Health news blog

Wax is normally secreted by glands which lie in the ear canal. When first secreted it is soft and colourless, but with exposure to air becomes hardened and acquires a brown colour. Its function is to act as a filter for the ear, trapping particles of dust and dirt when they enter the ear canal. Usually the actions of chewing and the constant renewal of the ear canal’s lining ensures that wax is moved outward. Sometimes a build up of wax can block the ear canal, and may cause discomfort or interfere with hearing. Earwax can be softened by placing 2 drops of paraffin oil in the ear for 3 consecutive nights. Never use a cotton bud to remove wax inside the ear canal, as this can easily cause damage by pushing the wax deeper inside the ear. Some children may have to use ear drops on a regular basis to prevent a build up of wax. The doctor may sometimes have to use a special syringe to flush out wax that is blocking the ear.

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Respiratory distress syndrome refers to breathing difficulty experienced by many premature babies, due to underdevelopment of their lungs. The earlier a baby is born the more likely he is to suffer from RDS. Babies born at 28 weeks have a 70% chance of developing RDS. This figure drops to around 10% for babies born at 34 weeks gestation.

Cause

Because the lungs of premature babies are immature they do not produce a substance called surfactant, which lines the lung surface and prevents collapse of the smallest airways (alveoli) used for oxygen exchange. This substance starts being produced when the baby is around 28 weeks gestation.

Clinical features

A baby suffering from RDS will have difficulty breathing, having to work very hard with each breath. His chest may be drawn in and he will grunt when he tries to breathe out.

Investigations

Diagnosis of RDS is usually confirmed by chest X-ray.

Treatment

Babies with RDS require highly specialised treatment in a special care nursery. They will be nursed in a humidicrib and will require oxygen administered through a special hood. Sometimes they will require oxygen through a tube passed into their windpipe, and some babies may be hooked up to a special breathing machine (ventilator) for days or even weeks. Artificial surfactant is also now available, and this helps those babies with respiratory distress due to immature lungs.

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ABUSE?

    ”When I read about sexual abuse, I knew it was the same for

me. Will I, does anyone, get over the terrible scars of the

abuse?”

ANSWER: No, nobody “gets over” them, but one learns to put them to work in favor of a new intimacy. Those who have suffered abuse learn the contrast between sharing and abusing, and they seem all the stronger for the pain, for they have seen both sides of the issue. They have felt the guilt, self-blame, and anger of sexual abuse and learned the contrast between that and the love, trust, and safety of sex in marriage. Just as someone who never has been really sick may never fully know what it is to be very healthy or at least fully appreciate and value health every day, so it is with sexual abuse. You have seen and felt the pain, so the joy and freedom is all the more valued.

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Many species of birds, marsupials, mammals and other animals on our planet become extinct every year.

The main reason for their extinction is that their organisms cannot cope with the increasing levels of pollution in their food and their environment.

Nature gives us a fair warning. If we keep polluting our planet, it may soon be our turn.

So far into our “civilised evolution” we continue to develop more and more diseases, allergies etc. and have increasing difficulty maintaining good health.

However, when we understand the reasons for this, we have a choice. Rather than waiting for governments and the industry to do something about it, WE THE CONSUMERS should make a choice first.

No industry will produce articles consumers do not want.

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There is some confusion about influenza and this may come about because many people talk about the flu when what they are referring to is the common cold or other mild respiratory infections.

Real influenza is certainly not a mild illness. Epidemics and pandemics (that is, a worldwide epidemic) of influenza have spread even in ancient times.

The great pandemic of 1918-1919 claimed an estimated 20 million people, more than died in the Great War.

Influenza is caused by a virus of which there are three sub-groubs, À, Â and Ñ. Ñ virus is rarely isolated and does not cause epidemic influenza. Â virus may cause epidemics which tend to be milder than those caused by A virus and it is this last which causes the pandemics.

The incubation is short, some two to three days. The onset of the infection is abrupt with fever, headache, malaise, shivering and severe aches and pains in the limbs and back.

This is followed by a dry cough, a sore throat and other symptoms of a respiratory infection.

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It can be taken every eight hours (three times a day) and, because this is easier, more people are likely to take it properly. Ampicillin is marketed as Penbritin and Austrapen, and amoxycillin as Mox-acin and Amoxil.

The tetracyclines are a group of bacteriostatic antibiotics produced from a number of moulds. They have a wide range of activity against many organisms which are insensitive to penicillin.

These drugs are also active against some of the larger viruses and related organisms which fall between bacteria and viruses in their characteristics.

Bacteria are organisms with a cell wall containing the active ingredients of the cell. They are capable of independent reproduction.

Viruses are smaller particles without a cell wall and consisting mainly of RNA or DNA, proteins which make up the nucleus of cells and which contain the genetic material.

Viruses can reproduce only inside cells of the host but bacteria can be grown in the test tube, if suitable nutrient is available. A virus can grow only in a suitable cell culture, where it reproduces itself inside a living cell.

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As more and more people take up wilderness river rafting as a means of getting back to nature, the number of plant poisoning cases has been on the increase. Ingestion of the water hemlock plant (known as Cicuta douglasii), the Western Journal of Medicine (142:637) reports, has recently been responsible for the deaths of several river rafters in Oregon and Idaho.

