EXERCISE – WALKING

Walking is good exercise. To reach and maintain physical fitness, it is necessary to walk 5 km in less than 45 minutes five times a week. The same result is obtained by running 2% km in less than 12 minutes four times a week.

If this is too fast for the middle-aged man or woman, run 3 km in less than 20 minutes, four times a week.

If you prefer to ride a bicycle, you should ride 8 kms in 20 minutes, six times a week.

Swimming is an excellent way of exercising your heart and lungs. Try 750 metres in 20 minutes, five times a week.

If you are competitive and wish to play squash, IV2 hours squash at least three times a week is necessary to maintain fitness.

If you exercise only twice a week, you cannot hope to get fit or maintain fitness. If you exercise only once a week, this is more dangerous to your heart than no exercise at all.

Exercise burns up energy and will slowly burn up excess weight. It may take a long time to burn off those extra kilos of fat but, combined with a proper diet, it can trim you down to an ideal weight.

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CANCER OF THE BREAST – OPERATION

Most doctors believe immediate operation following positive biopsy gives better results than closing the wound and operating again later. Psychologically it may be distressing to a woman to face a second operation.

There has been little improvement in the results of treatment of this condition over the last 30 years, despite enormous advances in treatment of other forms of cancer.

Operation remains the treatment of choice. In the past the operation was a radical mastectomy. This removed the affected breast, a large portion of overlying skin, the underlying muscles of the chest wall and the lymph glands under the arms.

The result is disfiguring and makes it hard to fit a prosthesis (breast substitute) under the clothes.

Despite arguments to the contrary suggesting lesser procedures, removal of the breast and the lymph glands is necessary. It is no longer considered necessary to remove the muscles of the chest wall.

Simple mastectomy (removal of the breast alone followed by radiation treatment to the glands under the arm) is advocated by some as an alternative.

Removal of the lump only, the so called lumpectomy, so as to leave a woman with her breast has, in my opinion, no part to play in the proper management of cancer of the breast. The risk of local recurrence is so high, about 60 per cent, that it is not justified.

Apart from operation there is often need for radiation treatment either in the initial treatment of breast cancer or in treatment of recurrences or spread of the tumor.

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MIRACLE FOODS FROM THE BEES: TWO REMARKABLE CASES OF RECOVERY

Mrs. Jytte Elmgaard, 35, from Denmark, was stricken by leuco-encephatalis—an organic nerve disease with epileptic attacks—in 1950. The disease is considered incurable. During the next ten years her condition grew progressively worse, until by 1961 she was totally paralyzed and bedridden. She had up to 40 epileptic attacks a day, became blind and could not move any part of her body. She lost weight and was fading away fast. No one expected her to survive . . . except her husband who didn’t want to give up.

A Danish doctor suggested trying pollen. He obtained a German pollen preparation in liquid form. Mrs. Elmgaard felt some improvement, but not much. A Swedish specialist was consulted and he advised trying Cernitin T.60 in the form of injections. Injection treatments started in May, 1963, first given by the doctor, then continued by Mr. Elmgaard. The Danish Medical Society gave permission to use these injections and the treatment was at all times under her doctor’s supervision. Later, several other pollen preparations were included in the treatment, such as Cernimult, Cernilton, Pollitabs, Polloton 25.

Swedish health magazine Tidskrift for Halsa, reported three years later that Mrs. Elmgaard has miraculously returned to life. Her condition has been steadily improving. Her vision has returned, she can sit up in her bed and talk, and her paralysis has been disappearing gradually from various parts of her body. Even her weight has become normal. She has to continue with the pollen injections, which in her case seem to have the similar effect that insulin has on a diabetic. The injections keep her free from attacks and improve her general condition.

Doctors were amazed by the “miracle.” They could not believe that she was still alive. Her case was reported and widely discussed in medical literature. Doctors suggested, of course, that “certain cases of leucoencephatalis for some unknown reason can heal spontaneously.”

Another case is the dramatic case of U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas J. Tretheway. During World War II, Col. Tretheway spent nine months in a Japanese prison camp as a prisoner of war. His health was in a deplorable state and his weight dropped from 175 pounds to only 85 pounds.

One night he managed to escape. But he was lost in the jungle and finally, after about three days of wandering and with gangrene on his feet, he succumbed to weakness and malnutrition. He was found unconscious by natives of a Chinese jungle tribe.

