Strange But True Allergies People Suffer From (Sex, Kissing, Water, etc)

As shown on CBS news here, these things can cause an allergic reaction in the rare unfortunate individual:

1) Water can cause hives in some people (aquagenic urticaria)
2) Sunlight
3) Kissing (a person has recently eaten a food substance that the person being kissed is allergic too)
4) Sex (some women are allergic to seminal fluid)
5) Hops and barley can cause an allergic reaction
6) Low temperatures
7) Cell phones (due to Nickle content)
8) Pressure (too tight a belt, necktie, bra, etc)
9) Chocolate
10) Exercise (cholinergic urticaria)
11) Vibration (dental drill, lawn-mower, jackhammer, etc)
12) Allergy medications (or more precisely, the additives found within allergy medications)

See your local allergist if you suspect you have this!

Mutter Medical Museum of the Odd, Strange, and Bizarre

In the spirit of Halloween that is coming up soon, I thought to share with everyone a FASCINATING museum located in Philadelphia, PA. The museum's full name is "Mütter Museum of College of Physicians of Philadelphia" and contains a fascinating collection of the bizarre aspect of medical sciences. Many of the exhibits are real and not for the faint of heart.

Of course, I should mention that they have a number of exhibits related to ENT... including one of all the foreign bodies removed from the ear, nose, airway, etc.

Even as a physician who was bored with "The Bodies" exhibit, I am STILL fascinated by what I see in this museum.

Go check it out!

Here are a few images, but more can be found on Google Images.

Wierdest Nose in the World!

A reader informed me of this interesting video by National Geographics on an animal called the "Star-Nosed Mole".

There are 22 tentacles that make up the nose and it "smells" as well as "sees" by touch (pretty important given the mole is blind). The nose provides information about its surroundings in 25 milliseconds and it moves at lightspeed! Check out the video!

Pretty amazing!