Month: June 2019

Many infections, one medicine – Generic Flagyl

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Flagyl, an antibiotic, is used to treat various infections in the body including those of the skin, gut areas, pelvic cavity, brain abcesses, leg ulcers, pressure sores, gums, osteomyelitis, and necrotizing pneumonia. Generic Metronidazole, the medicinal compound in Flagyl, destroys the DNA function in vulnerable anaerobic bacteria and protozoa. The medicine is effectively used in the prevention of infection following a surgical procedure, particularly after childbirth. It is also used to cure bacterial Vaginosis, urogenital Trichomoniasis, and Amoebic Dysentery.

Generic Metronidazole in Flagyl, belongs to the antibiotic class of drugs called nitroimidazoles, and is used to treat infections caused by anaerobic bacteria [that do not need oxygen to survive] and micro-organisms called protozoa. Metronidazole is believed to disable the DNA synthesis in the susceptible bacteria, thereby preventing functioning of the existing bacteria and inhibiting further development.

Flagyl has been found to be extremely effective when used in the prevention and treatment of infections following gynaecological surgery such as Puerperal fever or Sepsis that can occur after childbirth, or Giardiasis that is a gut infection. This medicine is equally effective in treating Septicaemia [blood poisoning], Brain abcesses, Necrotizing Pneumonia, Osteomyelitis [infection in the bones], Pelvic abcesses, Peritonitis [abdominal infection], Bacterial Vaginosis [vaginal infection caused by bacteria], Urogenital Trichomoniasis [a sexually transmitted genital infection], and Amoebic Dysentery [a protozoal infection]. The medicine helps to cure Dental infections, Ulcerative Gingivitis [gum inflammation and ulcers], and bacteria-infected leg ulcers as well as pressure sores.

Flagyl Generic is an oral medication, though for serious infections, Metronidazole is administered intravenously in the beginning, followed by the oral treatment. The dosage may vary according to the infection, as in treating infection of brain abcesses, when a high dose has to be given. The medicine is given according to the patient’s medical condition and should be taken as advised by the doctor. It is recommended that the medicine should not be chewed, but swallowed with a lot of water; it can be taken regardless of food. Even if you feel better soon, the entire therapy must be taken, as antibiotics often help to make one feel better quickly, but if the course is not completed, you run the risk of the infection returning. While on this treatment, and for at least 48 hours later, you should not consume alcohol, otherwise you may experience a great deal of discomfort from nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, headache, in addition to flushing.

Before the physician puts you on to Flagyl, let the doctor know about all the ailments you’ve suffered from; all the medicines [prescription, OTC], nutritional supplements, herbal products you’re taking; and if you have any known allergies, particularly to Metronidazole or any Nitroimidazole derivative. Let the treating doctor know if you have a decreased liver function, Hepatic Encephalopathy [a brain disease caused by an underlying liver problem], Seizures, Crohn’s disease, Prophyrias [an inherited blood disorder], Anemia [inadequate number of red blood cells], or Leukopenia [inadequate number of white blood cells]. The doctor has to know about all your medicines, so that the correct dose can be worked out, and lab tests be instituted, wherever necessary, to monitor your condition.

For Amoebic Dysentery, or an Amoebic abcess in the liver, the dose varies but is usually administered from 5-10 days. Flagyl is recommended in pediatrics only for treatment of Amoebiasis – for children who have such problems, normally 3 doses are given for a period of 10 days. As plasma clearance decreases in patients having a decreased liver function, geriatrics have to undergo lab tests for monitoring of serum levels, so that they get just the right dose of the medicine.

To treat very severe anaerobic infections, Flagyl is usually administered intravenously at the beginning, followed with an oral dose every 6 hours [dependent upon weight], lasting 7-10 days. In the treatment of infections of the bones, joints, lower respiratory tract, and endocardium, the therapy can extend beyond the usual 10 days, and the dosage pattern can vary. Those who suffer from a serious hepatic disease are given low doses of Flagyl, to prevent accumulation of Metronidazole in the plasma.

There are a large number of drugs that interact with Metronidazole. If taken together with anticoagulants [Warfarin, Nicoumalone], there can be adverse effects – the risk of bleeding may increase in such patients. Antiepileptic medicines like Phenobarbital can render Flagyl less effective. Those taking Flagyl with Ciclosporin, or Lithium, will have to get their blood levels and kidney function checked from time-to-time; while those who take Metronidazole with Fluorouracil [an anti-cancer medicine] can find an increase in the side-effects caused by Flourouracil, though Flagyl does not reduce the anti-cancer effect. If taken with Phenytoin, Flagyl is capable of increasing blood levels that will have to be monitored.

