DirectCare Family Health, PLLC

DirectCare Family Health, PLLC Family Medicine for all ages helping change the way we do healthCARE. Prevention, chronic disease, MAT and time for your concerns.

Dr. Swiney is open on Thursday and Saturday for special patients such as Veteran Disability Exams.

Having a good quality of life is the ultimate goal for all of us. We need to be healthy, eat healthy, exercise healthy b...
01/29/2026

Having a good quality of life is the ultimate goal for all of us. We need to be healthy, eat healthy, exercise healthy but more importantly, not be miserable in reaching those goals. Moderation is a word that carries a lot of weight- will you shorten your life if you eat a slice of cake on your birthday? No, have the slice of cake but don't eat the whole cake. Like the taste or texture of whole milk? Use whole milk but don't eat fatty cuts of pork and beef. Missed a day of exercise/ walking? You will survive, try to fit in some walking at home or if you can't get to the gym, lift some canned goods! Did you know 180 pennies in a sock makes a 1 pound ankle weight? Do stretches if you miss a class. DANCE!! Even 15 minutes of dancing has been proven to have a similar effect to a SSRI anti-depressant. So think about moderation and give yourself some grace and have a great life!

Dr. Swiney and Jawana are back in the office today! We want to make sure everyone gets taken care of but also want to ke...
01/28/2026

Dr. Swiney and Jawana are back in the office today! We want to make sure everyone gets taken care of but also want to keep you safe in ice, snow, ice, and cold, (did I say ice) and even when illnesses go around. Thank you for being patient and open to changing appointments, rescheduling, and understanding last minute changes. We are trying to look ahead to the weekend and the brutal cold coming in. So please let us know how we can get prescriptions, etc in early so you aren't out in the worst of the cold. AND please please please do not go out and put yourself at risk for a fall. This is not the time to be independent but rely on our village.

Sometimes salt is a good thing, like salting driveways and roads to get rid of ice and snow. When it works and the condi...
01/28/2026

Sometimes salt is a good thing, like salting driveways and roads to get rid of ice and snow. When it works and the conditions are right: above a certain temperature, not raining when applied, etc. Same for salt in our bodies- there are conditions where the body has a higher sodium need or even needs salt tablets to keep their blood pressure up. But for most of us, we get too much salt in foods let alone the salt we add ourselves. And a new study that came out confirms the detrimental effects of too much salt in our diets. Just be aware of your body's needs and what you put in it. "two new studies published in Hypertension suggest that “reducing the sodium in pre-packaged and prepared foods may prevent thousands of cases of heart disease.” For the first study, researchers in France used national diet and health data to estimate “that modest decreases in bread salt content could cut adults’ daily salt intake by 0.35 grams, lower their blood pressure and prevent more than 1,100 deaths.” For the second study, “researchers from the U.K. estimated that similar salt reductions in packaged foods and takeout meals could lower daily British sodium intake by 17.5%, preventing more than 100,000 cases of heart disease and 25,000 cases of stroke over 20 years.”

Guess what?! Milk is real food. Whole milk is from a real cow, 2% milk is from a real cow and even skim milk is from a r...
01/22/2026

Guess what?! Milk is real food. Whole milk is from a real cow, 2% milk is from a real cow and even skim milk is from a real cow! Wow! But the 2% milk and skim milk may be a bit healthier for most people as they have less saturated fat. They still have milk proteins and all the calcium and Vitamin D of whole milk. None of the nutrients are removed with pasteurization of 'raw milk'- only the bacteria that can make us sick and even cause miscarriages. Moderation is a good concept to learn about - want to enjoy whole milk? Great, just watch saturated fat intake from other sources when you do that. Real butter? Great- use a pat on whole grain bread but maybe limit your protein intake to lean beef, chicken or fish proteins the rest of the day. Use common sense in our diets.

Medical 'gaslighting' is a new term where patients don't feel that their physician hears what they are saying or how the...
01/21/2026

Medical 'gaslighting' is a new term where patients don't feel that their physician hears what they are saying or how they feel. Many times physicians and healthcare providers don't have time to hear what you are saying. But takes the time to listen to you and see you as a whole person; clinical, emotional, mental and in community with your family and community. Family docs (MDs, DOs) can treat you without scheduling multiple people for this or that. and provides weight loss information and prescriptions if needed and agreed upon, menopausal treatment and management, testosterone/ hormone deficiency, chronic care management and most of all preventive medicine and wellness. Get your one stop shopping done for YOUR health and future.

