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PLASTIC SURGERY FOR SKIN: THE UV GREMLINS INSIDE

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | 8:51 am
Dermatologists see excessive tanning as Public Enemy Number 1 because it mars the skin with premature wrinkles, blotches,   bloated   blood   vessels,   and freckles. Worse, it can lead to cancer. Intense sunlight containing ultraviolet light penetrates deep inside your skin cells.
Thanks to a doctor’s quick action, Jane Kimbrough, 48, of Dobbs Ferry, New York, sailed past melanoma, or “black cancer.” In 1983, her doctor found a black dot on her big toe. Because it was promptly removed, she has less than a 1 percent chance of dying of melanoma in the next 10 years. Left to grow, that cancer kills 50 percent of its victims within 5 years.
“I had a friend who died of melanoma,” Ms. Kimbrough says. “I consider myself very fortunate.” The fair-skinned actress once worked at tanning but now shuns sun and regularly checks her body. Her physician, Dr. Darrell S. Rigel, a dermatologist at New York University Medical Center, estimates that 22,000 Americans developed melanoma last year, and 5,500 died of it.
“The biggest advance is the development of sunscreens,” says Dr. Rigel. “A number 15 sunscreen lets in only 1/15th of the rays. If people use such creams, the cancer rate will fall.” And, he adds, that includes basal cell cancer (the one that attacked President Reagan’s nose) and squamous cell cancer.
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SODIUM-RESTRICTED DIETS FOR PEOPLE WITH HEART DISEASES: PREPARATION OF FOOD

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | 8:51 am
The booklets prepared by the American Heart Association contain menu suggestions and helpful hints for the preparation of food as well as guides for eating away from home.
Patients who have always used much salt at the table are likely to complain bitterly about the flat taste of the food. Others, who prefer foods only lightly salted, find the diet to be more tolerable. In time most patients find that they can adjust to the restriction of sodium by learning to substitute other flavorings. Salt substitutes are useful to some. Because these compounds may be harmful to patients with damaged kidneys, they should be used only with a physician’s prescription.
Many flavoring extracts, spices, and herbs may be used to lend interest to the diet. Usually a dash of spices or a small pinch of herbs is sufficient for most family-size recipes. The flavor should be delicate and subtle rather than strong and overpowering. Meats may be marinated in wine, vinegar, low-sodium French dressing, or sprinkled with lemon juice before cooking. A few suggestions for flavor combinations are provided below.
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs
Beef: bay leaf, lemon juice, marjoram, dry mustard, mushrooms, nutmeg, onion, green pepper, pepper, sage, thyme; currant or grape jelly
Chicken or turkey: basil, bay leaf, lemon juice, marjoram, onion, pepper, rosemary, sage, sesame seeds, thyme; cranberry sauce
Lamb: curry, garlic, mint, onion, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme; mint jelly, broiled pineapple
Pork: garlic, lemon juice, marjoram, sage; applesauce, spiced apples, cranberries
Veal: bay leaf, curry, dill seed, ginger, marjoram, oregano, summer savory; currant jelly; broiled apricots or peaches
Fish: bay leaf, curry, dill, garlic, lemon juice, mushrooms, mustard, onion, paprika, pepper
Eggs: basil, chives, curry, mustard, parsley, green pepper, rosemary, diced tomato
Vegetables
Add a dash of sugar while cooking vegetables to bring out flavor.
Asparagus: lemon juice, caraway; unsalted chopped nuts
Green beans: dill, lemon, marjoram, nutmeg, onion, rosemary; slivered almonds
Broccoli: lemon juice, oregano, tarragon
Corn: chives, parsley, green pepper, pimento, tomato
Peas: mint, mushroom, onion, parsley, green pepper
Potatoes: chives, mace, onion, parsley, green pepper
Squash: basil, ginger, mace, onion, oregano
Sweet potatoes: cinnamon, nutmeg; brown sugar
Tomatoes: basil, marjoram, oregano, parsley, sage
Homemade quick breads, biscuits, and muffins may be made by using low-sodium baking powder instead of regular baking powder. For each teaspoon of regular baking powder, it is necessary to use 1 1/2 teaspoons low-sodium baking powder. The salt specified in the recipe should be omitted.
Homemade bread, waffles, and rolls may be made by using yeast and omitting the salt from the recipe. The yeast dough may be rolled out, spread with unsalted butter, and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon for delicious cinnamon rolls.
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CHILDCARE/TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN: MOTION SICKNESS

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | 12:50 am

Some children feel nauseated when travelling long distances in a car or by boat. This usually begins around 5 years of age and may last a lifetime. Special medication can be used to prevent motion sickness but should be given strictly according to directions. If your child suffers from motion sickness:

• do not let him read while travelling in the car;

• sit with him up the front of a bus;

• open the window while travelling;

• make sure he always travels facing forward;

• do not smoke in the car;

• do not give him a heavy meal before travelling;

• on a boat, have the child keep his eyes on the horizon as much as possible.

In the car

On a long car journey with your children, make sure that you stop frequently to let them stretch and run a little, or to have a drink or a snack. Children hate being cooped up for long periods of time.

