Yittz's Clinic!!

[Dania]

...Cape Foulwind (is there any place with that name?)

Yes, what a name for a Cape! Actually, I wasn't sure of the name, I only remember that the place I visited is somewhere in the west coast, near Westport, I think. I googled and got Cape Foulwind, and from the pictures, it looks like the place I went to.

Anyway, a quick google search says that lime does indeed hasten body decomposition.

As to why someone wants to know that?

Oh well, I'm doing some reading on capital punishment, and noticed the tendency for murderers and the like to bury their victims in lime. I reckon it's due to the belief, fuelled by the various myths/yarns/anecdotes/stories, that lime accelerates the decomposition of buried remains.

However, I recall reading some books on Roman Catholicism and paganism that say otherwise - lime, in fact, slows down the decomposition process. Those poor folks suspected to be vampires were buried in lime to hasten their decomposition. However, since the lime actually retarded the decomposition, the remains of those poor putative vampires stayed intact, which further strenghtened the false superstition that they were vampires.

I did a search and came up with various entries that contradicted one another. There's a study done by a research student in an American university that says that lime does slow the decomposition process, though not significantly. Yet there's another article that details health officials recommending lime to be sprinkled onto carcasses to speed up their decomposition.

[flyingfox2002]

Doc,

In medical terms, what causes the sudden onset of immobility, hyperventilation, and panic in some people during a state of rest.

Superstitious folks term the phenomenon "gui ya" - Laid upon by ghosts, but what actually does cause it?

[xcutie]

^ i get that sometimes! but not the immobility part... just my heart rate going slightly up, breathing rapidly, and kinda panicky. i'm curious to find out too..

[susie]

me too, i experience immobility parts, heartbeat rises, panic, can't scream......sometimes when i sleep.

[Han Solo]

Doc,

In medical terms, what causes the sudden onset of immobility, hyperventilation, and panic in some people during a state of rest.

Superstitious folks term the phenomenon "gui ya" - Laid upon by ghosts, but what actually does cause it?

I think the term is lock-in syndrome. Apparently it occurs when you are supposed to be in a REM sleep pattern but you're awake at the time. It last for a short period of time but may appears to be a long period of time.

Han Solo

[Sugar]

How can you stop sleeping in the day?


How can you make one sleep earlier than 2 am every day?

[Han Solo]

I had posted on this before

Basically, good sleep hygeine is what you really need.

Sleep at around the same time every day.

Use your bed to sleep, not for work or study.

Try not to drink coffee or tea at night, if you can't cope with it.

Relax your thoughts before sleeping, do not go to sleep with thinking about things.

http://www.css.to/sleep/normal_sleep.pdf

Han SOlo

[susie]

Dr. Han..

what will happen when someone always sleeps at 5am and wakes up at 12 noon? it's abnormal and i wanted to know how it will affects the health....

thanks

[Han Solo]

I don't think that it is abnormal. You get ppl who work on shifts with sleeping patterns like that.

Han Solo

[Sugar]

Dr Han Solo

How to cure big pimples within 2 days?

[Han Solo]

Squeeze it???

There's no quick fix.

[xcutie]

dr. han, i have a problem with my ears. for some reason, every sound i hear seems very amplified! a lot of things sound very loud to me, although everyone else around me thinks it's either quiet or normal volume. if they find it loud, it seems VERY loud to me. for example, when i go shopping, the background music in some stores sounds sooo loud to me that i have to leave right away, but everyone in there are not bothered... i went to my doctor and she said that there's nothing i can do about it. why is my hearing like that?

[yittz]

Hey Dr Han

Where did you do your med degree? Have you graduated (-what year/intern/registrar)? What are you planning to specialise in?

What does a positive result in a Mantoux test indicate? What measurements mean a positive result?

Is there any pain worse than those experienced in pregnancy?

[Han Solo]

Hey Dr Han

Where did you do your med degree? Have you graduated (-what year/intern/registrar)? What are you planning to specialise in?

What does a positive result in a Mantoux test indicate? What measurements mean a positive result?

Is there any pain worse than those experienced in pregnancy?

1) Melbourne, Australia. I'm an intern this year. At this time, i do not know what i wanted to do in the future.

