Medicine and Politic: A Deadly Mix -Pin This

  From Libertarian Tom Woods comes a very insightful post concerning how physicians have gutted true medicine in the name of "Public Health." I can totally relate to the writer's insights and angst. I first noticed this in med school, and I also had the realization that my fellow students lock-stepped (thanks for the accurate image!) right into line. It was a lonely time of my life for me. I actually gave up discussing politics with these particular classmates. I felt very much alone.

"In my opinion, the medical intelligentsia is in complete lockstep with far-left politics. It is so fully ingrained that I personally don’t think it's possible for it to change from the inside. I think outside forces need to become aware of it. Without going into too much detail, the public health field is generally made up of people who define medicine to be such a broad term, that almost no area of our lives would not be subject to control by it. For example, gun control leads to trauma, so health experts should make policy on it. Poor housing leads to worse health outcomes, so health experts should make policy on housing subsidies/projects, etc...

"...It is the orthodox opinion that the medical community should advocate and push for policies (that always line up with left-wing politics)."

The Tom Woods Show

Benadryl Use for Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

 My Quora Answer to:

Does Benadryl help hand, foot, and mouth disease?

If the rash (dermatitis) is pruritic (itchy) then, yes.

HFMD rarely occurs in adults and when it does, can be extremely itchy. Conversely, it is rarely pruritic in children, who catch it much more frequently.

The lesions are painful, so over-the-counter pain medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen will help. Adults can use aspirin safely if not contraindicated, but avoid it in children because of the increased risk of Reye's Syndrome in that age group.

The above pain relievers are also antipyretic, meaning that they will reduce fever. And chills.

Heat can increase the pain so avoid hot liquids. Very cold beverages decrease pain.

If your rash is itchy, then by all means take Benadryl (diphenhydramine) and/or the non-sedating antihistamines such as Allegra, Claritin, and Zyrtec.

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

To Spank or Not to Spank? That is the Real Question.

 My Quora Answer to: Would you spank a teen like me if you had to?

"Unless it’s done between consenting adults, spanking is VERY rarely warranted. Before I go into more detail, allow me to provide my child-forwarding (and not “-rearing”) credentials."

Spankings

The COVID-19 Antibiotic Cocktail

Trump is going back to work tonight only three days after being hospitalized with a COVID-19 infection. I tried looking up the ingredients of the "antibiotic cocktail" but could only discover the manufacturer (Regeneron). I suppose that the recipe is proprietary, but it would be helpful if at least physicians would know in order to educate patients. 

And yes, I do know someone who caught it early on, and she ended up in the hospital for a couple of weeks. It's real. It's out there. And it can be fatal.

"Serological status at baseline also predicted how rapidly patients had alleviation of their COVID-19 clinical symptoms. In the untreated (placebo) patients, seropositive patients had a median time to alleviation of symptoms of 7 days, compared to seronegative patients who had a median time to alleviation of symptoms of 13 days.

REGN-COV2 rapidly reduced viral load through Day 7 in seronegative patients (key virologic endpoint)."

Regeneron's Antibiotic Cocktail

Sublingual Benadryl in Acute Allergic Reactions

This is the first time I learned something from a Quora Question. I am now going to advise my clients to suggest using sublingual diphenhydramine at home during an acute allergic reaction to their patients. The Question was pure genius.

https://www.quora.com/If-you-are-having-an-allergic-reaction-and-feel-that-your-tongue-might-be-swelling-yes-use-Epipen-and-call-ambulance-etc-would-Benadryl-capsule-or-a-Unisom-Sleepmelt-under-the-tongue-or-liquid-Benadryl-work-quicker/answer/Michael-Mangold-4?ch=10&share=8da9b8db&srid=TCJzj

Boobs

 My Quora Answer to the Question, "Why have breasts been sexualized when they deem no sexual purposes?" I didn't write it, but my first thought was that this isn't a question. Rather it is an opinion.

"The second, about 300,000 years ago, had to do with females being able to choose their mates due to face-to-face sex. Until then, as in the rest of creation, sex was basically rape. The first guy in her from behind during ovulation would usually end up being the biological father of her next kid. Like a glory hole contest for paternity."

https://qr.ae/pNPe5X

The Best Kale Recipe Ever

1. Sow Kale early. It likes cool temperatures and shade.

2. Raise chickens. Free-range them if possible. Their eggs will contain more nutrients that way.

3. Harvest the kale and wash thoroughly with cold tap water.

4. Feed kale to chickens.

5. Sacrifice, cook, and eat the chickens.

Chew On This (continued)

There is unfinished business here concerning Fletcherism and his lifelong passion to liquify our food before swallowing. Saliva contains several beneficial ingredients that include amylase, lipase, and lysozyme. The first two are enzymes that break down carbohydrates and fats.  Lysozyme, also known as muramidase or N-acetylmuramide glycanhydrolase, is an antimicrobial enzyme produced by animals that forms part of the immune system. Fletcherism is basically a way to facilitate your body's innate wisdom.

