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. 

MYXEDEMA-SIMPLE GOITER-Pregnant women

MYXEDEMA

 In this condition produced by thyroid under functioning, the patient is sluggish physically and mentally, cannot stand the cold, sometimes develops a tongue so large and thick that it sticks out of the mouth. Treatment, by administration of thyroid hormone, usually brings marked improvement. Some babies are born with thyroid deficiency. 

Any child who seems to be developing too slowly-for example, in following objects with his eyes or holding his head erect-should be checked by a physician for thyroid deficiency. The earlier such a child is treated, the better the chances for normal development.

SIMPLE GOITER

 To function normally, the thyroid must have iodine. Lacking sufficient iodine, it cannot produce the normal quantity of hormone. In an effort to compensate, the gland enlarges until a noticeable lump may appear in the throat. The swelling, or goiter, may become large enough to interfere with breathing or swallowing. 

Thyroid hormoneconsists of about 65 percent iodine, but the amount of iodine needed in food to avoid goiter is small. Iodized table salt-an amount no more than ordinarily used with meals-is enough, even in areas where the soil is completely lacking in natural iodine. Too much iodine may cause a skin eruption. 

Although consuming iodine does not cute a simple goiter, it will prevent one and will stop an existing goiter from enlarging further. Anyone with even a small goiter should have medical attention for it. 

It is especially important for expectant mothers who live in regions such as the Rocky Mountain States, the Great Lakes Basin, and the Upper Mississippi River Valley, where the soil is lacking in iodine, to follow doctor's orders about the amount of iodine they need. Insufficient iodine in the diet may cause a mother to produce a child with thyroid deficiency.

However, most pregnant women develop a slight enlargement of the thyroid, and this should cause no undue worry. 

THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM 

The endocrine glands differ markedly in appearance and are widely separated in the body. The pituitary is a round mass about the size of a large green pea, attached by a stalk to the brain stem. The thyroid, deep in the throat, has been likened to a small oyster, though it is beefy red in color. Attached to the thyroid are the parathyroid-generally four, although there may be more or less-which somewhat resemble BB shots. 

The adrenals, rising like mushrooms from atop the kidneys, are two in number. Each consists of a core, the medulla, and a casing, the cortex. The pancreas, lying against the back wall of the abdomen, might appear at first glance to be no endocrine gland at all, since it has a duct leading into the intestine. But in the tail and elsewhere it also has a few tiny segments, called islets, which form an endocrine gland, pouring their secretions into the bloodstream. The gonads, or sex glands, consist of testes in men and ovaries in women. In addition, there are the pineal gland in the upper back part of the brain, and the thymus which is found below the thyroid in young people. and withers away.

Very little is known as yet about the pineal and thymus

 The hormones these glands send through the blood to various parts of the body act like messengers (the word hormone comes from the Greek word meaning to excite or stir up). The hormones do not actually create processes; instead they give the orders for certain processes to speed up or slow down. And the endocrine glands form an interdependent system. In a sense, they can be likened to a family in that what happens to one affects the others.

 If one gland is removed, the functioning of all others is altered. Similarly, if the functioning of one increase so its secretions increase, others are affected. This is one reason why it can be dangerous to dose oneself with a hormone, glandular tissue or extract, or whatever it may be called, (or the purpose of reducing weight, getting rid of .'X oo ",,, hair, developing the breasts, becoming more virile, or for any other reason. 

As an example of how the glands work together, the pituitary secretes a hormone that moves through the blood to the adrenals to stimulate the latter. In turn, the adrenals secrete a hormone that travels to the pituitary and signals the latter to slow production of the adrenal-arousing hormone. Actually, the pituitary secretes hormones to stir up each of the other endocrine glands, and each gland responds in the same way. Until recently, it was thought that the pituitary was the "master" gland. But it is now evident that the pituitary is no all-powerful monarch on its own. It is connected to the floor of one of the ventricles in the brain called the hypothalamus. 

