The Medical Thread

This is a thread about diseases, medicines, treatments, medical insurances, hospital policies, and everything else interesting about human body here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is NOT a place for medical diagnosis and advice. For those, please consult certified medical professionals of appropriate fields.

Edited by dRoy on Feb 20th 2020 at 2:33:51 AM

TroperOnAStickV2 Call me Stick from Redneck country Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: is commanded to— WANK!

Call me Stick

#2876: Jan 5th 2018 at 7:35:36 PM

... great. Even ostensibly smart people are blithering idiots.

Hopefully I'll feel confident to change my avatar off this scumbag soon. Apologies to any scumbags I insulted.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!

Oh, bother.

#2877: Jan 5th 2018 at 7:41:21 PM

Why am I not surprised this originated in Silicon Valley...

My state is great but it has its issues.

Disgusted, but not surprised

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature

The Mod with the Migraine

#2878: Jan 6th 2018 at 3:30:28 AM

The commentary I saw about this was something like, "whoever convinced billionaires to pay $50 to drink bacteria-laden puddle water just to avoid drinking the same tap water as poor people deserves an award." A point of view which I have difficulty arguing against, really.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

TroperOnAStickV2 Call me Stick from Redneck country Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: is commanded to— WANK!

Call me Stick

#2879: Jan 7th 2018 at 2:13:39 PM

Hopefully I'll feel confident to change my avatar off this scumbag soon. Apologies to any scumbags I insulted.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!

Oh, bother.

#2880: Jan 7th 2018 at 5:51:51 PM

The bigger problem, as that article pointed out, is that this shit tends to bleed into the general public. We really don't need more pseudoscience bullshit right now. Climate change denialism, antivaxxers, raw milk craze...

Disgusted, but not surprised

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu

#2881: Jan 9th 2018 at 3:53:02 AM

In other news (no English link, sorry), the pharma company Pfizer has just announced that they‘ll abandon efforts at developing medicines for Alzheimer‘s. Apparently the amount of failures so far was just too much.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

firewriter Since: Dec, 2016

#2882: Jan 17th 2018 at 1:38:09 PM

https://pupaveg.deviantart.com/art/316-We-need-animal-products-725906682

I don't know if anyone are medical experts, but in a lot of vegan circles there are those who say that all meat and not just processed meat cause cancer. Also they tend to downplay the nutritional value that meat and other animal products have. They seem to cherry pick information about meat, then exaggerate to justify depicting as inherently healthy.

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature

The Mod with the Migraine

#2883: Jan 19th 2018 at 5:30:56 AM

Could this be a help in combating the opioid epidemic? Apparently there's a powder that will render the pills inert and safe to dispose of.

^{Full article text}

Walmart is helping customers get rid of leftover opioids by giving them packets that turn the addictive painkillers into a useless gel.

The retail giant announced Wednesday it will provide the packets free with opioid prescriptions filled at its 4,700 U.S. pharmacies. The small packets, made by Dispose RX, contain a powder that is poured into prescription bottles. When mixed with warm water, the powder turns the pills into a biodegradable gel that can be thrown in the trash.

Research has shown that surgery patients often end up with leftover opioid painkillers and store the drugs improperly at home.

Walmart said the powder also works with other prescription drugs. The company said its pharmacy customers can request a free packet at any time.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer

Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.

#2884: Jan 19th 2018 at 7:23:21 AM

copying over my response to from US politics:

Article from Reuters on it.

Substance in question

Apparently its less than its breaks down the meds as it basically creates a gel that forms in the med bottle, making someone unable to retrieve them and thus safe to throw away. Basically, giving Opioids the cement box treatment.

The page notes that its biodegradable, now my question is, if it does do the pills return still usable? Because that feels like a loophole to be abused.

"You can reply to this Message!"

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017

#2885: Jan 19th 2018 at 7:42:35 AM

That sounds like something that would be beneficial. I would imagine that would be a have a lot of applications beyond that even, like safely disposing of expired medication, or old pills that you are no longer taking, as well.

edited 19th Jan '18 7:46:09 AM by megaeliz

GAP Formerly G.G. from Who Knows? Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero

Formerly G.G.

