Most recent international health newscast in addition to examination from our health explore band.

Warts are caused by a virus. There are different types of warts. The most common are the small warts children get on their hands and sometimes feet. Many a child has suffered the agonies of a trip to the hospital to burn the warts off. Naturopathic remedies work just as well.

Usually these warts last 3 to 6 months and are found on the fingers near the nails. They are infectious and other children can easily catch them. The best treatment is thuja taken internally as a tincture or thuja extract applied to the wart twice daily until it disappears. Echinacea can be taken internally. The white sap of the dandelion flower can also be applied to the wart twice daily until it disappears.

Beware of caustic lotions which burn the surrounding skin and sometimes cause the warts to spread. These will burn the face and the genital areas.

Plantar warts need specialist attention as they grow larger and become intensely painful. They may disappear spontaneously after a few months or last for a number of years. The base of the wart is embedded in the soles of the feet, or toes and may be single or multiple. They are firm and round with a rough surface. If this is cut off, dark spots can be seen —blood vessels supplying the wart.

The person suffering with plantar warts should wear socks and slippers around the house and have their own bath towel and bath mat. If the individual is an athletic person, plastic socks can be purchased for use in the communal shower room or in the swimming pools.

Genital warts are sexually transmitted. They can be visible around the labia of a woman or the penis of a man, or they can be inside the vagina. They look like cauliflower growths and can irritate the sufferer. Any sign of infection should be treated as quickly as possible. They are highly contagious and are related to incidence of cervical cancer in women. They have been related to cancer of the throat in cases where oral sex has taken place with an infected person over a long period of time.

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Comments (0) Apr 29 2009

Not long ago the newspapers reported that the president of Harvard University was unable to return to work. Amid speculations as to what might be wrong with him, his doctor issued a bulletin saying that he was exhausted from overwork. He was ‘running on empty’. Well, you don’t have to be the president of Harvard University to know how that feels. I have encountered this symptom in depressed patients I have treated from all walks of life. I recall a highly skilled psychotherapist who was in such great demand because of his expertise that he received many more referrals than he could comfortably handle. Unfortunately he was much more skilful at taking care of his patients than of himself, and had a hard time disappointing his referral sources. He seriously overbooked his schedule, leaving much too little time for rest, exercise and recreation. As a result, his depression was extremely difficult to treat. No matter what anti-depressants I gave him, he always seemed to be running on empty.

Population studies suggest that depression is becoming more common with each successive generation, our youngest people being most frequently affected. No one knows why this should be happening. One possible reason is that it is a cost of upward mobility. As we become an increasingly sophisticated technological society, the newly created opportunities carry with them certain risks and hazards. Increasingly, there are businesses that stay open until all hours of the night. People take their computers on holiday with them so that they can plug into their e-mail and connect to the Internet from the most remote places. They carry cellular phones and are always on-call, wired in and connected to their business associates and customers. And businesses themselves, in an attempt to become more competitive, squeeze the most they can out of each employee. One patient of mine, a chemist who supervised several pharmacies, kept being given more and more shops to supervise. Just as with the psychotherapist I mentioned, her depression was very hard to treat and only responded, finally and completely, when she quit her job.

The curious thing about depression, though, is that you can end up running on empty regardless of how great your burdens are in any objective sense. Each of us has our comfort zone in which we can function happily and efficiently, and each has our limit beyond which our capacity to function breaks down. When someone becomes depressed, that breaking point has been exceeded. It does no good to debate whether or not you should be able to handle the level of stress. Regardless of the objective level of stress that you are currently under, if your capacity for handling that stress has been exceeded, you will feel as though you are running on empty and that may be an indication that you are clinically depressed, especially when it is combined with some of the other tell-tale signs of depression.

One of the hardest things to do when you are running on empty is to start new projects. New initiatives invariably require a new burst of energy, which is especially difficult to muster when you are down.

It is also important to remember that running on empty may be a symptom of other illnesses. Chronic infections, such as glandular fever, may strip you of energy, as may many other medical disorders. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS; also known as ME) is a particularly vexing condition, in which low energy level is the cardinal and sometimes the only symptom. Low thyroid function and other hormonal conditions may also result in fatigue and low energy levels. These can generally be diagnosed by simple blood tests. This is one reason why, in the best of all possible worlds, you should get a medical evaluation before reaching a definitive diagnosis of depression. Or, if you don’t choose to do that, to re-evaluate the situation if you try to treat your depression and it hasn’t improved substantially within a month or two.

If you have been running on empty for more than a few weeks, consider the possibility that you may be clinically depressed.

