Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
CME
Why is it that I complain about the heat constantly, but love to have the shower as hot as I can stand it?
Perhaps “a dry heat” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
We had a Continuing Medical Education activity tonight, a lecture on Valley Fever. Here in Kern County, we have the distinction of being a Valley Fever hot spot. It’s endemic throughout the Southwest, but here it’s big. We are the Valley in Valley Fever, after all.
What I learned tonight:
There’s no vaccine. Not even a glimmer of one on the horizon.
If you get it in your meninges (the tissue enclosing the brain), you’ve got it for life, and you’re in for a lifetime of treatment. But at least there is treatment. In the old days, most of these folks would die in the first year.
You can’t get it by working outside in your garden. Treated soil — soil that’s been watered, fertilized, etc. — does not harbor the fungus. So you’d think you’re safe as long as you don’t hang out in construction sites or go dirt-biking in the wilderness, right? Wrong. This shit can travel, wind-borne, for 35 miles or more.
You’re better off with a bad case of tuberculosis than with a bad case of Valley Fever.
As bad as the situation is with antimicrobials, what with the constant emergence of resistant organisms, the situation with antifungals is far worse. Our main fungicidal (fungus-killing) is Amphotericin B, a drug that punches holes in fungal cell membranes, allowing leakage of electrolytes and eventual death of the fungal cell. Unfortunately, it does the same thing to animal cells, hence the high toxicity of Amphotericin (AKA amphoterrible). Other anti-fungals are fungistatic, meaning they halt growth but don’t kill the organism.
Well, that’s all I can think of right now. I’m sure I learned more 🙂
D.
I don’tthink it’s that big of a problem in this part of the sw.
Nox, it’s the valley fever making you say that!
Maybe Chris is onto something with her hatred of fungi…
Damned right I’m onto something! Those fungi are eeeeeeevil.
Just out of curiosity, are there vaccines for any fungal infections? I thought they were fairly pernicious things, medically speaking, that prey on the weak.
Off the subject of fungi, I found out that one of the physicians I have been seeing for a long time was reprimanded and fined by the state licensing board for not be up to date on CME. He was given a short period of time to get up to date and has complied. Now I am wondering if I should change docs. I have always liked this guy and he seems competent, but what would I know? Any thoughts?
nox: yeah,if I remember correctly, you’re in that no-man’s-land (no fungus land?) between cocci (Valley Fever) and histoplasmosis. On the other hand, you have scorpions, chiggers, and fire ants!
Dean, Chris, they are pernicious. I can’t think of a single vaccine for fungal disease. But then, if you think about the number of useful vaccines and the number of infectious diseases, vaccines are awfully rare.
Lucie, CME is a good idea in principle. In practice, it’s kind of dumb. Lots of docs (yours truly excluded) go on CME vacations. They claim to attend the lectures but they’re really surfing or skiing or something even more unwholesome. Even something as seemingly honest to the spirit of CME as our home study has its problems. I receive a collection of articles which I have to read, and then I’m quizzed on the articles. Excellent idea for CME, right? Except 3/4 of the articles have no relevance to my practice.
Anyway, how bad is it if your doc ditched out on doing CME? Kind of sloppy, since everyone knows it’s a requirement; but I’d have to say it doesn’t necessarily make him a bad doc (or even a rusty one).
Thanks. The doc in question is a brilliant guy, but very eccentric…just my type. He was very supportive when I had a serious illness for which he referred me to many specialists. He kept abreast of my treatments and helped me to cope and understand it all. All well now!!!
I had another thought, just as I was falling asleep last night (no, I don’t know why my brain does this to me): is it possible to create a vaccine for fungi? By which I mean do we develop immunities to them? Can’t you get athlete’s foot over and over again?