~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This message is from PedTalk! To reply to the group, use "" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At 06:40 PM 10/22/97 -0500, Dogwood Ridge wrote: >OK- here's a new thread: Many times we have to use nonmedical terms and >analogies to help a patient or a parent understand what we're talking >about. For example, when explaining why antidiarreal medications aren't a >good idea I sometimes will say that giving an antidiarreal is like sweeping >dirt under the carpet- the room might look cleaner but the dirt is still >there. Another one: when I am describing serous effusion after a purulent >otitis media I'll often say it's like a puddle of water after the rain- if >the sun comes out and the child is healthy it'll evaporate on its own. If >the child gets a new cold and the right bacteria sets up housekeeping, a >new infection may set in and the puddle would get green and slimy. So >which ones work for you? Kim Burlingham, MD > Credit a local peds dermatologist: Trying to get rid of a wart is like trying to get rid of a bug on a tile floor. But instead of squashing it, you cut out a single tile and slide in a new one. In the process, sometimes the bug falls off the old tile onto the new one. I use this when someone questions why warts so commonly recur after treatment. Michael Sachs, M.D. General Pediatrician