Poem/story-"Acts of love" by M. Detelj

Below is a poem/story to be performed at my next opening. Enjoy.

_______________________

“Acts of love”

Act I. The Past

I’ve held this hand too many a time to count, but you still look at me in your despondence and start to pout.

What am I? Who am I? Did I give you hope? I didn’t mean to ruin what love we had with moments in which I never spoke!

But it’s okay, you’ve learned your lesson. And whether or not you believe it, this isn’t depressing. This is success, a heart, it’s beating so loud. It beats for you, who too far are lost in the crowd. You need to open your eyes, see the beauty of the world, you need to understand the world doesn’t revolve around little boys and girls. There’s so much more out there, so much more than this. This is high school romanticism; something you wish you wouldn’t miss. Because four years from now, when you look back…if you mature like I did…you’ll find there is nothing to laugh at besides the silly faces, and the little notes. The slang language and hearts you broke. Your life is nothing when you stay so hidden, so secure not knowing how to live and…think! Think of where I am! Think of what I’ve done! Yeah I wear my badges and polish so they catch a reflection of the sun. Let it hit your eyes because there’s nothing more golden than understanding it could be your hand I am holding.

Act II. The Present

I have a gift, I’ve only given once.

The gift is “meaning” behind every touch.

I’ve bypassed my lust and sexual desires for something and someone I believe to be of higher power; “It’s you,” I whisper in her ear. “It’s you,” as I begin to tremble in fear. It’s been too long long since I’ve felt this insecure…it’s been so long. And now we are stumbling it seems ever so fast, but as long as we wish for love, the troubles cannot last…no…no the troubles, they will not last.

Act III. The Future

We’re climbing high now, there is nothing to hold us back. We are above the financial ruin and even years later, together we still smile. The love is there! The love is there! The love is there!

I’ve dreamt too long of this day and the time I spend with you is inevitable. We are a colossus and there is nothing above us. There are no troubles but our health as we continue to grow old, your hand still in mine and our lashes touching. The fear of death isn’t scary…no we aren’t scared.

Act IV. The End

It’s this hospital bed that makes death grim…but with you by my side…my side by you…it makes no difference.

We lived.

We Loved.

We Cared.

-Mike Detelj 2010

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

Mission to Haiti: Dr. Jeff Mjaanes' Blog - First Day Treating Patients

Thursday, January 28, 9:39 p.m. Haitian time -

Our first day out in the field is over! We split into several smaller groups today:

1) The anesthesia group went to the General Hospital and worked in the OR with several teams from other countries.

2) A group of internists went to a clinic across the street from Adventist Hospital and saw about 170 patients.

3) A group went to the refugee camp and saw about 250 patients. Most of what we treated were infections, minor fractures and abdominal pain – mostly from people who have had minimal water and food for several days.

To get to our spot in the refugee camp, we had to cross the city. The damage from the earthquake (or as the Haitians call it “the event”) is truly astounding. We passed the school where 400 children died – three floors simply pancaked onto each other. We saw block after block of collapsed buildings, houses, shopping centers, supermarkets, etc. Every park is occupied by people living in makeshift tents made of sheets – we may be going to one of these the day after tomorrow. The devastation is simply catastrophic and very sobering.

Tomorrow, we will be going to similar sites – and our orthopedic and vascular teams will be splitting up to operate.

Overall, it was a challenging but rewarding day. More to follow…
Jeff

Haitian children

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

Advocacy and The Act of Out

Without question, this blog missive is not the first to be written regarding advocacy, mental illness and how out any of us are.  However, I’m going to bring it up again, based upon it happening to me (again.)

We wrote an exam in class today–which I totally forgot about, as I was too panicky in reading a new chapter last night.  I was even more panicky this morning, as public transit was royally screwed.  Like many of us, Aspie/AD(H)D spazzes, sticking to our rituals schedules, is extremely important!!! Not that I have control over things like public transit, but still!

So, we wrote the exam and I was talking to one of the other girls in the class.  We were comparing marks.  She scored a big-bang 100%! Yay, her! W00t! Wee PA? Despite her panicky, forgetful, winginess? 93%.  Now, I’m not looking for kudos, here.  I don’t care.  What this leads up to, is our discussion of just exactly why I need to be so, very careful regarding our exams.

I told her that I have Dysgraphia. I have mentioned this many times on my blog, but for those of you who don’t know what it is, I’ve tossed the Wiki link up again. She asked me what it was. Here we go!!!

I explained it to her (short and sweet, I can’t write well, messy, screw up my letters and numbers, reverse them, miss letters and then misspell things…)  Therefore, that is why I need to really pay attention with our tests, and why I still get things wrong when I damn well know the right answer! I told her that it is very common with people who are on the Autistic Spectrum and who have AD(H)D.  I then told her I have Asperger’s and ADD!

The girl said that she thought she had Dysgraphia too! The Instructor is a Nurse and blurted out: “What do you know about the Autistic Spectrum? Have you been diagnosed by a Doctor?” I just about killed myself laughing.

Some more questions ensued, and then I made my standard joke about my Medic-Alert Bracelet–that it’s amazing they could engrave everything that’s “wrong” with me on it.  She wanted to see it.  I said I have Bipolar as well, and Epilepsy.  I stopped there.  I mean, really.  Why keep going? However, you can obviously see that I am quite the “advocate” and quite “out?” I always have been, but I “advocate” in my own way.

I’m not one for soapboxes.  I don’t even think I am on my blog, but I may have to rely upon my readers to give me some insight on that one.  In terms of a “not-so-soapy-box,” like public speaking for an Advocacy Group? No.  I’ve never done that, but I could.  I just haven’t chosen that route.  I advocate in a more simple manner.  Basically how I did today.  I speak to people individually, or in a pair, a group of a few.  I just talk to them, “as me.”

