Locations
Office
Itasca, IL
My office hours
Friday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Show morePractice website
Insurances accepted
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
About
Bio
I have proudly been a Family Physician for over 20 years. I enjoy my work--I enjoy helping people, and I believe that HealthTap is a great way for me to extend my reach, and help so many more people. HealthTap allows me to do good work, without the excessive costs of traditional medical care. I still DO believe in traditional medical care, and I truly believe that nothing can replace the bond between a person and their Family Physician that develops over the years. However, this is just not practical for every single person. HealthTap fills this need
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Family Medicine
Licenses
United States: Illinois
Doctor Q&A
73 Answers
22 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 46-year-old member asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Absolutely!: Flexibility and bone growth are unrelated. Yoga and Pilates are wonderful, low impact ways of becoming or staying flexible as we age. Best of luck.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Many possibilities: . . . too many possible causes. This would not be the best venue to get this question answered. WBC's elevate for many reasons--some more harmless tha... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
See your doctor: It's impossible to be able to tell you exactly what is going on through this type of venue. Could it be infected? Could there be a piece of glass stil... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
No two people . .: Technically speaking, Didrex is indicated to assist in the treatment of obesity. It is derived from the stimulant class of chemicals called amphetamin... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Severe cough . .: . . . I am so sorry for your situation, for you and your daughter. However, your daughter does need medical attention, based upon your description. I... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 17-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Probably . . .: . . . Hi Joshua. So, more specifically you were punched on the left side of your chest. Your heart is very well protected. Just like your skull prote... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 35-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Hard to know . . .: Since your studies are all normal, it is unlikely that your symptoms are due to a physical blockage. There are, however, problems that we refer to as ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
DVT???: I do hope that you have already called your Orthopedic surgeon. It's impossible to help you thru this venue, however, one of the potential complicatio... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Yes . .: . . . closed off completely. You should have been provided with an illustration of how this is done. Best of luck.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Waist Circumference?: Based upon your numbers, your BMI is about a 28--that would be considered overweight (not obese, obviously). However, BMI alone is not an adequate way... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Yes: In fact, taking BCP's to help to control your PMS symptoms is probably better for the health of your 1 kidney, than taking excessive amounts of OTC me... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Yes . . .: . . . this should be looked at immediately--especially if your are noticing red-streaks (?tracking?).
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Not really . . .: By conventional standards, you would be considered underweight. Being underweight during your teenage years can actually lead to some pretty significa... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Would notify your Dr: We use Lamictal for several conditions, and even though you will read that the 'maximal' dose is 200 mg/day, we have several patients that are actuall... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 18-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Yes to nausea . .: Any antibiotic can cause nausea/vomiting or diarrhea. This is not an allergic reaction; just a potential side effect. Nausea, by itself, should not be... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Fatigue . . .: The evaluation of fatigue is rather complicated due to the very wide range of possible contributing factors--such as physical causes, metabolic/chemic... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Category 'C': There are no animal or human studies on the effects of Terconazole Vaginal Cream. However, since you are already 37 weeks along in your pregnancy, it ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Do pregnancy test!: Even semen has some sperm (i.e. before he pulled out). Your irregular flow may not be anything significant, but please do a pregnancy test.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 33-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
No, but . . .: I would STRONGLY recommend that you not work-out while taking codeine. You will increase your risk of injury. Codeine can effect your balance, which m... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
More details?: You had a single seizure at age 17 yrs.? No recurrences since then? Please explain what is concerning you, after so much time has passed. Was a cause ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 29-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Too vague . .: The problem is that the shoulder is actually made of several boney structures--so it really does depend upon the specifics, such as : which bone, whic... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Difficult to know .: . . . without evaluation. Possibilities include a swollen lymph node (possibly infection?), or cyst or abscess of the skin itself. Certainly, since th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 48-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Too complicated . .: Your symptoms may or may not be related.However,since you have CKD at the age of 48 yrs, I would anticipate that you have other medical problems as we... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Yes: It will still work. In fact, for my patients that do have GI sensitivity, I typically tell them that it is okay to split up the 2 pills that you take ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Take pregnancy test: While your symptoms may NOT be due to being pregnant, it is the quickest/easiest thing to be able to exclude, right? Based upon your question, I canno... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 28-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Vertigo . . .: The sensation that you are describing, is known as vertigo, and while there are several potential causes, given your young age, the cause is most like... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Call your doctor: Please contact your doctor asap. There are so many possible causes for this combination of symptoms. You really should be evaluated in person. Best of... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Hard to know . .: Good evening. 3 months is quite a long time to be watching whatever this might be. Unfortunately, this is not the proper venue to be able to answer yo... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Hyperhydrosis . . .: Not an easy problem, for many people. Simple measure would be to first try Drysol--used to be prescription, now OTC, I believe. If this fails and the ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
