EDmedblog

This is a stressful transition for everyone involved, including parents (see Chapter and other siblings. There is a major disruption in routine for the whole family. Sleep is invariably disrupted as the baby’s needs are attended to, and tiredness may result in increased tension within the family. There may be increased expectations of other siblings, who will be required to take on increased responsibility and help with the new arrival, and around the house generally.

Sibling rivalry is especially common with the birth of a new sibling. An elder child will often resent the arrival at home of a new sibling. Frequently he will regress in his behaviour. Competencies he has acquired, such as being dry at night, will be lost temporarily. He may begin to suck his thumb, wet the bed at night, and will request drinks in a bottle or a nappy at night. He may resent the attention paid to the new baby and want his mother’s attention during feeding time. All of this is normal behaviour, and parents should not be overly concerned.

Sometimes the sibling rivalry may be expressed physically, with a toddler actually hitting the baby, out of anger at the intruder. After a time, this usually settles down, but may resurface again when the new baby becomes mobile at around 12 months of age. Again the new sibling’s ability to interfere with the older child’s activities may give rise to feelings of irritation and anger. This sets the scene for what often seems an ongoing battle.

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Whiplash injury to the neck is a phenomenon associated with the car.

The sudden acceleration and then deceleration of the head and neck when the car is struck from behind is likened to the way a whip is cracked.

On the day of injury there is a little stiffness and soreness and then over several days it tends to get worse, rather than better.

So, often, if you do see a doctor in the first week both you and he tend to treat it lightly.

By the second week it is not improving. Perhaps then an X-ray is taken. The report is usually normal.

By the third week the symptoms have worsened. As well as pain and stiffness you may be experiencing giddiness, blurred vision and a ringing in the ears.

And in view of the normal X-ray, both you and your doctor are thinking that perhaps at the worst the symptoms are due to nervous tension.

Whiplash injury to the neck is poorly treated by many doctors at the moment and poorly understood by most patients.

The pathology or underlying injury is not fully understood.

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Food poisoning is the term for attacks of vomiting and diarrhoea which can happen within 24 hours of eating food contaminated with bacteria, toxins or chemicals.

However, it is also possible for the same disease to pass from person to person or, more commonly, to be spread by infected water.

The outbreak may involve many people or come from a source where many might be affected and prompt notification can lead the inspectors to investigate, find and contain the source before too many are stricken.

In recent years there was an Australia-wide outbreak of gastro-enteritis due to contaminated oysters from the St. George River in NSW and, before that, over 60 cases of typhoid occurred in Victoria from a carrier working in a takeaway food store. And infected salami caused an outbreak and temporarily closed the factory making the salami.

Typhoid and paratyphoid fevers are specific diseases due to specific germs.

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During the ’50s, diethylstilboestrol or DES, a synthetic oestrogen or female hormone, was widely used in treating cases of threatened miscarriage.

It has been shown that the daughters of women exposed to this hormone during pregnancy have an increased rate of developing cancer of the vagina although further research has shown the incidence is not as high as first supposed.

There is, however, a high incidence of genital and urinary abnormalities in the sons and daughters of women exposed to the hormone.

There does not appear to be any reduction of fertility in these individuals, although continuing research is necessary as more enter the reproductive age group.

Unfortunately, proper scientific research may be hindered by the intrusion of claims for damages in the litigation-prone U.S.

Special clinics have now been established at some of the major Australian women’s hospitals to investigate and monitor women exposed to DES.

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A friend of mine in Canada, Mrs. K., had seven early miscarriages during eight years of marriage. She was unimpressed by my repeated advice to try wheat germ oil and vitamin E, because her obstetrician didn’t think it was worth considering. However, when another friend, a veterinarian, told her that this was exactly the treatment he had been using successfully on horses and cows with records of miscarriage, she decided to try. Within three months she became pregnant and, after a full nine-month pregnancy, delivered a healthy boy.

