Today's Children's Hospital Visit

We took our ten-year-old to a children's hospital today for some issues she has been having for about a year now. After the first nine months (of her doctor saying it is a virus), he referred to her the hospital.  They want to do an upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy under general anesthetic.  I wasn't expecting this right away.  I thought they'd recommend diet restrictions (like milk in particular) but they went right to the invasive procedures. I wasn't happy about that.

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Medical Alert: Always Ask for Medical Record Copies

I found out after asking for copies of my hospital labs from my hospital stay a couple weeks ago that the CT scan also showed gallstones and diverticulosis.  Neither of the hospital doctors said a word about it.  I'm glad I went back to the hospital and requested copies! 

Now I'll use my scanning software to scan them all in and send them to my family doctor so I can talk to him about what needs to be done next. I've already called them and told them about it so they're expecting more information that they also didn't get from the hospital doctors. 

That's just crazy!!

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Daughter Has Costochondritis

My 13-year-old daughter has Costochondritis.  Costochondritis is inflammation of the cartilage that connects the ribs to the sternum. He says it is commonly seen in athletes and with her cheerleading schedule and then weight training twice a week for gym class, he wasn't surprised.  There is nothing we need to do for it unless it doesn't get better on its own within the next four weeks.  She can take ibuprofen for the pain as needed and just wait.

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Parents of Small Children: Ink Remover

How many of us parents have had our children get hold of an ink pen and write on themselves, on clothing, even on the walls? I know mine have. They've also gotten hold of make-up, markers and scissors too but that's another story.

There is a product called amodex. It's marketed as great for lab coats and scrubs for medical personnel but what parent couldn't use a bottle of this stuff? It has an unlimited shelf life so you can keep it on hand (for those trying time as a parent) without worry that it will go bad.

Here is a list of what it can be used for: ink stains, permanent marker, food stains like chocolate and coffee and more, blood stains, lipstick, makeup and more. I think I want more than one bottle of this to keep handy in the kitchen when kids make messes but also in the laundry room.

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Robots in Hospitals

Panasonic has developed a robot that dispenses medications. They're set to go to work in hospitals in Japan in March, 2010 (and will follow in the United States and Europe later). All the electronics always hit Japan first.

If you're imagining this robot that looks somewhat human, think again. It looks more like a cabinet with drawers.

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Sperm Cells From Stem Cells

I don't usually blog about stuff like this here but I find it rather amazing. Scientists have figured out how to get sperm cells from stem cells! They were looking for proof that stem cells can generate any cell in the body and they got this during their experiments.

They can't be transplanted into the human body but their hoping it'll give them something to work with for male infertility. In fact, they're also trying to create sperm cells from the skin cells of infertile men.

Who would have thunk it? Not me.

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