Medical Weblog

Cause

If your child has trouble swallowing food or liquids it is most likely to be due to a sore throat, mouth infection or ulcer. Avoid giving him spicy or sour foods, and offer purees and soups instead of solid food which requires a lot of chewing. Ice blocks are often well tolerated, as are jellies. Swallowing difficulty may be associated with a serious underlying condition such as a weakness of the sphincter between the oesophagus and the stomach.

When to see your doctor immediately

• if your child is having difficulty breathing;

• if you suspect that he has swallowed or breathed in a foreign object;

• if your child is unable to swallow anything at all;

• if you suspect that your child has drunk some household chemical;

• if you suspect that your child has been stung or bitten by some insect.

You should also see your doctor if your child has a fever and is generally unwell for no apparent reason.

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Here some ideas regarding testicular cancer and sexuality. Most apply to cancer of the prostate as well.

1. Some, but not all, surgery may directly affect ejaculatory capacity. Remember, this surgery does not mean loss of psychasm or even loss of orgasmic contractions. There may be a loss of the ejaculatory fluid, but this loss has no impact on sexual capacity.

2. The type of rumor will determine actual physiological outcome. If their particular type of surgery affects fertility, some patients decide to freeze some of their sperm prior to surgery so they may decide to have children after. Many types of surgery do not affect fertility.

3. There is no loss of erection that accompanies testicular cancer treatment. Sometimes, prostatic cancer surgery affects erective reflex to varying degrees. Of course, anxiety, depression, and other emotions will affect your body, and that can affect blood flow to the penis.

4. Some patients report a diminished interest, arousal, or desire and other impact on their sexual-response system. If such states persist, ask your doctor about a serum-testosterone test to be sure your hormone levels an, within the appropriate range.

5. Short-term therapy, education, and reassurance can go a long way in pn>. venting or correcting the emotional setback that may come with this type of cell disease. Again, hire somebody who will work with you on this specific problem.

6. Even though we talk about cancer as a curse and call persons with over-growing cells “cancer victims,” sexual activity does not cause cancer, it does not directly cause any form of disease, even though intimacy can transmit some diseases. Guilt will only slow the healing process. Self, blame will only get in the way of a return to intimacy.

7. Loss of ejaculate or reduction of fertility due to the drugs or radiation used in treatment does not decrease virility or manhood. Remember our fourth perspective in all of this. Sex is not a measure of anything, it is a response growing from within a system of interaction between two people. Cutting anything on the body does not have to cut off sex.

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Here are fourteen of the assumptions regarding human sexuality. In each case, I have altered the assumption from the fourth perspective to illustrate this orientation to sexuality.

1.    Intercourse is the ultimate sexual act between a man and woman,

and intercourse means insertion of the penis into the vagina.

Anything less than penetration is not really intercourse.

FOURTH PERSPECTIVE: Intercourse with the penis inside the vagina is not the ultimate intimate sexual act, but one option among many intimate choices. When it becomes the ultimate act, we miss opportunities for forms of intimacy that involve equally intense pleasure and sharing and we become goal-directed and one-dimensional in our sexuality.

2.    Men are the “inserters” and women are “receivers” in sexual

intercourse.

FOURTH PERSPECTIVE: A more productive orientation to sexual intercourse and all sexual interaction is one of “merging” rather than “penetration,” of doing with and together rather than to or for.

3.    Genital contractions are orgasm.

FOURTH PERSPECTIVE: Genital contractions following sexual stimulation are pleasurable reflexes. The total experience of physical, emotional, and cognitive merging with someone we love is called a’ ‘psychasm,” and may or may not be accompanied by genital or pelvic contractions.

4.    Orgasm is the measure of sexual fulfillment.

FOURTH PERSPECTIVE: The number of orgasms is related to the number of neuromuscular responses to genital stimulation. Sexual fulfillment is a more complex interpersonal process involving all levels of human responsiveness.

5.    Women have more trouble having orgasm than men.

FOURTH PERSPECTIVE: There is no evidence that pelvic reflex is related to gender, but expectations can influence physiological responsiveness.

6.    Women respond sexually more slowly than do men.

FOURTH PERSPECTIVE: “Speed” and “time” are not the key variables in sexual response, and mental, emotional, and cognitive factors are person-, not gender-, related.

7.    Men have a refractory period and a period during which they

must rest before continuing. Women can go on forever.

FOURTH PERSPECTIVE: All neurological responses are followed by some period of refraction or rest. Gender is not predictive of the length of this rest period.

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Most of us, (including most doctors and medical scientists) are kept unaware that the “bacteria” theory of disease is simply NOT true, and there is evidence, that Pasteur himself has falsified his own records to advance his own career. Among the most important things Pasteur did not report are:

• All bacteria can very quickly change according to their environment, not only from generation to generation, but in a single lifetime. This means that a simple change of conditions (bacteria food supply) can create a new type of bacteria in a few minutes! Friendly acidophilus in our intestines could quickly become any other bacteria – if its environment changes. Any particular bacterium can become any other bacterium and revert back again, if the conditions (food supply) change.

