Symbol of Appreciation

February 2010 Top EC Droppers:

Health Body	17
Doctors Best Choice for Your Health	11
The Everyday Adventurer	8
GoneCorporateLifestyle.com	6
Cat On My Head	6
new illuminati	6
CupboardCreatures	5
Emila's Illustrated Blog	5
Real estate blog	4
Health Assistant	4

January 2010 Top EC Droppers:

Cat On My Head	7
Photojournalist !	6
JoeTaxpayer	5
in a dark place	5
best home loan	4
Blank Thoughts	4
The Everyday Adventurer	4
Hoalian	4
Healthyscraps	4
I Love-Hate America	3

December 2009 Top EC Droppers:

Joe Taxpayer
Twerlermz' Blog
Cat On My Head
Help for anxiety, stress and panic
Viz4U.net
Dark Nogisaka's Life
Just My Two Cents
Rants, Thoughts, and Other Things
Reaching Lifelong Goals
In a dark place

November 2009 Top EC Droppers

JoeTaxpayer

Cat On My Head

The Vegan Lifestyle

Twerlermz' Blog

cancer-precations

Help for anxiety, stress and panic

Viz4U.net

Rants, Thoughts, and Other Things

Dark Nogisaka's Life

Blog to Differ

September 2009 Top EC Droppers
The Vegan Lifestyle
Curiously Awesome
BuildingBiggerBarns
Creating a Better World
EzGreatLife
Help for anxiety, stress and panic
Klinika Kinetics
Moon Goddess Lae
A Wedding for Ish
After cancer, now what

August 2009 Top EC Droppers
Thank you to:
The Vegan Lifestyle After cancer, now what
Harvesting Dollars
EzGreatLife
A Taste of Both Worlds
Silver Pops
BuildingBiggerBarns
Curiously Awesome
Santos [dot] ph
Nature Blessing

April 2009 Top Droppers
sound of a soft breath

Three Fates Design - Beaded Jewelry

HealthEagle

Entrecard SEO

Curiously Awesome

Girls Are Made of Sugar & Spice And Everything Nice

GHOSTING MIRANDA II THE HORROR

Make Money Work Online

Trading Resource

Time Less Images

The Tic of Tourette Syndrome

Have you met someone who blinks or winks twice every 30 seconds? Or shouting obscene words every now and then?

Yes, I have met those people and those winks don’t mean admiration or those obscene words don't mean to disgrace me.

Watch this video to see what I mean.



This boy is suffering from Tourette Syndrome. It is a chronic, familial motor disorder characterized by tics: repetitive, irregular habit spasms. They just feel the urgency to blink, to shout, et cetera.

I know that most of you will find it funny when Tourette patients exhibit tics. That's why it is very essential to think first before you react.

Supportive counseling is also recommended for family members.

Related Topics:

How a Sexually Inactive Child Maybe Infected with Chlamydia

Alzheimer's Disease 

Pancreatitis

Lorenzo's Oil

Huntington Disease

Semen Analysis: Three-Hour Experiment

[Flickr.com by tuffy1973]

The evaluation of infertility cases and postvasectomy cases are the two primary reasons for semen analysis.

I still have a semi-vivid image in my mind when we had a three-hour experiment for semen analysis. The guys had to be absent for one subject because they needed to "concentrate"…if you know what I mean. True man or semi-man, he/half-he had to donate his sperm for semen analysis experiment.

While the men were "away," we, ladies, had to prepare the laboratory equipment for the said activity. And after maybe almost an hour of waiting, the guys arrived sweaty and, surprisingly, in high spirits.

Then, the fun began.

If I could accurately remember, the first thing we did was to sniff the chlorine type smell of the semen. (It wasn’t necessary, but we did it anyway.) And then we measured the volume (normal semen volume ranges between 2 and 5 ml) and its pH (normal is slightly alkaline); and determined its viscosity (normal viscosity will pour in droplets).

Looking at the sperm through the microscope is the most interesting part because we could really see the tadpole-like rapid movement of the sperm. In fertility cases, the actual number of sperm present, the motility of the sperm in a semen specimen, and the sperm's morphology are valid measurements.