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Comments (0) Apr 29 2009

It is possible for the average person to take steps to protect himself from the chemical environment. Although the cases of chemical susceptibility described in this book are, naturally, the most extreme examples, it should be emphasized that this problem can eventually affect a great many people who are presently without any strong or obvious symptoms. It is therefore wise for everyone to take steps to avoid developing chemical susceptibility before it reaches the clinical stage.

Eliminating all potentially troublesome chemicals, plastics, and synthetic materials from one’s life may seem like a hopeless task. Some people who seem to agree with the point of view expressed in this book still argue that controlling these chemicals is impossible, since one must “live in the twentieth century.”

There are several fallacies in this fatalistic argument.

First of all, the unbridled use of petrochemicals is part of a particular historical phase and has not been a constant in human history, by any means. In fact, with the much publicized energy shortage, it seems likely that the throwaway use of petrochemical products will have to be curtailed for economic reasons. The need to find more efficient, and also more healthy, forms of energy and basic materials has become a matter of survival in many countries. Thus the trend is with, not against, environmentalism in the long run.

Second, the degree to which harmful products are allowed into the environment is subject, to some extent, to political pressure and control. Countries, states, and even cities vary greatly in their regulations on health and pollution. In the 1920s, for instance, New York and other cities banned the use of leaded gasoline within their borders. Later, leaded gasoline was deregulated, largely because of pressure from the automobile and gasoline interests. But it was phased out once more in the 1960s and 1970s, largely as the result of political pressure. Toxic and cancer-causing substances have been somewhat restricted by federal law through the 1958 Delaney Amendment, banning carcinogens from food, and the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. These measures would never have been enacted without a groundswell of public opinion in their favor. As public awareness of the danger of the unbridled use of petrochemicals grows and as more and more chronically ill people trace their problems to the “safe” chemical environment, we can expect to see increasing political action to control this danger as well. Thus, on a national and international level, there is no reason for pessimism, provided that people become aware of the danger and take effective action.

On a more personal level, it is advisable for each individual to restrict and eliminate harmful chemical exposures in the home, the workplace, and the general environment. If a person has cause to suspect chemical susceptibility, or only wishes to prevent it from occurring, there are a number of effective changes which can be made.

The following ten suggestions are not all-inclusive. As one learns more about ecologic illness and individual responses to chemicals, it will be possible to augment or modify this list. The basic idea behind these ten proposals, however, is to cut down on exposure to unsuspected causes of chronic illness.

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Comments (0) Apr 28 2009

Menthol-containing ointment (such as Ben-Gay or Vicks) that is rubbed on skin to relieve muscular or arthritic pain must never be used with a heating pad, the manufacturers warn. Modern Medicine (55#10:137) tells the sad story of a man who disregarded this advice and ended up in a hospital for one year. After applying the ointment to his aching thighs and forearms, he held a heating pad over each treated area for 15-20 minutes.

Next day, the treated skin appeared inflamed and was covered with large blisters, a reaction that did not respond to cortisone. Over the next few days he became feverish and lost all of the skin, fat, and underlying connective tissues down to the muscles (which became fully exposed) at all of the treated sites. His kidneys were permanently injured, too. During his year-long hospital stay, he needed repeated surgery to clean the “burned” sites and repair them with full thickness skin grafts.

The moral of this story: Read the labeling of all medicines and follow the instructions carefully.

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Comments (0) Apr 28 2009

Signs and symptoms

Head lice cause itching of the scalp and sometimes a red, scaly rash on the back of the neck at the hairline. Scratching may cause sores on the scalp. The lymph glands at the base of the skull may be enlarged.

Unless hundreds are present, it is difficult to see lice in a child’s hair. Look for the small but easily visible nits attached to the shafts of the hairs. Though nits are about the same color and size as flakes of dandruff, they can be easily distinguished from dandruff. Flakes of dandruff can be blown or brushed away; nits can be removed with the fingernails only with difficulty.

Home care

Apply two tablespoonfuls of a 1-percent gamma benzene hexachloride shampoo (which your doctor will prescribe) to your child’s dry hair. Work it into lather, and leave it on four minutes. Then rinse well with water. Be very careful not to get this shampoo into the child’s eyes or mouth. After rinsing, fine-comb your child’s hair to remove the nits. If necessary, use a vinegar rinse to loosen the nits before combing. Repeat the shampoo and combing only once, four to seven days later. This procedure kills both the lice and the eggs. Clean combs and hairbrushes with the gamma benzene hexachloride shampoo. To kill stray lice, clean hats and pillowcases by washing and ironing or by dry cleaning.

