Herbal Health

HALITOSIS (BAD BREATH)

Cause

There are many possible causes for breath which has an unpleasant smell, including throat or mouth infections, blocked nose or sinusitis, gum disease (gingivitis), and tooth decay or abcesses.

Treatment

Treatment of the specific cause should help to alleviate bad breath. Use of an antibacterial mouthwash, and attention to dental hygiene are also important factors.

HEARING AIDS

Children who have moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss are usually fitted with a hearing aid. This is to amplify any hearing capability that still exists.

Hearing aids are available free of charge from Australian Hearing Services (formerly called the National Acoustic Laboratories), administered by the Commonwealth Government. There are centres throughout Australia. In addition to performing hearing tests, they also fit, maintain and service hearing aids. Your specialist will be able to organize the logistics of having a hearing aid fitted, as well as the education and counselling for families which are an important part of the process.

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Filed under: General health Tags: by admin Date 21 May, 2009
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Eyes

The eye colour that a baby has at birth usually begins to change at around 6 months of age. Children who are going to have dark eyes tend to change a little earlier than this. Some babies are born with a blocked tear duct (see p. 205). The eyelids can look very puffy after birth, due to a build up in pressure as the baby passes down the birth canal. This tends to clear up within several days. Sometimes part of the white of the eye is reddened due to a little minor bleeding; this will also clear up and is no cause for concern.

If the mother has not been given any painkillers or anaesthetic which will influence the baby’s state of alertness, then from the moment of birth he will be able to fix his gaze on objects and follow them for a short distance. He can turn his eyes to where a sound is coming from, and prefers to look at objects which resemble the human face.

Nose

You may be worried that your baby has come out with a boxer’s nose! It is common for the nose to be flattened during the passage down the birth canal, and this corrects itself after a few days.

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Filed under: General health Tags: by admin Date 19 May, 2009
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DYSCOMMUNICATION: Breakdown in verbal and emotional communication can also block super marital sex. Dyscommunica-tion is inaccurate communication. Malcommunication is hurtful communication. Discommunication is communication without mutually shared purpose. Acommunication is no communication at all. Hypercommunication is overemphasis on intellectual and verbal communication in the absence of emotional sharing. Vulnerable sharing of feelings is effective Communication, the seventh key to super marital sex.

OUT OF CONTEXT: Sexual interaction out of the context of loving, sharing, and mutual concern for partner, as a negotiation, trade-off, even payback destroys any chance for super marital sex. Loving Context is the eighth key to super marital sex.

IATROGENIC PROBLEMS: Physician-caused problems, through misinformation, fear, or refusal or inability to raise and answer sex questions can remain a lifelong handicap to sexual fulfillment for the patient encountering such a physician. Responsive, comfortable, knowledgeable professionals are the ninth key to super marital sex.

POOR GENERAL HEALTH: Running too hot (hostile-competitive-impatient) or too cold (depressed-inadequate-passive) or having untreated health problems can prevent sexual fulfillment. Good overall holistic health is the tenth key to super marital sex.

SEXISM: Relating any element of the sexual-response system to preassigned sex roles for either gender imposes artificial and destructive limits on sexual intimacy. Androgynous, nonsexist life orientation is the eleventh key to super marital sex.

SEXUAL ANESTHESIA: Closing ourselves to incoming stimulation from multiple sources, including sensory, extrasensory, physical, emotional, and cognitive stimuli, limits sexual sensitivity. Sensuality is openness to the sending and receiving of a wide range of stimulation. Broad, holistic sensuality is the twelfth key to super marital sex.

All marriages experience some of these problems sometimes. Being aware of the potential for such problems and of the difficulty in achieving and maintaining super marital sex is one major step to mobilizing marital strength to solve these problems. I will present a very special “thirteenth key” to super marital sex in Chapter Twelve, but for now, use the twelve keys above to open the door to your own super sex.

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Filed under: General health Tags: by admin Date 18 May, 2009
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Some may argue, that the diet proposed below is quite different from the traditional diet we learned from our parents, friends and neighbours. So many people have followed-”traditional” diet for generations !

Maybe that’s exactly why we live on average only 72 years, most of this time getting sick or expecting disease, and by the age of 65 or earlier having major health problems.

We simply follow bad habits.

Many people follow their habits and tradition without any criticism, just because they do not want any change or they do not want to be different from others.

Sometimes it is quite difficult to find any logic at all. For example some women, who seem to be quite health conscious, are ready to put almost anything on their faces just to look better (?) for a few hours. On the other hand, they would not even consider giving up their dinners, steaks, alcohol or perfumes to truly improve their health.