And you know what? I’ve found it unbelievably powerful.  So many times, the people on the other end are wonderfully receptive.  They ask probing questions, they may have someone they know with mental health issues, and the ones that really make me happy? They’re the folks that actually have mental health issues themselves!

As soon as I open up, they slowly start to do the: “…well…eh…uh…I…erm…”  Do you know how awesome that is? I don’t probe.  I just sit and listen.  Who knows if these people have told anyone else before but me?! The last thing I would want to do is freak them out!

So.  Anyone else? Want to talk about how you “advocate?” How “out” you are?

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

But isn't evolution 'only' a theory?

Not in medicine as an applied science; it is a basic and necessary understanding.

A recent series of article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) discusses the role of evolutionary biology in modern medicine. The authors collectively make a forceful point – medicine is an applied science. It is based upon a number of basic sciences, and one of those basic sciences is evolution.

Many examples in medicine provide a compelling case that evolutionary principles are important to understanding populations, genetics, infectious disease, diet, and other issues of public health – in diagnosis, treatment, and research. Therefore, the authors argue, evolution is an important topic for medical professionals to understand .

Increasing the basic science standards for medical students can only help the goals of science-based medicine, and I am glad to see that evolutionary biology is being recognized as the core basic science that it is.

From Steve’s post Evolution in Medicine at Science-Based Medicine

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

X-Ray Department and Laboratory Area in Free Medical Camp at Manav parivar in Matar

Good morning friends,

Yesterday was a busy day again in Free Medical Camp at Manav Parivar in Matar.  As always expected, lots of patient visited.  They were checked and given a proper medicine.

Patients in X-Ray Department at Manav Parivar

This picture is the X-Ray Department in Manav Parivar.  All the patients who needed X-ray were lead to this laboratory area.   The patients were brought to this area for all possible laboratory test which was prescribed by the volunteer doctors.

 

Volunteers iinside the Laboratory Area at Manav Parivar

 This was the volunteers at Manav Parav which was assigned to the X-ray Department.  After some testing done by them, they were checking the result.  As you can see the second picture was a volunteer doctor.  A pathologist.  He was checking the report on Semi-Auto Analyzer Machine.

Manav Parivar   has a complete medical facilities and enough supplies.

[Via http://volunteering4all.wordpress.com]

Hazımsızlık bitkilerle tedavi ediliyor

BİTKİLERLE MODERN TEDAVİ

Dr. Ahmet Toptaş

 

HAZIMSIZLIK

         Hazımsızlık karın bölgesinin üst kısmında ağrı, erken doyma, şişkinlik, gaz, bulantı, yanma şikayetleriyle ortaya çıkar. Aynı zamanda ishal ve kabızlık görülebilir, üzüntü ve sıkıntı ile şikayetler artar.

         Hastalığın nedenleri arasında barsak tembelliği, ülser, gastrit, sindirim salgılarının yetersizliği, barsak hareketlerinin yavaşlığı, stres sayılabilir.

         Hazımsızlık şikayetlerinde kullanılan çok az sayıda kimyasal-sentetik ilaç bulunmaktadır, öncelikle bitkiler kullanılmalıdır.

         Bitkisel ilaçların etkileri hafif, istenmeyen ( Yan, zararlı) etkileri çok az, etki çeşitliliği fazla ve tedavi alanı geniştir. Tahammülü kolay olduğu için hastalar tarafından da tercih edilmektedir.

         Sinirsel esaslı şikayetlerde sakinleştirici bitkilerin ( Kediotu kökü, şerbetçiotu çiçeği, lavanta ve bunların karışımı) desteği sağlanmalıdır.

         Tedaviye destek olarak içki ve sigara içilmemeli, fazla yağlı yenmemeli, meyve-sebze ağırlıklı beslenmeye özen gösterilmeli, lokmalar iyice çiğnenmelidir.

         Hazımsızlık şikayetlerinde çok sayıda bitki ve bunların karışımları kullanılabilmektedir. Burada bunlardan bazıları belirtilmektedir. Bitki esansları ( Eterik yağ) ülkemizde ilaç kalitesinde kontrollü olarak henüz üretilmediği için kullanım şekilleri açıklanmamıştır.

Çay karışımı ( Fixe kombination):

Anason tohumu              30 gr

Frenk kimyonu tohumu   60 gr

Rezene tohumu               60 gr

Tohum karışımı kullanılmadan hemen önce dövülmeli veya öğütülmelidir.

1 çay kaşığı karışım fincana konur, üzerine 150 ml kaynar su ilave edilir, ağzı kapalı olarak 10 dakika demlenir, süzülür. Çayı taze hazırlanarak yemeklerden sonra içilir.

Karışım sindirimi hızlandırır, gaz ve kramp giderici etki gösterir.

Hekim tavsiyesi olmadan 2 haftadan uzun süre kullanılmamalıdır ( Karışımda rezene bulunduğu için).

Çay karışımı ( Fixe kombination):

Nane yaprağı                  50 gr

Frenk kimyonu tohumu   25 gr

1 yemek kaşığı karışım kullanmadan hemen önce dövülür, fincana konur, üzerine 150 ml kaynar su ilave edilir, ağzı kapalı olarak 10 dakika demlenir, süzülür. Çayı taze hazırlanarak yemeklerden sonra içilir.

Bu karışım gaz, şişkinlik ve mide-barsak bölgesindeki hafif kramplarda kullanılır.

