The Health Blog

DRUGS AND PHYSICIANS

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:51:14 +0000

Thus you see that drugs are inseparable from medicine. With only a few of them does the profession expect a cure. In the case of many diseases which have increased in importance, while the infections have taken a back seat, the most we claim to do is to help. We do not cure heart disease with digitalis, but by slowing and strengthening the beat we give the heart rest and help it to work more efficiently. There are many good drugs which are not used to influence disease directly. Such are the anesthetics, the pain killers, and those which quiet the nerves.

It is difficult for the individual physician to form correct judgments as to the value of drugs. Impressions are not reliable. Any “herb woman,” such as Mrs. Todd in Sarah Orne Jewett’s Country of the Pointed Firs, has great certainty as to the value of her simples and may be perfectly genuine in her beliefs. The greater number of human diseases is self-limited and a few happy coincidences after taking medicines are unduly convincing. Long series of cases, careful observations, and good recording are necessary before conclusions can be reached.

The conscientious physician may get great help from the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry of the American Medical Association. Practically all members of this group are professors in leading medical schools. Conscienceless quacks and also well-meaning, over-enthusiastic physicians are forever reporting the virtues of new medicines. The Council investigates most of these. The quacks usually have mixtures of no virtue but also of little harmful quality. It would be dangerous to poison their “clients.” Honest men may be wrong, however, so the Council checks on them. There is a weekly report in the Journal of the American Medical Association and also a book of New and Unofficial Remedies.

The great mistake of the therapeutic nihilist who decries the use of nearly all drugs is that he ignores what has long been spoken of as the influence of mind over matter. What nearly every human being, whatever is wrong with him, believes is that the proper medicine, if it can be found, will help him out of his difficulties. So, when he goes to a doctor, he expects that doctor to make a try for the correct drug. There is no folderol in his mind about self-limited diseases and the healing power of nature. The doctor knows that, and he, himself, being human, has the same feeling. So he writes a prescription or two, which in these days involves no picayune financial transaction. The doctor is not so foolish as I may have made him seem. There is a school of thought that feels that all protective devices of the body are largely dominated by the mind. Long ago Dr. Walter B. Cannon, in his Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear, and Rage, laid the foundation for this. The theory has been much elaborated since. Although the whole system takes part, the brain, pituitary, and adrenals seem to play the leading parts. The doctor, with his confident ordering of medicines, appeals to the patient’s mind and sends him optimistically into battle.

An interesting commentary on all this has just come to me in a recent number of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Emil Novak, the eminent Johns Hopkins gynecologist, wrote an article suggesting that few women need a sex hormone for the symptoms of the menopause, and those who do should take them by mouth rather than by injection. A physician wrote in to the editor taking exception to Dr. Novak’s ideas and outlining his own handling of such cases. This was most definitely psychotherapy with numerous visits for education and reassurance. He concluded: “Why not do all this without the injection? First of all, in the beginning, the patient would not return. The ‘shot’ gives a ‘respectable’ hook on which to hang the visit to the doctor and it is up to the physician to give the proper weight to the injection.” The letter, only a small part of which I have given you, suggested a conscientious, earnest physician, and I am sure that his patient was in good hands. But one cannot help feeling that psychotherapy could be used without such adjuncts.

This discussion has had to do with the using of drugs by physicians. What about the many millions of dollars worth purchased by the public on their own (and the cost added to the statistics on the high cost of medical care)? Naturally physicians do not approve. When their automobile engines act badly, they turn them over to mechanics, skilled in such matters. They argue that the human body is fully as valuable as an auto engine and its complicated mechanism more difficult to adjust. But I am afraid that they are not credited with pure disinterestedness. The president of a large university remarked to me a few years ago: “I see that now that the public can get without a prescription an antihistaminic to use against colds, the profession finds objections to its use.” Anti-histaminics have not fulfilled their promise, but I still feel that the president knows a lot about education. My own feeling is that as we approach the millennium and you stop dosing yourselves, you will then require mighty little doctoring.

*100/276/5*

GENERAL HEALTH

WHEN BABY NEEDS A THERAPIST

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:50:45 +0000

To the outsider, the setting resembles an ordinary nursery school, except that there are far more “teachers” than usual, and some of the children are so young that they are still crawling.