The natives brought him to the village and treated him for several weeks with a diet rich in pollen and honey. They also coated his feet with pollen and honey. After a few weeks his strength was restored and he was able to walk. The natives guided him to the English lines. An English doctor in Calcutta told him that it was pollen and honey he was to thank for his life and the use of his feet.

Col. Tretheway reported that the natives who saved his life collected pollen from the surface of the water where it had been carried by the wind. They made cakes from it, mixing it with honey—this was their staple diet. They were tall and lean, had perfect teeth, and both children and adults seemed to be in excellent health.

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BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

As you can clearly see from the above, the objective of the doctor treating high blood pressure should not be to lower the pressure with drugs, but rather to find the underlying causes of the elevated pressure and try to eliminate them. When the underlying causes or diseased conditions are corrected, then the high blood pressure will disappear of itself.

To reduce high blood pressure with the help of drugs is just as unwise as to suppress and combat high fever with drugs. Both are highly beneficial symptoms, initiated and brought about by the body for a defensive purpose: to effectively cope with the adverse diseased conditions and to restore health. Attention should be directed at the real causes of high blood pressure. General toxemia, impaired kidney function, glandular disturbances, hardening of the arteries—these must be corrected.

The biological doctor is concerned not only with the dropping of the systolic pressure, but with the all-round lessening of the strain on the arterial system and the improvement of the general health of the patient. This is accomplished with various biological treatments which are centered around fasting and dietetic restrictions.

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THE EIGHTFOLD DIVISION OF THE IRIS

3. The Nose-Diaphragm line takes its course through the middle of the upper medial quadrant and the lower lateral quadrant, from the root of the nose to the spleen area in the left iris, or to the liver area in the right iris. In the lateral segment it represents the boundary line between chest and abdomen, which in the body is represented by the diaphragm. Hence, it is named the

Nose-Diaphragm line. White lines traversing the right iris in this area suggest conditions terminating in violent pains. It is therefore also termed: Pain-line. Similar signs in the corresponding area of the left iris suggest terminal pains arising from febrile conditions. (Splenic enlargement = inner fever.)

4. The Ear-Bladder line, which is drawn through the middle of the upper lateral quadrant and the lower medial quadrant is interpreted as Infection-line. It commences above in the ear area, and traverses the bladder area below. If this line has a dark registration in the right iris, it suggests the existence in the antecedents of severe chronic bladder disease. As practitioners, we must ascertain in diseases of the ears in children, whether the ancestors had disease of the bladder. On this basis arises the right Ear-Bladder line, also called Hereditary-transmission line, because it reveals the connection with hereditary encumbrance. In the right iris the bladder sign appears when catarrh of the bladder follows chill. If signs are seen in the bladder area of the left iris, then we should mainly think of venereal disease.

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PARENT/PHYSICIAN PARTNERSHIP: CHOOSING A DOCTOR

Raising a child is a big responsibility, and it’s always comforting to know that there’s someone you can turn to when you have a problem. For advice on many of your concerns about your child you can call on your own parents, your family and friends, other parents, your child’s teachers. But when it comes to your child’s health the person you need is a physician.

To get the best from your child’s doctor, you must first select the best doctor for your child. A pediatrician is a doctor who sees only children. The pediatrician has had an extra three to five years of special training in the physical, emotional, and educational needs of young people. Your family physician probably has comparable training in terms of years of study, but this study has been directed to people of all ages rather than just to children. The best pediatrician you can find should, in theory, know more about children than the best family doctor you can find.

The most important thing, however, is that you should be able to get along with the doctor who is caring for your child. If you feel more comfortable with your own family physician than with any pediatrician in your locality, you may decide to have the family physician take care of your child, too. You know what’s best for you and the child, so trust your own decision.

Your child’s doctor, who is a trained and experienced professional, should be a reliable and sympathetic source of information and advice throughout your child’s growing years. Always remember, though, that the doctor is a medical adviser, not another parent. There are decisions about your child’s well-being that only you can make, and a good doctor does not try either to make child-rearing decisions for you or to make you feel that you’re not a competent parent. A good parent/doctor relationship is one in which each partner respects the other.