Sense organs- Ear- taste buds - skin touch

THE OTHER SENSES 

Man has about 3,000 taste buds. They are mainly on the tongue, although there are a few on the palate, tonsils, and pharynx. There are four primary or basic tastes sensations-sweet, bitter, sour or acid, and salt. You can't taste all flavors on all parts of the tongue. Sweet flavors register near the tip, sour on the sides, bitter on the back, and salty all over. The sense of smell is located in odor receptors in the upper passage of the nasal cavity. 

The size of the membrane containing the odor receptors is only about one-fourth square inch in man as against an area 40 times as great in the dog. The organ of smell, which can detect things at a distance, is obviously more important as a danger warning system in animals than in man. It's because of the location of the receptors that you may not smell delicate odors at first.

It takes several whiffs to get the odor into the upper nasal passage. Before you can taste anything, the substance must be moistened, and the salivary glands supply the moisture. And to be smelled, an odor must be dissolved in the mucus secreted by the nasal membranes. Smell receptors in man, although they do not have the same capacity as in lower animals, still are sensitive enough to allow you to detect a substance diluted to as much as one part in 30 billion. 

No special care is required to guard the senses of taste and smell. You may wish to read, in connection with these senses, the section dealing with care of the mouth and the nose. Touch, sometimes called the fifth sense, is actually five senses: touch, pressure, pain, heat, and cold. Skin: sensations are registered in nerve endings all over the body. Nerve fibers carry them as impulses to the spinal cord and then to the brain where all these feelings register. If you place your hand lightly on any object, the first sensation is touch.

Press harder and you sense pressure. And if the object has a rough surface and you press hard enough, you may feel pain. The senses are closely related though distinct from each other. Also in the skin are separate nerve endings to register heat and cold, which is absence of heat. A discussion of sense organs could go much further but would serve no useful purpose here. 

For example, you can feel the pain of a stomach- ache, but you can also feel hunger, which is quite different. You can also feel thirst, which is not among the sensations classically classified. Some investigators have suggested that the senses might well be divided into a dozen or more categories. In addition to the usual five-sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch-pressure, heat, cold, and pain deserve individual categories, and so, too, the ability to sense vibration, position, and equilibrium. 

Eye care - How to wash your eyes?

Eye care

It is not necessary to routinely wash the eyes, since nature has pro- vided for cleaning through the tear glands. 50 don't use eye drops or wash your eyes daily with any solution. Incidentally, boric acid does not deserve its reputation as an antiseptic for the eyes. All you need do to keep your eyes clean is to wash the skin around them, using a clean personal washcloth. 

Avoid rubbing your eyes with your fingers. Eye Injury You can't be too careful in guarding your eyes against accidents at home, work, and play. Impress the need on children. And always see a physician immediately if an eye has been hurt, since delay can mean blindness. One serious injury is that resulting from sun eclipses. There are still too many adults as well as children who are unaware of the danger, and many eyes continue to be damaged because of failure to view an eclipse properly.

For proper viewing, let the sun shine through an opening in one piece of cardboard onto another piece, where it will produce an image you can observe in safety. 

Keep the sun at your back. Commonly, of course, dirt, cinders, and other bits of foreign material get into the eyes. Remember that in children, especially in the excitement of play, a foreign body in the eye is often quickly forgotten, but some hours later there may be sensitivity to light, beginning redness, and a tendency to keep the lids closed. It's important to suspect a foreign body even though a child may not remember it. Blindly trying to wash out a foreign body may do little good.

The object may be trapped in small folds which the washingfluid does not reach. Pull the lower lid down and have the child look upward. This tends to open folds in the lower part of the eye and may reveal the object. To find an object under the upper lid can be more difficult. Have the child look downward while you hold the lashes of the upper lid and turn it inside out over an index finger. When objects lodge on the cornea, they may be more difficult to locate. If there is obvious irritation and yet no object can be found, it is advisable to have the child seen at once by your physician. 