Choose your roadside stops carefully, and keep an eye on your children, particularly if there is a lot of traffic around. Take games and toys along with you that are appropriate for children to play in the car. If your child suffers from motion sickness, it is best for him to avoid reading or writing in the car.

*120\90\8*

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(posted in General health)

SUPER MARITAL SEX: SEX AND THE HEART: SOME RECOMMENDATIONS OF THUMB TO APPLY TO THE ISSUE OF HEART DISEASE AND SEXUALITY

Monday, May 18, 2009 | 7:03 am

Don’t watch or feel for symptoms. They will get your attention if they occur. If they do (tightness in the chest, chest pain, shortness of breath), don’t panic. Just slow down, hug, rest, and talk. Report these symptoms to your doctor, but remember, many such symptoms are insignificant or not as pronounced as you may think. Always call the doctor, but do not jump to conclusions. Don’t lie there alone and worry. Share with your partner. Your doctor will probably reassure you anyway. If you coming to worry, both of you should watch as the partner with the heart ðãîblems exercises vigorously under carefully monitored medical conditions. Have the doctor explain to you what all the tracings mean. Healing can be takin8 place in the heart even when there are some abnormal findings, even when symptoms persist. Symptoms do not necessarily mean a setback in healing. If you still worry, suggest that the doctor send the spouse with the heart problem home with an ambulatory heart monitor attached. Have sex record when you had sex and any symptoms you might have had, and go together to discuss the results. You will probably be very relieved.

Your doctor will prescribe an exercise program. The days of staying in bed after a heart attack are over. Activity heals, but only at a medically monitored and prescribed rate, and that includes sexual activity.

If you have pain, ask about using nitroglycerin, long-acting nitrate preparations, or other medications. Be sure to ask when and how these medications should be used. Some should be taken at regular intervals, while others should be taken several minutes before sexual activity.

Remember, there is much more to sex than intercourse. Talk with your doctor about all of sex or he or she might assume that sex equals coitus. No single sexual activity is more dangerous than any other.

The spouse with the heart problem does not need a spousal nurse. He or she needs a loving sexual partner who expresses his or her own sexual needs vigorously and honestly. If the patient sees your comfort and freedom, he or she will learn the same approach. The patient must learn to protect himself or herself, and attempts by a spouse to protect the heart patient typically backfire into more fear, loss ot self-esteem, and even resentment. Don’t let any disease take the heart out of your sex life.

*271\97\8*

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(posted in General health)

YOUR MARITAL HEALTH/SEXUALITY FROM ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE: ELLISONIAN SEX

Monday, May 18, 2009 | 5:18 am

Ellisonian sex, then, is a male-driven, female-responsive sex of intense and rapid sexual energy buildup in the male and slower, more generalized, somewhat less urgent response in the female. Orgasm was the ultimate goal, but touching, particularly for women, was enjoyable if not necessary. The penis and its spontaneous erection was the center of male sexual response, and the clitoris with its connections to the vagina and the uterus was the center of female response. Marriage was a natural manifestation of the desire for prolonged companionship, but might have to be augmented by some type of sexual variety to keep it alive. Men acted and entered, women reacted and received. In spite of this mechanical-sounding emphasis, Ellis was a new romantic who valued closeness and tolerated deviation from “the normal.” Paul Robinson states, “Havelock Ellis is the most unambiguously Romantic of the great modernists … at the heart of his sexual writings stands the same union of physical and emotional energies that one finds in Keats and Schlegel.”

Ellis’s work confronted a guilt and fear about sex that permeated daily living. To save ourselves from what he saw as our innate sexual sickness, the Reverend Doctor Sylvester Graham suggested that we rid our diets of meat, animal products, and all spicy foods. Graham suggested that these caloric corrupters be replaced with, of course, nutritious Graham bread and Graham crackers. He was joined in his concern for the digestive sexual degeneration of American by Dr. John Kellogg, who invented corn flakes to save us from too much snap, crackle, or pop in our sex drive. The first modern perspective on human sexuality and its relationship to intimacy offered a freedom from this type of restrictive, fear-inducing approach to sex. At the same time, however, Ellis’s views about sexual energy, male and female differences in sexual response, and the power of sexual variety are still present today, and they strongly influenced the work of Alfred Kinsey, the pioneer of a second perspective on sexuality.

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(posted in General health)

GENITAL WARTS AND LYMPHOGRANULOMA VENEREUM

Monday, May 18, 2009 | 12:03 am

Warts on the genital area are like warts elsewhere. They are due to a virus infection, but when on the genitals are usually spread by sexual contact. Podophyllin applied locally clears them quickly but can irritate normal skin. It should not be self applied but left to the doctor to treat.

Cauterisation by the application of intense cold from applying liquid nitrogen or by heat from an electric diathermy is also effective.

The warts may occur on the penis, the vulva, in the vagina, around or in the anus.

This virus may be one of the causes of cancer of the cervix.

