So you hear all these things about when you are contagious with the flu. Some say you are most contagious a week before the symptoms, still contagious during, and some even say you stop being contagious five days after symptoms appear. What is myth? Does this vary with different illnesses? I've been wondering because I've felt something coming on, and my friend is sick at the moment.


*runs to her ColdFX*

Sorry about your hand.

Gio thanks for the advise and I will talk to the doctor about stuff hopefully before my insurance runs out. At least I have made arrangements to take my last dose of my vaccine.

satyreyes wrote:

Merck says that beer (and marijuana, and heroin) can cause men to develop breasts when overused.  No word on whether they make female breasts bigger, but I doubt it; it sounds like breast growth depends on the presence or absence of a certain threshold of estrogen, rather than scaling with the amount of estrogen.  Just bringing it up because this sounds like it could be the source of what KissFromARose heard. 

Yes, that is true! I was assuming we were discussing women, but men can be subjected to estrogen in a smaller amount and grow boobies; women already have this minimal amount so no dice for them. But it is a dodgy thing, some guys can chug beer by the truckload for years, and the only boobs they ever get are fat pads that match their gut, others can be more sensitive to such influences. A lot of drugs, IIRC, particularly psychoactive ones, can cause gynecomastia. This also often happens to teenage boys during puberty. If the hormones happen to be a little off, you'll spend a couple years with boobs. No harm done, it's outgrown, but probably sucks for the guy.

Syora wrote:

So you hear all these things about when you are contagious with the flu. Some say you are most contagious a week before the symptoms, still contagious during, and some even say you stop being contagious five days after symptoms appear. What is myth? Does this vary with different illnesses? I've been wondering because I've felt something coming on, and my friend is sick at the moment.

Periods of potential transmission vary both for the virus/bacteria and for the age/health of the person with it. For the flu, according to the CDC, you're generally contagious from one day before symptoms appear to 5-7 days after. Children are contagious longer. In situations where you are given an antibiotic (obviously, not for the flu, but strep throat or such), you are no longer contagious 24 hours after the first dose of the antibiotic. A loose generalization based on what I've learned suggests that viruses are contagious sooner before you notice them; bacteria tends to have its effect as it multiplies, so you don't have as extended a period before you feel sick to infect other people. But in most cases, yes, you are contagious before you feel sick, and for some illness, you're actually the most contagious in that prodromal period.

crystalwren wrote:

I've resigned myself to losing the nail very soon, but I'm quietly wondering if I've done more damage than I realised.

In the future, opening a bloodnail is really only beneficial if done very shortly after it occurs, the reasons being as you stated--once it sets, it doesn't matter. If there's no pus or smell, it's not infected, which is your biggest concern having done that yourself. If your sensitivity didn't immediately disappear after drilling the hole (which would have suggested you clipped a nerve), then you're probably fine. Opening it up is drying out the blood under the nail, which separates the nail from your nerve tissues, making it numb. You've probably irritated a nerve. Unfortunately, the only thing there is to wait. Nerve related insults, like pinched nerves and loss of myelin and such take a long time to recover compared to what you're used to. It may be within the frame of months before you can really start worrying. For now just try to keep the area clean. If it gets swollen, cold, stinky, etc...get to a doctor.

Yasha wrote:

Not related to your questions, but if you have heart issues, don't use ColdFX. Just don't. My heart, which hasn't been doing the 'fish trapped in a bucket' thing for a while now, decided to freak right the fuck out over ColdFX. I did not approve.

ColdFX is superduper concentrated panax ginseng, which apparently can alter blood pressure and heart rate in sensitive individuals.

76's story in the Sexual Frustration Thread reminds me to ask this question.  A lot of time has elapsed since it happened -- this was in early 2003, my freshman year of college -- enough time that it doesn't really worry me anymore.  But I still wonder wtf.

I was lying in my extra-long single bed late at night, lights off, talking to my girlfriend on the phone.  We'd been talking for hours, having an emotionally intense conversation about love, sex, God, and various other things eighteen-year-olds talk about at night; I don't even remember.  The tone was very positive.

Suddenly, I started to hallucinate.  I saw an kidney-shaped blob in front of me, concave side up.  As I watched, from the concave part grew a stalk like a young plant coming up out of the ground in a time-lapse video.  For some reason, this was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen.

At that point all hell broke loose and I started seeing all kinds of crazy shapes.  A lot of demonic faces.  A crouching child facing away from me, and when he turned around I saw he had no face.  There are three possibly salient things to note about these hallucinations.  First, they weren't fixed in space; when I moved my head, they moved with it, so they were always in the same position relative to my eyeball (drifting slowly across it, actually), superimposed on the geography of my dorm room.  For the same reason, I saw them whether my eyes were open or closed.  Second, they terrified me beyond what was rational; it was like someone was mashing the Fear button of my medulla or amygdala or whatever whenever a new apparition appeared, not mediated at all by reason or deep breathing.  Third, I wasn't asleep -- I know because I continued talking with my girlfriend throughout the entire event -- and also wasn't hungry, dehydrated, or high.  The hallucinations lasted for about an hour, becoming fainter towards the tail end.  The emotional climax was the kidney blob at the beginning.  When not terrified by the midbrain masher, I was analytical and fascinated, and probably actually less scared than a reasonable person should be when they realize they're hallucinating demons for no obvious reason.  (I fully knew that what I was seeing wasn't real.)

