How Your Food Causes illnesses and remedies

THE FOOD YOU EAT IS THERE 

someone food or class of foods with special value for preventing disease? The science of nutrition has much to offer for health but it does not take the form of a panacea food or food combination. The one fact that stands out most clearly as new advances are made is that except for certain specific problems-disease states for which special diets have been definitely established as helpful-the healthiest diet has two basic characteristics: it is balanced and it is varied.

NEW REASONS

FOR BALANCE AND VARIETY One of today's most exciting research stories have to do with investigations into the role of trace elements in health and disease. It has long been known that an amount of iron that would bulk up no bigger than a couple of nails stands between us and suffocation, for iron is an essential part of the blood substance hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to body tissues. But it now seems that many other elements in minute amounts-each constituting at most 1/10,000 of body weight and very often far less- may play significant roles.

Recent studies have suggested that lack of adequate zinc in the diet can delay wound healing and may be a factor in diseases of the arteries. In one investigation, zinc supplements were given to some Air Force men who had undergone surgery. Their surgical wounds healed in less than half the time required in other men who had had the same surgery but did not receive zinc supplements. The results not only demonstrated zinc's role in speeding healing; they suggested that the diet of these airmen may well have been Zinc-deficient.  

Building General Health as Preventive Therapy In a later study, investigators treated with zinc supplements a group of patients who had skin sores that refused to heal. Of the 17 patients in the group, 11 were found to be deficient in zinc, and in all 11 the chronic skin ulcers healed with zinc treatment. The remaining was not zinc- deficient, and although they received the same treatment, their wounds still did not heal. Although the relationship between zinc deficiency and hardening of leg arteries that can block circulation and cause gangrene is not clearly established, some patients who were deficient in zinc and had advanced degeneration of the arteries have shown improvement with zinc therapy. 

10 ways to check your Medication is Proper or Not.

If a patient is receiving hydrocortisone and then is given either an antihistamine or a barbiturate, the hydrocortisone effect is lessened. If a patient is taking an antihistamine for an allergy and uses alcohol, the result may be central nervous system depression. If a patient is using alcohol and takes a barbiturate, there is a marked increase in the effect of the barbiturate, which has been responsible for many deaths. An understanding of the complex details of drug interaction is some- thing for a doctor to be aware of and make use of, not for a patient to worry about. And the point of mentioning the subject here is simply this:

If you are already taking one or more drugs for a condition, when you see a physician about a new condition let him know what you are taking. If you are taking drugs under a physician's direction, get his advice even on such a seemingly simple matter as whether it will be all right, if you develop a headache or a cold, to take aspirin or other agents to make yourself more comfortable.

PROPER USE OF MEDICATION 

Although most sick people benefit from their contact with the treasure chest of modern medications, the experience is unhappy for too many. Much of the unhappiness could be avoided by common sense procedures based on awareness of the realities of diseases and medications. The rules are simple and few:

1.       Take medications on your own only for the most minor conditions, and seek medical advice if there is no clear improvement within a day or two.

2.        A Special Word about Medicine Taking If you are using a medication prescribed by a physician, do not take any medications on your own for some other problem unless you have been informed they will cause no trouble.

3. When you seek medical help for a problem, leave it up to the physician to determine whether you really need medication or whether it may be wiser, in a particular situation, to let the body use its defenses to overcome the problem-for the body often can do exactly that. Don't be in a rush to take something, to pressure the physician to give you some- thing. Make it clear to him that you understand that sometimes no medicine is the best medicine.

 4. Follow the physician's instructions to the letter when he gives you a prescription. Get it filled immediately. Take exactly as directed-in the prescribed dosage, for the prescribed length of time.

5. If you notice any untoward reactions while taking a medication, let your physician know immediately. A side reaction may not be serious -or it may be. If it's the latter, prompt measures can ameliorate it.

6. Do not save leftover drugs.

7. Ask your physician to instruct the druggist to label the bottle or other container of any medication prescribed with the name of the medication. You will find that more and more doctors today believe strongly in this. It can be a safety measure, helping you to avoid mistakes in taking medication.

8. And if trouble should arise during the course of taking the medication. If there should be an accidental overdose, if a child should happen to get hold of the medication and use it, the immediate identification of the compound may well help to prevent fatality.