#2886: Jan 19th 2018 at 11:00:55 AM

Here are some articles that I found while I was looking from something else. I had heard of the trope Dr. Jerk but I always assumed that the trope is exaggerated and that there aren't people like that in real life. I am might be displaying a very similar arrogance myself by asking this but how much of this is actually true?

"We are just like Irregular Data. And that applies to you too, Ri CO. And as for you, Player... your job is to correct Irregular Data."

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love

The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer

#2887: Jan 26th 2018 at 3:00:40 PM

How fast can the human uterus be stretched? I mainly ask because I want to determine how realistic are all those instances in sci-fi and fantasy movies where a woman's belly expands within seconds/minutes to full-term proportions due to having been implanted with a rapidly growing alien/demonic baby, but I also admit that the answer has relevance to a less... SFW subject.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu

#2888: Jan 26th 2018 at 3:56:42 PM

Oh, this is medicine, I can think of much creepier things than that in medicine.

I dare say that the uterus grows during pregnancy hormonally and unless the rogue impregnation occurs at maximum uterine height it will rupture.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love

The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer

#2889: Jan 26th 2018 at 6:44:46 PM

Oh, this is medicine, I can think of much creepier things than that in medicine.

I dunno, man. I mean, AFAIK, hardcore womb-fucking with an arm-sized penis is a very squicky subject for most people.

I dare say that the uterus grows during pregnancy hormonally and unless the rogue impregnation occurs at maximum uterine height it will rupture.

Fascinating. So the correct term is that the uterus grows (whether by adding more cells, inducing the existing cells to grow in size, or both) rather than stretches during pregnancy, then?

I suppose in light of this, we could just assume that the implantation process includes an injection of some super-duper unrealistically fast-acting xeno-hormones to give the uterus that much elasticity in such a short time, just so that we meet the bare minimum of Hand Wave requirements.

edited 26th Jan '18 6:48:36 PM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu

#2890: Jan 27th 2018 at 1:43:33 AM

Well, there are the sexual habits of bedbugs, some case studies on bestiality, anencephaly, foetus in fetu cases. Besides, what you describe is just a biggened up version of the procreation method of parasitic wasps. Sure, that procreation method (allegedly) convinced Darwin that there is no god.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love

The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer

#2891: Jan 27th 2018 at 4:57:36 AM

... Case studies on bestiality???

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu

#2892: Jan 27th 2018 at 5:28:11 AM

'tis being a family friendly forum, I am not going to comment in detail publicly.

Anyhow, the human cell cycle lasts at a minimum a few hours - replicating DNA, repairing any damage, growing the cell (even the bare minimum) and properly split it takes a while. So I'd say that such a super hormone has a speed limit of a doubling of uterine wall volume every few hours.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love

The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer

#2893: Jan 27th 2018 at 5:48:27 AM

So... A Wizard Did It (or the closest equivalent in sci-fi), then?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

GAP Formerly G.G. from Who Knows? Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero

Formerly G.G.

#2894: Feb 13th 2018 at 4:38:40 AM

Why do people become old? And has the aging process been remedied in our era?

"We are just like Irregular Data. And that applies to you too, Ri CO. And as for you, Player... your job is to correct Irregular Data."

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu

#2895: Feb 13th 2018 at 7:24:05 AM

We don't know yet (either question).

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015

#2896: Feb 13th 2018 at 8:55:36 AM

We aren't currently positive about the underlying cause of aging, but there has been considerable progress in terms of identifying processes involved in aging at the cellular level. An up to date and relatively acessible paper on contemporary theories regarding the mechanism of biological aging is The Hallmarks of Aging by López-Otín et al.

As far as "remedying" the aging process, to date there are no proven methods of reversing or delaying aging in humans, but numerous animal studies have been conducted on a variety of proposed clinical interventions, with calorie restriction being the most effective mechanism of extending lifespan across taxa. There are two clinical trials, one concluded and one ongoing on the potential of two proposed geroprotectors thought to imitate the effects of calorie restriction, and several proposed trials of senolytic drugs designed to clear out senescent cells, which has been shown to improve overall bodily function and partially reverse the aging phenotype in various animal studies.

edited 13th Feb '18 9:05:22 AM by CaptainCapsase

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature

The Mod with the Migraine

#2897: May 4th 2018 at 5:08:15 PM

So everyone knows how the NFL is finally acknowledging TBI^**? Well apparently the military realized they needed to do something about it too. ^{Full article text}

Troops in training or combat who use shoulder supported heavy weapons are at risk for brain damage from blast pressure, a report commissioned by the Army found.

