Forums → The Tavern → Your medical questions answered!
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In an effort to procrastinate doing everything...okay, really simply to revise my material for next semester when I start working at hospitals (but the first one sounds less dorky D
...anyway...
In an effort to revise my material, I'm inviting each and every one of you to ask any questions you had on the human body (and mind). As long as it's medical, it can be pretty much anything- and I'll attempt to answer it as quickly as possible, hopefully off the top of my head.
HAVE AT IT
- 327 Replies
Kingryan asked:
Is is possible to get shocked so badly by static electricity that a bump can form on your arm? This happened to me...and I had a bump for at least a week afterwards...?
A bump? Hmm...I can think of electrical burns and blisters, which I've received before. That bump of yours might be a blister or some kind of burn, I guess- the kinds of injuries one can get from electrical discharge vary from no visible damage to massive internal damage to rather nasty open wounds and disfigurement.
However, among the images (which I will spare you from seeing :P), I found examples of electrical burn in the form of a seemingly innocuous lump, so I suppose it's entirely possible!
Baseballfamer asked:
1.) Once you have a heart attack, is there any side affects that can lead to another heart attack.
2.) What will happen if you had cancer in your brain and then could you die faster if you had a brain tumour.
1) A heart-attack is one form of cardiac arrest, and is due specifically to a myocardial infarction. This is when some kind of plaque lodges in one of the arteries that supply the heart muscle itself.
The plaque usually consists of a material that builds up in the arteries around the heart from a process of fatty deposition on the wall, an inflammatory process and subsequent damage and hardening of the wall, occlusion of the artery and finally a piece breaking off or a clot forming and completely blocking the artery. This process is known as atherosclerosis, and is the underlying cause for the vast majority of patients who have a heart-attack.
You can imagine that from this, by the time somebody has a heart-attack, they're most likely not going to be very well, and their blood-vessels won't be in great shape either. Therefore from this, a person who has a heart-attack is already going to be susceptible to more of the same. Because many of the factors tend to go together, a family history of heart-attack is a significant risk factor.
As for the effects of a heart-attack, the heart muscle, because it is starved of oxygen, may start to die and break down. This heart muscle doesn't grow back, which may weaken it. Assuming that the patient survived the heart attack, part of the heart may be scarred, and this means that the electrical impulses that drive the heart's contractions may not travel as effectively as it should. This can cause the heart to beat irregularly, skip beats or even go crazy and spasm, which of course means no blood flow, no oxygen and more heart muscle damage.
So yeah, this is why once you have a heart-attack, you have to be quite careful about the way you live your life! Bits of clot from that atherosclerosis can also travel elsewhere and lodge in your lung, limbs, or even brain, causing seizures and strokes.
2) There are many different kinds of brain tumors that depend chiefly on the type of cell they are derived from. Some are more likely to be benign and will cause mechanical issues like seizures through pressure and restriction of blood flow, others will basically spread and destroy the brain itself and kill you like that. Either way, brain tumors generally aren't such a good thing to have!
BASHA asked:
can you anwser me this at least, why do Infedimenes (is that spelt right) and cafine calm people with ADHD down
Hm, ADHD isn't my area, so I had to do a 5-minute literature review and turned up some other reviews that basically say that we know it works, definitely! But as to why, we're still unsure. But surely they're working on it. Maybe I've missed a few things; I'll have to get back to you on that.
I have always been curious, as well to why stimulants help those with ADD/ADHD.
Strop, do you think it would fall in the same reasoning as to anxiety medicine? Let me elaborate.
Sara has bad anxiety and has Ativan for it. I also have some anxiety at times. When I have a panic attack or feel anxious she will give me an Ativan and within 15 minutes I am fine, but not groggy or loopy or "high." Once I took it when I wasn't anxious and it definitely gave me a "high." I felt so groggy and tired, as well.
^well, i have adhd and add, and sometimes, uppers are actually downers for me. Like sugar affects me in a good way.
Why does it burn when I pee?
Knowing you, I think I'll keep it simple :P
a) Urinary tract infection
b) Too much sex.
In many cases, 'both' apply.
Sara has bad anxiety and has Ativan for it. I also have some anxiety at times. When I have a panic attack or feel anxious she will give me an Ativan and within 15 minutes I am fine, but not groggy or loopy or "high." Once I took it when I wasn't anxious and it definitely gave me a "high." I felt so groggy and tired, as well.
What all the above loosely suggests is that the behavioral and mood changes in ADD/ADHD or other symptoms are due to some kind of issue with neuroregulatory processes (receptors, binding and blocking properties), as opposed to a simple deficit or excess. Perhaps the stimulant restores balance via some feedback process- as the brain and any part of the body does have processes that respond to excess and exogenous changes.
I'd have to learn more about the actual pharmacological action of the meds though.
Well this is a little more literal than WebMD.