Moreover, your knowledge of what you are taking can come in handy if you have to consult another physician while your own is away.

9. Safeguard medication. Never leave any, including aspirin, standing around on a dresser or a table. Return it to the medicine cabinet immediately after use. A medicine cabinet should be kept closed and locked. It's a good idea, especially in any household with children, to have a medicine cabinet equipped with a combination padlock, or a drug safe or chest with combination lock. Your druggist can advise you about obtaining one at reasonable cost.

10. Teach your children to properly respect medications. Do not tell a child that medicine is like "candy" because it tastes good. Instead, even at a very early age, teach him that medicine is to help overcome illness, and that it doesn't matter whether he likes it or not, it is something he must have when sick to make him well, and never at any other time. 

How much is drug overdose? How to measure medicine intake?

With many common sleeping medicines, it is possible to get a 3/4 grain size as well as 1-1/2 grain so

that one of each may be used. For Amy talit there is also a 1 grain size, which many women find is just the right amount. Some men like to take two of the 1 grain capsules and find that this dosage gives them a pleasant night's sleep. 

Delicate assaying of dosage is often possible with liquid medications -for instance, tincture of belladonna, an old standby for stomach cramps and indigestion. Some doctors say, arbitrarily, take 15 or 20 drops.

The expert therapist uses a different approach. His instructions to a patient may go something like this: "1 want you to get the full effect, which is just short of the beginning of toxic symptoms which are dryness of the mouth and blurring of vision. 

So start with 15 drops just before each meal and at bedtime. Then, each day, increase by 1 drop so Ih.,1 you will be taking 16 drops four times a day the second day, 17 A Special Word About Medicine Taking / 41 drops the third day, and so on. Keep increasing until you notice one of the toxic symptoms.

Then drop back by 1 drop each day until there are no toxic manifestations. You may settle on 18 drops or you may need 22, or some other amount. The strength of the tincture may vary slightly from drugstore to drugstore, and sometimes the size of the drops varies too. 

Once you have standardized the dosage you need, keep it and use the same bottle and get the prescription refilled by the same• drugstore." Thus, what seemed like a simple prescription turns out to be some- thing of a scientific experiment. But for you, such experimenting to find exactly the right dose you as an individual need may mean the difference between having and not having disagreeable dyspeptic symptoms. 

Administering Drugs with care - Preventive adverse and side effects

First read the label when you take the drug container from the medicine cabinet; read it again when you take the drug itself; and finally, read the label a third time when you put the container away. That last reading is an extra check to make certain you read the label properly the first two times. If you did happen to make a mistake, you have a chance to do something about it at once.

  

TRICKS FOR PROPER DOSAGE made by machines that produce attractive roundedness

 For the most part, are more attractive-looking and less expensive than those that were made individually by a druggist to a special prescription of a physician. The trouble with machine-made articles of medicine, as with mass- produced clothes, is that tailoring to each individual's needs cannot be built in. Thus, it's known that the amount of medicine required varies almost directly with the weight of a person.

Most machine-made capsules and pills are made for a standard person of about 150 pounds so they are apt to contain just a bit too much for most women, a bit too little for most men. Doctors have learned how to adjust dosages even with the limitations of machine-made medicines. For example, consider pills of phenobarbital often prescribed for nervousness, tension, headaches with a psychogenic component. Phenobarbital is commonly available in 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 grain sizes. Suppose phenobarbital in 1/4 grain dosage is prescribed for a woman and it helps her tension but makes her just a bit too forgetful and drowsy to do her work properly.

The doctor tries 1/8 grain, but that doesn't help her tension enough. The solution lies in going back to the 1/4 grain dosage and proper use of a fingernail file. The patient is instructed to consider a tablet as a circle, and to gently file away one fourth of the circle, to get a tablet that is just halfway between 1/8 and 1/4 grain sizes. 

Usually, the patient "plays around" a bit and finds just the right tailor made size for her needs. When it comes to capsules-especially of sleeping medicines such as Nembutal, Seconal, and Amy talit's a help to learn how to take apart a capsule gently and pour out a portion to adjust the dosage to individual needs, then rejoin the capsule.

