor will determine if you require further cardiac testing. This is based on the interpretation of the electrocardiogram and the clinical examination.

Hearing Tests detect hearing loss, which is a significant disability, especially for the senior population. The consequences of hearing loss include depression, social withdrawal, and cognitive impairment.

The resulting daily frustration and stress can be permanent or temporary, depending on the cause of the hearing limitation. Some reasons are allergies, head colds, ear infections, head trauma, or frequent exposure to loud noises.

Hearing tests are non-invasive and provide information for treatment.

Holter Monitors measure the heart’s activity to provide information about how the heart functions over a long time. It is a portable and wearable ambulatory electrocardiogram. It records the heart’s electrical activity over time, usually for 24 to 48 hours or longer.

The machine provides information about the functioning of the heart during a patient’s daily routine while they resume all of their normal activities. While using this device, your physician will ask you to push a button on the monitor if you are feeling any symptoms.

It is essential to keep a journal of your activities when symptoms occur. The use of a holter monitor will provide information for the diagnosis of heart problems.

Memory status evaluations are tools that are useful in the assessment of the mental capacity of a patient. The exam includes an interview, asking questions regarding time, place, and person, as well as the physician’s observations of the patient’s mood, affect, and behavior.

Possible causes of mental status changes are dementia, side effects of medications, urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, sepsis, or diseases such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Nerve Conduction tests measure the electrical impulses that travel through the nerves to the muscles, to diagnose nerve damage. By stimulating the nerves, the test records blockages of nerve pathways. Slow conduction from the nerve to the muscle indicates damage.

These tests assist with diagnosing medical conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatic nerve damage, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, shingles, or diabetic neuropathy. Depending on the cause, treatment for nerve pain can be medications, injections, complementary or lifestyle changes, and severe cases can require surgical intervention.

Pulmonary Function tests measure how the lungs are functioning to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory disorders. These are non-invasive tests that measure lung volume, capacity, rates of flow, and gas exchanges.

A pulmonary function test is appropriate for patients that are having shortness of breath or chronic respiratory diseases. It is useful for patients that work in hazardous work environments and are having respiratory issues.

The results of these tests can provide needed information so that the physician can make recommendations for treatment such as medications, oxygen therapy, or pulmonary rehabilitation.