April 2021: An Eye on the Problem
A 3-year-old boy presented to the emergency department with lethargy. He was bradycardic and somnolent, responding only to physical stimuli. His vital signs were a temperature of 37°C, a heart rate of 50 bpm, a respiratory rate of 26 breaths per minute, a blood pressure of 92/41 mm Hg, and a pulse oximetry of 100% on room air.When awoken, the child answered questions appropriately but then fell back asleep quickly. His pupils were pinpoint. There were no signs of trauma. A cardiac examination demonstrated bradycardia, and the remainder of the examination was unremarkable.The child was given an IV fluid bolus and placed...
Source: The Tox Cave - April 1, 2021 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Returning to sports and physical activity after COVID-19: What parents need to know
While most children and teens who have COVID-19 recover completely, sometimes the virus can have lasting effects. One of those effects can be damage to the muscle of the heart — and if a damaged heart is stressed by exercise, it can lead to arrhythmias, heart failure, or even sudden death.
This appears to be rare. But given that we are literally learning as we go when it comes to COVID-19, it’s hard for us to know how rare — and just how risky exercise after testing positive for COVID-19 might be. To help doctors, coaches, gym teachers, parents, and caregivers make safe decisions, the American Academy of Pediatrics h...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 19, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Exercise and Fitness Source Type: blogs
5 unusual headaches: Signs to watch for and what to do
Headaches come in lots of varieties, and some are easily recognizable. A migraine classically causes throbbing, pounding pain that lasts for hours — sometimes even days — on one side of the head. A tension headache usually feels like a tight band squeezing around your noggin. And a sinus headache shows up as pressure on one side of the face, behind the nose, or above one eye when you have a sinus infection.
Some headaches, however, aren’t as well-known.
What’s happening to me?
When less familiar headache pain strikes, the symptoms or patterns may be puzzling, or even frightening.
For example, a thunderclap headache...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 2, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Heidi Godman Tags: Brain and cognitive health Headache Pain Management Source Type: blogs
What ’s your approach to health? Check your medicine cabinet
Do all kids spy? Just me? When I was a child, I spent hours snooping in my parents’ nightstands, Granny’s pocketbook, my older brothers’ dresser drawers. I’m not sure what I was looking for, exactly, other than validation of my suspicion that the teenagers and adults in my life were keeping secrets from me.
And no opportunity for sleuthing seemed richer than the twin mirrored medicine cabinets hanging from my parents’ bathroom wall. My mother’s was kind of boring, its glass shelves lined with bottles of aspirin and antacids, plus a dusty jar of jewel-toned bath oil beads. My father’s was a treasure trove ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 16, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Suzanne Koven, MD, MFA Tags: Health Healthy Aging Healthy Eating Managing your health care Source Type: blogs
Sore arm and chills after the COVID vaccine? Will Tylenol or NSAIDs such as Motrin or Aleve lower vaccine efficacy?
This is a common question, "I have a sore arm and chills after the COVID vaccine? Will taking Tylenol or NSAIDs such as Motrin or Aleve lower vaccine efficacy?".The short answer is, no. You can take antipyretic analgesics (Tylenol, and NSAIDs such as Motrin or Aleve), if needed, to control symptoms after a COVID immunization. Ideally, do not take the medications before the vaccine. You can take them, if needed, after the vaccine. The details are below. Antipyretic analgesics (Tylenol, and NSAIDs such as Motrin, Aleve) are widely used to ameliorate vaccine adverse reactions. Observational studies reporting on antipyretic us...
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog - January 15, 2021 Category: Universities & Medical Training Tags: Vaccines Source Type: blogs
Can I take something to prevent colorectal cancer?
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. There is compelling evidence that screening to detect CRC early to find and remove precancerous polyps can reduce CRC mortality. However, screening has associated harms, including procedural complications, and inherent limitations. For example, colonoscopy, the most common screening tool in the US, is less effective in preventing cancers of the right, or ascending side, of the colon compared with cancers of the left, or descending, side of the colon.
Moreover, only 60% of US adults recommended for screening actually follow through. Ev...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 13, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Andrew Chan, MD, MPH Tags: Cancer Prevention Screening Source Type: blogs
The ibuprofen COVID-19 paradox
With the surge of information surrounding COVID-19 released in the news this year, an interesting concern arose regarding ibuprofen’s use in patients with COVID-19. In March of 2020, French authorities were the first to investigate anecdotal reports of severe COVID-19 infection in patients who had taken ibuprofen. The initial concern involved the ACE-2 receptor. The […]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 - November 21, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/amy-g-schade" rel="tag" > Amy G. Schade, PA-C < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions COVID-19 coronavirus Infectious Disease Source Type: blogs
Treating the pain of endometriosis
Many women suffer through years of painful menstrual periods before they are able to get an answer about what’s causing them: a common and often undiagnosed condition called endometriosis.
