If you think of coagulation related jewelry, you probably just consider medical alert bracelets. But you could also celebrate your coagulation history with jewelry that looks like a snake or vampire bat, (linked to coagulation because they both produce natural anticoagulants) or drops of blood. Do you think it’s odd to remember medical events through jewellery? I quite like … [Read more...]
Frivolous Friday – Blood related holiday highlights
Now that I write for Coagulation Conversation, I seem to notice blood-related topics everywhere. So these are four blood related aspects of our recent holiday to the European Haematology Association Conference. 1. Dracula's Cabaret I was busy looking through the Jetstar flight magazine to see what advice it had on exercise during flights, when instead I came across this … [Read more...]
David Clotterfield Saga – scene 2
David Clotterfield and Clara Clearvessel are both on warfarin and as we follow their saga we'll discover their beliefs about anticoagulation through the various comments they make about their lives. At the end of each scene, you'll get a chance to test your knowledge; Are their comments true or false? Last time, we met Clara Clearvessel and learnt some of her beliefs. … [Read more...]
Frivolous Friday – Santa’s Reindeer Ride Risk
What does Santa do to prevent a DVT? The Northern Hemisphere gets to break up winter with Christmas, but In New Zealand, the winter months of June, July, August and September can seem to drag on. Many New Zealanders have taken to celebrating a mid-winter Christmas around this time. Sparkly decorations and traditional Christmas food work much better now, with our cold dark … [Read more...]
Frivolous Friday – Harry Potter and the venomous snake
We’ve arrived in the UK now. We flew into Luton airport so we could visit the nearby Warner Brothers Studio tour of the studios where Harry Potter was filmed. I’ve even found a tenuous link between the Harry Potter Tour and coagulation. And that is snakes! On the tour we met the Basilisk, the serpent of Slytherin, which Harry Potter killed in the book “the Chamber of … [Read more...]
Frivolous Friday – Urine uses: Have you used this?
You might wonder, what is the link between urine, blood clotting, and my trip to Sweden? All will be revealed as we take a closer look at our urine. Surprisingly urine contains an important chemical called urokinase, that breaks down blood clots. While researching this post I was surprised to find out that urine has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. In an … [Read more...]