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Virtually all upper respiratory tract infections get better without any specific treatment. The best you can do is use the methods described above to ease symptoms. The child should see the doctor if he refuses to drink fluids, vomits frequently, complains of intense headache or is pale and sleepy, has difficulty breathing, or has a high fever that does not respond to paracetamol. You should also see your doctor if the child does not show some improvement in 48 hours, or if you are worried.
It is virtually impossible to prevent a child from getting upper respiratory tract infections. There is no value in giving him vitamins in the mistaken belief that this or children. They are given only to those who have a serious chest condition, such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthma requiring steroids, those children who have a depressed immune system, or those who have a chronic medical condition.
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Genetic disorders are defects caused by faulty genes or chromosomes, many of which are hereditary, that is, passed on to the baby via the parents. Approximately 1% of children are born with a significant congenital abnormality. There are certain well recognised conditions in which abnormalities in chromosomes are known to cause specific syndromes or diseases — an example of this is Down syndrome. Inherited disorders are caused by abnormal genes or chromosomes, and are passed on to the child by one or both parents, depending on whether the specific disorder is caused by a dominant or recessive gene. Abnormal genes can also be carried on the sex chromosomes. This is why some conditions only occur in, or are passed on by, one sex. Over 1500 rare diseases are caused by the expression of one faulty dominant gene. For a recessive gene to receive expression it has to be present in both parents.
Environmental factors also play a part in causing changes or mutations to the genetic make-up of a foetus. Many drugs taken during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy can cause congenital abnormalities, as can irradiation. Certain illnesses in the mother at the time of pregnancy, such as diabetes, if not well controlled, are associated with a higher rate of certain genetic defects in the baby.
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”Why am I always the one to start sex, to make the gesture or
the first step? I always do it. He responds most times, but I seem
to be the one who really wants it most. Why can’t he start it
sometimes? Why doesn’t he want me like I want him? Why is
his sex drive so much lower than mine?”
ANSWER: It’s not, because the issue is not sex drive at all. We have to refine this question before I can answer it. We have to find out what “always” means, we have to find out how you both feel beyond the actual sexual gestures, and we have to get more information on the differences between wanting, needing, interest, arousal, excitement, and other aspects of sexuality. Once we get all of that information, you may find that it doesn’t matter who starts it just as long as both of you enjoy it. You also will probably find that the entire sexual-response system changes over time, and your roles will change along with it. Overinterpreting what is happening now neglects the years of changes in sexual interaction that take place in marriage. That’s one of the advantages of marriage over other short-term sexual relationships. There is always time for change. Interpreting sexual motives and feelings is always dangerous. Remember the super sex rule that you will feel as you behave, so patterns of behavior can dictate feelings, and feelings can be changed by behavioral pattern change. Finally, remember that you are starting fresh, are going to be reintroduced to one another sensuously, so who knows what new patterns of invitation and recep-tiveness might develop. There is nothing wrong with either of you, but your system of interacting sexually can change in directions that both of you prefer. Look first at what is happening between you, not what might be going on within each of you. That’s where you can make the real progress that can actually change how you feel.
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RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY - INTRODUCTION
Author: admin
I want to start this section by saying something very blunt. Once you have cancer in any part of your body, there is no way that that part can ever be completely normal again. If you have a cancer of the breast, that breast will never be completely normal again, regardless of what treatment you have. If you have cancer of the lip, your lip will never be completely normal again, regardless of what treatment you have. The same is true for every cancer site.
In my experience, the only people who are happy with reconstructive surgery are those who get answers to these questions beforehand and accept that the final result will not be a normal part. Don’t agree to reconstructive surgery unless your aims are realistic.
If you have your breast reconstructed because you want to be able to get dressed each day without having to fiddle with an external breast prosthesis, you may be very happy with the results of reconstructive surgery. If you have your breast reconstructed because you want to feel and look completely normal, you will certainly be disappointed.
Well, that has covered some of the important things you need to know about surgery—the type of treatment that is usually considered first for cancer. What other treatments may be recommended instead of, or after, surgery? Let’s look at radiation treatment next.
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HYPERTENSION - TREATMENT
Author: admin
The principal reason for treating high blood pressure is to reduce the frequency with which these complications occur.
Neither the doctor nor the patient would argue about the need to reduce blood pressure once the person has suffered some complication, but the need for treatment in patients who have no symptoms is still a matter for debate.