 Many people find a standard 1-1/2 grain capsule ineffective; on the other hand, when they take two capsules, they may experience hangovers. One full capsule and half of another may be the right dosage. 

Modern medicines and Health Issues

Modern medicines serve a purpose and very often can provide relief for minor problems. In themselves, they are generally safe as long as the dosage recommendations on the package are not exceeded. It's important to keep in mind, however, that such medications, as any others, may produce undesirable effects in relatively small numbers of people who happen to be particularly sensitive to them.

So if you notice any such side effects as rash, nausea, dizziness, visual disturbances, or others, which seem to follow use of a particular medication, you may well have sensitivity to that particular medication, and no matter how popular it is with other people, it is not for you. If in doubt, you should check with your physician. Absolutely vital when you prescribe for yourself is the need to keep in mind that you may be making a mistake in diagnosis, treating the wrong illness, or masking minor and superficial symptoms while an underlying serious problem gets worse.

For example, a "simple" head cold may really not be simple when there is fever, sharp pain in the chest, sputum discoloration, rapid breathing, or nausea; it may, in fact, be a serious bronchial infection or pneumonia. If you do treat yourself, never continue to do so for more than a day or two unless you are certain there is steady improvement-and if your symptoms get worse or change, don't wait even that long before consulting your physician. 

Symptoms of Cancer - How to detect Cancer? Answer these questions

CANCER SIGNALS

Some signs and symptoms are commonly associated with cancer. They include: Any lump or thickening in the breast or elsewhere Any sore that does not heal Any persistent change in bowel or bladder habits Persistenthoarseness or coughing Persistent indigestion or difficulty in swallowing Any change in a wart or mole Any sudden weight loss Actually, none of the foregoing constitutes proof of cancer-only that cancer is a possibility which should be investigated without delay.

No sign or symptom-either severe or mild but persistent or recurring -should be neglected, it bears repeating here, on the grounds that it may not mean anything or that the doctor may say it's "just nerves." The preventively minded physician whom you see regularly for your checkups will welcome being consulted about such signals, will not pass them off lightly as "just nerves," will check thoroughly, and, if it should be just a matter of "nerves," will help you do something about the "nerves.

YOUR OWN HEALTH INVENTORY

In addition to regular periodic checkups by your physician and your alertness for danger signals, there is an additional line of defense, an extra safeguard, you can put to use in maintaining health. It consists of a simple inventory of your health, a checklist of statements. Taking the inventory at home will require only a few minutes once a month.

Mark your calendar now to remind you to refer to this chapter and the following statements on some convenient date each month, perhaps the first or fifteenth. If you cannot say "True" to anyone of the statements that follow, you should see your doctor as soon as possible. If you have a perfect "True" score, it is quite likely that your health is being maintained satisfactorily, and you need not see your physician again until your next scheduled examination.

1.            I have noticed no sore on skin, lips, or tongue that doesn't seem to heal.

2.            I am not aware of shortness of breath when walking on level ground or when performing any type of activity that never before made me short of breath.

3.            I am not bothered by indigestion, nausea, appetite loss, abdominal pain or cramps, or the recent sudden appearance of constipation or diarrhea.

4.            I have noticed no blood in bowel movements or urine.

 5.           I am not steadily losing or gaining weight and I am satisfied that my weight is suitable for me.

6.            I do not feel myself becoming nervous, irritable, or depressed. I have had no crying spells and no feelings of overwhelming sadness, worthlessness, mental apathy. I have no persistent feeling that any- body is against me. I do not feel a nervous breakdown coming on.

7.            I do not feel unduly fatigued after little effort, mental or physical. I have no feeling of being rundown.

8.            I have no pallor; my skin color has not changed.  

9.            I have no cough that has persisted longer than a month. I have coughed up no blood.

 10.         I have had no persistent hoarseness.

11.          My hearing remains as good as it has ever been.

12.          My eyesight, too, remains good; I have had no dimming or fogging of vision.

13.          I have no persistent headaches.

14.          I have felt no chest discomfort without obvious cause.

15.          I have had no prolonged aches in back, limbs, or joints.

 16.         There has been no swelling of my feet or ankles.

 17.         I have noticed no urinary changes.

18.          I sleep well. I have no tendency to wake up during the night and have difficulty falling asleep again.

 19.         I have no new persistent pain or any other new symptoms.

20.          I am not worried about the possibility of having a venereal disease. Special for women:

21.          I have noticed no vaginal bleeding at unexpected times.

22.          I have felt no lump in my breast, and I have not been worried about the possibility of cancer or tumor there or in any other part of my body.

