Health news blog

Divorce or separation. Like bereavement, divorce or separation has the potential for great psychological disruption to an individual’s life. Again, during this time, lifestyle requirements suffer as the need for health sinks lower in an individual’s hierarchy of needs. Again, the primary concern is to deal with the psychological anguish associated with the primary cause rather than attempt to impose yet another stressor on the individual. There are some indications that women cope with divorce or separation better than men. Because they often have better coping skills, it might be predicted, therefore, that a woman’s gain in body fatness after these periods may be less than that of a man’s, although there is little scientific evidence to support this.

Myth-information. ‘Fat-burning’ tablets are a figment of the marketers’ imagination. No tablets (especially those sold without prescription) will have a permanent, long term effect on fat loss, and many can be counter-productive.

*199\186\4*

How long should I wait before resuming walking and tennis after having a hysterectomy?

Most women who have had a laparoscopic or vaginal hysterectomy can walk short distances within a week and longer distances after about three weeks. For abdominal hysterectomy, add a further two weeks. From then on, be guided by how you feel. By all means play tennis if this does not unduly distress or tire you.

I had a hysterectomy with removal of the uterus and cervix two years ago when I was twenty-eight Am I still ovulating? What is happening to the eggs?

The ovaries should not be affected by removal of the uterus and cervix and so they are probably still releasing eggs. These pass into the abdomen where they quickly disintegrate. It is, however, not possible to give a categorical answer about what is happening to your ovaries. Even though they have not been removed, they may have been adversely affected by the hysterectomy, perhaps because of adhesion formation or perhaps due to some disturbance to their blood supply. Ovarian sex hormone production and release of eggs may diminish and menopause may occur four or so years earlier than expected.

If I have an endometrial resection, will I still have heavy menstrual periods?

After this procedure about 25% of women have no periods afterwards, 60% are having light or normal periods a year later, and 15% continue to have heavy bleeding. Within four years of an endometrial resection about 20% of women experience heavy bleeding again. Many of these women go on to have a hysterectomy.

Will I still be fertile after an endometrial resection or ablation?

Pregnancy is unlikely. If it occurs, however, the risk of complications will be above average.

Is there an increased risk of uterine cancer after endometrial resection or ablation?

There is no evidence of any increased risk at this stage. Follow-up studies to date have been reassuring although they have been of relatively short duration (covering a period of four to six years since the operation). In order to watch for any pattern of adverse effects and to study the outcome of treatment, consideration should be given to the establishment of a national register in Australia of women who have had an endometrial resection or ablation.

*93\198\4*

Pseudo insomniacs are healthy, and normal in all other aspects. They have just lost the confidence to sleep. Pseudo insomniacs are unable to operate the natural in-built mechanism inside their brains and so cannot switch off at night and fall asleep.

Chronic insomniacs are people who cannot shift from the waking mode to the THS. The cerebral cortex of the brain is too involved with uncontrolled thoughts and this prevents entry to the THS mode; hence the sleep centre cannot trigger sleep onset.

The THS was discussed in the previous chapter, and is the transitional state between waking and sleeping. This is an observed state in anyone falling asleep. However, this state can be artificially induced in ourselves when we are ready to fall asleep.

To enter the THS we must limit and control thought stimulation in the cerebral cortex. This is like making an imaginary surgical cut between the cerebral cortex and the sleep centre. Once we are in the THS, the level of arousal in the cerebral cortex will be minimal and the sleep centre will take over and trigger off natural sleep. This imaginary surgical cut involves the technique of thought control.

*95\174\4*

We humans are inclined to regard ourselves as sensitive in a way that animals are not because our brain has developed above the level of that of animals. We feel that we are sensitive, that we are highly strung. This gives us the ability to appreciate the subtlety and diversity of our sensations in a way which would not otherwise be possible. We feel that this sensitivity in itself makes us more vulnerable to pain. I think that this is only partially true. Many very sensitive people, by developing a quiet philosophy and understanding, have a great capacity for the

self-management of pain; and on the other hand, many very insensitive people allow distress and fear to overtake them, and so withstand pain very badly.

My own experience with patients is that the more sensitive persons learn the technique of the self-management of pain rather better than their less sensitive fellows. One reason for this is that some degree of sensitivity helps the patient to let himself go along with me with these ideas.

*117\57\2*

Q. What is the current view on diet as it relates to ulcers? At one time diet was the most important part of treatment and we all recall the awful sloppy foods that were served to grumbling ulcer victims. Is diet still important?

