Super Bugs

As always "follow the money". The internet is a wonderful source of information for the layman and I believe it's very important to be pro-active about your own medical care; to have the knowledge you need to say "no" when you're offered a prescription for treating something which you, yourself, could often take care of with some lifestyle changes. You know, like losing that extra fifty pounds that are taxing your heart or cutting out the foods clogging your arteries and/or raising your blood pressure.

Years ago, when my spouse's doctor wanted to put him on statins, spouse asked what he could do to get that cholesterol down on his own. The doctor said, flat out, that "people won't do that, so I prescribe the drug". Guess what? He made the necessary changes instead and down went the numbers.

Too many people take the pills and get a peculiar sense of permission to go on merrily downing the very foods the got them in trouble in the first place. Bigger, better, fattier continues, with a side of fries, wings, and a coupla beers.

I like Ferret's input about how samples should be treated. Makes perfect sense that things should be refrigerated instead of being allowed to Party On.

I know you can't culture parasites on an agar plate...that's what I said.
You can culture anaerobic bacteria on an agar plate by putting the plates in an anaerobic chamber.

I was actually only being half sarcastic about you needing a better understanding of English in order to understand my posts, but I know it really is true. If you read again, I wrote "Antibiograms can be used to confirm effectiveness of the antibiotic, or need to change it." "C and S" does not mean much to most people because they are just two letters. The test is called an antibiogram. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiogram

E-raq wrote: Hasn't anybody ever heard of C and S tests, or is that too complicated?

I don't know where you were trained Dr. Thelin and the name may have changed over the years. For us old farts from Canada, it was called a C&S...as in Culture and Sensitivity. You can't do the Sensitivity (your Antibiogram) without doing the culture first and isolating the organism that you want to do the Sensitivity on.

Interesting. Hospital Ajijic was open all day and all night over Christmas, so was the Cruz Roja. In fact, I worked there all Christmas day and night. So, I have to ask, did you actually walk outside to look for a "doc", or were you looking in your refrigerator for one?

E-raq wrote: Here's what I did in an emergency situation over christmas. It wasn't the best choice either, but it did work. The pool guy was getting really sick, horrendous cough low low down, sounded awful I'm thinking pneumonia no Docs to be found, anywhere. I had some Cipro so gave that to him and it worked.

4,3,2...
I'm going to make popcorn.

You can call it either one you like. That was not the point. The point was that I specifically wrote about the "antibiogram" use, and she replies about no one using a "C and S test" (correctly called Culture and Sensitivity, and basically the same thing as an antibiogram with the implied culture). She was ranting about the lack of something I already stated. You seem to know what you are talking about on here. I am not questioning your "old fart" Canadian ways.

How was your popcorn?

ferret wrote:I don't know where you were trained Dr. Thelin and the name may have changed over the years. For us old farts from Canada, it was called a C&S...as in Culture and Sensitivity. You can't do the Sensitivity (your Antibiogram) without doing the culture first and isolating the organism that you want to do the Sensitivity on.

It was good but I ate the whole thing waiting for E-raq's reply.
Perhaps she couldn't find a Doctor to make a housecall at Christmas? They were both very very sick and she's a very independent kinda gal. I doubt if calling the Red Cross for an ambulance even crossed her mind.

ferret wrote:I know you can't culture parasites on an agar plate...that's what I said.
You can culture anaerobic bacteria on an agar plate by putting the plates in an anaerobic chamber.

I'm sorry ferret, we were down at the beach, having a wonderful time, eating, doing some drinkin', perhaps not enough, and got momentarily distracted. You are the one and the only lab boss around here. Desculpame mi amiga.

I'm fascinated with the anaerobic chamber. Since I was a clinician, I never saw the inner workings of the level 4. Hell they probably would have denied me entry anyhow.

Dr. Sam Thelin wrote:Interesting. Hospital Ajijic was open all day and all night over Christmas, so was the Cruz Roja. In fact, I worked there all Christmas day and night. So, I have to ask, did you actually walk outside to look for a "doc", or were you looking in your refrigerator for one?

E-raq wrote: Here's what I did in an emergency situation over christmas. It wasn't the best choice either, but it did work. The pool guy was getting really sick, horrendous cough low low down, sounded awful I'm thinking pneumonia no Docs to be found, anywhere. I had some Cipro so gave that to him and it worked.

Are you friggin' having me on here? If you think 2 half dead old farts are going to drive to Ajijic from the wilds, where we live, forget it.
I called our doc, who was away, and asked him if I should try a flouroquinolone since we were in a pinch, he said yes, so, I gave the big guy cipro. end of story. I don't take antibiotics unless there's a chance of imminent death. There were no labs open, and the whole country was shut down, well maybe except for you, and Doc Rodriguez.

E-raq...what the hell is Level 4?

She has no idea.

Trailrunner wrote:She has no idea.

Who has no idea?

ferret wrote:E-raq...what the hell is Level 4?

A level 4 is where they work on the really nasty bugs. Like ebola and the like. It's essentially a containment lab.

Interesting stuff...but you already know it's dangerous and you know what you're working with. That's usually not the case in a regular Hospital Microbiology Lab. The patient is sick and the Doctor doesn't know what's causing the problem. It's your job to find out. Unfortunately, some nasty bacteria grows....and you have to send it to the CDC VIA MAIL (a live culture) to have your conclusions confirmed.
SAY WHAT??? IMHO, unless this practice is now OUTDATED, they've got the whole thing ass backwards. Level 4 protocols, the most dangerous, should be applied most stringently at the "unknown" level and assume that everything is dangerous.
We used to use our noses and sniff the plates too, as certain bacteria have very distinct odours. No fume hoods and pipetted with our mouths not a propipette. It's a miracle that any of us are still alive to tell the tale.
http://www.labmanager.com/?articles.view/articleNo/1153/title/Biosafety-Levels-1--2--3---4/

It is the level of haloperidol she takes

ferret wrote:E-raq...what the hell is Level 4?

