Friday, May 28, 2021
A cardiologist and infectious disease specialist discuss their favorite statin
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Just when you lose hope....
(This is a bit of an off-academic post. So if you are on exam season, avoid reading this.)
Being a doctor!..... we all have dreamt of it. Since we were kids we wanted to wear that stethoscope, walk in long hall ways, go to those people with pain and help them...
You wil watch a TV series and when a surgeon would say "Scalpel please!" you feel goosebumps thinking one day you wanna do it...
But there are somedays you just get home or to hostel from medschool or hospital, and you just don't want to do it anymore. You feel like your passion is lost. You feel like you are no more yourself!
YES! We all have gone through this at least once or even more times in our lives. And when you say this, many other medical students will relate to you too.
Whenever you feel so demotivated, just think WHY YOU STARTED THIS AT THE FIRST PLACE? Did you do it by your will? What made you decide this?
For an example, I always wanted to be a doctor, but my will to become a doctor became so strong when my grandpa passed away in a govt hospital because the doctor in charge didn't diagnose that he was having a heart attack. That day I decided I want to be that doctor who will correctly diagnose and treat people to the best capability I can. I wanted to stop anyone else's family member to pass away because of gross incapacity of a doctor.
You may also have a reason like this if you dig inside your mind. And you will find this reason to fire you up again. To make you push through that one more chapter. Go to that one more ward with a wide smile despite you are sleepless and tired.
Find your reason to stay, not to leave! Because once you are on this voyage, you have decided to work for the betterment of the world and the people, and if you quit midway, it's such a waste, my friend!
Many people dream to be in our shoes. If we give it up, we just are ruining a chance of someone else to be a doctor. So make that medschool seat you owned, be worth it.
Another thing! Going through medschool is not a single man's job. It needs hell load of a support. Find this support system in your family, in your significant other, in your friends, and anyone who would give you strength to carry on, and someone who would motivate you, someone who would be there to say "You can do this! I'm with you!".
Medical books are boring, but books are not the only way you can learn anymore in this digital world. You have millions of videos and interactive websites you can find. You have blogs like our www.medicowesome.com where we breakdown big medical info into small pieces and clarify.
Get your stuff together, clean up your workspace. Cleaner table will motivate you to study too. Use some motivating words in front of your workspace, On your phone's wall paper, On your notebooks! Simply everywhere you would see. If someone would judge you for that, make them your motivation too. Stick up a motivating note on their forehead too! 😂 Just kidding! Ya just keep that smile on always!
Life is great! Medical life is even greater! With all its failures, late night cries, exam phobhias, senior bullies, colleague dramas, its all worth it.
Finish your degree...! This pain lasts only few years! Once you are a fully fledged doctor, you can go ahead and be that wonderful human being you always wanted to be! Don't kill that wonderful person even before you get there!!
We are all voyagers of this same hard journey wherever we are in this world! So let's do this! And in any case you need someone to guide you through your academic related depression or demotivation, always count on us here in Medicowesome!
Have a great day and go own that damn degree!!! 😍
Good luck! See ya later!
Yours,
Jay.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Monday, October 8, 2018
ACHOO SYNDROME.
- Sneezing induced by feeling full. (One case study of a relatively normal 32-year-old man found that "fullness of the stomach immediately after meals invariably results in three or four uncontrollable sneezes."
- And the weirdest: For some, eating chocolate can induce some unwanted sneezes how barbaric.
Let's Learn Together.
-Medha Vyas.
x
Sunday, February 18, 2018
The Oedipus Complex
The Oedipus Complex has been an ever popular Freudian concept.
Here's a summary of Psychosexual development as per Freud and the Oedipus Complex concept.
I insist you put up with this incestuous concept :p
So Freud was an extraordinary Psychoanalyst and gave the stages of 'Psycho Sexual Development' in his book 'Interpretation of Dreams'.
There Are 4 stages of Psychosexual development in Freud's opinion that all of us pass through to reach the mature stage eventually.
The 4 stages are :
1. Oral
2. Anal
3. Phallic
Latent period
4. Genital
Remember -
Mnemonic : On A PG break.
If one fails to break through any of these stages , it is said he'd develop specific psychiatric illnesses.