Most doctors now agree that high levels of pressure (those with a diastolic above 110 mm of Hg) should be treated. Those with a diastolic pressure under 90 or 95 do not require treatment, even if the systolic pressure is raised. The big debate is about those with diastolic pressures between 95 and 110 mm of Hg.
Once we decide to treat blood pressure, we have embarked on a life-time process. The pressure should fall with treatment but always rises again once it is stopped.
Unfortunately, most drugs used in treating this condition have side-effects. These may be merely annoying or of considerable importance, particularly those which interfere with male sexual function, to a young man contemplating 30 or 40 years of treatment.
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Parents with a strong family history of allergic disorders or whose older children have suffered from eczema or asthma due to milk, should seek expert advice if the new infant is to be artifically fed.
It is worth remembering that allergies do not develop from breast milk and this is one of the reasons why breast-feeding is to be encouraged.
Allergens tend to cause the production of a particular type of immunoglobulin in the blood. This is usually termed lg Á.
A new type of blood test called the RAST checks these immunoglobulins and determines to what substances the person is allergic. Unfortunately, the tests are not yet as accurate as we would wish and false results are still too common.
Skin sensitivity tests are widely used to determine allergies to pollens and dust and are accurate. However, it is not altogether a good means of testing for food allergies.
Many other tests are being tried but have not yet become acceptable.
For these reasons, the doctor will need to rely on the history of allergy to certain foods that can be supplied by the patient.
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ENDOMETRIOSIS: MENSTRUAL CRAMPS
Author: admin
Complaints of pain from menstrual cramps were once considered a form of hysteria, not quite as counterfeit a condition as demonic possession, but close enough for disbelievers. The word hysteria is derived from the Greek word hystero, which means uterus. At one time, not long ago, it was common practice to ascribe metaphysical qualities to certain organs of the body, such as the heart representing love, the spleen connoting bad temper, and the uterus suggesting emotional problems.
Freud linked hysteria to sexual repression—a concept still revered by some medical doctors who mistakenly ascribe complaints of pain during a normal biological cycle to a woman’s month)y compulsion to deny her femininity and her sexuality. In fact, women in real pain from menstrual cramps may be assailed by far more than a few days of infirmity a month. They may be suffering from endometriosis and their cries for help arc being answered with outdated theories by physicians who do not understand the severity of their pain.
Physicians once pointed to a tight cervix as the probable and primary cause of menstrual cramps. They felt that this tightness obstructed the natural now of blood out of the body. The treatment for a tight cervix—nearly totally out of use today—was a stretching procedure, a so-called dilation of the cervix. A series of surgical rods of increasing diameters were inserted into the uterus through the cervix. This stretching by larger and larger rods was thought to ease the suffering from severe cramps. Unfortunately, when the stretching procedure was halted, the cervix either healed back to its original size or, as a result of the scar tissue created by the treatment, became even tighter? Clearly, cervical stretching was not the answer for relieving or curing menstrual cramps.
Today we are aware that a tightened cervix may be less a structural problem than a chemical one. Cervical tightening as well as menstrual cramps has been traced definitely to hormone levels, most specifically to a third hormone group involved in menstruation: prostaglandins. There is now an undisputed correlation between menstrual cramping and the presence of high levels of prostaglandins in the female body.
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CORTISONE AND THE SKIN
Author: admin
The various cortisone creams are the most common preparations recommended by the medical profession to be used on the skin. They are known as topical corticosteroids: ‘topical’ because they are applied rather than taken by mouth; ‘corticosteroids’ (sometimes known simply as steroids) because they are derived from the natural hormone produced by the adrenal gland known as adrenal corticosteroids. Their history goes back a quarter of a century to 1952, when Dr Sulzberger, in the United States, first used hydrocortisone. Since then, various molecular changes have been made, often by the addition of fluorine to the basic structure. This has resulted in the increased activity, or the increased efficacy, of the subsequent preparation.
As a result of intense research, many topical corticosteroids have been developed which have remarkable beneficial effects. Their ability to affect various skin conditions depends, as mentioned, on their precise chemical structure. This is termed their potency. Other factors, however, are also relevant to their effectiveness. These include the vehicle or base in which the corticosteroid is carried. For example, ointments appear to be better absorbed than creams. Likewise, creams tend to be more effective than lotions, and so forth.
