General Questions Thread

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Can someone list me the types of drugs needed to treat dengue fever, and indicate which are the antiviral ones?

Antiviral drugs for dengue? Is there?

Hmmm.... I'm just a nurse but I think there was none that I have encountered for now. (I'm saying it in a Philippine setting) The only drugs I knew is Paracetamol for fever but I think its not that advisable either since it contains aspirin (please correct me if I'm wrong). Cooling remedies are good like juice and tepid sponge bath. No dark colored foods!!!!

Usually sufficient intake of fluids and prevention of shock are the ways to prevent possible mortality.

Currently dengue seems to be at large in my place. Just yesterday we admitted eight patients mostly young children.

[MeoTwister5]

You normally don't give antivirals for Dengue, in fact in Asia there are no true approved antivirals for Dengue, because it's an acute illness lasting for barely 2 weeks at most. It's self limiting and the virus will be eliminated by the host within said 2 weeks and granting immunity to the serotype.

So far AFAIK possible antivirals for Dengue are possibly indicated only for reinfection with a different serotype, as the severity of the disease increases when infected by a second or more serotype.

The treatment for Dengue is purely supportive with Paracetamol for fever control and fluid hydration adjusted based on intravascular fluid loss to prevent hypovolemic shock during the febrile and critical phases.

[SaintessHeart]

Thank you both. Another question though, what are the treatment processes and differences between them for haemorragic and non-haemorragic cases?

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Thank you both. Another question though, what are the treatment processes and differences between them for haemorragic and non-haemorragic cases?

Well, in my on words...

The last one is the complication or severe type of the former.

Dengue Fever
> fever
> muscle/joint pain
> rashes similar to measles
> laboratory results shows low platelet count

Treatment
> Treat the fever
> IV fluids and oral fluids
> Optional blood transfusion of platelet

Dengue Hemorragic fever
> fever ( body temperature may go down later if not treated soon)
> muscle/joint pain
> rashes are so severe.
> lowering blood pressure. ALERT!!!
> extremely low platelet count
> blood on stools and bleeding (nose, ears?)

Treatment
> Treat fever
> Blood transfusion (depends on the doctor. Pack RBC or platelet) and IV fluids

...thats what I think...bold ones are indicative of the worst scenario
...feel to correct me if I'm wrong...

[MeoTwister5]

In regular Dengue you just stuff in an assload of IV fluids, usually D5NM, depending on the intravascular status of the patient just to maintain blood volume, then you adjust the fluids once fluids return into the intravascular space during the recovery phase.

If platelets are too low, usually less than 20,000, then platelet concentrate is given to prevent bleeding complications.

In Dengue Hemorrhagic, IV fluids are added with blood products depending on blood loss. Usually it's just packed RBCs, but in high losses (which doesn't usually happen), whole blood is given.

In Dengue shock, well, it's rapid fluid infusion in an ICU setting.

In Dengue it's all about fluid balance and hematologic status. I won't go into the specific fluid calculations since that's too specialized for this thread. You can find the WHO guidelines for fluid rehydration in Dengue Fever and Dengue Shock online.

[NoemiChan]

@ MeoTwister5> doctor's knows best...

@ SaintessHeart> By the way, I don't find the question silly to be post here. But we're glad to be of help and share some......

[SaintessHeart]

Actually there has been an outbreak of dengue here, so I am interested in the treatment process and the costs. It is always either flu or dengue around this time of the year.....

Thanks guys, I can't share any lolis because they are all mine, but you guys can have an office lady instead......

[Paranoid Android]

Why are old monitors not flat? I mean what's the reasoning to make it curved if a flat screen is such an intuitive design to begin with.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Paranoid Android

Why are old monitors not flat? I mean what's the reasoning to make it curved if a flat screen is such an intuitive design to begin with.

It was easier.... Cathode Ray Tubes spray a beam of radiation towards a phosphorous plated glass. That beam is directed by magnetic fields. Altering the direction of the beam moves it in a *radial* path - hence the need for a curved target area originally to minimize distortion.

At the very end of the CRT Era, they were able to flatten the target area somewhat ("flat CRTs") because the control sophistication of the field generators was good enough to compensate for the distortion of a radial spray onto a relatively flat surface.

And no, I don't miss CRTs at all.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Vexx

And no, I don't miss CRTs at all.

Not even the one you used to fire plasma balls in Area 51?

[Paranoid Android]

Originally Posted by Vexx

It was easier.... Cathode Ray Tubes spray a beam of radiation towards a phosphorous plated glass. That beam is directed by magnetic fields. Altering the direction of the beam moves it in a *radial* path - hence the need for a curved target area originally to minimize distortion.