So chew your food thoroughly and that includes shakes. You may think that since they are already "liquids" that they don't need such extensive mastication. Think again. They are really suspensions of solids within the liquid. 

I learned about this from my paternal grandmother Nellie by the time I was six. Her advice was a bit different, though. She encouraged us to chew 22 times before the swallow. I suppose that was adequate for some foods but probably not for the majority.

So Eat, Be Strong, & Enjoy!

But You Cannot Cage Her Soul

"Chelsea Vosters, of Wisconsin, spent the first seven years of her life living in a dog cage."

Starting in 2004, Chelsea became my medical patient at Mendota Mental Health Insititute in Madison, WI. You couldn't find a nicer, more friendly youngster than her. She was shy and withdrawn, very cute, and polite, but she was always melancholy. Who wouldn't be? I loved to see her smile and laugh at my corny Dad jokes. One time I got to make her give me the biggest smile I have ever seen on a child.

Cookie was my wife at the time and she made the brilliant suggestion to buy Chelsea a necklace. So we went to the local Marshall Fields and bought one. I have to admit that I have an impeccable taste in lady's jewelry. I gave it to Chelsea the next day and will always cherish the look of surprise and joy.

Always.

Chelsea Vosters

I Am Doing a Countdown Promotion for My First Book, "How to Think Like a Doctor"

 

I am doing a countdown promotion for my first book, How to Think Like a Doctor starting Friday, September 8th, and finishing on Tuesday, September 8th. The book is an entry-level medical text, written especially for new med and nursing students, EMT’s, CNA’s, Paramedics, and everyone who is interested in learning how physicians approach patient care and think logically about their problems. Using a case study from an actual patient who presented to my clinic, I dissect her issues through multiple techniques, including her Chief Complaint, History of Present Illness, Past Medical History, Physical Exam, et cetera, and arrive at a Definitive Diagnosis.

Her Treatment Plan included a combination of behavioral and lifestyle changes and prescriptions. Which worked!

My mantra for all of my books is “Enjoy & Learn,” and I hope you will.

Thank you in advance for buying this revealing book.

        https://amzn.to/3brdeic

Una Promoción de Cuenta Regresiva Para mi Libro Cómo Pensar Como un Doctor Comenzando el Viernes 4 de Septiembre

Estoy haciendo una promoción de cuenta regresiva para mi primer libro, Cómo Pensar Como un Doctor comenzando el viernes 4 de septiembre y terminando el martes 8 de septiembre Cómo Pensar Como un Doctor  es un texto médico de nivel de entrada, escrito especialmente para nuevos

estudiantes de medicina y enfermería, EMT, CNA, Paramédicos, y todos los que estén interesados en aprender cómo los médicos abordan la atención al paciente y piensan lógicamente sobre sus problemas. Utilizando un estudio de caso de un paciente real que se presentó en mi clínica, analizo sus problemas a

través de múltiples técnicas, incluida su Queja Principal, Antecedentes de Enfermedades Actuales, Antecedentes Médicos Anteriores, Examen Físico,etcétera, y llego a un Diagnóstico Definitivo. Su Plan de Tratamiento incluía una combinación de cambios de comportamiento y estilo de vida, y recetas.

¡Que funcionó!

Mi mantra para todos mis libros es "Disfruta y Aprende" y espero que tú también lo hagas. 

Gracias de antemano por comprar este revelador libro.

https://bit.ly/2YZU13M

Fletcher Hits the Bullseye

Horace Fletcher (1849-1919) was known as “The Great Masticator'' a dubious title. The foodie earned this appellation because of his practice and advocacy of chewing food until liquified before swallowing. IMHO, this is excellent advice, unlike his promotion of low protein, high carb diets. Oh well.

One surprising, if not gross, interest of his was poop. But believe it or not, these days the Bulletproof people also want us to study Number Two as a means to improve our health. I will blog about that soon.

From Wikipedia: His mastication system became known as "Fletcherism".

