Stress and Worry Free

During your college years, there is so much stress put on you. You have all of these demanding classes, and sometimes, you find yourself up all night trying to finish assignments. And if you are like me, you work full time as well. I want to discuss some ways you can decrease your stress levels, because too much stress is very unhealthy for your body.

Stress is the body’s response to an outside stimulus. This stimulus can cause havoc on the body, and disrupt the body’s homeostasis. Stress.org states, “According to a 2008 mental health study by the Associated Press and mtvU, eight in 10 college students say they have sometimes or frequently experienced stress in their daily lives over the past three months. This is an increase of 20% from a survey five years ago”. That’s quite alarming! And now with all of the different price hikes that have been going on in California with its school system, I would not be surprised to see this number has substantially increased again. There are just so many different things that are expected of you when you go to school, and sometimes, these are pretty much unreachable. Students are spreading themselves too thin. They are trying to graduate in four years, by jam packing classes into each semester. And as a result, their grade point average is dropping because they cannot handle eighteen units a semester.

 

Now I want to talk about some things you can do as a student to help you not be so stressed out so often. The first thing you can do is, make sure you are not taking too many classes! If you end up not passing a class, you are just going to have to retake it again. You are going to stress yourself out so much trying to pass, and then have nothing to show for it. The next thing you can do is, make sure you are sleeping enough! Without enough sleep, you are going to get more stressed as a result. So, make sure you are sleeping enough, and not too much! Because you could miss something important, and allow yourself to begin stressing even more. The next thing I recommend is not waiting until the last minute to start your assignments and studying. I know this one is a difficult one, because there is just not that much time. And who wants to be doing their homework after a long day at school, or work? But the easiest way to avoid stress in school is too not have your homework load pile up. Because this will lead to a lack of sleep, which causes more stress as well.

I hope this helped guys! Although I am sure that you all have already heard this before. Let’s all be stress free!

The Plague

Going back into my major, and still staying around the idea of medicine, I will talk about the disease that killed the most people in the world in all of history. According to national geographic, "Plague is a bacterial infection found mainly in rodents and their fleas. But via those fleas it can sometimes leap to humans. When it does, the outcome can be horrific, making plague outbreaks the most notorious disease episodes in history."



The plague, or the black plague, was a plague that struck Asia and Europe in the 1300's and again in London in the 1600's. There are two different types of the black plagues: septicemic and pneumonic. Septicemic plague is spread through blood, which is why it is less common than pneumonic plague, which is shared through the air we breathe. However with septisemic plague, you see that since it is transferred through blood, that when you are bit by fleas it gets transferred to you. Both of these forms are a death sentence without any antibiotics. And according to National Geographic, even if it is treated only fifty percent will survive. This is why the plague was so deadly.



The plague needs lots of the bacteria in order to harm the immune system. The bacteria will knock out the cells by inserting a poison into the defense cells. When it does this, the normal job of detecting bacteria is hindered. So it allows the bacteria to multiply without any detection or defense of the victims body. It causes swollen lymph nodes, which are super painful. The bacteria begins to clump underneath the skin and cause the victim to become poisoned to death.

What it looks like when the black plague has entered the defense cells and injected them with their poison. As you can see, the bacteria is reproducing way too much. Allowing it to take over the victims body.


The plague flourishes in areas that are extremely populated. Because it will be able to be transferred from person to person easier. Along with dirty living conditions that inhabit many rats. Without these conditions it does not allow many different outbreaks of the plague to occur. Which is definitely a good thing, considering it wiped out one out of every five people in England during the 1600's. There is still occurrences of the plague now a days, but they're mostly in countries that are in third world countries. Be thankful for people realizing that sanitation is super important, or else we could be going through another plague right now!

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-diseases/plague-article/

Vital Signs pt 2

Respirations: Respirations is just a fancy way to say how many times someone breathes per minute. Now, an healthy adult will breathe approximately 12-20 times each minute. But as you grow up from new born to an adult, you will expect to see different respiration rates that are normal for a particular age range. I will attach a chart that shows you the differences between how much you breathe when you are young compared to now. The way to measure someone's respiration rate is to look at their chest, and count the amount of times the chest rises and falls within a minute. Pretty simple- right? Here is that chart, as promised...



