Tag Archives: injury

When Should You Worry About a Black Eye?

Uncategorized, , , , , ,

A black eye, medically known as periorbital hematoma, usually develops when there is blunt-force trauma to the upper face, resulting in bruises that form around the eye(s). A black eye will likely change colors as it heals, perhaps starting red and changing to black, blue, green or yellow with time. Most black eyes resolve themselves within a week or so and don’t cause any significant medical trouble, but sometimes they cause dangerous complications if not immediately treated.

Potential Dangers of a Black Eye

Potential complications that can arise from a black eye (and would require immediate medical attention) include:

  • Detached retina
  • Retinal damage
  • Traumatic uveitis
  • Damage to the optic nerve
  • Hyphema (bleeding in the eye)
  • Skull fracture
  • A concussion
  • Internal bleeding

10 Signs There May Be Trouble

Some of the key signs that you need to seek immediate medical treatment for one of the aforementioned complications include:

  1. Signs of a concussion
  2. Redness, swelling or discoloration to the eye itself
  3. Visible blood in your eyeball
  4. Blurred or double vision or trouble seeing
  5. Vision changes such as bright flashes or ‘floaters’
  6. Excessive pain
  7. Excessive bruising around both eyes
  8. Bleeding from the nose or ears
  9. Pain when looking back and forth
  10. Signs of infection

Dos and Don’ts of Black Eye First Aid

DO:

  • Start with a cold compress for 10-15 minutes
  • Apply heat to the area after a couple days (this will help blood flow return to normal)
  • Take acetaminophen for the pain
  • Get it checked out by a professional

DON’TS

  • Apply raw meat to the area – unless you’re hoping for an infection to develop!
  • Take NSAIDS (like Advil) as they may increase bleeding
  • Press on or poke at the injured area

The best thing to do is to get a doctor to take a look at any black eye, even if you don’t think it is serious so he or she can decide the status of the injury for themselves, as well as the appropriate treatment. Thanks for visiting DocChat!

Do you Have the Kneezles?

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,


Well, we tricked you! ‘The Kneezles’ aren’t a real condition, but we do want to examine some common conditions that affect the knees and let you know what you can do to help them!

  1. Osgood-Schlatter Syndrome is a condition that usually begins and resolves itself in early adolescence. It can be triggered by growth spurts and causes inflammation of the patellar tendon. It can be quite painful and often interferes with recreational sports. OTC medications and physio can help make this syndrome less painful.
  2. Bursitis or tendonitis both cause painful soft tissue inflammation around the knee bone (or any other joint). Because tendons are crucial to any kind of movement, both these conditions can be highly painful and restrict movement. Ice and heat, TENS machines and physio may be helpful for cases of knee tendonitis or bursitis.
  3. Arthritis – there are many different forms of arthritis that can cause chronic knee pain including: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, psoriatic, gout, reactive arthritis or lupus, just to name a few. If you experience regular aching or pain in your knees as well as other joints, it may be time for a doctor’s visit to see if you may have some type of arthritis.
  4. Cartilage problems – Cartilage is a firm connective tissue found between the bones and joints, within the ribs, around the spine and in the face and respiratory tract. When it becomes injured, damaged or begins to break down it can be very painful as bone will then rub against bone without any cushioning. The knees are a common spot for weathering cartilage. Sometimes this can be helped by physio and other therapy, but severe cases require surgery.
  5. Restless leg syndrome is a troubling sleep/movement disorder that causes an overwhelming urge to move the legs or causes involuntary muscle movements that can be very unpleasant and drastically interfere with sleep. Many people with this condition report unpleasant sensations and activity in the knees. There is not much known about this disorder, but luckily there are some naturopathic and medication treatments that seem to help many.
  6. ACL injury is a common cause of excruciating knee pain. It happens when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is torn or stretched during sports or a fall and often requires surgery to heal. In some cases, the ACL can repair itself over a long period of time without surgery.

Well that concludes our look at some common causes of knee pain, keep an eye out for some future tips on knee injury prevention and some things you can do to help ease the pain! Thanks for visiting DocChat, remember our board certified physicians are standing by 24/7/365 to answer any of your health-related questions!

Haemophilia – Are you a Bleeder?

Illness, Uncategorized, , , , ,


Haemophilia is a hereditary blood-thinning condition that prohibits the body from producing enough clotting factors to form platelets. Because haemophiliacs have blood that doesn’t clot well, there is nothing to slow the blood when the person gets injured. This could lead to the person ‘bleeding out’ much quicker than the average person, making it a potentially dangerous condition. The three main types of haemophilia are type A, B, and C, each has a problem with different clotting factors and responds differently to treatment. About 80% of haemophiliacs are type A. The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) attests that one in every 10,000 people are affected by haemophilia.

Symptoms

Symptoms range in severity, including:

  • Extreme bleeding, even with a small cut
  • Bleeding gums and nosebleeds
  • Headache
  • Sleepiness or irritability
  • Joint pain and discomfort
  • Easy and excessive bruising
  • Internal bleeding
  • Blood in urine or stool

Complications

Over time severe haemophilia can lead to joint damage and destruction (from continual bleeding around the joints). In some cases, a whole joint may need to be replaced with an artificial one. Internal damage from recurrent internal bleeding is another long-term complication of severe haemophilia.

Risk Factors

Haemophilia is an X-linked recessive disease caused by a genetic mutation on the gene responsible for clotting factors. There are rare cases of acquired haemophilia which fall under the category of autoimmune disorders. In these cases, the body attacks healthy cells wreaking havoc on clotting factors, causing haemophilia.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Haemophilia is detected and diagnosed through a blood test that will reveal the amount and types of clotting factors present. Treatments for haemophilia differ by type:

Type A: Desmopressin hormone injections

Type B: Genetically engineered synthetic clotting factor medications.

Type C: Plasma infusion

If you suspect you may have undiagnosed haemophilia or have questions about the disorder, feel free to sign up to DocChat for your first consultation with one of our highly qualified DocChat physicians today.