Locations
Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic
Rapid City, SD
About
Bio
I am a Family Physician practicing and teaching since 1978 with related degrees in Public Health and Law. I have been the residency Program Director for three different Family Medicine Training programs (Hershey Medical Center, 1988-1992; SUNY Stony Brook, 2001-2005; and the Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency Program, 2007-2009). I publish a clinical newsletter, "FP Revolution", (free); go to www.FPRevolution.net to sign up. I also publish a medical blog at http://drlifestylesevidenceforhealth.blogspot.com/. Recently I was a Professor at Touro University School of Medicine. I have been the Chief Medical Officer for Peach Tree Health Care in Marysville, CA. Currently I am a staff physician for the Rapid City Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic.
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: Arizona, California
Languages spoken
English
Doctor Q&A
1.1K Answers
15 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Thigh pain: It could be a vertebral disk problem. If there is weakness or rupture of the disks between the first 3 vertebra this can refer pain to the anterior th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Healthy Lifestyle: Recent epidemiologic studies have shown that if you don't smoke (0 cigarettes), eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, relax for 10 minutes a ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 51-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Rectal swelling: There really are no pills for rectal swelling. The exception might be when the swelling is due to infection (uncommon) and the treatment is antibiotic... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 56-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Poor eaters: You are talking about two children in the "terrible twos" during which this kind of behavior is pretty standard. It is not worth getting into a battl... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 18-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Drug interactions: Your body normally makes a set amount of cortisone each day. A steroid shot like depomedrol is usually administered to control inflammation and the dr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Anxiety: Any activity that helps you relax is good for anxiety. Meditation is one way where you lie or sit comfortably and just pay attention to your breathing... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Persistent cough: Cough is a common symptom of a cold, but most are gone in several days. For new cough that persists for > 2 weeks, the most common causes are: broncho... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 25-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Basilar skull fx: Most basilar skull fractures heal on their own without long-term adverse effects. The most significant part of the injury is the concussion to the bac... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Ankle swelling: Any good family doctor should be able to handle the diagnosis and management of chills just fine.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Pneumocystis: Best to see a specialist since this is a pretty uncommon infection and most general doctors will have little experience in managing it, unless they do... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old male asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Stomach flu: These symptoms sound most typical of a stomach flu. While it is not very common to get an 2-3 day episode two months in a row, it certainly can happen... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Chicken pox: Yes. The virus, while infected individuals are still developing new lesions, is highly contagious through skin to skin contact. If you care for an inf... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 52-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Tingling: Most common cause of tingling of both hands and feet at the same time is anxiety, through a process called hyperventilation. With anxiety, your Adrena... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old female asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Fatigue: Things to consider: is your sleep apnea treated? If not, try breathe right nasal strips to see if they help. Otherwise the most common cause of fatigu... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
STDs: Certain germs that cause pid, notably gonorrhea and chlamydia, can cause inflammation in the liver (fitzhugh-curtis syndrome), proctitis (anorectal in... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old male asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Night shift symptoms: Working a night shift affects all of your body's natural rhythma, particularly sleep. It takes several weeks to adjust to a new schedule. Thus, if thi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Breathing problems: If you are experiencing shortness of breath, you should seek help promptly. If it is associated with significant fever, you may very well have pneumon... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Renal AVM: Renal arteriovenous malformations (avms) and fistulas include various abnormal connections between the intrarenal arterial and venous systems. They ca... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Addison's disease: Addison's disease (below normal function of the adrenal gland) is an autoimmune disease. If one member of a family has autoimmune disease, then other ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Abdominal swelling: The most common serious cause of abdominal swelling is cirrhosis of the liver which results in fluid retention in the abdominal cavity (ascites). Cirr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 55-year-old female asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Obesity & swelling: There are two mechanisms by which obesity tends to cause leg swelling (edema). Excess weight tends to compress the veins that are supposed to take flu... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 73-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Abdominal pain: In order to provide a helpful answer, i would need to know your age, gender, and where in the abdomen you experience your pain (middle, right upper, r... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Cold: There is no treatment that works particularly well for the usual upper respiratory tract infection. The vast majority of these are caused by viruses f... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old male asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Testicle size: Testosterone would not be expected to make your testicles smaller. It is far more likely that whatever condition you have that created the need for te... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Laryngitis: Larynigitis (a viral cause of acute hoarseness) is a pretty common infection. Everyone will get it, and usually more than once. For most adults they g... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Scabies: The skin shows signs of small insect-type bites, or looks like pimples. The skin may also be red or have sores due to scratching of the area. A burro... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years agoMerged
