Steroids in OA?

Bismillah, alhamdulillah, an interesting study that offers a possible treatment option for people with hand OA, yes Osteoarthritis and not RA, having a flare up of their symptoms. The authors used 10mg for 6 weeks and found some interesting and beneficial results. A single trial is not enough of a data point but it may

Do you wear contact lenses? (Part 5) – Tight & dislocated lenses

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: The list of things that can go wrong with contact lenses does not make pretty reading, and will probably put many a potential or current wearer off the thought. Today we have a few more aptly termed complications: “tight lens syndrome” and “dislocated contact lens”: Tight lens syndrome: the contact lens is meant

Do you wear contact lenses? (Part 4) – Cleaning chemicals can irritate

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: Contact lens solutions are needed to keep contact lenses in good working order and pathogen free. They may come as multiple solutions or a single use multi-solution. Here is an ingredient list of the materials found in a contact lens cleaning solution: poloxamine, poloxamer 181, diglycine, sodium citrate, boric acid, sodium borate, edetate

T2DM +ACR high, already on ACE – what else can we do?

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: it seems that Canagliflozin can help, at least that is what one trial of over 4000+ Diabetics with impaired eGFR suggests as per Uptodate. It reduces ESRD and hospitalization for heart failure when compared to placebo. The trial funding source was not clear and the medication is contraindicated if the eGFR is under

Do you wear contact lenses? (Part 3) – The cornea breathes like an insect

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: just like the rest of your body all living tissue needs to breathe to get oxygen, the cornea is no different. It acquires its oxygen a bit like an insect, through the process of diffusion of oxygen from the atmosphere directly. This avoids the use of blood vessels and keeps the cornea clear

Can doctors learn from administrators?

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: It has been a great pleasure to have worked with two fantastic Family Medicine colleagues from Rawdat Al Khayl Health Center, Dr Miaaz Zidan and Dr Yawer Hafeez on successfully publishing the article “Is it time to control the flow of information in our consultations?”. The article was accepted for publication today by

Do you wear contact lenses? (Part 2) Mechanical corneal abrasion

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: in the last post we covered the first three causes of non-infective complications of contact lenses, today we will continue with a few more courtesy of UpToDate (4) Mechanical corneal abrasion: Contact lenses can abrade the cornea through a variety of mechanisms: (a) Traumatic insertion or removal; (b) Small malformations in the contact

Do you wear contact lenses? (Part 1)

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: I thought I would quickly review contact lenses and their health problems as a case popped up last week. Just like any ‘window’ our eyes need good cleaning and we have a windscreen washer or tear film and a physical wiper to wipe the surface, otherwise known as an eyelid. Unlike the windscreens

Li Shizhen – the great Chinese doctor and herbalist (1518-1593)

Bismillah, alhamdulillah, Li Shizhen (1518-1593) was a third generation doctor who failed his imperial civil service exams and decided to become a scholastic doctor. He travelled around the Chinese empire in the Ming dynasty after the end of the Eurasian empire of the Mongols and their rule in China. He collected and listed over 1800

Hope for Traumatic Spinal Injury with stem cell therapy – Dr Mohamad Bydon

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: this was brought to my attention when I was sent a Whatsapp video clip of a man who had a traumatic spinal injury, was unable to walk, had stem cell therapy and now could walk. Is it true, doctor? The clip came from Good Morning America and shows an interview with a patient