Dr. Sam Thelin wrote:It is the level of haloperidol she takes

ferret wrote:E-raq...what the hell is Level 4?

Was that nice, Dr.Sam? (I just looked up the drug....hmmm)

The continuing war of consultory medical advice between Dr. Sam vs. Dr. E-raq.

ferret wrote:
We used to use our noses and sniff the plates too, as certain bacteria have very distinct odours. It's a miracle that any of us are still alive to tell the tale.

And you warn us about the dangers of eating blue M&Ms?

Dr. Sam Thelin wrote:It is the level of haloperidol she takes

ferret wrote:E-raq...what the hell is Level 4?

So, Dr. Sam, which mind altering medication are you on?

Ever been in a level 4? Nah, me neither, however that's how I got my training, from the chief parasitologist at a level 4.

Soooo, now that the formalities are over, let's talk parasites shall we? Lot's of little goodies around here. I personally had 6 last year. Of course a nice healthy dose of Doxy killed the fargin little bastages, as I'm sure you are more than well aware.

slainte39 wrote:The continuing war of consultory medical advice between Dr. Sam vs. Dr. E-raq.

Nothing to worry about Slainte39. Just two clinicians having a minor skirmish. Happens all the time.

ferret wrote:Interesting stuff...but you already know it's dangerous and you know what you're working with. That's usually not the case in a regular Hospital Microbiology Lab. The patient is sick and the Doctor doesn't know what's causing the problem. It's your job to find out. Unfortunately, some nasty bacteria grows....and you have to send it to the CDC VIA MAIL (a live culture) to have your conclusions confirmed.
SAY WHAT??? IMHO, unless this practice is now OUTDATED, they've got the whole thing ass backwards. Level 4 protocols, the most dangerous, should be applied most stringently at the "unknown" level and assume that everything is dangerous.
We used to use our noses and sniff the plates too, as certain bacteria have very distinct odours. No fume hoods and pipetted with our mouths not a propipette. It's a miracle that any of us are still alive to tell the tale.
http://www.labmanager.com/?articles.view/articleNo/1153/title/Biosafety-Levels-1--2--3---4/

You have hit the nail right on the head ferret as usual. Those little tiny amoebae found in the oral cavity, are really damned dangerous, which is why I am hard at work on an article for medical organization in the U.S.
You see, that phase contrast lets you know what you're looking at live, and on a t.v. screen for your patients. Almost always works a right treat. Streaming spirochetes, amoebae gobbling up the nuclei of WBC, lots of rod shaped bacilli roaring around. I can tell you a hospital lab sounds like a very dangerous place. You have to have the pantalones to work in there. Hat's off! Anaerobic chamber, Geebus, I wouldn't want to sniff ANYTHING coming out of that one I can tell you.

viajero wrote:

ferret wrote:
We used to use our noses and sniff the plates too, as certain bacteria have very distinct odours. It's a miracle that any of us are still alive to tell the tale.

And you warn us about the dangers of eating blue M&Ms?

ROTFLMAO! NO KIDDING! Live and learn...just consider me a bad example...and it's the RED M&M's that are the worst.
Oh yeah, anaerobes are big time stinky poo...on the other hand, Pseudomonas aeruginosa smells like sweet grass.

ferret wrote:

viajero wrote:

ferret wrote:
We used to use our noses and sniff the plates too, as certain bacteria have very distinct odours. It's a miracle that any of us are still alive to tell the tale.

And you warn us about the dangers of eating blue M&Ms?

ROTFLMAO! NO KIDDING! Live and learn...just consider me a bad example...and it's the RED M&M's that are the worst.
Oh yeah, anaerobes are big time stinky poo...on the other hand, Pseudomonas aeruginosa smells like sweet grass.

I need to pay more attention,I've been throwing out the blue ones and eating the red ones,I wonder how much time I have left.
Eraq, cracks me up too,smokes like a chimney,likes her G&Ts,but won't brush her teeth with flouridated tooth paste out of health concerns.

viajero wrote:

ferret wrote:

viajero wrote:

ferret wrote:
We used to use our noses and sniff the plates too, as certain bacteria have very distinct odours. It's a miracle that any of us are still alive to tell the tale.

And you warn us about the dangers of eating blue M&Ms?

ROTFLMAO! NO KIDDING! Live and learn...just consider me a bad example...and it's the RED M&M's that are the worst.
Oh yeah, anaerobes are big time stinky poo...on the other hand, Pseudomonas aeruginosa smells like sweet grass.

I need to pay more attention,I've been throwing out the blue ones and eating the red ones,I wonder how much time I have left.
Eraq, cracks me up too,smokes like a chimney,likes her G&Ts,but won't brush her teeth with flouridated tooth paste out of health concerns.

It gets worse ferret and Viajero, I also will not consume fluoridated salt. Have to drive down to the coast to get flor de sal every few months. I use either an Indian toothpaste, tastes like soap, or desert essence flouride free.
Water, reverse osmosis only. Just a tad cautious shall we say. I have no fear of ciggies, and let's call a spade a spade here, ferret, neither do you. I'm just about to light up another health giving ciggie right about now.

Flor de sal is great,all the salt we buy is from the coast.