Oxygen saturation levels: Oxygen saturation levels sounds like something that is super hard to find. However, it is the easiest vital sign to record. What you have to do is attach the oxygen monitor to your finger, or other places like your inner thigh, and big toe. Once attached and in place, you can turn on the monitor. When you turn it on you want to look for a wave length to form. If there is no wave then you do not have the correct information, and should try adjusting the monitor. However, once you do see the wave you just record the percentage that you see. 98 to 100 percent is healthy and normal. You will see in smokers that their O2 stats are much lower than a non smoker. The second graph, in the yellow, shows us a healthy oxygen sat level, and how the wave should look. (Note that the monitor had not shown the level because it had not finished reading it, but the wavelength should look like this).



Heart Rate: Heart rate is something I think a lot of people know how to take, and what it is. It is the amount of times your heart beats in a minute. To measure heart rate you firmly place two fingers on a place where an artery resides. Like, your wrist, in between your upper and lower arm, your inner thigh, your neck, etc. When you can feel your pulse, you count the number of times you felt it in the minute. The normal rate for a heart rate can very widely from person to person. It depends on your age, physical status, and gender.

I hope this was informational, and you learned a few things. Happy and healthy vital signs to all!

Vital Signs pt 1

Because I want to be a doctor, I have been volunteering in hospitals. Since 2012, I have accumulated over 500 volunteer hours. I even became a certified phlebotomist- or someone who will draw your blood. I had an internship in the OR, where I got to help in every single aspect of the surgery process a patient goes through. And I was a ROP medical student in the medical surgical unit and intensive care unit of a different hospital. One of the things I learned while doing all these different activities, was how to take healthy vital signs. I wanted to share this with you all today :).

There are five main vital signs that you will take from a patient each day, multiple times. The five are: Temperature, Blood Pressure, Respirations, Oxygen saturation levels, and heart rate.

Temperature: This one is pretty easy: there are four different ways that you can take a temperature from the body. Orally (mouth), Typanically (ear), axillary (armpit), rectally (through your anus). Because there are different temperature norms at each part of the body, you will find that you have different normal temperatures for each area that you are measuring. What you do to measure temperature is put the thermometer wherever the area you are measuring in is. For the arm pit you will put it in the arm pit, at least an inch and make sure the arm doesn't fidget. And for the mouth, you want to make sure the thermometer is placed under the tongue. Once you have placed it in the desired spot, you will wait thirty seconds for the reading to be completely accurate (axillary readings may take up to a minute). You will record what you got, and move on. The most common temperature place we use is the mouth. The healthy normal temperature orally is on average 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. You will take different temperatures from different spots depending on the patients health status. 

Blood Pressure: Blood pressure measures the amount of pressure that is being exerted on your veins. There are two different readings you will get when you measure blood pressure: systolic and diastolic. Systolic measures the hearts contraction, while diastolic measures the hearts relaxed state. The Normal ranges are120-140 systolic and 60-80 diastolic. There are common diseases that are associated with blood pressure. For example hypertension & Hypotension Hypertension is when your blood pressure is too high, while hypotension is when your blood pressure is too low. Both pose a serious threat to your health and well being. There are new devices that you can use now a days, and measuring blood pressure with a blood pressure cuff, sphygmomanometer, and a stethoscope have become obsolete. Now, all you have to do to measure blood pressure is put the cuff on your arm and press a button. 

Oncology

One of the specialties I have been thinking about is going into Pediatric Oncology. Pediatrics is specializing in children, and oncology is cancer. So, I would be looking at cancer within children. This would be considered a super specialty. They go from age ranges of you have just taken your first breath, and up to eighteen years of age. There is no child that is not accepted.


To go into cancer medicine, you have to look at how much school you are going to be taking- and how long this will take. First, you will have to complete your first four years undergrad. This is what I am doing now. There is a common misconception that you have to be a pre med major. Well, obviously you do not. You can be any major you want when you apply to be an undergrad. However, if you want to go into medical school, you will have to meet all the pre requisites that are required to apply to that particular school. So, that is why you commonly find many pre med and science majors applying to medical school. Rather than theatre, art, dance, etc majors. The science majors will meet most, if not all, of the pre requisites that are required to apply, and you can earn a degree in the process.

After you finish your undergrad, you will go into medical school. This is another four years that you will devote to schooling. You have two years mostly book work, and the other two years are residency. Where you will put all of your knowledge to work under the careful supervision of a doctor in that field. The next thing I will do is complete an fellowship, the first being in pediatrics. This will take two years. A fellowship is something that you have to do when you want to become a doctor that specializes in an area. And since I am thinking about being a super specialty, I will complete another fellowship after pediatric- which is my Oncology/ Hematology fellowship. And then hopefully, I can start working after a long twelve years of training to become a doctor. (But I don't even think I will get out of San Francisco State in four years...!)