Çay karışımı ( Fixe kombination):

Nane yaprağı                  25 gr

Frenk kimyonu tohumu   25 gr

Rezene tohumu               25 gr

1 yemek kaşığı karışım kullanımdan hemen önce dövülür veya öğütülerek fincana konur, üzerine 150 ml kaynar su ilave edilir, ağzı kapalı olarak 10 dakika demlenir, süzülür. Çayı taze hazırlanarak yemeklerden sonra içilir.

Bu karışım (rezene nedeniyle) hekim tavsiyesi olmadan 2 haftadan uzun süre kullanılmamalıdır.

Çay karışımı ( Fixe kombination):

Karahindiba kökü ve otu 50 gr

Nane yaprağı                  25 gr

Enginar yaprağı              25 gr

Bitki kısımları kıyılarak karıştırılır ve cam kavanozda muhafaza edilir.

1 yemek kaşığı karışım fincana konur, üzerine 150 ml kaynar su ilave edilir, ağzı kapalı olarak 10 dakika demlenir, süzülür. Çayı taze hazırlanarak yemeklerden sonra içilir.

Bu karışım özellikle safra yollarının normal çalışmamasına bağlı olarak görülen karın boşluğunun üst kısmındaki kramplarda kullanılır.

Kaynaklar:

1-     Dr. Ahmet Toptaş, Alman kanunlarına göre düzenlenip izin verilen BİTKİLERLE MODERN TEDAVİ, Gonca Yayınevi, İstanbul 2009, ISBN: 978-9944-790-31-4, (0212) 5285076-5286005.

2-     Dr. Ahmet Toptaş, ÇÖREKOTU Tepeden tırnağa şifa deryası, Gonca Yayınevi, İstanbul 2008, ISBN: 978-9944-62-613-2, (0212) 5285076-5286005.

[Via http://w2q3.wordpress.com]

Painting Rocks

I fear it is time to paint rocks and generally police the browser. Several articles of note have accumulated that have not quite crystallized into maturity of thought but the load time each morning has gotten too burdensome especially as we approach the weekend – with rain – and must suffer the slings and arrows of the ISP’s weather bandwidth inadequacies. Or whatever it is that shuts down service on weekends, especially Sunday mornings.

The first article is one in National Geographic [Link] – no mammaries in sight and hence possibly suitable for work unless you work in one of those organizations that is mystically fanatic and doesn’t condone associates thinking about evolution. The gist is that a recent (?) discovery at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov indicates that the spatial and social ordering implicit in sedentaryness, which up till now we though invented near the end of the last cold phase, was actually invented by Homo Erectus 0.75 MYA. That means that what we thought of as a recent (~15-10 KYA) human social invention has actually been around for much longer and likely as not its emergence then was more a factor of circumstances permitting it than any actual invention.

More crucially it would seem that civilization is part of our make up as humans. So much for the back-to-Nature bunch. Not that I do not enjoy an occasional hike through the woods – but not in summer when the sticker bushes and vines are in full sting, which puts the lie to the 15th Alibam’s march on Little Round Top – or the like, but going back to being a hunter-gatherer. No thank you. I have enough excretory problems as is.

On a related (?) note the folks at the Yankee government’s DARPA are warning of the extinction of the American nerd (another case of the media not understanding the difference between geeks and nerds.) [Link] I would take this a bit more seriously if the pronouncement of doom were not coming from an organization who has an absolutely consistent track record of failure. Their current propagandized success story is more a matter of the Yankee government’s imitation of Soviet era centralism – a somewhat natural characteristic of war aftermath – and elimination of the labs that actually did stuff. Of course the good side of this is that it makes NASA look good. After all NASA only spend 0.5 of its budget on publicity; DARPA seems to spend more and accomplishes less accordingly. But they do brag and arrogant well.

I have come to suspect that the reason so few are studying nerd subjects is because they require so much individual hard work. Being a scientist is not social – unless you are a social scientist – and I will not get into the morass of whether social science is science or not – and therefore interferes with texting and tweeting and what like. It also involves maths which are fundamentally individual and not a group incompetence thing. Which is were the evolution thing comes in.

With the news that the New Yawk Times is going to start charging for on-line access next year, I note an article from Columbia Journalism Review [Link] dealing with how many people will pay for news on-line. As is known to those rare few who actually frequent this blog, this is a matter of interest here, mostly because, as is appropriate for blogging, I am unsure of what my own opinions are. If I were it would not be recurring except to denigrate fools and idiots – people who disagree with me, in the main.

I am cogitating whether I would pay for NYT access. It is already a pain to have to log on those few times, a couple a week, that I visit their WS. And most of those are pointers from eNewsletter, usually the one from American Scientist, which VERY definitely ain’t of the depravity and degradation of Scientific American. But this places me in the situation that if Sigma Xi, the parent of AS, continues to cite NYT articles after they institute paywall, of deciding to discontinue paying attention to Sigma Xi. Not that they don’t have a very low pony to pile ratio as is, but what pony they do have is very good pony.

Somewhat more toothsome, is an indication of the ingestion of Omega 3 fatty acids and the conservation/preservation of telomeres. [Link] Like most folks who have cardiac infirmities I have to swallow acetylsalicitic acid and omega 3 pills every day, and the latter are more the size of suppositories than pills. Not that I mind that, I actually have more problems with the little pills getting lost in my mouth rather than going down the esophagus than getting big pills down. And while the old saw about correlation not being causation is accurate, we have to recall that physicians and biologists are the least maths aware nerds there are. In fact, they usually have to hire mathematicians to do things they should have learned as sophomores but somehow lack, for whatever reason. Hence we can expect that a lot of physicians may tell us another ‘reason’ for taking these fish pills.

