OT Went to Urgent Care this morning.

Well, keep in mind that that description is merely my impression of the
process... the doctor sticks something down my throat and then sends
something to the lab. My mental image of what happens may or may not
collaborate very accurately with what the doctor is actually doing,
especially since my memory is notoriously bad and my perception of the
world tends to be... I guess childlike, in a sense. My mind paints
caricatures of what's happening and that's what I remember, impressions
rather than accuracies.

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Kaytee wrote:
In article , Kalera Stratton
writes:


Doctor looks at throat

Doctor wipes gunk from tongue-depressor on slide

Doctor sends slide to lab


This is NOT a way to dx what is causing a sore throat!! Gunk smeared on a slide
with a tounge depressor will only show "gunk". Even ignoring the mucous and
epithelial cells, there is no way to determine from just a direct smear which
"bugs" are "germs" and which are normal oral flora.

A throat culture is used to determine which, if any, bacteria is causing the
problem-- a sterile throat swab (usually wet, in saline) is swiped over the
irritated tissue, then put in a sterile transport tube (the whole thing usually
available as a "kit") and sent to the lab. At the lab, the tech will either
stick it in a tube of sterile nutrient broth, and after a period of incubation
(usually a few hours), run it through a special gas chromatograph to determine
what, if any, pathogens are present.
At less advanced facilities, and as "back up", a couple of plates of various
agar "flavors" are streaked, and the resulting growth is tested-- slides made,
sugar-metabolism ID tests, drug susceptability tests, etc. These can take from
48 h to a week to complete.
Kaytee
"Simplexities" on
www.eclecticbeadery.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplexities/

No, not to my knowledge. I do have arrhythmia (sp?) but it's pretty
harmless. Occasionally irritating but not life-threatening.

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Kaytee wrote:
In article , Kalera Stratton
writes:


"We don't want to mess around with a
nasty throat infection so we'll do one just in case".

I wonder if there's something in my medical history that's making them
do this?


Do you have a heart murmur? Strep and staph infections can spread from a "sore
throat" to heart valves....
Kaytee
"Simplexities" on
www.eclecticbeadery.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplexities/

Kathy,

Are you allowed to take Airborne? I swear by this stuff...it's LOADED with
things that are supposed to kill off any bug or flu. It's worked for me many
times, and I contract almost *everything* I come in contact with. I usually
find it in Walgreens, although I don't know if your area has those
stores...CVS is an equivalent. Please ask your doctor if you are allowed to
take it. You may not with your mix of meds, but who knows? Check out:
http://www.airbornehealth.com/ for info.

Valerie

--
RCB FAQ: http://www.geocities.com/faqrcb
RCB Member Links newest home: http://www.blackcatbeads.com/rcb.htm

"Kathy N-V" wrote in message
. giganews.com...


Or maybe I'll be lucky and not get sick, because I leave the house so
rarely. (it's a thought, anyway)

Kathy N-V

I probably need that to keep the monkey pox away. I'm so tired of being
sick to my stomach. I'm still not eating very much and I can't think about
it while I'm eating or I get sick. DH was upset about dinner tonight
because I haven't taken care of myself. I know he had a hard day but
thinking about food was way too much. He was a doll though and made his own
dinner. He asked if I wanted anything and he would either make it or go get
it. I have managed to eat five pieces of cheese today. Trinkett ate some
of his dinner with him so they were both satisfied.

I think one of the things that has shocked him is how much my Dr. Pepper
habit has dropped. I'm hardly drinking DP right now. Instead I'm trying
juice and lots of buttermilk.

--
Starlia Klopman
www.klopmanstudios.com


"Valerie" wrote in message
...
Kathy,

Are you allowed to take Airborne? I swear by this stuff...it's LOADED with
things that are supposed to kill off any bug or flu. It's worked for me
many
times, and I contract almost *everything* I come in contact with. I
usually
find it in Walgreens, although I don't know if your area has those
stores...CVS is an equivalent. Please ask your doctor if you are allowed
to
take it. You may not with your mix of meds, but who knows? Check out:
http://www.airbornehealth.com/ for info.

Valerie

--
RCB FAQ: http://www.geocities.com/faqrcb
RCB Member Links newest home: http://www.blackcatbeads.com/rcb.htm

"Kathy N-V" wrote in message
. giganews.com...


