AUG 15 (2023), PATIENTS and their MALADIES, part #3 [4]

This post is a continuation of 'PATIENTS and their MALADIES, as posted on this blog August 15, 2021 (part#1), and August 15, 2022 (part#2).

previous poetic posts (Note that captions are available for poems displayed on "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" after January,  2024.).

(illnesses #1): amblyopia, bph (benign prostatic hypertrophy), brain symptoms post-concussion, common cold, Conn's syndrome (aldosterone excess). 

(illnesses #2): claudication. diabetes insipidus, dyspareunia, eye discharge. 

CURRENT CONTENTS: (#3 -- August 15, 2023):
Flu-like symptoms

Ganglion cysts
Gluten sensitivity

Graves disease

Authors' Note: These common small limb lesions that may fluctuate spontaneously are most often found at the wrist. The name ganglion, Greek for "knot", is a misnomer, as examination by ultrasound or aspiration shows that they are thin-walled cysts filled with synovial (i.e. joint) fluid — such testing is not needed in most cases. Incidentally, the term tumour is a synonym for "growth" or "lump"; health professionals avoid using the term in dealing with lesions that have no oncologic significance in order to allay unnecessary patient anxiety.

Authors' Note: Celiac disease (also spelled coeliac), is a classic gastrointestinal disease characterized by poor absorption of nutrients and wasting, that is caused by sensitivity to gluten, a composite of two storage proteins that are found extensively in certain cereal grains. Diseases involving other body systems have also been described even in the absence of the classic GI symptoms. For uncertain reasons, there has been a recent dramatic increase in a less severe but contentious problem referred to as non-celiac gluten sensitivity, whose treatment is the same as for the classic disease, i.e. elimination of sources of gluten from the diet. 

We have discussed this type of food intolerance, among others in a longer poem that you can review HERE.

Authors' Note:  Graves' disease (often shortened by medical types to the ominous-sounding Graves' ), described by Robert Graves in 1835, is a common auto-immune disease that attacks the internal controls in the thyroid gland, and results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones. Significant symptoms result from hyperthyroidism, the hypermetabolic state that is produced.

Among several effective treatments, antithyroid drugs, taken over months or years, block production of these hormones, and often result in resumption of the euthyroid (normal) state.    

Requests from many health professionals, and layfolks as well, have come to fruition; there is now another followup post continuing this theme that you can easily access.  Click HERE for part #4 of 'Patients and their Maladies'.

Here's a LIST OF LINKS to collections of intriguing poems (over 200 of these!) on medical/dental topics, updated to December 2024. 

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