And lastly, from the campus of the Boneyard, comes some research that indicates driving compromises the ability the process language. [Link] This is not quite in the oh-yeah class of academic research that merely confirms what rational observant folks have known but didn’t have a handout from the Yankee government to write up. Anyway, it confirms why we don;t drive well when the automobile is full of yakking folks – especially shul bus drivers! – and why any use of cellular phones should be forbidden by some method other than the irresolute whim of the constabulary. IOW, let us muzzle the kids on the buses and put cellular suppressors in all automobiles!

Ain’t it nice when science supports you individual convictions! ALmost like the warm and fuzzy satisfaction of superstition.

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

Biomaterials science: an introduction to materials in medicine By Buddy D. Ratner

Buddy D. Ratner, Allan S. Hoffman, Frederick J. Schoen, Jack E. Lemons, “Biomaterials Science”
Academic Press | 1996-01-15 | ISBN: 0125824610 | 484 pages | PDF | 36 MB

BOOK DESCRIPTION The second edition of this bestselling title presents the most up-to-date comprehensive reviews of all aspects of biomaterials science by providing a balanced, curricular approach to learning biomaterials. An historical perspective of materials engineering principles is integrated with the biological interactions of biomaterials, regulatory and ethical issues and future directions of the field, and a state-of-the-art update of medical and biotechnological applications. From tissue engineering to cochlear prostheses and drug delivery systems, all aspects of this important and growing field are thoroughly addressed.

Contributions detailing the principles of cell biology, immunology, and pathology from pre-eminent researchers and practitioners from diverse academic and professional backgrounds have been integrated into this important volume. The chapters focus on the clinical uses of biomaterials as components in implants, devices, and artificial organs and their uses in biotechnology as well as the characterization of the physical, chemical, biochemical and surface properties of these materials.

*Over 80 contributors from academia, government and industry.

*The most up-to-date comprehensive reviews of all aspects of biomaterials

*Endorsed by the Society for Biomaterials

*Provides comprehensive coverage of principles and applications of all classes of biomaterials

*Integrates concepts of biomaterials science and biological interactions with clinical science and societal issues including law, regulation, and ethics

*Discusses successes and failures of biomaterials applications in clinical medicine and the future directions of the field

*Cover the broad spectrum of biomaterial compositions including polymers, metals, ceramics, glasses, carbons, natural materials, and composites

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

#22 - The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Mütter Museum

Located in Center City Philadelphia, the Mütter Museum’s initial purpose was to educate future doctors about anatomy and medical oddities. Now open to the public, its mission has expanded to “tell important stories on what it is to be human”. The exhibits, however, could suggest otherwise: 2000 Objects Collected from People’s Throats, The Soap Lady (who inexplicably mummified to adipocere), skeletons of Siamese-twin infants, among dozens of others. The exhibits are frequented, one could argue, not because they reflect daily experience, but because they exist so beyond what is perceived to be common and palatable.

In high school, I believed the museum was an endless freak show and on occasion would take dates there to elicit their gut-churning. Raised in a Catholic, working-class neighborhood, I was taught that the incurably deformed, the terminally ill, and death itself were never to be pondered or discussed, but feared and eventually mourned. A mysterious black cloud hung over a human’s final moments, where the will to survive was undone by one’s own finite timeline.

In short, a visit to the Mütter was an implied act of rebellion. And how surprised I was, each time, when my dates and I wandered not with nausea, but a shared, unspoken curiosity. Two decades later, my daughter came into the world with meconium jammed in her lungs. If Daisy were born just a century earlier—a blip in human history—I would not be a father. How many teens today know a newborn can die because her tar-like shit went down her throat? And the adults—now that we know that these same lungs can be cleared within minutes—are we any less loving when we lower our heads and kiss the infant squarely, as if we were the ones who needed the blessing?

-Joseph P. Wood

[Via http://300reviews.wordpress.com]

So, Is This What Medical School Feels Like?

Dr. Fucking PA, indeed! I think it’s time I switched careers and became a Funeral Director! At least then I could handle things all in one go! Quite simple! Just toss my sorry, sad sack, ass right into the incinerator and that would be it!

I don’t know if I want to rip out my hair, cry or both! Probably the latter, even more, and then incinerate myself!

Today was my first day of school, but last “night” might have been it, in reality.  Not knowing what the hell I was walking into, I ran through the chapter in the textbook they would be covering.  Oh.My.God.  Where do I begin? *crosses eyes*

How does being at it for at least five hours minimum, sound? Maybe six hours? I finally started to get ready for bed around midnight.

I am late to the class.  It has already been “clipping along,” however, I didn’t realize just how much.  They have their final exam in a month!!! I want all of you to imagine what my face looks like right now.  I took a Valium/Diazepam on the way home today after we were done.  I didn’t even know how I felt at the time.  Nonetheless, I thought it a good “pre-emptive strike,” as I sure didn’t have a clue how I’d feel in the next five minutes!

The course is comprised of mostly terminology, and not so much Anatomy and Physiology.  This came as quite a surprise.  In fact, it’s much more than mostly terminology.  And some of these terms?! I mean, now it’s time for me to eat an entire bakery of Humble Pies! Dr. PA is pretty good but…

Not to mention, this is lots of fun for her loss of ability to spell and retain verbal information, due to her loooovvvveeeellllyyy Anticonvulsants.  It’s not that I don’t love you, my pretties; you keep my bean in fairly stable shape.  In a lot of ways.  For all the goddamn things that are wrong with me!!! Still, you’ve made me stoopid and loopy in my bean (despite all the goddamn things that are wrong with me!!!)