Metronidazole is not recommended for patients on Disulfram treatment, as the two taken together tend to enhance psychotic symptoms, adversely affecting paranoia and bring about hallucinations, unless 2 weeks have passed since the patient last took Disulfram.

Some side-effects that commonly occur include nausea, vomiting, headache, stomachache/abdominal cramps, epigastric discomfort [due to feeling of fullness in the throat/esophagus], diarrhea, or conversely constipation, a distinct unpleasant taste, hives, rash, dryness of mouth or vagina, incontinence, or pelvic pressure. If any of these symptoms worsen or persist, then you must contact your doctor at once. Severe allergic reactions to Flagyl are unlikely, but can include the usual reactions, like: rash, itching, swelling, laboured breathing, or severe dizziness.

Serious but unlikely side effects may occur if Flagyl is administered for a prolonged period, such as: convulsive seizures, peripheral neuropathy [numbness/tingling of hands/feet], mood changes, painful urination, white patches in the mouth, or a new vaginal yeast infection; or should you happen to experience a rare but serious side-effect that may present itself in the form of a sore throat, unusual bleeding/bruising, or fever, then in any such condition, you must immediately inform your physician who will give further advice. However, most people who are being treated with Flagyl, do not experience severe side effects.

Pregnant or lactating women should seek the doctor’s advice before taking Flagyl, so should those who are planning to conceive. For treatment of Trichomoniasis, pregnant patients are not given the drug in the first trimester, while for those for whom an alternative treatment has not yielded good results, the 1-day therapy cannot be given as it causes abnormally high serum levels that can affect the circulation in their fetus, for Metronidazole is known to cross the placental barrier. Dosage regimen for women and men having Trichomoniasis is based on the medical condition of the patient.

Women who are taking an oral Birth Control pill or using contraceptive patches, face a low risk of an unwanted pregnancy if administered Metronidazole; but to avoid even this low risk, it is recommended that such women should use an extra method to prevent childbirth while taking Flagyl, without a break, and continue with that for a week after the Flagyl therapy has ended. The gynaecologist or physician should be consulted for individualized advice.

The medicine in tablet formulation must be stored below a room temperature of 25oC, protected from light, heat and dampness; and kept away from children and pets.

Generic Metronidazole – the one-stop cure for treating various infections of the skin, lungs, gastro-genito-urinary tract, bones, gums, blood poisoning, and post-surgery in women following childbirth. Buy Flagyl Online from our Online Pharmacy at affordable price.

The role of Chinese herbs in Chinese cooking and Traditional Chinese Medicine

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When we speak of Chinese herbs, we are technically referring to herbs sourced straight from China. Chinese herbs are commonly employed for Chinese cooking but may also have medicinal properties that make them ideal to use in Traditional Chinese Medicine too. There are a mind-boggling number of the known Chinese herbs (more than three hundred, at last count) which have reputedly been used in various ways for around 2000 years or so.

Generally, Chinese herbs might either be boiled as a hot tea for at least an hour for the patient to sip, or the Chinese herbs could be incorporated into honey bound pills. The most common purpose for using Chinese herbs is for their health benefits, since these Chinese herbs can reportedly make the human body stronger when the herbs are consumed. Chinese herbs which have developed a strong following are Ginseng, salvia, rhubarb, rehmannia, peony, ephedra sinica, licorice, hoelen, ginger, coptis, cinnamon bark, cinnamon, bupleurum, atractylodes, astragalus, and Dong Quai. Among this list of commonly used Chinese herbs, the one which many might be very familiar with is Ginseng (because of the many commercial products that claim to use this herb as an ingredient.) Much of the Ginseng being used for these commercial products would be made up of the Red Panax ginseng variety which is more affordable than the more highly prized Wild Ginseng variety.

Though not technically part of the Chinese herbs category, there is what is known as American ginseng too, which was employed by Native Americans for their own type of health care treatments.

