March 21st, 2010 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, True Stories
Tags: Antivenom, Mouth Suction, Poisonous Snakes, Snake Bite, Venom
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Last spring there was a news story about a man who said he saved his dog’s life by sucking venom from a rattlesnake bite out of the animal’s nose. After he performed this lifesaving feat and took his dog to a veterinarian, he reportedly began feeling ill himself.
It is further reported that he went to a hospital and received four vials of antivenom. The dog reportedly had its head swell up to three times its normal size and it also was administered antivenom. The man and his dog recovered. Read more »
This post, Snake Bites: Should You Suck The Venom Out Or Not?, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
March 21st, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Haiti, HIV infection, HIV/AIDS, Infectious Disease, Patient Privacy, Stigma
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I can’t get the stories of Haiti out of my mind. A patient showed up at the Port au Prince hospital ward with a massive left sided paralysis: an obvious stroke. This 48-year-old woman had collapsed the day before and was now accompanied by her three grown daughters, who were most attentive and worried. I examined her in the bed with other patients and families gathered around. (There is no sense of privacy and even an exam seems to be everyone’s business in Haiti). One daughter spoke broken English, but I had a good translator that helped me get the information I needed. It was a sad story. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
March 20th, 2010 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Alcoholic, Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, General Medicine, Substance Abuse
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This is a repost of my reflections on my father who passed away 13 years today. It took me 12 years to write the following eulogy and remembrance. While quite personal, I posted it here last year because I felt that my experiences were quite universal, shared by the families of the ten or twenty million alcoholics in the U.S. and the hundreds of millions worldwide. Moreover, I wanted to provide a face for my colleagues who work in the area of substance abuse and a reminder for my clinical colleagues of the people behind those they may dismiss as drunks and junkies.
In becoming one my most most highly-read and highly-commented posts, I thought I would share it again this year, especially for the new readers who’ve come on board in the last twelve months. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata*
March 20th, 2010 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Patient Interviews, True Stories
Tags: Diabetes, Diabetes Management, Endocrinology, Glucose Meter, Internal Medicine, Myabetic
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I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just before I started second grade, back in 1986. I played with Barbie dolls, colored countless coloring books with my box of Crayola 96 (sharpener in the back), and sported a messy ponytail as often as my mom would allow.
But my life also included dozens of plastic bags filled with orange-capped syringes. And black meter cases that zipped up the side and held my glucose meter. And small vials of bandaid-scented insulin. My childhood was colorful and fun and just like every other kids’, but there were some dreary bits of diabetes management as a running thread.
I wish there had been things like this to hold my meter in when I was growing up with type 1 – because these meter cases are awesome:
This meter case was created by Kyrra Richards, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2007. I think it is GORGEOUS. After her diagnosis, Kyrra created Myabetic – a specialty store stocked with playful and cool glucose meter cases. She sent me a few of her meter cases to review here on SUM, and she also offered to share a little bit of her story. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
March 20th, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: General Medicine, Inactivity, Inertia, Overexertion, Personal Life, Relaxation, Stress, Weariness
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Recently, my wife and I went away for a weekend. I can’t remember the last time we packed our bags and left the children with their grandparents for two whole nights. Frankly, our preference is always to do things with them when we can, because in addition to loving them, we like them! But we decided to seize the moment and take that rare opportunity to go on an extended “date.”
I know that it must have been a while since we had been away, because we couldn’t stop smiling. We laughed and shopped. We ate quiet meals together without negotiating the best restaurant for four children and two adults. We held hands, but no one else was touching us, pulling us in different directions, or asking us to find anything. It was positively, delightfully spooky. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