This plant closely resembles the wild carrot or parsnip. It has large fleshy roots with a smell so strongly suggestive of carrots and celery that people are tempted to taste them.

Unfortunately, however, the water hemlock is one of our most poisonous wild plants and can bring on convulsions, collapse, and death, all within an hour or two after one has taken a small bite of its root.

About the only method of treating hemlock poisoning available in the wilderness is the induction of vomiting, but, without an emetic such as syrup of ipecac, this can be very difficult. Campers, therefore, should always be prepared for such emergencies by carrying a reliable emetic in their packs.

In emergencies, a useful trick that can save lives from poisoning, according to the Journal, is to make up an emetic by mixing a tablespoonful of liquid dish soap in eight ounces of water.

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Heatstroke is a sudden, uncontrolled rise in body temperature. Heatstroke occurs when the body is exposed to excessive heat but cannot replace the body fluids lost through perspiration. If the lost fluids are not replaced, dehydration (depletion of total body fluids) occurs and leads to a decrease in blood volume.

At this point the body has to decide whether to supply the diminished amount of blood to the internal organs or to the skin; since the internal organs take priority, they will receive the blood. At the same time, the body loses its ability to sweat. The situation now becomes critical for two reasons: the body cannot now produce enough sweat, so the evaporation of sweat on the skin cannot cool the body; and the skin is now being deprived of the blood supply that insures that excess heat can be released through the skin. The lack of blood supply to the skin and the inability to sweat together cause the body to overheat.

If it is not treated quickly and correctly, heatstroke can cause permanent brain damage or death. When there is loss of blood volume, which can mean there is not enough blood to circulate through the body, the victim goes into shock. Also, at high temperatures the blood cannot clot properly, and this can result in blood leaking from the vessels into body organs.

Heatstroke most often strikes athletes or other people who do strenuous work in hot weather. People who have had heatstroke once are more likely to suffer another attack if they return to strenuous exercise within a week. Lack of water, excessive sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea all increase the body’s susceptibility to heatstroke.

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Illness, Aging and Genes

Two other suicide hot spots include sickness and old age, which are often, but certainly not always, synonymous. And there also may be a genetic link, experts say.

Men ages 20 to 59 who have been diagnosed with AIDS, for instance, are about 36 times more likely to commit suicide than men of the same age who do not have the disease. Barring diseases such as AIDS, however, the older you get, the greater your chances for getting seriously ill, and the greater your risk for suicide. Medical illness is a direct contributor to suicide in up to 70 percent of all suicide victims older than 60. White men over 50 are especially vulnerable. Though they make up only 10 percent of the population, this volatile group is responsible for a third of all suicides.

Yet doctors have found that, like other suicidal people, those who wish to die while they are ill most often are suffering not from a pain-induced, well-pondered death wish but from clinical depression or alcoholism. When their depression is treated, they usually don’t want to die any longer, according to the AFSP.

Like your height and eye color, suicidal tendencies are unfortunately passed on along family lines. If someone in your family has killed himself, your risk of doing the same increases fourfold.

There are a couple of reasons for this, say AFSP researchers. First, there may be an actual biological-suicidal characteristic that is inherited, such as the inability to process serotonin correctly. Second, families don’t just share genes; they share environments, says Dr. McIntosh. “We live with the same stressful situations. And if you see your parents acting out in a certain way, you’re likely to pick up that behavior, no matter how destructive.”

Following the Signs

Though a few suicides occur out of the blue, 75 percent of people who attempt suicide give some warning to their friends and family, Nock says. You should become familiar with the primary danger signs that signal someone is contemplating suicide, says Nock. They are:

•     Previous suicide attempts. Trying to kill yourself once is one of the best predictors of whether you’ll actually take your life one day. Between 20 percent and 50 percent of people, who kill themselves, have tried before.

•     Talking about death. People who commit suicide often talk about death. Sometimes they say goodbye or act as though they’re going away.

•     Making final arrangements. Suicidal people often go about putting their affairs in order as though they have a terminal illness. They may give away possessions or pay off large debts or mortgages.

•     Showing signs of depression. Be especially concerned if people withdraw from activities they used to enjoy or have changes in sleeping patterns, appetite, weight, energy, or sex drive. These, along with feelings of worthlessness and thoughts of death, are signs of depression.

If you recognize these in yourself or another, check your local listings for a suicide prevention hotline.

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Hand in hand with affirmations goes visualization. While affirmations are spoken instructions you give your mind, visualizations are mental pictures that allow you to see yourself as you want to be.

Set aside 10 to 20 minutes a day. Find a room or place where you will not be disturbed. Make yourself comfortable. Close your eyes. Let your mind’s eye see yourself acting, feeling, doing, having and being what you want yourself to do, feel, have and be. Picture yourself remaining calm in a tense situation. Imagine that you’re walking away from an argument. If you’re a stress phobic, visualize yourself standing up calmly for your rights. Those of you on a diet can see and feel yourself 20 pounds lighter, happily and easily refusing a proffered piece of cake.

Put the words and pictures together by combining visualizations and affirmations. Say it, see it and feel it in your mind and body. Say, see and feel yourself having and being what you deserve to have and be.

With visualizations and affirmations, any positive situation you desire can be etched into your subconscious mind and made a part of your behavior.

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