RustedFox Rants: "BC Powder"

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RustedFox

RustedFox

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Okay, I can be completely wrong here - and maybe this is a regional thing...

... but what the hell is it that makes people think that they should take "BC Powder" for any ailment under the sun?

Full disclosure: I had never heard of "BC Powder" before I moved down here to Florida. I actually had to look up what the hell it was (aspirin/caffeine). But the folks down here in the sunshine state act like its a panacea.

Ailments that muggles regularly report using "BC Powder" for to me include:

Upset stomach/indigestion
Headache (this gets a pass)
Hives
Fever and rash
ASYMPTOMATIC HYPERTENSION (of all things!)
Diabetic foot infections
Conjunctivitis

... and on, and on.

Here's the best part: NOT A SINGLE MUGGLE has been able to tell me just what exactly is IN this "BC Powder"!
Thus, their logic is reduced to: "I didn't feel good, so I took medicines." Oh, what type of medicine ? - "Medicine Medicines".
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RustedFox said:
Okay, I can be completely wrong here - and maybe this is a regional thing...

... but what the hell is it that makes people think that they should take "BC Powder" for any ailment under the sun?

Full disclosure: I had never heard of "BC Powder" before I moved down here to Florida. I actually had to look up what the hell it was (aspirin/caffeine). But the folks down here in the sunshine state act like its a panacea.

Ailments that muggles regularly report using "BC Powder" for to me include:

Upset stomach/indigestion
Headache (this gets a pass)
Hives
Fever and rash
ASYMPTOMATIC HYPERTENSION (of all things!)
Diabetic foot infections
Conjunctivitis

... and on, and on.

Here's the best part: NOT A SINGLE MUGGLE has been able to tell me just what exactly is IN this "BC Powder"!
Thus, their logic is reduced to: "I didn't feel good, so I took medicines." Oh, what type of medicine ? - "Medicine Medicines".
Click to expand...

We have it up in the northeast. It has an asinine amount of aspirin (845 mg per dose per source below, recommended as Q6 prn). One time had a patient who said they took several doses over consecutive days for headache and had a GI bleed. I’ve had a few others come in for various symptoms of gastritis in the setting of taking this stuff. Some people up here swear by it though.

www.bcpowder.com

BC® Original Powder

While painful, headaches rarely indicate an underlying serious illness. Get fast relief from frequent headaches that can interfere with daily life!
www.bcpowder.com www.bcpowder.com
 
I’ve admitted many a UGIB that has been taking goody powder for “a minute.” Also aspirin toxicity.
 
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RustedFox said:
Okay, I can be completely wrong here - and maybe this is a regional thing...

... but what the hell is it that makes people think that they should take "BC Powder" for any ailment under the sun?

Full disclosure: I had never heard of "BC Powder" before I moved down here to Florida. I actually had to look up what the hell it was (aspirin/caffeine). But the folks down here in the sunshine state act like its a panacea.

Ailments that muggles regularly report using "BC Powder" for to me include:

Upset stomach/indigestion
Headache (this gets a pass)
Hives
Fever and rash
ASYMPTOMATIC HYPERTENSION (of all things!)
Diabetic foot infections
Conjunctivitis

... and on, and on.

Here's the best part: NOT A SINGLE MUGGLE has been able to tell me just what exactly is IN this "BC Powder"!
Thus, their logic is reduced to: "I didn't feel good, so I took medicines." Oh, what type of medicine ? - "Medicine Medicines".
Click to expand...

Where do you buy it where you live? Is it marketed as BC Powder at your local supermarket or pharmacy?

Hell. It takes away minor pains and gives you energy. Makes sense that it works for just about any infection, chronic pain, fatigue, zits, ear wax, and excessive farting.

Muggles are idiots
 
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TimesNewRoman said:
I’ve admitted many a UGIB that has been taking goody powder for “a minute.” Also aspirin toxicity.
Click to expand...

When I was in residency in NYC this patient came in with eye pain.

How long have you had it for? I ask.
He said: oh....for a hot minute.
I was not familiar with that term. I said “what do you mean a hot minute? That does not make any sense.”
You know man.....a hot minute!
No sir..I don’t know what you mean. Do you mean 1 hour? Is a hot minute the same as 1 hour? Minutes are not hot.
“Jeez man.” He gives me this weird look. “You don’t know what that means?”

Now I’m beginning to feel like an idiot. He finally said:

“About 3 months.”

What do you mean three months?

“A hot minute means about three months.”

I say....it’s weird it means about three months. I don’t know what your talking about. I’ll be back.”

I leave the room equal parts confused and feeling like an idiot. I had to go look it up in urban dictionary...and even asked another resident. Sure enough it means a very long time!!! I had no clue.
 
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You should give it a pass for half the conditions listed. It is an analgesic and antipyretic. Better than all my patients coming in for pains or fevers having tried nothing at home for it.
 
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Definitely a regional thing. Never heard of it before leaving Texas.
 
Good to see your posting again RustedFox, forum got kinda slow for awhile.
 
