Importance of Preventive Medicine without side effects

The prehistoric man, motivated by feelings of sympathy and kindness, was always at the behest of his kindred, trying to provide relief, in times of sickness and suffering. Since his knowledge was limited, the primitive man attributed 1 Man And Medicine: Towards Health For All disease and in fact all human suffering and other calamities to the wrath of gods, the invasion of body by "evil spirits" and the malevolent influence of stars and planets. The concept of disease in which the ancient man believed is known as the "supernatural theory of disease". 

As a logical sequence, the medicine he practised consisted in appeasing gods by prayers, rituals and sacrifices, driving out "evil spirits" from the human body by witchcraft and other crude means and using charms and amulets to protect himself against the influence of eviI spirits. The administration of certain herbs or drugs whose effect is doubtful or nil but hopefully harmless may also be likened to a kind of magic ritual associated with the need to "do something". There is also evidence that prehistoric man improvised stone 'and flint instruments with which he performed circumcisions, amputations and trephining of skulls. It is thus obvious that medicine in the prehistoric times (about 5000 BC) was intermingled with superstition, religion, magic and witchcraft. 

Primitive medicine is timeless. If we look around the world, we find the rudiments of primitive medicine still persist in many parts of the world - in Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and the Pacific islands. The supernatural theory of disease in which the primitive man believed is as new as today. For example, in India, one may still hear of talk of curing snake bites by "mantras". Diseases such as leprosy are interpreted as being punishment for one's past sins in some cultures. Although primitive man may be extinct. his progeny - the so-called "traditional healers" are found everywhere.

 They live close to the people and their treatments are based on various combinations of religion, magic and empericism. Indian medicine (3) The medical systems that are truly Indian in origin and development are the Ayurveda and the Siddha systems. Ayurveda is practised throughout India, but the Siddha system is practised in the Tamil-speaking areas of South India. These systems differ very little both in theory and practice (4). Ayurveda by definition implies the "knowledge of life" or the knowledge bywhich life may be prolonged. Its origin is traced far back to the Vedic times, about 5000 BC. During this period, medieval history was associated with mythological figures, sages and seers. 

WHAT IS A BALANCED DIET?

Understanding Balanced Diet

Nearly 50 nutrients; including amino-acids (the constituents of proteins), carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals are now known to be essential for health. A balanced diet is one that can supply all the essentials. It is almost certain that as time passes still other essential elements in foods will be isolated. This is added reason why a balanced and varied diet makes sense; if it is balanced and varied, it can supply all known requirements and others still unknown. 

The currently known essential nutrients have their specific functions. Briefly, because muscles, heart, liver, kidney, and other organs are composed chiefly of proteins, proteins are needed for development and growth of these organs during childhood and adolescence. After growth is over, body tissues, which are continually being worn out, must be   replaced by new materials, So ample dietary protein is essential at all times. 

Meat, fish, milk, and eggs are among the main sources of protein. Bones are composed chiefly of mineral substances such as calcium and phosphorus which are required both for original bone formation and for maintenance. Milk-fresh, canned, dried, skim, or whole-is a major source. Calcium also is supplied by American and Swiss cheese, molasses, turnip tops, dandelion greens.

And cereals, meat, and fish contain phosphorus. 

The fuel of life-what the body burns for energy-is sugar. Carbohydrates, which include both sugars and starches, provide the fuel most readily, for in the body starches are quickly converted to sugar. Fats and proteins also supply the fuel for metabolism-not as quickly, but they can be stored by the body as reserves, for use as needed. Vitamins help to convert foodstuffs into body tissues-skin, bones, muscles, nerves. Although required only in minute amounts, their role is obviously vital, and it is suspected that trace elements and perhaps still other materials yet to be isolated may perform similar functions.

A well-balanced diet-for young and old, active or sedentary, tall or short-can be supplied daily from four basic food groups: Milk and milk products- 2 servings for adults; 3 to 4 for children; 4 or more for teen-agers. One serving equals an 8-oz. glass of whole or skimmed milk; 1 oz. (1 slice) of hard cheese; or 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. 

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. 

