I know little about non-western medicine (ie acupuncture, herbal medicine), but the moment I saw this jar of powder in a local store, I knew I needed a photo of it. Unfortunately, the photo came out fuzzy as the pharmacist shooed me away from the aisle. The jar reads:

“Stomachin: Chang Kuo Chou Strong Stomachic Powder”

I found an online store that sold an equivalent concoction of health. It appears that this medicine is intended to remedy gastritis, given that licorice and sodium bicarbonate account for the bulk of the powder. I assume that this medicine may actually be effective, given that almost a billion people have probably taken it at one point in their lives (This is a Chinese medicine).

*Note: I am not affiliated with this product. I do not endorse the use of this product either. I have neither prescribed this product nor used it myself. *

medicine humor, medicine

Interesting logo on our box of pig eyes for practicing sutures…

medicine medicine

I recently watched The Hangover, a hilarious comedy about a bachelor party gone awry. There was a scene in which Zach Galifianakis was ridiculed for carrying a satchel by his friends. “You’re carrying a man-purse!”

That brought back some memories of my experience during my family medicine rotation during internship. I had carried a nylon briefcase from the AAO 2008 meeting to work and one of the FM sub-i students remarked, “Is that a man-purse? Whoa!”

Mind you, the AAO briefcases do not even compare in quality or in metrosexuality as the Timbuk2 messenger bag above. If I had my way, she would have gotten an “F” for insight. Clearly the philistine doesn’t know the difference between a briefcase and a messenger bag.

medicine medicine, rant

The hospital where I used to work kept tabs on personnel use of hand sanitizers. They encouraged us to clean our hands before and after entering patient rooms to minimize disease transmission. These alcohol-based sanitizers were advertised as an ideal alternative to frequent hand-washing; no more dry hands and hand-washing eczema! For every five to seven times we used the hand sanitizer, we were instructed to wash our hands, to clean off the grime residue of the gel.

Of course, we all know that hand washing with soap and water is the only means to eliminate C. difficile, the badness responsible for super-foul diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis.

I hated using the alcohol sanitizers. It left a sticky residue on my fingers that did not instill the feeling of cleaniness. I only used it as an intermediary agent when I could not reach a sink in the vicinity.

It was only when I returned to NYC that this slimy waterless cleaning agent became useful, not in the hospital but in the city. On a busy day, I travel via subway at least twice daily, and exchange services with weather-beaten NYC cash (many vendors do not accept credit). One can only imagine how filthy subway handrails and doors are. I once witnessed a guy scratching his unspeakable bodily areas and then gripped the subway pole. Another guy wiped orange duck sauce from his take-out food onto the subway seat. Having Purell in the subway could never hurt.

Yesterday I prided myself for bringing Purell on my trip around the city for errands. As I was waiting for Sunny, the local falafel vendor, to prepare my lunch, I witnessed a sight no amount of hand sanitizer could cleanse. The vendor loaded my falafel using the same gloved hand he handled my cash in. So much for wearing gloves.

Sunny may never get my business again…

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For the second time this week, I saw a sports vehicle with a handicap parking tag. It always amazes me that a disabled person can be capable of driving a fast sports car. Perhaps this is a reflection of my narrow-mindedness, but doesn’t it seem odd to see a Nissan 300Z (manual transmission) sport the universal man-in-wheelchair logo on its plates and rearview mirror?

While the rules that govern distribution of the handicap permit vary by state, the general qualifications are similar. I believe that you must meet one or two of the following criteria:

• Inability to walk at least 200 feet without stopping to rest
• Use of portable oxygen
• Diagnosis of NYS Class III or IV heart failure
• Diagnosis of COPD, either end-stage or severely limiting.
• Wheelchair bound

The list continues with about a dozen more criteria, but I don’t believe that any of those disabilities actually prevent you from being able to work a clutch on a fast car.

The driver of the Nissan 300Z was a middle-aged man wearing thick-cut jeans and a flannel shirt. He didn’t seem like the heart failure type, and he wasn’t obese either. He did, however, light up a cigarette on his way out of the car to the Papa John’s pizza store.

Ah, the luxuries we have in the U.S…

medicine medicine, rant