Dr Thom

So, earlier I had made a blog post about Vesicoureteral Reflux, and briefly explained that I want to become a doctor. However, I realized I did not go in depth at all. And thought I might explain my career goals to all of you.
I know a lot of people may question why someone would want to become a doctor, and ill explain based on this picture:

The doctor is helping a patient whom needs help. I want to be able to help patients like this doctor does. I don’t want anyone who is hurt not to receive enough help because they don’t have a doctor. I want to be able, and will, help people outside of the office as well. I feel when you help other people it creates a happy feeling within yourself, and the other who you have helped. When you help others, and while you’re having this happy feeling, it influences you to help even more people, creating a chain effect.

I hope when I’m a doctor I will be able to help everyone who reaches their hand toward me. I know I will be able to recreate the photo I have chosen because I know I will be able to help people effortlessly. I hope to be the doctor that the patients like the most, and can confess anything too. However, I know that I will be a good all-around doctor when I become one. Just like the man helping his patient on my picture.

I have wanted to be a doctor ever since I can remember, but I am not sure exactly what field yet, just that I want to be a pediatrician. But have not decided my specialty. I am going to be a wonderful doctor one day :).

Vesicouretral Reflux

Because I would like to become a doctor someday, I will be talking about a common disease that I have never really heard of. I want to become a pediatrician, but I am not quite sure what specialty within pediatrics that I would like to study.

Vesicouretral Reflux (VUR) is a common urinary system disorder among children. The most commonly affected structure is the kidneys. Vesicouretral reflux occurs when urine does not flow from the kidneys into the ureters, but instead goes backwards, causing the urine to become backed up in the kidneys. The muscles in the bladder and ureter are weak allowing low amounts of pressure coming from the bladder to push the urine into the kidneys again. Some signs and symptoms of VUR, in most cases, are none. However, sometimes children with VUR will have a Urinary Tract Infection, and frequent urination.

This picture shows the different grades of the disease that you can have. It shows the inflammation and urine build up inside the ureters. The far right shows a kidney and ureter without Vesicouretral reflex.

There are two types of VUR, primary VUR and secondary VUR. The most common is primary VUR, where an infant is born with a defect at the end of a ureter valve. Secondary VUR can be acquired at any age, and mainly caused by injuries, surgery, or a past infection. Diagnosing Vesicouretral Reflux can be diagnosed by a Voiding Cystourethrogram (X-ray of urethra and bladder while urinating), a Radionuclide Cystogram (adding radioactive material into the bladder), and an abdominal ultrasound. VUR cannot be prevented; however you can avoid further complications leading to bladder and kidney infections. Many times, studies have shown that the disorder can be passed from parent to child.

 

Untreated Vesicouretral Reflux can lead to hydronephrosis, or the swelling of the top of the ureter, kidney damage, possible twisting of the ureter, and sometimes possible surgery to repair the valves in the kidney. Kidney damage occurs because VUR lets bacteria into the kidneys. Most times, VUR goes untreated. However, when the disorder is found, the patient is commonly put on antibiotics until the infection subsides. We want our children happy and healthy!

 

3 Reasons Why You Shouldnt Smoke (cont.)

So, as I have already talked about all of the different health benefits your body will receive, I will also talk about 2 other things that you benefit from when you do not smoke.  

 

Smoking is not a cheap habit, there are so many taxes that are put on them now a days that cigarettes can range from 10 dollars a pack to 5 dollars a pack. Most people, when they smoke, smoke a pack to three packs a day. Imagine all the money you could save by quitting this habit? Smoking a pack a day for a month costs you about 150 dollars, and over an entire year about 1825 dollars. Along with this, each year if you are smoking a pack a day, after a year 60 grams of tar will be deposited into your lungs. (not all of this will remain in your lungs, because much of it is coughed out). There is so much you can do with the amount of money that you will be saving from not smoking cigarettes. You could go on a vacation, you can put a down payment on a car, you can do a lot!! (when I did this I actually calculated how much money my dad has spent on cigarettes his entire life and he could have saved over 42 thousand dollars just because he chose to start smoking when he was seventeen years old. And my dad smokes less than a pack a day!)