23.          I am not troubled with hot flashes. Special for men:

21.          My urination has not been abnormal in any way recently-particularly in terms of difficulty in starting, stopping, dribbling, and pain.

22.          I am not ruptured and have no thoughts that I may be.

23.          I do not believe that I may have picked up some disease overseas during the war which may now be coming to the surface.

Important Note: If you cannot say "True" to one or more of the preceding statements, it does not necessarily mean that you have a serious problem. There may, indeed, be a clue to something serious-and because it is likely to be an early clue, the problem is very likely to be amenable to effective treatment. On the other hand, the problem may be mild, possibly even temporary. But let your physician make the diagnosis for you. He will almost certainly agree that it is good preventive medicine, in the best interests of your continued good health, for him to check up on the lead provided when you cannot say "True" to a statement. – 

Weight Change-Shortness of Breath- Bleeding Causes and possible diseases in your body- How to prevent it?

WEIGHT CHANGE 

Rapid weight gain in some cases may reflect a need to alter the diet, and this can be important enough to call for medical aid. In some cases, rapid gain may be the result of fluid accumulation in the body because of a heart or kidney disturbance or improper functioning of the thyroid gland. If weight loss occurs on an adequate non-reducing diet, sickness must be suspected. The body may not be utilizing food properly or may be burning it up too fast. Diabetes and hyperthyroidism (over-activity of the thyroid) are among the possibilities the physician will check.

SHORTNESS OF BREATH

This can be an important symptom. It is not always easy to evaluate. In climbing stairs or running, almost everyone, of course, becomes short of breath. Unless breathing difficulty occurs at rest or with only minor activity, you may have only an impression that you are puffing more than you used to do when performing certain activities. This may be an indication that you have become too sedentary, are not as fit or perhaps as light in weight as you once were. But shortness of breath also may serve to indicate the beginning of heart trouble, lung disorder, chest disease, anemia, some forms of cancer, and other conditions.

BLEEDING

Bleeding without obvious explanation requires investigation without delay. Blood in the urine may indicate urinary infection, kidney tumor, or wart like growths in the bladder, for example. The blood mayor may not look like blood; blood can impart anything from a faint pink tinge to a mahogany brown color in the urine. Blood in the stool may appear bright red if the bleeding is low in the intestinal tract or from hemorrhoids. But if the bleeding is from the stomach or upper intestinal tract, bowel movements may be colored black.

The coughing or vomiting of blood calls for prompt action. The fact is that the body sometimes provides only one warning. Don't wait for a repetition of the bleeding. Consult your physician immediately, and the chances are he can establish what is wrong and treat it effectively. Similarly, the woman who experiences unexpected vaginal bleeding between menstrual periods or after menopause should see her physician at once. The problem may be nothing more than a harmless polyp, but it may also be early, still curable cancer. 

Fever : Temperature to measurement and prevention of diseases

 If there is a severe chill or a rash, then no matter how mild the temperature elevation, medical help is needed. A stiff neck, even if the fever is slight, may be an early indication of meningitis. A fever that develops after an accidental cut or other injury which could have become infected may mean blood poisoning (septicemia). 

When a fever, even mild, is accompanied by nausea and pain in the abdomen, especially in the lower right part of the abdomen, the problem could be appendicitis. Appendicitis often progresses rapidly, and whereas it can be treated effectively early in its course, it may become a major problem if neglected for even a few hours. One final note about slight fever: If you have a chronic disorder such as rheumatic heart disease, asthma, diabetes, or nephritis, your physician may warn you to let him know the minute you discover a fever or even a common cold coming on.

PAIN

All of us have occasional headaches. And there are mild and fleeting aches and pains from unaccustomed exertion and even family arguments and business or other anxieties. These are certainly no medical emergencies. But any new or unusually acute pain in the chest or abdomen should call for medical consultation. Pain in the chest accompanying exertion may be due to heart trouble-but not invariably. Pain at its worst when you take a deepbreath may be due to pleurisy. Chest pain that develops upon bending over after eating may be due to a hernia of the diaphragm. Many relatively mild abdominal pains are associated with gas in the bowel; some stem from constipation; some are associated with fatigue, depression, or anxiety. 

Sometimes, aches and pains that appear to be originating inside the abdomen or chest are actually coming from the abdominal or chestwall as the result of fibrositis of muscles. Peptic ulcer pain usually comes with hunger and is relieved by food or an acid- neutralizing agent. Gallbladderpain often starts under the lowest right ribs in front and runs up under theright shoulder blade. 

How often periodic medical checkups should be carried out?

How often periodic medical checkups should be carried out is best determined by the physician on the basis of what is most suitable for you as an individual rather than on the basis of a general rule. Age is one determinant. The elderly and the very young generally need more frequent examinations than those in between. But other factors must be considered-present state of health, past medical history, family medical history, occupational hazards if any, etc. Your physician will take these into account in deciding what is most appropriate for you -a checkup once a year, or twice a year, or perhaps once in two years.

BETWEEN CHECKUPS Manifestations of illness or impending illness take the form of signs or symptoms, or both. Signs are objective evidence: for example, a change in skin color or the swelling of a body part. Symptoms are subjective: for example, nausea or pain.

They can vary greatly, of course, from mild' and fleeting to severe and persistent. All deserve attention, though it is likely that if they are mild and transient the reason for them is inconsequential. Any persistentor recurring sign or symptom deserves action. Even if mild it should not be ignored. Passing it off as something not worth notice except by a hypochondriac is dangerous.

 You may become so habituated to its presence that you regard it as something "normal" for you-until the underlying problem reaches a stage where it is irreversible or leads to serious consequences. The following discussion is intended to help you interpret the significance of signs andsymptoms that may appear between checkups, as a guide to when to consult your physician without delay. 

STETHOSCOPE EXAMINATION FOR HEART PROBLEMS AND TO AVOID HEART ATTACK

STETHOSCOPE EXAMINATION

The stethoscope has a small cone which concentrates and slightly amplifies internal body sounds while excluding external noise. One of its major uses is in the detection of heart problems. The heart produces two distinct sounds-e-Iubb-dup, lubb-dup, lubb- dup-which are related to the closing of the valves inside the heart. The rate, rhythm, pitch, and intensity of these sounds, which can be studied with the stethoscope, provide indications of the health of the heart. The stethoscope can pick up any abnormal sounds-for example, a rubbing scratchy noise which may indicate pericardia, an inflammationof the outer coating of the heart.

With it, too, the physician can detect murmurs-audible vibrations produced by blood flow-and can distinguish among various types of them. There are murmurs associated with different kinds of congenital heart defects. Others are produced by over activity of the thyroid gland and disappear when the gland condition is corrected. A fever or anemia may produce a heart murmur which disappears when the anemia or fever is over- come. In addition-and worth special note here-there are innocent murmurs. Unfortunately, many people worry needlessly after being told at some point, perhaps during an insurance examination, that they have a murmur even though reassured it is "innocent." The fact is that innocent murmurs are unrelated to any physical problem and are quite common.

They can be found in as many as 15 percent of normal healthy adults and in an even higher percentage of normal healthy children. Such murmurs are more readily detectable in children because they have thinner chestwalls. And some authorities are convinced that if there were sensitive enough instruments, slight and innocent murmurs could be found in all people. Your physician has been trained to understand the significance of various types ofmurmurs, to distinguish carefully among them, and to heed those which tell him of existing or possibly brewing trouble.

Let him examine you and if he finds a murmur tell you exactly what it means. If he can report that it is innocent and no reason for worry that is exactly what he means. In addition to its value in studying the heart, the stethoscope often is useful in revealing characteristic sounds of asthma and of the lung disorder emphysema. Applied to the abdomen, it is often helpful in gastrointestinal problems; it may, for example, aid in diagnosis of intestinal obstruction. With the stethoscope, too, it is sometimes possible to detect blood vessel problems-the existence and location of an obstruction in an artery, for example.