Fletcher and his followers recited and followed his instructions religiously, even claiming that liquids, too, had to be chewed in order to be properly mixed with saliva. Fletcher argued that his mastication method will increase the amount of strength a person could have while actually decreasing the amount of food that he consumed. Fletcher promised that "Fletcherizing", as it became known, would turn "a pitiable glutton into an intelligent epicurean”...

...He believed that the only true indication of one’s nutrition was evidenced by excreta (Fletcher 142). Fletcher advocated teaching children to examine their excreta as a means for disease prevention (Fletcher 143). If one was in good health and maintained proper nutrition then their excreta, or digestive "ash", as Fletcher called it, should be entirely "inoffensive". By inoffensive, Fletcher meant that there was no stench and no evidence of bacterial decomposition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Fletcher?wprov=sfla1 

HIV Sequence Found in Novel Coronavirus Genome

 Uncanny similarity of unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV spike protein to HIV-1 gp120 and Gag

If true, this means that several HIV-specific gene sequences were inserted artificially as “gain-of-function” nucleic acids, making the virus more virulent to humans. I’ve been saying this since April when researchers at Yale found evidence of CRISPR technology in the novel coronavirus. Unfortunately, I can’t find the original article, likely not a coincidence.

“To our surprise, all the 4 inserts in the 2019-nCoV mapped to short segments of amino acids in the HIV-1 gp120 and Gag among all annotated virus proteins in the NCBI database. This uncanny similarity of novel inserts in the 2019- nCoV spike protein to HIV-1 gp120 and Gag is unlikely to be fortuitous.” Emphasis mine.

https://adobe.ly/3b0vHU9

The Moral Equivalent of Solitary Confinement

 I have absolutely no quarrel with the fact the COVOD-19 is nasty and even fatal in high-risk populations. In fact, a low-risk friend of mine caught it early on and she went through HELL. Granted, she is 55 and is on the cusp of increasing risk, though.

This article by FEE takes issue with unwarranted and unscientific school closures and other forms of isolation in low-risk groups. Such as kids, teens, and young adults. And this includes most teachers so the argument that they are at risk is tenuous at best, a scare tactic at worst. 

Let the students sit on open-air chairs and if you're going to get freaked out then the teachers can stand behind a plexiglass shield. Makes sense, eh?

"The death of a teenager is a tragic reminder that there are myriad risks and tradeoffs regardless of whatever course schools, businesses, and organizations take. “Stay home, stay safe” may be a nice catchphrase, but we should not presume that staying at home is safer, and we should definitely resist making that choice for others."

"Sweden's Results Suggest We Should Stop Quarantining Healthy Children" 

Backpedalling Because of Collateral Damage

Mark Edward John Woolhouse FRSE FMedSci OBE (born 1959) is professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the Usher Institute in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviors that advises the government. 

Now that the collateral damage from governmental mandates has been done, he's had time to review the facts, the forecasts, the science, and the outcomes:

"At the time I agreed with lockdown as a short-term emergency response because we couldn’t think of anything better to do," he confesses. It was a "panic measure."

"I believe history will say trying to control COVID-19 through lockdown was a monumental mistake on a global scale. The cure was worse than the disease. I suspect right now more people are being harmed by the collateral effects of lockdown than by Covid-19."

"This," says Woolhouse, "is why we need a broader range of people on the government advisory board SAGE [Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] with equal input from economists to assess the damage to incomes, jobs and livelihoods, educationalists to assess the damage to children and mental health specialists to assess levels of depression and anxiety especially among younger adults, as well as psychologists to assess the effects of not being able to go to the theatre or a football match."

"I would not dignify waiting for a vaccine with the term 'strategy.'"

Daily Caloric Needs

This is fun and informative. Remember, "Learn & Enjoy."

I used to have an online calculator that did this automatically for me and my patients, but this is more fun, if not more laborious. Follow along.

I did average out "Active" and "Very Active" somewhere in-between because of the weather. It's pretty hard to be "Very Active" with this virus thing I heard is going around.

Determine Your Daily Caloric Needs:

There are several ways to determine how many calories you need:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Physical Activity

Thermic Effect of Food

---------

The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy (calories) your body needs while resting. This accounts for about 60-70 % of calories burned daily. In general, men have a higher BMR than women +because muscle and testosterone). One of the most accurate methods of estimating your Basal Metabolic Rate is the Harris-Benedict Formula:

Adult male: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years) = BMR

Adult female: 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years) = BMR

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows: 66+(6.3*170)=1203 +(12.9*71)= -(6.8*62)=2118.9-421.6=1697.3

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2

If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375

If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55

If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725

If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Total Calorie Needs Example

If you are sedentary, multiply your BMR (1745) by 1.2 = 2094. This is the total number of calories you need in order to maintain your current weight.

