MEDICAL MATTERS

[Stanley]

If your feet are right, the rest of you stands a chance!

[Tizer]

This could have benefits for anyone who suffers stomach ulcers or stomach inflammation but needs to take NSAID painkillers such as ibuprofen. Those painkillers irritate the stomach lining but the new lipid formulation protects the stomach while the painkiller passes through and is then absorbed from the duodenum. But if like me you have a tendency for duodenal ulcers it won't help. Flarin
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[Stanley]

Thanks Tiz for reminding me how lucky I am! I must have been at the front of the queue when they handed the genes out!

[Whyperion]

more on PPE

"Your vision is much better, and your communication is better, as the patient can see your whole face; your efficiency is much better as you can move from patient to patient without putting on and taking off your PPE," says hospital consultant and professor in respiratory medicine Paul Elkington.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52613399

Only question I have is are the external materials wiped down before moving onto next patient , is there a risk of transmission if not.
(Posted here as more than one kind of virus/bacteria etc in the world that this might need to be the new norm for).

[Stanley]

My new BP monitor arrived yesterday. I did the first reading and it's fine. I shall do a series of readings and see how they compare with the old one. Normally I would calibrate it against the surgery monitor but no way am I going there to find out!

[Stanley]

We avoid mentioning these things but a firm floating stool is an indication of good health and diet.

[plaques]

I have a friend who I term as a professional hypochondriac. In all respects quite an intelligent chap but with anything to to with his personal health then everything is seen as terminal. In one episode he got a new blood pressure measuring gadget just to confirm that he was OK. Then noticed that readings varied throughout the day. Being of scientific mind he charted all these readings down but the random time intervals were upsetting his calculations. The answer was more readings at tighter intervals these eventually got down to every hour with the reading increasing throughout the day. The final conclusion after much worry and near death experiences concluded that it was the act of taking the readings that was sending his blood pressure up. A classic case of 'white coat syndrome' except this time self inflicted. The old adage, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

[PanBiker]

I shall do a series of readings and see how they compare with the old one. Normally I would calibrate it against the surgery monitor but no way am I going there to find out!

How do you know the one used at the surgery is completely accurate? Whenever I go mine always read way out, that is not to say mine is faulty or inaccurate. All the BP readings they did over three weeks in hospital were as near as dammit the same as what I get at home. I think you could say that my predicament in hospital was a bit more stressful than the odd check at the local surgery!

My new BP monitor arrived yesterday. I did the first reading and it's fine.

I think that is the giveaway. The first reading was what you expected so it is OK.

[Marilyn]

P...you hit the nail on the head, and we have a male friend who is obsessed with taking his blood pressure all day! (He has only been like this since he retired and was oblivious and bullet proof prior to retirement).

Meanwhile, I am slightly worried about my husband. 13 years since his triple heart bypass and he seems to be having a few mild symptoms of trouble. All in hand though - expecting a call from his Cardiologist today. ( I feel a trip to the city coming up because he probably needs the treadmill test. Mind you, last time he had the treadmill test, he had a heart attack on the treadmill.)
Nothing too worrying or urgent, but he needs the peace of mind of getting checked over I think. His yearly review appointment was cancelled last month due to the Coronavirus (just our luck eh?). So part of what he is experiencing may just be worry, yet i find it hard to fathom, because he never complains of cardiac symptoms as a rule.

[Stanley]

Yes Ken. I only take the reading occasionally in normal times and always at the same time of day.
Ian, I don't know of course but if my reading agrees with theirs it's good enough for me. Anyway it's not the actual numbers but what the trends are.
I'm not a hypochondriac, if I was running a boiler I'd always have an idea what the pressure was, same principle but less frequent with the BP monitor.

[chinatyke]

P...you hit the nail on the head, and we have a male friend who is obsessed with taking his blood pressure all day! (He has only been like this since he retired and was oblivious and bullet proof prior to retirement).