Servicemembers exposed to high levels of “blast overpressure” from heavy weapons, such as the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle, have experienced problems with memory loss and decision making, according to the report released this month by the think tank Center for New American Security.

The Defense Department has been tracking and studying traumatic brain injuries since 2000. Such injuries, which have often come from improvised explosive devices, or IE Ds, are now well documented. But the effects of pressure blasts from heavy weapons on gunners largely have been ignored.

“We were, quite honestly, shocked to find that there are these negative cognitive effects that are also coming from firing heavy weapons,” said Paul Scharre, a co-author of the report and director of CNAS’s technology and national security program.

The report was part of a larger project for the Army Research Laboratory that looked at emerging technologies to improve soldier protection and survivability, such as body armor and robotics, he said.

A former Army Ranger, Scharre has fired heavy weapons that give off blast pressure, such as AT 4 anti-tank guns, the M72 anti-armor LAW and .50-caliber sniper rifles.

“They have quite a punch, and soldiers who have shot them will tell you there’s a big pressure coming off the weapon, but there wasn’t a depth of understanding about some of the cognitive deficits that can come from very small amounts of exposure,” he said. As the NFL has come to understand, Scharre said, it’s not just the big concussions you need to think about. “It’s the routine hits people are getting that put them at risk.”

A 2008 study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma used pigs and rats to measure the effects of blast overpressure from several shoulder-mounted guns and a howitzer. Small hemorrhages were found in some of the animals’ brains, tears that increased with blast intensity. Damage occurred in some cases after only three shots of the weapon.

“In practice, gunners for these weapons could be exposed to significantly more shots during training, sometimes up to 20 or more shots per day,” the CNAS report said. It recommends that DOD immediately amend the daily firing limits for servicemembers shooting these heavy weapons to below the threshold that causes cognitive problems.

“Right now, if you’re using these weapons within approved firing limits, you still have some servicemembers who experience cognitive deficit,” Scharre said. “The other thing is that the limits right now apply only to a 24-hour period,” he said. But it takes up to 96 hours after firing the daily approved firing limits for servicemembers to “reset back to baseline,” he said. In addition, daily maximum limits aren’t cumulative, meaning they do not take into account that multiple heavy weapons systems might be fired in a day, he said.

“They need a comprehensive limit that covers all these heavy weapons,” he said. The report recommends that DOD also establish annual and lifetime exposure limits for these weapons.

Reliable data on long-term effects of these pressure blasts do not yet exist so the annual and lifetime limits would need to err on the side of being overly conservative, Scharre said.

Users of the weapons routinely should wear blast gauges to record the cumulative amount of pressure over time, which would become part of a servicemember’s service record, the study recommended.

Computer modeling has shown that full-face helmets can reduce blast pressure to the brain by up to 80 percent, Scharre said. Further research is needed into the best design for such a helmet, the report said.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!

Oh, bother.

#2898: May 4th 2018 at 10:42:17 PM

So military life not only has similar dangers in addition to the other more obvious risks that come with serving in the military, but it doesn't even have the high salaries that some pro football players earn to take some of the edge off.

Disgusted, but not surprised

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love

The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer

#2899: May 20th 2018 at 3:10:40 PM

Does the lingual frenulum serve any essential functions that would be either irrevocably lost or pose a non-trivial difficulty in compensating for after a lingual frenectomy? I mean, practically speaking, as far medical science could tell, nobody would notice any difference if they magically lost their appendix (i.e. the only reason people don't do appendectomies as a matter of course is because it's a surgery, which by default comes with considerable monetary costs and risks to your health/life either during or after the surgery); is the lingual frenulum in any way comparable to an appendix in its importance (or lack thereof) within the human body?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

PhysicalStamina Since: Apr, 2012

#2900: May 25th 2018 at 6:51:16 PM

Here's something I think this thread would know: are holistic doctors as bullshit as I think they are? My mom started seeing one of them recently, and he gave her these pills to flush out... something. Apparently he warned her they would burn, but it'sbeen far worse than she could've imagined; she tells me her insides feel like they're on fire.

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