Ugh, I seriously can't take this anymore!!!!😱 😱 Every single time I hop onto Reddit and click on the health sub, there’s Justin Fox again, just looping through the same old tired nonsense about "natural" births over and over. 🙈
Honestly, I feel like Bill Murray in that Groundhog Day movie... where the exact same day just keeps happening, and happening, and happening....🙂 🤮 🙂 🙂
Guys, we have to do something about this! 🙂 🙂 It’s just like that local contractor who tries to sell you overpriced junk while posing for selfies with Nobel laureates whenever the sun hits him just right. 🙂
Wait, what's this about? Justin Fox is back talking about childbirth and episiotomies again 🙄 It feels like it was only a month or two ago when he was going on and on about this exact same stuff.
Yeah, sure, I just go out and empty an entire clip from my .44 Magnum into patients every single day, just for revenge and because it's such a blast, right? 😈 Please, please, come be my patient instead! 🙏 🙏 🙏
This is getting seriously concerning; you’re just looping now, constantly chewing on the same old topic. You seem to thrive on that whole doctor-vs-patient conflict, digging around just to see if you can find something dirty to scrape up. Like some sensationalist tabloid journalist, you don't even bother checking if it's straight-up slander; you just want to stir the pot and incite people against doctors. Seriously, man, just take a hike and go get some help. :asshole:
Man, talk about bad timing... I’ve actually got a bit of a situation myself right now because my roof is starting to cave in, and I really don't feel like dealing with a roofing contractor at the moment. 😈 I know medicine isn't exactly the kind of field you can just handle over a phone call or through some online chat... but hey, I don't want to sound totally heartless, even if people are always telling me I am. 🙂 Give this a shot: 1. Use a stool to help with positioning. 2. Cut back on the spicy stuff—avoid heavy heat or hard snacks like peanuts or chips. Stick to soft, cooked foods and things you can eat with a spoon. 3. Skip the alcohol, especially red wine. 4. Don't spend the whole day sitting around; try to get out for a little walk. 5. After you go to the bathroom, make sure to clean up well—using unscented baby wipes works wonders. 6. If there's bleeding or pain, try a cold compress (honestly, tucking an ice cube between your cheeks helps). 7. Apply Hemophilin ointment several times a day—especially after using the restroom and before bed. You'll want to apply it to the area and slightly inside the canal as far as you can comfortably reach with your finger; it's a propolis-based cream.
If you follow all of this strictly for a week and you aren't feeling better... then you really have no choice but to go see a doctor. 😬
Jose Chase2, if we’re actually going by the WHO definition—where being healthy isn't just about not being sick, but involves your mental, physical, and even social well-being—are you really sure you're "healthy"? Or better yet, 🙂 do you honestly know a single person out there who actually is?!? 😈
When we talk about angulation, we aren't actually talking about the joint itself; it’s about the shaft of the bone. At the 4-to-5-week mark, that area isn't fully set yet. Basically, the pulling forces from your muscles will naturally work to "straighten out" the bone over time. That 20-to-30-degree angle will eventually smooth out as the bone undergoes ossification and remodeling, which usually takes anywhere from three to six months. It makes total sense that movement in the MCP joint is limited, but honestly, it’s not really because of the fracture mechanics—it’s because of the immobilization. See, keeping those bone fragments in close contact and staying still is a absolute prerequisite for forming a callus and getting the bone to heal properly. If those pieces keep shifting around instead of staying put, you run the risk of developing a nonunion, or pseudoarthrosis. It’s one of those classic medical catch-22s: you’re treating the break, but in doing so, you might end up stiffening the joint. But that’s exactly why physical therapy exists. The whole point of PT is to use specific, controlled movements to apply those beneficial pressure and tension forces that help straighten the bone while simultaneously working on joint mobility. There’s also a pretty big divide in how fractures are handled depending on whether you're talking to a surgeon or an orthopedist. In my experience, orthopedists tend to give much less credit to the importance of a Physiatrist and physical therapy compared to us, especially when we're dealing with fractures being managed conservatively. 😈
I don't have a whole lot to add to what Casey Cook10 already said. Looking at that post-immobilization X-ray, it actually looks pretty decent. The angulation seems fine, there’s no significant bone shortening, and I don't see any obvious "collapse" at the MCP joint from what I can tell in the image. If I were to add one thing, though, it feels like your private orthopedic surgeon was doing some major "overdiagnostics" just to pad the bill. Honestly, a follow-up X-ray is more than enough to check both the angulation and how the callus is forming. An ultrasound is basically useless here—trust me on this, I know what I'm talking about, ultrasounds just don't show bone detail properly. And as for him claiming that the contracture happened because of the immobilization... haha, please. That's like saying the roads are wet after it rains.😈 Just stick to the basics: massage therapy, physical therapy, warm salt water soaks, and squeezing a tennis ball. If you do all that consistently for about twice as long as you were in the cast, you'll be just fine.🙂
Casey Palmer5 said:Man, if you only knew which kind of mechanics we're talking about... 😁 😁 😁
Psh, it’s not just mechanics—you’d need stone masons, carpenters, the whole crew, 😍
Seriously, if you only knew how smoothly I put together this teak table. It was heavy, tough as nails, and showed up in a box in a million pieces—but I just rolled up my sleeves, grabbed my Allen wrench (my good one, not that cheap junk they give you at the store 😈), and just winged it until everything clicked into place 🙂
I’ve always said that trauma surgeons make the best handymen, and vascular surgeons? They're basically your plumbers 😬 As for those plastic makers, they're more like high-end leatherworkers 😂 😂 😂
Just to give you some context on how we handle things here in the States, autotransfusion is pretty much standard practice during open-heart surgeries or when they're working on those major blood vessels. That said, we almost always supplement the process with donor units of red cells and platelets. It’s mostly because even with the best tech, the extracorporeal circulation machine tends to beat up and destroy a fair amount of blood cells along the way, so you've gotta make up for that loss.