This is also a real gas for my Dysgraphia!!! Oh, Bloody Hell to the nth degree! Attending school is bad enough, but when you’re dealing with some words that are 15 characters in length? *bangs head on desk* Even if I do know the term, I can still screw it all “around the world” in 80 days minutes seconds no, days…because it TAKES me that long to fix it!!!

I took the Instructor aside during a break to ‘fess up about the Dysgraphia and the Asperger’s.  She said it was fine, everything would be taken slow.  Pfft.  Cold comfort, if you ask me.  I’m not complaining, though.  Both she, and all of the other students, are great and very helpful.

At least I got my assignment done, and only one wrong mark.  However, more lovely testing on the above chapter, tomorrow.  That means I need to do some more review tonight.  I was so overwhelmed by simply doing the work, plus figuring out how the class was run, trying to understand the course’s overall structure…

The Instructor is going to prepare me a little “package” for the previous eight chapters.  I do want all of the information–I need it! Between learning all of the material as we continue to move on, I also have to get that previous stuff sorted in a cohesive manner.  I need to bring all of the elements together.  None of it will make sense if I don’t.  I know how to do it; or how I want to do it.  We all learn differently, and I know “my style.”  I know what is effective for me.  It’s just going to take me so long!

Well, as a true “medical student,” I guess I’ll be working non-stop, all the hours I can, and then try to fit in what’s left for sleep and food! *rolls eyes* Then I’ll move on to my next course, or “rotation.”

Just to leave you with my favourite term from Chapter Nine, here you are.  Also, I’m not giving you a definition.  Think how well this one went over with my insane Dysgraphia!

coccidioidomycosis

Wait, let’s translate that into “PA Speak.”

• Supercalifragalisticexpialadocious!
• Corporate Idiots Do My Taxes
• Occidental Diode On My Coat
• Coincidences Are My Costs
• Moldy Cods Are Gross

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

Psikolojik sorunlar uyku, stres, sinirsel huzursuzluk

BİTKİLERLE MODERN TEDAVİ

Dr. Ahmet Toptaş

KEDİOTU KÖKÜ, ŞERBETÇİOTU ÇİÇEĞİ, OĞULOTU (MELİSA) YAPRAĞI

 

             Alman resmi gazetesinde 08.05.1991 tarihinde yayınlanarak ( Heftnummer:85, Fixe kombinationen) modern bitkisel ilaç olarak yürürlüğe girmiştir. Doktor reçetesine göre eczanelerde hazırlanmaktadır.

 

Etkileri: Sakinleştirici ve uyku vericidir.

Kullanıldığı yerler: Sinirsel kaynaklı huzursuzluk, stres ve uyku şikayetlerinde kullanılır.

Kullanılmaması gereken haller: Yok. Yeterli bilimsel çalışma olmadığı için hamilelik ve emzirme döneminde, 12 yaşından küçük çocuklarda kullanılması tavsiye edilmez.

İstenmeyen Etkileri: Yok.

İlaçlarla uyumsuzluğu: Yok.

Kullanım miktarı: 4 farklı karışım kullanılabilir:

A- Kediotu kökü + Şerbetçiotu çiçeği veya,

B- Kediotu kökü + Oğulotu yaprağı veya,

C- Şerbetçiotu çiçeği + Oğulotu yaprağı.

Bu ikili karışımların her birisinin ilgili bölümlerinde belirtilen günlük kullanım miktarlarının % 50-75 ‘i kadarı birlikte kullanılır.

D- 3 madde bir arada kullanıldığında ise her birisinin ilgili bölümlerinde belirtilen günlük kullanım miktarlarının % 30-50 ‘si kadarı birlikte kullanılır.

3’lü karışıma örnek olarak:

Kediotu kökü                (kıyılmış)        50 gr

Şerbetçiotu kökü çiçeği (kıyılmış)        10 gr

Oğulotu (Melisa) yaprağı (kıyılmış)      50 gr

Kullanım şekli: 2 çay kaşığı karışım fincana konur, üzerine 150 ml kaynar su ilave edilir, fincanın ağzı kapalı olarak 10 dakika demlenir, süzülerek içilir. Çayı taze hazırlanarak ihtiyaca göre günde 2-4 fincan içilebilir.

Uyarı: Kullanım sırasında tepki verme yeteneği olumsuz yönde etkileneceğinden araç ve makine kullanılmamalıdır, alkol bu etkiyi şiddetlendirir. Araç ve makine kullananlar çayını akşam (mesai saatleri dışında) içmelidir.

Kaynak:

Alman Kanunlarına Göre

Düzenlenip İzin Verilen

BİTKİLERLE MODERN TEDAVİ

Pratik Uygulamalar

Gonca Yayınevi, İstanbul 2009

ISBN: 978-9944-790-31-4

0212 5285076-5286005

[Via http://w2q3.wordpress.com]

Medicine

One of the worst song/video concepts I have ever seen. But Keri is looking right, pretty much giving eff me eyes to the camera the whole time.

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

Listerine Was Once Sold as Floor Cleaner

If you haven’t noticed, the popularity of hand sanitizer has exploded. We are obviously obsessed with killing germs and fighting viruses. It’s in our desks, cars, purses and homes. I have seen dispensers at subway stops, hospitals, airports and restaurants.

With H1N1, Mad Cow, SARS and others, you can’t blame us for being careful. It seems like hand sanitizer came out of no where, but it’s not new, and neither is the principle.

The first time I saw hand sanitizer was in 1995. I worked at a restaurant and we were told to use it hourly. At the time, it seemed like a magical potion. I thought the concept was weird: I wasn’t washing anything off my hands, I was rubbing it in.

The truth is, hand sanitizer is more effective at killing bacteria than soap and water. That said, soap and water is far more effective at removing visible dirt.

