Black...erm...Male Spherical Things
Rog, Alan and some of his other op-buddies have been improving daily. They've taken to strolling the ward corridors for exercise and visiting each other to exchange recovery progress notes and general gossip. After one such jaunt down the hallway, Rog returns with this to report:
"Alan's balls have turned black!" Rog announces.
"???" I say.
"Yeah, this other old guy said that as well. He told me his balls are black in colour. He even asked if I wanted to look at them."
"So did you?" I squeak.
"No bloody way!!" Rog shuddered.
They figured that having the catheters in would have irritated them. And when their catheters were taken out, it must have bruised their erm... male spherical things to the point of blackness.
"But what about yours?? Are they alright?" I'm nearly too scared to ask but just had to know.
"Nah, mine are fine," Rog answers breezily.
Later, Alan comes knocking on the door, pushing his IV drip hurriedly along, together with his wife, daughter and granddaughter in tow.
"I've got news for you," he exclaims excitedly.
Plonking down on a chair, Alan said:
"You know how I told you about down there," waving his arms in the general vicinity between his knees as he speaks.
"Ya...?" we prompt.
"They're burnt! The black bits are now peeling off, and the nurses have even given us cream for them. You'd think they'd warn us about this beforehand."
Turns out those black bits were iodine burns. When they go into surgery, their skin is doused liberally with antiseptic iodine solutions to kill or prevent the growth of bad bugs. Looks like some of the more sensitive parts of the skin reacted to the iodine and caused irritation and minor burns. (Don't worry, it must've been quite minor, otherwise Alan would not have been running around bragging about it)
Definitely extra info needs to be added to the patient information booklet.
"So are you sure your [male spherical things] are fine? No burns?" I venture timidly, even though I'd asked him earlier.
"Oh there was some dark-ish skin peeling, I thought they were dry skin so I just peeled them off."
"???" I say again.
"What?? I had heart surgery, not balls surgery. That's the last thing I'm worried about at the moment!"
"Alan's balls have turned black!" Rog announces.
"???" I say.
"Yeah, this other old guy said that as well. He told me his balls are black in colour. He even asked if I wanted to look at them."
"So did you?" I squeak.
"No bloody way!!" Rog shuddered.
They figured that having the catheters in would have irritated them. And when their catheters were taken out, it must have bruised their erm... male spherical things to the point of blackness.
"But what about yours?? Are they alright?" I'm nearly too scared to ask but just had to know.
"Nah, mine are fine," Rog answers breezily.
Later, Alan comes knocking on the door, pushing his IV drip hurriedly along, together with his wife, daughter and granddaughter in tow.
"I've got news for you," he exclaims excitedly.
Plonking down on a chair, Alan said:
"You know how I told you about down there," waving his arms in the general vicinity between his knees as he speaks.
"Ya...?" we prompt.
"They're burnt! The black bits are now peeling off, and the nurses have even given us cream for them. You'd think they'd warn us about this beforehand."
Turns out those black bits were iodine burns. When they go into surgery, their skin is doused liberally with antiseptic iodine solutions to kill or prevent the growth of bad bugs. Looks like some of the more sensitive parts of the skin reacted to the iodine and caused irritation and minor burns. (Don't worry, it must've been quite minor, otherwise Alan would not have been running around bragging about it)
Definitely extra info needs to be added to the patient information booklet.
"So are you sure your [male spherical things] are fine? No burns?" I venture timidly, even though I'd asked him earlier.
"Oh there was some dark-ish skin peeling, I thought they were dry skin so I just peeled them off."
"???" I say again.
"What?? I had heart surgery, not balls surgery. That's the last thing I'm worried about at the moment!"
posted by groodle at 11/22/2006 09:17:00 AM
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