Posted by Lieutenant Tandra Mika (Chief Medical Officer) in side-sim: This Feels Familiar (TAG Mika)

(snip)

Stehla nodded her understanding. Scans showed there was nothing on her skin that would suggest a cause for the irritation. Basic scan would again show the elevated enzyme level. Results from the lab would be another hour to determine the type. Her weight was down almost 10 pounds from her last exam, her temperature was up 2 degrees from the average of her exams (this could be nothing since Klingons run hotter than humans but she was only half human, and scans of her core muscles showed some loss of density.

Stehla K’tolvog

Mika read the scans. There were no irritations, enzymes elevated and she’d have to wait to see which one or ones. She checked how long ago the previous exam was. “Have you been trying to lose weight recently?” Depending on the age of the previous exam and intent to lose weight, 10 pounds could be a considerable loss, especially with the loss of muscle density as well. She wasn’t too concerned about the temperature but noted it anyway, if it went up, it could indicate infection, or at least immune activity.

~ Lt Mika, CMO

Sharah looked at the test results and then at the actual rash. “I thought maybe it was Terran Shingles or chicken pocks from the way the rash blistered. She’s half human and that makes things tricky. Parinisti Measles causes similar symptoms. Klingon gorch or Rop’ngor. Maybe even Dermatomyositis with those enzyme counts. Could even be radiation poisoning. ” Sharah pulled up K’tolvog’s immunization records. Childhood illnesses that were mild or easily treatable could be worse for children with mixed heritage. Sometimes they were more susceptible to the diseases and sometimes their immune systems were stronger. Sometimes it was neither, the diseases’ symptomology was simply different. It depending on how the genetics played out, but it seemed that Stehla’s parents had made sure she’d been vaccinated for all those things.

OOC: (Parinisti Measles is a medical condition that infects humans. Among the symptoms are fever, nausea and itchy red pustules on the skin.
A gorch is a large and unsightly skin blemish that Klingon adolescents develop, similar to acne in human teenagers.
Rop’ngor is a childhood disease in Klingons that is characterized by a fever, pain in the joints, weakness, and fatigue.)

Fayth, med

Mika read the results one more time and thought about the way the rash looked. “She’s been vaccinated for the childhood diseases, so it’s less likely she’d have caught them. Let’s start by testing for Dermatomyositis, Parinisti Measles, and the chicken pocks virus.” Those were the ones that made the most sense to Mika, known for causing rashes of this type. If it wasn’t those, she’d look for other causes.

~ Lt Mika, CMO

“Chicken pocks and Parinisti Measles require a blood test, but the Dermatomyositis requires a tissue sample.” Sharah called down to the lab and asked them to rerun the blood samples looking for markers for chicken pocks and Parinisti measles, and to give them a white blood cell count as well. Then she used a special hypospray (similar to what was used to draw a blood sample) to take a tissue sample of Stehla’s back from where the rash was. Sharah was glad the woman’s back was numb, but the poor woman’s hair was still falling out in clumps where ever the rash had spread.

It took the lab another hour to run the tests. Results came back negative for Shicken pocks and Parinisti measles. The white blood count was elevated indicating an infection. The tissue came back another half hour later as postivie for Dermatomyositis.

Fayth, med