Team-BHP - Calling doctors/dentists/specialists on Team-BHP to provide free consultations

Quote:

Originally Posted by carboy (Post 4359853)

For high uric acid levels, when is Allopurinol prescribed & when is Febuxostat prescribed. Have 2 cousins. One's doctor has prescribed the first & the other's the 2nd. Neither has gout yet.

In younger individuals both allopurinol and febuxostat has similar efficacy and adverse effects. Febuxostat is a relatively newer drug and preferred in older adults and those with reduced kidney function.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alter.e.go (Post 4358719)

Question to any ortho specialist:

Is all/ most lower back pain contralateral i.e. if the disc bulge is on the left side the pain is in the right buttock/ leg?

In almost all it would be Ipsilateral(same side) not contralateral.

How sensitive should one be towards new born baby's poop color?

Background: 3 month old baby girl, only breast fed, contracted some kind of infection about 3 weeks ago (after getting a vaccination), stool had mucus like substance, turned from green to brownish, was rushed to child specialist, who suggested stool test along with culture, but got the baby admitted to be under observation, was given antibiotics, discharged in 4 days, all back to normal.

Now: We have noticed the stool which was yellowish green turning dark again, not very brown, but a shade darker than the yellowish green poop earlier. Does this mean another infection?

I am not too keen on taking the baby to the doctor, who might just recommend another dose of antibiotics without really identifying the root cause.

The baby is active, plays around, does not show any discomfort while pooping in large quantities but occasionally grunts when passing small amounts. Is only fed breast milk, mother too is tended for, on a good vegetarian diet with lot of greens.

Questions
1. Can I expect the baby's immune system to fight over this infection in a couple of days? Can I rely on a change in baby's behavior (like frequent crying) and only then take her to a doc?

2. I had read earlier how antibiotics can wreak the balance of good bacteria in ones body, but then, can I expect a developing immune system to fight out an infection?

3. Would getting a blood culture from an independent lab help in pointing out if there is an infection?

4. How do I know if the baby is becoming lactose intolerant? (Not sure if one can become one or is born to be one...)

:) Dont really have a biology background, but I hate having to wait with the baby at these overcrowded 'popular' child specialists and visiting hospital, so trying my best to avoid that.

BTW, the baby is at Panoor, Kerala.
Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spinnerr (Post 4359952)

Questions

1. Can I expect the baby's immune system to fight over this infection in a couple of days? Can I rely on a change in baby's behavior (like frequent crying) and only then take her to a doc?

The symptoms you're describing aren't enough to make a diagnosis of "infection". Exclusively breast feed infants rarely develop infections of the gut. No need to worry too much just about stool colour.

2. I had read earlier how antibiotics can wreak the balance of good bacteria in ones body, but then, can I expect a developing immune system to fight out an infection?

The baby's immune system is still developing and should be able to fight out simple infections by itself.

3. Would getting a blood culture from an independent lab help in pointing out if there is an infection?

Blood stream infections are serious matters. You should go ahead with something like a culture only after consulting a Paediatrician.

4. How do I know if the baby is becoming lactose intolerant? (Not sure if one can become one or is born to be one...)

Lactose intolerance is not a simple diagnosis which can be made at home. Again, I'd suggest you leave it to professionals to deal with such stuff.

@Geo_Ipe
Thanks a lot for your response. It is comforting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ani_meher (Post 4360750)

...
What could be the reason of such long lasting colds? Longest I had was for 6 months, from Jan to July when I couldn't get a taste!

I dont know the reason, but I am pretty sure increasing the vitamin C intake can have a positive effect reducing the discomfort and maybe even the duration.

A person known to me had something on similar lines, if he gets the cold, it takes months for him to recover.
He then upped Vitamin C in his diet, starting with Amla (gooseberry) juice laced water in the morning (2-3 glasses soon after waking up), and consciously including lot of oranges and musambi in his diet. We could see a lot of improvement in him. In fact, half the team was convinced Amla had some great effect on cold and started including it in their diet (not pickled ones, raw fresh ones).

