Another Snow Job

Spring has finally arrived in the Nation’s Capital and the last of the traces of the snownami that hit the city during Snowmageddon 2010 have disappeared… well, mostly.

Obama has been working long and hard to rid this country of its biggest problem.

No, not the ridiculous war we’ve been involved in for the past eight years that he promised to get us out of quickly – he lied, of course – that problem is minor by comparison.

The problem was the electorate’s aversion to universal healthcare coverage. Ted Kennedy tried for decades to get it passed… it was Bill Clinton’s main thrust – politically, as he did not deal in snow – for his two terms… and now Obama has finally gotten it to pass.

No longer will people have the choices they had in the past as the government tentacles reach ever deeper into our private lives, as well as our pocket books.

Obama could truly be the Lincoln of his age. He makes slaves of the citizenry, not just the states.

Heck, he might even win a Nobel Peace Prize for this.

[Via http://carltonwelsh.wordpress.com]

Obama: Haha, I Win You Lose!

Sorry for the long delay between posts. We have been ultra busy with our startup and like most Americans have grown so tired of  this awful President, and even more atrocious Congress, that we have all but tuned them out. Our leaders seem intent on following their own agendas and not listening to the will of the American people, which has been affirmed by tonight’s healthcare bill approval, which not only will be passed using devious methods, but also violates our constitution. Are we living in Venezuela? This healthcare bill seems like it was introduced by Hugo Chavez, not the leader of the free world. We warned America when Obama was elected, that he was a radical who would stop at nothing to create a welfare state. But I guess we were just “crazy racists” for questioning the anointed one. It is clear that he isn’t concerned with being elected to a second term. His goal is to inflict as much damage as possible in 4 years, whereby the core of this country will be so socialized and centrally controlled by the government, that there will never be any turning back.

Obviously this is a sad day for all Americans. Jon Kraushar, who is a PR consultant for Fox News sums things up beautifully with these 10 things Obama is communicating to the American public:

1. I win; you lose.
2. My will; not the will of the people.
3. Government of Obama, by Obama, for Obama; not government of the people, by the people, for the people.
4. Corrupt House rules and autocracy; not play by the rules and democracy.
5. “I’ll tread on you” now steps on “Don’t tread on me.”
6. “I, the president”; not “We, the People.”
7. “All men are created equal” but I am more equal than others.
8. “The dissent of the president” overrules “the consent of the governed.”
9. “Give me tyranny and give me debt” replaces “Give me liberty or give me death.”
10. “That government is best which governs most” supersedes “That government is best which governs least.”

[Via http://obamulist.com]

Rheumatology and Surgical techniques.

Well blog number 3 I was gonna quit this due to lack of time but I will try to push ahead, mainly due to my sister encouraging me.

On last tuesday we started a new Internal medicine practice. If I would try to explain it with my words. It would be that for me Internal is how I always imagined medicine, doctors diagnosing, just wards and patients and history taking. Just like Dr. House except less grumpy and less weird diseases. We already finished 4 weeks of Immunology. Immunology is when the body starts attacking itself, a so called auto immune disease, the body usually produces antibodies to ward off infections and other invading factors, but in auto-immune diseases they go after the body itself. But now we have started Rheumatology that focuses on the joints, soft tissue and connective tissue(bones). We had really good doctors showing us what happens how to diagnose and do an physical examination. We examined one patient that had osteoarthritis. It is a degenerative disease of the cartilage and even the bone. The patient had pain and stiffness in the joints of distal phalanges, knee and shoulders. When we examined her we saw an really distinct bone growth coming out from her distal phalanges, she also had a so called crepitation, a clicking feeling in the knee joint. Next week we will go into Rheumatoid Arthritis and the physical examination.

I also started a surgical elective, so called Surgical Operative Techniques. Last semester we took Basic Surgical Techniques so this is a continuation of that subject. Since I am thinking of becoming a surgeon I am trying to take as many elective courses that have anything to do with surgery. This course is a prerequisite of further surgery subjects, like Laparascopic surgery, Microsurgery and Robotic surgery. Today we learned some knotting techniques, like the vienna knot, instrumental knot and some others. They probably have different names depending on where they are being taught. You can search for surgical knots on youtube if you are interested in seeing how this knots are performed.

[Via http://bjarturs.wordpress.com]

Stress During Pregnancy may Raise Child's Asthma Risk

A mother to be’s stress during pregnany may increase the risk of asthma in the offspring, a new research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harward Medical School in Boston shows.

In the research, differences in immune function markers in cord blood between infants born to mothers in high stress environments and those born to mothers with low stress, was investigated. The study found marked differences in patterns that may be associated with asthma risk later in life.

The findings will be published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, and according to Rosalind Wright, associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “This is the first study in humans to show that increased stress experienced during pregnany in urban, largely minority women, is associated with different patterns of cord blood cytokine production to various environmental stimuli, relative to babies born to lower-stressed mothers.”

It has been known that asthma is more prevalent among ethnic minorities and among more disadvantaged urban communities, but the role of stress in asthma development has been poorly understood. To determine the transference of stress-mediated immune differences, the researchers recruited pregnant women in suburban areas with large groups of ethnic miorities and with high poverty levels. All the 557 mothers had a history of asthma in their families. The researchers did find that the patterns of cytokines (chemical messengers in the body that are involved in cell-to-cell communication) related to certain stimulant differed based on the level of stress the mothers reported.

