Han Solo and Yittz's Clinic

[Han Solo]

I have heard that vitamin supplements are not completely useless. They do become unnecessary if you have a balanced diet, though. Good luck with that in today's fast-food culture.

And bottled water isn't bad for the environment if you recycle your bottles instead of throwing them in the garbage. A lot of tap water can be full of nasties - too much chlorine, rust if the pipes are old, etc.

With the vitamin question, the key point is a balanced diet. If you are not on a balanced diet, you need to ask yourself why not?

Bottled water needs to be transported to you from a bottling plant. There's carbon costs associated with the transportation across states and even across countries/continents.

Bottling plants are notorious for their ineffeciences and competes with local plantations for precious water resources.

If you are in a developed country, tap water is as safe and cheaper and kinder to the environment as compared to bottled water.

Han Solo

[LuNaR]

i dont have a balanced diet i rarely eat vegatable and never eat fruit lol, thats why i got lots of vitamin water. also good for the eltrolytite when i play basketball everyday.

btw how good is gatordate?

thanks

[Snapper]

I had an injury on my lower back about 2 month ago while praticing Martial Arts. It still sore when streches it or carrying a lot of weight. Am worried if i messed up one of the disk in my back. Right now i can still train martial arts and still active aand stuff. So do you think i just strained a muscle?

[Han Solo]

I had an injury on my lower back about 2 month ago while praticing Martial Arts. It still sore when streches it or carrying a lot of weight. Am worried if i messed up one of the disk in my back. Right now i can still train martial arts and still active aand stuff. So do you think i just strained a muscle?

1) Do you have any pain elsewhere to the legs? or problems with your urination or toileting?

2) Is your pain constant? or just when you have increased loading?

3) What are you taking in terms of your pain-killers?

4) Have you seen anyone or have any investigations about your back pain?

Han SOlo

[Snapper]

1) Do you have any pain elsewhere to the legs? or problems with your urination or toileting?
No and no

2) Is your pain constant? or just when you have increased loading?
No, and not exactly pain most of the time but a strong discomfort, and I spar with in martial arts so the other person will want to put their body weight on me.

3) What are you taking in terms of your pain-killers?
No pain-killers
4) Have you seen anyone or have any investigations about your back pain?
No, but first appointment next week. A procastinater

[Han Solo]

1) Do you have any pain elsewhere to the legs? or problems with your urination or toileting?
No and no

2) Is your pain constant? or just when you have increased loading?
No, and not exactly pain most of the time but a strong discomfort, and I spar with in martial arts so the other person will want to put their body weight on me.

3) What are you taking in terms of your pain-killers?
No pain-killers
4) Have you seen anyone or have any investigations about your back pain?
No, but first appointment next week. A procastinater

It seems less likely that your pain could be anything that's really serious- if anything, the repeated stress onto your back by being beaten up by others probably cause repeated musculoskeletal pain.

Certainly there's no suggestion of nerve impingement that you may see with disc prolapsing onto nerve roots.

However, we suggests that anyone who has had back pain for more than 4 weeks should be seen by a medical practitioner- just to rule out serious pathologies.

You may or may not be offered radiological investigations such as x-ray, CT scans or MRI.


Good luck and get well.

Han Solo

[sniffles]

With the vitamin question, the key point is a balanced diet. If you are not on a balanced diet, you need to ask yourself why not?

Because I am lazy and don't like to cook!

Bottled water needs to be transported to you from a bottling plant. There's carbon costs associated with the transportation across states and even across countries/continents.

True.

Bottling plants are notorious for their ineffeciences and competes with local plantations for precious water resources.

Also true.

If you are in a developed country, tap water is as safe and cheaper and kinder to the environment as compared to bottled water.

Han Solo

Cheaper, yes. Safer, maybe, depending on your municipal water system, at least here in the states. It can vary widely dependent on the local and state water quality regulations.

But it's been my experience that bottled water always tastes better than local tap water, for the reasons I mentioned in my previous post. I diligently recycle my bottles, though. And I often reuse them as containers for filtered water, which is available at my workplace.

[xJadedx]

Hey,

I have something to ask. I had a really bad sore throat three and a half weeks ago, but that got better and my throat feels fine now. But since then, I kept getting these little cold symptoms, like runny nose, stuffy nose, and coughing.
It doesn't feel like a real cold, since usually I feel much worse. As well, the onset of these seem to have a pattern, in that I usually feel worse around late evening, and then during the night my nose goes crazy and I have problems breathing. Then in the morning, it gets better and I virtually feel nothing during the day.
I don't really know what's going on, since I don't feel that sick, but it gets in the way. I know it probably is not allergies, since I'm not allergic to anything. Does anyone have any clues?