In the ancient literature we can find evidence, that many thousands of years ago people lived in good health for at least several hundred years.

Modern science is still looking for reasons why our lifespan is so short.

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Filed under: General health Tags: by admin Date 18 May, 2009
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Iridology is an analysis of health based on an examination of the iris or colored portion of the eye.

It has been in use for over 100 years, and is called iris analysis or iris diagnosis.

Orthodox medicine is well aware that generalised disease can affect the eye and that proper medical examination of the whole eye may show some of these changes, even when there is no evidence elsewhere.

Tuberculosis, diabetes, atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, sarcoidosis, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis (a bowel inflammation), syphilis and herpes zoster or shingles, all produce changes in the iris.

In iridology, the circular iris is divided into zones, and changes said to be in these areas are supposed to indicate disease in distant organs.

There is no scientific explanation for this and so orthodox medicine has tended to ignore it and regard it as “hocus-pocus”.

While iridology has been criticised, it has not been scientifically studied.

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Filed under: General health Tags: by admin Date 15 May, 2009
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There is really no such condition as chronic appendicitis where the inflammation continues on for months or years.

Rapidly progressing acute appendicitis may go on to rupture of the organ where the infected contents are spilled into the general abdominal cavity and this causes peritonitis.

Even in this modern age, the mortality for ruptured appendix may be as high as five per cent, whereas the mortality for operation before rupture is so low as to be negligible. This is the main reason why early operation is advocated.

Sometimes the diagnosis is in doubt but appendicitis is the most likely cause of the trouble. If the condition appears to be progressing, the surgeon may decide to go ahead and operate, as there is no other way of confirming the diagnosis.

If he delays until he is certain, the appendix may rupture and the patient face greater risks.

Analysing appendices removed at operation and finding that a large number show no evidence of inflammation is not necessarily a reflection on the poor judgment of the surgeon. This is what makes invalid some criticism of doctors for performing “unnecessary” operations.

If the doctor is certain of the diagnosis, it is usual to make an incision in the right lower portion of the abdomen, directly over the appendix.

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Filed under: General health Tags: by admin Date 15 May, 2009
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Abortion is a delicate situation for even the most sophisticated of women. A universe of conscious and unconscious thoughts and feelings are connected with it. There often is an accompanying sense of fear (associated with the medical procedure itself) and a measure of sadness or guilt (United to one’s personal view of abortion). Although everyone differs in response, any woman who has had an abortion wonders how her health might be affected by the procedure: Will she be infection-free? Will abortion influence her ability to have children? Could it bring on some other as-yet-unnamed disease sometime in the future?

In evaluating my own work on the subject as well as the research of others, my scientific conclusion is this; endometriosis—as a consequence of abortion—is not an absolute biological inevitability. In fact, cases of abortion causing the disease are rare. When they do occur, it could directly involve an abortion technique, now out of favor, called hysterotomy.

Perhaps the best way to understand hysterotomy is to think of it as a mini-cesarean section. In this type of abortion, a small incision is made in the abdomen; then an internal incision is made in the womb and its contents arc removed. Surgeons make a transverse (horizontal) or classical (vertical) incision in the lower portion or lower flap of the uterus—the same choice of incisions used for full-term deliveries by cesarean section. It is this type of surgical procedure, made during the late first trimester or early second trimester of pregnancy, that could be most responsible for the onset of endometriosis.

Why is this so? In the early months of pregnancy, there are still living endometrioric cells lining the uterus that have the potential to implant themselves on abdominal organs, and on the scar, given the chance. We know that pregnancy halts menstruation, which is the usual time of transport of these cells from the uterus. Therefore, another avenue into the abdominal cavity is required before any invasive endometriotic cells can run wild. Hysterotomy supplies the route. (Full-term cesarean deliveries differ entirely. At term, the placenta is fully formed and no endometriotic tissue remains in the uterus. Therefore, there is no way for random tissue to implant itself, or spread to an abdominal incision and implant itself there.)

immediately following hysterotomy, surgeons wilt routinely cleanse the internal abdominal area of cells and blood clots with saline solution. However, in some cases, the cleansing is not effective enough; random cells that have been sprayed outward when the incision was made find a host organ. If the patient has a tendency toward endometriosis, the disease could take hold. (It is also possible that she already had endometriosis before the abortion, and the operation released other live cells.)