Meanwhile, I am slightly worried about my husband. 13 years since his triple heart bypass and he seems to be having a few mild symptoms of trouble. All in hand though - expecting a call from his Cardiologist today. ( I feel a trip to the city coming up because he probably needs the treadmill test. Mind you, last time he had the treadmill test, he had a heart attack on the treadmill.)
Nothing too worrying or urgent, but he needs the peace of mind of getting checked over I think. His yearly review appointment was cancelled last month due to the Coronavirus (just our luck eh?). So part of what he is experiencing may just be worry, yet i find it hard to fathom, because he never complains of cardiac symptoms as a rule.

Good luck Maz. I hope all goes well for your husband.
Somehow it just doesn't sound right to inflict strenuous exercise on someone after triple by-pass surgery.

[Marilyn]

Well... you say don’t inflict exercise...but it is part of the regime of recovery health...very important actually...and I am only talking long walks.
I keep telling him “ I want you here for a LONG time, not a GOOD time”.
This is a man who was once an excellent Soccer player. Then he turned 40 ( some time back ) and forgot how to MOVE. ( having an incredibly strong history of heart disease doesn’t help).
So I may carry a big stick, but it is because I love him.

[Marilyn]

...and it has nothing to do with obesity or cholesterol levels ( his cholesterol levels are almost non existent). He and previous family members have an over abundance of Calcium in their arteries...clogs up the workings.

[PanBiker]

Best of luck for hubby Maz, I hope his results are OK. We have a friend who had a heart bypass about three years ago. No previous, he just fell over walking home one day. He is now regularly walking 20 miles a go, he and his offspring had a plan to walk the West Highland Way before he was poorly which was obviously put on hold. He has set his sights on doing it, hopefully sometime next year. Use it or loose it.

[Marilyn]

...well they did promise him another 10 years...that was 13 years ago.

[PanBiker]

At 65 I was offered decades in signing the consent for the surgery! That'll do me as long as I don't loose my marbles.

[Tizer]

We avoid mentioning these things but a firm floating stool is an indication of good health and diet.

Floating? Due to too much fat or gas. Visit Poo Corner: LINK

[Marilyn]

I find that taking Metformin changes expected outcomes significantly

[Wendyf]

I hope Febby is OK Maz, and your city visit not too stressful. Col has been having fun with a cat bite on his hand.

[Marilyn]

Has cat been forgiven?

[Wendyf]

Has cat been forgiven?

No! He was stroking her on Friday evening and she suddenly went for him. I thought he had been scratched so didn't interfere with advice. By Saturday morning the hand was sore and swollen so he popped down to the chemists for their advice, which was to keep an eye on it and phone 111 if it got worse.
Sunday morning it was much worse, the 111 service was excellent with a nurse practitioner calling back within 20 mins and sending a prescription for ABs through to Asda in Colne which he collected an hour later. He was also told to check his tetanus jab status with our own doctor on Monday am. He called first thing and again got a call back from a nurse who made an appointment for her to give him an injection in the afternoon at the Colne Health Centre. Now he wasn't keen on visiting the Health Centre for obvious reasons but toddled off bravely, and was kept waiting for the statutory 30 minutes with no one else in the waiting area. Nurse arrives and informs him they can't do the jab because they don't have anything to do it with. She proceeded to ask him about what injections he had been given at school, said his hand looked awful and suggested a blood pressure check. I'm not sure they will allow him back......

[Marilyn]

The poor man.
When I had a bad toe that kept breaking down completely from a spider bite, I ended up swabbing it regularly with Betadine. It worked wonders. Betadine has a high Iodine content. I was desperate, as we were camping. No medical aid for hundreds of miles. ( it was that or wrap it in a soggy Tea bag... )

[Wendyf]

It's improving now.

[Whyperion]

Scratches are bad enough, bites , ouch. Remind me that every first aid kit should have TCP and Iodine in it. I have access to one cat that goes from wanting stroking to the bite routine, I have another too but she wont unless she thinks she is being hurt , rather than bored, have to be careful not to be too heavy handed.

[Stanley]

Puncture wounds always problematic....
A health centre that can't give a tetanus jab!? The mind boggles.