Calorie Needs to Lose Weight

There are approximately 3500 calories in a pound of stored body fat. If you subtract 3500 calories each week through diet, exercise or a combination of both, you will lose one pound of body weight. (On average 75% of this is fat, 25% lean tissue) If you create a 7000 calorie deficit you will lose two pounds and so on. The calorie deficit can be achieved either by calorie reduction alone, or by a combination of eating less and doing more. This combination of healthy eating and physical activity is best for achieving and maintianing a healthy weight.

If you want to lose fat, a useful guideline for lowering your calorie intake is to reduce your calories by at least 500, but not more than 1000 below your maintenance level. For people with only a small amount of weight to lose, 1000 calories is too much. As a guide, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that calorie levels never drop below 1200 calories per day for women or 1800 calories per day for men. Even these calorie levels are quite low.

Drink A Little Bit. Drink A Little Bit If You Can

 It is an interesting state of affairs when the research on drinking alcohol is so ambiguous that the recommendations are "U-shaped," meaning that they THINK a couple of drinks a day enhances cognition better than no drinks at all and drinking too many.

So pour yourself a strong one (or two) and think about THAT.

"The majority of studies observed a U-shaped relationship between regular alcohol consumption and cognitive function: frequent heavy consumption of alcohol alters brain functions and decreases cognitive performance; regular light and moderate consumption may have a protective impact. In many studies, total abstainers show an inferior cognitive performance than people with moderate or light consumption."

https://bit.ly/2EsrrAE

Interesting Psych Findings

Interesting Psych Findings From Quora. I find numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 13, and 15 the most interesting.

#22 and #23 are news to me. As is #15. I find it hard to believe it's that long!

https://bit.ly/3ibQFS2

Anti-Aging Gene Therapy

Here is the problem with aging:

When you are younger, you get a disease and it usually goes away. As you get older, you get a disease, then another, and then another, and they accumulate.

“We’re generally in denial that, for most of the diseases that we get these days, the root cause is aging. I don’t know 10-year-olds that get Alzheimer’s disease or heart disease.”

— David Sinclair

https://bit.ly/30Xxvsu

Sugar Detox

I was inspired to write this post because I received warnings from a friend that she was going to start a sugar detox and wanted everyone to take cover the next week or so. Yes it can be difficult, to the point of divorce difficult, but you can do it. So here's a bit of advice from me and those good people at BulletProof Coffee.

I found that going into ketosis helps because our brains thrive on ketones. This means a very low carb, high fat, and medium protein diet for two weeks. When I did it in order to cut up for a bodybuilding contest, I came out of the two week "rapid start" phase losing 10-15 pounds of fat and feeling wonderful. It would have been even better if BulletProof had been along back then.

Besides the true fat loss,  I graduated without a sweet tooth. 23 years later and it's still absent. I can't guarantee that you will lose yours but isn't it worth a try?

BulletProof Sugar Detox Advice

BulletProof Serrapeptase

I've been taking the enzyme Serrapeptase about 10 months now in the hope that it will reduce the size of the coronary artery plaque in my Left Anterior Descending artery (the "Widow Maker"). I have apparently been doing it wrong. 

It's not stated in this article but Serrapeptase needs to be taken on an empty stomach 2-4 times per day. Otherwise, it will be wasted on breaking down foods and medicines instead of the target entities.

Since it remodels skin, be sure to supplement with Vitamin C, collagen peptides, and the mineral zinc:

"You can take serrapeptase to help dissolve scar tissue, fight inflammation, improve your immune response, and decrease pain…

...Serrapeptase dissolves fibrin, a particularly tough protein that makes up scar tissue, and emerging research suggests that high doses of serrapeptase may reduce scarring."

https://bit.ly/2ChH8JE

If It Hurts When You Do That, Don't Do It

Sometimes people confuse me.

Here is my Quora Answer to the Question, "My hands feel like the veins are full of blood like when after I swing my arm around really fast. What is this symptom called and what does it mean?"

First of all, this is physics, not medicine. Secondly, why couldn't this person figure it out themself? Last, unless you are a Shen Yun or Blue Man Group performer, what adult swings their arms around like that?