Dr. Wright explains, “For example, while the debate continues as to whether primary sensatization to allergens begins before birth, these findings suggest the possibility that prenatal stress may enhance the young babie’s response to inhalant antigens (molecules that stimulate an immune system response) specifically those antigens that the fetus is likely to encounter more directly in utero, like dust mite.” She continues, “The current findings suggest that psychological stress is involved in programming of the infant immune response and that this influence begins during pregnancy.”

The research study will continue as the infants grow older, and will hopefully give us more insights to how the factors manifest in terms of the development of asthma and allergy in older children.

Asthma Inhaler

[Via http://novasans.wordpress.com]

Help vs. Harm

In my search for better wellness, I have been reading and trying new types of healing.

Now, I  feel I am a pretty typical person. I trust doctors to give me good care, just as I trust teachers to teach me well, business people to treat me honestly, and friends to offer friendship.

I have faith in Western treatment because it worked for me–I had mobility back for several years after my diagnosis, and no pain.

I also have faith in non-Western treatment because it worked for me. I have gone to acupuncture and received other Oriental Medicine treatments throughout my disease–in pain and in peace–and have experienced many healthful benefits.

In the past year an a half, however, I have felt especially unsatisfied by a strictly Western approach–my cocktail of medicines are not giving me the results that I had hoped for, and I am experiencing some of the side effects (hair loss, cracking nails, fatigue, stomach upset, dizziness) more profoundly than I once did.

I intend to remain on these medicines, however, because I believe in their efficacy to reduce my overall inflammation. I just hope to reduce the amount and frequency that I take them.

I want my body to begin healing itself.

Because autoimmune diseases are diseases of oneself, it can be confusing what is helping and what is harming. I like the way Wikipedia defines autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis: Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells.

If my own body is attacking itself–how can I fight back?

I have a few ideas that I want to pursue–diet, acupuncture, physical/occupational therapy, massage, healing sessions, meditation, yoga (of course). I know that none of these individually will heal me–but I have to try.

I bet that many people with chronic illness get to this point–I am willing to make my health a priority, even if it inconveniences me to do so (oh, how I will mourn chocolate gone from my life!).

I am willing to try anything to be well. I am hopeful that I can cultivate kindness (yes, my intention) inside my cells and in my world.

[Via http://theopeningyear.wordpress.com]

Primum Non Nocere

That’s Latin for “First, do no harm”. This is one of the guiding principles of the practice of Medicine. I remember my Training Director in Internal Medicine making that point time and time again. He said that the first thing you do when you are called into the patient room, is to put your hands in your pocket. This is to prevent you from doing something or writing something without thinking it over first. However, even the simplest task or the most benign procedure can have the potential of disaster.

We were 4th year Medical students in UST. It was our first day in the hospital wards as Medical clerks. My first rotation was in the Neurology ward. We were not allowed to administer medications nor push IV meds. We were not to make decisions of our own without the guidance of our Medical Residents or our attending physicians. We were not to write any orders in the patient’s chart without the co-signature of our supervising Interns. We were not to do any bedside procedure without the supervision of our  seniors. We were there though to take medical history, examine the patient, help monitor them  and take their vital signs. Armed with just stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, and thermometer, how can we do harm? Well, you lack imagination.

As part of our duty, one of my classmates placed the thermometer in the mouth of the patient to check his temperature. This patient has seizure disorder. All of a sudden he went into convulsions with his whole body flailing. He bit the thermometer and crushed it into small pieces. Can you imagine the horror of my classmate! After the seizure was over, we helped our classmate retrieve the broken thermometer in the patient’s mouth (at least what is left of it). I’m not sure if we recovered the mercury or not. Did the patient develop oral lacerations from shattering the thermometer? Did he suffered esophageal or gastric ulcerations from the swallowed glass pieces? Did he develop mercury poisoning? Or did he become a human thermometer? God alone knows.

Over the years, I have heard, have witnessed, and have been involved in medical misadventures. So it is with great diligence and prudence that I perform my duties, and with humbleness I accept my limitations and mistakes. May I always be guided by the precept of first, do no harm. So help me God.

(I don’t use oral thermometers anymore. Neither do I use rectal thermometers. I can just imagine what catastrophe I can do with that!)

[Via http://iowapinoy.com]

Anatomical Theatre

Since I went to see Exquisite Bodies at the Wellcome Museum last year, I have fallen in love with nineteenth century anatomical models.  Art and Science coexists in them. They are delicate and precise, morbid, beautiful. They are exquisite pieces of work to show us the developments of anatomy. They were born out of a necessity for anatomical models which would not rot, there were no fridges then, and also out of a shortage in real corpses, much on demand in a period of booming investigation. I fancy they are kind of tragic, these open bodies, vulnerable to inspection, exposed to thousands of prying eyes.

This Anatomical Venus rests in the Natural History Museum in Florence, Italy. I have found the pictures in the web titled Anatomical Theatre, a virtual museum of anatomical models and medical artifacts  ranging from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. To see and read more about this fascinating world click on the images below.

Click here to see the Anatomical Theatre site.

Click here to see images of the theatre installation

[Via http://maenadismisalifestyle.wordpress.com]