It's important for a child to go through these stages without 'fixation' over any of those.
For example Oral stage fixation Makes you SAD
Schizophrenia
Anxiety
Dependent Personality disorder.
Anal Stage fixation makes you an 'Anal' person.
So you're likely to develop Obsessive Compulsive disorder or Obsessive Compulsive Personality (Ankanastic Personality)
Phallic Stage Fixation is "complex."
So in previous stages , it's been obvious what the object of gratification has been (Mouth and Anus respectively).
This one's slightly more "complex".
So as per Freudian theory , Boys would be sexually fixated on their Mothers, viewing their Fathers as a threat ;
This is called the 'Oedipus Complex'.
And also have Castration anxiety.
The theory says similarly Girls would be sexually fixated on their Fathers , viewing their mothers as a threat ;
This is called the 'Elektra Complex'.
And have Penis Envy.
The Oedipus Complex :
So this stems from the Greek story where Oedipus marries his own mother unkowningly , after he kills his father.
King Laius was the king of Greek city Thebes. He and his wife Jocasta bore a child : Oedipus.
The problem is some Seer prophesized that this child would kill him. And so he sent away his child, who was found and raised in another city by another King. Years later he returned to Thebes and quarreled with an old man and ended up killing him.
After a while he was told that the King had been killed , and that he could take charge of the town if he defeats the Sphinx. He did so, and won the hand of the King's wife Jacosta as well.
Years later he found out the King was actually his Father , and his Wife was his mother.
Here's where the 'Oedipus Complex' gets its name from.
Electra Complex
Stems from another Greek story.
Electra was the daughter of Agamemnon, whose wife killed him.
Electra then avenged her father's death by killing her mother.
(Talk about Daddy's lil girl ;;) )
Another complex is 'Pharoah Complex' where siblings are fixated sexually on each other.
Fixation in Phallic phase leads to Paraphilias and Hysteria.
Hope this wasn't overly disturbing !
Happy studying !
Stay awesome.
~ A.P. Burkholderia
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Quick Facts - Swimming associated Diseases.
Hello everybody!
Let's swim through microbiology today and review some swimming related diseases.
Swimming pool conjunctivitis -
Caused by : Adenovirus 3,7 and 14 (tends to occur in children's swimming camps)
Chlamydia Trachomatis.
Swimming pool Granuloma -
Caused by Mycobacterium Marinum.
Swimmer's Itch -
Caused by Schistosoma Mansoni.
Swimmer's Ear - Pseudomonas.
Swimming in contaminated water can also cause Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis by Naegleria Fowleri which is a free living ameba.
If you come across more eponymous swimming diseases do share.
Let's learn Together!
-Medha.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Quick Facts - Fried Egg Appearance!
They also show fried egg appearance on sabourauds dextrose agar with olive oli overlay.
Medha.
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Why do newborns have a higher heart rate?
Hey guys!
Have y'll ever wondered why do babies have heart rates as high as 160s?
Answer:
Babies have a high proportion of Body Surface Area to heart than that in adults. Therefore, in order to maintain adequate blood flow, baby's "li'l heart" has to pump more often to cover the "large Body Surface Area"!
I hope y'll find this interesting!
Till then, stay awesome!
-Rippie
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Research Update - The Multitasking Brain.
And you hear the Pinggg!!!
Aha.. GOTHAM needs you!! You shift your focus from the task of studying to the task of on your cellphone,and simultaneously thinking about how good you are at multitasking!
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Authors diary: Tip for solving multiple choice questions
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Authors diary: Have fun while studying
I crack really lame jokes. It keeps me sane :P
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Why some people hate cheese!
Hello everybody!
So today let's learn a bit about how our brain circuits work.
Some people hate cheese. Like seriously?
How can you miss the warm fussy feeling you get while eating warm molten cheese in a Fondue!
Well some people might not feel any bit of it and rather feel disgusted when presented with cheese.( I feel bad for them )
Anyway let's see how these things work.
Why aversive to cheese per say?
Cheese is the food that most frequently triggers aversion.
Among those with an aversion to cheese, 20% say they are intolerant to lactose. In 50% of cases, at least one of their family members does not like cheese either. These stats suggested that there is a genetic origin to this aversion, which might be related to lactose intolerance.
