Triage

[H2O Man]

“How to Recognize and Treat an Infected Wound” by Alana Biggers, MD
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325040.php


I think it is important –even urgent – that people learn how to recognize and treat an infected wound. I say that in the context of the OP I posted yesterday, whining about the impact of aging on this old bag of bones. For that is one of the two things my friends and I do these days …..complain about every ache and pain, along with dreaming about what we would do if we were young. While that may appear to be an unattractive existence to everyone who is not an old man, it creates status within our sub-culture.

My friends and I take pride and pleasure in whimpering to one another on the internet, the telephone, and especially forming flash mobs when we run into each other in the grocery store. Yet lately, we have noticed that one of our uncles has a terribly infected wound that requires immediate attention. For it is oozing orange pus, and threatens to spread. And, yes, it is Uncle Sam that needs emergency treatment.

What we need to do right now is clean that disgusting orange pus from the surface of the wound. Agreed? Agreed. Phew! Now, let me “think out loud” – a polite way of describing talking to myself, an occupational hazard among retired folks. A person I believe is an old soul (though not old man) named Greta is stressing a clean environment. So we need clean water to begin to tend to this wound. And we need to heat it up, because is it essential to put heat on infected wounds like this one, which is oozing orange pus.

Okay, what else? Let me think …..clean air. It is good to expose the infection to clean air. In this case, we need to clear the air in the most public manner possible. Report and comment on the internet, the media, among friends, etc. Keep applying heat to draw the orange pus, and then exposing the wound.

There are, as Dr. Biggers makes clear, infected wounds that require emergency treatment by medical professionals. Our insurance cards imply that we are covered when we seek professional treatment for this type of infected wound, with it's oozing orange pus, from our elected representatives in Congress. We need to do this before Uncle Sam is more seriously damaged by way of sepsis:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sepsis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351214

According to this, sepsis is a life=threatening condition involving the body's response to the spreading infection. You, like I, may find the symptoms listed in the link are happening now: a change in mental state, a rise in blood pressure, and pressured breathing. I experience these every time I see Trump on television.

Will you join me in applying efforts to get certified in first aid, and help heal our Uncle Sam's infected wound? Our first aid kit is found in Amendment 1 of the Bill of Rights. Let's flush Septic Trump down the drain.

Thank you for your consideration.
H2O Man

[malaise]

1. Love it - great post

I actually have Red Cross first aid certification although I'm sure I need a refresher course.
I literally got that 50 years ago almost to the day.

I am now thinking that I will give you a shout out more regularly

[coeur_de_lion]

9. Shout outs can be really helpful

Sometimes we forget how much we need and miss our H20 Man.

[malaise]

11. As they say

Water is life

[coeur_de_lion]

13. Indeed!

H2O Man is an invaluable part of our life here on DU and elsewhere. Wisdom during crisis.

[H2O Man]

15. Especially his poems.

[coeur_de_lion]

26. An Irish limerick or two

Never hurts anyone.

[H2O Man]

14. Thank you!

I've already got two topics in mind for my next couple rants.

[safeinOhio]

2. Yuk, orange pus stinks.

We feel your pain.

[H2O Man]

16. If Trump is "re-elected,"

that orange pus will cause even more pain for everyone.

[mopinko]

3. when you suffer from chronic crummy health-

you and i are close to the same age, i think. but i have been dealing w several chronic issues for 2 decades.

here is the thing- once you track it down, and figure it out, you settle into a detente of sorts.
you have to block out your foibles to get through the day. you have to accept that your guts hurt in the morning, and your back hurts at night. it just is, and you have to block it out so it doesnt set off the emergency alarms that we really need to go off when there really is danger.

that tunnel vision is a kind of blindness. in the last year i really hit rock bottom, energy wise. i could barely do anything but nap, and keep everyone and everything alive day to day.

then one day i got a tiny clue that took me through everything that was going on, and made me realize that it had gotten beyond chronic, was getting acute.
it wasnt hard, once that breakthrough happened, to peel the onion, and fix one layer at a time. i am back to being acceptably functional.

i feel like we (not on du, but out there in the world) are in that blindness, just plowing through, head down and hoping for the best.
we need to keep nurturing our collective alarm system until we can do something.

rest up old man. the fight will start when we get over the shock of it all.

[H2O Man]

17. Thank you!

I find myself relating to a few songs, depending upon the day's level of pain. Yesterday, when I wrote the above OP, I was listening to John Lennon's "Living on Borrowed Time." Other days, I listen to Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt." And on the darkest days, I listen to The Doors' "The End" to lighten my mood.

Chronic pain plays with the old brain chemistry in ways that aren't pleasant, as you know. "Less bad" days seem good. But I keep in mind that every day of life on the Earth is a miracle, and try to find meaning in it.