The Alenteza extraction is actually a pretty minor procedure where you barely lose any blood at all. The old-school way involves getting to the fascia and muscles, but instead of cutting through them, we just gently separate them. Once that's done, we use an Allen key to pull out the screws and then carefully peel the plates away from the bone using a dissector. In this process, you might lose maybe 25 red blood cells and a handful of white blood cells, and the platelets basically scatter everywhere 😬 All jokes aside, you don't even need an IV drip—unless we're just using it for access—and we usually perform it under spinal anesthesia. Most patients are back home within 24 hours. There really shouldn't be any actual bleeding; the only thing you'll see is some minor oozing around the screw sites or the skin incision, but honestly, there isn't enough blood there to even soak through two gauze pads...
I work in ultrasound, so if everything looks perfectly normal, there isn't really anything worth capturing on camera 😍 which means I just hand over the written report. But, if we spot any kind of anomaly—it doesn't matter what it is, like a cyst in the breast or a fibroadenoma—we make sure to take plenty of images. Those shots get attached directly to the report, and when you go back for a follow-up, you absolutely have to bring your previous results and those specific images so the doctor can compare them side-by-side.
coastalfalcon13, it’s actually pretty straightforward 😍 First thing you gotta do is track down a doctor who actually has openings and is taking on new patients—honestly, I don't think you'll have much trouble finding someone. Once you've got that settled, just head over to your current clinic and sign a release form stating you want your medical records transferred to the new provider, and that's basically it... Now, look... I'm not entirely sure if they allow this year-round. I seem to remember there being some sort of "transition period" once in a while, maybe around the start of the year, where you could just grab your files and head over to a different office. I also can't recall if you need to pick up the paperwork yourself or if they just mail it over directly. Either way, it's your right as a patient, so definitely go for it 🙂
Justin Gonzalez87 said:Hey, do you know anything about those palatal plates they "implant" into the roof of the mouth? (I'm not even sure if it's technically an implant 😕 ) I can't find a single thing about it online. It seems pretty new, maybe 😕
So, what's the actual purpose behind them? From what I understand about palatal plates—and mind you, this isn't my specialty, more along the lines of maxillofacial surgery—they've been used for ages to treat cleft palates. Usually, that's part of correcting congenital issues like a cleft lip and palate combo. They also use them to fix jaw alignment issues, like when someone has a really narrow or high palate (what people sometimes call a "high arched" palate). Are you thinking of something else entirely, or is there some other specific use for these plates that you've heard about?
Honestly, you might get some relief by using an over-the-counter cream like Vaseline or maybe even a standard anti-cellulite cream—just as long as it doesn't have a warming effect. You really have to be careful not to let it touch any sensitive mucous membranes, though. It’s definitely more effective if you catch it early on, specifically before the blood inside the hematoma starts to clot or turn into fibrous tissue. Once things progress a bit further, a heparin-based gel can be pretty helpful. But look, when you're dealing with those bruises around the eye, the absolute most important thing is just lying down right after the impact and using a cold compress. The cold helps constrict the vessels that are bleeding. Since the skin around the eyes is so thin and delicate, just standing up allows gravity to pull that leaked blood downward, which ends up filling up those little "pouches" under your eye...
So, your "wonderful" doctor was probably just trying to be helpful so you wouldn't waste your whole day wandering around—especially since being out and about all day isn't cheap, what with having to grab lunch and coffee and everything... but still...