Eye care

 It is foolhardy not to have regular examinations of the eyes-once a year after age 50, less often at younger ages. More and more now, examinations till glaucoma are being included in preventive medicine checkups. Cataracts can be removed surgically at any time and at practically any age. There is no need to wait for a cataract to become complete, or "ripe," as was once believed. Depending on the condition of the lens, the retina, and other factors, an occasional cataract will be treated without surgery. Eye Infections Today, even such severe chronic eye infections as trachoma can be cured with antibiotics and other medicines. 

Don't decide for yourself that an eye infection is nothing to worry about. Of course, there are minor eye infections. Most common is conjunctivitis, or pinkeye, which causes the eyes to redden and the lids to swell and usually stick together in the morning. Many home remedies are used. We think the best approach is:

(1) Wash the eye with warm water using a disposable tissue or cloth (otherwise the infection may be spread to the other eye or another person).

(2) Apply yellow oxide of mercury ophthalmic ointment generously on the lids, and close the eye. Use the ointment morning and night.

(3) Apply hot compresses, moistened with clean water, for five minutes} three or four times daily

If the eye does not improve quickly, see your physician. But if you may, on occasion, treat a mild case of pinkeye, it is unwise to diagnose and self-treat any other form of eye infection. 

Your eyes are simply too precious to be toyed with. If you can't reach a doctor and you find your eyes are severely inflamed or have pus in them, use this emergency measure: Put a generous amount of ophthalmic ointment containing penicillin or some other antibiotic on the inner lids, and then close the eyes so the ointment gets at the eyeballs. Repeat every three hours until you can get medical help. If your physician is not available, go to his hospital's emergency room.

 It is safe for you to treat an occasional style-a pimple-like formation in the tiny glands of the eyelid. Apply hot compresses every two hours for 15 minutes at a time. If the stye does not open and drain and heal in a few days, be sure to see your doctor. See him, too, if you have styes repeatedly. 

Cleaning the Eyes When the eyelids become irritated by wind or dust, you can relieve them by washing them with a warm salt solution, a level teaspoonful of alt to a pint of water. Be sure the utensils you use have been thoroughly leaned and scalded. You may use an eyedropper or eyecup, as you prefer. 

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.

Heart and Blood circulatory system protective care

 PROTECTIVE CARE There is much you can do to guard the health of your heart and circulatory system. Contrary to what many people believe, the heart is a tough rather than delicate organ. Surgeons have successfully closed stab and other wounds of the heart; they have repaired the valves within the heart and corrected malformations. Protected by the tough ribs, the over- lying lungs, and its own surrounding membrane, the heart is rarely dam- aged by a blow. This fact should be reassuring to parents of football players, boxers, and other athletes. Guarding the health of the heart does not mean trying unduly to spare it.

Heart that a practice now accepted as a safeguard-a gradual return, after an actual heart attack, to active, even strenuous exercise-would, only a decade ago, have been considered medical malpractice if a doctor had prescribed it. Today, many cardiologists advise patients after heart attacks to get moving-to begin slowly, with extreme caution, gradually increasing their activity. With a gradual, well-tailored, well-supervised program, there is little or no danger of overstraining the heart. Many ex-heart cripples now are even playing strenuous games such as handball. It is now realized that such slow, gradual, progressive physical training can help the heart develop an increased network of blood-supplying vessels, sometimes a greater network than it may have had before the heart attack, and there is increasing evidence that such training may substantially reduce the risk of another attack. However, there are limits to the amount of strain that should be placed on a middle-aged, old, or damaged heart, particularly sudden strain. If you have been leading a sedentary existence, and now, wisely, you decide you need to increase your physical activity and overall physical fitness, you should by all means check with your physician first and, with his guidance, based on the health of your heart and whole circulatory system, map out a program which will lead gradually to your goal. 

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.  