A. The answer is ‘No’. Today most doctors believe diet plays no part in therapy. Ideally, the patient is allowed to eat whatever he desires. The concept of small, frequent feeds of non-irritating foods with an emphasis on milk, cream custards, gruel, strained foods and in between meal snacks is no longer regarded as important. Also, the concept that rough, raw vegetables and fruits were harmful is also not generally considered important. Tea, coffee, alcohol, condiments, pips, coarse salad vegetables, fried foods, spices and spicy fare and meat extracts were all incriminated as being bad news and prolonging the healing process.

Today the ulcer patient is allowed to eat virtually whatever he pleases.

Q. What about smoking and alcohol intake?

A. Opinions seem to vary on this. Some experts claim that ulcers heal more slowly if the patient continues to smoke. Others say it doesn’t matter. Personally, I think that the irritation of acids from swallowed cigarette smoke may cause harm and it’s better not to smoke. Furthermore, smoking is definitely harmful to other systems of the body, notably the respiratory and heart-blood vessel systems. Anyone who continues to smoke is foolish. Smoking is definitely harmful to general health. Some experts also believe the intake of alcohol may be adverse to healing. Once more, others dispute it. I think that the more effort that is made to remove known irritants like alcohol from the ulcer which is trying to heal, the better.

Q. What is the attitude about arthritic drugs and aspirin?

A. Aspirin and other widely used drugs for arthritis are well known for their ability to irritate the lining of the stomach and duodenum. These come under the heading of “non-steroidal antiinflammatory” drugs and ideally in the early stages of ulcer treatment it is usually recommended they be stopped. Most arthritics are able to put up with their pains for a short time, or alternative drugs (usually not as effective) are available as a stop gap. Also, cortisone-like drugs are usually stopped during early active treatment, for it seems that oral forms may inhibit, or delay, healing. However, once more, special instructions and alternative treatment will be given by your own physician or gastro-enterologist. Be guided by him and stick firmly to his advice.

*20\61\2*

Based on the ages-old Oriental medical system that was first developed in China, acupuncture uses needles – or sometimes other similar objects – to stimulate specific points on the body so that this stimulation can bring about beneficial changes elsewhere in the body. One of the aims of this system is to ‘re-balance forces’ and so improve the health of the subject as a whole as well as provide treatment for existing specific ailments.

Acupuncturists believe in the ancient Chinese philosophy that states there is a life force – called chi – which is made up of negative and positive flows of energy, respectively known as yin and yang, which course throughout the body along channels called meridians. Disease and pain, say the acupuncturists, are the result of an interruption or an imbalance in these flows of energy. Stimulation by acupuncture is meant to promote or re-establish the normal flow of energy along the meridians and so restore health.

Commonly used for the treatment of back pain, acupuncture has gained a considerably amount of acceptance from conventional medicine and is even used quite frequently by doctors. Although there is a great deal of dissent about how acupuncture works – one currently popular theory suggests that the needles cause the body to release additional endorphins, these being natural painkillers – there is little doubt that it certainly has been an effective treatment for sciatica and other symptoms of back problems.

If you’re put off by the very idea of having needles inserted into your body, it’s worth pointing out that the procedure is not in the slightest bit painful and at worst may be a touch uncomfortable. However, because it’s absolutely essential that needles used during treatment be sterile, you should only consult a fully qualified practitioner.

*19\124\2*

A physically active lifestyle or hard exercise taken regularly every day make losing weight and staying slim very much easier. According to Science Digest (94#4:41), these beneficial effects are due to the fact that muscular activity burns up the body’s fat stores while at the same time increasing the bulk of its muscles.

Muscle is a much more active tissue than fat and, pound for pound, has more cells and needs more calories just to maintain itself. Thus, people who have replaced fat with muscle develop a much more active metabolism that burns up more calories at rest and helps them to stay slim.

Dieting without exercise, on the other hand, results in loss of both fat and muscle tissue, and when the dieting is over, lost weight is quickly regained. Worse yet, weight regained under these circumstances is mostly due to fat. Cyclic loss and gain of weight due to dieting without exercise results in a new loss of muscle tissue that makes slimness even more difficult to attain in the future.

*226\143\2*

Signs and symptoms

Depending on where the object is lodged, it may cause choking, gagging, pain, discomfort in the throat or chest, or difficulty swallowing. Once a foreign object passes into the stomach it does not produce any symptoms unless it obstructs or penetrates the digestive tract. Then abdominal pain, vomiting, and fever may develop. If the child has swallowed a metal object it will be visible on an X ray, but wood, plastic, or glass will not. Usually, however, the diagnosis is suggested by the circumstances and the symptoms that do appear.

