Saturday, February 25, 2012

Cottage cheese appearance

The vagina is an organ used for having sex, as an outlet for menstrual blood flow and for child birth. Candida albicans, a fungus, is an organism found naturally in healthy people for example on the skin, in the mouth and vagina and so on.
However, at times due to circumstances such as use of antibiotics, poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, immunosuppression, etc. or for unknown reasons, a vaginal overgrowth of Candida may occur (thrush). Besides a thin watery discharge, itching of the private parts, discomfort during sexual intercourse, etc. women with thrush can develop a thick white discharge that resembles cottage cheese in appearance.
Most women during their lifetime will have at least one episode of thrush - thrush is not transmitted by making love.
Reference:
Achkar JM, Fries BC. Candida infections of the genitourinary tract. Clin Microbiol Rev, 2010 23(2):253-73. Go to reference
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Cottage cheese, candida albicans
 

Friday, February 24, 2012

Tumbler test

Meningitis is potentially life threatening inflammation of the protective coverings of the brain and spinal cord – the meninges – caused for example by bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, drugs and so forth.
The bacterium Neisseria meningitides (meningococcus), causes meningitis as well as sepsis (infection of the blood). In meningococcemia bleeding may occur into the skin causing a rash that does not grow fainter when a transparent glass tumbler is pressed against it – tumbler test aka glass test.
The tumbler test is controversial because it is difficult to perform and interpret, it is not particularly useful in dark skinned people, the non-blanching rash may not indicate meningococcemia and appearance of the rash is a relatively late feature in the natural course of the disease.
Reference:
Mant D, Van den Bruel A. Should we promote the tumbler test? Arch Dis Child, 2011 (7):613-4. Go to reference
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Child affected by a life threatening non-blanching rash, tumbler