The Skull and Spinal Column

THE SKULL The skull is made up of 22 flat or irregular bones. Fourteen are facial, including those for cheeks, jaw, and upper bridge of the nose. Air spaces, or sinuses, in many of the facial bones serve to reduce the weight of the skull. Eight bones form the cranium, which protects the brain. There are additional bones in the head area: the hyoid, to which are attached the muscles that move the tongue; and the auditory ossicles .

In the middle ear-hammer, anvil and stirrup-which respond to sound waves hitting the eardrum with a lever action that transmits the waves to the inner ear.

THE SPINAL COLUMN The spinal column-a flexible stack of vertebrae-serves to support the head and trunk and also to protect the spinal cord, which extends down- ward from the brain. Each vertebra is shaped like a circle with the back side of the circle made up of a solid cylinder of bone. Running through the hollow part of the circle, the spinal cord shoots out branches of nerves that go to various parts of the body. As they stack toward the skull, the vertebrae gradually decrease in size. The vertebra just above the sacrum at the base is a heavy, large bone with large projections on each side and at the back, to which muscles and ligaments are attached. At the base of the skull, the top vertebra is a delicate bony ring with small protuberances. Between each vertebra and the next is a spinal disk-a circular cushion of connective tissue and cartilage about one-half-inch thick. Each disk has several layers of tough, fibrous rings and a softer nucleus in the center. 

Strenth Of Human Body and Medical records - Modern day health hazards succeeding

 THE BASIC STRENGTHS OF THE HUMAN BODY 

A FASCINATING case in medical records is that of an 80-year-old man who some years ago stepped off a curb in Boston, was hit by a truck and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where, within an hour, he died. Upon autopsy, even the physicians were astonished by what they found. The man had had almost every known major disease, including several that, individually, might have been potentially deadly. 

His blood pressure had been grossly elevated, so much so that his heart had almost doubled in size under the burden. He had generalized arteriosclerosis, or hardening of arteries. Tuberculosis had left marks on both lungs. Chronic kidney disease had destroyed large portions of both kidneys. He had had severe cirrhosis of the liver. Even more astonishing was the report of the man's wife: He had been no invalid; instead, he had been active until the day he was killed and had complained of nothing.

His is an extreme and encouraging example of the reserve powers and adaptability of the body. There are many other examples: The 7-year-old boy who survived a plunge over the 160-foot-high Horseshoe Falls at Niagara after the boat in which he was a passenger capsized in the river above the cataract. The workman who fell 150 feet from a chimney scaffold, landing on his left side near the base of the chimney, creating an impression 8 inches deep in the earth, bouncing over a 30-degree slope toward a concrete retaining wall, then dropping another 10 feet to a lower level. He fractured his jaw, both ankles, complained of chest pain for less than 36 hours, re- covered rapidly-surviving an impact that might well have crushed an airplane.  

There was also the hammer thrower, a world record holder, who while warming up to compete for a place on the U.S. Olympic team pulled a back muscle. Desperate, he persuaded a physician to give him an injection of novocaine and let him compete; he whirled out a foot throw to finish second and get his place on the team.

 In Olympic team trials, too, a swimmer won a place by qualifying in the 800-meter relay while still sore and still bandaged six days after an appendicitis operation. It is also reassuring to view the spare capacity of the body-what one can live without if necessary and, in some instances, even live without comfortably. Half the brain is a spare. This has been shown in cases of serious brain damage caused by strokes and head injuries, with loss of memory, language, speech, even understanding. Although damaged areas remain damaged, other areas can be trained to take over their function. 

HOW VALID ARE THE REASONS FOR DRUG TAKING?

HOW VALID ARE THE REASONS FOR DRUG TAKING?drug medicines, 

Youngsters today defend their use of drugs on the grounds of alcohol. Their thrust to anxious parents is:  answer to this as any has been made by Dr. of the National Institute of Mental Health.  Points out, it is pale. In the first place, the use of alcohol, persons above 21 is not against the law. Secondly, alcohol as a crutch by some people does nothing to other chemical means of 'copping out. 

