Don't scratch the itch

Sometimes it sucks working in health care. Like the fact that I know health care is two words, that’s not so bad, but knowing the intricacies and risks associated with disease states and procedures... In the case of this, often times knowledge is not power, it’s paranoia. By far the worst offender of this for everyone else who doesn’t work in health care, is the internet. If you think you have a medical issue, never go on the internet to self diagnose. It is a virtual mine field of ridiculous associations which can turn even the simplest most benign problem into some kind of rare fatal disease. For example, you have a nose bleed because you stuck your finger up there, but WebMD says you have the bubonic plague.

I remember a couple years ago, I couldn’t sleep because my skin was so itchy I wanted to rip it off. I practically used an entire bottle of moisturizer, but nothing worked. Maybe I had an allergic reaction to something? Maybe I should take an antihistamine? Maybe I have Eczema? So off to the internet I went to find out what was wrong with me. I Googled chronic skin itch and found myself at the MayoClinic.com. Causes of chronic itchy skin include: psoriasis, scabies, lice, hives, or assorted internal diseases such as liver disease, kidney failure, leukemia and lymphomas. Oh my God I have liver disease...