Health News and Information

Cause

Thrush of the throat, tongue and lining of the mouth is caused by a fungus, or yeast, called Candida albicans, which normally lives in the body. If there is a disruption in the balance of organisms, the thrush organisms begin to multiply, and produce an infection. This may be a result of treatment with antibiotics, which destroys normal bacteria in the bowel, and allows the thrush organisms to flourish. Thrush can also be picked up during passage down the mother’s vagina at birth. If thrush organisms are present on anything that the baby sucks, such as a teat or pacifier, the baby may develop an oral infection. Children who have a weak immune system for whatever reasons are also more prone to developing thrush infections. But if your baby has thrush it does not necessarily mean he has poor immunity. Thrush is not contagious.

Clinical features

Usually babies and young children with oral thrush are unaware of it, as it generally does not irritate them unless the areas involved become severely inflamed. If this does occur, babies may be reluctant to feed and toddlers may play with or refuse their meals. Parents may notice that their child has white patches or plaques on the inside of the cheeks, lips and tongue.

When to see your doctor

• if you see white patches on the inside of your child’s mouth;

• if your child is generally unwell or has a fever for no apparent reason;

• if despite appropriate treatment, your child suffers from recurrent or persistent thrush infections.

Your doctor will usually prescribe special drops to be used after each feed or meal for 10 days. All teats and pacifiers should be sterilised to kill the thrush organisms. Sometimes oral thrush is accompanied by thrush in the nappy region, which needs treatment at the same time. Thrush is not a reason to stop breastfeeding. Your doctor may advise you to apply some anti-fungal cream to your nipples as well.

Prevention

Teats and bottles should be sterilised to prevent recurrent thrush.

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Having a baby is something that as parents you look forward to for a long time. Partners often go to antenatal classes together during the pregnancy. You may shop for things such as the baby’s cot and pram, and derive pleasure from decorating the baby’s room. The labour may not be too difficult and the delivery may go smoothly. As a mother you may have the support of your partner, the doctor and the nursing staff throughout labour. In hospital the baby may seem beautiful and contented.

DIFFICULTIES WITH COPING

After a few weeks or even days at home with a new baby, your whole world may feel like it is collapsing. The baby may cry and grizzle, and wake several times every night. You feel exhausted all the time and you may have both started to doubt whether you are doing things the right way.

This scenario is very common with parents of newborn babies, especially if it is your first baby, or where previous babies have been ‘little angels’. The contrast between the fantasy and reality of having and looking after a new baby comes as a great shock to many parents. Most become very tired and may have very little or no energy left over for anything except looking after the baby. This can make you both very tense, and this is made worse by sleep deprivation and the inability to find time to relax. You may lose your appetite for food, and sometimes even for life in general. This tends to affect the primary care-giver most, but places a great strain on the relationship with the partner as well, who usually has to hold down a full-time job. The baby’s continual demands can make parents angry and anxious about their ability to meet all their baby’s needs. You may find yourself frequently

in tears, having tantrums and sometimes directing outbursts or anger at your partner, the baby’s grandparents or anyone else who just happens to be around at the time. More often, however, there is quiet despair, a sinking feeling, a feeling of just not coping.

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This is the mechanistic aspect of the sexual health examination. Whether or not you are experiencing illness at this time in your life, assess your ability to move, to actually “do” the things you would like to do sexually.

“I know this sounds like an excuse, but I get terrible cramps in my legs whenever I’m on top,” reported one wife. “I start out okay. Then, after a while, they start to ache at the thigh and then my feet get these terrible cramps.”

“I can’t control my movements when I thrust,” said another husband. “My back tends to go out on me sometimes, and I sort of hold back so that won’t happen.”

In these two examples, prescription of special exercises and sexual-posture adjustment corrected the problems. Following medical examination to rale out any factors that might have contributed to her cramping (always a necessary first step), this wife was told that there was no reason that she should stop using the posture she preferred. She had not tried this position in five years, but when she was taught to push her open hands against her husband’s hands as he pushed up against hers, the cramps disappeared. The problem was approached with both partners as a team, a system, and the obstacle was removed.

The medical examination of the husband revealed a kidney stone that had not been diagnosed. The doctor decided that the stone could not be removed at this time, and the patient was instructed with his wife present that any coital movements would have no effect on the stone and certainly not cause problems for a back injury he never really had.