Drinking and alcoholism are currently subjects of in research. Thirdly, the acceptability of moderate social drinking assumes that adults are mature enough to make mature decisions as to their behavior. And, finally, there is the irrefutable fact that the fresh young years of personality growth and development are dangerously inappropriate for any chemical means of confounding reality. "As authorities well recognize, neither laws nor awareness of the medical facts can themselves secure drug abuse prevention. 

Nor can we stop people from using alcohol or cigarettes as support or as a bandage for their psychic wounds. Ours is a drug-oriented culture. From aspirin to sleeping pills, from tranquilizers to the 'pill,' Americans of all ages are ingesting drugs in greater variety and number than ever before. "It is not so much the phenomenon of use, however, but the misuse and abuse of drugs that bears close investigation. 

Why do people choose to distort or to ward off reality through chemical means? Perhaps we deal with deep-rooted feelings of alienation.

 Alienation among the young has been characterized as 'rebellion without cause ... rejection without a program ... refusal of what is without a vision of what should be.' As scientists we are left to probe whatever reasons can be found for this sad anomaly.

NArcotics and Health Issues

NARCOTICS

Narcotic drugs include opium and its pain-killing derivatives such as heroin, morphine, and codeine, which are obtained from the juice of the poppy fruit. In addition, there are synthetic, or man-made, narcotics such as Demerol and nalorphine. 

Most used by addicts is heroin, also called junk, snow, stuff, and smack. Heroin is a brain and nervous system depressant. It reduces hunger, thirst, and sex drive as well as pain feelings.

Typically, heroin produces an easing of fear and a relief from worry as a first emotional reaction. It provides self-confidence and, as some addicts describe it, a kind of imperviousness to troubles which "roll off the mind." After this first reaction, there may be a period of inactivity that verges on a stupor us state. 

Heroin and other narcotics produce tolerance, so that increased dosage needed to achieve effects, and physical dependence. When an adult taking heroin, withdrawal sickness may include such symptoms, chills, shaking, diarrhea, nausea, sharp abdominal and leg.

Drug addiction and stimulant drugs - effects on

STIMULANT DRUGS 

Amphetamines-stimulants for the central nervous system-were first introduced in the 1920's. Best known for their ability to combat fatigue and sleepiness, they have many medical uses.

Under some circumstances, they may be employed as an aid in weight reduction because of their appetite-suppressing effect. They are sometimes used in the treatment of mild mental depression. In some children-who tend to be overactive and irritable, behavior problems in school and at home--the amphetamines have what seems to be a paradoxical effect: though basically stimulants, in these children they have a valuable calmative effect. 

Stimulants have been widely abused. There has been a heavy illegal traffic in such agents as Benzedrine, Dexedrine, and Methedrine, commonly called pep pills, bennies, and speed.

While these drugs produce no physical dependence, a tolerance to them does develop and increasingly large doses are required to achieve the same results. Their effects are many: increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, palpitations, dilation of the pupils, dry mouth, sweating, headache, diarrhea, paleness. 

The drugs stimulate the release of norepinephrine, a neurohormone ordinarily stored in nerve endings. Norepinephrine be- comes concentrated in higher brain centers. When seriously abused, the stimulants can produce exhaustion and temporary psychosis which may require hospitalization.

 When used for long periods for "kicks" or for staying awake, the drugs have another danger: they may lead people to try to do things beyond their physical capacity, leaving them seriously exhausted at best and, at worst, leading them into serious and even fatal accidents. "Speeding," the injection of Methedrine into a vein, has still other dangers. An unaccustomed high dose can kill. 

And injections may lead to critical serum hepatitis. Heavy chronic users of stimulant drugs tend to become irritable and unstable and, like other chronic drug users, may suffer social, intellectual, and emotional breakdown. In our heavily medicated society, the abuse of stimulants is not limited to young people and thrill seekers. 

