Sprained Ankle :(

Yes, this is a real one. No practice. At least I had some practice before I could try it out on my own limbs..

...

"Welcome to Health & Life Sciences (or Health & Wellness Management, as some people call it), where you shall marry your books and neglect your own health despite studying a healthcare-related course."


Yes, I'm ill, again, and I'm cramming for an upcoming test and my first aid certificate. Rather, I'm supposed to be cramming for an upcoming test.
Instead, I'm blogging about absolutely nothing.
I'm laying off doctor's appointments in favor of lab work and food poisoning cases. My body temperature's been elevated at times, and my family doctor clearly told me I HAD to get back if I would become feverish. I'm effectively running myself down trying to get into med school.

Good news: I practiced my first aid skills on real people. I took care of a fake arterial bleeding without gasping at the amount of blood or stressing out. I bandaged the wound nicely without putting too much pressure on the limb. Go me!

Arterial bleeding!

I'll take some days off once I'm done with the Threat & Protection I exam and the first aid exam.
Holiday music, anyone?

More lab!

Blegh. As much as I like prodding and coloring bacteria on microscope slides, I can't say lab is very enjoyable when you have to get through the snow to get to college.
It's -6 degrees Celsius here in the Netherlands, and anyone living far up north or land-inwards is going to laugh at me for being a wuss. But I'm Asian. I dislike extreme colds.
I dislike having the cold as well, as do I dislike having a pesky ache and elevated heart rate of unknown origins.

Lab trinkets!

First Aid

Hi there,
I've survived my last blood drawings (two of them, even..) and my retakes.
I even managed to score 8.5 out of 10 points! Go me!
I still have no clue as to what I'm suffering from, but my doctor did help me with diagnostic questions and approaches for when I get into med school.

Several months ago, I signed up to volunteer for the Dutch Red Cross as a First Aid provider.
Tomorrow, I'll be going into training :D
I'll be saving lives!

EHBO / First Aid

Influenza

Seeing as the Netherlands is suffering some mild epidemic (over 51 out of every 100.000 people with flu-like symptoms), I might as well dedicate a post on the well-known and fearsome Influenza virus.

Influenza is a pesky disease affecting the respiratory system. I think about everyone's had it at some point in their lives.

Bacterial/Viral/Fungal/Parasitic: Viral
Causative agent: Influenza A / Influenza B / Influenza C
Incubation time: about 2 days
Antibiotics of choice: - 
Antivirals of choice: Adamantanes, amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir (Tamiflu), zanamivir (Relenza)
Toxins / Factors: - 
Bioterrorism agent category: ? (I think it's a potentially good weapon, though..)
Vaccine available: Yes, although none of them grant full immunity [1]

The info regarding Influenza has been updated as of January 11th, 2013.

~*Happy New Year!*~

Happy New Year!
May 2013 be a prosper and healthy year for y'all :)