At the very end of the CRT Era, they were able to flatten the target area somewhat ("flat CRTs") because the control sophistication of the field generators was good enough to compensate for the distortion of a radial spray onto a relatively flat surface.

And no, I don't miss CRTs at all.

Oh thanks! I wonder if the first monitor designs where hemisphere xD

I just remember how when I was a kid and smashed open a CRT monitor that someone threw out with a hammer and my dad yelled at me for touching the stuff inside lol XD

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Paranoid Android

Oh thanks! I wonder if the first monitor designs where hemisphere xD

I just remember how when I was a kid and smashed open a CRT monitor that someone threw out with a hammer and my dad yelled at me for touching the stuff inside lol XD

When I was a teenager, we used to gather junked televisions and shoot them for target practice because they imploded so spectacularly .

[Endless Soul]

Originally Posted by Vexx

When I was a teenager, we used to gather junked televisions and shoot them for target practice because they imploded so spectacularly .

Yep. Shooting old TV's (among other things) was fun.

Endless "The Shootist" Soul

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Vexx

When I was a teenager, we used to gather junked televisions and shoot them for target practice because they imploded so spectacularly .

Originally Posted by Endless Soul

Yep. Shooting old TV's (among other things) was fun.

Endless "The Shootist" Soul

With 2 engineers on this thread, think you guys can fashion a one-shot energy-based electric weapon out of an old CRT, an industrial-grade vehicle battery and a few step-up transformers?

[Endless Soul]

Sure thing. I'll have my team start working on it right away.

Spoiler for My team at work:

I'll let you know when they're done.

Endless "On the job" Soul

[Paranoid Android]

Do they still teach hand drafting in school lol?

I had 1 year of hand drafting classes before they switched to CAD.

[6:45 am] Contractor: "We'll need your struct dwgs asap, we need them today."
[1:30 pm] Contractor: "The architect wants to change the walls to steel studs, not concrete, there's also a new wing on the north side"
If that was hand drafted, I'm going to have to set the office on fire.

-Forever pencil smudge hater-

[Dhomochevsky]

Alright guys, car question!

I have read a bit in the manual for my Toyota Corolla (waiting in car, bored as hell... ).
It says "maximum load per axle" = 920kg (F) + 905kg (R)
A total of 1825kg.
But it also says "total weight of the car (empty)" = 1655kg (does this include the axles? do they weigh on themselves?)

This leaves 170kg to load.
Let's say 40kg of gas with a full tank, 100kg driver... If I take another adult into my car, it's overloaded?
Am I reading this wrong?

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Endless Soul

Sure thing. I'll have my team start working on it right away.

Spoiler for My team at work:

I'll let you know when they're done.

Endless "On the job" Soul

Eh... heh. That looks like my high school drafting class. Teacher was a nazi about standardized fonts... yet when I went out to seek summer work? "Oh, your fonts have no character, there's no individuality" <argh>

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by Dhomochevsky

Alright guys, car question!

I have read a bit in the manual for my Toyota Corolla (waiting in car, bored as hell... ).
It says "maximum load per axle" = 920kg (F) + 905kg (R)
A total of 1825kg.
But it also says "total weight of the car (empty)" = 1655kg (does this include the axles? do they weigh on themselves?)

This leaves 170kg to load.
Let's say 40kg of gas with a full tank, 100kg driver... If I take another adult into my car, it's overloaded?
Am I reading this wrong?

Based on your calculation, yes its kinda overloaded...

But based on the number of sits, its definitely not overloaded...

Somebody might find it ridiculous if I refuse my friends to ride my car and say " I'm sorry, I'm kinda overloaded right now", as your friends looks at the empty back sits..

[Paranoid Android]

Originally Posted by Dhomochevsky

Alright guys, car question!

I have read a bit in the manual for my Toyota Corolla (waiting in car, bored as hell... ).
It says "maximum load per axle" = 920kg (F) + 905kg (R)
A total of 1825kg.
But it also says "total weight of the car (empty)" = 1655kg (does this include the axles? do they weigh on themselves?)

This leaves 170kg to load.
Let's say 40kg of gas with a full tank, 100kg driver... If I take another adult into my car, it's overloaded?
Am I reading this wrong?

It doesn't seem wrong the way you're reading it, but 170kg live load sounds like a terrible design and I'm certain Corolla can carry more than that o_o Though I honestly never feel safe to sit in a corolla. I've driven my bike into the open door of parallel parked corolla on the side of the road and the door came off while all I had was a raging nosebleed (still terribad XD)