Many otherwise intelligent persons get on a kind of pill-go-round, using sedatives to calm themselves down and fall asleep and stimulants to wake themselves up and keep going. 

Drug addiction releif and benefits on sensory organs

There may be a sharpening of other senses-taste, smell, hearing, touch. And often various sensory impressions may appear to merge, so that colors, for example, may seem to have taste. Users report many other strange experiences, including simultaneous opposite emotions, being at once happy and sad, elated and depressed, tense and relaxed. 

At different times, there may be different effects for the same individual. Responses cannot be predicted, which is why users often describe their experiences as "good trips" and "bad trips." Some LSD users believe that since LSD heightens their senses, it makes them more creative. But this is not supported by the paintings, writings, and other creative efforts of drug users i in fact, in many cases, the works produced after drug use am poorer than before. How LSD works in the body is not yet thoroughly understood.

There is some evidence that it affects the amounts or levels of certain chemicals in the brain and changes brain electrical activity. Experiments with animals suggest that the drug may block a normal filtering process in the brain which then becomes flooded with myriad un screened sights and sounds. The dangerous effects of LSD are many. Hospitals report that some users, in a panic over their inability to cut off the effects of the drug, fear they are losing their minds. 

Some become paranoiac, developing in- creasing suspicions that people are out to harm them and control their thinking. Weeks and even months after LSD use has been stopped, some people have recurrences of the same experiences they had while using the drug and fear they are going insane.

Accidental deaths have been reported-instances of users walking in front of moving cars, convinced they were impervious to harm, and even leaping out of high windows because of a conviction they could fly. Medical experts report that the overwhelming fears and worries that may accompany an LSD experience can sometimes be disturbing enough to produce acute and even long-lasting mental illness.

Changes in chromosomes-the tiny threads in the nucleus of all cells which carry genetic information and guide reproduction-have raised concern. The changes found are actual breaks in the chromosomes, and the fear is that this may lead to birth defects in children of users. 

Drug Addiction and Curative Measures

RELATIVELY FEW readers of this blogs will have had any personal experience with illicit drug use. Yet it has become important for every concerned person-in term of children and other contacts-to be informed about that problem and what can be done to prevent serious consequences. Until fairly recently, illicit drug use and addiction were largely confined in the United States to the Skid Rows-to the hopeless, helpless, and disadvantaged of society. 

But in recent years, the scene has shifted dramatically to better neighborhoods and schools, to the respected and well-educated who, in increasing numbers, especially the adolescents, have been "turning on."

College and university students have been tempted to try drugs since 1962 when a Harvard instructor and some graduate students enthused over the virtues of a then little-known drug, LSD. Soon LSD became an "in" drug. It has also become an illegal drug, and even aside from its illegality, after a first surge of use it has become much less popular as it has become clear that taking LSD is playing a chemical Russian roulette. But the use of other drugs-marijuana, amphetamines, barbiturates, opiates-is widespread. And the penalties may be multiple.

 There are the legal punishments which may ruin the life of an offender. There are the possible threats of impaired development and alienation from life and society. And there are the risks to physical health. What scientific information is there available about the various drugs, their effects, and their hazards? Recently, pediatricians, psychiatrists, and other physicians, and the National Institute of Mental Health and other government and private agencies have been working to bring together all known facts.  Lysergic acid diethylamide is a man-made chemical first synthesized in 1938 from ergot alkaloids. Often called "acid" by its users, it is a mind-altering drug, classed legally as a hallucinogen.

A single ounce of LSD is enough to make 300,000 of the usual doses, each amounting to a speck, usually taken in a sugar cube or on a cookie or cracker. LSD, in an average dose, has effects that last eight to ten hours- increase of pulse and heart rate, rise in blood pressure and temperature, dilation of the pupils of the eyes, flushing or paleness of the face, sweaty palms, chills, irregular breathing, nausea, and distortion of the physical senses. Actually, the first effects of the drug may be on the physical senses. There are visual phenomena: walls appear to move, colors become more brilliant, unusual patterns unfold, flat objects become three-dimensional. 

