22
votes
Accepted
Medical professionals referring to 'left' and 'right': are they referring to my relative directions or theirs?
In medical documentation, being an X-ray, MRI, description of physical examination or other, the sides "right" and "left" should be always used as they appear in your body. So, the "left neural ...
- 15.8k
13
votes
Accepted
Should we always eat something before taking pain killers?
Ibuprofen and Aspirin are both non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These NSAIDs can be differentiated into selective NSAIDs and non-selective NSAIDs.
Non-selective NSAIDs such as ...
- 6,772
12
votes
Accepted
Videos of surgery
Top quality resources for videos will be found at sites from surgical academies, which often offer free or low-price subscriptions to students/residents/trainees:
American College of Surgeons ...
- 5,774
10
votes
Accepted
How is pain measured?
Please note that the pain scale is usually used to evaluate the efficacy of treatment. As long as the pain is responding to treatment, there need not be objectivity per se.
Was it a '7' on arrival? ...
- 9,422
9
votes
Why do medical professionals tap syringes before injecting somebody?
It's so that the correct dosage of medication to be administered can be drawn in the syringe and to get rid of any air bubbles incidentally drawn.
The syringe has milliliter (and fractions thereof) ...
- 415
9
votes
Accepted
Why do surgeons wear blue aprons during surgeries?
Initially surgeons did wear white in the operating theater, but there were two large problems with this. Firstly, under the bright lights, the white reflects too much light making an inordinate amount ...
- 104
8
votes
What guarantees the benevolence of a doctor?
What guarantees that the doctor is willing to help, especially if they are hired in a public system?
Nothing
In the end, the doctor with the perfect resume could end up killing you because for ...
- 6,772
8
votes
Accepted
What exactly does "general practitioner" mean?
Note: I can give you a breakdown of the CURRENT medical system in the US. Naming and training used to be different some decades ago, when the term GP was more broadly applied, but I am less familiar ...
- 5,774
8
votes
Accepted
Is a study of one research in the field of medicine?
To build off of what JohnP said, scientific evidence has a hierarchy of reliability. Some types of papers, by their very nature, are more academically rigorous and likely to lead you to the truth.
...
- 1,271
7
votes
Why is medicine used to treat symptoms which are our body's way of telling us something is wrong?
I presume you're taking the teleological view that symptoms are "good" and have a beneficial (if not fully understood) purpose, and therefore should not be messed with. That is a cognitive bias (a ...
- 9,422
7
votes
Is a study of one research in the field of medicine?
"Studies of one" are also known as case studies, N-of-1 studies or case reports. I will refer to them below as case reports, for simplicity. They vary in quality just like any other type of studies. ...
- 835
6
votes
Accepted
How does pulse oximetry work?
Introducing Energy States
Around an atom, there are 7 different electron shells1. When the electrons receive the necessary amount of energy, they jump from one state to another (called "ground state" ...
- 6,772
6
votes
Accepted
What does B.D means in a Doctor's Prescription?
As @LangLangC pointed out, bis in die is Latin for twice a day.
However, usually drugs come with a prescription information a bit more elaborate, and twice a day is more commonly abbreviated as B.I....
- 6,772
6
votes
What are side effects frequencies based on?
Side effects frequency narrative words are defined by the council of International Organizations of Medical Sciences. See slide 10 of this presentation on the subject. As shown, "Very common" means ...
- 749
6
votes
Accepted
Are homeopathy treated patients really experiencing "Placebo"?
Homeopathy isn't a scientific thing, and sometimes it is very easily refuted
https://www.livescience.com/31977-homeopathy.html
homepathic "remedies" are compounds that are so diluted that there is a ...
6
votes
Accepted
Citrate vs EDTA
I'm not familiar with using citrate or EDTA as an anticoagulant in medical care (i.e. as a drug). However, it is often used in blood sampling tubes so that the blood sample does not clot.
As to ...
6
votes
What is the difference between eczema and urticaria?
Eczema (atopic dermatitis)
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, itchy skin condition that is very
common in children but may occur at any age. It is also known as
eczema and atopic eczema and was ...
- 3,243
6
votes
How do doctors go about diagnosing uncommon diseases?
My question is, statistically most cases are horses, but how do you find the zebras?
The answer is... complicated. I will answer first from my experience as a (US) physician, and secondly, from a ...
- 9,422
5
votes
How is pain measured?
The Numerical Rating Scale (NRS - 11) may be the easiest one to relate to. Between ranges can be looked at pretty objectively, but within ranges is more subjective.
Rating: Pain Level
0: No Pain
...
- 711
5
votes
Accepted
What is the reason behind doctors giving some medicines after/before the meal?
Simple answer: Because that is just the medication guidelines. Some medications, because of onset of actions, effect of stomach acid, upsetting stomach and other factors need to be taken on or off a ...
- 2,975
5
votes
Accepted
Verify Credentials for Nurse Practitioner
Each state should have their own licensing board, that may or may not have a search function to verify a licensure.
As an experiment, I went to the Texas website and entered the name of a nurse ...
- 6,630
5
votes
Accepted
Taking Blood Pressure Bilaterally -- Why?
Because that's the way to measure blood pressure
The German guidelines for treating hypertonia are to always measure bilateral. (German Source Only)
As @DoctorWhom pointed out in the comments, ...
- 6,772
5
votes
Should we always eat something before taking pain killers?
It is the information leaflet, which usually comes with all drugs, that should tell you to take them with or without food.
For one/few time use, it can be better to take them on an empty stomach or ...
- 15.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Why is it a bad idea to use uppers and downers simulatenously?
"Uppers" and "downers" are colloquial terms for drugs with stimulant effects versus depressive effects, respectively.
The primary acute health concern with either (i.e., what tends to kill people in ...
- 13.7k
5
votes
Is it true that freckles have zero potential for malignant transformation?
I don't think there is much medical science here, just interpretation of language and writing.
"Freckles have zero potential for malignant transformation" is not a statement of scientific ...
- 13.7k
4
votes
Which type of doctor to see when?
Primary Care
Primary Care Physician (General Practitioner)
In the USA: primary care specialties include Family Medicine (all ages), Internal Medicine (adults), Pediatrics (children). Nurse ...
4
votes
Accepted
Differences between MD vs DO regarding computational research?
MDs and DOs are both physicians. Both learn at least a core medical curriculum, then take exams demonstrating that level of knowledge (USMLE vs COMLEX). Both can apply for residencies for any ...
- 5,774
4
votes
Medicines in the fridge
Chemical reactions are slowed down at lower temperatures; refrigeration can increase the shelf-life of medicines that would not last long enough at room temperature.
Refrigeration could be important ...
- 13.7k
4
votes
Should we always eat something before taking pain killers?
It is indeed important to differentiate the drug in question and the individual and the intention for using the drug and the way it is taken, temporally.
Painkillers – or analgesics – come in a wide ...
- 6,887
4
votes
What is the name of this medical practice?
There is a site called Anatomy Stuff which specialize in providing replications of the human body.
In particular, they have a section called Anatomy Models, which has a range of human-esque models, ...
- 1,513
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