Protect Your Feet

A SOUND APPROACH TO FOOT PROBLEMS

 If you think your feet are not normal, don't buy any kind of remedial shoes or get arch supports without consulting a physician. You may be "correcting" the wrong thing, or your troubles may be due to something entirely apart from the shoes you are wearing. Your socks or stockings may not fit properly, thus bending or cramping the toes or causing calluses and blisters. Your feet may be swelling because garters restrict circulation. 

You may be putting too much of a burden on the feet because of overweight. If you have foot problems, consider whether you have to stand too much on hard surfaces. Walking around a little helps to relieve the strain of standing, and getting your feet up on a couch orfootstool for even a few minutes' rest at a time often does wonders. You may not be standing or walking properly. When you stand, your feet should be parallel with each other, not toeing out.

When you walk, your footprints should make tracks that would almost touch a straight line drawn between them, with the heels just a trifle farther away from the line than the toes. This is not walking pigeon-toed but it certainly is not toeing out. Whether or not your foot trouble traces to flat feet or fallen arches is something only a doctor can really determine and cure. 

By all means, don't leave the diagnosis up to a shoe salesman. Flat feet may be inherited or be caused by overweight or by wearing improper shoes in childhood. If you believe you have flat feet or fallen arches, the following exercises, done in moderation, will not hurt if your diagnosis is wrong and, if right, may help: With shoes off, sit in a chair and pretend there is sand on the floor and that you are heaping it into a pile between your feet by drawing them together in a scooping motion. Put some marbles on the rug in front of you. Pick one up with your toes and throw it forward. Repeat these exercises but stop if your feet become tired. 

Myths about Foot care - Early Problems

 EARLY PROBLEMS on Feet

About 99 percent of us are born with perfect feet and manage to quickly acquire trouble. One study carried out not long ago in seven cities found that 74 percent of children in elementary schools had foot problems; by high school, 88 percent.

There are several reasons for this. Throughout life the feet are subjected to the stress of standing on hard surfaces. Man doesn't do enough walking, which is good for the feet. Standing is an enemy of the feet in the sense that it involves 100 percent use of them; walking involves only 50 percent use since one foot rests while the other supports weight. 

And shoes-poorly fitted and often designed for the eyes rather than the feet -deserve a major share of the blame. Foot specialists who have examined many thousands of feet lament over what they call "man's insistence on forcing a square into a triangle." If you take off a shoe and look straight down at your foot, you will note that the sides make roughly parallel straight lines, and even the front can be described more or less as a straight line running from big to little toe. But look at your shoes and more than likely the toes are shaped like triangles.

Only when man started enclosing his feet in shoes did he have to start worrying about corns, calluses, hammer toes, bunions, and other foot ailments.

MYTHS 

We are surrounded by foot myths. They range from the notion that many foot troubles stem from wearing sneakers in childhood to wearing loafers, which are supposed to be bad because they let the feet spread. 

As one authority on the feet notes, undoubtedly the feet will grow somewhat larger and wider if not restricted by ill-shaped shoes, but this is healthy. The biggest misconceptions center on flat feet and fallen arches. Because the Army once rejected thousands of men with flat feet, the idea that there's something inevitably wrong with flat feet persists. 

 One of the nation's outstanding investigators of the foot, has reported that many people with arches "as flat as pancakes" never have experienced foot pain, while some of the most painful and obstinate cases involve feet with well-formed arches.

According to some authorities, only one out of 1,000 people with flat feet experiences pain because the feet are flat. The best practice for the flat-footed person-and anyone else with a painful foot problem for which there is no clear-cut, obvious cause-is to get advice and treatment from a physician or podiatrist rather than to keep buying arch supports. 

Dental care tools and how to use?

Dental Care TOOLS

 A toothbrush, preferably soft-bristled, never hard, since it will be used at the gumline as well as on the teeth

 Dental floss

 An irrigator, or water spray, attachable to the bathroom faucet

 Many types are available. Your dentist may recommend one.

A small, inexpensive, plastic-handled mouth mirror, available from your dentist or drugstore

How TO PROCEED

BRUSHING

 Properly used, a toothbrush can clean three of the five surfaces of the teeth-chewing, cheek side and tongue side. Note: A critical, often missed zone is the last one-sixteenth inch of the tooth at the gum margin. Plaque and bacteria near the gum as well as on the rest of the tooth must be removed. Direct the brush bristles gently into the crevice between gum and teeth. 

Mildly vibrate brush handle so bristles do not travel and skip about but can dislodge material in this area. A soft-bristle brush gently used will do no damage to gum tissue; a stiff bristle brush may. Next, move brush, applying gentle but firm pressure, so bristles travel over surface of tooth. Brush upper teeth with a downward motion; lower, with upward motion. 

Brush surfaces next to tongue and surfaces next to cheek. Then clean the chewing surfaces, brushing across tops of teeth. Brush at least half a dozen strokes in each area.

