When To Research Medical Symptoms And Diagnoses

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Rihana, Oct 11, 2016.

  1. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    In the earlier post on being risk savvy, I neglected to emphasize one thing:
    If a test is 90% sensitive and you test positive, it does NOT mean that you have a 90% probability of disease!!! Depending on the false-positive rate, the prevalence etc. the probability could be much lower.
    This is a mistake that even many physicians have been shown to make!
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2016
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  2. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    I just realized that when I wrote this, I reflexively lapsed into the language of probability which is what scientists tend to use. My original aim was to avoid that in favor of natural frequencies that are easier to understand for most people (including scientists!). So allow me to reiterate:

    The givens are:
    Prevalence of Brain-Rot among FB users: 1%
    Sensitivity (true positives) of the test: 90%
    False positive rate (also called 'specificity'): 5%

    So we calculate:
    Chance of having disease = True Positives / All Positives
    Here, All Positives = (False positives) + (True Positives)
    So we have:
    Chance of having disease = True Positives / (False positives + True Positives)

    This means that if 1000 FB users are tested, under the specified conditions, 59 will test positive. Of these 59 only 9 really have Brain-Rot!

    I know I repeated myself here. I did that to keep this post self-contained (mostly)!:wink1:
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2016
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  3. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    I'll do it later tonight but the tabular form would be so much fun! So busy sick kids two of them now one after the other and no dad around so it's going to have to wait until later in the night.
     
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  4. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    Just when you thought you'd seen and heard everything - here is a charlatan in South Africa who claims to cure diseases by spraying you full face-on with ...... uuummmm ... wait for it .... insecticide! Yea! Mmmmmm, tasty!
    :BangHead::smash2::mad:
     
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  5. Nonya

    Nonya Platinum IL'ite

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    Interesting old thread. Thanks for the bump to point it out to me. Doing research on one's own cannot be helped when information is not too difficult to get at.
    More and more doctoring is going to get done without the doctor physically examining a patient. Skype the doctor, and describe as well as show the image of whatever it is. For chronic conditions that are managed life-long, like BP or Diabetes, this kind of distant-doctoring could work easily. It is already done in some asian countries. Patients doing some of their own prework is part of this scheme. Communication technology helps cut down on time wasted in doctor's office where one is forced to browse through decades old magazines on hunting, automobiles and Home decor.
    Here is a technology for early screening for cervical cancer that is enabled by mobile phones.
    [​IMG]
    One country where doctors have been trained to use the cellphone-enabled mobile colposcope is Afghanistan. see A Cervical Selfie Might Save Your Life for full article.
     
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  6. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Ibuprofen use linked to male infertility, study finds

    Should boys and young men or those whose moms hope to one day be presented with grandkids take the study about ibuprofen use affecting male infertility seriously? Like most studies, the findings ends with a 'more research required.'

    While the more research happens, should boys and men ideally avoid ibuprofen use? Or, in small amounts, it is OK?

    Sometimes ibuprofen is the medicine that is needed: Ibuprofen vs Acetaminophen: When Should You Use One Over The Other?
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2018
  7. MalStrom

    MalStrom IL Hall of Fame

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    This effect is with chronic, heavy doses of ibuprofen. Most people take it on a shorter term basis as needed. It would be more useful to have a study based on that.
     
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  8. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    True. So question is should shorter term use also be avoided if possible?
     
  9. MalStrom

    MalStrom IL Hall of Fame

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    Hard to say. And tomorrow another study may come out saying Tylenol has a different set of dangers lol.
     
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  10. Sunburst

    Sunburst Platinum IL'ite

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    It says the disorder is totally reversible if taken for short periods so should be ok I guess . I think its the athletes and others who take it regularly in heavy doses should worry about it .
     
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