Quora Arm Swinger

Patient Extractions

As a doctor, what have you extracted from a patient that nearly scared you?

https://bit.ly/2YKBvfT

The Good. The Bad. And The Ugly

When I ran a Family Practice clinic I used to go on the road with PowerPoint presentations that covered diets/nutrition, health, exercise, and supplements. In the Diet section I had a part called "Fats: The Good; The Bad; and The Ugly" which stressed avoiding The Bad, limiting intake of The Ugly, and indulging in The Good. In today's blog I am going to focus on The Ugly by coming in through the back door.

This article by "The Healing Miracle" praises the virtues of coconut oil, definitely a Good Fat. But it also lists four of the Ugly ones. This list is not exhaustive since it doesn't include trans fats, for example. Here is their list but please head over to the article because they explain why these are Ugly:

1. Canola/Rapeseed oil

2. Cottonseed oil

3. Safflower oil

4. Soybean oil

https://pages.thealternativedaily.com/alerts-click-coconut-research/

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=AFa1-kciCb4&feature=share

Six Pro-Inflammatory Foods to Avoid

Another great article over at BULLETPROOF. I will list the six for you as a quick guide but you really should read the article which explains how and why. It also lists healthy alternatives.

1. Fried foods. An air fryer is an alternative.

2. Sodas, both sugared and those with artificial sweeteners. They don't mention that stevia (as in the soft drink Zevia) is a healthy substitute.

3. Refined carbs.

4. Processed meats.

5. Margarine and shortening (trans fats).

6. Alcohol

https://bit.ly/3hHcsSm

A Toadal Tragedy

Usually the toads are licked, not smoked.

https://www.themonastery.org/blog/porn-star-arrested-after-spiritual-encounter-involving-toad-venom-results-in-death

Alcohol and Your Immune System

"This is a long way of saying, alcohol is hard on your immune system, and over time, it has a harder time showing up to do its job."

https://www.bulletproof.com/diet/alcohol-immune-system/

Zinc and Your Immune System

A decent summary of the benefits of zinc by the folks at Bulletproof. I would add to not wash down your zinc, or any minerals, with tomato juice since it contains lectins that will also impair absorption.

ZINC BENEFITS IMMUNITY, PLUS OTHER REASONS TO TAKE A ZINC SUPPLEMENT

A Bulletproof Gut

One thing I like about Dave Asprey is that, besides doing extensive research, he also experiments on himself. 

I did not know that about histamine-producing bacteria. I've completely revamped my probiotics. Also note that prebiotics are essential.

BulletProof Blog

Boost Your Immunity with Food

"Discover some of the best foods to boost your immune system and which supplements you might want to take. The right foods can help you avoid falling victim to colds and flu this year!"

From the folks over at Food Revolution Network. It's a decent read. The only one I disagree with is the recommendation to eat more peppers because of their very high level of lectins.

https://foodrevolution.org/blog/how-to-boost-immune-system/

Flat-Chested Quest for Acceptance

My Quora Answer to

I'm 18, and very underweight. I have metobalosim problems, I've always been teased for my flat chest. If I gain weight will my breasts grow? But how much of a growth will it be?

Michael Mangold, MD Medicine, Rosalind Franklin (1990)

Answered just now

You have two Questions and I'll answer them separately.

You are at an age where your hormones are raging so there is the possibility that they WILL get bigger. No guarantees but it's worth a try.

And how do you try? I recommend you get a mass builder shake powder. Take one serving in the morning and once more at bedtime. Add some good oils like coconut oil or it's main fat, MCT oil. How much? Start low like a teaspoon in each shake and increase weekly. Otherwise you might develop Hershey squirts. Olive oil is a good fat, too. For supplements, take fish oil and Vitamins A and D3 which are oils, too. D3 is a precursor to hormones so you get a double whammy

Start lifting weights. That may sound counter-intuitive as a way to gain fat but if your primary goal is an increase in bust size, lifting weights (especially bench presses) will build up your pectoralis muscles, giving you a fuller appearance.

Now, how much gain you will see. I just can't predict because so many variables factor in. Your diet, hormone levels, age, and so on. There's only one way to find out. Just do it.

I'm sorry that others find it difficult to accept you as you are. You didn't choose this so teasing is just a form of bullying. So keep your head up, do what needs to be done, work at it consistently, and experiment.

You can do it!

More Red Light Therapy. "...red light (in the proper intensity and dose) has a therapeutic or healing effect on the tissue and body."

This is an excellent article about Red Light Therapy (RLT) for lay people. Briefly, the take-home messages are:

• It works.