Also on her hands and knees, one of the adults “plays” with Johnny, 2.5 years old. Dr. Eleanor Galenson, a psychiatrist, has just handed him a huge yellow-and-gray hammer made of sponge. He takes it and begins whacking away with all his might on a large red sponge block.

With each blow, Dr. Galenson says to Johnny, “Gee, you must be really angry. You really want to hit that block.” Up to now, Johnny had pounded away with his fists – on other children, including his brothers. Johnny is one of a set of triplets. The psychiatrist is teaching him two things: First, it’s OK to hit nonliving things. Second, he’s putting a name on his feelings – anger.

“A healthy angry adult might work out his anger by talking or painting an angry picture or going for a run,” says Dr. Galenson. “Sometimes, an unhealthy angry adult shoots somebody. Generally, that’s a person who never learned to put a name on his feelings.”

Dr. Galenson wants to intervene with Johnny before he grows up with twisted feelings. She wants him to experience the sort of babyhood that his mother, overwhelmed by having to care simultaneously for three infants, simply couldn’t give him.

We are visiting a therapeutic nursery for disturbed children at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. Dr. Galenson and her partner, Dr. Herman Roiphe, with a squad of psychiatrists, psychologists, and volunteers, teach healthy babyhood to children between the ages of a few weeks and 3 years. These babies feel bad but cannot say how they feel.

Statistics are hard to come by, but one study suggests that three out of 100 children under the age of 3 have grave emotional problems and need help. With 9 million American children in that age group, that could mean that 270,000 babies are troubled. And such troubles could trigger personality problems that follow them into adulthood.

“These children are the ones who are most at risk for committing crimes and taking drugs, especially the boys,” warns Dr. Galenson.

Dr. Jerry Wiener, of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, says that the field of infant psychiatry has blossomed in the last 10 years.

“The most exciting change,” says Dr. Wiener, “is this: We used to view the infant as a blank slate, molded and shaped by the home environment. But now we know that babies are much more active participants than we used to think.”

For example, scientists now know for sure what parents had only suspected: each baby is born with a temperament unlike that of any other. Johnny is one of triplets, yet only he gives his mother difficulty; only he bites and hits. His two brothers are quiet and friendly.

Some children, from birth onward, do not like to be touched. Others may find high noise levels to be irritating. In fact, a baby comes into the world with a distinct personality, ready to respond in his or her individual way to parents and the environment. Each child is different.

*100/266/5*

GENERAL HEALTH

CHILD’S HEALTH/SKIN DISORDERS: DRY SKIN

admin — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:24:38 +0000

Australia’s climate is not kind to anybody’s skin. Babies and young children in particular are prone to dry skin.

Cause

Many babies have dry, peeling skin immediately after birth; this is normal and will soon improve. Too much bathing, and using a lot of soap can cause dry skin, or aggravate skin that is already dry. This is because it removes the skin’s natural oils, and the skin can no longer retain moisture.

Clinical features

Dry skin is often itchy and flaky. Areas most commonly affected are the elbows, knees and face. If the skin is excessively dry, cracks (or fissures) may appear which can be painful and even bleed or become infected.

Treatment

Avoid using all soaps in young children. Older children should be encouraged to use a non-irritant soap. Bath time should be shortened, and water should be warm but not hot. Avoid using any scents, bubble bath or bath salts. Special bath oils or

Baby oil can be added to the bath water. You can buy these across the counter at the chemist. Be careful, because they make the bath slippery. Sorbolene with 10% glycerine is an excellent cream which can also be purchased over the counter, and is inexpensive. It is very effective in the prevention and treatment of dry skin, and is non-allergenic.

When to see your doctor

• if your child has persistent dry skin;

• if your child has patches of dry skin which are red and itchy.

Prevention

The use of a lubricating cream after your child’s bath is often helpful in preventing drying of the skin. Do not overdo bath time — do not let your child sit around in the bath for more than 10-15 minutes.