Human body reactions to Medicines and Foods Vs Medicines

REACTIONS TO MEDICINES

It may seem unbelievable but there are more than 250 diseases that can be caused by the very medicines designed to treat and cure illness. You may well ask, "Why is this possible?" The reasons are not difficult to understand. Over the past twenty-five years or so, many hundreds of new com- pounds have been developed for treating and preventing disease. Many are powerful and complicated substances.

Their very effectiveness depends upon their great potency and complexity. In some instances, trouble has come unexpectedly because a powerful A Special Word about medicine taking new agents was not tested fully under every conceivable circumstance. Thus, for example, thalidomide seemed to be an excellent and harmless tranquilizing agent in most people, but when it was used by pregnant women it had terrible effects on their unborn children. Another reason for drug-induced illness is that human beings do have tendencies to develop allergic or sensitivity responses. These vary considerably, just as they do for foods. One person may eat eggs until the hens scream for mercy-and enjoy them with impunity; another person, allergic to them, cannot eat one without developing some upset.

And so with other foods

Because of sensitivity problems, a medicine that is highly beneficial for 95 percent of the population may cause trouble, even potentially serious trouble, for the remaining 5 percent. A good example is penicillin, clearly a lifesaving drug. It has, indeed, probably saved well over a million lives since its discovery. But it also has caused severe sensitivity re- actions in scores of thousands of people and has taken the lives of thousands.

As you may have noticed, physicians today inquire carefully about possible previous sensitivity reactions to penicillin before administering or prescribing it. Just as some people, after repeated exposure, become allergic to rag- weed pollen or to poison ivy, so some, after being helped once or even several times by an antibiotic, may develop allergic reactions to the com- pound. Usually the problem is mild-skin rash, hives, or slight fever- and disappears once the drug is stopped. Occasionally, however, there are anaphylactic, or shock like, reactions which are life-threatening, and these can be overcome only if heroic measures-adrenaline and other injections-are used in time.

Still considered the single most valuable antibiotic,penicillin is a major allergy producer because it has been so widely used. It is estimated that 10 percent of Americans have become sensitized to the drug. Still another reason for undesirable reactions is that no drug is 100 percent specific-hitting the bull's-eye, so to speak. In the course of countering the problem for which it is being used, it may produce other effects, and these have to be reckoned with. Consider, for example, the gastrointestinal upsets-cramps, diarrhea, sore mouth, rectal itch-which may occur after use of many antibiotics.

They can come about because of an upset in the natural germbalance in the body. Many harmless bacteria are always present in the gastrointestinal tract. Some, in fact, are essential to digestion; some manufacture vitamins. When a potent antibiotic is introduced to fight infection, it may also decimate this normal bacterial population. Moreover, these friendly bacteria serve another purpose in the body.

Modern Medicines is One of Major Successes, But it Also Includes Disasters

A SPECIAL WORD ABOUT MEDICINE TAKING 

THE HISTORY of modern medicines is one of major successes, but it also includes disasters. Tremendous benefits have followed the discovery of insulin for diabetes, agents for controlling high blood pressure, antibiotics and other anti-bacterial that kill or impede the growth of bacteria, cortisone and other steroid compounds that combat inflammation, tranquilizers and antidepressants for nervous and mentaldisorders, and drugs that slow the wild growth of some cancer cells. But there have been tragedies traceable to indiscriminate use and abuse of such powerful agents and of others. For one thing, no medication yet developed is fool proof-universally useful for even the condition for which it was developed, free of undesirable effects.

Virtually every drug, just as virtually every food, may produce unpleasant effects for at least a few individuals, and so it must be used with care. We hope in this chapter to provide a useful guide to medicine taking, one that will be helpful to you both in more effective treatment of any health problems that arise and also in preventing many problems. 

PRESCRIBING FOR YOURSELF 

A recent survey of a small but typical group of households carried out by a major university research institute found that the number of medications on hand varied from 3 to 88, with a mean of 30. Of the 2,539 medications observed, only 445 were prescription drugs. Each month in the United States, 750 out of every 1,000 adults 16 years of age and over experience a cold, headache, or other illness or  injury for which only 250 will consult a physician.

