Pharmacy blog, health and medicine news

Finger and toenails are made from a specialised kind of skin cell. The stratum lucidum, the cell layer which separates the dermis and epidermis layers of the skin, hardens as the fingers and toes of the foetus develop in the womb. Nail cells are living when they have not yet emerged from under the skin but are dead from the ‘moon’ of the nail outwards. Nevertheless, this dead cell material can vary in texture, strength and flexibility depending on the condition of the original living cells, the nail bed, a person’s general health and environmental factors.

While strong and healthy nails in themselves are desirable, weak, splitting, discoloured or ridged nails can tell us much about our nutrition and overall health. For example, white spots can indicate zinc or Vitamin A deficiency. Ridging and brittleness can point to a sluggishness of the thyroid or poor circulation. White pits or grooves can result from anaemia or calcium imbalance, and spooning can indicate low iron levels. These deficiencies can be overcome with dietary adjustment and vitamin or mineral supplements. Some tests have shown that taking gelatin or silicon helps increase the flexibility of the nail.

However, external factors such as detergents, solvents, and, ironically, manicure preparations themselves, are the most common causes of nail defects. Damage to the cuticle when manicuring can lead to a variety of infections. Nail polish removers contain solvents which can seriously dehydrate the nail. Avoid acetone removers or look for a brand which contains moisturising oil. Even polishes can cause acute allergic reactions resulting in inflammation and marking of the nail surface. Fungal infections under the nail occur when the hands are wet too often. To avoid this and limit the damage caused by detergents and high alkaline soaps, protect the hands with gloves when cleaning, washing and gardening. Nail brittleness increases with age.

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Discomfort in the stomach felt beneath the ribs in the upper part of the abdomen is one of the commonest signs of anxiety. The discomfort—or if it is more severe, the pain—is very similar in nature to the pain of peptic ulcer except that the pain of nervous dyspepsia tends to be associated with emotional stress whereas ulcer pain is more clearly related to food intake. A mild persistent gnawing discomfort in the upper abdomen is often a symptom of chronic anxiety. This is frequently interrupted by intervals of more acute discomfort as the sufferer is subjected to periods of greater stress. Sometimes it is expressed as a feeling of a void or emptiness in the stomach. Other people react with acute upper abdominal discomfort to any sudden anxiety. They describe it by saying, “It gets me in the stomach.” It came quite suddenly, “almost as if someone kicked me there.” Other people experience anxiety as a sensation of “butterflies in the stomach,” or a feeling that “the stomach turns over.”

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Once they’ve tried it, most people agree that if they can lie down and relax completely for twenty minutes to half an hour, they feel very much better in every way: soothed, refreshed and with more energy. But unfortunately most women can’t just take time off to lie down whenever they feel like it. You may be on a bus or a train when your period begins, or out shopping, or at school or college, doing examinations. It’s amazing how exams will trigger a period even when it isn’t due. You might be at home looking after your children, and there’s no way a baby or a toddler will allow you the luxury of an hour in bed. They’re like little weather vanes. If you’re ill or in pain that’s the time they choose to be absolutely diabolical. Perversely, they’re angelic, sunny and a joy to be with when you are on top of the world. So it’s necessary to learn how to relax when you are sitting down, or even standing up.

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Federal law dictates that dates and many other dried fruits must be fumigated with a chemical called methyl bromide before they are shipped across state lines. Thus, almost all of the dates eaten in this country contain a small but often troublesome residue of this chemical.

Many people have noticed that dates and figs are laxatives and even eat them for this purpose. However, in my experience, it is not mainly the fruit itself which exerts this laxative effect but the chemical contamination. Unsprayed figs or dates can usually be eaten with impunity, even in one- or two-pound lots, without causing any laxative action at all. An exception would be a person who is allergic, or sensitive, to dates or figs per se and reacts by getting an upset stomach.

The same problem can be observed with nuts, dried peas, beans, and lentils, all of which are heavily fumigated. Many people believe that they simply cannot eat these foods without having a reaction, but when they try “organic” varieties of the same foods, or nuts in the shell, they do not have the reactions.