How do you find a good doctor? If the child is your first, the doctor who delivered your baby can give you names of local physicians and maybe recommend someone who is well thought of by other new parents. You may have a friend or neighbor with children who can recommend someone. If you’ve moved to a new area, consult a neighbor who has children, or call the local hospital or the local branch of the state medical society. Professional organizations will not give you recommendations as such; they will give you names and expect you to make your own inquiries. However, a phone call and a visit to a doctor’s office should be enough to tell you whether or not that doctor is right for you and your child. It is also a good idea to visit the doctor even before your baby is born to become acquainted and to arrange for your baby’s medical care.

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NEWBORN BABY: FIRST MONTHS OF LIFE

Spitting up

Many babies spit up either as they are being burped or a little while after a feeding. This is normal. Check with your doctor if the baby is spitting up large amounts, is having projectile vomiting (forceful, explosive vomiting), or does not appear to be gaining weight. Consult your doctor if the baby is spitting up and also seems hungry all the time, or becomes limp and not alert.

To reduce spitting up, try burping the baby more often during a feeding, or changing the feeding position slightly so that the baby is more upright. It may help to have the baby rest quietly in an infant seat for a few minutes after feeding, rather than laying the baby down or encouraging active playing.

The pacifier (dummy)

Babies need to suck a certain amount each day. If your baby is hungry but only takes a small amount of food, he or she probably only needed to suck. If this happens consistently, a pacifier is a great help. It meets the baby’s need to suck but spares you the inconvenience of trying to feed a baby who really isn’t hungry. After about six months (remember, all babies are different and this may vary), the baby will no longer need extra sucking. Then you can take away the pacifier.

Breast-feeding

Many doctors today recommend breastfeeding, if it is possible, for a number of reasons. First, breast milk passes on to the baby some of the mother’s own resistance to infections. Second, many babies develop allergies to infant formulas, but it is rare for a baby to be allergic to the mother’s milk. Third, breast-feeding is much more convenient than bottle-feeding, because it is always available and needs no sterilizing, mixing, or refrigeration. Fourth, the experience of breast-feeding is emotionally satisfying for both mother and baby.

Even if you breast-feed, you can give the baby an occasional bottle or give one feeding a day by bottle. This can give you a chance to be away from the baby sometimes or to sleep through the night while the baby’s father gives a feeding. The breasts can be emptied with a breast pump if they become uncomfortably full.

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PROCESS OF SNORING: THE UPPER AIRWAY

It is essential to have some familiarity with the anatomy of the upper airway to understand the process of snoring. The upper airway is generally regarded as extending from the opening of the nose and mouth to the large air passage known as the trachea. This main airway then subdivides into progressively smaller airways to facilitate delivery of oxygen to the lungs. The trachea itself is a resilient length of airway, well supported by cartilage and muscle, capable of withstanding collapse during normal breathing manoeuvres and protected to some extent from damage which can be inflicted to this susceptible section of the throat. The nasal and oral passages meet in a segment of the airway known as the pharynx with soft, fleshy and more compliant walls. It is the collapse of components of this section of the airway and subsequent vibration of the soft palate that causes the familiar sound of snoring.

The tone of the upper airway is controlled by several muscle groups. Some of these are under voluntary control such as the tongue and those muscles used for swallowing. Others have more subtle influence and although we have no voluntary control over them, they are essential for maintenance of upper airway integrity.

Inspiratory and expiratory efforts during normal breathing are accompanied by pressure fluctuations in the airway. The downward movement of the diaphragm during inspiration creates a negative pressure which sucks in air through the nose and mouth. Most of our airways are sufficiently reinforced to withstand the tendency to collapse under this pressure, with the exception of the less rigid walls of the pharynx which require an active involvement of muscles to remain open.

The process of breathing is a symphony of muscular coordination with large muscles drawing in air and expanding the chest while smaller muscles work to keep airways dilated. Other muscle groups take over for the reverse process of expiration.

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PREVENTIVE MEDICINE AND SOCIETY. CHADWICK’S PROPOSAL.

Edwin Chadwick (1800-1890) was a barrister who came to the same conclusion as Petty had done two hundred years before. He promoted the notion that disease amongst the poor was the major reason they couldn’t look after themselves. He maintained that the enormous level of government expenditure on Poor Law relief would be dramatically reduced if the poor were healthy. In this rather roundabout economic, as opposed to medical, way he became the father of British and American public health. His report, The Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population of Great Britain (1842), made the awful conditions of working people so apparent to the upper classes that they simply had to listen. He showed that, while the upper classes lived on average to the age of 44 and while only one in ten of their children died in the first year of life, the comparable figures for the working classes were 22 years and one child in four. He maintained that a cleaner environment with decent water supplies and adequate sewage disposal were the answers.