So take a look at the ability factor, your range of sexuai motion, stamina, and incoming/outgoing stimulation capacity. My work with paraplegic patients resulted in what those patients came to call the “top to bottom and back” test. Try it yourself:

Lie down in bed alone and start at the very top of your head. From that spot, mentally and, where possible, physically with your own hands scan down every part of your body and back up again. These are the questions the paraplegic patients used, and I found that they help patients with any disease process and persons without current disease to understand the “doing” aspect of sex.

1. Can I move the way I want here?

2. Can I feel here?

3. How could I please a partner with this area of my body?

4. How might a partner please himself or herself with this area of my body?

5. How do I feel about this area of my body?

Healthy? Strong? Safe? Soft?

Attractive (to myself and my partner)?

6. How does this part compare to other parts of my body?

7. How has my disease or health problem affected this area of my body, if at all?

8. How has this part of my body changed over the years?

9. What is the range of capacity for this part of my body (range of motion, posturing, etc.)?

10. How could I use another part of my body to compensate for a problem somewhere else?

11. What might I do to help out this part of my body? Is there a postural, positioning, even lighting or furniture change that could help?

12. Lie quietly and feel your body as a whole. How do you feel, how does it feel to you at this time of your life?

Other mini-questions may occur to you as you explore your sexual ability. This is the “what am I able to enjoy sex with? ” part of the sexual health exam, and any questions or concerns about health should be brought to the attention of your doctor. This is not a question of cosmetics or assessment of your place on the sexual attractiveness scale. It is an opportunity to check out the “hardware” of the system before you look at the more important “software” issues.

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Based on native American Indian and other native people recipes, published by Hulda Regher Clark (see the References)

Herbs:

1. black walnut hulls – from the black walnut tree. Use water based tincture. Use 10-20 drops each time.

2. wormwood – from the Artemisia absynthium shrub. Buy it for your garden. It has been named for a good reason long time ago and it is mentioned in many ancient scripts, including the Bible. Take one dried leaf in a teaspoon of honey each time.

3. common cloves – from the clove tree. This is a common spice used in baking. Grind your own fresh cloves (not stored for a long time). Use a small amount of ground powder mixed with a fruit juice – a tip of the teaspoon is enough.

Taken together, these herbs help to eliminate over 100 common parasites in humans.

Black walnut hull and wormwood help to eliminate adult parasites as well as their various development stages. Cloves eliminates eggs. This is the only known method to eliminate parasite eggs.

Use the combination of above herbs 3 times a day before meals for a few days. For more information read books by Hulda Regher Clark.

After eliminating parasites, we should take care not to create favourite conditions to them again. Attention to detoxification and the diet should be our strategy.

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The commonest cause of recurrent abdominal pain is what is called the spastic colon or the irritable bowel syndrome.

Exactly why it occurs is unknown although it is believed to be due to anxiety. Apparently the muscles in the wall of the large bowel are overactive, and go into cramp-like spasms which cause pain and either diarrhoea or constipation.

Treatment consists first in making the diagnosis and so relieving the patient’s anxiety that the symptoms might be due to cancer. Drugs which reduce the spasm in the muscles have been of value, as have tranquillisers and a diet high in fibre content.

Some researchers are not at all convinced that the irritable bowel syndrome is due to nervous tension. They think that only those with a high level of anxiety go to the doctor to complain about their abdominal pain; the rest simply put up with it.

If it is not due to anxiety, what does cause it? Food allergy is often suspected; the modern highly refined diet low in bulk is another possibility.

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There are now some blood tests (RAST tests) which can determine specific allergens. There is still some doubt about their accuracy. Other blood tests show a rise in the amount of globulin, the blood protein concerned with immunity.

Treatment of asthma will depend on its severity. There is no cure but control is possible. Mild or occasional asthma will only require treatment for the acute attack.

Many drugs are used and are designed to dilate the constricted bronchial tubes. They can be taken by mouth, by suppository (absorbed through the rectum), by injection into the muscles or directly into a vein, or inhaled into the lungs.

Most are related to adrenalin and tend to make the heart beat faster and the person feel jumpy.

Children often vomit with asthma and so, in an acute attack, cannot take medicine by mouth.

The development of the metered spray has made treatment so much better and drugs can be delivered in small doses directly to the target tissue.

Some of these bronchodilator medicines are used not only for an acute attack but also on a regular basis for prevention.