This condition is also rare in Australia and seen mostly in the tropics. It develops some one to three weeks following exposure. Initially there is a painful blister which ulcerates and then the lymph glands in the groin become involved, swell, develop abscesses and may discharge pus. The tetracycline drugs are also effective for this condition.

*600/71/1*

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EYESIGHT – GENERAL INFORMATION

Friday, May 15, 2009 | 2:55 am

Distance vision is normally tested from six metres.

The Americans test vision at 20 feet, and use this number rather than metres.

Thus normal vision for Americans is 20-20, while for us it is 6-6.

So a person who can see only the top letter at this distance has 6-60 of normal vision.

Similarly, the second line of letters should be seen by a person with normal sight from 36 metres.

If you can read no further than this, then your vision is 6-36.

Similarly, with the other lines which are equivalent to 6-24, 6-18, 6-12, 6-9 and 6-6 is normal vision.

Near-vision is tested by means of the Jaeger types, which simply consist of the ordinary printers’ types from the smallest upwards.

In hypermetropia or long-sightedness, the person complains of difficulty with near-vision, while his distance vision is good.

In the eye, the ciliary muscles constrict the lens and enable it to focus the light. However, the constant strain of doing this may cause headaches.

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WEIGHING ‘COST AGAINST ‘BENEFIT’ WHEN CHOOSING TREATMENT – CONTROLING SYMPTOMS OF CANCER

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 | 7:10 am

This leads me to a very important point—for every successful cancer treatment a price must be paid. Some treatments are much more ‘costly’ than others, some are much more effective than Others. What is important is the balance between ‘cost’ and effectiveness. To judge the possible cost you need to know about the nature and likelihood of any inconvenience, disruption to normal lifestyle, financial cost, and side effects. To judge the possible benefits you need to know both the aim of the treatment—whether control of symptoms of cancer, temporary control of the cancer or permanent cure—and what the chances are of achieving that aim. You need to weigh the nature and chance of possible ’success’ against the possible cost. If there is considerable possible benefit, you may think a considerable cost is justified. For little benefit you would probably not be prepared to pay a great ‘price’. You cannot assess any treatment without knowing both sides of this balance— the likely cost and the likely benefit.

*123/40/1*

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(posted in Cancer)

CHOOSING YOUR TREATMENT – INTRODUCTION (IMPORTANT DECISION)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 | 7:01 am

If you’ve read this far, you are obviously keen to understand your disease. You are prepared to face the reality of being an adult person with a serious illness. You don’t want to be treated like a helpless young child. You deserve and expect explanations.

That’s great, as far as it goes. But I hope very much that you are not content to stop at that. I hope that you take it one step further, and use this understanding and knowledge as a stepping stone that enables you to make your own decisions. I can well imagine you are doubtful about taking this further step. Perhaps you’re thinking: ‘It’s nice to understand what’s happening, but surely it’s easier and safer to leave the decisions to the experts’?

I know that’s what you’ve been taught to believe. I know that’s what you want to believe. But I also know that enormous numbers of cancer patients have suffered because they have believed it. I know that a great many cancer patients undergo unpleasant and pointless tests and treatments because they unquestioningly accept the decisions of experts—both medical doctors and other practitioners. I also know that it is extremely difficult for patients who do want to make their own decisions to get the necessary information. These are my reasons for writing this book. I don’t want you to suffer in this way. I hope that by the end of this book you will understand why the decisions of experts are often not the best decisions for people with cancer. I hope you will believe that you are the best person to make decisions about yourself. I hope you will have enough confidence and understanding to ask the right questions and get the information you need to make the best decisions for you.

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BREAST FEEDING – GENERAL INFORMATION

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 | 6:41 am

The composition of breast milk creates a low pH in the bowel and this favors colonisation with the lactobacillus bacterium which keeps out the bacteria which can cause infection.

Because breast milk is ideally suited to the baby’s digestion there are few digestive upsets in the breast fed baby.

There are a number of old wives tales about breast feeding and the one most wrong is that the mother’s milk is not suitable for her baby. This is often invoked as a reason to explain some failure of the baby to gain sufficient weight. The baby may not be getting enough milk but with very rare exceptions breast milk is always right for the baby. Those exceptions are due to some rare diseases.

If there is a strong family history of allergy, that is with family members suffering from hayfever, asthma and eczema, then avoiding the foreign proteins of cow’s milk and other substitutes and sticking to breast milk will reduce the risk of allergy.

Breast feeding has many emotional advantages both for the mother and child and leads to better “bonding” between them. Almost every woman can breast feed if she wants to. This decision is best taken during pregnancy and should be strongly encouraged by the health care professionals with whom she comes in contact. Attention and care to the breasts and nipples during pregnancy prepares them for more successful breast feeding.

Of course, breast feeding, while entirely natural, may not always be trouble free. Some feeding mothers run into problems because of retracted nipples or may get a cracked nipple which causes pain.

The breast may become engorged with milk and painful, or the supply of milk may be inadequate. The baby may be premature or sick and have difficulty in sucking strongly.

These are problems which can all be overcome.

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(posted in General health)

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