Chadwick proposed the formation of a centralized public health authority with a full-time staff, and after several years of debate the Public Health Act of 1845 established a three-man General Board of Health. But even once water and sewage systems were widely introduced it was still clear that these weren’t the total answer to health, and slowly it became apparent that housing, food, working conditions and personal health services were just as important.

Chadwick’s influence didn’t stop at sewage and water mains though-he pushed for an even greater link between ‘health’ and ‘welfare’. Even though there was already a definite move towards community services and the realization that health was a national asset, the puritan work ethic still ruled supreme and the fear was that anyone and everyone would rather receive welfare than work. This meant that welfare benefits put the person in a position lower than ‘the situation of the dependent labourer of the humblest sort’. It is ironic that even today ‘health’ and ‘welfare’ are still bound together in the same bureaucratic machinery both in the UK and the US even though they are uneasy bedfellows much of the time.

But in spite of often conflicting pulls, public health made great strides in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The work on bacteria by Pasteur and Koch took scientific endeavor a giant leap forward and placed the whole of disease on a different plane from supplying clean water and the disposal of sewage. Quite quickly it became apparent that public health measures were far more effective in controlling almost all common infectious diseases than was curative, personal medicine, and the seeds of medical discontent were sown that are still with us to this day.

When public health officials were making such an enormous impact on the nation’s health doctors were relatively powerless to achieve much. The emphasis on sanitation, the absence of doctors from major decision-making bodies and the link between public health and ‘welfare’ made public health unattractive and unrewarding to doctors.

Unfortunately, there were more fundamental problems too-problems which we still have today. In the nineteenth century voluntary hospitals were preoccupied with treating disease and they had a monopoly of medical education dating back a century. Clinical medicine, then as now, attracted interventionists whereas what preventive medicine needed was people who were happy with an absence of disease. Prevention seemed dull by comparison with the glamour of effecting cures, and even today when so many of the medical profession pay lip-service to the importance of prevention only a tiny fraction (1 -2 per cent in the UK) of any westernized nation’s health budget is spent on prevention -mainly because medicine has become almost entirely an active, interventionist profession.

Interestingly, the Hippocratic Oath itself could also be said to be an enemy of public health and prevention, insisting as it does that doctors put the needs of their patients before anything else. Doctors from the Middle Ages onwards (until the advent of the National Health Service in the UK, and still in the US today) have been private entrepreneurs selling their skills on a one-off basis to anyone who could afford them. So it was at the turn of the century in the UK. Doctors were wedded to a group of individuals who provided their personal income and it was clearly in their interests to ensure that nothing they did professionally jeopardised their patients’ health and their own livelihood. Patients felt that in such a system they were paying for highly personalised care and didn’t want to hear about ‘bad news’ outside this one-to-one doctor/ patient contract. This contrasts sharply with medicine in Eastern Europe where the physician’s first duty is to strengthen the State by maintaining the health of its people. Everything in the doctor/patient relationship is secondary to this. Although most of us in the West find this approach unpalatable the benefit is that public health measures are more easily accepted and acted upon.

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KIDNEY TEST, ABNORMAL

Description and Possible Medical Problems

Your two kidneys are workhouse organs that work in tandem with the urinary system to remove fluid and waste products from your tissues and blood. When they begin to malfunction in some way, it’s frequently due to an underlying illness such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure, primary kidney disease, or a side effect of a particular medication.

Treatment

To diagnose a kidney ailment positively, your doctor will administer a number of tests, including a urinalysis to test the composition of the urine, a blood test to determine the amount of urea and nitrogen that is excreted through the kidneys (also called a BUN test), and perhaps an X ray or an intravenous pyelogram (IVP), which provides a clear picture of the kidneys on an X ray.

Because any abnormalities in the kidneys can cause permanent damage to the organs if they’re not treated, your physician will want to begin treatment right away. And since the kidneys often begin to malfunction because of a medical problem elsewhere in the body, your doctor’s recommended course of treatment will depend on what she determines to be the primary cause.

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