What is Found in Normal Nasal Fluid in a Healthy Human Being?

Table from this Reference Contrary to common belief, normal nasal fluid is not water... It is in fact more similar to sweat than water. Nasal fluid is normally produced by submucosal glands, seromucous glands, goblet cells, transsudation of blood plasma, mucosal tissue fluid, and tear fluid. The table shown is a description of what electrolytes are contained in normal nasal fluid produced by a normal, healthy human being. Along with these electrolytes, nasal fluid also contains glycopro…

12/22/2017 0

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Reflux Medications Linked to Heart Attacks: Not as Bad as You Think

In June 2015, media reported a link between heart attacks and taking a certain class of reflux medications known as proton pump inhibitors (PPI). Such medications include nexium , prilosec , prevacid , etc and are very common to treat heartburn. This reported link was due to a paper published in PLOS One which you can read here . How high is the risk? The research suggested an increased risk of 16%. Although this may sound high, this translates into one heart attack for every 4000 patient…

7/01/2015 0

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Am I a Candidate for the Bionic Ear???

Given the media exposure (and popular YouTube videos ) of patients getting their "bionic ear" turned on with subsequent tears of joy... it is no wonder that patients disappointed in their "ordinary" hearing aids come knocking on their ENT's door desiring a bionic ear as well. Otherwise known as a cochlear implant , the device is actually implanted through the skull and directly into the cochlea rather than placed on the outside of the ear (watch video ). Unfortunat…

6/27/2015 0

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Suppressing the Gag Reflex

Given doctors often look in the mouth, the gag reflex is something that is encountered all too often. Suppressing it is even more important when testing or biopsy of an oral mass is required. But suppressing it can be a challenge. Interestingly, 1/3 of the human population lack a gag reflex. The gag reflex has both a physical as well as mental component. The physical gag reflex can be suppressed and will be discussed further here... However, the mental gag reflex (i.e., looking at vomit) …

6/12/2015 0

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What Does the Uvula Do?

Given how frequently doctors look in peoples' mouths, physicians probably get asked this question a dozen times a day by curious patients.  This question of uvular function also extended into ancient times with a variety of theories proposed over the years... Hippocrates and Aristotle in the 4th century B.C. and Berenargio da Carpri in 1900 referred to the uvula only as a source of possible inflammation and edema capable of causing suffocation. Galen (122-199 A.D.) considered it to be…

5/31/2015 0

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Big Bang Theory TV Star Kaley Cuoco Undergoes Sinus Surgery

On Dec 26, 2014, Kaley Cuoco of Big Bang Theory fame posted on instagram pictures of herself after undergoing sinus surgery . Apparently the need for sinus surgery was present for over one year. Given Kaley has been suffering from some kind of sinus problem for over one year, what could those possibly be? She may have suffered from recurrent sinus infections or even nasal polyps which would lead to persistent nasal congestion , sino-nasal pain/pressure, and/or need for repeated cours…

1/04/2015 0

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Should Risk of Death Always be Part of the Surgical Consent?

Ever since reports of alleged medical negligence came up in the case of 13 years old Jahi McMath who suffered cardiac arrest and subsequent brain death after a "routine" tonsillectomy that occurred Dec 9, 2013, the question has come up whether risk of death should become part of every single surgical procedure's informed consent no matter how rare that risk might be. It also brings up the question whether patients would want to hear every single possible conceivable risk that m…

1/09/2014 0

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What Caused Beethoven's Hearing Loss?

Image from Wikipedia When Beethoven composed his 9th Symphony, it was an amazing accomplishment especially when considering he did so totally deaf. It has been a medical mystery as to what caused his slowly progressive hearing loss to the point of deafness, but a recent publication suggests it was due to chronic low-level lead exposure consumed from wine tainted with lead. FACT: High levels of lead were found deep in the bone suggesting chronic lead exposure over a long period of tim…

7/08/2013 0

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At Home Allergy Testing

Recently, a new at-home allergy test can be found on store shelves throughout the United States as well as Amazon.com . It is called " MyAllergyTest " produced by ImmuneTech Corporation and it is FDA approved. The way it works is that you place a few drops of blood into the collection kit which is than mailed to a lab in a pre-paid, pre-addressed envelope. Results are than obtained via internet or by certified mail in about one week. What's tested? Only ten things (IgE only…

6/08/2013 0

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What's That Yellow Pollen Coating My Car Windows?

Every spring, a yellow coating of pollen covers everything, most noticeably car windows. For many people with allergies , this yellow pollen is the cause of all their sinus and nasal misery triggering bouts of sneezing, sniffling, water eyes, nasal congestion , etc. However, this yellow pollen produced by pine trees is NOT a significant allergy trigger. When it comes to allergy, the biggest culprits are the pollen you can not see. Such springtime microscopic pollen that IS the culprit for…

5/03/2013 0

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Levon Helm, Singer/Drummer for The Band, Dies of Throat Cancer

Levon Helm, legendary singer and drummer for The Band, died of throat cancer at age 71 on April 19, 2012. It is unclear exactly what happened over this past month, but media reports state that he was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer in 1998 and underwent 28 sessions of radiation treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His cancer was almost certainly due to his 3 packs per day smoking and though he quit with his initial cancer diagnosis, cancer being what it is, it can alwa…

4/21/2012 0

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