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Filed under: Women's Health Tags: by admin Date 8 May, 2009
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The treatment of these fungal infections is basically similar. Initially local applications should be tried, as they are usually adequate for most cases except for infections of the scalp and nails. Traditional preparations such as Whitfield’s ointment or Castellanis paint still have their place, although they are somewhat messy. More recently, tolnaftate cream or lotion has been used, and either clotrimazole or miconazole creams. These are all most effective. Preparations containing nystatin, and amphotericin-B are active against yeast infections such as Candida, but not tinea.

Oral therapy must be resorted to for the treatment of hair and nails, and for many people with chronic tinea elsewhere. The drug used is Griseofulvin, which is specific for tinea, although poorly absorbed by mouth. Six weeks of treatment is usually sufficient for most infections, but tinea of the nails requires continuous treatment until the nail has grown out normally. This may take from six months to two years.

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Filed under: Skin Care Tags: by admin Date 8 May, 2009
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Non-physiological signals can have a profound influence on food choice, quite independent of the physiological signals e.g.:

Social custom—This may over-ride physiological hunger. Celebrations held for recreational or spiritual reasons invariably centre around food and drink. In some societies the obligation to eat can go beyond feasting. In the South Pacific in earlier times, for example, women were fattened up with chicken fat to make them more desirable for prospective husbands.

Time of the day—Most Western societies tend to have set family breakfast, lunch and dinner times, perhaps reinforced by the school bell. One classic study has shown that the time on the dock may easily over-ride the natural hunger mechanism When one group of people were kept in a room with a dock running faster than normal, they became hungry and ate their meals before another group kept in a room with a dock operating on normal speed.

Food availability—Individuals have specific food preferences. Increasing the number of available food items will increase the probability that all individuals find more of their favourite foods.

Controlled experiments demonstrate that people, like rats, consume larger meals when given multiple foods than when offered a single food (you can do your own research at a buffet restaurant). Whereas in the past, limited food choices may have led to monotony and discouraged intake, this is no longer the case with our vast variety of foods.

food palatability—Palatability is largely determined by the flavour of food—taste, aroma, texture and temperature. Fat is highly palatable due to its creamy texture, and much of the flavour of food comes from volatile fatty acids.

Other factors—Restrained eaters, due to their constant dieting vigilance, may have periods of increased appetite, especially when their control or ‘willpower’ is compromised, such as during periods of stress and grief.7 This helps explain why some people eat despite not being hungry and also refrain from eating despite being hungry.

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Filed under: Weight Loss Tags: by admin Date 8 May, 2009
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Anna-Maree was 12 years old when she started to menstruate. Her first few periods were painful with heavy bleeding. Her GP told her that this was fairly common for young girls and that it would settle down in three or four months. Unfortunately her pain did not improve — in fact, it got worse.

She would experience dull pain for about for one week before her period was due. This dull pain would then develop into a sharp, stabbing pain one day before her period and would continue throughout the whole time she was bleeding.

Her periods were irregular — this means that the bleeding could come every two or three weeks and last up to ten days. As well as experiencing pain and heavy bleeding Anna-Maree started to vomit, suffered from constipation and developed low backache.

Numerous visits to her GP over the next few months resulted in her being examined by specialist doctors for her backache and constipation. She was told that she suffered from an irritable bowel (spastic colon). The suggestion to take Panadol and eat a high fibre diet did not relieve her pain and other problems.

At this ti me the pain was so bad that she had to take two to three days off school each time she had a period. She was always worried about the pain and hated missing out on being with her friends.

Her family and friends were becoming increasingly concerned about her.

After two years of going back and forth to her GP she was finally sent to a gynaecologist who suggested that she take Ponstan. The gynaecologist said that if the Ponstan did not decrease the pain she would have to live with it.

Unfortunately, the Ponstan did not relieve the pain and so once more she turned to her GP for help. He suggested that she take the Pill for four months. She felt much better on the Pill but as soon as she stopped taking it the pain and heavy bleeding returned.

She continued to try and live with the pain and over the next year she read many medical books trying to find the answer to her problem.

At 15, just before she was about to set off on a school camp Anna-Maree again had extreme pain with her period. Her GP told her to keep taking Ponstan and to see him again if necessary.

After returning from the camp her period had finished but the severe pain persisted. After seeing her GP yet again, he suggested Anna-Maree have an ultrasound which was eventually performed five days later. The ultrasound revealed an ovarian cyst and possible pelvic inflammatory disease (an infection of the reproductive system). She was given antibiotic tablets to take.

