Sunday, September 9, 2007

Pupillated eyes

Medical terms always seem to be a bit hard to explain and worse to remember. Not to mention that so many things are named after someone. (Throckmortons sign for example) Sometimes in the ER, patients will try to explain what surgeries they have had or medical problems and I just cant figure it out. Its not their fault, its ours with our big fancy doctor words.

Then, there is my daughter. She went to the eye doctor and when I asked her how it went, she looked at me and said it was ok, but she didn't like it when he pupillated her eyes! Pupillating, what a great term! It conveys exactly what he did! I think she in on to something, new medical terms that everyone can use and understand!

On a side note, it got me to looking for other medical terms that could be changed to make them easier to understand. I also found out that there are some terms that there are no medical glossary equivalents. So far I have not found the actual medical term for boogers. I then asked an opthalmologist friend of mine what the medical term is for the eye gunk that you get in the mornings and he stated that those are called "eye boogers". A gynecologist suggested that we rename "Hysterectomy" to "womb outofme". As you can imagine, the discussions that followed became enough for a new medical dictionary or at least a small phamphlet.

5 comments:

Chrysalis said...

I'm glad I popped over here tonight. I needed the laugh after today. Mucoid masses...would that work?

SeaSpray said...

Pupillating-I LOVE it! Did she do that intentionally to be funny or was she just thinking of her pupils dilating and it came out that way?

Must've been a fun conversation with your co-workers. :)

Gee Throckmorton! Everyone KNOWS that the SANDMAN comes at night when we are sleeping, hence it is sandman sand in our eyes. ;)

Womboutofme and mucoid masses good too.

My favorite acronym OBGYN.
Why?
Oh boy got you naked! Haha! Saw that on an ER blog-too funny.

(sorry off topic)

Throckmorton- on a more serious note ...you said you volunteered to help with the hurricane Katrina victims. That is admirable by the way-really. It must've been frustrating, heartbreaking and yet you were a part of helping them. Thank you for doing that.

I am ashamed to say that I had forgotten about it this summer. But as I thought about your saying that you volunteered to help there, I started thinking about it.

I don't understand WHY it took the government so long to step in and help. I know there were snipers shooting at the helicopters trying to help. And maybe I just don't recall the other reasons. I do remember former congressmen Joe Scarborough from Pensacola,Fl going with his wife, friends and church into Mississippi with food, water, etc. He couldn't believe that they could get in but our government couldn't. There were so many sad/horrible images; babies really thirsty and hungry and adults too. people and pets stranded,injured, the hospital flooding and the poor staff trying to get everyone to a safer level, etc., etc.

What is your personal take on all that after having been there? Why at the very least could they not get water in there for days?? and in that heat? The chain of command broke down?

Just wondering.

SeaSpray said...

I have one for you- pussage as in the pussage oozed from the wound.

I realize puss is sufficient (puss is gross) but it seemed in line with where y'all were going with your words.

I don't know why I thought of it as there isn't any puss anywhere in my life right now. I woke up and it popped into my mind.

The human mind- go figure! :)

Throckmorton said...

Just before Katrina hit, it had looked like it was going to hit the panhandle of Florida and the Florida Governor mobilized the national guard, as the storm moved west Alabama and Mississippi did the same. When the storm hit there were already plans in place for the gulf coasts of Mississippi and Alabama and county command centers that helped coordinate relief and rescue efforts. Federal forces Eglin Afb and other bases received displaced military members and dependents from Keesler AFB and Navy facilities and mobilized to help. I personally worked with some AirForce Pararescue members and students right after the storm hit.

New Orleans was a different matter. To my knowledge, the governor did not call in the National Guard until later. Our problem with helping those from New Orleans was that there seemed to be no one in charge. It was as if everybody in charge had left. As a result it a mad scramble to try to help. Eventually the airport was used as a medical evac center but this was only after National Guard and active military were called in.

I know that everybody wants to know about the federal government in Katrina. I kind of feel that they are the scapegoats for the local and state government who did not due their parts. Mississippi, Florida and Alabama seemed to get it right, they called on the National Guard and Federal Help to augment their disaster teams and plans. Lousianna and New Orleans seemed to fail in those areas.

SeaSpray said...

Thanks Throckmorton...I had forgotten about that. I don't blame the government- I just didn't understand why relief packages weren't dropped. I also didn't understand why there were fellow human beings shooting at the people attempting to come in to help but then that is a whole other topic. I also remember seeing all the parked buses that could have been used to help evacuate people.

I cried when I saw this mother holding her screaming baby who was hungry and thirsty and it was so hot out. The elderly people in that nursing home, the whole thing...unbelievable!

Then there are always going to be people who don't want to leave and they think they can ride something out.

My aunt and uncle moved down to Fair Hope Alabama and when they experienced their 1st hurricane (Frederic)they decided that because they had a brick house they would stay. My uncle was a real take charge can handle anything kind of guy and he figured he'd just storm proof every way he knew how.

They lived a half hour from Gulf Shores and a half hour from Mobile.

Things were slamming against the house, the wind was howling, and when my aunt was in the bathroom, one of their huge pine trees came crashing through the roof landing right next to her. Thank God she was alright! They said they were so scared. Without electric for at least a week if not longer.

They later learned that the southerners evacuated and the people from the north think they can ride it out. From that point on they tracked the storms and evacuated.

That whole New Orleans disaster seemed so surreal, with the uniqueness and history of the area, the coffins floating, the huge lake overflowing- just everything about it.