FLOSSING

 Plaque must be cleaned away from the other two surfaces of the teeth-the sides, or interdental surfaces. Floss can accomplish this. Cut off a piece of floss 18 to 24 inches long. Wrap the ends around the forefinger and middle finger of each hand, leaving the thumbs free. To floss between upper teeth, use thumbs as guide; hold thumbs about 1 inch apart, keeping floss taut. For lower teeth, use forefingers as guide, keeping them 1 inch apart.

 Slip the floss between each pair of teeth. Do not try to snap floss through a tight area; work it gently back and forth until it passes through. Carry the floss to the base of one tooth, stopping when it is just under the edge of the gum. Scrape the floss up and down against the side of the tooth until you get a rough or "squeaky" feeling, which indicates you have broken through the plaque and are actually touching the tooth. After cleaning the side of one tooth, clean the side of the adjoining tooth.

 RINSING

 After brushing and flossing, vigorous rinsing will remove dislodged food particles, plaque, and bacteria. An irrigating spray also helps clean under any bridges or braces and in gum pockets where brush and floss cannot reach. Place the spray tip in the mouth pointing toward the tongue and adjust water flow until pressure and temperature feel good. Move tip so warm water washes spaces between teeth and between gums and teeth. The spray should not be painful at any time. 

Dental care

Dentists take the time to show patients exactly how to break up and clean away plaque with toothbrushing methods not the same as those most of us use; and they demonstrate the use of dental floss, not as most of us use it to merely dislodge food particles from between the teeth, but also to get plaque off the sides of the teeth. 

They send patients home with a supply of wafers and a little dental mirror to be used for self-checking on home cleaning. They take the time to recheck with wafers in the office on subsequent visits to make certain home care is effective. Ideally, the mouth should be cleansed immediately after a meal or snack. Practically, that is a difficult goal for many people. But these dentists emphasize that, because it takes 24 hours or more for plaque to reform, even a single thorough cleansing of the mouth at night before retiring can go a long way to minimize decay and gum disease.

And these dentists can point to patients, children andadults, with long histories of severe decay brought under control by educated home care. Among these dentists are periodontitis, specialists in gum diseases, who get only the worst cases referred to them-so far advanced that surgery to eliminate the deep gum pockets is necessary. But, typically, they will not operate until the patient is shown how to care for his mouth at home and goes on a prevention program for several weeks or even months. In virtually every case, these periodontitis report, they are able to demonstrate that the patient himself, with proper home care, can bring even the most advanced periodontal disease under control so that, once surgical repairs are made, there will be no recurrence.

 Under way today is a vast amount of research seeking additional preventive measures. Before long, anti-decay agents may be going into foods. Recent studies with children suggest that a chemical, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, added to breakfast cereals, can help reduce decay. Other work indicates that adding phosphate to chewing gum can be similarly helpful. In a dozen laboratories, scientists are busy trying to develop a vaccine that may immunize against decay-causing bacteria. Much other research is going on. But the preventive measures available right now can drastically reduce dental disease. 

PREVENTION OF DECAY

 MOVING TOWARD PREVENTION OF DECAY

The first glimmer of hope for avoidance came with the discovery some 30 years ago of the value of fluoridated drinking water. Ingested regularly during childhood while the teeth were being formed, fluoride could combine with the developing enamel to make it more acid-resistant. It could halve the incidence of decay in children. Currently, some 3,000 communities serving about one third of the total population have fluoridated water. 

Many dentists in no fluoridated areas now prescribe fluoride tablets, or vitamins with fluoride added, for children. Another advance came about 20 years ago with the discovery that painting a sodium fluoride solution directly on the enamel could cut decay 25 to 40 percent. This, however, was true only for children up to about age 15. And the applications, which took quite some time, did not add extra protection for children in fluoridated water communities. 

After some searching, scientists next turned up stannous fluoride, a combination of tin and fluorine. One application a year of stannous fluoride proved far more effective than sodium fluoride applications. It added to the protective effect of ingested fluoride. And it worked for adults as well as children.

There followed incorporation of fluoride in toothpastes-to provide, in effect, a daily topical fluoride application that could supplement periodic applications by the dentist. In 1960, for the first time, the American Dental Association established a therapeutic category for dentifrices. 

Where before toothpastes had been considered aids to cleaning and no more, now, with fluoride added, they could also reduce decay by one third or more. At that point, the picture was this: Ingested fluoride could help endow youngsters with teeth better able to resist decay. Topical applications by a dentist and use offluoridated toothpaste could increase protection. Combined, the measures could reduce decay by as much as 90 percent in children. 

Another important development was to come when work of the Armed Forces demonstrated dramatically that adults, too, could benefit. These very same methods provide for even further improvement in reducing decay. 