Psychoanalysis and Psycotherapy for alcoholic patients

Psychoanalysis as a rule has produced disappointing results with alcoholics. In the view of many distinguished authorities, Alcoholics Anonymous is of first importance in the rescue and rehabilitation of alcoholics. "AA," says Dr. Ruth Fox, medical director of the National Council on Alcohol- ism, "is a pragmatic, simplified, spiritual approach to life, a prescription for living. For patients who can and will accept it, it may be the only form of therapy needed. 

There can be an immediate amelioration of symptoms as the isolated alcoholic feels that there is hope for him." Alcoholics Anonymous is an organization of individuals who have conquered or are trying to conquer their own habitual drinking and to help others with their problems.

From their own personal experiences, they have learned how to encourage and stimulate others in their desire to stop drinking. Meetings and discussions provide opportunities to air Drinking / 133 problems, and this is a most useful form of psychotherapy. The organization has branches in many communities across the country and members are welcomed wherever they may travel. 

A call to a local branch can bring immediate help. If abused, alcohol can be extremely dangerous. If used intelligently, it can have a place in the life of the healthy, well-balanced individual.

A good and simple rule for intelligent drinking is to restrict daily intake to one or two drinks, preferably long ones, at the end of the day. If alcohol is consumed at other times, it should be selective, not routine, consumption. By all means, limit the practice of lunchtime drinking and after-dinner drinking to special occasions. 

Count your drinks; limit their number; if you lose count, stop drinking. Don't order "doubles." Don't stop for "quickies" on the way home. Don't sneak drinks in the kitchen. Drink moderately, leisurely, not alone but with family or friends, to promote relaxation, sociability, a pleasant interlude after a day's hard work. 

HELP FOR THE ALCOHOLIC - who is alcoholic? symptoms and cure

Dr. Harry J. Johnson, President of the Foundation, goes on to urge, very soundly, that every heavy drinker should give himself a test to determine whether or not he is becoming an alcoholic. It's a simple test. It merely requires that the heavy drinker declare a semiannual alcoholic abstention period of not less than one week. 

If he can get through the week without unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, without a feeling of martyrdom, and with no obsessive desire to return to drinking when the rest period is over, alcoholism is not yet present. If, when time for the test period arrives, the drinker rationalizes and justifies a postponement for any reason whatever, he is entering the twilight zone of alcoholism and the point of no return may be near. Alcoholism is preventable. 

Even the heavy drinker, alert to the danger that he is traveling the road to alcoholism, often time to prevent development of the full-blown addiction and disease by limiting alcohol intake.

HELP FOR THE ALCOHOLIC

Once alcoholism has developed, the problem is difficult but not hopeless. It can be solved-and must be solved if permanent damage and possibly death to the alcoholic and incalculable damage to spouse and family as well, are to be prevented. If it is to be solved, it must be approached in no simplistic fashion. It must not be regarded as simply a form of neurosis. 

Every aspect of the problem, which means virtually every aspect of the alcoholic's life, must receive attention. An important part of the physician's job is to help the patient recognize, accept, and understand his illness. He must be made to feel not an outcast, a pariah, but a worthwhile person who has a definite sickness. 

Treatment-more properly, rehabilitation-must be multifaceted: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual.

On the physical side, for ex- ample, because an alcoholic often drinks instead of eating and may be seriously malnourished, lacking in essential vitamins, minerals and other basic nutrients, his diet must be carefully supervised. Many forms of treatment for alcoholism have been tried. There are medications which in some cases have stopped the abuse of alcohol and have prevented the complications of alcoholism. 

For example, for some well-motivated alcoholics, Antabuse, a drug that leads to uncomfortable reactions upon drinking, has proved useful. It may eliminate preoccupation with drinking, freeing the mind for other things, and giving the patient a lift through the feeling that he can live without alcohol. 