Home care

If the swallowed object is small and smooth, no treatment is necessary. If the object is long, sharp, or large, examine the child’s stools carefully for several days to be sure the object has passed from the body. Each bowel movement must be passed through a sieve until the object is passed. If the child has been trained, place in the toilet bowl a basin fashioned of window screening. Then, after the child has passed a stool wash it through the screening with hot water.

Precautions

• An object lodged in the oesophagus must be removed within hours, preferably by a doctor.

• No known food, drink, or medication will speed up the passage of a foreign object through the body.

• If an object has not passed from the child’s body within one week, see your doctor. Try to bring a duplicate of the swallowed object to show your doctor.

• Do not give your child a laxative in an effort to speed passage of a swallowed object.

Medical treatment

Your doctor will carefully inspect the throat and observe the way your child swallows. The doctor may order X rays of the throat, neck, chest, or abdomen. If an object is wedged in the throat or oesophagus, your doctor will remove it with a surgical instrument. If the object is in the stomach the doctor will watch the child’s condition for three or more weeks before trying to remove it surgically. If the object is in the intestines and does not pass within a week the doctor may remove it surgically.

*213/84/5*

Too late for a baby

« It’s never too late. What a silly saying! It is too late for me to have a family. And now I regret it. I suppose they mean it is never too late to repent. But no sin. I just put it off”. Felt good at the time. Put it off. Now it haunts me. I shall remain unfulfilled until the day I die. I don’t talk about it. He does not know how I feel. Really think he is quite happy as it is. Strange how one does not understand the other. I can accept it. But the thought of it is there. Worrying me. Perhaps I don’t accept it. I don’t know. Punishment for having had a good time. Must you be punished for having a good time? Is a good time bad? It’s just that I put it off. »

What’s done cannot be undone. But the rumination about it can be brought to an end.

Life goes on. One stage moves to the next. She has moved into a phase of life of accepted childlessness. When in transition from one stage to another, the increased activity of our brain leaves us more vulnerable to stress.

Regrets

«It may seem silly, but I have regrets. It’s not that the regrets are silly. It’s the way they keep worrying me. Wish I had spent more time with the children when they were young. I did as much as most people, but feel I could have done more. And Aunt Mary. She had been good to me in the early days. We drifted apart. Wish I could have reconciled things with her before she died. Just silly things. I know them to be silly. But the thought of them keeps stirring my brain. There is no quiet within me, although people comment that I seem so relaxed. ÓÓ

We are human. The human state is full of shortcomings. We can strive towards perfection. But to set God-like standards for what we do is to exalt ourselves beyond our human condition. We are what we are. Improve ourselves within our limits. But let us accept what we are. We forgive others for their shortcomings. The least we can do is to consider ourselves with equal forgiveness. And just if you wish it, seek forgiveness from God.

*11/98/5*

The nose cleans the air on its way to the lungs by trapping particles that may be suspended in it and by expelling them with mucus in a sneeze. Some particles may remain in the nose and cause a non-seasonal allergy called perennial allergic rhinitis.

Perennial Rhinitis

This comes about when allergenic particles of dust, feathers, animal dander, or wool dissolve in the mucus of the nose and cause stuffiness, sneezing, itching in the palate, throat, and ears, rubbing of the nose, nose wrinkling, mouth breathing, sniffling, a nasal twang, and dark shadows under the eyes. (Many conditions besides allergy may cause a stuffed nose, such as hypothyroidism, abuse of nose drops, viral infections, foreign bodies in the nose, a deviated septum, or abnormal sensitivity to quick changes in temperature, altitude, and stress.)

Treatment of perennial rhinitis is through desensitization, diet, and environmental control.

The drugs to use in treatment are antihistamines and ephedrine, taken by mouth or in nose drops and sprays. However, the use of such drops and sprays should be limited to two weeks, because longer periods of use may irritate the mucosa of the nose and result in bad closure of the nostrils.

To give nose drops to a baby, hold the infant’s head as far back as possible with the left hand (keeping the right arm quiet). Put the drops in each nostril every three to four hours. For nursing infants, the drops have to be put in fifteen minutes before feeding time.

For older children, let the head of the child hang downwards off a bed. While he is in this position, turn his head to the right and put the drops in his left nostril. Leave him in this position for ten or fifteen seconds, then turn his head to the left, put the drops in his right nostril, and again leave him in this position for ten to fifteen seconds.

*41/99/5*