DocTalk

Cracked ribs are a polite way to minimize the severity of an injury. Regardless of whether a rib is bruised, cracked, broken or fractured (the last three mean the same thing), pain is the enemy. Just ask Donovan McNabb how easy it is to breathe when the chest is damaged.

More on the web. www.MDdirect.org/blog

 

H1N1 is taki9ng its toll on the Florida Gators adn we're seeing plenty of people with flu-like symptoms in the ER, but we gave up testing for it...it just doesn't matter.

October will keep me busy traveling for most of the month. Writing on the road will be an interesting challenge.

www.MDdirect.org/blog

 

Tom Tebow is out of the hospital, back in the Gator fold and who knows when he'll be able to practice let alone play. There is more on this week's web entry.

This morning, I saw a high school player who sustained a concussion four days earlier in a game and was properly held out of practice. Yesterday, he sneaked into the training room and was lifting when the coach found out and sent him home. Today he complained of a headache and vomiting. That little bit of exertion was enough to delay his return for who knows how long. Athletes want to play...and the docs can be seen as their nemesis. Sometimes, it's good to play the bad guy.

www.MDdirect.org/blog

 

Those runners on the board know that plantar fasciitis is the death knell of training. Months of rest and rehab are the norm, so it's interesting to read that Eli Manning is day-to-day after having his diagnosis confirmed by MRI.

Plantar fasciitis is the most common diagnosis made when people seek care for heel pain. More in this week's web entry.

www.MDdirect.org/blog

 

Don't you hate waiting at hte doctor's office. They're always late and don't spend enough time with you. Sorry I'm a day late this week, but my excuse that i wsa delayed in travelling is probably unacceptable.

Anyway, it's been awhile since steroids have been mentioned and this time it is a good steroid, prednisone, that was caught up in the case of mistaken identity. Juventus' Cannavaro escaped penalty after getting a cortisone injection to help treat an allergic reaction to a bee sting.

More on the web and thanks for reading.

 

With the number of people visiting my ER with the flu (presumably H1N1 but we don't bother testing anymore) and based upon CDC surveillance, I presume that most of the country is engulfed in the influenza epidemic. There is more on the web this week about influenza and how we're treating it (or not). I wonder though, if people will stop congregating in public for sporting events, especially college football games since there seems to be impressive spread on college campuses, or whether the love of sport will trump the comfort of health.

More on the web. Thanks for reading.

Ben

 

Drug and alcohol abuse are a fact of life for many people. I'm uncertain though, why I need to know about Andre Agassi's drug adventures more than 10 years after the fact. More about methamphetamine in this week's web entry.

www.MDdirect.org/blog

 

Medical disaster planning often involves scenarios where numerous people are injured but few need extraordinary help. The Fort Hood shooting revealed how a relatively few number of victims (31 is still alot) can demand massive amounts of resources, both personnel and equipment, but especially personnel caring and touching the patient. More on the website.

www.MDdirect.org/blog

 

Kareem and cancer are not words that should be found in the same sentence, but he has come forward with his battle with CML, chronic myelogenous leukemia. Hopefully, he will have as much success battling this nemesis as he did on the basketball court. More on CML on this week's web entry.

 

If anybody is interested, there wasn't a web entry last week. Work was a little too hectic with shifts in the ER and two speaking engagements (Utah and Illinois) keeping me from basic things like sleep.

This week's entry is a little more philosophic brought on because of the bus crash in Minnesota killing two and injuring a score more. The accident occurred because the bus driver suffered a cerebral aneurysm bleed. It's a totally unexpected and unpreventable event. The same could be said for Al Harris running down the field and blowing out his ACL wihtout being touched.

Why bad things happen to good people or why some people get sick and others don't, is one of life's great mysteries. More on the web.

Thanks for reading and please have a great Thanksgiving.

Ben

www.MDdirect.org/blog

 

Public personna v. private citizen. The line gets blurred with celebrity, most recently with Tiger's latest issues with a tree andn fire hydrant. The public right to know stopped at the hospital doors. More about medical privacy on the web.

Thanks for reading.

www. MDdriect.org

 

I'm uncertain where the month of December went but between working in the ER and lecture travels, something had to give and I hate to admit that it was my writing. It usually it is a priority but for teh first time in a few years, the website hasn't been updated on a weekly basis. Mea culpa.

Lots to write about this week including the passing of Chris Henry, Todd Hayes' head bleed and Antony Galea's FBI indictment brining performancing enhancing drugs across the US-Canada border.

Thanks for your patience and hopefully you'll return as frequent readers.

Happy holidays,

Ben