We all know that there's only one (or sometimes two) sperm that can successfully penetrate the ovum, but the sperm count normal values are 20 to 160 million sperm per milliliter. Isn't it frustrating when you have countless sperms and only one could get in? (lol)

Furthermore, even though you have enough sperm count but the motility of your semen is not that aggressive, impregnating a woman will be formidable. One male classmate of mine had a grade 4 (excellent rapid movement). No wonder after a year, he's already a father.

And don’t ever think that having a handsome face is already enough because the face or the appearance of his sperm should also count in fertility case. It is essential for the guy's semen to have 70% to 99.9% good looking sperms, like this:

[baby4you.co.nz]

However, the semen analysis is only a part of fertility test.

Well, that's all folks. We had an exciting three-hour laboratory experiment. Ciao.

Related Topics:

Elevated Amylase

Protein In Urine

First Morning Urine

Calcium Oxalate in Urine

Nursing Versus Medical Technology

Why You Should Eat Fruits and Vegetables

[flickr.com by miss kim]

The recommended daily serving of eating fruits and veggies in a day is five servings. But why should we eat fruits and vegetables?

According to scientific studies, fresh fruits and vegetables are "fat free, low in salt and an excellent source of fiber." Likewise, fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients. Bananas and spinach, for example, are both rich in potassium which is necessary for proper nerve and muscle functioning.

In addition to that, fruits and vegetables contain phytonutrients and antioxidant. The former helps in protecting our organs and the latter protects our bodies from free radicals which are deleterious to our cellular membranes.

I am fortunate to live in a place where fruits and vegetables are readily available. Banana is not really my favorite fruit, although we have a small farm planted with bananas. Ampalaya or bitter melon is one of my favorite vegetables. My favorite ampalaya dish is salad. I know it's bitter but I consider it as an appetizer. How about you, what are your favorite fruits and vegetables? And how often do you eat them?

Related Topics:

How a sexually inactive child maybe infected with Chlamydia

Your Basal Metabolic Rate

Alzheimer's Disease

Elevated Amylase

Protein in urine

How A Sexually Inactive Child Maybe Infected With Chlamydia

[services.epnet.com]

Chlamydial Infection

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common species of Chlamydia and C. trachomatis infection is the most reportedly case of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). A disease of the eye called trachoma is caused by the trachoma strains of C. trachomatis.

For STDs, condoms can prevent possible transmission. But abstinence is still the best choice for STD prevention.

But is it possible for a sexually inactive child to be infected with Chlamydia? Yes.

If for example, a Chlamydia-positive mother is pregnant. The newborn can be infected as it passes through the birth canal. Other modes of transmission are from eye to eye transmission via droplets, hands, contaminated fomites or flies.

As the Chlamydia stays inside the digestive and respiratory tract of the child, the infection can be further transferred through fecal contamination and respiratory droplets.

Moreover, it has been reported that Chlamydial infection is endemic in communities where there is an inadequate personal hygiene and sanitation and lack of medical care.

Therefore, cleanliness may still play a big part in fighting against this disease. Food safety training can be done in those areas and proper hygiene should be taught.

Related Topics:

Alzheimer's Disease

Adrenoleukodystrophy

Huntington's Disease

Parkinson's Disease

Pancreatitis

Your Basal Metabolic Rate

[benettontalk.com]

Let's Exercise

I received an email from my sister-in-law about Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Although, the information shared was basically to advertise a product. The explanation of BMR captured my imagination.

Your body is like your car. Think of turning your car engine on in the morning
and just letting it run in the driveway. The car sitting in the driveway burning
fuel is like your BMR. The bigger the car engine, the more fuel it uses. So a
big truck burns lots of fuel and gets maybe eight miles to the gallon while an
economy car uses little fuel and gets 40 miles to the gallon. If you pushed down
on the gas pedal and revved the engine, you would be burning more fuel, which is
basically what you do when you exercise.

In other words, the bigger you are the more calories you have to burn in a day.

But I guess we should love exercising because of the benefits we could get out of it. Just one hour walking, running or jogging perhaps could surely burn some hated fats that we have. We don't really have to go to the gym and use those heavy exercise equipment. Right?

Well, I'd like to end this post by sharing these tips from Luigi Gratoon, M.D., M.P.H

Tips for burning more calories:
• Exercise to increase muscle mass.
• Fuel up with Herbalife nutrition products.
• Rev up your workout routine to
burn more calories.

Related Topics:

Health - Protein in Urine

Forget Me Not

My grandmother had an Alzheimer's disease, but this was not the cause of her death.

