It’s been awhile! Today in Tox ‘O Clock we’ll cover the Holy Grail of toxicology – organophosphate poisoning.
First of all, what the hell is an organophosphate and why should anyone care? And why is it the Holy Grail of toxicology?
medical toxicology
Tox ‘O Clock: Carbon Monoxide
Happy holidays, everyone! This is your friendly toxicological reminder to not do stupid things like use propane heaters indoors, grill inside, or leave your oven range on for extended hours at a time. Why, might you ask, is this a bad idea?
The answer is the subject of today’s Tox ‘O Clock discussion: carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning! We are talking about this for two reasons: first, because a spike in poisonings from this – because it’s cold, and families are together – is as predictable around the holidays as incessant Christmas music at the mall, jokes about me being a Grinch, and my people going to the movies and eating Chinese food on Christmas day itself. Continue reading
Tox ‘O Clock: Aspirin, or rather “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell”
Pop quiz! What’s small, white, really useful in helping prevent heart attacks, and absolutely murders the hell out of you if you overdose on it?
If you said aspirin, congratulations!* You earned the right to muddle your way through why. This will be long, so get yourself a glass of wine and some Oreos or something and settle in.
*If you said cocaine, okay, you’re right too, you narc. I gave you the answer in the title. Continue reading
Working with Stanley Goodspeed
Warning: this post is profoundly nerdy. However, if you caught the title reference, you’ll enjoy it anyway.
In June, I was supposed to take this great class/clinical elective hybrid that focused on trauma and the body’s response to “injury.” Due to a variety of reasons, though (#1 being that the class had a reputation for being way too hard for a burnt-out third year student like me) the section didn’t meet minimum enrollment and was canceled. I was left scrambling for something to do. Continue reading