But anyway, a good friend of mine has lymph node cancer in his neck and it has matesticized. He is going through radiation and is on a strict Iodine diet. His treatments are currently underway as I type. In one month he will have to go back to Duke Hospital (NC) for radiation and a follow-up.
Any advice? And once lymph node cancer has matesticized how fatal is it?(he has kids)
please correct my spellings if any are at fault
J4son said:
Well this is a little more literal than WebMD.
Ahar! I've used WebMD before, and as a database for differential diagnostic features it can work. A friend of mine actually suggested that it made doctors obsolete but I've quickly concluded that it is not so- because examination and interpretation by an experienced clinician is still an unsubstitutable key to providing specific advice and care. This thread too is about the transfer of knowledge...so while there's definitely answers to questions on WebMD that are also very useful, I'm trying to specifically tailor this to the people who ask them, as opposed to giving template answers.
Corrections have been worked into the following quote:
But anyway, a good friend of mine has lymph node cancer in his neck and it has metastasized. He is going through radiation and is on a strict Iodine diet. His treatments are currently underway as I type. In one month he will have to go back to Duke Hospital (NC) for radiation and a follow-up.
Any advice? And once lymph node cancer has metastasised how fatal is it?(he has kids)
First, sorry to hear your friend has cancer of the lymph nodes. Cancer is always a tricky thing to approach because of its history and general implications, so I can appreciate how worrying it can be. If you just want the advice, you can skip down to the last paragraph.
There are many different types of lymphoma, but fortunately, across the board, treatments have improved vastly over the past few decades and so across the board, even the most severe stage (where it has metastasized to other tissues) carries fairly good odds of survival (based on 5-year measures).
For specifics, there are a number of indications on how likely the cancer is to respond to treatment and stay away. Assuming your friend has non-Hodkins' Lymphoma, doctors compiled the following prognostic list, which I've simplified:
1) Is he over 60?
2) Has the cancer spread around both sides of the neck or to other lymph nodes? (I assume the answer here is yes.)
3) Have blood tests revealed raised levels of lactase dehydrogenase?
4) Is he confined to bed or unable to take care of himself independently?
5) Has it metastasized to other tissues outside the lymphatic system? (Again, I assume yes).
If two or less of the above are true, then there's a good chance that it will go away and stay away. If it's four or all five, however, things may not be looking so good.
Nonetheless there are merely statistics and guidelines, and are certainly not indicative of anybody's fate. I'm assuming that the strict iodine diet is to help out with some kind of thyroid disturbance? Either way, it appears (there's even clinical evidence now) that being positive is a big booster in terms of survival and, more importantly, enjoying life. I mean, all of us should appreciate every moment that we experience, and whether or not one has cancer it's a good lesson to take to heart. Living healthily with a mind to boosting the immune system is also a good idea, although one should check that this wouldn't conflict with the dietary restrictions.
Ah ok thanks.
I got zapped on my hand and I got the bump on my upper forearm near my elbow.
BTW:
New Question
When do you become a doctor?
I got zapped on my hand and I got the bump on my upper forearm near my elbow.
Ha, I knew I should have asked about the site. I was specifically talking about site of contact, but is it possible that your arm jerked back in a reflex action and you whacked it against something?
When do you become a doctor?
In general, I'm not actually sure when I can call myself a 'doctor' in the proper sense, but it's sometime after I finish the undergraduate component and complete the intern and registrar years. So...seeing as my course is a 6-year degree that will give me basic medical qualifications and I have 2 and a half more years of that to go, I guess not anytime soon!
Ok thanks.
It could have jerked back, the muscle could even have spasmed, it was a while ago so I don't really remember!
Good luck becoming a doctor anyway....! What country are you in?
Anyway, so this doesnt look like spam, here is a question...
'Is there anyway to prevent blackheads?'
KingRyan
I'm studying in Australia...surprise surprise there are some good universities here :P
Is there anyway to prevent blackheads?
Well, seeing as blackheads are basically a form of acne- caused by excess accumulated oil in the sebaceous gland's duct (to keep your skin slightly oiled, basically), I'd say clean (scrub but probably not too hard) your face regularly, don't use excessive covering makeup/creams etc., and regulate your intake of oils. And, uhm...sleep well, and don't stress out too much? That appears to be a factor in zit outbreaks, as far as I can tell.
First off thanks for the metastasised fix, I've known what it meant but written it based on phonics.
Thanks for the info, he'll be out of his Iodine diet soon!
1) Is he over 60? no
2) Has the cancer spread around both sides of the neck or to other lymph nodes? (I assume the answer here is *yes*.)
3) Have blood tests revealed raised levels of lactase dehydrogenase? I have no clue
4) Is he confined to bed or unable to take care of himself independently? *Yes*
5) Has it metastasized to other tissues outside the lymphatic system? (Again, I assume *yes*).
so its at least 3 out of 4.. hmm
Thread is locked!