What your skin should expect when you ’re expecting
Are you pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant? You’re probably prepared for morning sickness, weight gain, and an expanding belly. But did you know your skin can also undergo a variety of changes when you’re expecting? These changes are due to normal alterations in hormones that occur during pregnancy. Rest assured, most skin conditions that develop or worsen during pregnancy are benign, and tend to improve following delivery.
Darkening of the skin
A large majority of women experience darkening of their skin due to hormone shifts that occur during pregnancy. You may notice that the areas around your thighs, genital...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 27, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kristina Liu, MD, MHS Tags: Pregnancy Skin and Hair Care Source Type: blogs
Please stop the over-diagnosis of UTIs
I admitted an elderly woman to the hospital recently. The previous week, she had presented to the emergency department (ED) with chest pain and shortness of breath. For some unknown reason, a urinalysis was obtained and was found to be abnormal. The patient left the hospital with a prescription for cephalexin, in addition to unexplained […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - January 15, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/scott-keeney" rel="tag" > Scott Keeney, DO < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions Hospital-Based Medicine Infectious Disease Source Type: blogs
Evacuating the Nefarious Subungual Hematomas
Subungual hematomas can be a terror. They are painful, ugly-looking, nefarious, and sometimes confusing. The ultimate goal is to drain the accumulated blood and relieve the painful pressure.The best intervention is easy and straightforward: Leave the nail in place, and evacuate the blood under it. (Hand Surg. 2012;17[1]:151; Am J Emerg Med. 2006;24[7]:875; Emerg Med J. 2003;20[1]:65, http://bit.ly/2mHV1cO.) Then, provide excellent discharge information without prescribing antibiotics.A subungual hematoma in a 21-year-old man who slammed his thumb in a car door about 12 hours before ED arrival. Photo ...
Source: The Procedural Pause - November 1, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Nailed It!
What do you do for a nail from a nail gun in the hand? This procedure is simple, but you have to worry about the aftermath. Complicated issues may arise post-procedure in the days to weeks after extraction, including retained foreign bodies, infection, fractures, disability, pain, nerve damage, tendon rupture, and cosmetic concerns.Removing the nail is only half the battle. Proper removal, treatment, and follow-up should be considered with all foreign bodies in the skin, especially the hand. Being prepared for the possible aftershocks will help your patient have a successful recovery.A 23-year-old man with a nail fro...
Source: The Procedural Pause - June 1, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Healthcare freebies that can make you, and your wallet, feel a little better
“Take the cookies, bring them home to the kids!” Craig always insists, as he pops a few into my lunch bag. It’s a heartwarming gesture that I love about his Sarasota deli — in addition to the killer turkey on whole wheat. You may not be surprised when local businesses throw in a freebie; they often go the extra mile to thank customers.
But you may be surprised to know that there are lots of free things out there that can help your health. Okay, not cookies, but things with real value when it comes to improving everything from chronic disease to diet and fitness.
Free prescription drugs
Some stores (such as Publix a...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 27, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Heidi Godman Tags: Health Health care Managing your health care Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 20-year-old male college student with a superficial skin infection
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 20-year-old male college student on the wrestling team is evaluated for a superficial skin infection. He has a history of several episodes of folliculitis and furunculosis over the past year that has required systemic treatment. His recurrent infections were treated with various oral antibiotics, including cephalexin, clindamycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. He currently takes no medications, has no drug allergies, and is otherwise in good health.
On physical examination, vital signs are normal. There a...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 15, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions Infectious disease Source Type: blogs
Think your child has a penicillin allergy? Maybe not.
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Allergies to penicillin are the most commonly reported medication allergy. This can be a real problem; if you are allergic to penicillin, it’s not just penicillin you can’t take. You can’t take amoxicillin and other antibiotics that are extremely similar, and it’s iffy whether or not you can take cephalosporins (such as cephalexin or cefdinir), a whole other really useful and commonly used class of antibiotics.
See, that’s the thing: with most common infections such as ear infections, strep throat, or skin infections, if we can’t give you penicillin we end up with limited choices....
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 11, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Asthma and Allergies Children's Health Drugs and Supplements Infectious diseases Parenting Safety Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 21-year-old woman with mosquito bites
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 21-year-old woman is evaluated for mosquito bites on her arms and legs that she received 1 week ago that she has been scratching regularly. One of the bites on her left thigh is now painful with a small amount of drainage. She otherwise feels well, has no significant medical history, and takes no medications.
On physical examination, vital signs are normal. A weeping red papule with overlying honey-colored crust is present on the anterior left thigh. There is no surrounding or extension of the redness, no lymp...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 1, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions Infectious disease Source Type: blogs
Pediatric Nail Bed Laceration Basics – Part 5
When and where should you use prolene? What about nylon suture threads? We will end with the latest on antibiotic use in hand injuries.Pediatric nail bed laceration and finger laceration. Tissue adhesives can be used in place of absorbable sutures for minor injuries to the nail bed.Nylon vs. ProleneHow do we decide on which to use and where to use it? Prolene is a synthetic, monofilament, non-absorbable polypropylene thread. This material can be difficult to handle, and many practitioners avoid using it. Its fishing thread-like structure makes it stiff, and its knots tend to be loose, especially for larger threads.Nylon...
Source: The Procedural Pause - January 3, 2017 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
The Future of Work Part I
Have you ever taken some time to think about what work will look like 5, 10 or even 20 years from now? If you haven’t, it is probably worth the effort because a changing work environment may have dramatic implications for how you are employed in the future. In these two posts, I want to talk about some of the trends I’m seeing and how they may play out in the coming years.
Outsourcing
Companies are getting better and better at spinning off specific business functions and letting them be handled by others. For example, many businesses can’t justify running payroll in-house. It is cheaper to hire a company...
Source: Productivity501 - September 20, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Mark Shead Tags: Misc Source Type: blogs
A Nefarious Character with an Agenda
Every new advanced nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or resident gets his fair share of complex emergency department procedures during training. Seasoned providers, however, are just as excited to place a central line in a septic patient, LP a "rule-out meningitis," or swiftly fix a nursemaid's elbow.This month we hope to remind you of a few sweet and satisfying procedures that take only moments to do. Your skill in completing these procedures is imperative. Not only will you amaze your patient, but you'll shorten your door to dispo-time.The StyeThe stye is a nefarious character with an agenda. It starts o...
Source: The Procedural Pause - February 1, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Should Fluoro be Your New Go-To?
Part Three in a Three-Part Series
This is the third and final part of our series on foreign bodies and fluoroscopy. Click here for part one and here for part two.
This month, we walk you through a step-by-step guide with bonus video footage to aid in your technique. This progressive procedure is absolutely significant to your practice, and we hope you all get a chance to try it.
The Approach
n Identification of foreign body on plain film or ultrasound
n Saphenous or posterior tibial nerve block
n Enlargement of the wound or entrance site using incision...
Source: The Procedural Pause - January 4, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