Alzheimer's disease is a form of dementia which is caused by low levels of neurotransmitter acetycholine in the cortex of the brain associated with the destruction of neurons.

According to research, enzyme cholinesterase can effectively raise the acetylcholine level in the brain but it cannot reverse the destruction of neurons.

Alzheimer's disease is irreversible and can be inherited.

Related Topics:
Human Diseases (Parkinson's Twitch)
Health (Skin Safety Campaign)

Elevated Amylase

After my uncle suffered from pancreatitis and fortunately, he was immediately brought to the hospital, all of us wanted to have our laboratory test done for amylase, which is used to detect or diagnose pancreatitis. However, according to my uncle's physician, elevated amylase level in the body will only occur if there's an injury to the pancreas.

Last March 29, 2002, Rico Yan, matinee idol, died of pancreatitis (bangungot).

Related topics: Health (Adrenoleukodystrophy), Medical Technology (Protein In Urine), Human Diseases (13's Huntington)

Lorenzo's Adrenoleukodystrophy

I know that most of you have already seen Lorenzo's Oil. It's a movie about a child having Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). ALD or Addison-Schilder Disease or Siemerling-Creutzfeldt Disease is a rare disease passed through by the mother. The patients with X-linked ALD are all male.

In this disease, an essential protein, called a transporter protein, is
missing in sufferers. This protein is needed to carry an enzyme which is used to
break down very long-chain fatty acids found in the normal diet. Lack of this
protein can give rise to a build-up of very long-chain fatty acids, (VLCFA) in
the body which can damage the brain and the adrenal gland.
–en.wikipedia.com

Most scientists are still skeptical about the effectiveness of Lorenzo's Oil and up to now, it is still under investigation.

On the other hand, Lorenzo died on May 31, 2008. According to HeraldSun.com:

Lorenzo Odone's battle with the rare Adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, a
genetic disease, died one day after his 30th birthday - 20 years longer
than doctors expected him to live.

He died of pneumonia after getting food stuck in his
lungs.

I could not get an accurate figure of ALD cases in the Philippines, but I find aldfoundation.org as a very informative site.

Related Topics: Health (Parkinson's Twitch), Human Diseases (13's Huntington)

Protein In Urine

[vet.uga.edu]

According to Strasinger, the most indicative of renal disease is the protein determination.

In a routine analysis, presence of excess protein in urine does not always signify renal disease but it does require additional testing to determine whether it's pathologic or normal.

Glomerular membrane damage, disorders affecting tubular reabsorption of filtered protein and increased serum levels of low-molecular weight proteins are some of the major pathologic causes of proteinuria (presence of excess protein in urine).

Related Topics: Health (Assessing Consciousness), Medical Technology (First Morning Specimen), Human Diseases (13's Huntington)

First Morning Specimen

The first morning urine is the ideal screening specimen because it is more concentrated than the random specimen.

Furthermore, the first morning urine is also important for preventing false-negative pregnancy tests and for evaluating orthostatic proteinuria.

How to collect it? The patient is instructed to immediately collect the specimen upon arising and deliver it to laboratory within one hour.

Related Topic: Medical Technology (Calcium Oxalate in Urine)

Assessing Consciousness

Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is used to assess the level of consciousness of the patient after head injury.

Best motor response (upper extremity)
6 Obeys command
5 Localizes pain
4 Withdraws from stimulus
3 Abnormal flexing
2 Extensor response
1 None

Best verbal response
5 Oriented (makes sentences)
4 Confused speech (words)
3 Gibberish (vocal sounds)
2 Incomprehensible sounds
1 None

Eye Opening4 Spontaneous
3 To speech
2 To pain
1 None

The scale is now used by EMS or Emergency Medical Services.

Related Topic: Health (Cranial Nerves)

Calcium Oxalate in Urine

Calcium oxalate is one of my favorite crystals in urine because they can be recognized easily. Further, the shape resembles an envelope but dumbbell and oval forms may also occur.

Calcium oxalate crystal is one of the normal crystals that can be found in acidic urine.

I just can't forget calcium oxalate… it is one of the reasons why I passed the internship. How? It's a secret I can never tell.

Related topic: Medical Technology (Nursing VS Medical Technology)

13's Huntington

[cumc.columbia.edu]

If you're a big fan of House M.D., the TV show, you'd know Thirteen, who's suffering from Huntington's disease or Huntington Chorea. Thirteen, a bisexual, is portrayed by Olivia Wilde.

