Happy Halloween - a good day to cover the ways that vampires have come to be linked with coagulation. Dracula Vampires, Dracula teeth and bats have become synonymous with the decorations for Halloween, but the story behind Dracula and vampires is quite interesting and goes back to the middle ages and is possibly linked to a rare blood disorder. It is not quite clear where the … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2016
Stroke is treatable – World Stroke Day Campaign
Today is World Stroke Awareness Day, (WSD): This year's campaign is that stroke is treatable, especially if its recognised early (remember FAST) and treated as a medical emergency with thrombolysis therapy if indicated. Their video, below, emphasises this. WSD says, "Stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. Without blood, … [Read more...]
Frivolous Friday – 4 Halloween blood-related treats
It's Halloween on Monday and we'll be explaining some of the medical links between vampires and coagulation, but in the meantime, we've found four blood-related ways to spoil yourself over the weekend. 1. Watch a movie with the kids (or grand-kids) Who ever would have thought a vampire movie could be described as 'sweet'? But that's exactly what came to mind as I watched … [Read more...]
Do you believe the 2 biggest myths about anticoagulants?
As we're approaching Halloween with all its myths, we thought it would be a good time to look at anticoagulant myths. Myth number 1 - anti-coagulants are blood thinners A while ago I was talking to one of my patients about the side-effects of warfarin and mentioned that some people feel cold on warfarin, but we don't know why this should be. He said to me that it is obvious, … [Read more...]
Why Noah never forgets his medication
When people meet our son Noah for the first time, they usually recognise all he can’t do; you see he has Down syndrome and Asperger’s syndrome. Once you get to know him though, you quickly fall in love with his sunny personality and quick wit. You just accept that he looks different and has some odd behaviours. And we see him for what he can do. One thing he is very good … [Read more...]
Clot risk – having surgery
This Medical Monday series is about risk factors for venous thromboembolism, VTE (pulmonary embolism and DVT). The post 'Are you on the red or blue team?' outlines the difference between arterial and venous clots. We are going to cover Strong risk factors; being in hospital, having surgery and immobility Moderate risk factors; age (60+), a previous blood clot, family … [Read more...]
Weekend reflection – better or bitter
Rather different to our usual educational posts; this is part of our series of quotes that may help when you’re facing adversity or finding your new normal. You may have discovered your DVT is linked to a diagnosis of cancer, you may have suffered a life-threatening PE or heart attack. Whatever the reason, many of our readers go through difficult times. We post these on … [Read more...]
Frivolous Friday – why it doesn’t matter if you failed the OAK test!
Over the last 3 days we've covered The Oral Anticoagulation Knowledge (OAK) Test © Zeolla MM, Brodeur MR, Dominelli A, Haines ST, Allie N. (Q 1-7, Q 8-14, Q 15-20 ). We mentioned that while the pass mark is 15/20 the average mark was 12/20 and 64% of people failed. If you were among those who failed, take heart at the findings from today's medical journal article which … [Read more...]
Can you pass the OAK test? answers
If you're on warfarin you may be interested in the 20 multiple choice question OAK test (Oral Anticoagulation Knowledge test). It was developed in Maryland, US in 2006 by Zeolla. It was validated in the US and later in Malaysia, which means it is a trustworthy test for finding out how much people understand about taking warfarin. The pass score is 15 or more out of 20. You … [Read more...]
Can you pass the OAK test? part 2
If you're on warfarin you may be interested in the 20 multiple choice question OAK test (Oral Anticoagulation Knowledge test). It was developed in Maryland, US in 2006 by Zeolla. It was validated in the US and later in Malaysia, which means it is a trustworthy test for finding out how much people understand about taking warfarin. The pass score is 15 or more out of 20. You … [Read more...]
