Never Kiss a Jellyfish

Never kiss a jellyfish

Although I ‘love’ jellyfish from the point of view of a clinician, I avoid getting close and personal’ with them. Recently I plunged face first into a jellyfish

When I Am In Doubt

A poem from ‘Playing God’ by New Zealand doctor Glenn Colquhoun:
‘When I am in doubt I talk to surgeons.
I know that they will know what to do.
They seem so sure….’

Miraculous Meat Medicine

Bacon Bandages

it is easier than ever to put into use the marvelous medical meat miracle that we call bacon…

The Art of Waiting Room Medicine part II

Knitted Placenta

The waiting room can be an amazing source of inspiration, and the Utopian College of Emergency Medicine embraces those that rise to the challenge of being creative during this period of reflection, contemplation and sheer boredom.

The Art of Waiting Room Medicine part I

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Spaces of waiting exist in each of our lives, sometimes quite literally (a doctor’s office, the ER), while at other times, they exist only in the abstract (waiting for a better time to come, for happiness, or love). The Waiting Room hovers somewhere between the concrete and the ephemera. Using the conventions and aesthetics of waiting rooms, I’ve created a space that is simultaneously real and unreal; a meditation on, and exploration of, time, waiting, and fate.

Metabolic Muddle 003

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An 87 year old female presented with a subarachnoid haemorrhage. GCS 8/15. A nasogastric tube was unable to be placed due to patient agitation. As a consequence, the patient was fasted for five days due to concern about swallowing. Subsequently, an arterial blood gas was obtained:

Are Redheads Bleeders?

Google does ginger

I first became aware that redheads were treated differently in medicine when I started hanging around anaesthetists. Most anaesthetists i know tend to get slightly more uptight when they see the phaeomelanin-laden locks of a freckled UV-sensitive patient. Especially in obstetrics. Why is this you ask?

UCEM Guide to Psychiatric Referrals

Simplify your Psychiatric Referrals

In a bid to comply with the 4 second rule, the UCEM is proud to announce its official guide to personality disorders to facilitate quick Psychiatric referrals from the waiting room.

Notification of Reconsideration

Google Reconsideration

Thank you so much to the medical blogging community for your support since our falling out of favour with Google. We greatly appreciate all your blogging advice, article links, blogroll support of Life in the Fast Lane to demonstrate that this medical blog is in fact a blog and not webspam.

A Nasty Sore Throat

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A 38 year old male with a background history of type 2 diabetes presents with fevers, rigors and pain on swallowing. There is no sign of impending airway compromise; however, marked trismus is noted. The following plain X-ray is obtained: