Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Intermission

Possible knee injury?

Intermission — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 21:55:15 +0800

I recently got injured while hiking a hill. I descended the steep, dry, rocky slope too quickly, tumbling/rolling down a few meters after not being able to control my speed. I hiked another 1km or so down hill with the help of my brother who took me to the hospital immediately after the incident. The wound was a 1 cm-ish deep, 4-5 cm wide cut on my left knee, basically in the region of the knee cap (if it is helpful, I believe it is just before the little bony bump on your knee). While awaiting treatment at the local government hospital(at Jerantut, Pahang) I was able to bend and extend my knee completely with only the pain from the wound, and according to the doctor there was no sign of fracture or broken bones from the X-ray though I have not personally seen the film. There was no mention any other injury on my knee other than the wound by the doctor from the hospital at Pahang. A day later when I see another orthopedic physician from a private hospital in Selangor, he did not tell me anything new. The only thing he did was cover the stitched area with a dressing and told me to replace it regularly.

My wound on the knee was given 5 stitches around 2 hours after the incident, and later that day it swelled slightly with the swelled region feeling somewhat warm. I didn't experience any kind of extreme pain throughout the incident whether it is before, during or after the wound is treated. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll give 5-6 before it was treated (including the moment immediately after the fall), 2-4 while bending my knee after the anesthesia wore off on that day and 0-1 (mostly 0) while resting my leg(extended fully) and 0-2 (mostly 0) while resting my leg(slightly bend). The wound was itchy from time to time, but not nearly as itchy as a mosquito bite.

I remain at rest mostly throughout the first day, moving a few times only when necessary with the support from my brother as I experience slight pain(4/10) while using my left knee for support(both moving and standing), I took the prescribed antibiotics and 2 painkillers, one during the afternoon and one at night (doctor prescribed 3 per day). The next day, I am able to walk without support from others but I still take 2 more painkillers. The swell is gone(after observing for hours with my untrained eye) during this day.

Now 2 days later, I fell no pain at all almost all the time while walking with a limp, and I can stand for quite a long time, maybe indefinitely, without pain too. And I can bend my knee slightly while walking. But a few things bothered me:

- Immediately after the fall, I recall seeing a very faint white emulsion thingy in the wound which contain the blood.
- Although I experience no pain at all, I cannot use my knee completely normally either, for instance:
i) I cannot bend my knee as much as you do when you walk normally, not without (slight) pain.
ii) I can only bend my knee by a large margin painlessly in the absence of a downward pressure (like when you sit) provided I do it rather slowly.
iii) I can sort of use both knees climbing upstairs, but only use my left knee as support while my right knee(unscathed) does all the work while going downstairs.
iv) I am not sure whether it is just me being reluctant to use my left knee, but I felt that my left knee is rather weak despite not having any other injuries on my left leg!
v) A little blood oozes out from my stitches from time to time throughout this 2 days, but it seemed to have stopped now, at time of writing.

Other, quite possibly irrelevant wounds include skin wounds all over my both arms, my back, my shoulders and my right hip. Miraculously, no broken/fractured bones at all. Other than the above mentioned painkillers and antibiotics, I was given a bottle yellow antiseptic liquid and some pills for gastric pain just in case of some side effects from the painkiller, which I have yet to experience any. I have stopped taking the painkillers today.

Now, I am not too concerned about the wound as I am assured that recovery is a sure thing, but I wonder if my knee is a potential victim of any sort of undiagnosed wear or tear? Will it recover completely in 3 weeks time, as in ready for rigorous physical activity such as distance running? Thanks for reading this rather long narrative, was trying to provide as much detail as possible.

Photocopies of certified true copies

Intermission — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:49:21 +0800

I have to submit certified true copies of my co curricula activities cert by next week. However, I only have one certified true copy for each cert. My question is, can I photocopy my certified true copy certs (which already has the principal's stamp on it) and submit them in place of my "original" certified true copies? Is this practice allowed? I have already emailed the person I am supposed to submit my documents to but I have not receive a reply yet.

Math problem: geometry

Intermission — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 20:28:46 +0800

Here's a question that I could not comprehend.

If E and F are different points in a plane, the the set of all points in this plane the sum of whose distance from E and F is constant is.......(apparently it is an ellipse.)

What is it talking about?

Where to print PDF in bulk?

Intermission — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 16:50:25 +0800

Does anyone know where can I print out PDF documents in bulk in Damansara Jaya/Petaling Jaya area? I have a few ebooks in PDF form and I prefer to read them on paper as facing the computer too long will tire my eyes.

There are a few thousand pages though, so printing all of them myself is not feasible.

Scientific journals suitable for college students.

Intermission — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 21:29:25 +0800

Hi to all professors and doctors out there,

I am a SPM 2013 candidate. After SPM, I intend to continue with A levels and subscribe to one of the scientific journals, Nature or Science for personal improvement. In your opinion, which of the 2 is more suitable for the college students like me?

From what I could gather, their publications don't overlap with each other and that most people say that both are equally good and important. I also heard that one of them(can't really remember which, maybe Science) is leaned towards biological sciences. My interests are mainly Physics, mathematics and chemistry and that I am interested in engineering, so which is better for me?

I apologize in advance if this is the wrong place to post this question.

Issues about giving private tuition

Intermission — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:37:02 +0800

I am a SPM 2012 candidate. After my SPM, I intend to give private tuition for Form 4 students during the weekend whilst doing my A levels next year. I am good in Physics, never scoring less than 90/100 for all my examinations in school throughout Form 4 & Form 5 and I believe I have a sound understanding of the subject matter AND the necessary techniques to score in SPM. I am also aware that I would face numerous challenges as a newcomer in the private tuition industry, so what are things I should be aware beforehand?