• But only if you buy a light with two specific wavelength ranges: 630-670 nm and 850 nm

• The mid-600's stimulate (heal) skin issues such as wrinkles, scars, wounds, and baldness

• The mid-800's penetrate deeper and target bones, muscles, and even the pineal gland and hypothalamus

• YOU CAN STIMULATE YOUR BRAIN!

• Choose your lights carefully. The author of the article, Alex Fergus, mentions Joovy only once but they have high production standards and do their own extensive research

• Men can raise their testosterone levels by shining the light on the boys

I'll add my own piece of advice. The closer to your skin the deeper the light penetration. But first and second degree burns are very real risks. I should know.

http://bit.ly/2GPNAqj

Cultural Awareness in Medicine

A comment I made on an especially poignant Answer in Quora to the Question

*As a nurse, what is the most disturbing "cultural practice" you have ever seen?"

The expected answer would be “female genital mutilation ” from cultural practices of “female circumcision”. That is abhorrent, and a lifetime burden for the young victim. It’s not often seen in North America. There is a more prevalent cultural practice, being seen more often, that can be deadly for more than one victim. That is the “cultural practice” of a wife not being “viewed” by a man other than her husband- even if the “man” is a life-saving doctor.

It was a small, 30-bed hospital in small-town Appalachia, which happened to be not far from I75N. The town was formerly a booming coal mining community, so there were fine mansions in the town, as well as crumbling trailers with McGivered wood stoves for heat on the mountain roads. Most of the businesses had closed in town. The biggest employer was Walmart - which was also the best source of food and clothing. All those folks you see on the “seen at Walmart” sites, live in towns like this one. There was one laundromat, which didn’t always have hot water. There was a decaying public school, and after 6th grade, it was a one-hour bus ride to middle school.

Why is this relevant? A hospital can only attract good staff physicians based on salary and quality-of-life. This town had no “quality-of-life”, so the salary was above the norm. Still, it was hard to attract permanent staff, and the hospital relied on “Locums” - moonlighting doctors looking for extra income. So, especially on weekends, when arriving at this emergency/urgent hospital; one must be grateful a board-certified physician was on call.

It was a blustery snowy night in the mountains of West Virginia. Precariously driving on I75N was a man and wife, who was 36 weeks pregnant. Her water broke, and sudden hard contractions commenced. The husband saw the H hospital- sign and made his way into the sleepy town. The ER recognised the critical imminent delivery, and called the Locum physician; a highly qualified OB/GYN from a major hospital. The OB doc was in-house, so the staff breathed a sigh of relief that all would be well. A stand-by call was made to the nearest NICU (1 ½ hours away) in case the baby needed special care. A helicopter would be dispatched at once.

BUT.

The Locum OB doc was male. The husband absolutely forbade the man to view his unclothed wife. The L&D nurses were female. Anesthesia was female. The husband was in the room, and he physically barricaded the door so that the OB doc could not enter.

The contractions got worse. Too close together, and mom screamed in pain and fear. Anesthesia called out that a C-section was needed NOW! Husband would not let the male OB specialist in the room. The nurses shouted out vital signs, contraction strength and duration, and lack of progress for cervical dilatation. The doc called back orders. Anesthesia called out falling VS. Mom pleaded with her husband to PLEASE let the doctor in to help. The nurses begged. Anesthesia begged. During this screaming session, a call was made to local social services, who arrived within minutes to advocate for the safety of mom and baby. Social Services notified the closest sheriff.

The Husband was adamant and aggressive. 6’2”, 200 lbs, and as aggressively angry as a confronted tiger His honour and his wife’s honour would be forever compromised if this unknown male saw his wife in such a naked and compromised position. It was not going to happen while he was there.

The female staff continued to relay information. The doctor continued to call out instructions. But the nurses, by law, could not perform the manoeuvres or procedures required to deliver the baby. Mom screamed. Cried. Pleaded.

Mom then started to cry and plead only for the baby. Pleaded for her husband’s son. Save your son! Your heir! Each cry was becoming weaker. And weaker. Until there were only gasps. Then the doctor overrode policy, and pushed past the husband guarding the door, and was rewarded with a knock-out punch to the head.

Now the doctor, the ONLY medical doctor within 60 miles able to assist with this complicated delivery, is unconscious on the floor. Mom is losing too much blood. The contractions are too strong, the cervix not dilated; this baby is not coming out.

Mom’s voice grew weaker. The husband demanded a female physician or he would sue. The nurses did as much as they could - but only the doc, out cold on the floor, could do the C-section that would save both mom and baby.