(Honestly, maybe I'm the bad guy here too. Every once in a while, when a patient asks me for advice on really delicate or specialized stuff, I'll just give them a name or a number of someone who actually knows what they're doing and can be trusted, whether they're in private practice or not. And hey, maybe we "corrupt" folks like us are just looking for a little kickback, right? 🙂 )
The thing is, during pregnancy, all your pigment tissues get super stimulated. It sounds like it could be an intradermal nevus sebaceous—basically a mole with a bunch of oil glands packed in there. Those glands, much like your sweat glands, tend to go into overdrive during and after pregnancy. It’s actually pretty common for a small mole like this to "calm down" or even disappear entirely a few months after giving birth, especially once you're done breastfeeding. But since you mentioned it's stinging and bothering you, there's a chance it's inflamed or irritated (maybe from accidentally scratching it and causing a little secondary infection). Either way, you really ought to have a dermatologist take a look at it. Wishing you all the best!
Look, I don't claim to be God, and I definitely don't give myself the luxury of being arrogant. I see so many patients who just *know* their own bodies—they can feel when something is off way before any high-tech diagnostic test or lab result can actually prove it. That’s why I never allow myself the luxury of telling a patient, "You're fine, just go see a psychiatrist." Some people fall into those obsessive patterns I mentioned earlier, and in those cases, I usually suggest they seek out mental health support while also scheduling follow-up tests in two, three, or six months just to be safe. Unfortunately, just like in any other field, there are people in medicine who went through med school just for the title or because they crave that (fake) sense of power—power that patients often feed into because they’re too intimidated to push back. But personally, I don't see it as "pushing back." If I don't like how a cashier at my local grocery store slices my deli meat, I just turn around and walk out to a different shop without making a scene. Patients should be able to do the exact same thing by seeking a second opinion, without all the unnecessary drama. It isn't always easy for them, though; not everyone has access to the same level of education, and not everyone is tech-savvy enough to spend hours Googling symptoms. A lot of people end up just wandering around in a fog of uncertainty... Let's hope things get better one day.😍
A Dermoid, or what we call a dermoid cyst (usually found on the ovary), is basically part of a group called hamartomas—think of them as little "glitches" in nature. During embryonic development, a specific cell division from the ectoderm—which is the foundation for epithelial tissues and everything derived from them, like skin, hair, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, nails, teeth, and even neural tissue—basically gets misplaced. It ends up settling on a different organ, most often the ovary, and just grows there on its own. Most of the time, a Dermoid is benign and won't come back once it’s been surgically removed. That said, it's pretty common to see multiple cysts at once; if they found and took out one, there might be others lurking nearby. By the way, you can also find dermoid cysts on the scalp or face. They look almost identical to an atheroma, but when a doctor opens them up, you'll find much more than just sebum inside. Honestly, your little extraterrestrial is more like a peaceful house pet—totally harmless... nothing to be scared of. 😉 The real clinical importance here is in the differential diagnosis of ovarian cysts. Every single cyst needs to be monitored, especially if it isn't just a simple follicular (ovulatory) cyst, because until proven otherwise, doctors have to rule out ovarian cancer. And let me tell you, ovarian cancer, much like pancreatic cancer, is one of the nastiest malignancies out there because it doesn't really show symptoms until it's already reached an inoperable stage. But it is highly preventable—ladies, regular gynecological checkups are an absolute MUST!!!
brisknomad6, you aren't talking about that extraterrestrial scent by Thierry Mughler, are you? 😬 I actually have a bottle myself, but honestly, it’s nothing to write home about. It’s pretty heavy and punchy—lots of sandalwood and other woody notes that give it this masculine vibe... but it isn't exactly unpleasant 🙂
When we're managing pain for patients at the end of life, it’s pretty standard to use opioids alongside NSAIDs—basically prostaglandin synthase inhibitors. The idea is to tackle the pain from two different angles: hitting those opioid receptors while simultaneously blocking the prostaglandins that trigger the sensation of pain in the first place. The thing about pain in terminal cancer patients is that it's progressive. It just keeps ramping up because you've got metastases spreading, the tumor itself undergoing necrosis, and the physical pressure of the mass pushing against surrounding tissue. Plus, since the body builds up a tolerance to opioids, you're constantly having to bump up the dosage. This means these poor souls are almost perpetually under the influence—they're often foggy, drifting in and out of sleep, or feeling extra irritable. If they don't get their next dose right on schedule, they start showing classic withdrawal symptoms... But honestly? They aren't feeling the pain anymore. The pain becomes manageable, and at the end of the day, that's really the only thing that matters. Unfortunately, I see a lot of family members who are absolutely terrified of this. They don't want their father—who is dying, and let's face it, usually isn't even being asked what he wants anyway—to pass away looking like an addict. 🤮 It’s honestly heartbreaking how little people whose loved ones are facing an incurable illness actually know about what's coming. And what's even worse is that many of their doctors do nothing to prepare them. Some doctors even seem to pray that nobody asks them anything; they stay silent out of a sort of misplaced sense of pity or just pure awkwardness, avoiding the conversation where they have to say, "Look, your father likely only has a month or two left, you should probably get ready..." So yeah, the whole situation is just one big, messy gray area. 😢