To find out what happens in the brain, people who like cheese and who do not were selected and participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study.
They observed that the ventral pallidum which is activated in people who are hungry was totally inactive in people who had an aversion to cheese but was active for all other food types. Also the Globus Pallidus and Substantia Nigra part ( the reward circuit) was more active in people who had aversion to cheese than in those who do.
So in conclusion, the areas of reward centres of our brain the Globus Pallidus and Substantia Nigra have two types of neurons with complementary activity , one relating to the rewarding aspect of food and other to it's aversive nature.
So now we have a breif idea as to how the brains are wired differently and how we all our special in our own ways!
Let's learn Together!
-Medha.
Laughter Disorders - It might not be funny!
ranging from genuine and spontaneous to simulated (fake), stimulated (tickling), induced (by drugs) or even pathological.
Friday, April 21, 2017
Nail Changes in Medicine : A Summary
Hi everyone. Just a list of changes you can see in the nails in different systemic Diseases. So let's get nailed ;)
1. Clubbing -
Loss of angle between the nail and the nail fold - More soft and bulbous nail.
Typically indicates Cardio Pulmonary function disturbance :
--> Cardiac conditions like Cyanotic heart disease, Infective endocarditis and Atrial myxoma.
--> Respiratory conditions :
Neoplastic like CA lung ( Esp. Squamous cell CA) , Mesothelioma.
Infective like Bronchiectasis , Abscess , Empyema.
(Non cardiorespiratory causes = Inflammatory bowel disease, Biliary Cirrhois.
Thyroid Acropachy , Acromegaly. )
2. Koilonychia -
Spoon shaped nails.
Strongly indicative of Iron Deficiency anemia or Fungal nail infection.
3. Onycholysis -
Destruction of nail.
Seen in Psoriasis , Hyperthyroid and Fungal nail infection.
4. Chronic Paronychia -
Inflammation of nail fold. May have swollen nail and discharge with throbbing pain. May occur due to frequent nail biting.
5. Cyanosis -
Can be looked for in nail bed. We have a post on this already.
6. Beau line -
Transverse furrows from temporary arrest of nail growth due to increased stress.
Nails grow at 0.1 mm/d , so furrow distance from the cuticle can be used to time the attack. Can be seen in Malaria , Typhus , Rheumatic fever , Kawasaki.
7. Mees line -
White transverse bands in Arsenic poisoning / Renal failure.
8. Muerhcke's line -
White parallel lines without furrowing on the nail.
Seen in Hypoalbuminemia.
9. Terry's nails -
Proximal portion of nail is white / pink , tip is reddish brown.
Seen in cirrhosis , CRF
10. Splinter hemorrhage -
Longitudinal Hemorrhage streaks under the nail seen in Infective endocarditis.
What a fun way to get nailed down 😂 Happy studying !
Stay awesome.
~ A.P.Burkholderia.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Non Contraceptive uses of the Condom
Hi everyone. So we know what we use a condom for generally :p
But there are a few non Contraceptive uses for this magical device that prevents babies :').
So here goes -
1. Prevention of STD's.
2. Can be used in Balloon Tamponade to control PPH.
3. Used to cover the USG probe inserted into the female tract.
4. Can be used as a mould for the vagina during Vulvoplasty.
5. Women with Anti Sperm antibodies during the initial phase. (Controversial).
So that's about it.
We know no 5 more reasons to use condoms !
Go get em ; )
Happy studying.
Stay awesome.
~ A.P.Burkholderia
Reversible Causes of Dementia : Mnemonic
Hi everyone ! This is a short post on causes of dementia that can be corrected. This is very important as most causes other than these have no available treatment ! (One Reversible cause of dementia is the Demeantor's kiss ;;) Treat using Expectro Patronum)
So the medically treatable causes include the following.
Remember : ABCD2E
- Alcoholism
- Vitamin B deficiency - Thiamine / Niacin /B12
- CNS infections - HIV , Chronic Meningoencephalitis , Whipple Disease, Neurosyphilis.
- Depression
- Drug induced
- Endocrine - Thyroid disturbances
Let's look at how these can be corrected medically.