Huntington's disease is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle rigidity and dementia accompanied by chorea (abnormal involuntary movement disorder) and often seizure.

The onset of the disease is by age 40 and (may be) in childhood.

And death occurs in 5 to 15 years.

Related topic: Human Diseases (Parkinson's disease)

Nursing VS Medical Technology

[Cache.daylife.com]

There were at least 90,000 examinees all over the Philippines who took the nursing licensure examination last weekend compared to only 1,329 examinees who took the medical technology licensure examination last September 2008.

Out of that 90,000, I am pretty sure a big percentage of examinees are already licensed medical technologists.

The demand of nurses abroad lured professionals to study nursing. Even medical doctors ceased practicing their profession to be nurses abroad…to earn greener pastures.

But the question is--"are we producing highly competent nursing professionals?"

Related topic: Medical Technology (Where Art Thou)

Parkinson Twitch

[cache.eb.com]

Millions of people, including Michael J. Fox and Cassius Clay (a.k.a, Muhammad Ali) are suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive neurologic disorder causing muscle tremor and rigidity. Until now, the exact cause is still unknown.

In this disease, the neurologic symptoms are caused by the deterioration and dopamine depletion in the brain. Furthermore, the disease is common in men.

During the physical examination, patients are "usually noted to have an immobile, mask-like face with infrequent blinking and reduced automatic movements such as swinging the arms while walking."

I just remembered Michael J. Fox in his 1985 movie, "Back to the Future." And he was diagnosed to have Parkinson's disease in 1991.

Related Topic: Health (Memorizing Cranial Nerves)
Reference: Human Diseases

Memorizing the Cranial Nerves

[pennhealth.com]

Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel A Great Victory is Such Happiness. Hmm, wondering what I meant? This was how I memorized the 12 Cranial Nerves, during my college years. I used mnemonics. We were taught that way to facilitate the memorization process.

Oh = CN I Olfactory
Oh= CN II Optic
Oh = CN III Oculomotor
To= CN IV Trochlear
Touch = CN V Trigeminal
And = CN VI Abducens
Feel = CN VII Facial
A = CN VIII Auditory
Great = CN IX Glossopharyngeal
Victory = CN X Vagus
Such = CN XI Spinal Accessory
Happiness = CN XII Hypoglossal

Fortunately, until now, I can still remember them with the help of mnemonics.

Related Topic: Health (Skin Safety Campaign)

Where Art Thou Medical Technologists

[amt1.com]

I went to my hometown the other day to meet up with someone. And I have learned that most hospitals and clinics there are in need of medical technologists. There is no doubt about that because most registered medical technologists now are either working abroad or studying nursing.

It's so sad that the institution allowed this to happen. Hospitals cannot, somehow, operate without medical technologists. But I cannot blame them for leaving the country.

I just hope that our government would seriously look into this situation and would take appropriate action. If not, sooner or later, our country would significantly experience a scarcity of medical technologists.

Related Topic: Medical Technologist

Skin Safety Campaign

I have seen a lot of skin care clinics promising to make someone's skin softer and smoother at a lower price. But are they safe? Do they have certified professionals to perform certain procedure? I doubt it.

The Philippine Dermatological Society (PDS) came up with the Skin Safety Campaign with the goal of informing or educating individuals on how to choose a dermatologist.

A real dermatologist is a licensed medical doctor who underwent training for 3 years in a hospital or an institution that is approved by the PDS and passed the board examinations of the PDS.

A PDS Skin Safety Campaign logo should appear in one's skin care clinic and the physician's/dermatologist's prescription pad should show that he or she is a Fellow (FPDS), Diplomate (DPDS), PDS Associate or Affiliate.

For further information, visit PDS: pds.org.ph

Tropical Disease Foundation

The Tropical Disease Foundation, a "non-stock, non-profit Scientific Charitable institution," is in need of a medical technologist with one year working experience in the related field.

Tropical Disease Foundation, Inc is located at 2nd floor, 136 APMC building, Amorsolo corner Gamboa and Adelantado Sts., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Tel. No.: 840-0714/817-0489/812-9183.

And by the way, they welcome fresh graduates or entry level applicants.
Source: jobstreet.com

Related Topic: Medical Technologist