Medicine

Wow.

After being introduced to it by a friend, I did some looking into the matter. Medical blogging is big! I mean, not Super Mario Bros big. But quite a bit more than I expected.

I'd never even thought of it before. I've seen some crazy patients, experienced some of the weird and uncomfortable happenstances of the hospital. But so have all my coworkers, classmates, and hospital acquaintances of the last four to five years. I suppose I just took it for granted.

J (friend): Have you seen Doctor Grumpy's blog?
DD: *reading* Ah! This guy's entertaining. But I've seen things like this myself, even in my very short, very brief stint as a physician and medstudent.
J: These are the stories I've been asking for!
DD: Huh? Really? But... I work in the ED. We have a huge percentage of... less than intelligent... patients.
J: Then why don't you tell me these stories!
DD: ... I... don't know?

Anyways. It seems an interesting idea, if I could just sit and work through the execution. And distance my name from the writings, I assume.

~DD

I only just heard about the statement, but it seems that America's Health Insurance problems are over! Or so says John Goodman, Sen. McCain's health policy advisor. What is his plan? How does he intend to cover all those who are ininsured? Click on the title for the full scoop!

What an odd concept. A pill that produces the muscular benefits of endurance exercise. So, the mice can take the pill, do nothing all day, and run faster than other mice that do nothing all day. Has the potential to treat obesity, help people who can't exercise such as the old or infirm... etc. etc.

Listen, here's the real deal. Soon this drug'll be marketed for military purposes. Faster, stronger, longer lasting soldiers. (Wait did I say military purposes? I meant prostitution.) Eventually the drug'll be found "safe" for public consumption. Everyone'll take it except for a few diehards and some wackos who fear it's government mind-control. About 10 years down the line, its suddenly revealed that the drug causes those who take it to enter an unusual mental stupor, but retain their physical enhancements. Side-effects at that point would include a taste for brains. The world as we know it ends, and wackos and diehard exercisers are all that remain - probably in an unending struggle against each other for land, food, water, and cool headbands (think Richard Simmons vs. Rambo).

It's all in the article, but you have to sort of read between the lines.

~DD

A medical tidbit that seems less well-known than it should be:

To begin with, I'll start off by explaining pre-eclampsia (very briefly). Basically, some women who are pregnant develop a high blood pressure and start to lose protein in their urine. Swelling is also really common - but then, swelling is pretty common in pregnancy already. Sometimes, pre-eclampsia can progress to... right, yes: eclampsia. The woman gets seizures, can lose the baby, die, etc. It's actually the number one cause of maternal death worldwide (not here, though).

Now then - it turns out there're some things that decrease the chances of a mother developing pre-eclampsia. Some are rather odd. The first: smoking. About the only positive effect of smoking. Certainly the only one in pregnancy. (For smokers: it also increases your chances of delivering pre-term and of the baby being too small. So, the benefits don't outweigh the risks).

The second? A new father for the baby! Turns out that if a woman's had pre-eclampsia before, it could be in part due to the dad. In fact, if the dad's mom had pre-eclampsia when she was having him, he's more likely to cause it in the woman.

Third reason, which is somewhat related... oral sex. Not just any oral sex, though. Swallow. It's important. How's it related to the above point? Well, technically its not the oral sex or the swallowing that's doing it (I was trying to be dramatic). The more exposure you have to your partner's sperm, the better. (Skin exposure doesn't cut it.) That's how the father is responsible for causing pre-eclampsia in the mom. Condom use results in a higher chance of getting pre-eclampsia. Pregnancy during the honeymoon (assuming you've not had sex before then) is bad, too.

And there you have it. Sound medical advice for avoiding pre-eclampsia. (Brought to you by Dr. House... I mean, Dr. Chaffin.*)

~DD
*Inside joke - But seriously, one of my attendings here is Dr. House.