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Jacqui is a patient who for years suffered from infertility problems related to endometriosis. After surgery and medication, she was able to conceive two children. Now it appears that her disease is under control. When Jacqui came for a routine examination last spring, she mentioned that her sister was taking high-dosage birth control pills.

“Franny has been telling me how bad she’s been feeling”, Jacqui said. “I think of myself when I hear her—I could swear that the symptoms sound just like she’s got endometriosis. Franny never had any problems like cramps and pain before starting the Hill. She’s got a bit of a weight problem, and that worries me, too. What are the chances that the Pill is giving her endometriosis?”

Birth control pills do not cause endometriosis. In fact, they were once considered the treatment of choice to control the disease. Oral contraceptives are a balance of estrogen and progesterone, and the pills vary in formula and dosage. Although we know that estrogen influences the growth of endometrial cells, it has not yet been implicated in creating mutant cells that may become endometriosis. Let’s take the next step. If we examined under a microscope the endometrial tissue of women on oral contraceptives, we would find that the cells have become somewhat abnormal. This abnormality renders them inactive; that is, as a result of retrograde menstruation, they will not implant themselves on host organs and grow there.

About half of all such women, in fact, have suffered from some form of uterine cancer. High-fat or cholesterol-laden foods are most responsible for weight gain, and researchers are finding that these treacherous tats have the ability to convert into estrogen or stimulate hormone production. Greater production of estrogen influences buildup of the endometrium, causing a heavier menstrual flow.

A family predisposition to the disease could be conclusive here. There is a good chance that Franny already had endometriosis before taking oral contraceptives. The likelihood it that the estrogen in the pill stimulated the growth of endometrial cells to a certain degree. And since being overweight has been connected to higher levels of estrogen, we would strongly recommend that Franny keep her weight down.

Women with Jacqui and Franny’s history of endometriosis may find themselves facing a problematic option upon reaching menopause: should they have hormone replacement therapy? Such hormone therapy, in the form of estrogen supplements, is prescribed to control hot flashes, loss of vaginal elasticity, and other signs of aging related to lowering of female hormone levels. Mild endometriosis can occur as a result of estrogen replacement therapy, and this is not just the case with lifelong sufferers, women without any disabling symptoms of the disease may find that the estrogen has activated dormant cells. Jacqui and Franny, and women who share their problem, may have to battle a recurrence of the disease when they reach menopause. Perhaps by that time, however, doctors will have found a cure that trees a woman from the disease throughout her lifetime.

Scientists seeking the organic causes of endometriosis have scrutinized genetics, chemistry of the body, the influence of stress, distress, and the tempo of a woman’s life, hormonal responsibility, and even emotional attitudes. Sometimes there is great excitement in a laboratory or a doctor makes an astute observation and our knowledge of endometriosis is increased. Each quest for information brings us closer to the answer of why. Progress is being made. Until we can cite the precise components that cause endometriosis, we can work with effective methods for controlling and preventing the disease. That begins with you: your body will tell you what’s wrong, but you must be able to communicate your symptoms to a doctor. For now, let’s take the emphasis off why and learn what you can do to help yourself by understanding the disease more fully.

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A variety of animals—both domestic and otherwise—are known to transmit diseases to man. Several bacterial infections which affect humans may be contracted from animals. Domestic dogs and cats, being the most popular of household pets, are especially likely to be implicated in this regard. Both staphylococcal and streptococcal germs are carried in the mouths and throats of dogs and cats, and are easily transmitted to their owners. As well as transmitting their own infections to man, pets may also convey infections they themselves have acquired from man back to man himself.

Brucellosis is a bacterial infection of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. This may he contracted by humans, either through contact with infectious milk or directly from the infected animals. In addition to skin infections, brucellosis may cause a high fever and muscle pain. Another bacterial disease, anthrax, is contracted from the handling of infected bones, hides, wool or hair of animals. The disease may cause severe pustular infections, associated with very high fever, and may be fatal. Cat-scratch disease, which usually results in painful, enlarged lymph glands and rashes, may be contracted as a result of being scratched by an infected cat or kitten. Tropical fish enthusiasts are not immune from infection either. The water in tropical fish tanks is often contaminated by the bacteria Mycobacterium marinum, which closely resembles the tuberculosis germ. It may also be present in lakes or heated swimming pools. Infection usually occurs at the site of an abrasion. It appears as a lump or infection, which breaks down to form a non-healing sore. Most commonly, ft occurs on the hands. Treatment with the appropriate antibiotic is most satisfactory.