• Bacteria need food to survive and multiply. No food -no bacteria. Bacteria can only feed on dead organic matter. (There is no bacteria known to eat any living cells). If the organism does not provide the necessary conditions for bacteria to multiply (there is no dead organic matter and toxins) such an organism is not susceptible to bacteria invasion and it does not get sick at all. Therefore, if you inject bacteria to induce a disease – only 40-60 % of the weakest organisms will develop a disease and among those who do, there will be several types of different symptoms {different diseases), depending on the particular combination of pre-existing conditions for each individual organism.

• Given time, bacteria can learn and adapt themselves to extreme conditions, by entering into a hidden state, undetectable by conventional types of microscopes. When you restore favourable conditions (food supply) once more, bacteria appears and starts multiplying again. In modern medicine such bacteria are known as “drug resistant”.

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In the same way, infection, producing clumps of bacteria and pus, may allow stones to form as the salts are precipitated out of solution.

Obstruction to the free flow of urine always leads to infection and may cause stones. Changes in the pH of urine, making it more acid or alkaline, can also lead to the precipitation of salts.

Prolonged immobilisation, such as can occur with a person laid up in traction for a broken bone or in paraplegics and quadriplegics, can lead to the demineralisation of bone.

Calcium comes out of the bone and is excreted through the kidneys. This excess calcium can form stones.

Calculi may be made of different chemicals, sometimes from a combination of two or more substances.

Calcium oxalate stones are usually rough with sharp projections and, because these irritate the lining of the kidney and cause pain and bleeding, are usually detected while still small.

Calcium phosphate stones, on the other hand, are smooth and may grow to a large size without detection. They may fill the pelvis or collecting chamber of the kidney and project into pockets of the kidney substance.

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A lateral process projects from either side.

Between two vertebrae is the intervertebral disc and it is this structure which is believed to cause most back problems.

The disc consists of an inner core of thick fluid, surrounded by tough fibroelastic cartilage arranged with interwoven strands.

From the late teens, the disc starts to degenerate — the inner core loses its fluid and becomes smaller and firmer, and the elastic tissue is subject to strain and may develop splits.

Whether the backache is due to normal degeneration or to injury is important not only to the sufferer and his doctor, but also to industry, insurance companies and the law, as most severe back conditions result in workers’ compensation claims.

It is this lack of agreement and lack of full knowledge of the pathology underlying the condition which leads to disagreements about treatment.

Backache may be the result of muscle strain or tearing or may come from injury or strain to ligaments or joints but it is now believed most back problems stem from a disorder of the disc.

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Signs and symptoms

Hives appear as itchy, red, raised welts that can range in size from 5 millimeters to several centimeters across. The most noticeable characteristic of hives is that they change appearance rapidly – they come and go and change in size from one hour to the next. No other type of rash has these same characteristics, so you can be pretty sure that any welts that itch and change appearance rapidly are hives.

Sometimes an insect bite looks like a hive at the point of a bite; however, it does not come and go as rapidly. Hives that are triggered by an allergic reaction to an insect bite appear at sites distant from the bite itself. Hives can also accompany allergic arthritis, which is signaled by stiff, swollen, red joints.

The form of hives known as erythema multiforme appears as welts that look like red targets of different sizes painted on the skin.

You can sometimes pinpoint the cause of your child’s hives by considering his or her activities in the minutes or hours before the hives appeared.

Home care

Unless the child has been given medication with instructions to take it when the hives recur, home treatment of hives should be confined to measures to relieve the itching. Cold water compresses, calamine lotion, and corn flour baths may help make the child more comfortable. Frequent or repeated cases of hives require medical attention. Also, if the child has been given medication but the medication fails to relieve the symptoms, you should call the doctor.

Precautions

• If hives appear on the tongue, make the child cough, or cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing, see your doctor immediately.

• If hives are accompanied by fever see your doctor to rule out a strep infection.

• If antihistamines don’t help relieve a case of hives, telephone your doctor for advice.

Medical treatment

When your child has hives the doctor may administer epinephrine to reduce the intensity of the outbreak and then prescribe antihistamines to be taken by mouth. If the hives recur and it’s not possible to pinpoint the cause, the doctor may order skin tests or refer the child to an allergy specialist. The doctor may also order a throat culture to check for strep infection. If the child shows symptoms of arthritis, tests are necessary to confirm or rule out that possibility. If the hives are caused by an allergy to the venom released in an insect bite, the doctor may suggest a long-term course of injections to decrease the child’s sensitivity to the venom; these shots may be given over a period of years. In the case of an allergy of this type, the child may also be given medication and instructed to take it if he or she gets bitten.

