MEDICAL MATTERS

[Tizer]

Onwards and upwards, Kev!

[Big Kev]

Excellent Kev and the stitches, it should give you a fighting chance once those are out of the way of the bendy bits.

Indeed, another 4 weeks on crutches to allow the new fibrous layer to grow on the joint faces and then back for more physio. Apparently I'm doing the right things and it's healing well.

[PanBiker]

Feels good when you get positive feedback doesn't it Kev, better than any pill.

[Big Kev]

It certainly does Ian. I'm looking forward to June 22nd when the driving advice runs out

[PanBiker]

I see the wry smile at the end of that comment Kev, I take it you have seen my news in the Driving Licence thread?

[Big Kev]

I see the wry smile at the end of that comment Kev, I take it you have seen my news in the Driving Licence thread?

I did, it's a ridiculous situation. I am fortunate that mine is just an advisory from the surgeon, I could choose to drive but if I was involved in an accident that involved any sort of investigation the insurance company could refuse cover...

[Stanley]

The nice thing to bear in mind is that there comes a time when you can kick your licences into the long grass and no longer have the hassle..... I've never regretted chucking my Class One HGV and ordinary licence back at them. But you aren't there yet so good luck to both of you.

[Stanley]

I am happy to report that rest and care has worked. My back is almost healed up. I am still being careful but nature has done its job once more, albeit a bit more slowly. It is not causing me a problem.... Good!
Normal service will be resumed shortly!

[Tizer]

This medical matter concerns animals but is relevant to humans because it concerns the food supply - but it's very good news.
`Largest world stock of animal-killing virus destroyed by UK lab' LINK
`Scientists have destroyed the UK's laboratory stocks of a virus that once caused devastating cattle losses. These stocks accounted for most of the world's lab samples of rinderpest, which were held at The Pirbright Institute in Surrey. Rinderpest and the deadly smallpox virus are the only diseases to have been eradicated from the face of the Earth. BBC News had exclusive access to the destruction of the final samples....

`The rinderpest virus is responsible for one of the worst catastrophes in history. During an outbreak in the 1890s, it killed between 80% and 90% of cattle in eastern and southern Africa. This caused mass starvation in the region. Millions of people died as a result. In Ethiopia alone, one-third of the human population was wiped out. The toll in lives was on a scale matched only by the Black Death in Europe. A vaccination campaign eventually brought the disease under control until it was declared to have been eradicated in the wild in 2011. But thousands of samples of the virus remained in 40 laboratories across 36 countries. If there happened to be an accident, the disease could potentially leak out and cause devastation once again.

`To prevent this, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) approved a few highly secure labs and encouraged other institutes to send their rinderpest samples to these facilities. Among them is the Pirbright Institute in Surrey, which has led efforts to record the genetic information contained in each sample and then destroy it. Researchers have been reluctant to destroy lab samples of deadly viruses in case they are needed to create a vaccine should the disease ever re-emerge. But a digital record of the virus's genetic code means that this is no longer an issue. And so Pirbright has been able to destroy all its samples which account for most of the laboratory rinderpest virus in the world.'

[Stanley]

They could do the same with a lot of other samples that are held in 'secure' locations.....
Remember the suspicions about the sewer outlet at Pirbright when F&M broke out again?

[Tizer]

All this, due to Andrew Wakefield and social media...
`Low trust in vaccines 'a global crisis'' LINK
`..Countries that were close to eliminating measles have been seeing large outbreaks. Data shows a rise in cases in almost every region of the world, with 30% more cases in 2017 than 2016...'

[Stanley]

Did I hear yesterday that Ukraine has the highest incidence of measles in the world?
A week today I have the first of the three weekly maintenance immunotherapy treatments.... I am glad I am getting the attention!

[Tizer]

Seeing Stanley mention Nye Bevan on the Politics thread reminded me of this...
`Aneurin Bevan: Trusts apologise after death of NHS founder's great-nephew' LINK
`A relative of the founder of the NHS died after two NHS trusts made serious errors during his cancer treatment. Doctors diagnosed Roderick Bevan in 2016 while treating him for another condition but did not offer him radiotherapy for another 15 months. Neglect contributed to his death, an inquest found, with his family saying his great-uncle Aneurin Bevan "would have been appalled" by his care. Two NHS trusts apologised and said processes had changed after a review. Mr Bevan, from Grantham in Lincolnshire, died aged 66 in May 2018 from lung cancer. An inquest at Boston Coroner's Court, which concluded in May, heard a tumour was identified during a scan at Boston Pilgrim Hospital in October 2016. Medical professionals at Pilgrim Hospital and University Hospitals of Leicester Trust, which later took over his care, did not tell Mr Bevan he had lung cancer until January 2018.'