Lice can also be killed by applying a 25-percent benzyl benzoate lotion (available over the counter) to the hair and scalp; shampoo after 12 to 24 hours. Repeat the procedure in four to seven days.

Precautions

• Gamma benzene hexachloride is lindane, a white powder used chiefly as an insecticide. It is poisonous if swallowed or absorbed through the skin. It can also harm the eyes. Do not let it come in contact with the eyes or mouth. Do not leave it within your child’s reach. Do not apply it more than twice.

• If one person has head lice, all family members except infants and pregnant women should be treated once with the shampoo.

• If the lice are accompanied by infected sores on the scalp or enlarged tender glands at the base of the skull, consult your doctor.

Medical treatment

Your doctor will ordinarily treat head lice as you would at home. If there are infected sores and infected lymph glands, your doctor may culture the sores and will usually prescribe an oral antibiotic for five to ten days.

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Comments (0) Apr 28 2009

The variety of margarines available in the supermarket has expanded enormously in recent times. The interesting point is that many of them are no longer called “margarine”. According to Food Standards Australia, a food can only be called margarine if it contains at least 80 percent fat. Most margarine now contains less fat, so they are referred to as “spreads”.

Some margarine spreads have got added plant sterols and claim to be able to lower cholesterol absorption. Plant sterols are also known as phyto-sterols, and they include beta-sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol, among others. It is true that plant sterols can inhibit cholesterol absorption in our digestive tract (cholesterol is also a type of sterol), and in this way reduce cholesterol levels. Therefore, if you eat some cholesterol containing food, such as eggs at the same time as the margarine, you will absorb less cholesterol from the eggs than usual. Bile that is secreted into our small intestine in response to a meal contains a great deal of cholesterol. Some of this is excreted in bowel movements but a lot of it gets re-absorbed back into our bloodstream through the intestinal wall. The sterols in margarine prevent some of this re-absorption of cholesterol.

Plant sterols or stands are a controversial topic. They are oestrogen-like compounds found naturally in many plants, but they are also a waste product of pulp and paper mills. Research has shown that rivers downstream of wood-pulp factories can become contaminated with plant sterols and this affects the fertility offish. Some fish became hermaphrodites and others switched gender! Experiments in test tubes have shown these sterols to stimulate breast cancer cells. Back in the 60s these compounds were used to manufacture human sex hormones. Since plant sterols clearly have hormonal effects, possibly it isn’t a good idea for every man, woman and child to be consuming them.

Some studies have shown that consumption of phyto-sterols reduces blood levels of vitamin E and beta-carotene. One study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that plant sterols reduced the bioavailability of beta-carotene by 50 percent and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) by 20 percent. What is the point of lowering your cholesterol if that is going to make you deficient in important antioxidants that have been shown to reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer?

Cholesterol lowering margarines are expensive; expect to pay more than seven dollars a tub. To get the full benefits from them you would have to eat 25g a day, roughly a heaped tablespoon. Some spreads contain canola oil and some contain olive oil and are promoted to be healthier, as they contain monounsaturated fat. However you don’t get as much olive or canola oil as you may think. Most canola spreads contain between 30 and 35 percent canola oil, and olive oil spreads typically contain only 22 to 23 percent olive oil. The rest of the product is made up of a vegetable oil blend; typically soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil or palm oil. Low fat margarine spreads contain more water, and some even contain gelatin.

The vast majority of margarines have been made from refined vegetable oils that have been processed using heat and chemical solvents. This means they contain rancid fats and often some trans fatty acids. New manufacturing techniques have been able to get the trans fat content of margarine very low, and some margarines are free of trans fats altogether. However, there are much healthier, more natural options. It is possible to obtain plant sterols from more natural sources such as raw nuts and seeds, legumes and extra virgin olive oil. When combined with an appropriate liver friendly, low carbohydrate eating plan it is possible for most people to achieve a healthy cholesterol level.

Healthy alternative spreads

Remember that most bread is fairly high in carbohydrate, and eating too much of it can raise your cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as promote weight gain and Syndrome X. Eat bread in small quantities, and choose one that is made from stone ground flour and has a low glycaemic index. The following are all suitable spreads to use:

-    Fresh avocado

-    Tahini

-    Hummus

-    Natural nut butter/paste such as peanut, almond, cashew, macadamia or Brazil nut butter.

-    Tomato paste

-    Baba ganoush

-    Extra virgin olive oil

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Comments (0) Apr 23 2009

We need fibre to keep our bowels healthy and prevent constipation but fibre is also vital for our fertility.

The fibre contained in whole grains, fruit and vegetables reduces excess oestrogen levels, clearing out old hormone residues. It does this by preventing oestrogens that have been excreted in the bile from being reabsorbed back into the blood.

