Archive for the 'Health' Category

From elsewhere:

A 60-year-old man with acute pancreatitis developed persistent hiccups after insertion of a nasogastric tube. Removal of the latter did not terminate the hiccups which had also been treated with different drugs, and several manoeuvres were attempted, but with no success. Digital rectal massage was then performed resulting in abrupt cessation of the hiccups. Recurrence of the hiccups occurred several hours later, and again, they were terminated immediately with digital rectal massage. No other recurrences were observed. This is the second reported case associating cessation of intractable hiccups with digital rectal massage. We suggest that this manoeuvre should be considered in cases of intractable hiccups before proceeding with pharmacological agents.

Well, I would stop hiccuping too if somebody put their finger up my arse! Wouldn’t you?

Well, duh. I wonder how long it took to reach this conclusion:

The most effective treatment for severe hemorrhoids is surgical removal, according to a new study.

The finding contradicts the widely-held belief that rubber-band ligation — the practice of cutting off circulation, causing the hemorrhoid to wither away — is better.

Hmm, let’s see. A blood vessel around my anus is swollen. I’m supposed to clamp it off with a rubber band, and hope the problem goes away? How utterly barbaric.