The healthy functioning of the reproductive system is dependent on many factors. Both psychological and physiological causes must be considered. Nutrition is, of course, a most vital factor. Many vitamins and other nutritive substances are directly involved in a healthy sex life. But if there Was one vitamin which could be called the sex vitamin, then it would be vitamin E.

It has been established that vitamin E can prevent miscarriage and stillbirths. Vitamin E is essential for the normal production of sex hormones. It has been demonstrated in animal tests that when vitamin E is deficient, the testicles degenerate and production of hormones is diminished—both sex hormones and pituitary hormones, which stimulate sex glands.2 Vitamin E, being a natural and powerful anti-oxidant, also protects sex hormones from destruction by oxidation. Dr. Evan Shute of Canada, a pioneer in the use of vitamin E for disorders in the reproductive system, has used vitamin E extensively and successfully in the treatment of various disorders from male sterility to miscarriages and menopausal symptoms. In one study he used vitamin E in 153 pregnancies in which there were 122 threatened abortions and 87 threatened miscarriages. 60 percent of the abortions and 86 percent of the miscarriages were prevented by vitamin E treatment. Dr. Shute says that vitamin E deficiency is very common in pregnant women.

Vitamin E has also been found to relieve the symptoms of menopause, or change of life: hot flashes, dizziness, pain, etc. Doses of 150 to 300 milligrams a day are prescribed in such cases. A Hungarian doctor has found that vitamin E decreases pain in childbirth labor.

Vitamin E is, indeed, absolutely essential for the normal function of the reproductive system and a healthy sex life. The best natural source of vitamin E is wheat germ oil and wheat germ. Other good sources are cold-pressed vegetable oils, such as corn oil, soybean oil, and sunflower seed oil. Green vegetables are also good sources, particularly cauliflower, turnips, and spinach. Milk and dairy products are also good sources. You can also buy vitamin E in capsule form at health food stores or drug stores. Doses most often recommended by doctors are between 300 and 600 I.U. per day.

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Totally bald man gets full head of hair!

It happened in Stockholm. The man was totally bald for several years—I mean he had no hair whatever on the top of his head. This didn’t bother him very much, but he also suffered from hardening of the arteries and atherosclerosis, which was a greater reason for concern. The largest hospital in Sweden, Sodersjukhuset in Stockholm, tested new treatments for these diseases. Over one hundred patients participated in prolonged treatments with nicotinic acid, one of the B-vitamins, also called niacin. Our bald man was one of the patients in this test group. After three years of treatment with nicotinic acid he received a vigorous hair growth on his previously bald head and is now the proud owner of a full head of hair.

Nicotinic acid has a widening and dilating effect on blood vessels, particularly on the peripheral capillary system. It would seem that the vigorous hair growth in this case was effected by the increased blood supply through the dilated blood vessels and capillaries in the scalp.

Note: Do not confuse nicotinic acid with nicotine, which is a very dangerous poison and has no relation to nicotinic acid, a B-vitamin.

English doctor cures baldness—unintentionally!

Dr. John Kelvin reported in the British Medical Journal that he treated many patients for blood vessel disorders with the drug composition beta-pyridylkarbinol, derivative of vitamin substance pyridin-3-carbonic acid. The drug was intended to improve blood circulation in the feet and hands. The doctor noticed that some of his bald patients had new hair growth.

“I didn’t connect this new hair growth with the drug I was using until one more of my patients, who had been totally bald previously, walked into my office one morning with a beautiful and well-combed head of hair!” said the doctor.

After this incident was publicized, the English paper reported that the drug stores were stormed by a multitude of men of all ages asking for “the new tablets.”

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The liver, the largest detoxicating organ in the body, has its place at 37′-40′ in the sixth minor zone of the right iris. The gall-bladder, which is both anatomically and physiologically connected to the liver, has its place at approximately 39′ in the fourth minor zone, and in any case in the right iris only.