Although hypnosis has been found of limited usefulness in producing aversion to alcohol, it sometimes may help in teaching the nervous, anxious patient to relax and develop greater self-esteem. 

Alcoholism and Sexual Problems

 Almost all had sexual problems. Whatever the causative factors of alcoholism may turn out to be, one thing is clear from a practical preventive standpoint: without excessive consumption of alcohol there cannot be alcoholism. Perseverance at drinking heavy drinking is required to establish the addiction. 

Alcoholism is no sudden visitation. The person who becomes alcoholic builds up to it, and often does so quite gradually, unaware that he really is beginning to drink to excess and then that he is drinking more and more to excess. Significantly, there have been surveys of highly intelligent, heavy- drinking business executives to determine what they consider excessive drinking-and always, it appears, the definition of excessive drinking turns out to be several drinks more than the heavy drinker personally consumes.

Some of these men have indicated that they see nothing excessive in drinking as much as a fifth of whiskey a day. Unless they have specific guidelines to follow, it would appear that even intelligent people who have moved far along the road to alcoholism may not recognize the fact. In an effort to provide such guidelines, the Life Extension Foundation in New York, a nonprofit organization de- voted to improving the health of business executives through preventive measures, has produced the following for its executive clients which deserve repeating here.

 Any drinker, the Foundation suggests, can con-sider that alcoholism is approaching:

1.        If two or three years ago a half hour before dinner was set aside for a drink and now this has stretched to two hours and four drinks.

2.        If two or three years ago dinner was anticipated with pleasure and now there is little interest in food and sometimes dinner is completely omitted.

 3.       If two or three years ago cocktails at lunch were for business entertaining only and now one or two are routine.

4.        If two or three years ago weekend consumption was little more than that of weekdays but now drinking is started in the morning and continues more or less all day. 

WHY SOME PEOPLE DRINK EXCESSIVELY? effects on blood and psycological problems

WHY SOME PEOPLE DRINK EXCESSIVELY

A drink or two can help to create an aura of relaxation and contentment, allowing cares and responsibilities to be forgotten temporarily, and encouraging sociability. Most people find this desirable--and recognize that it is desirable only as a temporary state. Some people, however, want to extend the state, cling to it, and accentuate it. When they yield to the desire, drinking more and more and even almost continuously, they become alcoholics, addicted to drink. 

Addiction involves an accommodation by the body to the presence of a drug. With the accommodation comes dependence. Details of the mechanism are not entirely clear, but it appears that the cells of the body may shift their metabolism.

They depend, of course, upon circulating blood for their nourishment. As they are exposed to alcohol in the blood, they accommodate to the presence of the alcohol. Once they have made the accommodation, they have, in effect, become as dependent upon alcohol being there as they once were upon it not being there. At this point, it is difficult to stop drinking. If an addict's alcohol supply now is taken away suddenly, he reacts with distressing symptoms which may include violent tremors, nausea, and headaches.

There is still no definitive answer to the question of what causes alcoholism. Both physical and psychological factors have been cited. Studies have failed to establish anyone specific type of pre-alcoholic personality. People who become excessive drinkers’ may or may not be immature or neurotic. Some, in early life, may have been well-adjusted only to regress, as the addictive process takes over, to immature behavior. As their addiction takes hold, all alcoholics, whatever their back- grounds, tend to become much alike in behavior.

It is as though the disease of alcoholism remolds them into a stereotype. The procurement of alcohol becomes their chief concern, superseding other interests, producing deterioration in their work, social life, and relationships with their families. One physician specializing in the treatment of alcoholics has reported that a battery of psychological tests given to 300 consecutive patients showed gross disturbance in every case. 

The patients did not conform to any single personality type and yet showed markedly similar character traits. All had low frustration tolerance and inability to tolerate tension or anxiety. All gave evidence of mental depression, withdrawal, low self-esteem, and a sense of isolation. In all cases, there was marked hostility.