Three must-know things about three important things.

Idiopathic
This is a Greek-derived word that means “relating to a disease or medical condition whose cause is unknown”.

  1. It is important to know that medicine, and science, while powerful and wonderful in many ways, does not know everything. Many questions are unanswered. Mysteries remain. Previous beliefs are often found to be incorrect or incomplete.
  2. Doctors and scientists know a lot. But not everything. And this is constantly evolving.
  3. Knowing what we do NOT know, is a powerful route to truth. Ignoring this reality, or pretending otherwise, is the behaviour of liars and cheats.

Impetigo
This is a skin infection caused (mainly) by bacteria called Streptococcus and Staphylococcus.

  1. Impetigo presents as thin pus filled blisters that tend to pop and crust over. There is often some redness, mild itch, and localised swollen glands. This may spread over time if untreated.
  2. Impetigo can become dangerous in small children and anyone with a weakened immune system. Such persons are at risk of septicaemia and other complications.
  3. Impetigo usually responds well to a combination of local disinfection and cleaning, together with antibiotics. Because antibiotic-resistance can develop it is important to complete the full course of treatment.

Informed consent
This terms describes the requirement that patients are both informed and in-agreement with any medical procedure or treatment.

  1. Informed consent is one of the key foundations of healthcare. While experts (doctors, nurses, etc.) may advise and recommend, it is patients who decide. Sometimes, this is not immediately obvious (the style of some doctors can be a bit dictatorial, say), but it should be the core process, always.
  2. This relates to critical issue such as human rights, personal freedom, bodily autonomy and more.
  3. For the most part, the need for a patient to give informed consent before any medical intervention, is an inviolable human right that should never really be compromised. There are debates in certain instances such as where the greater-common-good may be involved (e.g. mass childhood immunisation to eradicate polio) or where certain extreme views may be challenging to accept (e.g. refusal of life-saving blood transfusion). But informed consent nonetheless remains a key consideration in healthcare generally.

Author: Dr Colin Burns, retired medical practitioner and wellness coach