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The best BC Powder OD I had was in residency when this lady was flown in from an outside rural ER with almost no history. She was in too much resp distress to give much history on arrival and there was no family nearby. She gets tubed and we start working this lady up who seems to be having ARDS on CXR along with a horrible metabolic acidosis. We start hunting down the usual MUDPILES route and it turns out to be salicylate induced pulmonary edema. I think that's the worst salicylate OD I've seen and the only time I've seen salicylate induced pulmonary edema. It was pretty impressive. Family shows up about the time she's going to the ICU and say she's been gobbling BC Powders for the past 2 weeks. Everyone takes those damn things here in the SE. One of the FM residents at our hospital rotating through our ED was also addicted to them. I don't get it. It's aspirin and a cup of coffee.
 
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Yep, regional. Never once heard of this in 30 years living in the North and never once during my residency. Moved to the South and by the end of my first shift I had heard the phrase, "So I tried some Goody's and it didn't work, so I decided to come in."

Everyone in the ED was like, "Dude. Seriously? You've never heard of Goody Powders or BCs? People eat that stuff like it's candy down here."

Goody Powder is the CBD oil of 15 years ago, which is the "put some bacon on it" of 25 years ago.
 
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I had a paramedic partner before my med school days who took Goody's so much that he developed an ulcer, had several episodes of bleeding, ultimately led to needing a Bilroth, became addicted to tramadol, overdosed one day while on duty and had a grand mal seizure as we were at a roadside tending to someone the deputies stopped (who was high on drugs) claiming to be possessed. When he seized, the guy said the demons left him and went to my partner.

The thought of him driving while high on tramadol scares me. I was in the back of the ambulance a lot because I preferred being back there instead of driving. He could've had a seizure while driving and I would've been killed considering paramedics rarely wear seat belts in the back of the ambulance.

Fun times!
 
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From PA... Moved to NC for residency. Took me a while to figure out: "BCs", "a risin'", "nabs", "DFO'd". They also love to rub alcohol on their bodies down here for anything under the sun.
 
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Apollyon said:
Honorary. American through and through. Even got the passport! Spent 10 years of my life in the South (college Virginia, residency NC, practice SC).
Click to expand...

Born in US or CA?

I recognize the tag under your username.
 
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While we are on the subject of regional dialects, I just want to put a plug in for “falling out”. Very diverse grammatical phrase. Could mean a syncopal episode, falling asleep on the bus, passing out after drugs, two days of memory loss. Great for a unit of time, also an adverb and noun!
 
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scummie said:
While we are on the subject of regional dialects, I just want to put a plug in for “falling out”. Very diverse grammatical phrase. Could mean a syncopal episode, falling asleep on the bus, passing out after drugs, two days of memory loss. Great for a unit of time, also an adverb and noun!
Click to expand...

Are you in Florida?
 
Had one last shift that fell on her knee (week ago) and came in with chunks of Tumeric (sp?) pasted all around her knee covered in a dirty shop rag wrapped tight as hell with cellophane. She had been doing the Goody's as well. Knee was big, hot, red ... I ended up tapping her knee probably from local reaction to the tumeric. I think the only thing she didn't put on it was Windex.
 
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I got “fireballs” in my lady parts

“Fireballs” = Fibroids
 
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Birdstrike said:
I got “fireballs” in my lady parts

“Fireballs” = Fibroids
Click to expand...

Was that the sister of my patient who had inflammation of her psychotic (sciatic) nerve?
 
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Grew up in NC and it's definitely BC/Goodys country. Richard Petty (up there with Jordan as being NC royalty) being the long time spokesman probably plays a little role.


265736


Living in NW Georgia for the last 10 years and people here tend to favor Goody's or Stanback (that name always cracks me up). Believe the ASA content of those are less than BC.

Took me a while to understand when something "draws up" or if someone comes in and they're all "stove up." Incidentally, BC is good stuff for that too.
 
scummie said:
Was that the sister of my patient who had inflammation of her psychotic (sciatic) nerve?
Click to expand...
Cousin to mine with "burning in the Virginia area".
I knew going in I was either going to discharge quickly or call the National Guard.
 
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EsTxDr said:
Cousin to mine with "burning in the Virginia area".
I knew going in I was either going to discharge quickly or call the National Guard.
Click to expand...

Okay I actually laughed out on loud on the bus.
 
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scummie said:
While we are on the subject of regional dialects, I just want to put a plug in for “falling out”. Very diverse grammatical phrase. Could mean a syncopal episode, falling asleep on the bus, passing out after drugs, two days of memory loss. Great for a unit of time, also an adverb and noun!
Click to expand...
One of the first patients I had as paid EMS was in 1993, on the east side of Buffalo (the "D zone", in the parlance - the city is divided into zones, from A-F). It was this really old, black lady with a southern accent. She said she "fell out", and I asked her, "out of what?" And she said, "I FELL OUT". As, to me, "fell out" is transitive, I didn't get it. It was only after a while that I realized/discovered that it was synonymous with "passed out".

Now, fast forward 10 years later, and I'm in residency in NC, and one of the paramedics calls in on the radio, with a pt "that DFO'd". ("Done fell out") And I automatically understood that.
 
I was friends with a brit in medical school. He was an American citizen somehow, but that's not important. On the topic of "falling out", I'll never forget this interaction:

OldBlackLady: "I done fell out."
MSBrit: "I don't understand. WOT did you fall out of? Bed? Pickup truck? HOT AIR BALLOON?"

I [of course] reminded him to "speak English, please."
 
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