1. Liver-disturbances-Inflammatory states of the liver register as white or yellowish clouds or wisps in the specified area. In the inflamed state, the liver is swollen as the result of congestion, which is indicated by the displacement of the iris-wreath towards the pupil, and also by the inwardly depressed nerve rings if these exist. At the same location may be seen the small arteries of the sclera, which when apparent, always indicate the existence of an inflammatory disturbance of the organ in the area to which they run.

Where there are inflammation signs in the liver area, one must very carefully consider whether the white signs (clouds or wisps) are present only in the liver area, or whether they are merely part of the total sign commencing at the iris-wreath and extending over the gall ducts to the liver area. In the first case the disorder concerns the liver only, and is due to a disturbance of the detoxicating function of the liver which becomes charged with blood from the organism. In the second case the disturbance arises from a disorder of the duodenum (usually ulcerated), and because of the extending inflammation, leads to gall stasis and inflammation of the gall ducts and liver. Here, therapeutics must first be directed to the duodenal disorder.

Where there are inflammatory processes affecting the liver, and hence a lighter colour in the liver area, there will also be seen signs in the area for spleen—left iris 20′. With such liver disturbances the patient complains of severe flatulence, and signs for this will be seen in the intestinal zone.

Much more often, the sign of inflammation is seen as a darkening of the liver area, and this indicates diminished liver function, leading to more or less severe metabolic disturbances. With this sign, there is usually found a very dark neurasthenic ring, as an indication of portal congestion.

Small dark spots in the liver area are signs of sclerosis, and enable one to diagnose a commencing hepatic cirrhosis. The greater is the darkening of the liver area, the greater is the disturbance of liver function.

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Polio, also known as poliomyelitis or infantile paralysis, is an infection of the spinal cord that can, in 1 to 2 percent of cases, lead to paralysis or death.

Outbreaks of polio do still occur in this country, and infants should receive two or three doses of live vaccine (Sabin, containing types 1, 2, and 3). The first dose should be given at two months, with the second and third doses separated by intervals of six weeks to two months. This vaccine is given by mouth, not as an injection. A booster dose should be given at the age of four to six years. Children who were not immunized in infancy should receive a total of three or four doses, depending on their ages. The Sabin vaccine is undoubtedly safe for children.

Adults who are not immune and who plan to travel to a country where polio is uncontrolled should also be immunized. In fact, all adults should be immunized against this disease. Some medical authorities believe that the risk of an adult being exposed to polio is minimal, and therefore adult immunization is unnecessary. However, too many cases of polio have occurred in adults over the age of 30 to make this argument acceptable.

The Sabin vaccine does carry a slight risk of polio for adults. However, the Salk vaccine (which is a dead vaccine) does not. Adults who are not immune should receive an initial series of Salk vaccine to acquire temporary immunity, followed by a full series of Sabin vaccine for permanent protection.

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Athlete’s foot is an infection of the skin of the feet. It is caused by one of several funguses that grow best in moisture. The mildest cases cause itching, scaling, and cracking between the toes, particularly between the fourth and fifth toes. Athlete’s foot may spread to the sole of the feet as small blisters and scaling. In severe cases it may spread to the ankles and legs. It may invade and deform the toenails. Scratching may cause additional (secondary) infections. The condition is most common during adolescence, but it may occur at any age—even occasionally in infants.

Signs and symptoms

The scaling and cracking appearance of the feet and the itching that accompanies it are symptoms that may indicate athlete’s foot.

Home care

Apply fungicidal ointment once or twice a day (half strength for delicate skin). Or you may use ointments containing undercylenic acid or tolnaftate (available without a prescription). To decrease sweating of the feet, avoid rubber-soled or plastic-soled shoes. Use cotton socks to absorb moisture. White socks may be best since some dyes can irritate the skin.

Caution: Many “incurable” cases of athlete’s foot are not athlete’s foot itself but contact dermatitis caused by the treatment. Contact dermatitis is a skin rash or inflammation caused by some irritating substance. In some people, the ointments used to treat athlete’s foot may cause such irritation; the athlete’s foot fungus is actually cleared up, but the skin remains irritated. If treatment for athlete’s foot does not relieve the symptoms, check with your doctor to determine if the skin irritation is contact dermatitis.

