U.S. doctors online nowAsk doctors free

Dr. Robert Isaacs

Family Medicine
CA, Singapore
41 years experience male

About

Bio

I am a senior consultant at a 2000 bed public sector inpatient facility in southeast Asia. Broadly speaking, my main areas of interest are in eduction and the care of disadvantaged patients. I have spent the majority of my career in the public sector, having worked in indigent, native American, migrant and rural health care. I have also spent extensive time in both equatorial and southern Africa doing HIV/AIDS, TB, paediatrics, infectious disease, parasitology and tropical medicine. I love teaching patients and junior staff, and derive great satisfaction caring for patients who are unable to obtain their care from mainstream sources. I have also done original research and publishing, and continue ongoing work in these areas.

Specialties
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

Languages spoken

English

Doctor Q&A

445 Answers
105 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 32-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
See answer: Steroids actually make fungal infections worse, so stop them if you haven't already. Your diabetes may also be a factor, especially if it is not well... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 27-year-old member asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Tinea versicolor: I agree with your plan. Apply it twice daily and rub it in. Leave it on and do not wash it off.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 38-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Agreed, no, no, no.: The doctors who have told you to avoid Fluocinonide for tinea are right. It can be misleading, as applying a steroid to tinea may cause a brief impro... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Proteus mirabilis: Proteus mirabilis produces ammonia as a by-product of its metabolism, it does not use it as a food source. Wiping down an area with an ammonia-based ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 39-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Exactly that.: You described it perfectly. I'm going to take it that you are in normal health with no known heart problems. Even healthy persons can have mild, br... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 39-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Fasting blood test: Fasting for 12-16 hours before a blood test is in order to get reliable baseline results for both blood glucose and for lipids, which can otherwise fl... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 17-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Possible pregnancy: Not likely. The chance would be no greater than having unprotected sex while on birth control. You should consider seeing your doctor to be checked ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 22-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Life change: You realise you are at a place in life that is not working so well for you and you want to find a way forward to a better place. There are no simple ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Urinalysis: The numbers you provide indicate the urine was not collected properly. Return to your doctor and have it redone.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 24-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Makeup ; pregnancy: Yes, it is fine. No cause for concern.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 32-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Late menses: A fishy smell is not a sign of pregnancy, but rather possibly of a non-sti called bacterial vaginosis. Bv can develop when the normal balance of the ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 36-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Pregnancy ; diabetes: If you are still having regular periods you probably can become pregnant, but there are two concerns. One is your age and the other, of course, is yo... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A member asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Good question.: The cause of ganglion cysts isn't really known, but they do tend to occur on the distal extremities, so the role of trauma or repeated micro-tramua pr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 24-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Whey protein: A single scoop of a whey protein supplement should not pose any problem in the long run for a person with normal liver and kidney function.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 28-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Alcohol & prednisone: You can, as in 1 or maybe 2, but alcohol mixed with Prednisone can increase the chance of irritating your stomach, so take it easy and consider also t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 58-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
BP: It depends. A systolic pressure of 104 is lowish, but it does depend on what your baseline pressure is and whether you are experiencing symptoms such... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 35-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Normal: It is entirely normal for the BP to change with changes in position.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 21-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Late period: Perhaps you are pregnant. Do a home pregnancy test and you may have the answer for why your period is late.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 45-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Medication expiry: Very difficult to say. Most medication expiry dates are conservatively estimated to allow for worst case scenarios. Depends a lot on how it was stor... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 24-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Fishy odour: The odour you describe could be due to a condition called bacterial vaginosis - BV for short. Any gynaecologist and almost any fp can check you for t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 23-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
HCG levels by dates: It sounds ok. There is quite a wide variation in normal bhcg levels according to estimated weeks of pregnancy and a level of 189, 000 at 9 1/7 weeks ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Resting tachycardia: I would not advise you to start working out until the reason for your elevated resting heart rate is determined. You are young, and might well tolera... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 41-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Mirena (levonorgestrel): The Mirena (levonorgestrel) system is effective for about 5 years. If yours is now past that time frame, and you are using the withdrawal method, the... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Blood type heredity: If the parents are definitely b and o then it would not be possible for their child to be either ab or a since neither parent carries the a antigen. ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 17-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Hemorrhoids: Hemorrhoids are not related to any std and are not a sign of std's.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 23-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Ouch.: I would not recommend doing it yourself. You would run the risks of excessive bleeding and infection, among other potential complications. See a qual... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 25-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Allergy?: Are you using a latex condom or some lubricant? If so then he may be experiencing a reaction.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