Thus, people control their own care in terms of whether and when to seek medical aid and when to prescribe for themselves. Virtually everyone on occasion does his own prescribing-and that can be a practical matter. Certainly every minor ache or pain does not require that a doctor be called. Nobody wishes to become a habitual patient. The medicines-variously known as "patent," "proprietary," and "over-the-counter" or "OTC"-which you can purchase in drugstores without a doctor's prescription are generally milder and have fairly broad safety margins. 

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 taking body temperature helps to prevent certain diseases?

FEVER

Fever most commonly signals infection or inflammation somewhere in the body. The temperature is likely to be highest during a bacterial or severe viral infection. With a mild infection such as a cold, temperature elevation may be slight and fleeting. When fever is high, there is usually no hesitancy about calling the physician. But there may be other occasions when the physician should be consulted.

First

A few facts about taking temperature

Aspirin and aspirin-containing medications bring down elevated temperature and tend to keep it down for as long as four hours. So for accurate determinations, temperature should be taken before use of such medications or four or five hours afterward. Remember, too, that if temperature is taken immediately after smoking, it may be higher than normal; and conversely, if taken by mouth just after a cold drink, it may be lower than normal. Before taking temperature, rinse the thermometer in cool water and shake it until the mercury falls below the 95-degree mark. If you use an oralthermometer, hold it under the tongue, with mouth shut, for at least three minutes.

A rectal thermometer, after lubrication, should be inserted up to the 98.6-degree line while the patient lies on his side. It should remain in place for three to five minutes. For the average person, mouth temperature normally is 98.6 degrees, and rectal tends to be about one degree higher. When fever is mild-under 100 degrees orally or 101 rectally-and the only other symptom is nasal congestion, a slight cough, or a scratchy throat, there is no urgency about calling the physician. But take the temperature every three or four hours and note the severity of symptoms. If symptoms become worse or if the temperature moves up to 101 orally or 102 rectally, then notify your physician. Always when fever is present it is important to note the accompanying.

How AUTOMATED MULTI-PHASE SCREENING helps to check diseases in health care

One of the relatively recent developments that is almost certain to bring striking changes in the practice of medicine, adding further to the emphasis on and practicality of preventive medicine, is automated multi- phase screening. The idea is to link electronic detection devices, large numbers of chemical tests, and computer science together to screen or check, at low cost, large numbers of apparently healthy people, looking for the most subtle signs of early disease and even of pre-disease states, doing far more routine testing than physicians have time for, providing them with the results of the tests, and giving them more opportunity to counsel patients and practice preventive medicine.

In a periodic checkup that may run two to three hours, a patient moves from one station to another for checks of hearing, visual acuity, respiration rate, lung capacity. An electrocardiogram is made; a measurement of pressure within the eye is quickly made for detection of glaucoma, a major cause of blindness. A chest x-ray is taken and, in the case of women, a three-dimensional breast photograph (mammography). Pulse and blood pressuremeasurements are included. The patient answers a self-administered questionnaire on health history. And blood and urine samples are taken and automatically checked for indications of infection, gout, diabetes, and other diseases and also for a variety of biochemical values that may give some indications of pre disease changes. A computer summarizes the findings and produces a printed record for the patient's personal physician to evaluate. Automated multiphase screening is moving rapidly out of the experimental phase. Much of the pioneering work in its development was done by physicians at the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan in northern California with some financial assistance from the U.S.Public Health Service

The Public Health Service has awarded funds to set up pilot programs in Milwaukee, New Orleans, Brooklyn, and Providence-some affiliated with health centers in poverty areas, others with universities, and still others with city health departments. Already, some large industries are planning automated multiphase screening facilities as part of their occupational health programs. And there are plans for forming medically directed private companies which would provide automated screening service for patients referred by physicians.

Automated screening facilities may not be available in your community yet. Ask your doctor about them. Tell him you are interested. If the facilities are not available, you will be doing a public service by encouraging your doctor to push for their establishment in the near future.

YOUR ROLE

You AS the patient in preventive medicine have a role to play that goes far beyond cooperating in regular checkups. You can build and maintain your health, taking advantage of the latest knowledge in such areas as nutrition, weight control, physical activity, rest and relaxation (to be covered in later sections of this posts). You can be alert, too, between checkups for any danger signals.