Or maybe I'll be lucky and not get sick, because I leave the house so
rarely. (it's a thought, anyway)

Kathy N-V

(((((((Starlia))))))))))

--
RCB FAQ: http://www.geocities.com/faqrcb
RCB Member Links newest home: http://www.blackcatbeads.com/rcb.htm

"starlia" wrote in message
...
I probably need that to keep the monkey pox away. I'm so tired of being
sick to my stomach. I'm still not eating very much and I can't think
about
it while I'm eating or I get sick. DH was upset about dinner tonight
because I haven't taken care of myself. I know he had a hard day but
thinking about food was way too much. He was a doll though and made his
own
dinner. He asked if I wanted anything and he would either make it or go
get
it. I have managed to eat five pieces of cheese today. Trinkett ate some
of his dinner with him so they were both satisfied.

I think one of the things that has shocked him is how much my Dr. Pepper
habit has dropped. I'm hardly drinking DP right now. Instead I'm trying
juice and lots of buttermilk.

--
Starlia Klopman
www.klopmanstudios.com


"Valerie" wrote in message
...
Kathy,

Are you allowed to take Airborne? I swear by this stuff...it's LOADED
with
things that are supposed to kill off any bug or flu. It's worked for me
many
times, and I contract almost *everything* I come in contact with. I
usually
find it in Walgreens, although I don't know if your area has those
stores...CVS is an equivalent. Please ask your doctor if you are allowed
to
take it. You may not with your mix of meds, but who knows? Check out:
http://www.airbornehealth.com/ for info.

Valerie

--
RCB FAQ: http://www.geocities.com/faqrcb
RCB Member Links newest home: http://www.blackcatbeads.com/rcb.htm

"Kathy N-V" wrote in message
. giganews.com...


Or maybe I'll be lucky and not get sick, because I leave the house so
rarely. (it's a thought, anyway)

Kathy N-V

In article , Kalera Stratton
writes:

Well, keep in mind that that description is merely my impression of the
process... the doctor sticks something down my throat and then sends
something to the lab. My mental image of what happens may or may not
collaborate very accu

Actually, what you described was how a PAP smear is made, except for source of
sample, and you left out the bit about hair spray....
Kaytee
"Simplexities" on
www.eclecticbeadery.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplexities/

HAIR SPRAY?

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Kaytee wrote:
In article , Kalera Stratton
writes:


Well, keep in mind that that description is merely my impression of the
process... the doctor sticks something down my throat and then sends
something to the lab. My mental image of what happens may or may not
collaborate very accu


Actually, what you described was how a PAP smear is made, except for source of
sample, and you left out the bit about hair spray....
Kaytee
"Simplexities" on
www.eclecticbeadery.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplexities/

In article , Kalera Stratton
writes:

HAIR SPRAY?


Yep.... To "fix" the smear to the slide. When I was at NNMC Bethesda, we had a
can of Aqua-Net on the stand next to the exam table. Now there is a "medically
approved" type spray, which is the same thing without perfume and a plainer
lable, and at a greater cost (medical surcharge added...). They probably do the
spraying out of sight of the patients, most of the time.

The old PAP smear slide is being replaced by a cytospin prep, which gives a
better, clearer view of the cells they need to see. If you have a choice, get
that version done; it costs a bit more, but there are fewer "false positives",
"false negatives" and repeats needed because of poor slide preparations. The
collection procedure is about the same as for the old PAP test.
Kaytee
"Simplexities" on
www.eclecticbeadery.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplexities/

Oh, interesting! What do you know.... a lot, apparently! Thanks!

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Kaytee wrote:
In article , Kalera Stratton
writes:


HAIR SPRAY?



Yep.... To "fix" the smear to the slide. When I was at NNMC Bethesda, we had a
can of Aqua-Net on the stand next to the exam table. Now there is a "medically
approved" type spray, which is the same thing without perfume and a plainer
lable, and at a greater cost (medical surcharge added...). They probably do the
spraying out of sight of the patients, most of the time.

The old PAP smear slide is being replaced by a cytospin prep, which gives a
better, clearer view of the cells they need to see. If you have a choice, get
that version done; it costs a bit more, but there are fewer "false positives",
"false negatives" and repeats needed because of poor slide preparations. The
collection procedure is about the same as for the old PAP test.
Kaytee
"Simplexities" on
www.eclecticbeadery.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplexities/