artibiotics

medical illustrator exploring health, disease, and care with my art

[cilein]

Development of acne vulgaris - a pathology comic to explain how acne develops from normal (commensal) bacteria that live on our skin. Hormonal shifts like puberty can increase our sebum production and provoke acne. This affects most teenagers to some degree and can affect our mental health. It is not contagious, and it can be treated. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ The skin is more sensitive when acne is present so it is important not to be aggressive in your skincare; harsh and abrasive products and rubbing/picking/squeezing can make it worse. Certain kinds of makeup can block pores and exacerbate a flare of acne too, so you need to find what works best for your own skin. As more severe acne can cause scarring, sometimes medical treatment is recommended. 

More medical art & comics: https://artibiotics.com/  Support new art: https://artibiotics.com/support

[cilein]

“An eye for detail” - a café case mystery... 

Source: https://artibiotics.com/

[cilein]

“How much oxygen do we really need?”

A comic introduction to the concept of ‘swimming between the flags’ which guides how medics give oxygen to critically unwell patients. It’s not about how much oxygen is given, but the concentration in the blood that this results in. Sometimes giving no additional oxygen is the right choice!

More comics: https://artibiotics.com/ Support: https://artibiotics.com/support

[cilein]

Sibling 2/6 embraces lockdown life...

More Artibiotics: https://artibiotics.com/  Tapas Webtoon

Support: https://artibiotics.com/support 

[cilein]

A comic about how New Zealand avoided a flu epidemic this year, likely thanks to COVID-19 precautions like social distancing and travel restrictions.

I am grateful to the MRINZ for embracing my art and research exploring the medium of comics. Would you like to see more research explained in this format?

More of my work: https://artibiotics.com/ Support: https://artibiotics.com/support  

#graphicMedicine #caretoon #caretoons #comic #flu #COVID19

[cilein]

Serves me right for trying to be healthy... I cut my finger in a disinfectant spray bottle which broke in my hand at the gym yesterday. Who else is prone to ridiculous injuries?

[cilein]

I’m chasing a thread that crosses a few fields; I’m not sure where it leads but am enjoying carving out a path and chasing that passion.

[cilein]

Mate Korona tohu mate (COVID-19 symptoms). A te Reo Māori comic for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2020 (Māori Language Week) in Aotearoa (New Zealand). 

Feel free to share with whānau and friends! Tēnā rawa atu koe (thank you very much) Selwyn Te Paa for helping to translate!

[cilein]

How to control a major bleed. A comic I designed for KnifeSavers, a UK based charity training members of the public how to control major bleeding, in response to escalating knife crime in some cities. 

A person can bleed out in minutes - before professional medical help has a chance to arrive. These efforts are hoped to buy victims time by slowing down blood loss and supporting clot formation to plug wounds. 

Do you think learning how to control bleeding is a good life skill?

Learn more about KnifeSavers: https://www.knifesavers.co.uk/ 

My art: https://artibiotics.com/

[cilein]

Even us introverts need some human contact. I’m feeling very glad to have access to the internet and technology during the pandemic. We are social creatures and it’s natural for lockdown and isolation to affect us. Let’s all make an effort to reach out and check in on our loved ones more, and help keep each other well mentally through the tougher times.

Stay safe and take care <3

More comics: https://artibiotics.com/ Support: https://artibiotics.com/support

[cilein]

We may be seeing a lot more masks in public in the coming months (and maybe years) until an effective vaccine for COVID-19 is widely available. I was only familiar with using surgical and N95 masks, so thought it might be interesting to look at what else is out there.⁠⠀

Some research on the protection masks may offer to wearers and those around them, which you might find interesting:

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24229526/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0843-2

My comics and medically illustrated articles live at: https://artibiotics.com/ Support: https://artibiotics.com/support

[cilein]

Submitting a paper to the editorial gods for judgement...

Wish us luck!

[cilein]

A comic answer to ‘why should we stay 2 meters apart when socially distancing?’ 

The World Health Organisation recommends at least 3ft/1m and Centers for Disease Control recommends 6ft/2m; these numbers are based on the falloff distance of heavy droplets which carry similar coronaviruses to COVID-19.

A recent study reported that the cloud expelled in a cough or sneeze can carry such droplets up to 27ft/8m. It has not yet been confirmed if droplets can infect at this range, however.

Following the guidance of at least 2 meters should help us stay away from infective droplets being shed by people who may not even realise they are infected. For those experiencing symptoms, proper isolation is the best protection for those around you!

I hope you are all staying safe and looking out for one another (from a distance!).

Let me know in the comments if there is a question about COVID-19 you'd like me to tackle with a future comic!

Support my art

[cilein]

I am making these comics to explore the science of COVID-19 as it evolves in a friendly format. I hope to make a little more sense of the disease and strategies to beat it. 

If my caretoons help a single person avoid catching or spreading COVID-19, that could mean thousands fewer having to suffer, and a little less strain on the wonderful medics, couriers, police, shopkeepers, and others keeping our countries together at this time.

If you would like to help fuel my art, check out https://artibiotics.com/support. I'm going to release new COVID-19 comics for everyone as I finish them to get these messages out into the world without delay. I will continue to share peeks behind the scenes on their development, abandoned ideas, etc for my Patrons on Patreon.

If you want to share the comic, please credit, don’t edit, and link back to the source to preserve the context and help people find more.

Take care, stay safe, and look after each other. <3

[cilein]

Stay safe out there (at home), flatten the curve and save lives! <3 Thanks to my lovely wife for her input and pushing me to finish this!

More of my illustrated shenanigans:  https://artibiotics.com/

Support: https://artibiotics.com/support

[cilein]

Headaches are a very common problem. Often they are mild, short-lived, and require no treatment, but others can be life-threatening. Knowing about the causes helps guide medics’ questions, examination, and investigations to find the answer.

This is from a series of medical illustrations I’m doing where I take common symptoms and visualise as many important causes as I can. You can read more about it here (and see the others): https://artibiotics.com/blog/causes-of-headache 

If you’d like to support my efforts to make medicine more accessible with art, click here: https://artibiotics.com/support

Have an awesome day! 

[cilein]

An editorial illustration to support a national asthma research project in New Zealand.⁠ The bird is a Kererū, a beautiful flappy wood pigeon, and the bug is a wee Weta.