How Blood tests helps in finding Urinary problems

Today there are sensitive blood tests for this; they measure the amounts in the blood of certain chemicals, called enzymes, released when the heart is damaged. Urine tests are helpful in detecting kidney disease and other urinary tract disorders and may provide clues to problems elsewhere in the body, such as diabetes. Today, radioactive isotope scanning is a sophisticated and vast new area of testing, useful for the detection of disorders in many different organs. Such scanning is based on the fact that certain chemical elements tend to be deposited in specific organs, and these elements can be made slightly and briefly radioactive; then their distribution in the body can be established with scanning instruments that can pick up their radio-activity and record it on film or paper.

Abnormalities become visible as areas of increased or decreased radioactivity. Scanning now can be used to pick up thyroid problems; brain tumors and abscesses; liver cancer, cysts, and abscesses; lung clots; bone tumors; kidney tumors, cysts, and abscesses; and many more abnormalities including those of the pancreas, spleen, parathyroid glands, and the heart as well. Judicious use of tests has always distinguished the best physicians. It would be a simple matter, of course, for the physician to just order, indiscriminately, a whole battery of tests-at considerable cost of time and money for the patient.

Rather than this, physicians have been selective, using the patient's case history and their personal examinations as guides, determining, from them what problems if any the patient might be likely to have, and, when justified, using supplementary tests to explore these problems. 

How Blood Pressure Determination helps to find and Prevent diseases?

 

Measuring blood pressure is an even more important part of the medical check today than it was in the past. For one thing, we know now how common elevated pressure is, affecting at least 17 million Americans. For another thing, we know now that high blood pressure, or hypertension, is an important factor in stroke, heart disease, and kidney disease. And best of all, hypertension today almost invariably can be controlled. Blood pressure is simply the push of blood against the walls of the arteries. It is highest when the heart contracts and pumps blood into the arteries and this peak pressure is called systolic. It is lowest when the heart relaxes between beats, and this lower pressure is the diastolic.

To measure pressure, a basically simple, though not simply named, device, the sphygmomanometer, is used. It's an inflatable cuff attached to mercury or other type of meter. When the cuff is wrapped around the arm above the elbow and inflated, the inflation does two things: it drives the mercury column up to near the top of the gauge and it compresses an artery in the arm so no blood flows through. With his stethoscope placed on the artery, the physician listens as he gradually lets air out of the cuff. At some point, as the air is released, the pressure of blood in the artery will begin to exceed the pressure of air in the cuff, and the blood will begin to flow again in the artery.

The beginning of flow produces a thudding sound the physician can hear through the stethoscope, and at this point the mercury gauge shows what the systolic pressure is. Then, as more air is released from the cuff there comes a point when the thudding sound no longer can be heard, and at this point the mercury gauge shows the diastolic pressure. It is normal for pressure to vary somewhat from day to day, even minute to minute. It goes up with excitement, which is why in an examination a physician may wish to take your pressure several times. In some people, however, the blood pressure is nearly always higher than it should be. 

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.

Heart Attack And Other Problems - Percussion Examination

PERCUSSION

Percussion-a simple procedure to Know heart problems in which the physician lays one hand flat on the chest and raps on it with fingers of the other hand-can provide useful information about some internal organs. With it, the approximate size and shape of the heart may be established, for example. The chest is largely occupied by the lungs which, because they are filled with air, produce a hollow sound when the chest wall above them is tapped. 

Over the heart, which is filled with fluid, the sound has changes to a dull note. The physician can begin percussion at a point on the chest known to be over the lungs, moving in the direction of the heart until a dull sound tells him he has reached it. That establishes one point of the heart's position. Other points can be determined by starting the percussion else- where on the chest and moving in toward the heart again. 

Heart Attack and other Issues in Heart are well explained in the following posts, Please follow all the posts to know about the heart and the problems arising. In this modern days pollution and Global Warming create many issues and the human body cannot tolerate the modern day diseases. Though EBOLA is not a heart related virus directly, We could avoid EBOLA if we were followed some principles and hygienic procedures in Our life. In the same way we can avoid heart issues by adopting certain methods and exercises to avoid the issues in Heart. 