For the most part, hand sanitizers use a variety of alcohols as their active ingredient. To be effective at reducing bacteria, they should contain at least 60% alcohol, and most contain 60% to 85%.  A few brands (worth avoiding) contain as little as 40% alcohol and some hospital solutions have as much as 95%.

So, where did this idea start?

It began in 1867 with a British surgeon, Joseph Lister. He published a series of articles in the British Medical Journal stating that surgery patients had less tissue infection if the incisions and surgical instruments were treated with carbolic acid prior to surgery.

At the time, they didn’t wash their hands or anything else before surgery. They thought gangrene wounds were caused by stinky air. Seriously. The same stinky air they blamed for cholera, black death and bubonic plague. They later realized the stinky air was actually the result of rotting wounds, not the cause of them.

His work lead to the germ theory of disease. It was the equivalent of suggesting the Earth was round, when everyone else thought it was flat. Fortunately, it was very easy to demonstrate the success of his theory and it became widely accepted.

In 1879, Listerine was named after him. It was originally developed as a surgical antiseptic, but that’s a pretty small market. So, they began marketing it as a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea to increase sales. That brought the company revenue to about $115k, but marketers had another idea in the 1920s.

In this era of patent medicines, there were products to cure every known illness. The Listerine folks weren’t going to let this bandwagon pass by. All they needed was the perfect illness, something that everyone had and Listerine could cure. They made up the term, “chronic halitosis” (bad breath).

You see, bad breath hadn’t been invented yet. At that time, bad breath was just known as “breath.” Their best effort was an ad campaign that suggested young people would never find marriage with a condition such as bad breath. Over 7 years, revenues skyrocketed to $8 million.

Listerine is still sold as an antiseptic today, and primarily marketed for oral health. Depending on the flavor, it contains 21.6% to 26.9% alcohol.

BrokenSecrets.com

Sources: WP Hand Sanitizer, WP Lister, WP Listerine

[Via http://brokensecrets.com]

Just Say Yes

I must be every round the world trip advisor’s dream. I came in saying I wanted to go anywhere but here with money not being an object and left with a ticket for 15 destinations in 12 countries. I finally felt a little bit like myself again. Round the world travel is my new religion and Lennert is my new god.

Maybe it is my age, maybe it is character but I have a general feeling that my life needs a new direction. Yesterday I had lunch with a friend from medical school that I had not seen for four years. I was not very surprised to see that four years had not done much for him. Still his usual self and still very proud of his extremely decent and riskfree life.

I am just incredibly fed up with all these people so proud of their well-paid jobs and their expensive houses, getting married, having children, going on package holidays six weeks a year. If that would be my life you might as well put me in a straight-jacket and hurry me off to the loony bin.

Point is that you only live once and life is not a sum of what happens to you but rather what you make of it. People die, relationships break up, jobs do not turn out as expected – so what!

All I have to do now, is just say yes.

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

QUICK POST: Digital Health Care - Denmark shows how it is done

Tiny Denmark is leading the way in digital health care, with patients being able to link into their own medical records and make data entries. This includes various test results such as vital signs (pulse and blood pressure), blood test monitoring (such as glucose levels) and other e health interactions. These interactions include online prescriptions, communications between patient and doctor regarding symptoms and some degree of online consultation. Of course, translating Denmark’s success to the United States is hardly easy. Denmark is a small country, with a homogeneous population which is highly literate. They also have a different sense of concern about privacy when it comes to health information. The Danish system is socialized and state controlled, which also allows for easier enforcement of uniformity.

While not all is to be emulated by us, the concept of online care is here to stay and will expand over time. It is a natural progression of the information age and the comfort that both patients and physicians are achieving with new technology . . . ben kazie md

Denmark Leads the Way in Digital Care – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/health/12denmark.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

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

On Neglected Tropical Diseases

Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis are often considered the most pressing disease-related threats to individuals in the developing world and the quest to eradicate them receives a large portion of government and private funding. However, a group of conditions known collectively as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have a more widespread and devastating effect on the lives of people in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. These regions account for up to 90 percent of the disease burden for this group of 13 parasitic and bacterial conditions. Reports from the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases indicate that these parasitic and bacterial infections affect over 1.4 billion people, most of whom survive on less than US$1.25 per day. While NTDs may not necessarily kill those infected, they can lead to malnutrition, anemia, a range of disabilities (most often blindness), stunted growth, and greater susceptibility to other illnesses.

Clockwise from top left: An egg of the roundworm, which causes Ascariasis; a man with Lymphatic Filariasis being examined by a physician; the whipworm, which causes Trichuriasis; and a child receiving antibiotic treatment for Trachoma.

Individuals affected by NTDs live primarily in tropical and subtropical climates, and many experience more than one infection or parasite at a given time. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the majority of individuals affected by NTDs live in remote and rural areas, urban slums, or areas experiencing conflict situations. Seventy percent of infections occur in low- or lower-middle income areas, and are frequently caused by unsafe water and poor housing and sanitation conditions. Further, NTDs contribute to a cycle of poverty in which children are likely to become infected due to their poor living conditions, and once infected they may experience delays in cognitive development inhibiting their ability to escape their impoverished conditions.

The seven most common NTDs are: Ascariasis, Hookworm, Lymphatic Filariasis, Onchocerciasis, Scistosomiasis, Trachoma, and Trichuriasis. These diseases, many of which are caused by parasitic intestinal worms known as helminthes, have the most devastating impact on those who contract them. For example, Ascariasis, resulting from roundworm infestation, affects 800 million people; and trichuriasis, resulting from whipworm, affects 600 million. Helminths rob children of nutrients and can lead to stunted growth, iron-deficiency anemia, and protein malnutrition. They are at an increased risk of contracting parasitic worms, as are the elderly and pregnant women. Over 40 million pregnant women are infected with hookworms, parasitic worms that attach to the small intestine and suck blood from their host, increasing vulnerability to malaria and additional blood loss during labor.

