General Medical issues thread

[Cossie]

Rabies is unnecessary worldwide for normal travel. For those likely to come into close contact with wild animals then it may be of benefit. Are you going to volunteer there or just go to cities/tours etc?

Rabies is a course of 3 shots, not cheap, total around $500 or so.

And only reduces the rigamarole of what you need to do post bite- I.e. Fewer needles afterwards, but you still need more shots.

Thanks, we have no intended contact with wild animals, I'm happy not to have it at this stage.

 

[Pushka]

Thanks, we have no intended contact with wild animals, I'm happy not to have it at this stage.

Avoid warm blooded creatures and you will be fine but if you do get bitten, go straight and have the shots - asap.
Niece was bitten by a monkey in Bali. Monkeys are nasty creatures

 

[QF WP]

Needles and blood draws have never bothered me.

MasterP on the other hand.... had to take him to our children's hospital a few years ago as he was unwell and it was a meningococcal outbreak. They said they would need to do blood draws but there would be a (queue) delay to do so. He heard there would be a blood draw, went white, lips blue, and broke out in a sweat. Blood draws done immediately. I didn't squeak that he always did that at the thought of a needle.

Tell him I understand his feeling completely. When Mrs QF WP and I were at doctors surgery appointment (more than 10 years ago) and he told me that I needed to have blood tests...well, lets just say the next thing I remember is feeling confused that I looking at both of them (above me) - I'd fainted and doctor has interrupted his spiel to say "and there he goes"...as I thankfully fainted against Mrs QF WP and he'd caught me and put me down on the floor in the recovery position. Don't think I was out for long...

They can draw blood from, or insert IV into, either my feet or wrist; but no chance of getting anywhere near my inside elbow to the veins there...yet other people's blood does not phase me (used to seeing it being a former lifesaver) but can't watch anybody having an IV put in our taken out (always excuse myself and go for a walk). Go figure...

 

[Flying mermaid]

Doc thinks rabies shot unnecessary for Laos, should I insist?

I've never worried about having one before, and Erika has had the three needles required(!), so if we get into trouble, I'll let her protect me...

I had never bothered and I have travelled a lot in developing countries. I actually don't think the treatment was necessary, but ACT health insisted when I mentioned to the travel doctor I had been scratched by a cat a few months previously, so had to do the whole treatment. Even if you have been vaccinated, you will still have to get treated, so unless you are going to be somewhere really remote where you will have trouble getting care, or going to be in close contact with animals I wouldn't bother. Just be careful if feeding strays - I can never resist them (dogs or cats), but in future I will throw the food rather than putting it next to me......

 

[Pushka]

I had never bothered and I have travelled a lot in developing countries. I actually don't think the treatment was necessary, but ACT health insisted when I mentioned to the travel doctor I had been scratched by a cat a few months previously, so had to do the whole treatment. Even if you have been vaccinated, you will still have to get treated, so unless you are going to be somewhere really remote where you will have trouble getting care, or going to be in close contact with animals I wouldn't bother. Just be careful if feeding strays - I can never resist them (dogs or cats), but in future I will throw the food rather than putting it next to me......

I thought you needed to have rabies shots after a bite, pretty much immediately?

 

[Flying mermaid]

I thought you needed to have rabies shots after a bite, pretty much immediately?

That's the optimum. The idea of the vaccination is it gives you more time to get the treatment. Rabies virus in the blood isn't the problem, it is when it gets into the central nervous system that you are history and there have been cases of it taking a long time to do that. So in my case I was scratched in April, but didn't start the treatment until August. I thought it was a waste of time, but ACT Health wanted to do it just in case. The theory being the virus could be kicking along in the blood, but hadn't got into the CNS yet.

Also potential of being a carrier, although that hasn't been confirmed yet that people can be carriers without contracting the disease.

I just went with the flow - 6 needles altogether, or was it more? I have sort of blocked it all out. .

 

[get me outta here]

That is my understanding too, and I think it is a series of shots into the wound and by all reports is very painful. There is some interesting general info here on the levels of rabies in SEA. Stay well away from any animals and do not feed or encourage any of them to come close to you is my advice. Rabies makes animals mad and unpredictable. Keep an eye out as you may not be aware that one is coming close to you.

Having the vac I guess depends on whether you are cautious or not. Without treatment it is always fatal.

http://www.searo.who.int/about/administration_structure/cds/CDS_rabies.pdf.pdf

I thought you needed to have rabies shots after a bite, pretty much immediately?

 

[Cynicor]

Treatment is asap, it's a series of 5 vaccinations into the arm/normal area and infusion of immunoglobulin into the wound, as much as you can fit in and then the rest into the arm.

As a note, I've had my shots, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them. I had some vaccines leftover that would have expired so just used them on myself...

 

[Flying mermaid]

That is my understanding too, and I think it is a series of shots into the wound and by all reports is very painful. There is some interesting general info here on the levels of rabies in SEA. Stay well away from any animals and do not feed or encourage any of them to come close to you is my advice. Rabies makes animals mad and unpredictable. Keep an eye out as you may not be aware that one is coming close to you.