 

Not only are you hurting yourself when you are smoking, you are hurting other people too! There are so many different complications that non smokers experience due to inhaling second hand smoke. Children exposed to it get a lot of respiratory related problems, like asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, and other breathing related problems. With adults, it is more likely for them to develop heart disease, and lung cancer. According to the CDC, Secondhand smoke exposure causes an estimated more than 7,300 lung cancer deaths annually with adult nonsmokers in the United States. So, not only are you hurting yourself, but by quitting smoking you are helping other people become healthier by not exposing them to all the chemicals cigarette smoke contains. 

 

I know some people will say, oh well I don’t care about hurting myself, but now you know you’re hurting other people around you as well. Also, they don’t mind spending the money for it, but who could not benefit from saving money? It helps your health too! I do not know many people who have not been able to say they don’t like to be healthy. Quitting smoking is hard, but in the long run it is very well worth it. You help yourself, and others.

 

 

 

 

"Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 Apr. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.  

"Tobacco Facts and Figures." Facts About Smoking and Tobacco Use. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"What Happens When You Quit Smoking?" Healthline. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

3 Reasons Why You Shouldnt Smoke

We all obviously know that smoking is something that is a very bad habit. I am sure that everyone on this planet knows of someone who has been a smoker or still is. Personally, my mother had smoked, my dad still smokes, and I know six more people in my immediate family who do smoke. I am surprised that there is still so many young people smoking these days as well, being well aware of the havoc it can wreak on your health. However, young people are still smoking.

 

5.6 million children alive today will ultimately die early, which is equal to 1 child out of every 13 child alive in the United States today. If you’re curious why so many will die early, it is due to cigarettes. (betobaccofree.gov ) Today I would like to talk to you all about the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes is to your body.

 

 

Smoking is a very unhealthy habit.  Here is a time line of what the benefits will be when you quit according to the CDC, when you quit smoking, within twenty minutes your heart rate will start to lower back to normal levels. After two hours without a cigarette, your heart rate and blood pressure will have decreased to almost normal levels. (This is also when you start to crave the nicotine). In just 12 hours after quitting smoking, the carbon monoxide in your body decreases to lower levels, and your blood oxygen levels increase to normal. (there is carbon monoxide that bond to your cells as you smoke). 24 hours after you quit, your risk for a heart attack will drop substantially. after 48 hours without a cigarette, your nerve endings will start to re-grow, and your ability to smell and taste is enhanced. On the third day, the nicotine will be completely out of your body, so the withdrawals are the worst at this point. Two to three weeks after you quit, you’ll be able to exercise without being winded. This is when the nicotine withdrawal symptoms start to stop. One – nine months after you quit, your lungs will begin to repair, and the nicotine withdrawal should be completely away.

 

 

At one year, your risk for heart disease is lowered by 50 percent. 5- 15 years after you quit, your risk for a stroke is the same as someone who does not smoke. After 10 years of not smoking, your risk of dying of lung cancer will be fifty percent less of smokers. Along with cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decreases. 15 years of not smoking, and you will be at the same risk for heart disease as a nonsmoker.

What is Microbiology

I know many people know what Biology is, the study of living organisms. However have you ever wondered what Microbiology is, or even heard of it? 

Microbiology is the study of biology of the micro level. So, with Biology the common organisms you will see are things such as plants, dogs, and more. However, with microbiology the common organisms you would look at is what cause diseases, or the micro organisms. Microbiology is studying living things you have to use a microscope to look at Things like dinoflagelletes, diatoms, amoebas, rhizarians and MUCH more. Here is a picture of Diatoms. This shows you how pretty these microorganisms can be!

Personally for me, I am using a Microbiology degree to get into Medical School. It meets all of the prerequisites for a lot of medical schools, you just need to take a few more classes. I know that Microbiology does not sound like a lot of fun, and it is a lot of work. However, there are alot of jobs you can get with this degree. There are many research microbiologists, because a lot of the organisms they research cause diseases for humans, animals and plants. You can become a teacher, if you complete your masters. You can work with food companies to make sure the food we eat, is not riddled with parasitical microorganisms that can make us sick. Those are some jobs that I am aware of, however, I am sure there are much more. Here are some clinical Microbiologists: 

Microbiology entails a lot of words you have never heard of, and things that you have never seen- or actually know you have seen. It is actually really interesting knowing how microorganisms work, and eat, reproduce and their daily lives. They are completely different from the organisms that we can see with the naked eye. Here are some more microorganisms for you all to look at, it shows the intense diversity when you are dealing with microbiology.