Please follow your physician's instructions in the matters and any suggestion given given here is subject to verify your physician.      

Patient History and Physical Examination can be Physician’s tool to Prevent Diseases

Patient History and Physical Examination can be Physician’s tool to Prevent Diseases

One patient who experienced a slight change in urination-dribbling a little during the night- passed it off as a joke, kidding with his wife that somehow, though he was still a young and vigorous man, he had entered second childhood. He had actually developed an enlargement of the prostate gland. A year of delay made the operation he needed more difficult and led to a complication, kidney infection, caused by backing up of urine. In reporting symptoms to the doctor, don't grope for medical words; use simple English. Many diseases have strong psychological aspects, and symptoms may recede the moment you are in the doctor's office. Still, tell the doctor you have the symptoms even though it may seem silly to talk about them when they are not immediately present. You can be certain the doctor will understand the phenomenon.

THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATION 'Even as he shakes hands with you, an alert physician may pick up some clues. Are your hands warm and moist, with a fine tremor? These characteristics may suggest over activity of the thyroidgland. If the hands are cold and the skin is coarse and puffy, the thyroid could be under- active. Red fingertips may signal some abnormal flow of blood in the heart; flushing of the nail beds in time with the heartbeat may indicate another type of heart problem called aortic regurgitation. As he observes the body, the physician can learn a great deal. The color of lips and ears may indicate possible anemia.

The Promise and Nature of Preventive Medicine

 One leg is slightly shorter than the other-enough in some cases to account for a backache problem. He may note leg swellings traceable to a heart problem, and any enlarged glands, tumors, or abnormal pigmentation resulting from internal disease. In his examination, the physician will be looking to see if the body is symmetrical. Lack of symmetry is almost always a sign of some dis- ability or disease. If the left side of the neck looks different from the right, it may be because of a tumor which is pushing out on that side. If the thyroid is not symmetrical, it may be because of a benign tumor which has enlarged one lobe ofthe gland. In the retina at the back of the eyes, small blood vessels-arteries and veins-lie are almost naked, devoid of covering material.

And there, very quickly, with an instrument called the Ophthal-mo-scope, the physician by looking through the pupil of the eye can detect any blood vessel changes which may provide clues to diabetes or kidneydisease. Women need a breast examination for any tenderness, abnormal lump, or nipple discharge. During a vaginal examination, a smear of cells for the "Pap" test is usually taken; this is a test to detect early cancer in the area. Both men and women should have a rectal examination to detect any local disturbances. With an instrument, the Sigmoido-Scope, the physician can see and check the lower portion of the colon for any growths.

As a patient, you can help greatly by insisting that the physician do a thorough inspection, by reassuring him that you have no squeamishness. Some doctors feel that patients’ are resistant to rectal andgenital examination and omit these vitally important checks. 

How a Patient History Can be used in Preventive Health Care? follow 1000 posts

It is not essential that you have a detailed knowledge of modern examining and testing procedures. But some awareness of the basic, long-established methods and tests and the newest x-ray and laboratory tools, and what they can do, will be useful.

THE CASE HISTORY

The patient's history, always an invaluable guide in disease diagnosis, is equally valuable in prevention. We have mentioned earlier, in passing, some of the reasons. Occupational data-facts about the work you do and possibly the circumstances under which you do it-may reveal some hazards, physical or psychological, to which you are exposed. An account of family health-the illnesses of parents and grandparents, their longevity, the state of health of brothers and sisters-can provide clues to hereditary strengths and weaknesses.

Your own past illnesses are 'an. important part of the record. Some childhood episodes of illness, if severe, may have left a mark. Rheumatic fever, for example, may strike a child at 15 or earlier and may produce some heart damage. Yet, very often, the effects of the heart damage are not felt until age 35, 40, or even later. A record of the rheumatic fever incident may be of vital importance in accurate diagnosis of a heart condition. 