It would be easy to cut off from the outside world, and ignore the horrors of the Trump era. But if there is meaning in all of this, I suspect it is in participating in that Good Fight that you speak of.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

4. Debride the wound too, as it is certainly flecked with dead tissue

and other debris. Widespread contaminations should be treated, cleaned and sterilized with decency and skilled critical thinking.

[H2O Man]

19. Yes!

There is a lot of "dead tissue" in the Senate that needs to be removed.

Thanks!!!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

42. 😄❤️

[Hekate]

5. Good clinical analysis

[malaise]

12. DUzy for the clinical

Pinboy3niner would love it

[H2O Man]

21. I sent a link

to the OP/thread to one of my doctors, noting that I was considering a new career in medicine.

[malaise]

22. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

[H2O Man]

25. It's possible ......

I did listen to The Beatles song "Doctor Robert" yesterday before writing the OP.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

43. Oh man! Miss him!

Pinboy3niner ❤️

[malaise]

44. Big time

[H2O Man]

20. Thank you!

[lunatica]

6. Al Gore told us our planet had a fever 20 years ago.

It’s progressed way beyond that now. Just this week he said it’s too late to save a few things but we can still save the planet and mankind.

Climate change needs to be brought to everyone’s awareness with a steady drumbeat of continuous coverage by the media. If millions of children all over the planet can organize and come together through social media, literally without us “grownups” being aware of it, then we ought to give them the lead.

[H2O Man]

23. Thank you!

My normal brother works at a large state university. He has lunch with the climate scientists frequently. They tell him that things are far, far worse than the government tells the public -- as bad as Al Gore says.

It's interesting to recognize that most republicans -- with only a few "christian" exceptions -- know what is happening, and what is to come. They are taking a "survival of the fittest" approach, which explains why they lie to the general public. It also provides the real reason Trump et al want to build a wall.

Many years ago, when my social work career focused on children and youth, it reinforced my belief that kids know when adults are lying to them. And that's a big part of what I'm hearing them saying today. They are also saying we should consider not lying to ourselves.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

28. how do we suck out the carbon dioxide?

How many shades do we need to deploy in geo-synchronous orbit? How many solar collectors?

How do we stop Koch Industries?

There are probably about 3 or 4 times as many trees growing on my place as when my wife and I moved here over 40 years ago. Not much room for more without bulldozing the buildings.

[H2O Man]

32. Great questions.

I can relate to the increase in trees .....there are at least twice as many on my property as when I moved here. I also try to be aware of the consequences of everything I do, both here and in the outside world.

The township I reside in is currently split on a Texas corporation's intent to put a series of windmills here. I am in favor of windmills in general, but appreciate that this corporation has a shady history, and isn't looking to help a tiny community in rural upstate New York. Both sides of the divide want me to join their side. I'm trying to get both sides to listen to the other.

I think everyone would be in favor of windmills that benefitted the community, rather than just two landowners. Medium-sized windmills, perhaps, rather than the largest type, which have a much shorter "life expectancy."

It's a tough problem that we are all confronted with, from my little community, to the USA, to the world. I know I do not have "the" answer. But I'm confident that if we all put our minds together, we have the best chance of identifying answers. And those need to be based on science, not dollars.

[lunatica]

30. Wow! Your comment about

The Republicans having the survival of the fittest attitude and the real reason for the wall really hit my intuitive aha! nerve. It also precipitated the thought of why Trump so puzzlingly suddenly wants Greenland. Bear with me. Is there a better, more remote area in the world for a massive penal colony? Is that the desolated place where he can incarcerate not only Mexicans and Central and South Americans, but also those homeless he just swore he is now going after, starting with California.

That kind of thinking is right up his alley. Greenland would be Guantanamo on steroids. And because Guantanamo, once implemented, has turned out to be practically impossible to get rid of, even for a President, it would appeal to Trump for that very reason. His legacy would be assured as long as Republicans had a say in it.

OK. I’m scaring myself now!

[H2O Man]

40. Right.

I think Trump has his eyes on Greenland, because as the ice melts, there will be a massive amount of mineral wealth available. The 1% needs that to remain comfortable while the rest of us suffer. He gives the native population no more thought than he does the Sioux fighting a pipeline, or the people of Central America facing environmental crisis.

I think the French used to favor placing prisoners on remote islands. An updated version could provide labor to gather the minerals.

[lunatica]

41. If it makes sense, there's a real possibility it's also true.

[coeur_de_lion]

7. We do need triage

Which part of our country would you say needs our attention the most, once we get it back?

[H2O Man]

27. Other than my lawn,

I'd say we should be focusing on telling our elected representatives to impeach Trump. Just my opinion.

