What is in our Vitamins? Featuring Avenleigh (5 yo)
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Avenleigh wants to know what is in our vitamins and why do we take them, so she asks the pharmacist!
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Episode 117 - Voice Troubles
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Laryngitis, known as inflammation of the larynx, is the most common cause of hoarseness and voice loss. It is very common in viral infections, such as a cold, flu, or adenovirus. Acute laryngitis is caused by an illness, while chronic laryngitis may be a secondary symptom of another problem.
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Episode 116 - Voice
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Notes coming soon!
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Episode 115 - Gag Reflex
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
The gag reflex, as well as other pharyngeal reflexes, protect you from choking and ingesting improper things. If it does not follow the proper swallowing procedure, rarely does it get permission to enter.
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Episode 114 - Bad Breath
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Halitosis, aka bad breath, can have many causes. Some bad breath you can prevent with the choices you make, but some bad breath can be a sign of a more serious issue or disease.
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Episode 113 - Dysphagia
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
While dysphagia can be very uncomfortable and lead to some unwanted side effects, the biggest concern is with the risk of aspiration, or breathing food or drink into the lungs, that leads to pneumonia.
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Episode 112 - Swallowing
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
You never think to swallow until you start talking about swallowing. The voluntary swallowing process must be initiated before the involuntary swallowing reflexes take over. This includes when you go to the dentist and while you are sleeping!
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Episode 111 - Tonsillectomy
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
The what, why, and how of a tonsillectomy. While a tonsillectomy is a frequent surgery for kids and adults, it is still surgery and requires preparation and care before during and after.
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Episode 110 - Tonsils
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Your tonsils are in the back of your throat. You can see them, you can feel them. They help protect you but can be a big pain while they do it.
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Episode 109 - Metallic Taste
The Pharmacist Answers Podcast
Over 250 medications can causes changes in taste. A metallic taste is the most common. Some are secreted in the saliva, others disrupt receptors or signals.
info_outlineEar Basics
The auricle is the part of the ears you can see. It is made of cartilage (flexible tissue that doesn't have a large blood supply). Everything else requires a tool for the doctor to see inside. And the doctor can only see to the ear drum. The stuff behind the ear drum isn't visible because of the membrane that blocks it. The middle and inner ear are surrounded by your head bones.
Science of Sound
Sound is created when the air around us is compressed and then expands. They move away from the source in circles (think radar or sonar or throwing a pebble in a pond).
The ear canal directs the sound waves towards the ear drum.
Sound gets translated in 2 main ways
- Identify the sound
- Identify if the sound has meaning
Inside Your Ears
The ear drum (tympanic membrane) vibrates according to the intensity of the sound and trigger the Hammer-Anvil-Stirrup cascade.
- The ear drum vibrates the handle of the Hammer (Malus bone - yes, it's a real bone).
- The Hammer bangs on the Anvil (Incus bone).
- The Anvil has a tail that is connected to the Stirrup (Stapes bone).
- The Stirrup looks like the spurs on the back of boots. It is connected to a membrane on the Cochlea and works like a plunger.
All of these bones are surrounded by air and the pressure is controlled by the Eustachian tube. This is the access point for ear infections or congestion due to allergies or a cold.
The Cochlea is a bone full of fluid and lined with hairs and shaped like a spiraled sea shell. The hairs pick up different frequencies of sound (sound wave frequency determines pitch). If certain levels of hairs get damaged, then you will not be able to hear pitches in that range anymore. If you unrolled the cochlea, it would be laid out low pitch to high pitch like a piano. And these hairs are connected to the auditory nerves and turn sound signals into electrical signal to send it to your brain.
Semicircular canals of the cochlea are little bone chambers full of fluid and they control balance. This works like a leveling bubble to help you stay upright. If it becomes dysfunctional, then it may trigger vertigo.
The middle ear (the area behind the ear drum) is where most of the trouble happens - whether allergies causing stopped up ears, or colds leading to ear infections.
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Music Credits: “Radio Martini” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/