Would you like Ringworm with that?

Today, lots of tinea capitis. It seems to be so common here that the doctor can practically Dx it while the patient's still walking into the room. Also a lot of back and leg pain (likely d/t poor body mechanics when lifting, working, cooking, sweeping...there's not a lot of "bend at the knees" here). Also,

*4+ edema x2 years? unknown origin. Dx: not a clue. no idea why this guy has such bad edema. Rx: Lasix (loop diuretic. basically make your body get rid of water. He hopes that this will get the fluid out and relieve the edema.)

*growth remove from a woman's back. the MD cut it with scissors (rather than using a scalpel). He said that with the scissors it would bleed a lot less.

*Ooh, I did a wound dressing today! :) The boy had an ankle wound. Pretty deep, really old and crusty kind of. Maybe a few centimeters in diameter.

*a woman with shingles. Unfortunately, she was only 25-30yrs old. You get shingles (which comes from the chicken pox virus that lies dormant in a nerve root in your spine) when your immune system is compromised (i.e. you're under a lot of stress or something). Generally, shingles appears in your 50s or 60s. When you get it this young, chances are you have HIV or some other immuncompromising illness.

*Here was something bizarre. A woman with a big rash all over the left side of her neck, and huge lumps on the right side of her neck (enlarged lymph nodes). The right side is very tender. It was concluded that the enlarged lymph nodes was probably Lymphoma. The rash on the left...unrelated? who knows?

*40yo woman on Depoprovera x8yrs. She states that for the past 6yrs she's had breast tenderness just before she's due for the next injection, but she does not have a monthly period. Hmmm...not sure what that is.

Oh! Also, I triage patients today! By myself! (though with a translator for the people who only spoke Luo). I liked this! Probably, my triajing was a little more thorough than necessary, but of course I had to practice all my patient interview skills! :) I loved this because I really felt like I was doing something useful rather than just watching like I normally do. (I triaged this woman above, so I don't know what the Dx/outcome was.)

I have also noticed that a lot of women are (unknowingly) complaining of menopause symptoms. Their complaint are, "I am having times when I become very hot a few minutes and then it goes, etc, etc". Then we look at their age...48yo female. Oh, R/O menopause.