Dental diseases

The Navy has experimented further-with a "self-preparation" program. Before they go to the dental clinic, servicemen get a cup of pumice paste containing fluoride and are shown in groups how to brush it on their teeth for 10 minutes to achieve a thorough cleaning and burnishing. 

After that, a dentist has only to apply a fluoride solution for 15 seconds and the treatment is completed. The self-preparation technique has been extended to children of naval personnel, and Admiral Kyes is convinced it has broad implications for the civilian community. 

As Navy children scrub their teeth at home under their mothers' supervision and go todental clinics for brief and inexpensive treatment, so schoolchildren can scrub at home and receive their topical application at home. Self-preparation is a dental Pandora's box because it breaks through dentistry's two restraining bonds-time and lack of manpower.

 The Armed Forces' work has provided a clear-cut demonstration on a massive scale that decay prevention techniques are highly effective for adults as well as children and that they may be widely and inexpensively applied.

Dental diseases are directly responsible for general poor health, affecting patients of all ages. Rampant dental cavities in children not only result in facial deformities in adulthood but contribute significantly to bacterial contamination of the blood and may be quite important in the development of certain forms of heart disease. 

The elimination of decay ... is most urgent in the treatment of bacterial endocarditis [a heart infection] and rheumatic fever. Elimination of dental disease is essential in preventing certain forms of kidney disease in children and adults.

THE DECAY PROCESS-ADVANCES AGAINST GUM DISEASE

THE DECAY PROCESS 

Decay, essentially, is an acid-etching process. The acid is formed when bacteria, always present in the mouth, digest food particles left in the mouth. The acid attacks the enamel, the outer layer of the teeth which, even though it is the hardest substance in the body, will dissolve in acid. Decay is sneaky. Even a tiny hole, one you cannot see, through the enamel can be enough to allow acid to enter to start dissolving the dentin, the softer structure under the enamel. 

When the decay process finally reaches the pulp, the living part of the tooth containing nerves and blood vessels, you may feel pain, but not necessarily. A tooth may r. be almost completely rotted away and abscessed without causing pain. It would be bad enough if the effects of decay in a tooth were limited to the tooth, but a diseased tooth can allow bacteria to enter the blood- stream to be circulated to the rest of the body. Dr. J. C. Muhler, of Indiana University, one of the country's leading dental researchers, has written:

ADVANCES AGAINST GUM DISEASE 

Meanwhile, gum disease-technically known as periodontal disease-has come in for hard study. And not only have effective methods to help The Armed Forces always had been faced with a serious dental disease problem. Entering servicemen had an average of seven decaying teeth each, and developed more while on duty; service dentists couldn't begin to cope adequately. In 1961, the Army set up a small-scale experimental program. 

Servicemen had their teeth cleaned in the dental chair, but instead of finishing up with the usual abrasive polishing paste to make the teeth gleam, Army dentists used a paste with fluoride added.

Along with bright teeth, servicemen also got fluoride burnished into the enamel during the polishing. In the same sitting, a topical fluoride solution was dabbed on. 

They were then sent away to make regular daily use of a fluoridated toothpaste. . By 1963, Army dentists had expanded the program so it reached more than 300,000 men. It has been expanding since, and in the Navy and Air Force as well. Result: huge reductions in new cavity formation. A comparison study at the Navy's New London, Connecticut, base, for example, showed an 86 percent reduction in the decay rate among men on the program. 

After two years of experience with the program at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Admiral Kyes could report that "midshipmen now have a caries expectancy of one new cavity in ten years," versus the average rate of university students of the same age of two new cavities each year. 

Adrenal and Pituitary glands Symptems and causes

 The Adrenal Glands Each of the adrenal glands, one atop each kidney, has a cortex, or outer portion, and medulla, or central section. The cortex secretes about 30 hormones and regulates many metabolic processes. The medulla produces the hormone epinephrine, more commonly called adrenaline. Adrenaline output is stepped up when you become fearful, angry, or excited-leading to a speed-up of heartbeat and many chemical changes that prepare the body for action. 

Among the major functions of the adrenal cortex and its hormones are the control of salt and water content of the body, and the control of sugar and protein metabolism. The cortex also secretes a hormone similar to that put out by the testes. In some tumors of the cortex, women develop masculine characteristics such as a deep voice and facial hair, and menstruation may slow or cease. In men with such tumors, the masculine secondary sex characteristics become more pronounced.

 Underfunctioning of the adrenal cortex produces a rare disorder, Addison's disease, discussed elsewhere. With cortisone and other preparations, Addison's disease can be controlled and the afflicted person can lead a normal life.

Both cortisone, an adrenal hormone preparation, and various derivatives of it, can replenish the body's supply when the adrenals function improperly. In addition, these medications may bring about favorable results in such diseases as arthritis, asthma, sarcoidosis, and rheumatic fever. The reason is not yet clear, for people with such diseases do not appear to be deficient in adrenal hormones and yet additions to the normal output sometimes produce striking improvement. 

The Pituitary Gland If you think of one line drawn through the head from ear to ear and another drawn backward from between the eyes, the pituitary lays at the spot-at the base of the brain-where the two lines cross. It consists of an anterior or front lobe; an intermediate part; and a posterior or back lobe. The secretions of the pituitary are many and perhaps still more remain to be discovered. From the anterior lobe come powerful agents that influence other endocrine glands as well as various body regions. ACTH, adrenocorticotrophic hormone, stimulates the adrenal cortex.

Thyro-trophic, or thyroid-stimulating hormone, often called TSH, regulates size and activity of the thyroid gland. Also from the anterior pituitary comes a hormone called the growth hormone, which has an important influence on height. During the years when a child is moving toward adulthood, the anterior pituitary secretes gonadotrophic hormone which stimulates the reproductive organs. After childbirth, the anterior lobe secretes lacto- genic hormone which causes milk to flow. One of the posterior pituitary hormones, vasopressin, helps regulate water balance in the body. 

Another, oxytocin, stimulates smooth muscles such as those of the digestive organs and the uterus. Research is constantly revealing new facts about the pituitary and the relationship among the various glands of the endocrine system. Scientists are trying to unravel the mysteries of the thymus and pineal glands. When such problems are solved, it can be expected that many more dis- eases may become not only curable but preventable.

 Pituitary gland diseases are rare. Inadequate pituitary secretion causes some types of dwarfism; excessive secretion stimulates growth to gigantic proportions. Pituitary tumors may press on the optic nerves and produce some loss of vision and headaches. Acromegaly, in which bones increase in size, particularly the bones of face, hands and feet, is caused by an overactive pituitary. Cushing'sdisease also is sometimes caused this way. Underactivity of the anterior lobe of this complex gland leads to a thin, malnourished condition, Simmonds' disease. 

Pituitary insufficiency can cause children to become excessively fat. In some cases, a condition called Frohlich's syndrome develops; children who have it are excessively obese and sexually underdeveloped. If given an extract of pituitary gland in time, they become normal and are spared unhappy lives. If pituitary secretion decreases after puberty, fat may accumulate around certain portions of the body, particularly the hips. When the back lobe of the pituitary fails to function properly, excessive urination results-as much as 30 quarts a day.

This rare malady is diabetes insipidus, not to be confused with" ordinary" diabetes mellitus. While effective replacements for all pituitary hormones are not avail- able, treatment of the organs affected by specific hormones is often possible. Thus, cortisone, thyroid, and sex hormones are often employed for patients suffering from specific pituitary hormone problems. 

For patients affected by dwarfism, human growth hormone has become available; it is effective only in specific cases and only if administered before the normal growth period has ended. The Sex Glands (Gonads) The gonads(derived from the Greek word meaning seed) consist of the testes in men, the ovaries in women. In addition to producing sperm and ova, the glands elaborate hormones that are responsible for the special male and female characteristics. 

Eye

Eye 

In one experiment, when subjects were asked to estimate the size of coins and cardboard disks that were exactly the same size, they guessed, on the average, that the coins were one-fourth larger than the disks-and the poorer off financially a subject was, the more he overestimated coin size. The eyes even serve a purpose beyond seeing. 

They have a marked effect on taste, as shown by studies at a U.S. Air Force medical laboratory where volunteers were fed in a completely darkened room. Unable to see the food, they could detect no difference in taste between white and whole-wheat bread or between various canned foods. Eye Problems and Their Prevention Defects and diseases to which the eyes are susceptible account, in part, for the fact that there are nearly half a million people in the United States who are totally blind and two million more who are partially blind. 

But in part, too, this unpleasant fact is the result of misunderstanding, neglect, and delay in seeking aid, for many potentially blinding disorders can be prevented, or arrested, or even cured with prompt attention. In addition, of course, about 40 percent of the population wears glasses, indicating that the vision of almost one of every two people leaves something to be desired.

Three common eye defects-farsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism-are the result of simple optical aberrations in the eye. If the lens is to focus light rays directly on the retina, it must be at the proper distance. When the eyeball is too short, the lens will be too close;  Prevention: Body conversely, if the eyeball is elongated, the lens will be too far away. Moreover, to accommodate to both near and far objects, the lens must change its curvature to maintain proper focus. At birth, the average baby has foreshortened eyeballs and is far- sighted. 

From about age 6 to age 20, the eyeballs elongate. After about age 45, people tend to become farsighted again because the lens, going through a normal hardening process, loses some of its ability to change curvature to focus on near objects.

Nearsightedness is usually due to a lengthening of the eyeball, an increase in curvature of the cornea, or a change in refraction of the lens. Astigmatism is usually caused by an irregularity of the shape of the cornea. When the cornea does not have a perfect curve, images is distorted. The effect can be similar to that of looking through a dirt- streaked pane of glass. 

Fortunately, nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism are readily corrected with eyeglasses. And it is important that these conditions be corrected, for both comfort and good eye health. If, for example, one eye is more effective than the other, the good eye may do all the work, which could be bad for it and also for the one that is not being used.

This is why children's eyes should be checked at an early age, even before school, and why you should mind your own eyesight, remembering that changes do occur with time. Have your eyes examined as soon as you find yourself holding things off at a distance to see them, or when you notice that you no longer see as well as you once did in poor light. 

Always have an eye doctor examine your eyes and prescribe any necessary lenses. It is true, of course, that eyeglasses are an expense and possibly a bit of a nuisance. But what a joy it is to see properly and to know you are protecting your precioussight. 

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

The brain is likened to a control center, then the nervous system can be thought of as a two-way communications network through which informational messages flow to the control center and command messages are transmitted from the center. The informational, or sensory, messages come from the outside world through the sense organs (eyes, ears, etc.); they also come from within the body itself-there are billions of receptors all over the body concerned with various functions. 

The nervous system is organized to give you essential voluntary control over many actions. It is also set up to relieve you of concern with routine matters. Thus, for example, you eat dinner and decide whether you like or dislike a certain dish and wish to finish it.

On the other hand, you walk along, stumble on an object; without thought on your part, the muscles of the legs are automatically commanded to react, and one leg is extended and the other flexed so you maintain your balance. How Nerves Work Messages travel along nerves, at speeds of as much as 250 miles an hour, as the result of both electrical and chemical action. 

A nerve cell, or neuron, when viewed under a microscope, looks like a tiny blob, rounded or irregular in shape, with one or more threads extending from it. The blob is the actual nerve cell body; the threads are nerve fibers. Shorter fibers, called dendrites, bring messages to the cell body; they may range from a very small fraction of an inch to several feet in length.

One fiber, longer than the others and called the axon, transmits messages away from the cell body. A nerve impulse, going through the nerve network, travels over the fibers of many cells. As it reaches the end of one fiber, it jumps a gap, called a synapse, to the next fiber. Chemicals produced and stored around synapses can help the impulse to jump the gaps or can block the impulse. Some drugs that act in the nervous system-some of those for high blood pressure, for example-accomplish their tasks by affecting the chemicals at the synapses. 

Female Genital System

A sudden, profuse, odorous, colored, or painful discharge may indicate an infection that may not only affect the vaginal passage but could spread into the uterus, tubes, and ovaries. If such a discharge is accompanied by chills and fever, serious trouble may be developing. Such infections usually can be eradicated like magic by penicillin or other medicines, if you give a competent physician a chance to help you without delay.

 It is important to remember that infections that are readily curable with prompt, knowledgeable treatment can progress to cause sterility if neglected or if treated by a quack or on the advice of a well-meaning friend or neighbor. If they advance far enough, they may cause problems requiring surgery, including possible removal of a reproductive organ.

Remember, too, that gonorrheal vulvovaginitis in young girls can be contracted without sexual intercourse, so be certain not to neglect any discharge in a young daughter. What can a woman do to prevent venereal infection? While this is often regarded as too delicate a subject even for a book on health, the medical profession is pledged to treat and prevent disease in all people, regardless of moral status. For those women who for any reason are exposed to the risk of venereal disease, there is only one safe preventive measure to recommend: Insist that the male employ a condom during the entire time of the sexual act.

 Obviously, if the sheath is put on only just prior to male orgasm to prevent conception, there will be no protection from syphilis if the male organ has a syphilitic sore, nor will there be protection if the male has gonorrhea and his germs are present in the lubricating secretion produced at the earliest moments of male erection. In case of rape, see your doctor immediately, or go to a hospital emergency room. Prompt medical care can help prevent danger of pregnancy and also of venereal disease. It is important to note that vaginal discharge, leucorrhea, is not always serious.

Normally, a certain amount of fluid is produced to keep tissues moist. It is virtually odorless and colorless and nonirritating. Congestion, tension, and minor inflammations can increase the discharge. Germs far less dangerous than those responsible for syphilis and gonorrhea can produce infections which may become troublesome unless eradicated. Your physician must establish the cause of the infection before he can prescribe suitable treatment. That is why you should not use an anti- septic or germicidal solution as a douche unless you are under a physician's orders; you may be eradicating some, but the wrong, germs.

Tumors The female reproductive organs are subject to tumors and cancers and should be examined at regular medical checkups. At such times, your physician may well decide to take a "Pap smear," a simple, painless procedure that can establish the presence of early cancer and even a precancerous condition. Scores of thousands of women today owe their lives to the fact that their physician included this test as part of routine checkups. Any change in menstruation and any unexpected bleeding or dis- charge, especially after the menopause, should be reported immediately to your physician. These symptoms mayor may not stem from a malignant growth; when they do, the cure rate is very high if the growth is detected and treated early. 