Studies have shown that women who eat a vegetarian diet excrete three times more ‘old’, detoxified oestrogens than women who also eat meat. The meat-eaters also reabsorb more oestrogen. So, for both men and women aiming to keep their reproductive systems in optimum balance, it makes sense to ensure that you are getting enough fibre in your diet.

Contrary to popular belief, the best way to do this is not to add bran to your food. Whatever you may have read or heard about its benefits, bran can actually block the absorption of vital nutrients such as iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium. It is much better to eat it in its natural form (as whole grains) instead.

To increase your fibre intake, you need to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables (cooked and raw), whole grains (brown rice, whole meal bread, oats, wholegrain crackers and whole meal pasta), beans, nuts and seeds.

You should also avoid refined carbohydrates (such as cakes, white bread and biscuits, and anything containing white flour and sugar). Don’t be tempted to eat bran on its own or when added or made into breakfast cereal.

It is important for your bowels to work efficiently so that ‘old’ hormones can be quickly excreted and also so that food does not end up putrefying (which it may do if it stays in your bowel too long). Proper bowel function also helps you get rid of chemicals, pesticides, heavy toxic metals and other toxins that can affect your fertility.

I have found that even patients diagnosed with high lead levels, caused by daily commuting to work through London, soon start to get rid of the excess lead once they are on a healthy, high-fibre diet.

Help for constipation

What can you use instead of bran? First try increasing your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables. If you need extra help then either sprinkle 1 tablespoon of linseeds onto your breakfast cereal in the mornings or soak 1 tablespoon of linseeds in a small amount of “water and swallow. Vitamin Ñ can also be used to help soften stools. Try taking l,000 mg per day, and increase by 500mg at a time until your stools are manageable, soft and comfortable.

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Comments (0) Apr 23 2009

A Shock to the System

Electrical shocks aren’t the most common form of home accident, says Taylor. But they can be among the most harmful. “Even mild electrical shocks can result in serious internal injuries,” adds Dr. Alton Thygerson of Brigham Young University and the National Safety Council’s First-Aid Institute. “Even standard household current of 110 volts can be deadly.”

The most basic way to avoid getting an unwanted shock to your system is to make it a cardinal rule not to mess with the wiring in your house unless you’re a trained professional, Taylor says. “Be especially careful when you’re drilling,” he adds. “You don’t want to be drilling around places where there could be electrical wires present, like outlets. When in doubt, always call an electrician. Your life is more important than the ego boost of doing it yourself.”

If you do receive a shock, seek medical attention immediately, Dr. Thygerson says. “The burns on the skin that result from an electrical shock often are small and don’t look like much, but electricity travels along your nerves and blood vessels before exiting your body. And even relatively minor shocks can cause internal damage.”

Yardwork Woes

Your home doesn’t end when you walk out the door. If you’re like most homeowners, you likely have a patch of green-or more often stubbornly brown-that you call home for cookouts and lazy Sunday lounges. If you thought the inside of your house was an accident zone, check out what awaits in the backyard. The following are common yard-improvement tools, along with the number of handymen they send to the emergency room each year.

Nails, screws, and tacks or bolts:         191,037

Ladders:         151,327

Fences and fence posts:         114,055

Pruners, trimmers, and edgers:          36,204

Chain saws:          35,132

Gasoline and other fuels:          18,924

Pliers, wire cutters, and wrenches:          14,543

Just like accidents that happen inside the house, accidents that happen in the yard are often the result of cutting corners or being overly confident,” Taylor says. The following tips can help.

Cover up. “We tell people that if they’re going to be working around the old house, take their cue from Bob Vila or Norm Abram,” says Taylor. “They always wear gloves and safety goggles and take the little precautions that can keep you out of big trouble.” It’s especially important to take these safety precautions when handling power equipment, like mowers and pruners.

Take your time. Whatever you do, don’t rush yourself on a domestic-repair or improvement job. Haste can waste you. “The worst thing you can do,” Taylor says, “is not allow yourself enough time to do the job properly. Many accidents occur when you try to do too much in too little time.” If you really don’t have time to do the job right, get somebody else to do it-like a professional-or don’t do it at all.

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Comments (0) Apr 23 2009

The brain

The brain acts as the central processing unit for all these various forces and influences. Different parts of the brain control responses to different stimuli.

Perhaps of greatest interest in a discussion of eating is the hypothalamus. This cluster of nerves, located near the front of the brain and surrounded by the hemispheres of “gray matter,” is astonishingly powerful given its tiny size. The hypothalamus, serving as a kind of gatekeeper between the brain and the rest of the body, coordinates many activities, including the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and the autonomic nervous system that governs, among other things, breathing and digestion.