*304\90\8*

ACCIDENT PREVENTION: MEDICINE CABINET CONTENTS

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 06:10:05 +0000

First Aid Kit (This can be kept in a separate bag.) Adhesive tape

Alcohol wipes or 70% alcohol in bottle Bandages, sterile (crepe, various sizes) Band-aids (various shapes) Cotton wool balls Disinfectant

Dressings (non-stick, e.g. Melolin) Eye pads, sterile Gauze, sterile

Needle (can be used for removing small splinters)

Scissors

Sling

Steristrips (used for closing small cuts)

Thermometer

Tweezers

Medicine Kit

Antihistamine (if prescribed) (for severe allergic reactions) Antiseptic solution (iodine) Calamine lotion

Ipecac. . Use only on the advice of your doctor or the Poisons Information Centre.)

Measuring cup (for giving medicines) Paracetamol

(You may also wish to keep back-up supplies of insect repellent, nappy rash cream, sunscreen, vaseline and zinc cream in your Medicine Kit, as well as having supplies of these handy for day-to-day use.)

Note that medicines requiring refrigeration should be kept on the top shelf of the fridge at the back, not in the medicine cabinet.

Always check the expiry date on medicines and creams or ointments and replace them when necessary. Take all old medications to the chemist for safe disposal.

Never leave medications within reach of children. It only takes a second for a child to grab and swallow something dangerous.

*8\90\8*

YOUR MARITAL HEALTH/FINDING OUT WHO’S THE MATTER WITH US: HOT SEXUAL PROBLEMS – HYPERAROUSAL

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:34:40 +0000

HYPERAROUSAL: I get all sweaty. My heart beats, any hands are wet, but I feel kind of cold. I get over-ready, overanxious. I’m so turned on that I can’t even feel anything really. I just seem carried away, like I have to do it now or I’ll explode. My wife keeps saying “Slowdown, slow down, take it easy,” but I just want to take it fast. I really can’t control it.

HUSBAND

I have an “on” switch, I swear. I even start kind of a nervous laugh and get dizzy. I don’t know what’s happening, but it’s like running as fast as I can down a steep hill and not being able to stop. It’s frightening, really.

WIFE

Three hundred forty-nine men and 284 women classified themselves as experiencing this hyperarousal state in what they felt was “most” of their sexual experiences. Remember, we all experience this state sometimes in our sexual lives, and we can all experience more than one sexual problem at a time. In fact, hyperarousal and seminal seepage or early Skene’s glands emissions in the absence of contractions commonly occur together.

Hot times in our lives typically result in this “out of control” orientation, and it extends to our sex life. When we are running hot, when we are hostile, impatient, and competitive, we are in a state of maladaptive hyperarousal. Sex can be so intense, so fast-paced, that we almost miss it entirely. Our sexual intensity, our sexual speed seems to break the intimacy barrier instead of the sound barrier, but little real intimacy results as we go right past it.

This category of problem contains erective difficulties. The failure of the penis or clitoris to erect or a lessening of intensity of erective experience is simply a natural reflex to the accompanying emotional state of anxiety, of running hot. It makes little sense to treat the symptom instead of the cause or to blame the penis or clitoris for failing to erect while we are sending direct neurohormonal orders for them not to do so.

*167\97\8*

THE DESEXUALIZATION OF THE AMERICAN MARRIAGE/A SEXUAL-SYSTEM EXAM: FINDING YOUR SEXUAL TAO

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:11:26 +0000

First, place yourself on each axis in the direction that you feel best represents your feelings about your marriage. Next, place your partner on that same axis. Your marriage will then have four scores to discuss on the Sexual-System Exam, your score for self and partner and your partner’s two scores. Remember, as with super marital sex, it’s the doing, not the scoring, that counts!

It will sometimes seem that a certain score must be a better score, but systems theory, the theory behind the super sex marriage, teaches that too much of even an apparently good thing is not necessarily the healthiest status for a growing adapting system. An athlete can be very fit—scoring high on all measures of muscle, speed, and endurance—yet not be very healthy—adaptable, happy, loving, and learning. Try to break free of your assumptions of good or bad and think in terms of balance, in terms of positioning your marriage for change, growth, and responsiveness to the needs and maturation of the marital partners.

*27\97\8*

PRURITUS

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:52:32 +0000

Pruritus ani is the term we use to describe the condition of an itch or discomfort around the anus.

This is a common problem, which is often made worse by the treatment the sufferer uses himself or what is prescribed for him.

The cause is due to a combination of factors. Nervous tension is not only a cause but also a result.

A wet, unclean skin in this area may be the main factor.