Urinary Bladder

THE BLADDER

 A tube, or ureter, leads from each kidney to the urinary bladder. The bladder empties through the urethra, a tube leading to an external open- ing called the meatus. The bladder, which functions as a collecting and temporary storage point for urine, expands to accommodate increasing amounts. With the accumulation of about half a pint, reflex contractions lead to a desire to urinate, or micturate. 

The contractions stimulate pressure receptors in the muscles of the bladder wall, from which nervous impulses go to the brain. When it is convenient to urinate, the brain sends out signals which cause the bladder's external sphincter to relax.

The signals also set up a whole series of other events, including holding of the breath, forcing of the diaphragm down, and contraction of the abdominal wall, which in- crease pressure on the bladder and help it void its accumulated urine. Such is the complexity of the process that it is hardly any wonder that most children are walking before they become able to urinate with con- trolled competence. 

Normal daily production of urine may range from two to three pints. In some diseases, such as diabetes insipidus, the quantity is increased; in others, fever and diarrhea decrease it. Tea, coffee, alcohol, excitement, and nervousness increase urine output; hot water decreases it. Whatever the actual liquid output, a day's urine generally contains about two ounces of solids. 

Digestive system and tension-Ulcer

Those of us who are victims of chronic tension can, and should, take the tension problem to a physician who practices preventive medicine. It's a problem that usually can be solved, quite frequently with simple measures. You can protect your digestive system by precautions against infectious disease. Habits of cleanliness by all members of the family should be encouraged. 

The washing of hands after going to toilet-and especially before eating or handling food-should be a habit as automatic as breathing. Cleanliness is all the more vital because contamination can be spread by people who are not themselves ill. All milk that comes to the table should be pasteurized. In most cities, water coming from the faucet is safe to drink.

 But if you live in the country or go there on vacation, check on the safety of the drinking water. Pork, it must always be emphasized, should be thoroughly cooked since it may contain the parasite that produces trichinosis. Dangers may be lurking in bakery goods, especially those with custard fillings, such as eclairs, on which bacteria thrive. It is important to buy pastry from a clean, reliable bakery and to put it in the refrigerator as soon as you reach home. Make sure the pastry has not been standing, found in the bakery for a long time.

Perhaps no less important in guarding the health of your stomach and intestines is to leave them alone. Don't indulge in enemas to "clean out the colon and get rid of germs." The germs belong there and many people would have far better digestions if they had never heard of the term, "autointoxication." You will do best to remove it from your vocabulary; it is a meaningless, and potentially harmful, concept. 

So, too, are the terms "acid stomach," "alkaline stomach," and "heartburn." You can't cure these nonexistent diseases by taking stomach "sweeteners" or "aids" to digestion, which can do real harm. It is unfortunate that there are so many so-called simple remedies for indigestion on the market. Indigestion is by no means a simple disease. 

In fact, it is not a disease at all but a condition or group of symptoms which can be caused by any number of problems, ranging from migraine (page 582) and heart disease (page 585) to impending influenza or a dinner bolted when you're tense and tired. Even a skilled physician often finds it a long and difficult task to determine the cause and hence the proper treatment, of chronic indigestion. If you have the problem, don't object if your doctor asks you to have a complete set of x-rays so that he can determine whether the indigestion is caused by gallstones, ulcer, or tumor. He may need to examine the stomach with an instrument called the gastro scope. 

GALLBLADDER, PANCREAS, AND SPLEEN

GALLBLADDER, PANCREAS, AND SPLEEN 

The gallbladder, already discussed, is a kind of "side pocket" in the channel through which bile flows from the liver into the intestine, serving as a storage place. The pancreas, which weighs about three ounces, lies high up in the abdomen, deep behind the stomach. The pancreatic duct carries the digestive secretion, pancreatic fluid, through a common opening with the bile duct, into the duodenum. 

The fluid contains three important enzymes: amylase acts on carbohydrate foods; lipase functions in fat digestion; and trypsin is a protein-digesting agent. Equally important are the islets of Langerhans which are contained in the pancreas and produce insulin, a lack of which causes diabetes. 

The spleen, although often bracketed in people's minds with the pancreas, is not an organ of digestion. Roughly fist-shaped and about six inches long, it lies high up behind the stomach. In the unborn baby, the spleen plays an important role in producing red and white blood cells. After birth, it no longer manufactures red cells but still makes white cells.

 In adult life, it makes neither but does serve by doing the opposite-destroying old blood cells. The spleen is not vital; it can be removed without harm. While it is a useful organ, its functions can be performed elsewhere in the body. Normally, the spleen cannot be felt from outside unless it enlarges considerably.

It usually does so when affected by disease, and in extreme cases may increase fifty fold in size. Enlargement may carry some hazard since the spleen, when engorged with blood, may produce severe internal bleeding after a bump or knock that ordinarily would be trivial. 

THE LIVER

The materials absorbed from the intestinal tract and deposited in the blood go to the liver. 