So what happened?  Can people who are otherwise psychologically normal (okay, only slightly battered) have anomalous psychotic episodes?  Can your brain get sick of waiting up for you and go into REM without falling asleep first?  Can intense conversations make your pancreas secrete psilocybin?  Should I, in fact, be worried about this incident seven years after the fact, even if it hasn't recurred? Thank you! 

Last edited by satyreyes (05-15-2010 01:48:31 AM)

I just got two cavities filled and now on the back of my throat there is this weird, hard, white.  Thing.  The size of half and M&M.   It looks like a pimple or an eggsack just underneath the tissue and it is freaking me out.  The place where it is at feels dry and rough even when I'm drinking something, which is what led me to find it.  Nurse Spadaro, what fuckery is this?

Up-datish:  I don't think it's a tonsil stone either, since it doesn't reek or, yanno, come off.  And after poking it with a Q-tip there's a big hole in it, so I assume it's on a saliva gland, but I can't be sure.  the fuck the fuck.  Every place I go to try and find out what it is (and none of them ever have bloody pictures) says it's either a harmless tonsil stone or freaking cancer.

Last edited by OnlyInThisLight (01-11-2011 03:18:20 PM)

First thought's a bladder infection, since those can manifest in a million obnoxious symptoms or none at all. Yay! Unless this was something gradual over weeks and weeks, that's going to be the first thing anyone thinks of or treats. Um...unless you might be pregnant.

In my case, this was actually a massive ovarian cyst. So um, if the symptoms don't resolve after treatment for a bladder infection, don't ignore it. But don't assume the worst, just go to a doc, you'll be given a round of Bactrim or something.

OTIL: It could be a cyst in the tonsil, those won't come off exactly, they have to be lanced. Um, don't google them, but hop over to a doctor. The reason it's there is after dental work, the tonsils get pounded on since they're the closest part of your immunological filtration system. It's not a harmless tonsil stone if it's causing you discomfort, so don't take that crap. >

Sorry I tooked so long.

Gio, I need an opinion based on your awesome medical knowledge skillz.

I got stitches under my chin when I fell two days ago, and though I have to look straight up for anyone to actually see it, it's still close enough to my face that I'd really like it to heal well. I was told not to keep it covered because it needs air to heal, but at the same time, I feel like a band-aid might keep it germ free. Any suggestions on how to get it to heal as neatly as possible?

This isn't very major, but has been bugging me for a while:

When I get my period cramps, the upper parts of my tighs hurt. It last for a day or two and goes away with painkillers/heating pad I use for cramps, and it's not an unbearable pain. I'm curious about what causes it, though.

Alvanista - Period cramps can, for some people, radiate because of local irritation to the nerves and muscles. Basically, you're clenching your thighs without realizing it because you're sore nearby. If it's not causing excessive pain, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but if your periods are irregular or especially heavy, you may want to get checked out for things like polycystic ovarian disorder, which can cause those things and would result in radiated pain very easily.

Randamonian - It sounds like your diet is pretty light, so it's entirely possible you're not eating enough. If you've noticed that you're also very thirsty and pee a lot, you may be developing diabetes and should look into that, but aside from that, try eating foods that are gonna sit better. Fruit, yogurt, and plain white bread aren't going to satisfy the body because they're low in fat, fiber, and protein. Try using a whole grain bread, or something like oatmeal and omelettes definitely. Your body digests food slower if it's got some fat in it, so unless weight's an issue, make sure there's something like that in there, like non-diet yogurt or some cheese in your omelette. High-fiber foods also add to the feeling of fullness and prolong it. Whole grain's the way to go there.

Yeah, I don't think I'm developing diabetes so I should definantly look into whole grains, because I eat mostly full cream dairy products and pretty basic vegetables and fruit. I get full pretty quickly so I'll eat something complex.

thank's for helping out.

Giovanna wrote:

if your periods are irregular or especially heavy, you may want to get checked out for things like polycystic ovarian disorder, which can cause those things and would result in radiated pain very easily.

Hey Gio, this reminds me-

I'm going on 29 but I'm still pretty irregular. I've mentioned it to one doctor, but I was told that some irregularity is normal. The problem is that every second or third period of late is extremely painful, with nausea and extreme bloating, a strong desire to eat everything that stays still and sometimes extreme tiredness. My BMs are usually effected as well. When I was a teenager the symptoms were so bad that my mother hauled me to a doctor to be put on the pill. All the symptoms disappeared, and I still go on the pill for roughly a three or four months a year before I stop taking them. After this the irregularity comes back but the other symptoms aren't nearly as bad. Given that I've recently discovered that my bewbs are riddled with cysts, I'm beginning to wonder if there's something a little more sinister going on. I don't have the problems with body hair, though, and I only get a couple of pimples on my face just before my period. And while I do indeed have a problem with weight, that's more to do with the cocktail of medications I've been on for the past seven months.

So what do you think? Is it worth hassling my doctor about this?

Alright, so I have panic attacks fairly often and the people around me expect me to jump right back into whatever I was doing, but I can't, I feel tired for hours after, my muscles feel sore, and I feel so dizzy, the vertigo is so intense I've almost fallen. Mostly I just feel like I need to sleep, I'll start nodding off even if I'm doing something important. I don't know if this is extremely common and I'm just all paranoid about it, it's just that I haven't met anyone who has panic attacks and feels this way after