EGA: The most helpful information would be the date of your last menstrual period and your typical cycle length. But if you want a rough idea then let's a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 21-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Neosporin allergy: Neopsorin contains 3 different antibiotics, and an allergy to any one of them is possible, with an allergy to the neomycin component being the most co... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 20-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Acid-base balance: One of the roles of potassium is to help maintain the acid-base balance in the blood. During anaerobic exercise you create an 'oxygen debt' that incr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
No.: Stretching will have no effect on her adult height.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 17-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Yes.: Both are used for cough. Difficult to say precisely which is better. The better one is the one that works for you without side effects. Both can ha... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Not completely: In the short term, yes, but long term not so much. The normal menstrual cycle contributes to bone health, and suppressing the cycle increases the ris... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 26-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Can: The calcium in milk and other dairy products can interfere with the absorption of some medications, but not all. The bottle your medicine comes in sh... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Probably acid reflux: Acid reflux is very common in pregnancy, especially towards the later stages. But even women who are early in their pregnancy can be bothered by it. ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 22-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Unlikely: Seems to me to be very difficult to imagine. You would have to obtain the virus, then transport it and them apply it. Not at all easy. Who would ha... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Hospice care: Difficult to say because the length of time someone with a terminal illness will live can't be known with certainty. Hospice care is an option o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 16-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Pregnancy?: I sense that you are asking whether you could be pregnant. From what you say the chance is very low. Consider doing a home pregnancy test in about 2 ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 17-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Bloody diarrhea: You and your baby are in no immediate danger. However, bloody diarrhoea, especially if with a fever, needs to be investigated and treated. Keep well... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Conception: Between the results of the two ultrasounds you mention it is more likely that you conceived in mid-january.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 23-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
MRI vs NMRI: They're essentially the same thing, just slightly different terminology, especially when used in the medical field, sort of like CT scan versus the ol... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Unrelated: Levaquin (levofloxacin) is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections. Lovenox is a form of heparin, which is an anticoagulant used to prevent ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
No.: Dengue fever does not relapse and there is no specific treatment for dengue. All treatment for dengue fever is supportive in nature and intended to m... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Inferior MI: Old (ie, completed and not acute) myocardial infarctions may be detected by ecg's. Some of the ECG (ekg) leads record electrical activity in the... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
MRSA: Mrsa is a drug resistant strain of staph aureus. It is an increasing problem. Many are only colonized with it, but it can be a serious issue in some... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Keep at it.: There are three main parts to approaching acne...1) reduce the amount of bacteria on skin.. 2) keep pores open...3) reduce oil production. Antibiot... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 18-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Always.: Cigarettes are poison, not just for the brain, but for the rest of the body as well. At age 18, your brain is still developing, and to smoke now woul... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 38-year-old female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
See your doctor: There are other medications that can help with trigeminal neuralgia, including several of the medications that are most commonly used to treat epileps... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 30-year-old male asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Twice: Twice a day is generally considered to be often enough in the average person as that is enough to prevent plaque formation.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A female asked:
Dr. Robert Isaacs
41 years experience
Natural ways: Get enough regular sleep. Eat healthy food. Exercise moderately. Do not use tobacco, alcohol or drugs. Meditate. Pace yourself. Learn how to cop... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.

Testimonials
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.

6
Recommendations
349
Thank you notes
Mar 15, 2014
I highly recommend Dr Isaacs. His posts are educational, informative, clear and concise. His contributions to Healthtap are second to none!
Sep 12, 2014
Dr. Isaacs brings a broad fund of knowledge to the HealthTap community. His expertise is exceptional. Highly recommended!
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Isaacs is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Was afraid it was scorpion or spider due to intense pain. THANK YOU!!!
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Thank you Doctor. This is good to know and I'll be sure to ask my Dr.
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Spoke w/DR today and he agrees re possible colonization. C/S still out

Awards

HealthTap Founding Doctor
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