THE LIVER

 If you place your left hand over the lowermost ribs on the right side of your chest, it will cover the liver, the largest internal organ in the body. In a baby, the liver makes up about one twenty-fifth of total body weight and occupies more than one third of the abdominal cavity, giving the child a pudgy appearance. In an adult, it weighs three to four pounds. It's a remarkably versatile gland, with dozens of functions. 

In its role as a digestive organ, the liver secretes bile, as already noted. Bill: flows (rom the liver through tubes which join to form the hepatitis duct. This duct joins the cystic duct, which leads upward to the gall- bladder. Between periods of digestion, bile backs up in the gallbladder and is stored there. As food passes from stomach to duodenum, the gall- bladder contracts and bile flows out the cystic duct, through the common bile duct, to an opening into the duodenum.

The liver serves as a storehouse for digested food-fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. It manufactures proteins, absorbs fat products, processes carbohydrates, and makes these available as fuel. It processes iron for the blood. It filters the blood, rendering harmless many poisons that may have entered the bloodstream. It is the liver that modifies various medicines, drugs, and poisons to make them innocuous. 

The liver can replace its own tissues. If nine tenths of the organ is removed, the remaining one tenth will undergo such active cell division that the original size will be restored within six to eight weeks. 

THE LARGE INTESTINE

THE LARGE INTESTINE By the time a meal has spent several hours in the stomach and another five hours or so in the small intestine, all that remains to enter the large intestine is a combination of water and indigestible waste, and it enters through a valve that prevents backflow. 

The large intestine, or colon, is about two to three inches in diameter. Upon entering, material travels upward through the ascending colon along the right side of the body, then through a sharp curve under the liver on the right and via the transverse colon across the top of the abdomen just below the diaphragm. Another sharp curve carries the material to the descending colon along the left side. The lower end of this part leads into an S-shaped section, the sigmoid colon. 

The colon ends in the rectum. Waste is held in the rectum by a sphincter muscle until it is discharged through the anal opening. Peristaltic movements in the colon are normally slower than elsewhere in the digestive tract. Waste often requires 12 to 24 hours to pass through. The colon has no digestive function but it does serve a vital purpose in absorbing water into the blood to maintain the water balance of the body. 

Indigestible material, which enters the colon in a watery mixture, becomes nearly solid, because of the water absorption, by the time it reaches the lower end of the colon.

Even with the absorption of large quantities of water, feces still consist of two-thirds water. The remainder is made up of small amounts of food residue, bacteria, intestinal secretions, and intestinal cellular re- mains-the reason why feces are produced even during starvation. Under normal conditions, the amount of feces may vary considerably. 

On the average, about 12 ounces of chyme may enter the colon daily (somewhat more on a rich vegetable diet), and from this will be derived about 4 ounces of feces. Intestinal gas, or flatus, is natural. It is a mixture of swallowed air and gases produced by intestinal bacteria. The bacteria quite normally occupy the digestive tract; some contribute materially to health by producing vitamins. While waste products are excreted in the form of semisolid feces, some, including salts and proteins, are filtered from the blood, along with excess water, by the kidneys and excreted as urine. 

Throat infections and nasal problems

 Fortunately, they do not attack when body resistance is high. When, however, resistance is lowered-by fatigue, poor nutrition, emotional turmoil, or another infection -a lung infection can strike suddenly. The most common lung infections are pneumonia and tuberculosis. 

Today, they can be treated effectively with medications chosen to combat the involved organisms. But much can be done to prevent their development through following the rules of good nutrition, reasonable everyday living with a balance of work, rest, and relaxation, and by paying attention to prompt and proper treatment of minor infections. 

If you are a worker in any industry where dust, gases, and smoke are inhaled, you should recognize the possibility of harm. By all means, check to determine whether increasingly stringent health laws aimed at minimizing or eliminating risk are being followed to the letter by your employer. If they are not being followed, it is a matter that should be brought to the employer's attention and, if necessary, to the attention of health authorities.

 If they are being followed and yet some risk remains, if you even suspect that you may be suffering some ill consequences, it is imperative to see your physician. It may be necessary, particularly if you happen to be especially sensitive to any specific materials, to change your job if your health is to be protected. We would like to emphasize here, too, that the moisture content (humidity) of air can influence health. 

There is considerable individual variation. Some people feel well in cold weather areas where the indoor air is extremely dry because of heating. Other people notice that this dry atmosphere irritates nose and throat. They react very much better when using humidifying devices now available commercially in many forms. 

Nasal and sore throat

A sore throat also may be due to irritation from excessive smoking. If cutting down on smoking and a trial of gargling every two or three hours using a third of a glassful of warm water containing two crushed aspirin tablets do not help, if the sore throat persists for more than a few days, you should see your physician. 

Serious conditions may begin with a sore throat. Any acutely sore throat accompanied by fever in either adult or child may mean trouble. It may indicate early stages of diphtheria, scarlet fever, septic sore throat, or serious infection of the tonsils.