Health-conscious people often try to protect themselves by buying unsulfured dried fruit. Such apricots, pears, peaches, and so forth may indeed be unsulfured, but they are generally not uncontaminated. Most of the so-called “health food” dried fruit has been sprayed and fumigated and will often cause the same problems (or chemically susceptible people as the commercial variety.

In the early 1960s, I conducted a test among my patients to determine the possible effects of chemical contamination of wheat and com—the two leading causes of food allergy. Both foods were avoided for five days prior to the test feedings. Patients were then given commercially available wheat and corn, and reactions to these were compared to those to cereal grains from a farm on which no commercial fertilizers and sprays had been used for thirty years. Although the frequency of food allergy to wheat and corn is approximately the same, more persons reacted to commercial corn products than to commercial wheat products. This difference may have been due to the fact that corn is often soaked in sulfur dioxide for several days in order to separate different parts of the kernel. Most manufactured corn products start from such chemically contaminated sources.

A similar problem is posed by bleaching agents used to whiten flour. It is difficult to separate the contribution of the bleach in white bread from the host of other chemicals which go into the loaf.

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Coughing is a valuable defense mechanism of the body. It is the body’s way of removing any foreign material that enters the respiratory tree (the organs used for breathing). The respiratory tree includes the throat, larynx, trachea, bronchial tubes, and lungs. Coughing is not a disease itself. It is an automatic reflex that is set off by any foreign matter that enters the respiratory tree or by any irritation of the lining of the tree.

In most cases, coughing helps remove unwanted materials from the body, although sometimes coughing does not succeed. The only harm in a cough is that it may keep a person from sleeping, or it may cause sore muscles and exhaustion if the cough is hard and frequent. Coughing may also lead to vomiting.

A cough is only as serious as the disease or condition that causes it. As with a fever, a child with a cough is no less ill if you lessen or stop the cough. A child with a mild illness and a cough is still only mildly ill. To correct the cough, cure the disease.

Signs and symptoms

Coughing is itself a symptom of a disease or of an irritating substance in the respiratory tree. Most coughs are caused by viruses (common colds, croup and bronchitis). Some are caused by bacteria (sinusitis, epiglottitis, bacterial pneumonia, whooping cough). Other coughs are caused by allergies (asthma) or by inhaling irritating particles from the air.

Home care

Since coughing is only one symptom of an illness, you must treat the whole illness – not just the cough. When the illness is cured, coughing and other symptoms will be relieved. There are, however, steps you can take to help relieve coughing.

Give the child plenty of liquids. Use a vaporizer or humidifier to add moisture to the air. Cough medicines are sometimes useful. There are, however, different types of cough medicines, which are used for different types of coughs or for different types of illness.

Cough suppressants are used to reduce the frequency of the cough by suppressing the cough reflex; they may contain a narcotic (codeine, dihydrocodeinone, or hydromorphine) or a non-narcotic (dextromethorphan or benzonatate). Consult your doctor before using a narcotic cough suppressant.

Cough looseners are used to loosen a tight cough; they contain an expectorant (glyceryl-guaiacolate, guaifenesin, ammonium chloride, or antimony potassium tartate), which may help the person cough mucus out of the lungs.

Cough tighteners are used to dry up a loose cough; they contain a decongestant (ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, or homatropine).

Anti-allergy drugs are used to fight the allergy causing the cough; they contain ephedrine or an antihistamine. Some cough medicines contain a combination of ingredients and are intended to serve more than one purpose at the same time. Many different combinations of drugs are on the market in liquid form or as tablets or capsules. Before purchasing a cough medicine for home use, consult your doctor about the type of cough medicine (if any) that should be used.

Remember also that sometimes it is better not to try to suppress the cough. In some illnesses (especially asthma and pneumonia), coughing helps the child get rid of excess mucus in the lungs or air passages.

Precautions

• Do not give cough medicine to a child with croup.

• Do not give cough medicine to a child with any breathing difficulty unless you know you are treating asthma, and then give only anti-asthma drugs.

