Author Archives: Guy Melrose

Urgent Bite 322 – ADHD medications and eye conditions

There are important ocular side effects related to medications used to treat ADHD.

Urgent Bite 321 – Hand Foot and Mouth Disease and considering the Rule Bias

Hand foot and mouth disease is a common viral illness that almost always affects children under 5.

But, as the world’s number one golfer shows, healthy adults can contract it, so do not discount it as a possible diagnosis, if the story fits.

Urgent Bite 320 – Smith’s Fracture and reflections on opinions

Smith’s fracture of the wrist is the opposite of a Colles fracture and is an important fracture to identify in urgent care.

Urgent Bite 319 – Opioid Side Effects

We commonly see opioid side effects. But there are some we may not have been aware of that we should keep in mind in patients who have been taking opioids for more than a month.

Urgent Bite 318 – Topical Steroids via Urgent Care

Steroids are commonly prescribed through urgent care, but we must be mindful about adding to innapropriate use and inadvertent misuse by patients.

Patients must be clear about how much to apply, and how often it must be used. They need to be aware of the potency of each preparation. Changes to labelling in 2028 in NZ will help to show how strong each cream is.

Urgent Bite 317 – Splenomegaly

The spleen, once thought to be the seat of anger, can indicate many different underlying diagnoses and palpating it in urgent care is important.

Urgent Bite 316 – Sinusitis antibiotic choice

A recent large study in JAMA showed amoxicillin is as effective as augmentin for treating sinusitis. Which tallies with our national antibiotic guideline advice. It is important to recognise, sinusitis does not usually require antibiotic therapy.