The night after her ultrasound Anna-Maree’s pain became unbearable. She was admitted to hospital and was operated on the following day. She had endometriosis.

Anna-Maree cannot remember the details of her gynaecologist’s visit after the operation as she was still too sleepy to understand what he was saying. However, the gynaecologist spoke at length to her parents.

After reading about the Endometriosis Association in the local paper, her mother contacted the Association and had many of her questions answered. They recommended a book about endometriosis that would be helpful for Anna-Maree to read. Her family also read the book and at last they had some understanding of what she had been going through over the past three years.

Anna-Maree understood most of the medical terms in the book because she had received a good grounding in sex education at school.

After the operation, Anna-Marie was told to take Duphaston (a hormonal tablet used for treating endometriosis) for six months. The Endometriosis Association was able to give her information about the drug. She took two tablets a day but she started vomiting and suffered from dizziness. Her doctor suggested that she only take one tablet a day for two or three weeks.

This helped to reduce the side effects and she has not had any other side effects since, even though she has increased her dosage to two tablets a day again. She continued to have periods while on Duphaston.

At her check-up six weeks after the laparoscopy, Anna-Maree found her doctor understanding and happy to answer her questions. Unfortunately, she then was not given another appointment to see him for the six months while she was taking Duphaston. Anna-Maree feels that she would have liked the opportunity to have seen him during that time for support and further information.

None of her friends at school had heard of endometriosis. They wanted to know about the disease and how it would affect her. They wondered if the tablets would get rid of the endometriosis and if she would be able to have children later in life. Anna-Maree was very open with her friends and tried to answer all their questions.

Anna-Maree’s mother also contacted the school nurse who gave Anna-Maree’s teachers information leaflets so that they too could understand her problem.

Now 16, Anna-Maree has finished taking the Duphaston tablets and is waiting to have another laparoscopy to make sure that her endometriosis has been cleaned up.

What were Anna-Maree’s feelings

Anna-Maree was asked what her feelings had been during the last four years. Before she was diagnosed as having endometriosis she was confused. As a 12 year old she found it difficult to understand why she could not cope with the pain at the time of her period. None of her friends had to take time off from school. Was the pain really as bad as she believed it to be?

She was frustrated that a cause for her problems could not be found. Her mother gave her support and continued to seek doctors’ opinions. She felt that her elder brother was tired of her being sick so often and her father did not accept that she was unwell and thought that she was ‘playing on it’ to get out of doing her school work and chores around the house.

Anna-Maree felt intimidated by her doctors. They talked down to her and did not seem to understand how she felt.

Once Anna-Maree had been diagnosed she experienced different feelings. At first she was relieved to know that all her problems were not in her head — she was not making them up — they were real — she had endometriosis. She was frightened that endometriosis was a form of cancer and that she might die. She was quickly reassured that this was incorrect.

She then became angry. Why me? What have I done to deserve this? She was angry with her doctors. She felt that her GP had taken too long to send her to a gynaecologist. She was angry that he had not taken her symptoms seriously. She was angry at her gynaecologist who told her parents about the disease and not her — the one who was suffering. She wished that the gynaecologist had told her in private about the disease with plenty of opportunity for her to ask questions. She was angry with her mother. Was it hereditary? Was it her mother’s fault that she had the disease?

Anna-Maree also felt guilty that she had developed this disease. She questioned herself whether there was anything that she had done as a child to cause the endometriosis to develop.

At times Anna-Maree feels isolated because she does not know any other teenagers who have the disease. She would like to meet and talk with others of her own age. She feels that she now has the full support of her parents, brother, friends and teachers but she still wants to find out how other teenagers feel and cope with the disease and its implications.

Anna-Maree has found a great comfort in her dog. She can talk to her dog about her concerns and feelings and know that it will not answer her back!

She feels that she has accepted her condition but still has concerns for the future.

Anna-Maree knows that endometriosis can be treated but that it may recur. She realises that it may be an ongoing problem and that in the future she may have difficulty in becoming pregnant.

As a teenager she is concerned that she will not have control over her decisions. She wants to be able to listen to her doctor’s opinions, read as much information as possible and talk over her options with her family and others and then make a decision herself — a decision that she is happy with.

She is concerned that she may continue to have to take time off school each month, and that this may jeopardise her studies in the future.

Anna-Maree is not concerned about future relationships with boyfriends. She feels that she will be able to talk openly about endometriosis when the time comes.

She says that she is not going to dwell on these concerns but will take life as it comes.

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Filed under: Women's Health Tags: by admin Date 8 May, 2009
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