A 28-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Pleurisy?: There is one kind of cold that best fits with that description. It is called pleurisy, where the cold virus gets down into the lining of your lung, ma... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Autoimmune disorders: Autoimmune disorders are conditions in which your body makes antibodies against your own tissues. Examples include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, hepati... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Brain injury: Organic brain injury is not a disease in itself. Instead, this term refers to any number of conditions that frequently lead to decreased mental functi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Basilar skull fx: Basilar skull fracture is usually due to blunt trauma to the back of the head. It has unusual features besides from severe headache. Bruises may appea... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Changes in breathing: Good question. There are definite changes in breathing with metabolism. The most significant is when you have an acidosis, like with diabetes or after... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 53-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Alcohol dependence: Alcohol dependence is a serious problem because the natural history of this disease is to progress. Excess drinking tends to interfere with home life ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 25-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Arm swelling: The simple answer is to maintain your arm elevated as much as possible. For this you have to lie down or prop it up while sitting. The more important ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 25-year-old female asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Face swelling: It sounds like something is causing excess fluid in the tissues of the face and neck, which moves with gravity to the lowest side when you lay down an... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 23-year-old female asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Pregnant after IUD?: The risks of pregnancy in this situation is extremely small, almost 0. The iud changes the chemistry inside the uterus to make it hostile to pregnancy... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 33-year-old female asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
No. : 99% of thyroid swellings are benign. About 5-7% of the general population has some palpable nodules or swelling on examination by a physician. If you... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
No.: While possibly related, true ovarian pain is not a reliable sign of conception. If you are having intercourse in the middle of your cycle, the best ti... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 36-year-old male asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Your: Your diet does not have much to do with how oily your skin is. Just eat a healthy diet.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Burning pain: A majority of burning pain (anywhere in the body) is due to temporary pressure or compression of a nerve. There are several nerves in the pelvis and b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Mad cow disease: From wikipedia: researchers are not completely sure how cows get mad cow disease, but they believe it comes from certain food that was given to cows. ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 52-year-old male asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Tick bites: If you know that the tick was attached less than 24 hours, then you don't need to worry or do anything. If it might have been attached more than that,... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Afrin (oxymetazoline) at night: I use diluted afrin (about 1 part afrin, 4 parts water) every night, and i sleep better (due to relief of nasal congestion). It has never kept me awak... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Water intake: Water is good stuff, and the truth is that most people do not drink enough water (about 2 liters a day is recommended). Lot's of time we munch on snac... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Pain meds & fetus: The answer is yes for narcotic medications. All of them will get into the babies circulation and make him/her drowsy or floppy at birth, occasionally ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
IHSS heart disease: Ihhs (idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis) is a serious disturbance of heart muscle growth that leads to arrhytmias, potentially fatal. This ha... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Yes, but mostly No.: H1n1 (swine) flu is a different virus than the regular flu. The only link tetween the two is, if you get one, which weakens your immune system, then i... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Perthes disease: Legg–calvé–perthes syndrome is a form of osteochondritis of the hip joint, where growth/loss of bone mass leads to some degree of collapse of the hip ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Reaction to beer: Don't worry, but don't do that again. Normally beer can be maintained at room temperature for long periods (6 months to a year) without any problem. S... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Frequent urination: Common causes include: diabetes, too much fluid intake before bedtime, diuretic medications, congestive heart failure. In men, prostate enlargement is... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Colin Kerranswered
Family Medicine 46 years experience
Tingling around rib: Suggestion #1: don't compress that area. Most tingling sensation are caused by pressure on a nerve, and there is an individual cutaneous nerve running... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k 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.
27
Recommendations
3.9K
Thank you notes
Mar 27, 2019
Very knowledgeable and caring.
Aug 27, 2013
Expertise is exceptional
Aug 5, 2014
Thank you!
HealthTap member
yes i was speaking of the blood test my iga was very high i was tryingt to see if there was a connectioln between my husband and myself is it possible either one of us has given it to the other.....it...Read More
HealthTap member
Thank you Dr Colin! The injury she had in her left knee was diagnosed as Patello Femoral Syndrome. There were no visible tears in the MRI. Her thigh muscle weakened to the extent that she couldn't eve...Read More
HealthTap member
Thank you Dr. Kopes-Kerr. My endodontist has agreed to take another look. No Abx taken, but Nystatin did work before for similar tongue syndrome that cropped up when abscess originally appeared 6 mont...Read More
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, PA
Graduated 1977MD
Residency
Children's Hospital Natl Med Ctr Washington DC 1977-1978
Residency
Case Western Reserve University--University Hospital, Cleveland OH; 1983-1986
Awards
Nominated to the List of Independent Medical Experts by HealthNewsReview.org, 12/15/08
Top Doctor, First Place, Sacramento, CA - Winter
2013
Most Influential, Second Place, National - Winter
2013
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