There are lots of confusing thoughts on how to eat healthy from lots of different sources, not all of them scientificall...
01/20/2026

There are lots of confusing thoughts on how to eat healthy from lots of different sources, not all of them scientifically vetted. The MyPlate is what we have used for over a decade to encourage healthy eating and diets and to help simply aid people in eating a proper diet. Protein is great and a necessary macronutrient along with healthy fats and complex carbohydrates and grains. Then there are micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals and other supplemental enzymes our body uses. incorporates all the latest information without having to see different providers for weight management, dietitians, exercise specialists, and procedures. also affords the extra time to talk about all this information and how to incorporate it in Your lifestyle. Let's talk about healthy concepts over the next few weeks and how we can get to a better place.

Still time to get a flu vaccine and prevent feeling bad- just saying.
01/16/2026

Still time to get a flu vaccine and prevent feeling bad- just saying.

01/06/2026

The AAFP rigorously reviews the science so we can support family physicians in protecting patients through safe, effective vaccination. You can count on the AAFP childhood immunization schedule: https://bit.ly/46HPsgq

01/02/2026

Symptomatic treatment for Flu, Covid, Common Cold
Most importantly, these are caused by viruses and antibiotics do not work. If you have severe symptoms lasting longer than 5 days or accompanied by shortness of breath, call Dr. Swiney.
PAIN, FEVER, BODY ACHES, HEADACHES
Motrin/ ibuprofen/ Advil- Adults 600 mg every 6 hours as needed
Tylenol (acetaminophen) 1000 mg every 6 hours as needed. If you have liver problems or other
problems, 650 mg every 8 hours but no more than 3 days.
Children doses are on the bottles.
These medicines can be given at the same time or alternating.
CONGESTION AND RUNNY NOSE
Benadryl/ diphenhydramine is an antihistamine and is the best for drying up a runny nose and taking away the watery eyes, sneezing, nose tickling feeling of a cold and allergies. 25 mg every 4 hours but it can make you sleepy so you may want to save it for night and use Claritin/ loratadine or Zyrtec/ cetirizine or the other non sedating antihistamines when you are up and about or have to drive.
Congestion is treated with decongestants such as Sudafed or Mucinex-D. These medicines can raise your blood pressure and/or keep you from sleeping or make you feel anxious and make your heart beat fast. But they work sometimes. If your symptoms persist, try Flonase/ fluticasone nose spray twice a day. These are great for
allergies. Astepro or Azelastine nose spray is a nasal antihistamine and works well too.
Saline nose spray is great every hour to keep your nose moist and to help get rid of the germs. Of course, a Netti pot is also useful but a little difficult to use at first.
SORE THROATS
These are best treated by keeping your throat moist with hot and cold liquids, cough drops or Chloraseptic spray. Also gargling Benadryl liquid will actually numb the throat. And when you swallow it, will help you sleep. Humidifiers and Vaporizers also help. The pain meds above will help with the pain. If you fear Strep throat, send us a picture of your throat or we will be glad to run a Strep screen in the office. Mucinex now has a numbing sore throat lozenge that works.
COUGH- the most annoying symptom ever
Dextromethorphan is the ingredient for coughs. But drying up drainage and getting rid of the throat tickle also do wonders. My family uses Delsym every 12 hours or Mucinex DM formulation tablets. Propping up on 2 pillows helps but if your symptoms continue or seems more severe, please let us check you out at the office. Other illnesses may start with a simple cough. If you have shortness of breath , please let us know as this is a symptom we will need to see you in the office for. A teaspoon of honey may also help the cough. Zarbees for kids also works in children.
COMBINATION PRODUCTS
Treat only the symptoms you have but for multiple symptoms, the Daytime and Nighttime formulas do great. Just be aware of what is in them and don’t add another product that could cause overdose and side effects. Acetaminophen/ Tylenol can be a fatal overdose so please be aware of what you are taking and what the dosages are.

12/13/2025

Alert!
Warming Center at the Legion Park, Bland Building, Paris, KY
Starting Saturday, 12/13/25 @ 9pm - Monday, 12/15/25 @ Noon
For Questions Call Central Dispatch @ 859-988-1205

Quote of the week:"It's supposed to be a secret, but I'll tell you anyway. We doctors do nothing. We only help and encou...
11/03/2025

Quote of the week:
"It's supposed to be a secret, but I'll tell you anyway. We doctors do nothing. We only help and encourage the doctor within."
Albert Schweitzer, M.D.
A real secret most don't know is that Family Medicine Physicians do it all! We've always encouraged healthy lifestyles, helping to manage obesity, helping with nutrition problems and guidance on nutrition and supplements, prevention of illness, immunizations, chronic care of chronic health conditions, minor surgeries, laceration and wound care, long term care, etc, etc, etc. And you don't need specialists. You don't need spas for obesity or even 'hydration' as that is all done through your physician who gives whole-person care and knows you and how your individual problems interact with each other. So go find a family physician who takes time to listen and wants you to and .

11/03/2025

Here are some resources for help in our community

Address

525 High Street Suite 209
Paris, KY
40361

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 5pm
Tuesday 1pm - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18593404627

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