Aug 29, 2012

Patient #7: Lucky Snr

Lucky Snr has a fairly common syndrome in the population:

Feline Paranoia Syndrome (FPS)

Unlike what most people believe, this syndrome is not the fear of cats themselves, ailurophobia. In fact, people with FPS love cats and possibly own a few them. The most common symptom for this illness is the fear that their felines are plotting against them but they can’t stop loving them. Cats have been known to exhibit some intelligent behavior and world domination attributes. But with this illness, it is blown out of proportion.

FPS causes conflicting data in the brain. The person loves cats and wants to be around them, but the paranoia of harmful things causes irrational thoughts and possibly actions. People with FPS see things differently. For instance, when a cat brings home a dead animal (mouse, bird, etc.), a non-FPS person views this as a gift—a way the cat shows his appreciation for the work you do for him. This is like getting a payment. They pat the kitty on the head and then dispose of the carcass. For someone who has FPS, they view this act as a way for the cat to show its murder capabilities. How gruesome the death of the animal, the more terrifying the reaction for a FPS sufferer! Watch out for headless chipmunks!

This behavior soon spreads to other animals such as their dogs. People with FPS believe that the dogs are “telling” them something bad about the pet cat. For example, a FPS sufferer will view that a dog that needs to go for a walk often does not really need to urinate, but it is his way to get the human out of the house before the cat employs its diabolical plan. The dog is their alliance against the cat.



FPS sufferers also have strange affiliations with other animals. Lucky Snr, in particular, has been known to have strong ties with lizards.  Numerous photos of lizards have been found on her hard drive.  



Other symptoms of FPS include: shortness (of height, not breath), headaches, dizziness, obsessive compulsive disorder (being close to animals), drinking Strongbow, sleeping disturbances, and muscle aches.



FPS treatment is available, but success rates vary among individuals. Treatment includes: psychotherapy, support groups, and medication.

Note: medication can cause confusion, headaches, speech problems, double vision, seizures, and death.



If you believe that you or someone has FPS, please consult with your primary care physician. Options are available for you!

Aug 27, 2012

Have You Liked Dr. Carm?

Self-promotion time! Dr. Carm loves herself, so here we go.....


So have you liked Dr. Carm on Facebook yet?


You can get
Dr. Carm's buttons
View fan art
Laugh at funny cartoons (only available on the Facebook fanpage)


Liking Dr. Carm's Fanpage on Facebook provides notification to your wall when she updates her blog, adds photos, or post statuses and polls!


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Like a post? Share on Facebook, Twitter, or your Blog by clicking the appropriate icon below the post (or in the right column).  You can also recommend the post on Google by clicking the Google + icon below the post.


[For updates, you can also subscribe, become a follower, and follow by email. Please click the appropriate link in the right column of this page.]

This could be you!

Aug 25, 2012

Quick Story: KY Jelly

A doctor story:


I was caring for a woman and asked, "So how's your breakfast this morning?"

"It's very good, except for the Kentucky Jelly. I can't seem to get used to the taste" the patient replied.

I then asked to see the jelly and the woman produced a foil packet labeled "KY Jelly."
KY Jelly (a lubricant)  is made by Johnson & Johnson
The USA's Kentucky state (abbreviated KY)



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Aug 22, 2012

Can You Read This?


Does this look familiar?
Only great minds can read this

This is weird, but interesting!


fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it


FORWARD ONLY IF YOU CAN READ IT

This was an email that circulated a while ago. Dr. Carm can obviously read it because she has a great mind (and many other super qualities.) But, is this as awesome as it seems?

Well, first off there was no study done at Cambridge University. Yep, you read me right! According to FoxNews, the email was originally sent out without even mentioning Cambridge University. It was added "after the Times of London interviewed a Cambridge neuropsychologist for comment."  Here are some points of the article:

~Some letters can spell multiple words.  The example used was "ponits" which could be pitons, points, pintos, potins, and pinots.
~Two and three letter words do not change at all, so they are spelled correctly. In the email almost half the words are spelled correctly. This keeps the grammar in control.
~The email only moves the adjacent letters, which is easier to read. Which is easier? Porbelm or pbleorm?
~People can read the email, yes. However, they read it much slower than if it were spelled correctly. A study at Durham found that "the students read 255 words per minute when the sentences were normal, and 227 words per minute when the letters were transposed, a 12 percent decrease in overall reading speed."

So, sorry that you are not as smart or talented as you once thought you were.  Your brain is not as special as you thought (at least with this.)
Obviously, Dr. Carm is still extremely intelligence. [But, you didn't really need to be told that, right?]



Article can be found at FoxNews.com—If You Can Raed Tihs, You Msut Be Raelly Smrat. Published March 31, 2009.



