Personal Science Week - 230803
Blood iron updates, survival books, back pain, and more
Personal Scientists know that the numbers you read in books are never as useful as numbers you measure for yourself, so we’re always on the lookout for new ways to test ourselves.
This week we follow up on a blood test, and point to a series of survivalist books that are useful to DIY scientists too.
Back to normal
In PS Week 230427 we went over my plummeting ferritin numbers, which I traced to my overly frequent blood donations. After a month of iron supplementation, I’m happy to report that my latest SiPhox test shows my levels are back to the normal range.
The at-home SiPhox blood test is pretty convenient, but is there an even less invasive way to track my blood iron?
Test your hemoglobin
Hemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Iron is a key component of hemoglobin. Ferritin, on the other hand, is a protein that stores iron, releasing it when the body needs it. Ferritin levels in the blood are the best measure of the body's iron stores.
AnemoCheck for iPhone (and Android) is a new (free, with in-app purchase) app from biotech startup Sanguina that claims to test your hemoglobin levels with a simple photo of your fingernails. I was able to download and use the app in a minute or two and thanks to the Apple ID login, I didn’t even need to register. (The app appears to go out of its way to make personal data optional).
Aim your camera at your fingers (upside down doesn’t seem to matter) and within seconds you get the results.
The normal ranges for hemoglobin go from a low of 13.5 g/dL (for men, for women it’s 12.0) to 17.5 g/dL (men or 15.5 g/dL for women). My hemoglobin level of 13.8 g/dL falls within the normal range and roughly corresponds to my previous LabCorp results. Thankfully my ferritin levels have returned to normal after a month’s worth of iron supplements, but it’s nice to have this app as another form of basic reassurance.
The app claims more accurate values if you subscribe to the $6/month Premium version that lets you calibrate with a traditional blood test.
Free Books for Science Survival
Personal Scientists share the independent spirit of survivalists and preppers, though we tend to emphasize curiosity and open-mindedness over paranoia. If you keep your skeptical and critical reading skills firmly intact, you’ll find a rich lore of excellent how-to guides that are useful for science as well.
Defiel.com publishes more than 255 Survival Books for free download, including links to Survival and Austere Medicine that includes a chapter for how to set up your own laboratory for DIY urinalysis, blood cell counts, and more.
Hesperian.org publishes Where There Is No Doctor, a 500-page guide to handling nearly all kinds of medical situations, from dosages for important medications to how to deliver a breech baby.
Speaking of antibiotics, most prepper sites include instructions for over-the-counter alternatives to prescriptions.
We covered the best site for Science-based book reviews back in PS Week 7-Jun-22.
Updates
If you liked our discussion of time-tracking in PS Week 230720, you may want to check
Mind Window App. It prompts you daily with a pre-specified number of random words intended to identify patterns of thinking by asking questions about user’s thoughts at random moments throughout their day-to-day life.
We received many comments about our COVID discussion in PS Week 230727 including from Salvatore Mattera at Curious, who posted a lengthy case for why Long COVID is more serious than we think.
About Personal Science
Listen to experts, but be skeptical. That’s the idea behind Personal Science, where we use the techniques of science to understand and solve personal questions. Paid subscribers can access our series on Unpopular Science, including a new review of a book about 20th century intellectuals who were dreadfully wrong about current events.
As always, if you have topics you’d like us to cover, please let us know.