By the time police arrived, mom had died from placental abruption, loss of blood, and shock. The baby died in utero. Husband was screaming about suing the hospital as he was pulled away in handcuffs.

And that, was the most horrific case of “cultural practice” I have ever seen. I pray I never see it again. I might be the one to cold-punch the husband to the floor. Sue me for the lives I’ve saved.

My Comment

I was going to answer this until I read yours. This is absolutely horrific. I'm going to have nightmares tonight.

The only “what if" I can honestly put forward is this: What if the hospital had hired TWO security guards? I think that is the crucial question.

My heart bleeds for everyone, including the husband. But not for the hospital. I've said over and over again that while the overwhelming majority of physicians and nurses are motivated by healing first and money second, hospitals are now guided by three policies (in order): profit, image, and (maybe) healing third, as long as it doesn't interfere with the first two.

Why is this relevant to your account? Because hospitals are more concerned about risking a lawsuit over “cultural insensitivity” and the negative press they create than they are about healing. 

“But Dr. Mangold, why does your heart bleed for hubby, the obvious cause of two deaths and the instigator of assault and battery?” Because he is obviously the victim of his own cultural upbringing.  Where is the cultural awareness here? He didn't create his irrational jealousy on his own. It was learned. Dad taught him through example, education, and probably physical violence. Mom reinforced it. One of Dr. Mangold's Rules is that jealousy is a mental illness. And now his mental disorder has become a legal one. Unless he is a Malignant Narcissist or Sociopath, he has suffered enough. The death of a spouse is terrible. The death of a child? No parent should endure that. There ought to be a law that no kid dies before its parents.

http://bit.ly/2vfHYmM

Fight, Flee, Freeze, or Fawn

A great article from Well.org. This is from my email but there is no link to to an outside site, so I copied and pasted it in its entirety. There are reference links, though.

Attention All “People-Pleasers”: Important Trauma-Healing Info People-pleasing is commonly considered to be an altruistic method of getting along with your neighbor. But according to prominent psychologists, it’s more accurately an acute response to trauma, called “fawning.” We’re all pretty familiar with fight or flight responses… it turns out, there are two others. “Freeze”... And “fawn.” These are our defense structures — and “fawn” is a response characterized by codependence. Meaning you either require too much of others, or others require too much of you. Here are some of the behavioral points common to fawning as a response to conflict, or the threat of conflict… Mirroring opinions Anticipating/appeasing needs Relaxing/ignoring personal boundaries  Absorbing the wants of another party as your own There are many different ways that these can manifest, but generally speaking, the “fawner” doesn’t assert their feelings and experiences as a valid stance (like a “fighter”), or obsessively strives for perfection to avoid conflict (like a “flighter”), or disassociates and becomes as invisible as possible (like a “freezer”). You see, matching your “opponent’s” posture and attitude is a way to blend in and convince the source of conflict that you’re on their side, you’re not the target, you’ll help them to make it better.  It’s usually a trained reaction to trauma or abuse — to get in front of a conflict before it gets in front of you.  The Psychology of Fawning  Therapist and author Pete Walker developed his “fawning” theory as an exploration of the affability of PTSD survivors.  Not only does fawning serve to diffuse conflict, it also creates a false sense of security in relationships by using constructed commonalities as a bond. Basically, it’s the long-con.  But what it all boils down to? Feeling safe. This means that you’ll often find fawners in relationships with people who are: controlling (so that they don’t have to make decisions which could later impact them negatively)  withholding (so that receiving affection feels “earned” and therefore less likely to evaporate)  or in some cases abusive (so that having no boundaries seems justified, since they wouldn’t have been respected anyway) Are you detecting the pattern?  Does This Sound Like You?  People whose trauma response is fawning tend to prefer relationships and situations that are inherently unstable because it feels comfortable, and because their required contribution is clear and familiar: soothe and supplement. If you suspect this might be you… Here are a few more checkpoints. Do you… Go back and forth between bottling up your emotions and unleashing them onto people, usually not the people who need to hear them? Have a really hard time saying “no”, even when you’re completely overwhelmed? Second-guess yourself when you’re angry at someone and end up feeling guilty for possibly misunderstanding the situation? Craft your behavior based on the perceived reactions of the other person involved as though you were responsible for their behavior as well as your own? Bend and mold your values depending on the situation? Those trends are an indication that you respond to conflict by fawning. What Should You Do? This is a personal journey, so everyone’s answer will be different. You could seek out therapy, with a focus on self-preservation through self-worth, and not through external validation that fawning seemingly secures. If you’d like to take matters into your own hands, you could start dismantling your “fawning” reaction by considering which people in your life illicit it the most from you. Who do you go out of your way to please? And who do you ignore as a result?  Noting who you ignore is helpful, because those people are often the people you actually should be spending energy on.  You see, they’re the people that you’re not afraid of — who aren’t mad when you take time for yourself, or who don’t question your feelings when you present them.  It’s likely that you’ve paid less attention to these people because their approval wasn’t conditional, and you weren’t punished for not paying attention. Consider starting there, but if you’d like something a little bit more hands-on… You could try a course in healing emotional trauma, like this one.  Whatever you decide to do, simply understanding when and why you engage in a “fawning” response is absolutely crucial. For full references, please click here.