Thank you.

[jsamador]

Dr Solo,

Is allergic rhinitis really forever? I hate that I have to take cetirizine everytime I get an attack.

[yittz]

Dr Solo,

Is allergic rhinitis really forever? I hate that I have to take cetirizine everytime I get an attack.

From emedicine: (http://www.emedicine.com/ped/TOPIC2560.HTM)

"Most patients are able to live normal lives with the symptoms.Only patients who receive allergen-specific immunotherapy are cured of the disease; however, many patients do very well with intermittent symptomatic care. A small percentage of patients improve during the teenage years, but in most, symptoms recur in the early twenties or later. Symptoms begin to wane when patients reach the fifth decade of life."

For some people it's possible to identify the allergy and remove/avoid it. Environmental control is effective to prevent attacks, and your meds are good at relieving the symptoms.

Some recommendations from good old wiki:

Nasal irrigation with a Neti pot, which soothes cleans the sinuses of both mucous and allergens, also effectively doing the same for the tear ducts.
Remaining indoors in the morning and evening when outdoor pollen levels are highest.
Avoiding fields, large areas of grassland, and trips to rural areas. Trips to the seaside may be recommended instead as the sea breeze blows pollen inland.
Avoiding mowing the grass or doing other outdoor work, if possible.
Wearing face masks designed to filter out pollen when outdoors (including walking or cycling).
Keeping windows closed and using the air conditioner in the house and car. A pollen filter can be fitted to cars.
Not drying clothes outdoors.
Avoiding unnecessary exposure to other environmental irritants such as insect sprays, tobacco smoke, air pollution, and fresh tar or paint.
Regular hand and face-washing removes pollen from areas where it is likely to enter the nose.
Regular hair washing before going to bed removes pollen so it doesn't get stuck onto the pillow.
A small amount of petroleum jelly around the eyes and nostrils may stop some pollen from entering the areas that cause a reaction
Wearing wrap-around sunglasses, which reduce the amount of pollen entering the eyes. Wearing hypo-allergenic eye makeup and avoiding rubbing the eyes. Wearing goggles while swimming.
Taking a shower before going to bed and changing bed linen often to avoid extra exposure during the night

[expression]

Docs,

Besides alcohol, what are some food a gout patient should avoid?

[yittz]

Docs,

Besides alcohol, what are some food a gout patient should avoid?

zz I feel like I am cheating. Such a copy paster. Here's the list from wiki, ie most foods from your store haha. So you want to consume less uric acid, as they are the source of the problem.

Low purine diet:

To lower uric acid:
- bing cherries were reported to reduce uric acid in a small study.[35][36]
- celery extracts (celery or celery seed either in capsule form or as a tisane/infusion) is believed by many to reduce uric acid levels (although these are also diuretics).[citation needed] Celery extracts have been reported to act synergistically with anti-inflammatory drugs.[37]
- Cheese has been recommended as a low-purine food,[38] and dairy products have been found to reduce the risk of gout.
- Carbonated beverages and sugar have also been recommended as a low-purine food,[38] even though it was established that men who consume two or more sugary soft drinks a day have an 85% higher risk of gout compared with those who drink less than one a month.[2]
- Dietary supplements Quercetin, a flavonoid, can decrease uric acid levels. Quercetin can be taken with bromelain to improve its absorption. In addition, Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is said to help with the excretion process of uric acid. [39]


Food to avoid:

Foods high in purines

- Limit food high in protein such as meat, fish, poultry, or tofu to 8 ounces (226 grams) a day. Avoid entirely during a flareup.[citation needed] Tofu has been proposed as a safe source of protein for gout patients due to its small and transient effect on plasma urate levels.[40]
sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, brains, or other offal meats.[41][42]
- sardines and anchovies[41]
- seafood[24] particularly shellfish such as clam, oyster, scallop, shrimp, crab, lobster, and crayfish.
- Asparagus. Cauliflower. Mushrooms. Spinach. (Even though above says "Consumption of the more purine-rich vegetables or a high protein diet per se had no significant correlation.")
- Dry beans (lentils & peas).
- alcohol.[43] Some claim that this applies especially to beer (high in guanosine), on the basis that brewer's yeasts are very rich in purine. Since most modern commercial beer contains only trace amounts of yeast, this claim requires further substantiation.[citation needed] Formerly, port wine was sweetened with litharge, causing lead poisoning, of which gout is a complication. Ironically, red wines, particularly those produced by traditional methods,[44] contain procyanidins released from grape seeds during wine making, which have been reported to lower serum uric acid levels by an indirect mechanism.[45] However, withdrawal of urate-lowering therapy is associated with recurrence of acute gouty arthritis.[46]
- meat extracts, consommés, and gravies[41]

