THE DISABLING DISEASES: MONONUCLEOSIS
March 11th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: General healthNo Comments
Mononucleosis, also called infectious mononucleosis and glandular fever, can cause a surprisingly prolonged degree of disability for what may seem to be a mild illness. It frequently damages the liver temporarily. Because of this potentially serious complication, medical care and adequate bed rest are essential in order to prevent permanent damage to this vital organ. This is particularly true because infectious mononucleosis affects young adults chiefly, and young people are often impatient when it comes to taking sufficient rest.
This disease appears to be caused by a virus. It frequently affects college students, soldiers, nurses, and other young people who live in groups. The symptoms are fever, sore throat, swelling of the glands of the neck, and weakness and fatigue. There may be skin rashes. Jaundice will occur if the liver has been sufficiently involved. A special blood test can make the diagnosis more definite. Usually the disease clears up in a few weeks, but it may leave the person weak and easily tired for months thereafter.
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COPING WITH HAZARDS AND ILLNESS IN YOUR HOME
March 11th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: General healthNo Comments
The effect of your home and its furnishings on your safety is certain, and on your health, nearly as certain. Accidents in the home kill some 2700 Australians and 350 New Zealanders each year. Tuberculosis, pneumonia, and other infectious diseases are more common in areas where housing is of poor quality.
The minimum requirements of good housing
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Enough rooms for the family. A kitchen, bathroom, dining room, living room, and bedrooms are basic requirements. The number of bedrooms is highly important. No child should sleep in the same room with grown people. Ideally, each child should have his own room, but two young children of nearly the same age can share a room, Outdoor space is also necessary for children. The parents who select their houses near parks and playgrounds will be rewarded by the increased happiness of their children.
- Well-heated rooms, always free from dampness.
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Screens kept in good order to keep out flies and mosquitoes. Screen doors that close tightly.
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An inside bath and toilet. Plumbing, stove, and refrigerator, all kept in good repair.
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Roofs, ceilings, walls, and windows that are rainproof and rat-proof, and, wherever possible, insulated against the weather.
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YOUR BABY GROWS OLDER
March 11th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: General healthNo Comments
The following list includes a very few of the things that the average baby does at certain ages. It gives you some idea of what you should look forward to, and for what you should be prepared.
16 weeks: The baby smiles, coos, and ‘plays.’ His eyes follow an object when it is moved in front of them.
28 weeks: The baby sits up fairly well with some support. He shakes his rattle and touches it with his other hand. He rolls from his back to his stomach and moves around. He recognizes members of the family, and makes talking sounds.
40 weeks: He sits up well by himself, crawls, and often walks with help. He says a few words, such as ‘ma-ma,’ ‘da-da,’ ‘bye-bye.’
Weaning
A baby should be weaned gradually, so he does not feel that he is being deprived of anything essential. Help and encourage him as much as possible, trying to get him to take the lead. Do not get upset by his resistance and spilling. But do not be so afraid of forcing the issue that you actually encourage the baby to cling to his bottle. He will enjoy drinking from a cup, so keep at it in a calm, relaxed manner.
Teething
Teething can be painful, and some babies are quite upset by it, losing their appetite or suffering from digestive disturbances. Teething may cause a slight fever, but not over 101° F. You can help your baby by giving him something hard and safe to chew on, such as a clean rubber ring—not anything that will crack or splinter. You can also help by comforting him if he is miserable. Your doctor will tell you if anything more can be done.
Trust yourself
As a new mother, you know much more than you think you do. Take the advice you need, and then use it in terms of your own baby. The loving care that you and your husband naturally give your baby is infinitely more valuable than checking the exact temperature of the bath water or knowing the best way to pin on a napkin. What your baby needs most of all is you. Without a mother’s tender, loving care, all the right food, water, fresh air, and sunshine will not help him grow and be healthy. Doctors can give you a lot of useful information. Only you can make it meaningful. Good nutrition, inoculation, medicines, accident prevention—and the healthy emotional attitudes that I discuss more fully in the next chapter—make it possible for babies to get a wonderful start in life.
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PROCEDURE OF THE MEDICAL EXAMINATION: THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
March 11th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: General healthNo Comments
There are four parts to a general medical examination: (1) inspection, (2) palpation, (3) percussion, and (4) auscultation.
This is the way in which these procedures would be applied to the examination, for example, of your heart: The doctor first inspects the chest over the heart, looking for the heave and beat of the heart, which provides a guide to its size and the way it is working. Then, by palpation—putting his fingers and hands over the heart—he feels the way the heart beats. The normal heart feels one way, the diseased heart feels another way. Percussion means striking the body with the fingers to bring out resonant sounds. Because the heart is not resonant and the adjacent lungs are, sound waves will change in pitch as soon as the doctor’s fingers strike the chest over the heart. His experienced ears detect the change, and thus he has a guide to the precise location of the heart and its size. Auscultation means listening with a stethoscope. The normal heart sounds a certain way; if heart trouble is present, the stethoscope picks up characteristic sounds that help in the diagnosis.
The doctor uses the same methods for examination of the lungs. In examinations of some other parts of the body, he may find that only inspection and palpation are useful.
The doctor adapts the medical examination to the situation. In elderly people, he will search most carefully for cancer, high blood pressure, and heart trouble; with children the doctor will be concerned with the milestones of normal physical and mental development as well as evidence of any disease.
No check-up, particularly of middle aged or elderly people, is complete without an examination of the rectum and the genital organs. These areas of the body are frequently the sites of cancers that can be terribly serious if not detected in the early, curable stage. Other diseases occur in these organs, too. The rectum and the female genital organs must be examined internally, requiring the insertion of the physician’s gloved fingers. In examining women, he will also use a speculum, a cylindrical instrument that distends the vagina, enabling him to see the cervix, or tip of the womb. It is at this time that the cervical smear is taken, as a simple check for the early development of cancer of the uterus.
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DISEASES OF TEETH: PAINLESS DENTISTRY
March 11th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: General healthNo Comments
New instruments and improved techniques make it possible for the dentist to work faster, more gently, and less painfully. Water-cooled air drills avoid creating pain-producing heat. Ultrasonic (faster than sound) devices and extremely high-speed rotary drills are among other recent developments in dentistry.
Years ago, dentists used anaesthetics only when extracting teeth. Today, most dentists use them with children as well as adults for almost all painful procedures, including preparing teeth for fillings. The most popular methods are the injection of procaine hydrochloride (Novocaine) into the nerves or gums, and the inhalation of nitrous oxide gas. Some dentists use the light-nitrous-oxide-analgesia method. (Analgesia means insensibility to pain.) The patient inhales a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen through a nosepiece. Although he remains conscious and is aware of the drilling, his sensations are so dulled that it does not hurt him. People who are suffering from certain diseases should not take the gas.
A type of mild analgesia that I recommend for nervous or sensitive patients is a pain-killing medicine such as ordinary aspirin (or stronger pain relievers such as codeine.) If the tablets are taken orally an hour before your appointment, they can make a real difference. Sometimes a sedative such as phenobarbitone will be very helpful, especially for children.
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