My Quora Answer to: Why do so many people have allergies today? Because we are born into, are raised up in, and work in sterilized environments.

Early and constant exposure to bacteria common in nature but not so much in cities builds our immune systems in many ways. Think about it. Who gets more exposure to allegens such as pollen and fungi?

I wrote about this a few years ago on my blog titled, “Eat Dirt.” That article was specifically aimed at a genus of bacteria called “Nitrosomas,” but could very well apply to other genera and fungi. Nitrisomas species live off of the form of nitrogen found in urine, urea. Believe it or not, they can live on your skin too, like under armpits. Nature's original deodarant.

Other ingested and inhaled allergens directly affect your internal immune system. For one, chronic low-level exposure stimutes the formation of Immunoglobulins G and M which “overpower” the release and activity of IgE. The IgE molecule (if unopposed) attaches to mast cells in your blood, causing the release of histamine, which is the chemical responsible for all those nasty and even deadly allergic reactions.

According to this 2013 study, rural bacteria also affect natural killer T-cells in the lungs of mice. I haven't read the science behind the article but assume it's valid:

https://www.livescience.com/36217-early-bacterial-exposure-immunity.html

Very good question, BTW.

Nanobes and Coronary Artery Disease

Something I Discovered En Route to Looking Up Other Things

I got my chest CT results and an incidental finding is that I have "severe coronary calcification." So, I started looking up ways to decrease it and found a great article on outpatient chelation therapy. The researchers used a combination of plant powders and tetracycline orally, and EDTA suppositories per rectum. 

But why the antibiotic? The article sites nanobacteria (nanobes) as a causative factor in coronary artery disease and the tetracycline kills them off. 

This is the first time I've heard about nanobes, sooo...

https://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/nanobes/index.html

Polyphenols

Polyphenols are chemicals found abundantly in many types of foods, especially brightly colored fruits and veggies, but also teas, coffee, chocolate, and herbs/spices. Red wines are a rich source, too.

Of the top 5 polyphenol-containing foods, four are from berries. In order:

1. Wild Blueberries
2. Blackberries
3. Pomegranate
4. Cranberries
5. Blueberries

You can add strawberries and raspberries as close contenders.

Try to include at least 2 cups per day of these fruits in your diet.

Citrus Fruits and Kidney Stones "...lemonade therapy appears to be a reasonable alternative for patients with hypocitraturia who cannot tolerate first line therapy."

Although a terribly small study, let's hope it's a springboard to greater things. One other issue I have with this study is that they don't reveal how much real lemon juice is in their lemonade. 

Permit me to help translate some of the medspeak:

"Citrauric" simply means the amount of citric acid in your urine.

"Nephrolithiasis" is the term for kidney stone formation. 'Nephro' means kidney, as like the medical specialty Nephrology. 'Lith' means stone. Think of 'monolith,' or a large monument carved from a single (mono) rock.

"Hypocitraturia" is a chronically low (below normal) level of citrate in your urine.

Here are excerpts from the study. The full link is found at the end.

"Purpose: Citrus fruits and juices are a known natural source of dietary citrate. Of all the citrus juices, lemon juice appears to have the highest concentration of citrate. Therefore, lemonade therapy has been proposed as a potential treatment for patients with hypocitraturia. We retrospectively evaluated the impact of long-term lemonade therapy on urinary metabolic parameters and stone formation in patients with hypocitraturic nephrolithiasis."

"Conclusions: Due to its significant citraturic effect, lemonade therapy appears to be a reasonable nn.alternative for patients with hypocitraturia who cannot tolerate first line therapy. Future study in the form of a prospective, randomized trial is needed to validate these findings."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17382731