Are Chinese herbs safe to use? Those who strongly believe in Traditional Chinese Medicine would probably be very convinced that Chinese herbs are very effective, but anyone who is trying out Chinese herbs for the first time (as part of Chinese cuisine or as part of a Traditional Chinese Medicine program of treatment) should always practice caution before ingesting any Chinese herbs. This is because the Chinese herbs that might work for one person might not necessarily work for another. More alarming is the prospect that certain Chinese herbs might even be dangerous for some individuals to use, especially if they happen to be allergic to those Chinese herbs, or if the person is on some commercial drug preparation that might contraindicate with some Chinese herbs. If you are planning to use Traditional Chinese Medicine to complement your conventional medical treatment program, you should always consult your physician first before taking any Chinese herbs on your own. This is for your own protection. Though admittedly various Chinese herbs (like ginger which even Westerners are very familiar with in these modern times) are probably safe to consume on a regular basis, many Chinese herbs are unfamiliar to Western medical practitioners so it is prudent to incorporate such Chinese herbs into your diet and medical treatment slowly maybe even one at a time to observe the effects on your body.

The Perfect System Of Chest Xray Interpretation In Emergency Medicine

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In emergency medicine, you need a system, not just with the radiographs, but also with the EKGs. You need a very consistent systematic approach so you will not miss anything. I would like to offer you Johns RIPT ROARing ABCs approach. Again, I would suggest you apply this with every radiograph that you interpret for the rest of your career, as well as the two-minute rule. So, if you apply this system and take two minutes out of your day to apply this system to every chest radiograph, you will become more confident and more proficient at evaluation chest radiographs.

Then we come to the main portion of CXR interpretation. Now, the RIPT stands for evaluation of the quality of the radiograph. R is rotation. I is inspiration. P is penetration. T is technique.

Lets talk about that in more detail. With the R for rotation, we want to see if the clavicles line up like the site on a gun behind the spinous process. There should be equal distance between the spinous process and the end of the clavicle, the medial aspect of the clavicle. If a patient is twisted and their right shoulder is closer to the x-ray beams and further away from the film than the left shoulder, there will be distortion in anatomy. I am not saying you disqualify a film if it is moderately rotated, but you need to weigh that in when you review the film. If you are evaluated and elderly lady with very severe kyphosis, they will be rotated to some degree and you just have to weigh that in when reviewing the films. Inspiration is where we actually count the ribs to make sure we see between 9 and 11 ribs. The deeper of a breath they take, the more of the lungs you will be able to see. In someone who does not take a deep breath, again someone who is demented and cannot follow instructions, you will maybe only see six ribs and will really have to weigh in your thought process that they may have pathology lying in the posteroinferior aspects of the lungs that we would not be able to see on a PA radiograph, and a lateral x-ray would be much more helpful. P is penetration where we want to see the vertebral bodies behind the heart. If the heart is so white or under-penetrated that we cannot see the vertebral bodies, we call this film under-penetrated and is going to be more difficult to interpret the radiograph as opposed to a film that is over-penetrated which means that the film is excessively black. Those films are easier to read. When working as a house officer, five years in, I really thought I was becoming good at what I did. I had a consistent problem of not telling if the radiograph was under-penetrated versus congestive heart failure. So, I turned to my senior colleagues, people who were house officer PAs for 20 years, and asked that question. How can you tell if it is really congestive heart failure versus under-penetrated? I was really expecting these great words of wisdom to help me differentiate between them. Both of them looked at me and said, You know, John, I had a tough time with that too. So, with that said, an under-penetrated film can fool you into thinking it is congestive heart failure. But, you really need to weigh in whether you can see the vertebral bodies or not and use pretest probability. How does the patient look? T is for technique which is a PA film versus an AP film. PA means posterior-anterior, and AP means anterior-posterior. If you hold your hand in front of a flashlight that is shining against a wall, you will understand the concept of posterior and anterior. The flashlight beams are the x-ray beams, and the wall is the film. You hand’s shadow is what the actual radiograph will be. Now, if you take your hand and put it very close to the wall, your shadow is going to be quite crisp and the shadow is going to be almost the exact size of your hand. If you take your hand and move it back towards the flashlight, the shadow will become bigger and will become blurred. It is that same concept that has to do with interpreting a posterior-anterior film versus an anterior-posterior film. Now, the heart lies anterior in the chest, so if you are doing and AP film which means the beam of the x-ray is going from the anterior to the posterior. WIth a portable CXR the heart is more posterior in the chest wall, therefore the heart will be more enlarged and more hazy. A posterior-anterior film is when the patient actually turns their back, puts their back up to the film, and the x-ray beams go posterior-anterior. That is a more perfect film, and you get a better view of the heart, a crisper heart shadow, and therefore a PA film is a much better film than the AP film. YOU NEED TO TAKE YOUR TIME! You walk up to a film and take 2 minutes to apply the RIP’T, ROARing ABCs. RIPT is rotation, inspiration, penetration and technique.