• Do not give cough medicine to a child who may have inhaled a foreign body.

Medical treatment

Your doctor will concentrate on treating the condition causing the cough, not on the cough itself. Narcotic cough medicines and some with antihistamines require a doctor’s prescription.

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Men don’t stretch. And for good reason: They hate it.

“Stretching’s just not fun,” says Janet Sobel, a physical therapist and clinical specialist at National Rehab Hospital/Suburban Regional Rehab in Chevy Chase, Maryland. “The results aren’t visible. No muscles bulge. And you don’t look cool doing it.”

But stretching is a joint-saver, according to Sobel, as well as a circulation-promoter, a performance-enhancer, and an injury-preventer. All of those things are important for disease prevention. “Stretching doesn’t directly decrease the likelihood of disease,” Sobel says. “But by enabling you to exercise without injury, it enables you to do what you need to do to minimize your disease risk.”

Here’s how to ride the stretch limousine to better health.

Stretch daily (or almost). “Stretching should be like brushing your teeth,” says Barbara Sanders, Ph.D., chairman of the physical therapy department at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. “It should be part of your daily routine.” Since we’re talking about only a few minutes to do a handful of stretches that require no equipment, you’ll probably find seven days a week doable and even enjoyable. But five is an acceptable minimum, Sobel says. “You’re not going to see results if you do it every other day,” she says. “But if you do it five days a week, it will pay off.”

Hold the stretch, but not your breath. To get the big benefits, you should hold each stretch for 20 to 30 seconds and repeat two or three times, Sobel says. And hold it still – no bouncing. At first you’ll notice a temptation to hold your breath as you hold the stretch. Resist it. “Breathing is very important,” Sobel says. “If you don’t breathe, you’re going to tighten up and it will hurt. That’s counterproductive.”

Stretch for as long as it takes. And that’s not very long. The only requirement is to work all the major body areas. “A basic stretch routine will be six to eight stretches,” Sobel says. Three repetitions of six stretches at 20 seconds each is six minutes. You spend more time than that looking for your bathrobe in the morning.

Just do what you can. What’s the most annoying moment in those stretching classes at your health club? How about when the instructor tells you not to worry if you can’t go “all the way” in some stretch that looks like it was invented by one of those contortionists in Chinese circuses? All the way? You can’t even begin it.

Don’t even try, Sobel advises. “Get as close as you can until you feel a comfortable pull, but not pain,” she says. “Be attentive to your body’s signals. Each person has his own genetic design, and you want to achieve your own potential, not someone else’s. Ultimately, you’ll get there.”

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As you are unlikely to be in hospital for longer than a few days, there are very few things you will need. The following list may be helpful.

1    Nightclothes. Loose, comfortable nightclothes are best. You will be given a hospital shift to wear during the operation itself.

2     Slippers.

3     Dressing gown.

4     Towel and washing things.

5     Money. A small amount of money may be useful for newspapers and the telephone. Large sums of money, wallets and handbags should not be taken into hospital as these may have to be kept in an unlocked cabinet by your bed. If you do have to take any valuables or large sums of money into hospital, you should give them to the nurse in charge of your ward when you are admitted. You will be given a receipt listing each item and should keep this safe so that you can collect your possessions when you are discharged. However, hospital authorities strongly discourage people from bringing anything of great value with them unless absolutely necessary.

6     Boob, magazines, puzzles, knitting. There will inevitably be periods of waiting between visits from medical staff before your operation, and you may want something to occupy you during this time. Apart from reading, it may also be possible to write letters or do some types of business work if your stay in hospital is longer than overnight.

7     Clothes to wear to go home. Following a mastectomy operation to remove a breast, you should be fitted with a soft, temporary prosthesis before you go home. The breast care nurse or ward sister will put this inside your bra as an interim measure until a permanent prosthesis can be fitted, some 6 to 8 weeks after the operation when the wound has completely healed. For this reason, you should take into hospital with you a well-fitting, comfortable bra which is not wired or low cut, preferably made of Lycra or elastic to provide support, and in good condition. You may also be asked to take a tight-fitting T-shirt or similar garment to wear while the nurse is matching the shape of the prosthesis to that of your other breast. You will probably prefer a loose shirt or sweater to go home in.