You really should: be evaluated in-person for this, since your symptoms have been ongoing for quite some time. Causes of chronic diarrhea can range from something fairly... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Tdap Booster: I would agree that you should continue to apply antibiotic ointment, and keep the puncture wound clean. IF an infection were to occur, you would begin... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 26-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
First thing's first: Good evening. The answer would be in the urine culture. When was your most recent urine culture done, and what were the results? Also, sometimes sympt... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 23-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Too vague . . .: There are as many 'supplements' as there are companies selling them. Without you being more specific as to which supplement you are taking (and what i... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Possibly . . .: red and warm are two of the most common signs of infection. If it truly itches, and you have been applying a topical antibiotic ointment, the other po... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Interval training: . . . will enhance your endurance. You will need to use a heart rate monitor for this. At the age of 27, your max heart rate is @ 190 Beats/min. Inter... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Probably not . .: First, please be assured that a Hb of 10.4 is not a danger to you or to the baby. The Bone Marrow makes 3 types of cells (WBC's, Platelets, RBC's). Y... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 23-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Several reasons . .: Several possible reasons for your nausea and your headaches, so please go see your doctor for further evaluation. HOWEVER, the one thing that is NOT a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Don't . . .: If you were to 'take something' to make it stop, you may end-up back where you started--with constipation. You simply need to allow it to 'wear off'. ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Tubes . .: Technically speaking, you would not know, because the only symptom that your tubes had 'untied' would be if you got pregnant. The reason that tubes ar... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 36-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Rarely . . .: . . . do tubal procedures fail. However, it has been known to happen (1've personally seen 2 cases in 20 years). Your best bet would simply be to do a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Honor the Calorie: In order to calculate what your daily calorie count should be (in order to Lose Weight), you first need to know what your Ideal Body Weight should be.... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 50-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Hard to know . . .: . . . without being seen. However, given your recent travel, one needs to consider either a persistent viral infection (such as viral hepatitis) or a ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Yes . . but . . .: The most common side effect of Amlodipine is swelling in feet/legs. Not Hydrochlorothiazide--this is a diuretic (water pill) that also helps to lower ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 34-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
No . . . and yes .: Technically speaking, a blood clot can occur wherever you have a blood supply--which means anywhere in your body. However, Plantar Fascia problems and... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Just to be sure . .: regardless of being on BCP's, you should absolutely get a pregnancy test. If negative, given your symptoms, you should see your doctor to evaluate th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 57-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Unsure but . . .: If this is truly non-alcohol induced fatty liver changes, then this may have more to do with your % body fat, and not necessarily just your actual wei... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Depends . . .: Painless bleeding hemorrhoids are the most common cause of blood tinged stools in YOUNGER people. GENERALLY, the older someone is (i.e. over age 50 yr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 23-year-old male asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Yes, but . . .: Advil PM is Advil plus Benadryl (diphenhydramine) (an allergy medicine that also can make some people pretty sleepy). Not only would I never recommend... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
?: Really, the question is, since you are already 12 days late, could you ALREADY be pregnant? If you have not yet done a home pregnancy test, please do ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steven Poulsanswered
Specializes in Family Medicine
Yes . . . an no: You may not be dealing with a Vaginal yeast infection--there are other possible infections that are not treated with anti-yeast medications. Also, som... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
1
Recommendations
59
Thank you notes
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Pouls is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
This was very helpful. Thanks! I have an appointment with my doctor on the 28th of this month. I'll definitely bring it up an find out what my next step should be. No drugs or alcohol but you named qu...Read More
HealthTap member
This was very helpful. Thanks! I have had stool cultures and all negative. I did have diarrhea, however my doctor could not conclude a diagnostic for my illness. I am better all has ceased but the bac...Read More
HealthTap member
1st time, I was in the office for anxiety and they did blood work to see if I had a vitamin D deficiency, and called back mentioning there was a slight bilirubin level,
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, NJ
MD
Residency
The Medical Ceneter, Beaver,Pa
Completed 1992
Awards
95% Overall Satisfaction Scores, Press Ganey Survey's
Top Family Physician, Second Place, Illinois - Fall
2015
Most Influential Doctor, First Place, Melrose Park Region - Fall
2015
90,000 U.S. doctors in 147 specialties are here to answer your questions, provide medical advice, write prescriptions, and more.
Answer emailed
in 24 hours or less