Debunking Covid Vaccine Myths - Do they cause miscarriages? Are they altering periods? Paid Members Public
I've come across a number of anecdotal reports of women with menstrual disturbances following COVID-19 vaccination. From viral TikTok videos, where the comments are filled with similar stories of menstraul disturbance - to a few of my own patients who have asked me about it. As a family doctor (GP)
Venepuncture Paid Members Public
Venepuncture involves taking blood from a patient's vein. This is often very useful in the acutely unwell patients; pneumonia, pancreatitis or cholecystitis as it gives an indication of the severity of the conditions. There are a number of ways to do this; vacutainer system, needle and syringe or butterfly. Please
Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) Paid Members Public
Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) or peak flow measures how fast a person can exhale from their lungs. It is measured with a device called a peak flow meter, and is useful in measuring the degree of obstruction in the airways. Patients with airway disease such as asthma can often
Nasogastric (NG) Tube insertion Paid Members Public
Nasogastric tube (NG) insertion essentially involves placing a plastic tube in through the patient's nose and in to their stomach. The main purposes of this are for feeding/medication or for free drainage. Often patients who have bowel obstructions will be kept nil by mouth and given an NG tube
Electrocardiography Paid Members Public
Electrocardiography (ECG) is a technique that detects the electrical signals from a patient's heart and then records it on to a strip of paper. An ECG is a basic investigation that all junior doctors have to be comfortable at doing. It allows the clinician to see the electrical activity of
Urethral Catheterisation Paid Members Public
Catheterisation is an invasive practical procedure that all junior doctors must be confident with before their first on-call. It involves passing a small plastic tube through the urethra and in to the bladder. Often you will get called to the difficult ones that the nurses have not been successful with.
Blood Pressure Measurement Paid Members Public
Blood pressure (BP) measurement is one of the vital signs used in assessing patients. It is the pressure exerted by circulating blood on the arterial vessel walls. It is often very useful in determining a patient's clinical condition. For example, a hypotensive patient may be septic from an infection or
Blood Cultures Paid Members Public
Taking a blood culture involves taking blood in an aseptic technique for the purposes of checking for bacteria of fungi in the patient's blood (septicaemia) . This is often an important aspect of doing a septic screen on a patient that is pyrexial. The procedure shown below is only a reference