8     Drugs you are already taking. Once your admission has been arranged, your GP will have been asked to fill in a form stating all the drugs you are taking and their doses. You may also be asked to take your drugs with you when you go into hospital so that their dosages can be checked and so that you can continue to be given any which are necessary. All your drugs will be kept for you during your stay as you must only take those which are given to you by medical staff. If you are asked to take your own drugs into hospital, these should be returned to you before you leave.

9     Admission letter. An admission letter will have been sent to you from the hospital, and you should take this with you when you are admitted for your operation.

Jewellery

Whenever possible, all jewellery should be left at home. Although wedding rings may be worn during an operation, there is a risk that any jewellery you take off before surgery may be lost or stolen. If you have to take any jewellery into hospital, it should be given to the ward sister for safe keeping.

Wedding rings, or any other rings which are very precious to you or which cannot be removed, will be covered with adhesive tape before your operation as metal can cause electrical burns or electric shocks during the process of electrocautery which is used to control bleeding during surgery. In electrocautery an electric current heats the tip of an instrument which then shrivels and seals the little blood vessels and stops them bleeding.

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What happens in endometriosis

Once the fragments of endometrium have implanted they begin to respond to the fluctuating levels of the menstrual cycle hormones in the same way as the endometrium lining the uterus. Thus, the implants thicken and swell with blood and then break down and bleed each month. This blood then cannot escape from the body so it bleeds directly onto the surface of the surrounding organs, causing irritation which leads to inflammation, scarring and, sometimes, the development of adhesions.

As the disease progresses the implants gradually enlarge in size and may form small cysts.

As a cyst enlarges, the pressure within the cyst may cause it to rupture during menstruation, spilling the contents onto the adjacent tissues. This may in turn lead to the development of new implants.

What does endometriosis look like

Classical implants

Until recently, endometrial implants were thought to be fairly uniform in appearance. However, in the last few years there has been a growing appreciation that they have a range of characteristic appearances.

It is now understood that what were traditionally recognized as being classical implants are, in fact, probably only one end of the spectrum of appearances and that they are probably only typical of older implants.

Classical implants usually appear as tiny dots, or clusters of dots, on the surface of the organ or ligament on which they have implanted. They are usually only pinhead in size but they may be up to a centimeter or more in diameter. They range in colour from brown to black depending on how much old blood they contain. When magnified they may look like clusters of black grapes.

Atypical implants

The newly recognized implants are often called atypical implants but they are probably younger implants which, as yet, have very little old blood deposited in them.

Atypical implants are usually very small and are sometimes difficult to see. They may occur alone or in clusters and may be clear, white, yellow, orange or red in colour.

Microscopic endometriosis

In the early stages of endometriosis the implants may be too small to be seen without the use of a microscope. This type of endometriosis is often referred to as microscopic endometriosis.

Endometriomas

Endometrial cysts on the ovary are also known as endometriomas. They are usually less than two or three centimeters in diameter but occasionally may be 10 or more centimeters in diameter. They may be embedded in the ovary itself or they may lie on its surface. They are sometimes referred to as ‘chocolate cysts’ because they contain old dark blood which often has the appearance and consistency of melted chocolate.

Adhesions

Adhesions are bands of tissue which bind or matt together organs of the pelvic cavity and they may be formed as a result of endometriosis. They may have the appearance of sticky toffee which has been stretched from one organ to another.

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It would be quite wrong to suggest that all illness could be abolished by ‘right living’, but there is no doubt that changing one’s lifestyle and behaviour even a little can result in a greater resistance to illness and quicker recovery from disease.