The case history-which includes what the patient reports about present problems-sometimes, provides the first indication of onset of a serious illness. For example, angina pectoris (chest pain) is associated with coronary heart disease. In coronary heart disease, the coronary arteries feeding the heart muscle become narrowed. There are sophisticated techniques now-including x-ray movies of the coronary arteries -to show up the narrowing. But in some early cases, angina may occur before there are sufficient changes to show up on the x-ray studies.

If in taking the history the physician determines that there have been angina episodes-perhaps after some sudden unusual exertion, perhaps upon leaving the house on a particularly cold morning-he can confirm the anginadiagnosis by giving the patient some nitroglycerin tablets to take when the next incident occurs; and if there is immediate relief of pain, the diagnosis is virtually 99.9 percent certain. During history taking, be accurate, don't make wild guesses, but do report things you may think are only minor, like a sense of just not feeling well. It's important to indicate any change because it may be an early warning of something potentially serious. 

How does a preventively minded physician function? Follow 1000 posts in the series

You can expect that in working with you he will get to know you thoroughly-past medical history, family medical history, job, working habits, living habits-so he can weigh any possibility that you-as a member of a specific group based on heredity, environment, age, sex, color, personal habits-may face certain specific health hazards.

In his regular periodic examinations, he will follow your health progress in general and will be alert for the slightest early indication of anything wrong in any area of special risk for you. He may, in fact, from time to time use special tests to make certain all is going well in a special risk area.

During your visits, he will be concerned, of course, with any physical complaints and also with any mental or emotional problems (job, marital, and others), since these can affect health.

He will be interested in any changes in your habits and their possible effects, for good or ill, on your health. From time to time, he may have suggestions for an alteration, perhaps minor, of diet, exercisepattern, sleep, relaxation, etc.

As he regularly checks you, alert for earliest indications, even pre-indications, of possible trouble, he will be prepared to intervene without delay. Rather than wait, say, for obvious symptoms of diabetes to develop-especially if you belong to the group with greater than average probability of developing the disease-he will intervene to try to correct, if they appear, the very first changes that could possibly lead to diabetes.

As medicine has been practiced generally to now, it has been the patient who, in effect, has turned up after making a self-diagnosis. It has been the patient who has decided, "I think I am or may be sick or becoming sick," and then has sought help.

How it will be the preventively minded physician who increasingly will be able to tell the patient, "You are about to become sick and we are going to take a few measures in advance so you won't actually develop the sickness." 

CALCULATING RISKS and nature care on Our body care, diseases and conditions-1000 posts following

CALCULATING RISKS of Diseases and conditions

First, it became evident not only that people vary in susceptibility to disease but that increased risk depends upon many factors and that it is possible to calculate risks. Breast cancer, for example, occurs in 5 percent of white women over black in the United States-and so, on the average, there is a 1 in 20 But a woman with a positive family history of breast cancer-one mother or sister or aunt developed the disease-has triple the risk on her women. (Let us say, at once, that if this increased hazard be- of hereditary influences stood by itself it' would be only a more But it stands with increasingly sensitive and detecting her at earlier and earlier-and therefore more curable-stages, and scores the wisdom of special emphasis on breast cancer detection such a woman.
Other factors, racial and social, help to identify special proneness’s. Japanese have a high risk of stomach cancer but relatively low risk breast cancer; the Chinese and Malaysians have a high risk of nose throat cancer. In unskilled American workers and their wives, the incidence of cancer of the stomach and uterine cervix is three to four times higher than among people in the professional fields. On the other hand cancer of the breast and leukemia are substantially more common in the higher economic classes. there are occupational factors to be considered.

For example, urinary bladder cancer has an increased incidence among dye workers, in that industry programs have annual tests of urine. Medicine also has been establishing other characteristics associated with high risk of specific diseases as a means of permitting preventive medical care to be used. For coronary heart disease, which may lead to the heart attack, the characteristics include excessive levels of certain fats II the blood, high blood pressure, high pulse rate, cigarette smoking, physlcal inactivity, and premature cessation of ovarian activity in a woman. The incidence of the disease, in men aged 40 to 59 for example, (from 9 per 1,000 when one of these factors is present to 77 per 1,000 when any three of them are present.