Anaphylaxis

A 24-year-old Asian male presents to the ER with tachypnea, shortness of breath, and generalized urticaria. The patient has no known maintenance medications to relieve the symptoms he is currently experiencing before coming to the ER. A physical examination revealed the following: HR 110bpm, RR 40 with signs of accessory muscle use.

A brief history of the patient reveals that he has been trying to patch things up with his partner of eight months, after a whirlwind dating phase that lasted only roughly two weeks. The patient discloses that he was unaware that things would have gone out of hand, and symptoms of said event manifested abruptly one Saturday evening after receiving too many messages from his partner.

Accumulation of said allergen in the system may have caused this allergic reaction in the patient, causing him to lose motivation and feel irritability at the mere thought of this peron.

Aerosol treatment was ordered and given with 0.5 cc albuterol with 3.0 cc normal saline in a small-volume nebulizer for 10 minutes. Peak flows done before and after the treatment was 125/250, and auscultation revealed loud expiratory wheezing and better airflow.

Symptoms began to resolve, and the patient was advised to resolve his current ordeal with his partner; if they would accept their excessive neediness of one another, come to terms with this to prevent his reexposure to this allergen, and refrain from whirlwind relationships, things would be better.

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Truth Thursdays: Plan A

Upon graduating from high school, I decided to make use of one thing I never even thought would come in handy. Probably because I was mindful of dates and stuff like that, I found no use to it, but I was opening a new chapter in my life – a life of a college student, and I decided to make use of planners.

Four years ago, while everyone in my high school batch was busy with acceptance letters from universities that they have passed, and the upcoming Junior – Senior Promenade, I was slowly building up my dreams of being a student of the University of the Philippines – one of the premier universities in the country. I was to take up a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, and take up Medicine.

Important dates were already on my planner: when I was supposed to go to Laguna; where I was supposed to look for a dormitory near the University; what subjects I were going to take – I had them all written down, and foreseen what were going to happen.

I never got to UPLB, for my mother didn’t want me to. So I had to settle for my last choice, and take up another course (which I do love, nevertheless). I tried to make do of it, even if at times, my plans never worked out.

But now, I am constantly faced with so many changes, so many things that I want to do that I get conflicts in my head.

Oh, but there is so little time. Why can I not stick to what I really love, and be content?

Stressed

Just when I prayed to God that He gives me stuff to get busy with, this 2013, I think He gave me a little too much for what I asked for. And even before I concluded that my January would pass me by swiftly, I decided to think again. Oh wait, I didn’t have the time to think about it because I was too busy with so much work to do.

Three weeks since the start of the classes, and now we’re closing in on our Midterm exams, stress and sleepless nights begin to test our wits once more, as we went back to Adamson last January 3rd. Our professor on our first subject, never wasted a single minute, and started with the day with a recap of last year’s lessons on Aromatic compounds, and the EAS (Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution), and began discussing the topic for the next reactions on Benzene. Being our same professor for Analytical Chemistry, he practically did the same thing – explaining to us that he had to start with the lessons this early, since we don’t have much time, due to minor setbacks and the long weekends we had during the first two months of the semester.

Our laboratory subjects were as busy as ever. Since most of our topics for the Analytical lab subject were focused more on Titrimetry, we basically had to bear with the time-pressuring practical exams every Tuesday, and the formal reports we have to submit for that particular activity.

And, to be honest, I only get decent sleeps during the weekends, and my mom couldn’t blame me for it. Having to spend almost the whole day in school, whenever I get home, I barely eat dinner and I’m usually off to studying or, to my bed.

But, hope is never lost for this young Chemist. Definitely, everything will pay off in due time, so I just have to bear with these for awhile, and in no time, I’ll reap all these hardships, right?