Most of us have become sloppy about the way we run our lives and often have only ourselves to blame when things go wrong. We flagrantly abuse our minds and bodies and then wonder why they let us down. I put ‘minds’ first because as many as three-quarters of all symptoms are caused by emotional and psychological disease. Don’t forget that the largest group of prescriptions written in most western countries is for mind-altering drugs. We also try to cope with the stresses and strains of modern life by the frequent consumption of cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine- and cola-containing drinks-all of which have provable harmful effects, at least in some people.

It is an old truism that ‘you are what you eat’ and it is certainly a fact that you can only get the nutrients essential for the healthy working of your body by eating them.

We are all brought up to believe in the ‘balanced diet’ but the adequacy of the sort of protein-and-two-veg regime generally designated by this phrase is almost certainly a myth. A 1980 study (and there have been many over the years throughout the western world) found that only 15 per cent of the UK residents interviewed were consuming a diet that could provide even the minimum dietary requirements as laid down by the Department of Health and Social Security and these are themselves reckoned to be too low by many experts. In the USA two workers did a detailed study of 860 dental patients and found that almost half had frank vitamin and mineral deficiency states and that 6 per cent had no vitamin Ñ in their blood at all. Another US study found that 88 per cent of 120 randomly selected people had a significant deficiency of at least one vitamin and that 63 per cent were deficient in more than one. As we learn more about minerals it is becoming apparent that most people are short of these too.

Unfortunately, most people think that if they eat a little of a wide variety of foods their body will somehow balance out the goodies and end up healthy. Modern research has proved otherwise. Evidence now suggests that modern farming practices, which deplete the levels of essential nutrients in the soil by intensive cropping, mean that even the starting point-plants and animals from agricultural sources-are poor in all kinds of essential substances. Intensive farming methods, drugs used to fatten animals and so on, have provable negative effects on our health and nutrition. A further loss of vitamins and minerals occurs between the picking and the eating as modern food processing removes much of what is left. Few people realize the grave deficiencies of their modern diet, yet government departments repeatedly assure us that all is well.

All the above assumes that the consumer is really trying to eat healthily-and I am saying that this is very difficult to do, however well motivated one is. But the vast majority of the population doesn’t try. They consume large amounts of sugar, white-flour products, fat and alcohol, and suffer considerable nutritional deficiencies as a result.

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Janet Parent knew that to lose weight, she needed to gain control of her eating habits. She did it with milk.

Janet grew up in a family whose clean-your-plate philosophy was largely responsible for her eventual size-14 figure. Over the Ik I years, she dieted time and again, sometimes shedding a few pounds. But she’d lie awake at night, feeling starved. Inevitably, she’d return to large meals and constant snacking. Over a lifetime of gaining, losing, and regaining, Janet watched herself hit a high of 164 pounds. Finally, at age 64, the Old Forge, New York, resident became determined to slim down. “It was either buy yet another new wardrobe or take off the weight,” she says.

Her first step was to drop her drastic dieting and go back to preparing and eating her regular foods. For Janet, that meant meals of steak, potatoes, and corn; or chicken, rice, and broccoli—both always served with a salad. The main difference was that she began to leave a little food on her plate at the end of every meal.

This trick helped Janet control her portion sizes. But she still craved snacks. So she tried drinking skim milk between meals as a way to take the edge off her hunger. “I like the taste of milk, and I knew from experience that drinking it made me feel full,” she explains. “Besides, the extra calcium is good for my bones.” She also ate an orange every night before going to bed, to keep her stomach full until morning and stave off the midnight munchies. Slowly but surely, the extra pounds came off—and have stayed off for 2 years.

Today, at age 66, Janet weighs 147 pounds and wears a size-10 dress. “Drinking milk is the easiest thing I’ve ever done to lose weight,” she says.

WINNING ACTION

Satisfy your hunger with skim milk. A cold 8-ounce glass of skim milk is not only filling but also healthy—a great source of bone-building calcium. If you aren’t a fan of skim milk, try 1 percent. It has a richer taste but each

serving still gets fewer than 30 percent of its calories from fat. If you’re a chocoholic, add 2 tablespoons of Her-shey’s Syrup for a fast chocolate fix with only 50 calories and no fat.

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