 If these conditions are treated promptly by your physician, they can be cured quickly and serious complications can be avoided. In some individuals, even moderate use of cigarettes may produce irritation in the throat and larynx, leading to a hacking cough. There is no magic medicine for this.

The problem can be solved only by greater moderation or even complete discontinuation of smoking. Hoarseness is a sign that something may be wrong with the larynx. If you have been cheering at a football game the day before, the reason is obvious enough. But if hoarseness or a change in your voice appears without apparent cause and lasts longer than a few days, it may indicate a tumor, tuberculosis, or some other potentially serious condition, and immediate medical attention is essential. 

What commonsense precautions should you take to care for your lungs? First, considering what we now know about the effects of smoking on the lungs-in terms not only of lung cancer but of emphysema and chronic bronchitis you should give up smoking or at least switch from high-risk cigarettes to lower-risk mild cigars or a pipe. 

The moist, warm air passages of the lungs provide ideal growing conditions for many types of bacteria and viruses. This is the reason nature has provided so many barriers to these organisms, in the form of sticky mucous membrane secretions and cilia. But it is impossible to keep the passages 100 percent free of microorganisms.

The Nose and Sinuses

The Nose

On both sides of the septum are rounded ridges, called turbinates, outgrowths of soft bone covered with mucous membrane. Air is warmed and moistened in the turbinates, and the sticky surface of mucous membrane catches any foreign particles that have gotten by the nostril hairs. The mucus, which is continuously secreted by the membranes covering the turbinates, drains into the throat.

 In addition to the mucus, the membrane contains hairlike filaments, called cilia, which wave back and forth a dozen times a second, helping to clean incoming air and move foreign particles trapped in the mucus down the back of the throat and into the stomach where impurities are inactivated by gastric acid.

Extending into the nasal cavity from the base of the skull are large nerve filaments which are part of the sense organ for smell. From these filaments, information on odors is relayed to the olfactory nerve which goes to the brain.

THE SINUSES

 The sinuses are cavities lined with mucous membranes which are continuous with those lining the nose. There are eight sinuses: the frontal on each side of the forehead; the maxillary in the cheekbones on each side; the ethmoidal in the walls between nasal cavity and eye sockets; and the sphenoidal behind the nasal cavity. Filled with air, the sinuses lighten the head bones. 

They help equalize air pressure in the nasal cavity, aid in warming and moistening air, and serve as sounding chambers to give resonance to the voice. Many of us undoubtedly would be happy to do without the sinuses if we could be spared the pain of sinus infections-for, linked as closely to 208 / Preventive Body Care the nasal cavity as they are, the sinuses can be affected by infection spread from the nose. It is worth noting here that excessively hard nose blowing is a factor in spread of infection to the sinuses. 

Pulse blood system blood distribution blood pressure

THE PULSE You have undoubtedly noted physicians-and perhaps you have done the same yourself-place a finger on the radial artery ,It the wrist to "take" the pulse. The pulse is caused by the impart of blood on the arteries as the heart beats. It provides useful information about the strength and regularity of blood flow. Generally, for a person in good health, the pulse may speed up from around 70 a minute to more than 120 after vigorous exercise, but then, within three minutes, should return to the original value. There may be some quite normal deviations from average beat, deviations too from the beat with vigorous exercise, and deviations from the average interval required for return to the pre-exercise rate. If you have any doubt in your own case, you should check with your physician.

BLOOD PRESSURE Blood pressure is the force exerted against the walls of arteries as blood flows through. With each contraction of the ventricles, which is called a systole, there is a spurt of blood and this increases blood pressure. During the art of the cycle when the ventricles are not contracting, called the diastole, the pressure decreases. Thus, there is always pressure of blood, highest during systole and called the systolic pressure, lowest during diastole and called diastolic pressure. These pressures can be readily measured with an instrument, the sphygmomanometer (see page 24). And, as the discussion under high blood pressure indicates (page 596), measurement of pressure is an important means of determining the health of the heart and circulatory system.

BLOOD DISTRIBUTION The circulation of blood-so often dismissed as "blood from the heart into the arteries, to the tissues, then back to the heart through the veins" -is, in the human body, a really intricate and marvelous process. For it is remarkably adaptable. When blood moves from the heart into the aorta, it is at a speed of about 15 inches a second. Almost immediately, distribution around the body begins through arteries branching off from the aorta. From the smallest arteries, even smaller vessels called arterioles branch out. From the arterioles, blood flows to the smallest of all vessels, the capillaries. The capillaries transport blood to individual cells; and through microscopic spaces in the capillary walls, oxygen and other supplies are diffused to the cells and, in return, waste materials move into the blood- stream. The capillaries connect with venules, tiny vessels of the venous return system, which run into veins. The veins carry the blood to the great venae cavae, large vessels which empty into the right atrium of the heart.