I went to a CPD session the other day run by Ant Kitchener on the acute abdomen – essentially assessing and maybe diagnosing someone with belly ache, the hardest thing to do, in my opinion, in pre-hospital care. So like any good little ETA/student HCP (I love being able to call myself that now!), I went to read up on what we were taught. And I found this in the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine:
Enid Blyton’s Famous Five characters can generally solve any crime or
diagnostic problem using 1950s methodologies steeped in endless school holidays,
copious midnight feasts (always confection laden), and lashings of
homemade ginger beer.
The one insoluble problem was (and is) abdominal distension. The methods
used by the Famous Five actually contribute to each of its causes: fat, fluid,
faeces, flatus, and fetus. If you think it far-fetched to implicate ginger-beer in
the genesis of fetuses, note that because it was home-made, like the fun, there
was no limit to its intoxicating powers in those long-gone vintage summers.
Enid Blyton did her best to minimize the risks of unwanted pregnancies by
gender reassignment (George) and by making one of her characters a dog
(Timmy)—but accidents must have happened. The point is to remember to ask
‘when was your last period’ whenever confronted by a distended abdomen.
Enid Blyton’s Famous Five characters can generally solve any crime or diagnostic problem using 1950s methodologies steeped in endless school holidays, copious midnight feasts (always confection laden), and lashings of homemade ginger beer.
The one insoluble problem was (and is) abdominal distension. The methods used by the Famous Five actually contribute to each of its causes: fat, fluid, faeces, flatus, and fetus. If you think it far-fetched to implicate ginger-beer in the genesis of fetuses, note that because it was home-made, like the fun, there was no limit to its intoxicating powers in those long-gone vintage summers.
Enid Blyton did her best to minimize the risks of unwanted pregnancies by gender reassignment (George) and by making one of her characters a dog (Timmy)—but accidents must have happened. The point is to remember to ask ‘when was your last period’ whenever confronted by a distended abdomen. (OHCM)
To the point, and exceptionally memorable. Plus made me snort tea up my nose at about three am. Perfect.