Candid Medical Musings and How-To's for Everyone
Surgery is a scary proposition. If you have to undergo surgery, make sure you are informed and prepared to ensure the best possible outcome. Here are some questions that you may not think to ask when you see your surgeon.
“Do you see this a lot?” I get asked that often. I think I get asked that the most often by parents after they bring in little Timmy who just shoved a bead/LEGO/bug /bean/[insert your favorite small object] up his nose. Unfortunately, or fortunately if you consider how good I’ve become at removing nasal foreign bodies, I do see this a lot. Here are some tricks including a trick we use in the ER based on a home remedy that has been written about since at least 1965.
A good friend recently called me from his honeymoon in Hawaii. He had convinced his new wife to try surfing for the first time. While she crushed some gnarly waves, she had a bit of run in with some coral. Supposedly her leg was burning hotter than Beelzebub’s fires. Was recommending my friend pee on his new BFF and partner in life actually helpful or just a great practical joke?
So you landed on your arm or shoulder during football/basketball/paragliding/freediving/underwaterbasketweaving. And there was a big “clunk”. And now the shoulder is swollen, painful, looks really funky and you can’t really move your arm overhead and all you can think is “ooooh I think I popped my shoulder out.” … here’s what to do.
I have weirdly fond memories of my first sunburn experience. After spending an entire day at the community pool for Omeed’s 11th birthday (swimming, movies, and the first of many run-ins with the police), I woke with a strange pain in my back and shoulders. When I ran into Duy and Omeed at school the following week, I realized what the incredible pain in my shoulders was.
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