The age of the patient is also most important, determining, as it does, the absorption capacity of the skin. The relative thinness of the infant’s or young child’s skin, combined with its large surface area in relation to body weight, tends to enhance the preparation’s absorption capacity considerably. Similarly, in the elderly, the thinner, more fragile skin tends to absorb wore freely than does the thicker skin of the middle age-groups.
There is also variation of absorption potential over the body’s skin area. For instance sites which have thinner skin—as do the eyelids—absorb better than areas of thicker skin such as the soles of the feet. The vascularity or blood supply of the area involved is also important in facilitating absorption. Consequently, the scrotum or face absorbs very freely. Opposing skin surfaces such as are found in the armpits or the groin area likewise increase the absorption potential of the preparation used.
The frequency of application is also critical, optimal results being usually achieved with two or perhaps three applications daily. If the preparation is applied too frequently, or for too long a period, there is a slowing down of responsiveness to it. Hence it is wise to change the type of preparation used fairly frequently, as the skin may become accustomed to, and subsequently resistant to, the frequent application of the same corticosteroid.
The topical application of corticosteroids has made possible the relief of much discomfort and disfigurement from chronic skin disease. As with all treatment, there are possible side-effects. These are, however, easily outweighed by the tremendous benefit their judicious use can offer.
These preparations achieve their effect by a strong anti-inflammatory action, whether the cause of the skin disorder be mechanical, chemical, microbiological, or immunological. They also have a strong immunosuppressive action, and consequently diminish local anti-body production. Finally, they have an antimitotic effect on human skin. This accounts for their effect of slowing down the abnormal cell formation in the various scaling skin disorders.
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WHAT DO FATTY ACIDS LOOK LIKE? SATURATED FATS
Author: admin
If every carbon atom has its full complement of hydrogen atoms attached, the fat is saturated, meaning it has as many hydrogen atoms as it can possibly hold. The most commonly occurring saturated fatty adds have 10, 12, 14, 16 or 18 carbon atoms in their chains and are found in meat fat, dairy fat, chocolate, processed fats, coconut and palm kernel oils. Increasingly, the saturated fat in our diet now comes in processed foods and originates from vegetable sources such as palm kernel oil.
Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature (such as dripping, butter or chocolate). They keep fairly well and this makes them attractive to food manufacturers. They also make crisp biscuits and pastry and crunchy coatings on fried food. Because they’re cheap, have a relatively long shelf life and are useful in processed foods, saturated fats are widely used by food manufacturers. Food labelling does not always indicate whether a fat is saturated or unsaturated.
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ENDOMETRIOSIS AND PAIN: TERESA’S STORY
Author: admin
I was diagnosed with severe and extensive endometriosis in January 1988.1 had two very large cysts, the size of melons, enveloping both ovaries and extensive adhesions throughout my pelvis. I have had numerous treatments since diagnosis. Following conservative surgery, including two laparotomies for removal of the original cysts and subsequent cysts, division of adhesions, numerous hormonal therapies, including Danazol and Duphaston, with all the side effects, I find I still have active endometriosis and complicating adhesions. Thus, I still have quite disabling pain at various times of the month.
After reading some literature on the use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for dysmenorrhoea, I decided to speak to a physiotherapist friend and ask his opinion on the possibility of pain relief using the system.
He was unable to give me any specific help with regard to its use in endometriosis. However, he could not see any reason why in theory it should not work. I was given the name and address of a physiotherapist who could help and supply a unit for trial.
This physiotherapist was very positive and I hired the unit for a month’s trial, with a view to purchasing the unit. I was very sceptical as to whether this type of pain relief would work — I’m now sorry it took me so long to explore this avenue of pain relief!
The TENS does not remove the pain completely but it does enable me to manage the pain more easily; it also enables me to lead a fairly active life, without having to pop pills all the time. During the first couple of months of using TENS I required it for the duration of my period but with continued use of the unit I now only need to use it for the first couple of days. It seems that with continued use, the effects of the unit builds up in the individual.
I only have one problem using TENS — a gel must be used on the electrodes to enable the electronic pulses to be conducted to the nerves and this gel can be a little messy. But it’s a small price to pay for such effective pain relief.
The cost of the unit was $230. Initially this might seem expensive but the resulting pain relief has made the cost well worthwhile.
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