We are going to discuss ROAR. This is the easy one. ROAR stands for right patient, old x-rays, alignment and right date. This is where you are going to spend just a 10-20 seconds validating the data, making sure that you do indeed have the right patient, are there old x-rays to compare it with, if the film is hung correctly, and that you have the right date. Now, for the past few years I have been working at smaller hospitals and when I order an x-ray it may be the only one that x-ray has done in the last 10-15 minutes. At a bigger hospital, you do an x-ray, go down to look at it, and one is hanging. If you are assuming this is your patients film, you are going to get burned sooner or later. So, take the time to ensure that you have the right dated, the right patient and if there are old films to compare with, you just want them handy and if any abnormalities, you can compare and contrast them. Here is a pearl for you. If you are evaluating a radiograph, and in the review of the old films, you see multiple different films of multiple different body systems (and there is not a good explaniation, such that the patient is a stunt bike rider) it implies to me the patient derives secondary gain from the medical system (in other words, they are crazy.)

Herbal Remedies vs. Conventional Medicine

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Many conventional drugs used today to treat various illnesses originated from the natural healing properties found in herbs. A good example is aspirin, which was originally derived from willow bark for its salicylic content. Through the years, scientists found ways to isolate beneficial compounds found in medicinal plants and create them synthetically in a lab. This was done for multiple reasons. It was more cost effective, as plants vary in potency depending on where they are grown, as well as the growing conditions, which, when these compounds are simplified and copied, can be controlled. With synthetic production, risk of contamination from wrongly identified plant specimen or even contamination from pesticides and other conditions can also be eliminated. And most important, it was economically advantageous to isolate and patent individual components of the medicinal herbs seen as beneficial to combating illness.

However, with the introduction and predominant use of synthetic drugs on the market, other unforeseen issues cropped up. The main drawback to these synthetics is its very unpleasant and frequently dangerous side effects that range from mild allergic reactions to poisoning the bodys systems to the point of shutdown. The culprit is usually the result of synthetic medicines using potent compounds that were initially isolated from plants, but were not copied over in entirety. (Remember the patent approach). A simplified example is vitamin C, which has only recently been found to work incompletely within the body because, among other things, was missing flavonoids. Scientists still are far from having a complete understanding of the human body, and as a result, synthetic medicine can have unforeseen and long-lasting destruction on the body. The best that medicine can be expected to do at this time is manage the effects of disease and illness, with the hope that enough of the negative cells and bacteria are eliminated before the whole body system collapses.

The holistic approach centers on prevention and identifying at-risk areas of health before it becomes a problem. Conventional medicine has become little more than disease management. Conventional medicine may be beneficial for acute injuries, such as a car accident, broken bones, heat stroke, frostbite, and the like; however chronic conditions such as the flu, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer can all benefit from a more holistic approach that incorporates herbal remedies into a regimen of care.

Modern Marvels of Nuclear Medicine Equipment

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CAT scans and other internal imaging equipment allows doctors to see the inner workings of the human brain and anatomy without exposing a person to a painful procedure. Testing the vital areas of the body for proper function tests that are conducted using nuclear medicine equipment are enabling medical professionals to examine their patients without any sort of invasive procedure. Suspecting that a person is suffering from a tumor or has a condition that is affecting the ability of their internal organs to function within normal parameters, doctors will prescribe a CAT scan or other body scan that is conducted by a special piece of nuclear medicine equipment.

Offering greater insight into the trauma that may exist inside the body or brain the use of a gamma camera enables the attending physician to have an accurate image of the brain or internal organs made available to them. Taking as little as only two minutes to perform a complete scan or the entire body the nuclear medicine equipment utilizes gamma cameras to peer through the skin and reveal the secrets that are taking place inside a person. Aiding in the detection and confirmation of injuries sustained from an accident or helping a doctor to see the extent of a tumor growth the nuclear camera is able to return images of the inner anatomy of the body to the screen of a nearby computer and reveal the damage that is taking place inside an ill person’s body.

Through the scanning process the gamma camera is able to reveal the differences in healthy tissue and organs and those that are affected by the onset of an illness or disease. Giving the physician a reference point from which to make their diagnosis and prognosis of a patient’s health, the use of nuclear medicine equipment is a modern marvel that is enabling doctors to provide the best analysis of their patient’s condition.

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