[Stanley]

I saw that report and I too was struck by the irony of it. Time to re-read Cronin!
I got my September appointment for cystoscopy and am bending my mind to Tuesday's maintenance treatment.

[Tizer]

I'm two weeks into treatment with a gel for an instance of actinic keratosis (crusty, scaly skin) on my scalp. The problem is common in fair-haired, fair-skinned people and is due to sun exposure earlier in life. If not treated it can result in skin cancer. The patch of skin became raised and hard and was uncomfortable under a hat - and very painful if you put on a hard safety helmet! Earlier in the year I had it removed surgically - a quick and painless op as the skin is scraped off and sent for a check. It returned, so 2 weeks ago I went to the GP and said I'd heard there was a cream that could be used instead of surgery. I was given a gel called Picato. You get three tiny tubes and apply a full tube on each of three consecutive days, then the drug works in subsequent weeks, killing the unwanted cells. The active ingredient is ingenol mebutate from the sap of milkweed, Euphorbia peplus LINK I can confirm that something is happening but it's very itchy and uncomfortable - I'd opt for the surgery in future, which only takes 10 minutes!

It worries me to see so many people going hatless in the strong sunshine. I was in New Zealand in 1989 when the ozone hole was detected over Antarctica and the NZ authorities immediately put out warnings to cover up your skin or use a very strong sun cream. Everyone started wearing hats. I guess the same went on in Australia and I've worn a hat in the sun ever since. Now the ozone hole is returning due to CFC use in Asia and there's going to be a lot of actinic keratosis and worse in the future.

[Stanley]

I don't think I need to spend time worrying about that Tiz. I am dark skinned and have worn a hat for most of my life..... There was a time when I chased the sun....



... but I grew out of it. I favour a Farmer's Tan, face, back of neck and back of hands.....

[Tizer]

I saw a lot sun as a child because my South African mum loved the sun and she believed it was good for me - and she was right in the sense that it boosted my vitamin D and I was out in the fresh air, better than the smog of the towns. But now I'm having to put up with the downside!

[Marilyn]

One has to be proud of that body, Stanley.
But...life happens....(I share the same problem!)
Tizer...have you got good lungs? Because you can thank your Mum for that if she insisted on the fresh air. I open my doors no matter what the weather, believing fresh air is best.

[Stanley]

"One has to be proud of that body, Stanley." I always have been satisfied with it Maz, it seems to have served me well. I remember a line from a Shaw play, looking at a well-preserved woman across a room his character says "She has about her the remains of a fine woman". We can always reflect on that....

[plaques]

It ran through my mind it was Oscar Wilde who said it but I may be getting mixed up.
In Dorian Grey we get..Lady Narborough, who was a very clever woman with what Lord Henry used to describe as the remains of really remarkable ugliness.
Where's Tripps and Wendy?

[Tizer]

Tizer...have you got good lungs? Because you can thank your Mum for that if she insisted on the fresh air. I open my doors no matter what the weather, believing fresh air is best.

I had good lungs but, like my mother, I',ve become breathless after about 65. It seems to be a genetic thing. I've never smoked and always been cautious about accidentally inhaling solvents, powders etc. I haven't had asthma and only occasionally get hay fever. My father and I also benefited from her giving us a good diet.

[Stanley]

Whereas an old reprobate like me has done all the wrong things and still has good lungs. Not only that but certified clear of any abnormalities by Airedale's most searching investigations. Life isn't fair is it.....
Later.... THIS BBC report on the use of 'therapy dogs' caught my attention, no surprise to me, I have always said that interacting with any animal is good for the soul.
On a more tragic matter... See THIS report about the death of a stowaway in the wheel well of a flight from Nairobi and his subsequent fall when the landing gear was lowered at 3,500ft for landing. The body landed beside a man sunbathing in a garden. A very nasty experience all round.

[Stanley]

Strong reaction to yesterday's treatment, an uncomfortable day but a good sleep and much better this morning. My strategy is lots of fluid and sleep and as little effort as possible. No interest in food but I'll take enough to avoid damage. Only thought is that the BCG must be working and doing me good!

[Marilyn]

What sort of reaction, Stanley?

[Stanley]

The usual ones connected with lassitude and discomfort but slightly worse. No surprise and it is improving.