Excessive sweating, frequent loose bowel actions, leakage of mucus and, particularly, inadequate cleaning all predispose to the problem.

It is difficult to clean the area by the use of conventional dry toilet paper.

Cleaning around the anus is more effective with a soft wet cloth. The European habit of the use of a bidet to wash the area is also effective.

Rubbing with dry toilet paper may irritate the skin and eventually make it itch, which we can make worse by scratching.

Most of the local preparations may further sensitise and irritate the area, so the problem continues.

Many cases can be cured simply by stopping the patient using the cream or ointment he has been using for months or years.

Topical applications of cortisone to relieve the inflammation, or anti-fungal drugs to clear thrush infection should only be used for a limited time.

The clean healthy skin of a baby’s bottom soon becomes red and angry if left in contact with a dirty nappy. So too may the adult bottom, which is no longer smooth but wrinkled around the anus and thus provides pockets where small amounts of faeces may remain to irritate the skin.

More good can be done to cure this unpleasant and common problem if we paid better attention to simple cleaning measures than using elaborate and potent drugs.

*535/71/1*

CORTISONE – INTRODUCTION

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 08:25:07 +0000

Cortisone is a hormone normally produced in the body by the adrenal glands which lie above the kidneys.

It is essential for life and has many functions, one of which is to suppress inflammation.

Inflammation is the normal process where the body defends itself against either injury or infection, but sometimes this inflammation gets out of control, or is provoked in the body by antibodies produced, as it were, by the body developing an allergy to its own tissues.

Cortisone can suppress this inflammation and control, if not cure, the disease.

Cortisone derivatives are widely used as creams and ointments in treating skin diseases.

Most skin diseases provoke inflammation in the skin and cortisone applied topically reduces this and often clears the rash.

Because cortisone can suppress the inflammation needed to control infection it may be used when there is infection on the skin, or for that matter when taken by mouth it may suppress the body’s ability to deal with the infection.

Prolonged local use may damage the skin, leading it to lose its elastic tissue and become thin as in old age and with prominent blood vessels.

*279/71/1*

COELIAC DISEASE – DIAGNOSIS

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:24:01 +0000

While the diagnosis may be suspected from the symptoms, it can be confirmed by taking a biopsy from the bowel. This involves removing a small piece of the bowel wall and examining it under the microscope. Once the gluten has been eliminated from the diet, a repeat biopsy should show the appearance of the bowel has returned to normal.

Elimination of gluten from the diet will usually produce improvement within a few days but it may take up to a year for the child to fully regain normal health.

Parents of children or adults with this disorder need the advice of a dietitian to plan proper meals which are fully nourishing. There is a Coeliac Society which can give advice in planning meals and playing a supportive role to sufferers and their families.

It needs to be stressed that parents whose children have similar symptoms to those I have listed as occurring in coeliac disease should not assume that this may be the cause and place their children on a gluten-free diet without proper diagnosis being made.

If this is done without proper advice, the diet chosen may be inadequate in all the necessary factors and result in further malnutrition.

*28/71/1*

YOUR CANCER YOUR LIFE – UNDERSTANDING THE LYMPH SYSTEM

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:07:07 +0000

I’ll explain here what the lymph system is, because it is important in understanding cancer. When you get a sore throat you may get swollen, painful lumps in your neck. These are lymph nodes (also called lymph glands). Normally they are smaller than a pea and quite soft. There is a network of these nodes throughout your body, and they are all connected to each other by very fine channels (or vessels). Eventually, all these channels join into one which empties its contents into the bloodstream at a point just behind the inner end of your left collarbone.

The job of the lymph system is to drain all excess fluid from your tissues and to filter out any unwanted material. So, with your sore throat, the germs go through the lymph channels to the nearest lymph nodes in your neck. There they are filtered out and white blood cells get to work on them and destroy them. In the process the node gets bigger, harder and painful.

In the same way, lymph nodes will filter out and trap cancer cells which come to them through the lymph channels. The nodes actually form part of your immune system and so have cells in them which ‘recognise’ the cancer cells as dangerous. If only a few cells come through, they can be completely destroyed. If there are too many for the node to handle, they survive, and grow to form a hard, but usually painless, lump. This is a type of secondary growth and it, in turn, can release cancer cells to travel either through more lymph channels or the blood to other parts of the body.

*36/40/1*