What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a condition that occurs when tissue much like the tissue that lines a woman’s uterus — called the endometrium — starts to grow in other places inside the body. Most commonly, these growths are within the pelvis, such as on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the outer surface of the uterus, or the bladder.
During the menstrual cycle each month, the tissue lining the uterus grows thicker, then...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 20, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kelly Bilodeau Tags: Pain Management Stress Surgery Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Aspirin and breast cancer risk: How a wonder drug may become more wonderful
Aspirin has been called a wonder drug. And it’s easy to see why.
It’s inexpensive, its side effects are well-known and generally minor. And since it was developed in the 1890s, it’s been shown to provide a number of potential benefits, such as relieving pain, bringing down a fever, and preventing heart attacks and strokes. Over the last 20 years or so, the list of aspirin’s potential benefits has been growing. And it might be about to get even longer: did you know that aspirin may lower your risk of several types of cancer?
Studies of aspirin and cancer
A number of studies suggest that aspirin can lower the risk of...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 23, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Breast Cancer Health Source Type: blogs
New guidelines for aches, pains, and strains
We’ve all been there before. A minor injury leads to a sore ankle, achy shoulder, or sore neck. You could do nothing, try to ignore it, and see if it gets better. Or you may be tempted to take something, especially if significant discomfort prevents you from doing your usual activities or keeps you up at night.
So, what’s the best initial treatment? For minor injuries, your options are many, including:
Home remedies. Common approaches are the “RICE” treatments — Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation: applying cold to the sore area, wearing an elastic wrap to compress the sore area, rest, and elevation (such as p...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Bones and joints Exercise and Fitness Health Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Cough and cold season is arriving: Choose medicines safely
With the summer winding down and fall moving in, colder weather will arrive soon — along with cold and flu season. Millions of Americans get the common cold each year, often more than once. To counter coughs and runny noses, many will turn to over-the-counter (OTC) medications available for relief without a prescription.
Heading to the pharmacy for some relief? Read this first
While OTC medicines do not cure or shorten the common cold or flu, they can ease some symptoms. Finding a product that fits your needs, however, may not be so straightforward. A recent study evaluated brand-name OTC medications marketed as cold, al...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 22, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Katsiaryna Bykov, PharmD, ScD Tags: Cold and Flu Drugs and Supplements Health Infectious diseases Source Type: blogs
The Quigley Maneuver for Ankle Fractures
Certain emergency department procedures bring us a sense of accomplishment. We cheer after a shoulder returns to its correct position from our relocation technique and smile when a laceration closes just right. Emergency department procedures can be very rewarding for providers and patients, especially during times of stress in the workplace. Sometimes, just stapling a scalp or molding the perfect splint may seem cathartic. There are days where we can only see so much abdominal and chest pain—and COVID-19.The double-person Quigley maneuver technique for an ankle fracture. Photo by Martha Roberts.This month we want to ...
Source: The Procedural Pause - August 3, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
A young woman in her early 20s with syncope
Written by Pendell MeyersA 20 year old female with an episode of syncope was triage to my low acuity zone one morning. Her vitals were within normal limits except for her heart rate of 109 bpm.I immediately went to evaluate her, without looking in the chart first. I found a well appearing young lady in the room with her parents who witnessed the event. She stated that she was sitting on a shallow ledge in a pool when she became lightheaded, so she got up out of the pool and then briefly syncopized next to the pool in front of her parents, who were able to catch her preventing any trauma. She returned to normal within 30 se...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - July 11, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Pendell Source Type: blogs
One-Stop Pain Control for Trimalleolar Fractures
The incidence of all ankle fractures is about 187 cases per 100,000 people each year. Trimalleolar fractures occur in seven to 11 percent of those cases. (Orthop J Sports Med. 2019;7[11 Suppl 6]; https://bit.ly/3eQ4lRl.) Trimalleolar fractures involve the lateral and medial malleolus and the distal posterior aspect of the tibia (sometimes called the posterior malleolus).These fractures are serious and often unstable. They typically but not always need urgent or even emergent surgery. Often, they are reduced with a closed reduction prior to surgery. We suggest using a hematoma block to assist with pain control during...
Source: The Procedural Pause - July 1, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