The hypothalamus receives signals from the body about the state of energy supplies, decides what has to be done, and issues orders accordingly. For example, “hunger” signals sent from one part of the brain to other areas propel us toward the refrigerator. During the meal, various feedback loops change the concentration of certain brain chemicals. The hypothalamus records all of these changes and signals other parts of the brain to stop the eating. You put your fork down and push yourself away from the table. This is a “satiety” response. Without it we would continue eating to the point of physical pain.

Although small, the hypothalamus is divided into several discrete areas. Since the 1940s, we have known that damage to one area can disturb metabolism, resulting in overeating and obesity. Such results led to the early conclusion that the hypothalamus housed the central mechanisms in charge of hunger and satiety. We have since learned, however, that the eating process is much more complex than this simplistic explanation would allow. Hunger signals are now thought of as “decentralized,” traveling not just from the brain to the body, but from the body to the brain as well.

Research has also revealed that the hypothalamus, like the rest of the brain, is awash in a biochemical bath. The different areas of the hypothalamus are studded with specific receptors geared to respond only to certain neurotransmitters.

Other organs

The brain is just one of the links in the chain of the eating process. Other links include the nose, mouth, esophagus, the digestive tract, the bowels, and the kidneys.

Until recently, people tended to look on the stomach as just a passive bag that received food, broke it down, and passed it on. New discoveries indicate that the gastrointestinal system plays an active role in regulating the intake of food.

Food landing in the stomach sets in motion a series of events. The stomach and small intestine react to the size of the meal and the type of nutrients contained in the foods-fats, carbohydrates, and so on-by releasing the right mix of acids and other compounds necessary for digestion. Various gastrointestinal peptides are released in response to feeding, which in turn signal the hypothalamus to “terminate eating.” (A peptide is a compound of two or more amino acids; proteins are long sequences of amino acids linked together.)

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Comments (0) Apr 22 2009

Murray Hann admits that he wasn’t the kind of person that you’d expect to find on a tennis court. At 315 pounds, he looked more like a spectator than a player. “But I played a decent game, even as a fat guy,” he says.

His love of the sport helped him launch a regular fitness program—and helped him lose almost half of his body weight.

Murray, a 38-year-old mechanical engineer from Palm Bay, Florida, had a weight problem throughout his entire life. “I grew up with a wonderful, Aunt Bea type of mom who regularly baked cookies for my brother and me,” he recalls. “I ate more than I should have, and it showed.”

At age 30, Murray started feeling self-conscious about his size. “I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life alone, and I believed that that’s what would happen if I didn’t slim down,” he says. “There was no woman on Earth who was tolerant enough to see through all that fat.” ; ^

As much as he wanted to shed the extra pounds, Murray refused to go on a diet. “Diets provide only temporary results,” he ex- j <j§ plains. “I wanted to lose the weight permanently. I knew that that would mean making lifestyle changes.”

Murray thought about how much he enjoyed tennis, along with a number of other sports. He figured that he could stick with a regular exercise program, which in turn would help him lose weight.

“I made up my mind to work out every day, no matter what,” he says. “Sometimes, I felt selfish because I put exercise so high on my priority list. It became almost as important to me as food, water, and sleep.”

His brother gave him a rowing machine, which Murray used every night. “I wouldn’t fix dinner until I completed 40 minutes,” he says. He continued to play an occasional game of tennis. As his fitness improved, he graduated to racquetball, then mountain biking, then walking, then jogging, then running.

To support his new exercise habit, Murray began paying more attention to his food choices. He cut back on fat while making sure to get an adequate amount of protein.

With regular workouts and a better diet, Murray was able to take off 150 pounds in about a year. He has maintained his weight at 165 pounds since 1992.

Exercise had another, unexpected benefit that made Murray even happier than his trim physique. He met his wife, Susan, on the racquetball courts at a local recreation center. “We played against each other, and she kicked my butt,” he recalls.

S These days, Murray and Susan often work out together as part of their active lifestyle. In addition, during his lunch hour, Murray usually runs with a group of coworkers. “I enjoy the sunshine, fresh air, and camaraderie more than food,” he says.

WINNING ACTION

Do what you love; love what you do. There’s no rule saying that you have to walk or run or pedal a bike to lose weight. Anything that gets your body moving burns calories. So find an activity that you love. Murray is a great role model: He loves tennis, and he used it as a springboard to establishing a regular exercise program. The point is that if you enjoy what you’re doing, you’re more likely to do it.

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Comments (0) Apr 22 2009