Similarly, there are a number of viral infections of animals which may affect humans. These include ornithosis, a most unpleasant disease which may affect the lungs, heart or liver, and cause a fever and a fairly characteristic rash. Another viral infection, foot-and-mouth disease, is common in European and Asian farm animals. Rarely, however, does it infect man. When it does, it results in blisters of the mouth, tongue, lips and the palms and soles. It tends to be more severe in infants and children than adults. The disease milkers’ nodule is derived from the teats of infected cows, and results in tender, red lumps on the fingers of those who milk these cows. Orf is a similar condition, mainly derived from lambs. It infects humans, either through their direct contact with the affected animal, dead or alive, or even through contact with contaminated pastures. It results in painful nodules on the hands which may ulcerate.

Animals are also known to transmit a number of fungal infections to man. Four of these infections are frequently causes of ringworm; they are: microsporum canis, commonly found on cats and dogs; trichophyton verrucosum, commonly found on cattle; trichophyton men tagrophytes and microsporum gypseum, soil inhabitants. (Ringworm is discussed in detail on page 73.1 There are other fungal infections which not only infect the skin but the internal organs as well. Fortunately—for they are difficult to treat—such infections are rare. In Australia there are three forms which are known to affect man: sporotrichosis, blastomycosis and cryptococcosis.

Certain parasites harboured by our pets may be transmitted to us accidentally; these parasites may be a source of irritation in themselves, or they may be carriers of some disease. One of the more serious of these parasite-transmitted diseases is hydatids. Normally, the tapeworm responsible for the disease lives in the intestine of the dog and if its eggs are accidentally swallowed by man, large hydatid cysts develop internally. The common intermediate host is the sheep, which may eat infected grass. Other parasitic worms which may affect humans are cat or dog hookworms. These may be picked up from infested soil, the worms depositing larvae which are able to penetrate the skin. This results in a characteristic creeping eruption. Similarly, swimmers itch is caused by penetration of the skin by the larvae of bird worms. This is usually picked up in shallow lakes from snails, which are the intermediate hosts. Another infection, leptospirosis, is an infection caused by a parasite frequently found in domestic animals (including dogs, pigs and cattle) and rats. Humans are usually infected by contact with infected urine via a cut or an abrasion. The resultant illness may be experienced as a mixture of fever, muscle pain, rashes, headaches and jaundice.

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Fibre probably has an important effect on satiety. In one study researchers showed that a high-fibre breakfast, including 20g of soluble and insoluble fibre, significantly suppressed ad libitum lunch energy intake 4 hours later when compared with a low fibre breakfast. There was, however, no significant effect on total energy intake for the day.

Other studies have found increased feelings of fullness for 3-4 hours after eating high-fibre breakfast cereals. The highest scores always corresponded to the highest fibre content. Because fibre does not seem to limit consumption at the test meal it seems that the appetite benefits of eating fibre emerge at the next meal rather than the current meal. That is, fibre has a bigger effect on satiety than satiation. However, simply adding fibre supplements to a high-fat diet is not likely to have the same effect as eating a selection of high-fibre foods. This is because the fibre in supplements is not ‘bound’ to the nutrients in the food consumed.

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Most women with endometriosis have felt anger at some stage. It may happen after you overcome the initial confusion and feelings of isolation because then you start asking yourself: ‘Why me?’, ‘Why am I infertile?’, ‘Why didn’t doctors pick this up sooner?’, ‘Why isn’t there a cure?’, ‘What research is being undertaken?’, ‘Why isn’t more information available about this disease?’.

With all these questions racing through your mind it is difficult to realise that you have not been singled out to suffer. You will feel angry that at some stage this disease may interrupt your life or that it may prevent you from having children, or attaining other goals in your life or pursuing some sporting interest or hobby.

You may also feel angry because endometriosis is a chronic disease for which there is no ‘cure’. You may be angry because a diagnosis has taken so long, because doctors do not have all the answers and it seems that no-one understands your turmoil.

Your partner too may be confused and frustrated by the disruption the disease has caused to your lives. He may feel angry that there is no cure, or may find it difficult because you may need his constant support.

How do you cope with this anger and frustration that you both may feel?

Try to include your partner in talks about the disease. Encourage him to accompany you on visits to the doctor or to meetings of support groups.

Let your partner talk about his fears and concerns and include him in any decision making.

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