October 29th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Opinion, Research
3 Comments »
24 years old female presents with several week history of progressive stomach pains, substernal chest discomfort, heart palpitations, loss of appetite, headache, insomnia, and growing lump sensation in her throat. Physical exam was essentially normal.
Can this previously healthy female have suddenly developed reflux, globus, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, brain tumor, and throat cancer with possible overlying thyroid disorder? Or perhaps has she contracted some other horrific mystery disease?
Maybe…
But maybe none of the above…
What if I told you she will be giving a doctoral dissertation for her Master’s next week for which she is ill-prepared given a recent breakup with her boyfriend of 5 years and a growing distaste of her school classmates who have been less than supportive.
In other words, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
October 22nd, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Research
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Researchers at Monell Chemical Senses Center have figured out that nasal congestion is influenced by more than just nasal airflow. Apparently temperature and humidity influence the perception of nasal congestion just as much as how physically obstructed the nose is.
By having volunteers breath air with variations in temperature and humidity, they have determined that cool and dry air minimizes nasal congestion without any change in how open the nasal cavity is.
By taking into account other measured variables, they have deduced that nasal congestion is influenced by Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
October 16th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Opinion
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Over the years, I have found that patients can be loosely grouped into 4 different types. Nothing particularly wrong with any type, but it does help me to approach patients appropriately if I can get a sense of what type they are.
The four types are:
Type A: If a surgery can “fix” or “cure” me such that I won’t have to take medications every day of my life, than let’s do it.
Type B: I will never consider surgery unless it is a life-threatening situation. If a medicine can help, why do it???
Type C: I will consider surgery only as a last resort when all else fails.
Type D: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
October 9th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Research
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In one of the stranger research projects I’ve encountered in awhile, French scientists reported on why in the sport of discus throwing, athletes tend to feel more dizzy than those who hammer throw.
Whether discus or hammer throwing, both require spinning on part of the athlete before letting the discus/hammer go for long distances.
59% report dizziness with discus throwing, but none with hammer throwing. Why?
This occurred even among athletes who did both sports eliminating individual susceptibilities to dizziness.
Based on slow-motion video analysis, it was conjectured that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
October 5th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Research
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Though one should always use an EpiPen that is not expired, it is better to use an expired EpiPen to treat anaphylaxis than to do nothing at all.
Some Canadian researchers studied expired EpiPen auto-injectors 1 to 90 months past the expiration date.
What they found was that the older the EpiPen, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
24 years old female presents with several week history of progressive stomach pains, substernal chest discomfort, heart palpitations, loss of appetite, headache, insomnia, and growing lump sensation in her throat. Physical exam was essentially normal.