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Aug 18, 2012

Quick Facts: Skin Cancer


-Melanoma (the deadliest skin cancer) kills 8,700 Americans every year

-Skin cancer effects 2 million people in the United States every year

- Caucasians are at a higher risk for skin damage than those who have darker skin tones (but all people are at risk)

- Adolescent skin is more sensitive and vulnerable than adult skin

- Single blistering sunburn while young doubles the chances of getting melanoma later

- There is not that much of a difference between SPF 15 and SPF 30

- Skin cancer is twice as high in Arizona than Minnesota (Yep, you guesses it. Sunny places are higher for skin cancers)

- Tanning beds release 10 to 15 times UV radiation than a noontime sun

- Tanning weakens your skin’s elasticity – i.e., premature aging, sagging skin, deep wrinkles, and brown spots



- 10 minutes of sun is enough for your body to synthesize vitamin D

- California has banned anyone younger than 18 years of age from tanning beds

-Try wearing fabrics that block UVA and UVB rays to help protect your skin

- Avoid sun exposure between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

- Wear sunscreen

- Get regular skin checks

- Old sunscreen  rules only focused on UVB. Now, the rules also focus on UVA rays (which protect against cancer)

- No sunscreen can completely block the sun or be completely waterproof (it must be effective for at least 40 minutes when wet)


Paturel, A. (2012). Shining a light on skin cancer. Current Health Teen, 38(6), 16-19.


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Aug 15, 2012

Patient # 6: Ellen


Don’t contact me, I’ll contact you is Dr. Carm’s motto. It works very well for a doctor of Dr. Carm’s standing. Anyway, today’s patient is Ellen DeGeneres. Yes, I know many of you are wondering what ails Ellen. She seems so healthy. Plus, she has a TV show! Well, unfortunately, not everyone can be as healthy as Dr. Carm.

Ellen suffers from
Random Happy Dance Disorder (RHDD)
Surprisingly, this is not the first patient that Dr. Carm has come across with this condition. A few years before she became a certified fake doctor, Dr. Carm met another person who would randomly break out into dance. She found the disorder fascinating and has been trying to locate another case to study.
RHDD can strike at any moment, which causes the person to break out in random dances, especially when there is music. (Please note that music is not necessary to trigger RHDD.) RHDD sufferers do not understand the reason why they must dance. They only know that they feel happier when they do. It also makes those surrounding them entertained by watching or participating in the RHD. This feeds into the disorder.
Also, whenever the RHDD sufferer dances, the whole world stops and she becomes one with all that is good and pure in the world. [What exactly is the “good and pure in the world”? Little baby kittens? White fluffy clouds? Chocolate? Dr. Carm doesn’t know. She’s too busy to worry about such things. All that matters is that it happens.]
As the dancer continues, she becomes obsessed to relive this wonderful moment over and over again. Unfortunately, the human body can only take so much, so either the person learns to balance out the dancing (hence the RHDD) or dies.
The source of this disease is still unknown. It is hard for scientists to catch and maintain such people to perform experiments and tests on. For some reason, shooting random people who are dancing with tranquilizers is frowned upon by law enforcement. Therefore, much research still needs to be done.
 What we do know:
~ RHDD can be very contagious and those who suffer from it should be extremely careful in public areas. Plastic bubbles might have to be used on the RHDD sufferer.

 -        ~ RHDD can lead to other diseases such as OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorders). For instance, Dr. Carm noticed one RHDD sufferer had an obsession with making milkshakes. [Ah, yes! Rozey made the best milkshakes…] Other obsessions can include things like caring for animals, playing silly games, scaring people, and underwear.
~ RHDD does not go away. The person will die from RHDD…eventually.
~ Breaking a RHDD person’s legs will not permanently stop the dancing. [Don’t ask how we know this.]
-        Finally, although this is incurable, it should not discourage the patients. They should…just dance!

-          
- 
-

Remember if you want to be diagnosed, send Dr. Carm an email: drcarmelee@gmail.com

Related Postings:

Aug 12, 2012

Quick Story: The Patch


A doctor story:

During a patient's two week follow-up appointment with his cardiologist, he informed me, his doctor, that he was having trouble with one of his medications. 

"Which one?" I asked. 

"The patch. The nurse told me to put on a new one every six hours and now I'm running out of places to put it!" 

I had him quickly undress and discovered what I hoped I wouldn't see...Yes, the man had over fifty patches on his body! Now, the instructions include removal of the old patch before applying a new one.
 
 

Aug 8, 2012

I Have Fan Art!

Dr. Carm received her first fan art today!

Sam was inspired by Beware the Butt Cooties posting (found here), so she made some butt cooties. See below:

Butt Cooties love you!


