Thursday, January 17, 2013

link up: your most interesting medical fact!


today's topic: what's the most interesting medical fact you've learned vicariously?

{scroll down to link up!}


subtitle: Why I'm glad i'm a crazy dog lady. 





You know how they tell pregnant people not to handle cat litter? If you haven't been pregnant, you probably don't know this, as no pregnant person ever walks around saying, "man I could really go for some sushi and the permission to change my cat's litter box."

(side note: no I have never been pregnant, I just know this because Y is an endless fountain of trivia.)

The reason you're not supposed to handle cat litter while pregnant is because pregnant women, with their weakened, sushi-less immune system, are more susceptible to a disease found in cat feces called toxoplasmosis, which can be passed on to the fetus and result in stillbirth.

Now for the actual interesting part: there is some evidence that there is an increased rate of schizophrenia in people who have had toxoplasmosis. So if many people get toxoplasmosis from cats, and many people with toxoplasmosis end up with schizophrenia, a simple application of the transitive property tells us many people with cats could end up considered "crazy", meaning CRAZY CAT LADIES ARE A REAL PHENOMENON. [I'm going to reference my medical journal of choice, Wikipedia, here]

Just another reason I'm thankful I've touched maybe 2 cats in my life. 

Your turn!




Linking up with Medicine: A Love Story

6 comments:

  1. I linked up! Am I doing it right? Do I post my blog here? LOL. I'm technologically clueless. http://www.happyyonder.com/2013/01/of-all-things-that-could-happen.html

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    1. haha! I'll add it for you. There should be a little form within the post where you can put your URL and blog name!

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  2. Haha, the most interesting medical fact I've retained also has to do with pregnancy: did you know that (some? all? fuzzy on the details) tuberculosis medications can render birth control ineffective? At some point Peter learned that in medical school, and it stuck with me - I think probably because at that point I was super paranoid about getting accidentally pregnant, as I really didn't want to have medical school tuition and a baby.

    At least your fact has a little more real-world application. And as unlikely as it is that I will ever go near a litter box, I think my chances of getting TB are probably less...

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    1. haha - you're definitely much more mature than I am, because only the gross/weird stuff sticks in my mind. You actually learned an important fact!

      I'm constantly convinced some kind of crazy disease is going to make its way into our house, so I'm more worried about TB than one probably should be...

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  3. Chalk it up for another win for us dog people! Who knew cat poop could drive people crazy? Can't wait to share this one over beers this weekend--thanks! :)

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    1. Ike and J would NEVER make us crazy. Right?!

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