July 10, 2020

Ice Cream to the Rescue


Ice Cream to the Rescue
Ice cream is usually avoided at doctors' offices. Image by RitaE via Pixabay

Usually, doctors may tell patients to avoid eating ice cream for health reasons. Recently, however, one Russian doctor used his patient’s ice cream preferences as a clue to reach a tricky diagnosis. The head physician of the Moscow’s hospital No. 71 and TV presenter Alexander Myasnikov discussed how he identified an illness with the help of ice cream.

Myasnikov said that a patient who underwent heart surgery came to see him at the hospital. The patient also had diabetes and thyroid problems. Among his symptoms, the patient also complained that he could not swallow cold food, such as ice cream. Myasnikov suggested that the patient be examined for cancer and sent him to oncology for an examination. A blood test showed that the patient had a low hemoglobin level.

“That is, we discovered anemia, which only confirmed our thoughts about cancer,” said Myasnikov. The oncology department conducted other examinations, including gastroscopy, colonoscopy, tomography, and internal organ tests, but no cancer was detected.

Then Myasnikov recalled the patient’s complaint about eating ice cream, which led to a break in the case.

Myasnikov recalled a very specific disease, cold agglutinin disease: “When the temperature decreases, the body begins to produce antibodies to red blood cells, which destroy them, leading to anemia,” the doctor explained. Myasnikov asked a round of follow-up questions and discovered the patient’s cheeks become incredibly red in the cold, as if he were an alcoholic. This confirmed Myasnikov’s diagnosis, after which the patient was prescribed a drug to help treat the antibodies, and was also told to avoid the cold as much as possible. Were it not for the ice cream clue, this patient would still be waiting for a diagnosis!

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955