Foods high in fructose, as discussed above, especially high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as main ingredient (READ LABEL).[34]

- All soft drinks (non-diet), wherein HFCS is second ingredient next to water
- Fruit preserves, jam, jelly
- Syrup
- Candy
- To lesser extent, depending on fructose content, ice cream, cakes, and cookies
Foods high in sucrose, which is a double sugar consisting of glucose and fructose

To avoid dehydration:

- Drink plenty of liquids, especially water, to dilute and assist excretion of urates;
- Avoid diuretic foods or medicines like aspirin (aspirin should be avoided by those suffering from gout, unless specified by a qualified physician), vitamin C, tea and alcohol. This applies only to low-dose aspirin, commonly referred to as a baby aspirin (81mg). High-dose aspirin (325 mg) increases uric acid excretion. The role of diuretics in triggering gout has been disputed.[14]


- Moderate intake of purine-rich vegetables is not associated with increased gout.[24]

[expression]

I know shellfish should be avoided, but I never knew dairy products can reduce risk.

[yittz]

I know shellfish should be avoided, but I never knew dairy products can reduce risk.

I think the emphasis is a balanced diet. With gout, you will just need to moderate further more. Limit does not equate to none at all. Life would suck if you had a diet of cheese and celery.

In short:
Preventing attacks: avoid prolonged fasts, alcohol excess and high purine foods (offal, oily fish, various shellfish, meat/yeast extract, spinach, choco, caff), lose weight, avoid low dose aspirin. Lower urate with medication.

[Han Solo]

Hey,

I have something to ask. I had a really bad sore throat three and a half weeks ago, but that got better and my throat feels fine now. But since then, I kept getting these little cold symptoms, like runny nose, stuffy nose, and coughing.
It doesn't feel like a real cold, since usually I feel much worse. As well, the onset of these seem to have a pattern, in that I usually feel worse around late evening, and then during the night my nose goes crazy and I have problems breathing. Then in the morning, it gets better and I virtually feel nothing during the day.
I don't really know what's going on, since I don't feel that sick, but it gets in the way. I know it probably is not allergies, since I'm not allergic to anything. Does anyone have any clues?

Thank you.

Allergic rhinitis (of which hay fever is a subset) may be what you are having.

Try some antihistamine and see.

You can be allergic to pollens etc.

I'm having the same problem too.

Han Solo

[Han Solo]

Thanks to yittz for answering some questions.

My fourth finger on the right is a bit swollen and it is difficult to use the keyboard.

Stupid friends splashing water in the bathroom making me fall.

Han Solo

[Lianazhu]

TO: Doctor Han Solo
From: Lianazhu:
Memo: A question for the Doctor known as Han Solo.

Doc; when one (such as myself) that has a strong handle on their anger and knows how to control it, is insulted. how does one, whilest working to keep the anger in check, answer to the insult in question? (the insult to me being "Are you a six year old on a power trip, if so grow up!" I'm 23, and that really stung. How do I answer that?)

I think you can say that rather then let it just simmer on low heat, I want to get up front and personal about it, but in a calm and collected manner. How do I do this?

[Han Solo]

TO: Doctor Han Solo
From: Lianazhu:
Memo: A question for the Doctor known as Han Solo.

Doc; when one (such as myself) that has a strong handle on their anger and knows how to control it, is insulted. how does one, whilest working to keep the anger in check, answer to the insult in question? (the insult to me being "Are you a six year old on a power trip, if so grow up!" I'm 23, and that really stung. How do I answer that?)

I think you can say that rather then let it just simmer on low heat, I want to get up front and personal about it, but in a calm and collected manner. How do I do this?

Ignore it.

Be a more noble person.

And tell the person that told you that its rude.

Han Solo

[Sillyana]

Han Solo, can you help me. 1 week ago, my mother is sick low blood. my mom when she go to machine shop for repair motorcycle, In there, She is insensible. Then she go to doctor and doctor said my mother is sick low blood. If my mother is recumbent, blood is normally. but if my mother is stand, blood only 80. Doctor only said to my mother in order that she must sports like Jogging or walking although walking in shop because my mother always stay in home and when she go, she always use motorcycle. According to you, If people never sports can make the people sick low blood?? Its true???

The doctor said my mother sick is very serious. According to you, what food who my mother may not her eat?? and what food who use my mother can added his blood.

Yesterday, my mother is sick again. She is feel that her headache is very sick and she is don't want eating. then she is sleepy 09:00 - 14:00 and she is feel good. I'm really afraid because my mother still sick.

[expression]

*sigh* To me, 23 is a compliment, and 6 is heavenly music...

But anyway, Han gave wise advice.