[SergeStorms]

8. I share the malady of old age.

I'm lucky enough to have very good insurance and a General Practitioner who I trust (quite literally) with my life. That said, I'm ready, willing and able to help in ridding our poor Uncle Sam of the horrible infection he now suffers. If left untreated it will certainly end his life. What we need to do is convince our good friend, Ms. Pelosi, that this infection is of grave concern, and that it cannot wait until November 2020 to cure.

The deadly carbuncle on the ass of America, orange pus and all, must be treated NOW if we're to save our poor Uncle's life.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Water Man, and you can count on my support!

[H2O Man]

29. Well said!

Thank you. I think that people need to remember that the Speaker of the House works for all of us, even if we do not live in her district. We can all send a post card to her office, saying that we favor impeachment now. And promising to be active at the grassroots level in support of impeachment and then conviction in the Senate.

I like your focus on "now." My late friend Rubin Carter often reminded me that is always "now," and that as such, it was the right time to do right. To never believe doing right could be put off for some future time.

[SergeStorms]

33. You knew "The Hurricane"?

You're lucky to have known him. Were you acquainted with him in Toronto or the U.S.? Talk about a guy who got a raw deal, he got one of the rawest deals of all time. I can see how Rubin would measure his life as "now". His circumstances demanded it. As old age creeps up on me I find "now" has taken on a whole new meaning as well. Take care.

[H2O Man]

34. Yep.

I wrote to him at Rahway when I was a young amateur boxer. I'd been featured in Boxing Illustrated when I was but 13. Wrote and said I believed he was innocent, and that I planned to get him out. And mentioned I'd love for him to then manage me in professional boxing. Ha!

This was well before the Canadians .....before Bob Dyland and Muhammad Ali (who helped Rubin more than anyone except the lawyers). We were close friends for over 40 years. Just an amazing human being.

[SergeStorms]

46. That's a great memory to carry along with you.

I hope you have grandchildren so you can relate that to them. If we're very lucky we may have one interaction like that in our lifetimes.

[H2O Man]

47. Thank you, SergeStorms!

All four of my children got to know Rubin. When they were little, they thought he was their uncle, and in a way, he was. I've kept every letter, and have thick files of legal documents from my contributions to his legal defense, etc. When we would go watch him speak at universities, he would always introduce us. This led to my having him contribute a chapter to a book on forgiveness one university professor was writing, and I was going to accompany him on the tour for his second book, "Eye of the Hurricane," until his injury in an auto accident ended that.

[SergeStorms]

48. Even better that your children got to know him!

Now they can relate their experiences to their children someday. Sometimes grandchildren take what grandparents tell them with just a touch of "yeah, right grandpa". Parent's advice and stories usually hold more gravitas than our own. We're put here on earth to spoil them rotten, then send them home to let their parents deal with that.

[Karadeniz]

10. I haven't mentioned this before, because it's gross, but when I see Trump, what comes to mind is

An abscess! Not kidding...but you opened the infection door! He's as disgusting as a pus pocket..sorry. Won't belabor the point!

[H2O Man]

36. I think that

he is an abcess. I like that. LBJ used to say of some republicans, "he ain't a pimple on a good man's ass." So I think it makes sense to identify Trump as an abcess on democracy's behind.

For full disclosure: I was listening to "I am the Walrus" when I sat down to write the OP. The line about "yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog's eye" influenced me.

[Kid Berwyn]

18. Motivation

[H2O Man]

37. Thank you!

I love it!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

24. I fear gangrene has set in and we must excise an entire part(y)

It will not be easy, but is necessary for the survival of the patient.

[H2O Man]

38. A quarantine of republicans.

I'd suggest placing them in the cages on the southern border.

[Backseat Driver]

31. WOW, just wow!

A primer on how to treat political pathology.

[H2O Man]

39. Thank you!

I don't think those who are pro-impeachment can be called hypochondriacs in need of an increased Rx for placebos after the Ukraine bit surfaced.

[Backseat Driver]

45. Really trying to have patience with

naturopathic and/or functional approaches to diagnosis and treatments under an assumption that here at DU we're all dealing with being in toxic immune compromise with inflammation. Maybe the flexibility that comes with meditation and yoga and not Xanax nor planking? LOL! Even "turmeric" needs the "black pepper" for better absorbability, but still loving your analogy!!! It's spot on!

Sadly, I've had "experience" dealing with both the real and analogous situations.

[brooklynite]

49. Interesting thread but "triage" doesn't apply...

(nb - I've had first responded training)

"Triage' is the process of prioritizing care to those most in need where it can do the most good. In the political context, it would best be applied to supporting those candidates who CAN win and NEED help, not people who have all the support they need (say, Joe Biden) and not people for whom there's no chance (say, Steve Bullock).