- A = Alcohol abuse. May be a result of Alcoholic delirium/ Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. So the management would include giving Thiamine to the patient , and alcohol withdrawal using Disulfiram ans other anti craving drugs like Ondansetron, Acamprosate, Topiramate and Naltrexone.
- Vitamin B Deficiency = Thiamine deficiency we've seen above.
Niacin Deficiency causes 3 D's - Diarrhea , Dermatitis and Dementia. So treat that using Niacin.
B12 Deficiency and possibly folic acid can also cause Dementia.
- CNS Infections = They cause transient cognitive changes that are reversible on treating the disease.
- Depression = may cause depressive pseudodementia or even true dementia. (pseudo dementia = no confabulation or impaired recent memory)
- Drug induced = Chronic use of drugs like BDZ , Opiates and TCA's.
- Endocrine = Hypothyroidism is notorious to cause Dementia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The surgically correctable causes are below.
Remember = T2 H2
- Tumors (esp frontal lobe tumors )
- Trauma (Subdural Hematoma)
- Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH)
- Hydrocephalus
- Tumors are resected surgically.
- For the hydrocephalus group , ventriculo peritoneal shunting is performed.
- NPH = Triad of symptoms showing Gait disturbances , Urinary incontinence and Dementia. (GUD)
Hope this post helped you and didn't leave you too demented. ! If it did, have some chocolate like Lupin would offer ;;)
Happy studying.
Stay awesome.
~ A.P.Burkholderia
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Glycogen Storage Diseases : Mnemonic
Hi everyone.
I'm back with a short post. This one is about Glycogen storage diseases which, again, we all hate to remember :'D Hope you like it.
So Remember :
Very Pompously CAMe Her Tears.
1. Very = Von Gierke's
2. Pompously = Pompe's
3. C = Cori's / Forbe's
4. A = Anderson
5. M = McArdle's
6. Her = Her's (we'll at least Remember this one :'D)
7. Tears = Tarui's
So that's that.
Now how do we remember which is Muscular and which is hepatic ?
Simple.
Remember :
The Muscular get kissed under the Mistle Toe.
So the ones involving the Muscles are :
Mistle = McArdle
Toe = Tarui's.
Also remember :
Pompeii the city was a wh*re. So it went everywhere and hence Pompe's is both Muscular and Hepatic.
That's all for now. It may seem like a lot of crap to simply memorize these Glycogenosis but you'll realise they form an excellent aid for memory :D and are super important whether you want to do USMLE or Indian PG.
So c'mon ! Burn those Glycogens in your liver and get some Glucose into your head ;)
Stay awesome.
Happy studying.
The GLUT's : Mnemonic
I'm back with another short post on biochemistry.
It's about the Glucose transporters which we all hate :D So let's get down to it.
So first we're doing insulin independent ones.
Kid's LiPs are
PiNK.
Remember : BBB.
B - Baby (So fetal tissue)
B - BBB ( The Blood brain barrier itself )
Remember : Kid's LiPs
Li - Liver
Ps - Pancreatic Beta cells
Remember : PiNK
N - Neurons
K - Kidneys
_____________________________
Now we come to the Dependent one.
~~~~~
GLUT 4 -
Remember :
Father Mother Depend.
Mother - Muscles ( Cardiac / Skeletal)
In general the Mother and Father are who we depend on ! But in biochemistry the mother and father themselves depend on insulin. ! And the baby ( BBB etc) are independent.
Hope this helped.
It's something I've struggled with.
Anyway.
Happy studying. !
Stay awesome
Monday, January 23, 2017
The Burkholderian Culture : From the Authors' Diary
Friday, January 20, 2017
Argyll Robertson Pupil : Mnemonic
Hello everyone ! I'm back with a short and sweet post on Argyll Robertson Pupil.
Mnemonic for Argyll Robertson Pupil (ARP) :
ARP Accomodation reflex present
PRA Pupillary reflex absent.
It's seen in conditions like Neurosyphilis for which it is extremely specific.
You could also see it in some form of strokes or Diabetic Neuropathy.
Another similar Pupillary reaction is Aedes pupil. The difference is Aedes is a dilated pupil while Argyll's is constricted. How to remember this ?
Mnemonic : AeDes.
So Aedes is tonically Dilated.
Hope this helped !
Stay aweosme.
Thanks.