Boy Butt Cootie

Girl Butt Cootie

The reproduction of Butt Cooties
Colored Butt Cooties



Dr. Carm is tickled pink with the drawings. If you would like to submit your own fan art, please send it to drcarmelee@gmail.com (please put "Fan Art [name of art]" in the subject line).

Beware the Butt Cooties!


Dr. Carm would like to thank Diana Gabaldon for permitting her to post her writings on butt cooties. Diana Gabaldon…sounds familiar? Well, you’re right! She is the author of the Outlander series, Lord John Grey series, and some scholarly works. For more information about Diana Gabaldon click here
Anyway, I know you are all extremely concerned about understanding butt-cooties, so here it is:

A BRIEF DISQUISITION ON THE EXISTENCE OF BUTT-COOTIES

[Copyright 2010 Diana Gabaldon]


(Gentlemen, kindly avert your eyes)

Having lived to my present advanced age, I've spent a lot of time in public restrooms. And, having been a scientist in my previous professional incarnation, I can't help observing things, and drawing statistical inferences. Which is why I am in a position to inform you that roughly half the female population of the US suffer from the twin delusions that 1) butt-cooties exist, and 2) they will, given half a chance, leap several inches from a toilet seat and burrow into the skin of an unsuspecting buttock, resulting in scrofula, assorted STD's, herpes, and probably leprosy.

I draw these conclusions from the fact that roughly half the time I enter a public restroom cubicle, I observe that the previous user has peed on the seat. Ladies…

I can only guess that at some point in an impressionable youth, these women were told by some female authority figure that One Must Never SIT On A Public Toilet, "because you might catch something." Firmly indoctrinated with this policy, they do not sit on public toilets. They hover. Ladies, ladies…

Look. The skin of the buttocks is actually pretty germ-free, owing to the fact that we normally keep them covered and don't (usually) touch other people, animals, etc. with them. Your butt is much cleaner—microbially-speaking—than are your hands.

Various studies of the bacterial content of public restrooms indicate that there are a LOT more germs on the door of said restroom than there are on any toilet seat therein. You acquire millions more microbes by shaking hands with someone than you would if our social system involved mutual butt-rubbing. (To say nothing of the teeming worlds of microorganisms you acquire every time you accept change from the counter-guy at Burger King. How many of you race to the bathroom and scrub your hands after ordering the meal, but before eating it? )


In order actually to catch one of the communicable diseases with which excrement or other bodily fluids are associated, two things would have to occur: 1) the bodily fluid of an infected person would have to be applied to the toilet seat (which would not happen, if said person would sit her bottom on the potty where it belongs and not spray the thing like a hippopotamus), and 2) an uninfected person's mucous membranes must come in contact with said fluids, within the few seconds that most bacteria and virii can survive outside the human body. You don’t have mucous membranes on your buttocks.

Now, by and large, urine really doesn't contain all that many bacteria (Male urine contains almost none, owing to the fact that its exit is, um, less impeded by surrounding tissue. A good many alchemical and medical recipes up through the early 19th century require "urine of a newborn male child" as an ingredient—this being the most sterile water available). Feces…well, yes. And I have in fact encountered the Really Nasty evidence that there are not only seat-pee-ers, but also seat-poopers (to say nothing of the occasional person who is so afraid of physically encountering a public toilet that they actually don't hit it at all, and leave the evidence of their mental derangement on the floor of the facility), but this is fortunately rare.

All right. In periods of heavy traffic, one might possibly encounter a live bacterium or virus present in the urine that some inconsiderate idiot has left on a toilet seat. Not likely, but faintly possible. Are you going to encounter it with your mucous membranes? Not unless your excretory habits are both Highly Athletic and Dang Unusual.

OK. So if the risk of catching a bacterial or viral disease by sitting on a dry toilet seat is negligible, then plainly, the Thing to Fear must be…Butt-cooties!

Traveling as much as I do, I am in a position to collect international data, albeit in an anecdotal and unstandardized manner. On the basis of such casual observation, though, I hypothesize that while butt-cooties presently have a fairly wide global distribution, they probably originated in the United States. Speaking generally, at least fifty percent of all public toilets in US airports, convenience stores, museums, and restaurants indicate evidence of infestation (judging from the aversive techniques employed by the patrons). European toilets have a much lower incidence—perhaps 10-15%.

(Point of etiquette: ought one to meet the eyes of, and/or nod to, a person emerging from a toilet cubicle that one proposes to enter? Common politeness would argue for such cordial acknowledgement—but if the next few seconds reveal that the departing patron was possessed of butt-cooties, this might lead one to think harsh and unchristian thoughts of said person, and surely it's worse to think unchristian thoughts (WWJD? I'm pretty sure He wouldn't pee on a public toilet seat, and if He did, He would certainly wipe it off. Ditto the Buddha, and doubtless any other religious figure you care to name) about someone whose face is imprinted in your short-term memory, than of an unknown quantity.)