Based on Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), which refer to the years of healthy life lost to disability or premature death, NTDs are a greater health burden than tuberculosis or malaria, and approach the level of burden of HIV/AIDS. In addition, NTDs are the cause of approximately 534,000 deaths worldwide each year. Through programs to distribute medications, the WHO, pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and international aid organizations hope to ensure fewer lives are lost. Coordinated efforts have allowed for the rapid deployment of inexpensive diagnostic tools, medications, and treatments, many of which can be administered by trained non-medical staff including teachers and community health workers. Medications are often distributed in “rapid-impact packages,” reducing costs and putting less strain on already weakened healthcare systems in the areas where NTDs are most prevalent. These packages also offer the opportunity to bundle life-saving drug treatments with other interventions such as antimalarial bed nets or nutritional supplements.

Through these and other similar efforts, it has been possible to reduce the occurrence of a number of conditions in many parts of the world. The number of cases of guinea worm disease, also known as dracunculiasis, has fallen from 3.5 million in the 1980s to just 4,619 in 2008, and the WHO has declared eradication in Nigeria and Uganda. Many other conditions are now found only in remote villages and are nearing total eradication through education programs, medication distribution, and improved sanitation.

Discuss this and other global health topics in the iCons in Medicine Forums

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

News From Around The Blogosphere 1.10.10

1. New evidence supports Egyptian pyramids being built by free workers but not slaves – What I love about this story is that it hurts three myths at the same time, the belief that the pyramids couldn’t have been built by man but had to involve extraterrestrial influence, the belief by some religious individuals that the pyramids were built by Jewish slaves, and the belief that the pyramids were built by slaves in general. Sorry, didn’t happen.

2. Violence breaks out over use of the word ‘Allah’ - The Malaysian High Court ruled to end a ban that prohibited a Catholic newspaper from using the word “Allah” when referring to God in their local-language publications because only Muslims were allowed to use that word. This of course led to Muslims “going” crazy. Shocker.

3. Apparently abstinence-only sex ed isn’t a lost cause…if you’re an ant…your species has eliminated men -

The complete asexuality of a widespread fungus-gardening ant, the only ant species in the world known to have dispensed with males entirely, has been confirmed by a team of Texas and Brazilian researchers.

Most social insects—the wasps, ants and bees—are relatively used to daily life without males. Their colonies are well run by swarms of sterile sisters lorded over by an egg-laying queen. But, eventually, all social insect species have the ability to produce a crop of males who go forth in the world to fertilize new queens and propagate.

I’d love to know Dr. Tatiana’s sex advice for them.

4. Research further suggests autism is a brain connectivity disorder -

Studying a rare disorder known as tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that autism spectrum disorders, which affect 25 to 50 percent of TSC patients, result from a miswiring of connections in the developing brain, leading to improper information flow. The finding may also help explain why many people with TSC have seizures and intellectual disabilities.

5. Brain Imaging May Help Diagnose Autism -

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) process sound and language a fraction of a second slower than children without ASDs, and measuring magnetic signals that mark this delay may become a standardized way to diagnose autism.

6. $cientology’s claiming its a religion again – Their futile efforts to proselytize has angered some, and so the cult is insisting that as a religion, they’re doing nothing wrong. Of course when people resist $cientology on the grounds that it steals members of other religions, the $cientologists then insist that they’re not a religion, just a self help group that welcomes all faiths. But then when it comes tax time, they’re a religion again. Besides, it says so right on their buildings. They even have “churches.” Of course $cientology churches appear from both the outsiders’ perspective and former insiders’ perspective to be no different than any secular buildings and no spiritual services actually take place.

Captain Douchebag himself

7. $cientology digs up lost Hubbard works – I smell brand new OT levels requiring more expensive course work!

More than 1,000 unreleased recordings of lectures by L. Ron Hubbard and reams of corresponding writings have been unveiled in the culmination of a 25-year project to locate, restore and transcribe lost pieces of the Scientology founder’s work.

8. British woman arrested in Dubai for being raped – That’s right. A woman was RAPED! And the authorities decided to then charge her for the crime of having had illicit sexual intercourse. Even the Bible doesn’t advocate arresting rape victims; it merely demands they marry their rapist. Though I don’t exactly know what Bible’s policy is if one has more than one rapist. This is exactly the kind of insanity that could only exist because of religion.

9. Sylvia Browne continues annual tradition of predicting upcoming year’s events – I haven’t looked back yet on her predictions last year and I never got around to making my own annual predictions for 2009 in January. I’ll have to do it this. But the psychics seem really off and vague this year. Pat Robertson’s annual yearly predictions showed a complete lack of trying and Sylvia’s no exception this year either.

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

Greener Pasteur

If Middle East has black gold, Philippines has untapped “green gold.” It can be found in almost any backyard and places in the Philippines. It is called “Moringa”  (popularly known as “malunggay” in the Philippines and “moringa oleifera” to many parts of the world).   It’s just one of Philippines rich natural resources but requires foreign investment and futher research to untapped its hidden potentials. 

Moringa is being called a “mirracle tree” due to its rich nutritional value. 