Having the vac I guess depends on whether you are cautious or not. Without treatment it is always fatal.

http://www.searo.who.int/about/administration_structure/cds/CDS_rabies.pdf.pdf

the treatment consists of a big dose of immunoglobulin (how much depends on your weight), into various parts of your anatomy (there is a lot, so multiple injections - glad I am at the thinner end!) Plus a course of the vaccination just into the arm as per normal. It used to be much worse apparently and more painful - I didn't find it painful at all. The recommendation is also to thoroughly wash any bite/scratch as soon as it happens, as that can also prevent the virus entering.

Clearly you should get treatment as soon as possible, but mine was a tiny pinpoint of a scratch, not a bite and the animal was not aggressive, just trying to get the food and my hand got in the way. If it happened again I would seek treatment immediately, but at the time neither Mr FM or I thought it was necessary and as 3 months later I was still rabies free we were probably right, although I followed ACT Health's insistence and uunderwent treatment....

I feel sorry for strays and while I would steer clear of aggressive looking animals (such as monkeys), cats and dogs in places like Greece and Turkey are very sad. I wouldn't pet them as I saw some tourists doing but if I go back there I would certainly throw them food again.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Treatment is asap, it's a series of 5 vaccinations into the arm/normal area and infusion of immunoglobulin into the wound, as much as you can fit in and then the rest into the arm.

As a note, I've had my shots, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them. I had some vaccines leftover that would have expired so just used them on myself...

as my wound (actually a tiny pinprick from a claw) had healed many months previously, that wasn't an option.

 

[Cynicor]

as my wound (actually a tiny pinprick from a claw) had healed many months previously, that wasn't an option.

General advice, not in relation to you. Scratches are much lower risk but saliva can be present on claws.

 

[Flying mermaid]

General advice, not in relation to you. Scratches are much lower risk but saliva can be present on claws.

i know - I was being a bit facetious . It is one of the reasons I didn't seek treatment - cats are much lower risk of rabies, as are claws (unless they are licking them or drooling over them).

 

[JohnK]

What is the easiest and cheapest way to disgnose sciatica? Ultrasound? CT Scan could be a little expensive. Pain around the lower back and then on the outside of the calf between knee and ankle.

No not for me. And yes I know doctor would know best that is easier said than done.

 

[Princess Fiona]

What is the easiest and cheapest way to disgnose sciatica? Ultrasound? CT Scan could be a little expensive. Pain around the lower back and then on the outside of the calf between knee and ankle.

No not for me. And yes I know doctor would know best that is easier said than done.

It's largely a clinical diagnosis but an MRI is the test that will show the discs.
Imaging is not required in most cases. The person should get a check up done as not all back and leg pain is sciatica.

 

[Quickstatus]

Radiation
CT scan is about 100-200 chest X-rays. Depending on machine, number of "scans" or they call them slices.
MRI no radiation but the magnets make your water molecules in your body go beserk
Flying in an aeroplane apparently about 5 chest X-rays per 100 hours flying?.
1 chest X-ray = 2 weeks of background radiation
Anyone care to give some alternative facts

 

[JohnK]

It's largely a clinical diagnosis but an MRI is the test that will show the discs.
Imaging is not required in most cases. The person should get a check up done as not all back and leg pain is sciatica.

Thanks. Convincing is easier said than done.

 

[Cossie]

The boss will need a new knee, doc says this may be in 6 months, 2 years, or whenever the pain becomes unmanageable...

 

[love_the_life]

Oh no, not what you were hoping for after the recent surgery. The trick will be not to leave it too long but also not too precipitous I would think.

 

[Cossie]

Oh no, not what you were hoping for after the recent surgery. The trick will be not to leave it too long but also not too precipitous I would think.

Yes, not good, however she is pain free at the moment and at least he knee isn't 'locking' up anymore, from what I've heard, it isn't a very nice procedure to have done! The medial menicus was quite badly torn.

 

[love_the_life]

Glad she is pain free at present and the knee not locking up. My father had 3 knees done (one twice as it disintegrated - he wasn't Jake the Peg). He was much older than MrsC so he ended up using a walking stick. Hopefully you will be able to do some travel before it gets worse?

On our front daughter has to have more hip surgery it seems to release the tendon as it keeps catching - she is not over impressed by the idea, though if it takes the pain away and allows her to move more freely she will be happy. It's been going on for months. Son is waiting for a hospital date for the removal of an adenoma from the salivary glands. The surgeon drew a diagram of the incision - will be from in front of the top of the ear to half way down the neck which doesn't sound pleasant. Given that the son has a mental illness we are playing this part down at present. To round out the trifecta my mother had a skin cancer off the top of her head last week with 8 stitches and has been pretty sore. Bringing up the rear (I forgot for a moment) my SIL seems to have lost the sight in her eye with the melanoma in her eye but luckily bone scans came back OK. Hopefully that will be the end of our health trials for a while.