Welcome to another weekend where we explain the answers to the medical trivias. This week, from March 3–7, 2025, we’re diving into five new medical scenarios that challenge our understanding of symptoms and conditions. Each day’s question comes with a detailed answer, the reasoning behind the correct choice, and explanations for why the other options don’t fit.
Lets dig in.
Monday, March 3, 2025: A Suspicious Rash After Camping
Question: A young boy returns from a camping trip with a red, circular rash that looks like a bull’s-eye. He also has fever and joint pain. What disease could he have?
Options:
A) Poison ivy reaction
B) Skin allergy
C) Chickenpox
D) Lyme disease
Correct Answer: D) Lyme disease
Reasoning: Lyme disease, caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted through tick bites, often presents with a hallmark “bull’s-eye” rash called erythema migrans.
This rash typically appears at the site of the bite and can be accompanied by systemic symptoms like fever, fatigue, and joint pain, especially in the early stages. The boy’s recent camping trip increases the likelihood of tick exposure, making Lyme disease the most fitting diagnosis. If untreated, it can lead to more severe complications, so early antibiotic treatment is crucial.
Why the Other Options Don’t Fit:
A) Poison ivy reaction: Poison ivy causes an itchy, streaky rash with blisters, not a bull’s-eye pattern, and doesn’t typically cause fever or joint pain.
B) Skin allergy: Allergic reactions (e.g., contact dermatitis) cause red, itchy rashes but not a distinct bull’s-eye shape, and systemic symptoms like fever and joint pain are rare.
C) Chickenpox: Chickenpox presents with a widespread rash of red spots that turn into itchy blisters, often starting on the trunk, not a single bull’s-eye rash, and joint pain isn’t a hallmark symptom.
Tuesday, March 4, 2025: Sudden Episodes of Intense Fear
Question: A college student has episodes where she suddenly feels intense fear, her heart races, and she feels like she’s losing control or going to die. The episodes last a few minutes and happen randomly. What condition does she likely have?
Options:
A) Generalized anxiety disorder
B) Panic disorder
C) Heart attack
D) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Correct Answer: B) Panic disorder
Reasoning: Panic disorder is characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks—sudden episodes of intense fear or dread accompanied by physical symptoms like a racing heart, shortness of breath, and a sense of impending doom or loss of control.
These attacks typically last a few minutes and can occur randomly, as described. The student’s age (college-aged) and the episodic, acute nature of the symptoms strongly suggest panic disorder, a common mental health condition in young adults that can be managed with therapy and medication.
Why the Other Options Don’t Fit:
A) Generalized anxiety disorder: GAD involves chronic, excessive worry about various aspects of life, not sudden, acute episodes of intense fear with physical symptoms like racing heart and feeling of dying.
C) Heart attack: Heart attacks in a young, healthy college student are rare and usually involve chest pain, arm pain, or sweating—not primarily fear and a sense of losing control.
D) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): PTSD involves flashbacks, nightmares, or triggers linked to a past trauma, not random, acute episodes of fear without a specific cause.
Wednesday, March 5, 2025: Ear Pain After a Cold
Question: A child wakes up at night crying with severe ear pain. He recently had a cold, and now he has trouble hearing and a mild fever. What is the most likely cause?
Options:
A) Earwax buildup
B) Ear infection
C) Sinus infection
D) Teething pain
Correct Answer: B) Ear infection
Reasoning: An ear infection, specifically acute otitis media, is a common complication in children following a cold. The cold can cause inflammation and fluid buildup in the Eustachian tube, leading to bacterial growth, ear pain, hearing difficulty, and fever.
The child’s recent cold, combined with severe ear pain and mild fever, points directly to an ear infection, which often requires medical evaluation and possibly antibiotics.
Why the Other Options Don’t Fit:
A) Earwax buildup: Earwax can cause discomfort or hearing issues, but it doesn’t typically cause severe pain, fever, or follow a cold.
C) Sinus infection: Sinus infections cause facial pain, nasal congestion, and fever, but ear pain and hearing loss are not primary symptoms unless the infection spreads, which is less common.
D) Teething pain: Teething can cause gum pain and fussiness in infants, but it doesn’t typically cause severe ear pain, hearing issues, or fever following a cold.
Thursday, March 6, 2025: Managing a Bleeding Cut
Question: A man accidentally cuts his hand while cooking. The bleeding is continuous and bright red. What should he do first?
Options:
A) Wash the wound with soap and water
B) Put ice on the wound
C) Apply firm pressure with a clean cloth
D) Keep the hand elevated and wait for the bleeding to stop
Correct Answer: C) Apply firm pressure with a clean cloth
Reasoning: The first step in managing a bleeding wound, especially one with continuous, bright red blood (indicating arterial or significant venous bleeding), is to control the bleeding by applying firm pressure with a clean cloth. This helps slow blood loss, promotes clotting, and stabilizes the situation while further steps (like cleaning or seeking help) are planned.
Immediate pressure is critical to prevent excessive blood loss, especially if the cut is deep.
Why the Other Options Don’t Fit:
A) Wash the wound with soap and water: Cleaning the wound is important to prevent infection, but it’s not the first step when bleeding is continuous—stopping the bleed takes priority.
B) Put ice on the wound: Ice can reduce swelling or slow bleeding slightly, but it’s not the primary action for active, continuous bleeding; pressure is more effective.
D) Keep the hand elevated and wait for the bleeding to stop: Elevation helps reduce blood flow, but waiting without applying pressure risks significant blood loss, especially with continuous bleeding.
Friday, March 7, 2025: A Child’s Rash and Fever
Question: A child develops a high fever, cough, runny nose, and red spots inside the mouth. A few days later, a red rash spreads from the face down to the body. What disease does he likely have?
Options:
A) Chickenpox
B) Measles
C) Allergic reaction
D) Scarlet fever
Correct Answer: B) Measles
Reasoning: Measles, caused by the measles virus, typically starts with a high fever, cough, runny nose, and conjunctivitis (the “three Cs”), followed by Koplik spots (red spots with white centers inside the mouth). A few days later, a characteristic red, maculopapular rash appears, spreading from the face downward to the body.
This progression matches the child’s symptoms exactly, and measles, though rare due to vaccination, remains a serious contagious disease requiring isolation and supportive care.
Why the Other Options Don’t Fit:
A) Chickenpox: Chickenpox (varicella) causes a rash with itchy blisters, not Koplik spots, and the rash doesn’t typically follow the face-to-body spread pattern of measles; it’s more scattered and blister-like.
C) Allergic reaction: Allergies can cause rashes, but not high fever, cough, runny nose, or Koplik spots, and the rash spread pattern isn’t typical of allergies.
D) Scarlet fever: Scarlet fever, caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, presents with a sandpaper-like rash, sore throat, and strawberry tongue, but not Koplik spots or the measles-specific rash progression.
Final Thoughts
From tick bites to panic attacks, ear infections, bleeding cuts, and measles, this week’s medical trivias remind us how diverse and urgent health concerns can be. Recognizing symptoms and acting quickly—like applying pressure to a bleeding wound or seeking care for a suspicious rash—can make all the difference.
See you all next week for another round of informative medical trivias.
Stay frosty!