You could give that a try. Each body type is different, but if it works, that is healthy way out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ani_meher (Post 4360750)

I generally get long duration of cold, mainly around season changing time. Sometimes doctor's tablets work, sometimes Anti-allergic medicines such as Levocet M work, or sometime nothing works :(

What could be the reason of such long lasting colds? Longest I had was for 6 months, from Jan to July when I couldn't get a taste!

What are the symptoms?

If you have sneezing, blocked nose etc as main symptom it may be perennial rhinitis, which may be allergic or non-allergic.

Have you checked for any allergy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spinnerr (Post 4361063)

I dont know the reason, but I am pretty sure increasing the vitamin C intake can have a positive effect reducing the discomfort and maybe even the duration.

I take Vitamin C supplement, but so far there is no effect on the cold. Will try amla soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by archat68 (Post 4361071)

What are the symptoms?

If you have sneezing, blocked nose etc as main symptom it may be perennial rhinitis, which may be allergic or non-allergic.

Have you checked for any allergy?

Not sneezes, but one fine day runny nose appears, followed by weeks (if not months) of stuffy nose. Gets very irritating, because then it starts a process of trial and error to get rid of it.

Haven't yet checked for any allergy. I was thinking about it, and seeing you asking for it, might get it done very soon. Do you suggest any particular test or is it just a general allergy test?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ani_meher (Post 4360750)

Do you stay in a place where a lot of construction work goes on? Or travel by bike a lot via such areas?

I too always use to have cold since childhood. Was born and brought up in coastal area of vizag and all my friends remember me only with a handkerchief :)

This problem continued even when I started working in Hyderabad and I generally used to take levocet and cold act etc. Since last couple of years I realized it may be due to just dust allergy and I try my best to cover during my ride I bikes, get all items at my house properly dusted and stay away from the room when it is getting cleaned.

From medication angle, I was prescribed Montelukast as a 30 day course and that made all the difference for me. Now I take it may be once a week and that too when I feel there might be a cold attack coming in the morning.

Also improving vit c intake should definitely help matters improve quickly.

PS: I'm just a fellow patient who too suffered a lot due to cold. So definitely consultant a doc before trying out any allergy medication.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ani_meher (Post 4361096)

If you have not visited an ENT specialist ,visit him first. He will be able to suggest you tests according to your symptom and other criteria.

If you have already consulted ENT and did not benefit then consult an allergy specialist.

Vitamin C does help for the common cold, i have noticed this using it myself but of-course you need to take this for some time to let it build in to your system. I did notice that while i was on vitamin c for extended periods i would not catch a common cold.When i stopped i would catch common cold if anybody in my office or home had common cold.
I now make it a part of my daily routine and i guess vitamin c is a anti oxidant as well.

Did a blood and lipid profile test after experiencing moderate chest pain and difficulty in breathing. The test revealed that:

Fasting blood sugar is 102 (max limit 100)
Post lunch blood sugar is 124 (max limit 140)
Triglycerides are 352 (max limit 150)
H.D.L. is on the lower side

With these results in hand, I did a stress test, which involved 15 minutes of walking (in comfort mode, sports mode, hill climb mode so to explain). The person undergoing the test has to walk on the treadmill for a 15 minute period. However if the doctor discovers anything abnormal, he stops the test before completing 15 minutes. In my case, the doctor stopped the test on the 7th minute as my heart rate crossed the 170 bpm mark. After a 3 minute rest the bpm was still around 130.

After completely finishing the test, the doctor reported that my heart is pumping blood at 26 ml, which for a normal heart should 36 ml minimum, and that I am on the verge of entering "Type 2" Diabetes. Since his clinic believes in surgery-less repairs, he has not advised me angiography. Should I do an angiography or should I not?

*Heart / Sugar disorders are hereditary in our family.
*I am 32 and am not obese or overweight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585 (Post 4364025)

I am not a doctor.
However, we faced something similar a few months earlier with my Mom. Please tell us a bit more about how active you are.
My mom had not been active at all(apart from household work) for a few months before we got the treadmill test done.
The doctor at the diagnostic centre immediately suggested angiography, but we waited and contacted our family doctor.
We had an inkling that she failed the treadmill test because of her inactivity for the last few months. He suggested going for a stress Echo test and that showed us that nothing was wrong.
So I would suggest from my experience to go for a Stress Echo test before going for anything invasive like Angiography.