Further more, its other tree parts has its usage highly demanded in the organic and biofuel market: 

Pods

• Human Food
• Medicine

 Seeds

• Edible Oil
• Cosmetics and Skin care raw materials
• Perfume
• Oil lubricants
• Water purifier
• Animal Feeds
• Fertilizer
• Medicine

 Leaves

• Human Food / Cooking Ingredients
• Natural Fertilizer
• Medicine
• Domestic Cleaning Agent

 Flower

• Medicine
• Health Drink

 Roots, Bark and Gum

• Medicine
• Alley cropping

Philippines is actually one of the Pioneers of moringa processing.  Secura, a local biotech company, has pioneered in the extraction of oil from the seed of moringa.

The MIT team of ‘business experts’ validated the claim that malunggay oil has the potential of being a major source of biofuel, next to coconut.  A sudy shows that the massive cultivation of massive cultivation of Moringa can produce massive amounts of oil than jatropa and can boost the supply of raw materials needed to produce the amount biofuel needed.  The seed of malunggay is 36 percent oil.  In addition, moringa was also found low in transfatty acid which makes it a better ingredient of personal health care products, alternative cooking oil and fuel oil like what is found in coconuts.

With the fluorishing potentials in moringa trade, further study is needed for its product development and competitiveness to pass global quality standard requirement as what the European and U.S. is doing to vegetable oil.  This is how our desired firm will enter if given the right support and funding by an international investor or funding institutions.  We intend to utilize both foreign and local scientist in collaboration with organic NGO’s.

Just recently, the DA-CARAGA Region has adopted moringa as the chief crop for its “One house, One vegetable” program.  In Manila, the DA-BPO launched its urban farming program dubbed “Malunggay in the City” which encourages the massive planting of malunggay in the backyards of the metropolis. The local biotech company said it is willing to buy malunggay seeds for the production of Moringa oil, requiring at least 500,000 hectares of agricultural land planted to malunggay (excerpt information)

[Via http://fyi09.wordpress.com]

The Sparrow and the Medicine

They were almost yelling. Fiercely tearing the air between them–words sharp and hot, bursts of fire. Madeline had tears of anger sliding down her cheeks. Through a grimace and a bearing of teeth she said, ” I don’t want your medicine, I don’t need a sparrow in my heart.” With squared shoulders she stared at Vincent.
Vincent remarked the small distance between them, conversely thinking it an impassable abyss. Words seeped in a tangible yearning fell from his mouth, “you know every patch you sew onto my clothing; every thread goes through my heart. I want to be your medicine; to feed the sparrow in your heart.”
She quickly strode the two steps of abyssal distance between them–and slapped him.
Vincent heard the magnified sound of the blow, felt the soft of her hand grate across the rough of his stubble and he turned away–feeling nothing more.
Madeline sank to her knees;  debating whether give fully into sadness or anger.
It had begun to rain–cold and penetrating.
Vincent had no more words, his face ran with tears. Tears of pain, regret and the sting of her hand.
The day had started with such promise. Top down, the sun warm on his face, a beautiful day. A trip to the country, he and Madeline. Such promise.
Vincent’s love Madeline was unmatched, and very known. Madeline’s love for Vincent was vacant. Empty.
Earlier today Vincent was blind to this fact.
Currently, his eyes had been opened.
With a cold heart and cold hands he urged Madeline to her feet. They slogged to the car in silence, Vincent walking slowly in front with slumped shoulders–Madeline dawdling behind. They arrived. Vincent did not bother to open the door for the stranger he brought with him.
He started the car.

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

Physicians and Faith

Sociologist Wendy Cadge believes physicians need to do a better job of handling faith issues that arise in patient care.

Many doctors see religion and spirituality as a barrier to medical care or, at most, a useful crutch when medicine has no more answers. But healing involves more than just medical diagnosis and treatment. Often patients and families see spirituality as a source of support when they are ill, or appear to be dying.

A holistic approach to medicine requires physicians to understand the complex role of spirituality and religion in compassionate patient care. The best prescription: Integrate these topics throughout medical education.

She urges physicians to educate themselves and pay closer attention to patients’ religious and spiritual traditions; she also wants chaplains and nurses more involved in educational programs highlighting spirituality.  Nurses especially have more contact with patients than physicians and are more open to talk with them about their spiritual concerns.

It’s not surprising there’s a disconnect between physicians and faith.  In terms of James Sire’s worldview categories, western medicine falls under naturalism — all that matters is matter itself.  But spirituality, by its very nature, belongs to a theistic or existentialist worldview.  So the starting point is different from medicine.  Different assumptions.

I’ve visited in hospitals for 15 years, and whenever the doctor has walked into the room, everything I do stops.  I become wallpaper.  I don’t mind so much because I’m on their turf.  But I recall one time — one time — when the doctor came in, realized a patient was talking with a pastor, and said, “I’ll come back a little later.”  It was surprising.  I was grateful.

[Via http://asthedeer.com]

Emergency Pain

Last night at Stanford Emergency Department, I helped a man in tremendous pain. I saw him standing up by his bed grimacing every minute or so. I asked him if I could help him with something, and he said stopping the pain would be helpful. Unfortunately, I cannot do much to stop the pain except for lending my ear and offering a conversation.

Over the next 30 minutes interrupted by short rounds to see if anything needed my attention, we talked. Turns out he watches football, “Doesn’t everyone.” Actually, I rarely do, but since we are entering the playoffs, my interest is higher than usual, and we talked about Indianapolis’s decision to preserve their star players for the playoffs sacrificing their undefeated season. The Miami Dolphins still own the only undefeated season.

We spoke about his medical issues which I will not divulge to honor his confidentiality. We talked about his life.

Over time he grimaced less often. Eventually, more pain medicine arrived. He didn’t notice a change in the pain, but as an observer, I could see a change in how often he had to stop to tense his jaw and squeeze his eyes. If the quality was the same, the quantity at least was less.

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