2) It depends on the clinical context. It is nothing more than a screening tool, and positivity in a BCG-ve ppl may indicate a TB infection if the history is correct, but it can be falsely elevated in a number of occasions including in BCG patients, old TB, sarcoidosis,

The threshold of positivity is different for whether they are bcg+ve or -ve.
If bcg-ve,
5 mm or more is positive in HIV-positive person, Recent contacts of TB case,
Persons with nodular or fibrotic changes on CXR consistent with old healed TB
Patients with organ transplants and other immunosuppressed patients

10 mm or more is positive in Recent arrivals (less than 5 years) from high-prevalent countries, Injection drug users, Residents and employees of high-risk congregate settings (e.g., prisons, nursing homes, hospitals, homeless shelters, etc.), Mycobacteriology lab personnel, Persons with clinical conditions that place them at high risk (e.g., diabetes, prolonged corticosteroid therapy, leukemia, end-stage renal disease, chronic malabsorption syndromes, low body weight, etc)
Children less than 4 years of age, or children and adolescents exposed to adults in high-risk categories

15 mm or more is positive in
Persons with no known risk factors for TB

Latent TB infection (LTBI) diagnosis and treatment for LTBI is considered for any BCG-vaccinated person whose skin test is 10 mm or greater.

However, i believe that the quanteferon-gold blood test would be more accurate in terms of sensitivity and specificity than the mantoux, and this test would become more widespread in the future in most parts of the world.

3) Dunno about that. There are a few others that are classically very painful as well, subarachnoic hemorrhage is classically described as being hit by a baseball bat at the back of the head!!

[Han Solo]

dr. han, i have a problem with my ears. for some reason, every sound i hear seems very amplified! a lot of things sound very loud to me, although everyone else around me thinks it's either quiet or normal volume. if they find it loud, it seems VERY loud to me. for example, when i go shopping, the background music in some stores sounds sooo loud to me that i have to leave right away, but everyone in there are not bothered... i went to my doctor and she said that there's nothing i can do about it. why is my hearing like that?

Do you get tinnitus as well (ringing in your ears) or vertigo, as well?

Or is it just a matter of the loudness perception?

If you are concerned, you can get an audiologist to do an audiogram for your ears to check on your sound conduction system.

Han SOlo

[xcutie]

Do you get tinnitus as well (ringing in your ears) or vertigo, as well?

Or is it just a matter of the loudness perception?

If you are concerned, you can get an audiologist to do an audiogram for your ears to check on your sound conduction system.

Han SOlo

no ringing in my ears. but when i got my hearing checked, they said there's nothing wrong.. how strange!

[soccerfeva]

Can drinking too much beer cause your stomachs to have problems? I dont drink a lot, just wondering..

Also, I survived a car accident a few days ago, should I go for a full body check up? I pretty much got a damn shock, but I've felt better now. Also, several days ago, (before accident) I experienced a tight chest. Im feeling better now, but what could be the reason for feeling this "tight" chest? But when I breath deeply, it still hurts..

Thanks.

[Han Solo]

Can drinking too much beer cause your stomachs to have problems? I dont drink a lot, just wondering..

Also, I survived a car accident a few days ago, should I go for a full body check up? I pretty much got a damn shock, but I've felt better now. Also, several days ago, (before accident) I experienced a tight chest. Im feeling better now, but what could be the reason for feeling this "tight" chest? But when I breath deeply, it still hurts..

Thanks.

Could it be a rib fracture?

A CXR may help, although having said that, 50% of rib fractures cannot be diagnosed radiologically.

Han Solo
P/s: However, if this pain is before the accident, then it is less likely to be a rib fractures, and then one needs to think of pneumothorax, pneumonia, PEs.
So, do see a doctor.

[soccerfeva]

Im wondering if it will recover by itself.. although there is still a slight feeling in there, im worried about troubling the doc.. and of course, the long queues.

But its nothing much for now.. I dont really feel any pain..

[letalforever]

hey doctor

i was training (high jump) one day, when i felt my back was rather stiff. after the weekend, when i went back again, i still felt pain whenever i move about vigorously with my legs eg running, jumping.

its bearable when im running and continue, but (one of our exercises go where we have to jump a couple of hurdles in one go) whenver im jumping, the pain is unbearable and i have to stop.

anyway to help? =/