Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
Join Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin McElroy for a tour of all the dumb, bad, gross, weird and wrong ways we've tried to fix people.
Episodes
Sometimes the cities we visit on tour have some historical medical mess-ups, but not Detroit! Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about Forest Dewey Dodrill, who performed the first successful heart surgery (with a pump) in a time where operating on the heart was considered a no-no.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
You may have heard that a new study showed tampons contain traces of metals. Dr. Sydnee and Justin go through the history of tampons, why they might contain metal, and what we still need to find out about the possible effects of using them.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Can you touch your tongue with your nose or wiggle your ears? Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the science and studies behind weird little tricks some bodies can do, or "stupid human tricks."
Can you flare your nostrils? Take our poll: https://shorturl.at/rdzY3
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Sawbones listeners just have so many strange medical questions! Questions like: Why do I sneeze at dark chocolate? Does Diet Coke actually relieve nausea? Why does saliva get thicker while exercising? And you know that TikTok with the cinnamon rolls and the yeast infection. . . is that . . .real?
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
To coincide with the opening of Justin and Sydnee's stage production, we bring to you a classic episode about the medicinal history of chocolate!
This week on Sawbones, Dr. Sydnee and Justin take a sunrise and sprinkle it with dew.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
There are different versions of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory exploits, but all of them involve strange things happening to children who misbehave. But from a biological standpoint, what does that look like? Dr. Sydnee and Justin discuss the strange science going on at Wonka's factory and whether gum could possibly contain enough juice to turn someone into a blueberry.
Note: Willy Wonka is the creation of Roald Dahl, not a good p...
Hot time, summer in the city, time for listener Sawbones questions! Questions like: Why is blood sticky? Why does skin itch when it grows back? Might my twin reject my organs? And should I bring my own speculum to an exam?
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Dr. Sydnee has ruined her TikTok algorithm for the listeners once again and came across something called "Hydrogen Water." Similar to alkaline water, hydrogen water goes through an ionization process that leaves it with excess hydrogen molecules. But . . . is it better than regular water? Probably not.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
In a collaboration of medical fads and brands, Dr. Sydnee and Justin dive into the confusing MLM called Plexus. The company started as a seller of the Breast Chek [sic] Kit but has since branched out into wellness and weight management products that it encourages its Ambassadors to recruit others to sell.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
You may have seen some celebrities or influencers on social media getting something called a Vampire Facial. It's exactly what it sounds like: blood spread on the face like a cream mask. But why would anyone do this unless it's supposed to do something for the skin? Dr. Sydnee and Justin draw out where this trend came from and its questionable benefits.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Squishing someone’s heart and blowing air into them to bring them back to life seems so basic, so why weren’t we able to agree on it for the past few hundred years? This week on Sawbones, Dr. Sydnee gives an overview of the evolution of CPR which, despite what movies and TV would have you believe, isn’t quite an infinite cheat code for avoiding death.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
What if someone was declared dead . . . only for their heart to start beating again? This is a phenomenon sometimes called "Lazarus Syndrome" or "auto resuscitation after failed pulmonary resuscitation". Dr. Sydnee and Justin discuss the outline of exactly what needs to occur, some possible reasons this might happen, and a few wild examples.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Another day, another fad superfood on social media! Sea moss, or carrageenan or Irish moss, has historically been used for ulcers and sore throats, but does it actually have any proven medical use? Well, no, but it’s probably a good vegan substitute for gelatin.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
With so much medical research out there on internet, how can you sort through what's based in science and what's just three people in a room? Dr. Sydnee discusses the all the different factors to think about when deciding how much weight to give any article or study. There's a lot!
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
If you want to Get Good at video games quickly, are there any magic pills you can take? Well, there are people trying to sell them to you. Justin and Dr. Sydnee look at some supplements that claim to give gamers better focus and more energy, none of which are doctor-approved.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Dr. Sydnee and Justin are welcoming in the spring and allergy season with listeners' strangest medical questions! Why do some people get goosebumps when they do alcohol shots? Does baking soda work for bug bites? Do people with facial hair get more sick? And for real, how long can you REALLY actually look at an eclipse before it's unsafe?
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
There are many ways people get sick, but sometimes diseases are carried to people by insects. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the top ten "bad bugs" including mosquitoes, ticks, assassin bugs, and some beetles that are big and bad.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Started in the 1930s by scientist Dr. Miriam Menkin, in vitro fertilization is a medical procedure to help with fertility that took until the 1970s to have results in humans. With some drastic misunderstandings going on in the news, Dr. Sydnee and Justin go through the long history of in vitro fertilization and its importance in fertility and contraception today.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Justin and Dr. Sydnee are joined by parallel-universe versions of themselves, The Glaucomfleckens!
The two doctor-spouse duos talk about Will and Kristen Flanary's journey into podcasting, including serious medical scares, balancing work and kids, and social media.
KNOCK KNOCK HI: https://glaucomflecken.com/podcast/
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
A tongue tie is not just a turn of phrase, it's a medical condition in which the frenulum under your tongue is too thick and restricts your lingual movement. For a long time, a procedure to cut it has been done as a solution to some breastfeeding woes. But should it be? Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the history of this procedure and the medical field's view on it today.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandc...
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