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What are they?

There are many problems connected with wearing dentures, many of which are related to the fact that they are not nearly as stable as natural teeth. Advertisements suggest that denture fixatives are the answer and they certainly do work, but even the best false teeth are clumsy and cannot match up to natural teeth. Surveys have found that between 15 and 45 per cent of denture wearers are unhappy with them, and that 20 million people wear dentures in the US alone. This amounts to a very large number of individuals worldwide. One study found that about 30 per cent of denture wearers thought they needed refitting, or that they needed new dentures.

What causes them?

Some problems with dentures are inevitable because they are not fixed structures like natural teeth. They are only as good as the bony ridge or foundation on which they sit. In a fair percentage of denture wearers the bony ridge shrinks away. As this happens the dentures fit less and less well. This bone loss can be prevented.

Prevention

• Take more calcium. One study of people with denture problems found that those with good underlying bone were consuming about 900 mg calcium a day and that those who had jawbone problems were getting only about 500 mg calcium. Another trial looked at dummy tablets versus vitamin D (which helps with calcium absorption and better bone formation) for jawbone loss. After a year those taking the supplemental calcium had lost 34 per cent less bone from their upper jaws and 39 per cent less from their lower jaws than had the un-supplemented group. This study also found that the ratio of calcium to phosphorus the person consumed was important too. As levels of phosphorus rose jawbone resorption speeded up. The ideal ratio of calcium to phosphorus is 1:1. In red meat, though, there is twenty times too much phosphorus and in refined cereal products six times too much. They found that meat, bread and potato eaters experienced more of this bone loss than did other people. Also, soft drinks contain lots of phosphorus. Even teenage girls have been found to have started losing bone abnormally as a result of their soft-drink intake. This study recommended taking Dolomite, a phosphorus-free calcium and magnesium supplement. It can be bought at health-food shops and chemists. All of this is interesting even to those of us who still have our teeth, because the breakdown of tooth support is seen in gum disease. A study of people with bleeding, inflamed gums found that taking l g of supplemental calcium for six months produced considerable improvement. X-rays of the jawbones showed that bone loss reversed in 70 per cent of the cases.

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VITAMIN A

Functions: the single most important vitamin with respect to the immune system • necessary for night vision and protein synthesis • promotes fertility • stimulates bone growth • assists in growth and repair of body cells • essential for healthy skin and respiratory tract, as well as the linings of esophagus, stomach, intestine, colon, rectum, gall bladder, kidneys and urinary tract • prompts secretion of digestive “juices” • necessary for growth in the young.

Deficiency signs and symptoms: increased susceptibility to infection • night blindness and other eye problems • dryness, thickness and eruptions of the skin • dry, brittle nails • softness of bones and teeth.

Vitamin A’s enemies: mineral oil • alcohol • light • high temperature • air.

VITAMIN B1 (thiamine)

Functions: vital for a healthy immune system • necessary for the conversion of carbohydrates into energy in the nervous system and in muscles.

Deficiency signs and symptoms: mental problems such as loss of mental alertness, irritability, memory loss, confusion and depression • fatigue • loss of appetite • heart irregularities • numbness, tingling and weakness in the extremities and other parts of body (polyneuritis) • constipation • tenderness in the calves • burning sensations in the feet • the classic Bj deficiency disease is beriberi • extreme deficiency leads to heart failure, degeneration of nerve endings, and death. Vitamin B{s enemies: heat • air • excessive cooking of food • caffeine • alcohol • excessive dietary sugar.

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Fill your lungs with as much air as you can. Holding the air in your lungs, bear down as if you were going to have a bowel movement. While holding the air and bearing down, place your fists up by your chin. Squeeze your arms tightly against your chest. Feel the tension in your chest muscles as you slowly count: one thousand . .. two thousand .. . three thousand … four thousand … five thousand … six thousand … seven thousand . . . eight thousand . . . nine thousand . . . ten thousand.

Slowly relax, letting the air out of your lungs.

Now, take in a deep breath through your nose. Hold it for a moment. Let it slowly out through your mouth, very slowly, taking at least five seconds to let it all out.

Take another breath … hold it … let it out slowly.

Fill your lungs once again, bear down, hold your fists by your chin and squeeze your arms against your chest. Hold that position, chest muscles clenched tightly, as you count slowly: one thousand … two thousand … three thousand … four thousand … five thousand … six thousand … seven thousand . . . eight thousand . . . nine thousand . . . ten thousand.

Slowly relax and exhale.

Take in a deep breath through your nose … a nice, deep breath.

Hold the breath for a moment. Now let it out slowly, very slowly, through your mouth, taking at least five seconds to empty your lungs. ^

Take another big breath, filling up your lungs.

Hold it for a moment. Now let it out very slowly.

Your trunk now feels relaxed.

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