In fact, we might hypothesize the geographical origin of butt-cooties as having occurred in or near Chicago. On what basis? Well, of all the airports I've been in (and I've been in a lot of airports, from New Zealand to Saskatchewan), only O'Hare International has public toilets equipped with a sliding cylinder of plastic sheeting that encases the seats; you wave your hand in front of a magic button, and voila! The plastic slides round the seat, and you are presented with a pristine surface on which to park your booty. Such is the prevailing fear of butt-cooties, though, that people pee on these toilet seats, too.

Well, there's no arguing with psychological aberration, and thus I make no attempt to persuade Those Who See Butt-Cooties away from their convictions. I would, though, urge them—in the most kindly manner—to address the results of their antisocial psychosis, and thus leave them with this classic advice:

"If you sprinkle when you tinkle—

Please be neat, and wipe the seat."

To see the original posting by Diana Gabaldon, please click here
For more information on her books, click here


This has been posted with permission by the author.

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Aug 7, 2012

2nd Month Anniversary Game


Word Scramble

Unscramble the words below. 
HINT: All words are from the quick facts postings. For answers, please email Dr. Carm at drcarmelee@gamil.com 

  1.       DTONSFAR  
  2.       AVAHRRD
  3.       OACOCTRDMR (2 WORDS)
  4.       CTUSTISSECTHHTANOITLAENOUGYESSTOMF (4 WORDS)
  5.       FSTFIHIRG
  6.       HNIONOJSPHK (2 WORDS)
  7.       GSHENRO-HECON
  8.       KICFQUTACS (2 WORDS)
  9.       OAAGSMMMMR
  10.   FLFONYIRRUCASNIIOAVITE (3 WORDS)
  11.   FRXDOO
  12.   ALYE
  13.   MANOSOL
  14.   NESZEE
  15.   MBCDIGARE

Missed the First Month Anniversary Game? Click here
Tomorrow is a special posting. Don't miss it!!!


Aug 4, 2012

Quick Fact: Sneeze Records

According to the Guinness World Records (2004):

The highest speed at which expelled particles from a sneeze have been measured to travel is 103.6 mph (167 km/h).

and

Longest sneezing fit: The longest recorded sneezing fit is that of Donna Griffiths (UK). She began sneezing on January 13, 1981 and sneezed an estimated one million times in the first 365 days. Her first sneeze-free day came 978 days later on September 16, 1983.

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Aug 1, 2012

Patient #5: Heather

Heather is a new patient of Dr. Carm and has a rather interesting disorder:


Concocting Violaceous Slytherite Disorder (CVSD) 
This blood disorder affects the body in different ways. Some of the more common signs and symptoms include:

1.   Craftiness: Dr. Carm uses the word craftiness here to mean both cunning and creative. People with CVSD can be both or just one. Those who take on the creative side of craftiness exhibit strange characteristics. For instance, they might find that they can only knit duck socks.




2.   Purple: This symptom is constant throughout all CVSD sufferers. When given a choice between red, purple, and olive, they all like the color purple. Some may be more particular with the shade of purple, but it remains that the color purple is their favorite color out of the list. Doctors have argued that this is because the color purple creates a more stable blood flow to CVSD sufferers. Red increases the blood flow, while olive decreases it. Those with CVSD unconsciously prefer more stability, because of their blood disorder.

3.   Slytherite1: These people match flawlessly with the traits created by J. K. Rowling’s Slytherin house in Harry Potter. They are cunning, resourceful, and ambitious. Slytherin also corresponds to water, which is also why CVSD sufferers enjoy a nice drink (although this does not have to be water.) It’s amazing that Rowling created Slytherins to be so similar to the CVS disorder!


Other possible symptoms include: being in the sun, reading, listening to British accents, and breathing.

CVSD does not have a cure, and most sufferers prefer not to have one. Interestingly enough, they can function in society without too much difficulty. Unless one really knew the person, most people would never suspect a person to have CVSD. This is believed to be part of the cunningness exhibited by the person. Once the symptoms are pointed out, more people are able to recognize the disorder.

For those looking for treatment, they should seek out their primary care physician. Blood tests will be done to verify the blood disorder and possible treatment plans for the symptoms can be discussed. As of yet, no one with CVSD has sought treatment. Therefire, it is undetermined how well the treatments work.
1 Slytherite is a word created by J. K. Rowling in her early drafts.

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Patient #1: Kayla 
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