Precautions

• Continue treatment until the skin is completely clear; funguses not completely treated flare up again.

• If improvement is not prompt and lasting, see your doctor; you may have a skin condition that is not athlete’s foot. Many athlete’s foot medications can cause contact dermatitis in some people.

Medical treatment

Diagnosis is confirmed by scraping the skin and then culturing the fungus or identifying the fungus under a microscope. Your doctor may prescribe other fungicidal ointments or lotions or a fungicide taken by mouth. If a secondary infection has developed, your doctor may prescribe oral antibiotics and soaking in a solution of potassium permanganate or aluminum sulphate and calcium acetate.

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In the game of life, more than half of all men are benchwarmers, says the American Heart Association (AHA). That means that more than 50 percent of men don’t get moving for a minimum of a half-hour a day, three days a week.

That’s a sin, Dr. Goldberg says. “Studies show that exercise may be more effective at heading off an early death than quitting smoking, losing weight, or stopping drinking,” he says. Here are some tips for getting in gear.

Prevent the big “C.” After studying 47,723 male doctors for six years, Harvard researchers found that men who got the most exercise had only half the risk for colon cancer as those who got the least. So, do your colon a favor by exercising for 30 minutes at least three times a week, recommends Dr. Goldberg.

Aim for gains. It doesn’t matter what your fitness level is when you start. It matters that you improve, says Dr. Goldberg. Researchers at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research studied the effects of increasing fitness levels on 10,000 men over a five-year period. Men who improved their fitness level enough to run a minute longer than their original treadmill time also had a lower death rate than those who stayed unfit. In fact, every one-minute increase in maximum treadmill time equaled an impressive 8 percent drop in risk of death.

“You should constantly challenge yourself to improve your fitness level,” says Dr. Goldberg. If your exercise of choice is walking or running, try to increase your speed or your distance every few months, he suggests.

Decline the decline. As you age, it’s likely that your physical performance will decrease over time, and the more that performance decreases, the more susceptible you can be to disease. You can slow that decline simply by exercising more, says Dr. Bortz. After about age 30, people who exercise start to see only a 0.5 percent decline in performance each year, he says. “Unfit folks of the same age see a 2 percent decline. That means the man who exercises will have surrendered only about 15 percent of his vital capacity by the time he’s 65; the non-exerciser, 70 percent.”

The AHA estimates that more than 30 percent of men ages 45 to 54, more than 40 percent of men ages 55 to 64, and more than 55 percent of men ages 65 to 74 have high blood pressure. Making matters worse, about 50 percent of men in this country have cholesterol levels higher than 200 milligrams per deciliter. And that’s just the numbers that have been reported. Many men are never diagnosed.

“There’s just no excuse,” says Ichiro Kawachi, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of health and social behavior at the Harvard School of Public Health. “These are conditions that are easily detected and treated.” Here are some things you can do yourself to minimize the damage.

Burn your arteries clean. Playing half-court hoops for 30 minutes a day can raise your levels of “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol by as much as 6 milligrams per deciliter. A group of Spanish researchers has found that, on average, for every 100 calories you burn a day, your levels of artery-clearing HDL cholesterol rise by about 2 milligrams per deciliter.

Go low. Researchers from several U.S. cities put 459 folks on a low-fat diet chock-full of fruits, vegetables, grains, and low-fat dairy products. After eight weeks, those with high blood pressure saw their systolic pressure (the top number) drop an average of 11.4 points and their diastolic pressure (the bottom number) dip an average of 5.5 points. This may sound like a lot to swallow, but the famous Food Guide Pyramid recommends eating 2 to 3 servings of dairy products, 3 to 5 servings of vegetables, 2 to 4 servings of fruits, and 6 to 11 servings of grains every day.

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