Category Archives: Medicine

Jellyfish Sting

Image result for jellyfish

Image from PBS

Andrea Hernandez

You might have been warned by your parents to avoid touching a jellyfish on the beach because it might sting you. And some say urine eliminates the pain. Although it is true jellyfish do sting, this method to treat the sting is incorrect.

Treating jellyfish stings with urine is a long-standing myth that even appeared on the TV Show, Friends. In the show, Monica got stung by a jellyfish and her friend, Joey, suggested that she urinate on the sting because he saw a documentary stating it would relieve the pain. It worked for Monica but in real life you may feel worse. 

The tentacles of the jellyfish have tiny stingers called nematocysts which can detach, stick to skin, and release venom. Even if the jellyfish is dead, it can still sting you because the cell structure of nematocysts is maintained long after death. Nematocysts release a thread that contains the venom when a foreign object brushes against the cell and will continue releasing venom until the cells are removed.   

Urine is made up of water, salt, and chemicals like urea and uric acid. If you consume a lot of liquid your urine becomes more diluted (meaning mostly water). Fresh water can cause a change in osmotic pressure which can activate the nematocysts to release more venom.

It is advised by physicians to carefully remove the nematocysts from the skin with tweezers and after removing the cells wash the affected area with hot water. If the pain persists or there are signs of an allergic reaction, you should consult with your doctor.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-urinating/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/jellyfish-stings/symptoms-causes/syc-20353284

https://uamshealth.com/healthlibrary2/medicalmyths/urineforjellyfishsting/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/jellyfish-stings/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353290

https://www.webmd.com/urinary-incontinence-oab/qa/what-is-urine

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1529-8019.2002.01508.x

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/77123227.pdf

Do Bones Grow Back Stronger?

Image result for broken bone

Photo from WebMD

Isabel Draper

Some people may say  that a broken bone will grow back stronger. After an inflammatory or “clean up” phase, followed by a reparative phase where first cartilage and then bone bridges the fracture,  the final stage of bone healing is the remodeling stage. A bone generally reaches 80-90% of its original strength in 3 to 6 months, but doesn’t complete remodeling and get to 100% strength for about a year.

During the reparative or second phase of bone healing, a callus forms at the site of the break. This callus is gradually replaced with woven bone. During the remodeling stage, the woven bone will be replaced with lamellar bone. The completion of this final stage may take anywhere from several months to a few years but once it is completed the bone will return to its original structure.  After the bone finishes the remodeling stage, its strength basically returns to what it was before. The bone at the fracture site is not less likely than the rest of the bone to break again and the bone doesn’t grow back stronger.

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/did-you-know/broken-bones-grow-back-stronger-sort

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/health/19really.html

https://www2.aofoundation.org/wps/portal/surgerymobile?contentUrl=/srg/popup/further_reading/PFxM2/12_33_biol_fx_heal.jsp

Eating a placenta

Image result for stork carrying baby

Photo from Motionisland

Victor Liaw

The placenta nurtures and protects the fetus as it develops in the mother’s womb. Once the child is born, the placenta is no longer needed. Some mothers in the United States have recently become fascinated with placentophagy: the practice of eating the placenta after childbirth. It’s a trend that has become more popular over the past decade.

Most mammalian mothers eat the placenta. It’s speculated to be either for nutrition or to mask evidence of childbirth from potential predators. By contrast, human placentophagy is unusual. One exception to this historical trend is in traditional Chinese medicine, in which dried human placenta is thought to help with exhaustion. This practice is cited by modern placental consumption proponents.

The placenta can be eaten dehydrated, raw, or even cooked as a meat substitute for  lasagna or pasta. The most prevalent method of consumption is in pill form. In a process known as encapsulation, the placenta is cleaned, dehydrated, ground up, and placed in capsules. Encapsulation is a service that private companies can provide for a few hundred dollars, but it can also be done at home.   

People eat the placenta in the hope that it will aid with hormone balance, decrease the incidence of postpartum depression, increase energy, speed healing after childbirth, increase lactation, and increase intake of micronutrients. However, most scientists agree that there is no proven benefit from eating human placenta. Research on this relatively taboo subject is very limited, and most scientific studies on the alleged benefits of placentophagy are self-reports instead of experiments. Self-reports are subject to potential bias when mothers who already have positive expectations and beliefs report a good response.

Although the benefits of placental consumption are doubtful, the risk of side effects from this practice are also very low. The CDC recently described a case of Group B strep infection in a young infant after coming into contact with his mother’s placenta pills. Currently, there is no standard for processing and preparing placenta to ensure it is bacteria-free. Therefore, though it may be easy to find favorable testimonials supporting placentophagy, it is not recommended by doctors and scientists.  

https://www.afterbirthanywhere.com/benefits-of-placentophagy.html

https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(17)30963-8/fulltext

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6625a4.htm

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/10/18/dont-eat-your-placenta-researchers-warn/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2511dbfde40e