Medsarticles. Medical Weblog

Cause

A stye is a small pimple which forms at the base of an eyelash due to infection from a germ.

Clinical features

A stye looks like a small, red lump, at the base of an eyelash, usually on the lower lid. It can cause swelling of the surrounding lid and be quite painful.

Treatment

Bathing the eye for 10 minutes several times a day, with cotton wool soaked in warm water, may help the stye to come to a head, and the pus to discharge. Do not try to squeeze a stye as it usually drains by itself. If it does not disappear within a few days, see your doctor.

Antibiotic ointments are rarely prescribed for treatment of a stye, unless it is a recurrent problem. Make sure that your child (and everyone else in the family) washes hands frequently to avoid spreading the infection. Use a separate towel for your child.

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This is impossible. You want me to just talk about sex and tell my

parents about this. Are you crazy? They are from another world.

They would die if I really told them what is going on out there.

FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY

What makes them upset is not being told or not feeling able to talk with you about these things. You know what? Your parents have had more sex than you have. Yes. I know you may find that hard to believe, but your parents have had and do have sex. They love each other. There is nothing absolutely nothing, you cannot tell your Parents. It is very, very sad that young people are out there in large numbers fumbling around trying to learn sex on their own, or pre-tending they’ve already learned it, when they have parents to talk to and from whom they could learn. And one more thing. You don’t have to start out by telling them anything. Ask them things. Ask about their feelings, about their sexuality. Fair is fair. They’ll tell you theirs if you’ll tell them yours. You don’t have to talk about what you do or they do, but talk about feelings and values and beliefs and specifics about what can, cannot, and sometimes should not be done. Go ahead. Make their day. Ask them a good, strong question you think they can’t handle.

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Based on my interviews with the thousand men, their wives, and thousands of other interviews by myself and my staff, I offer twelve types of sexual husband. Remember, we all have elements of all these types, because they are not types at all but really behaviors, ways of being sexual sometimes. There is no need for more labels in the field of sexuality, so place the emphasis on the “fun” of these categories.

1. The Helper

Nobody gives her what I give her. I make her a princess.

HUSBAND

This is the husband who feels that he must assist his wife to sexual fulfillment. His daily activities, gifts he provides, things he does for his wife, and his behavior in bed are “help” rather than “share”-oriented. This husband attempts to live up to his perceptions of his wife’s expectations, which perceptions, by the way, are usually not accurate.

2. The Hounder

If I keep it on her mind, focused, bring it to her attention, we will have sex. I have to keep the ball rolling.

HUSBAND

This is a husband who oversexualizes everything. He comments about sex on television, in books, in the newspaper, purchases every source of erotica he can find. He has an extensive collection of pornography and may bring home X-rated videotapes or films to “turn her on.” There may be a secret pornography collection that the wife knows little about. Wives might want to look in the tool area of the basement under the wrenches. They may be surprised at what they find.

3.    The Heel

She’s not passionate. She tries, but she is of the fifties and I am of the eighties. That’s why I have to have a little modern sex on the side.

HUSBAND

This is a male who criticizes his wife sexually, while at the same time seeking his sexual fulfillment outside his marriage. He may defend his extramarital sex by blaming the wife for failing him sexually, when actually he has neglected the intimate dimension of his marriage for some time. Men and women who look outside the marriage have usually not looked long or deep enough inside the marriage or themselves.

4.    The Hermit

I just don’t think much about it. I run every day in the morning and sometimes at night. I am in training for the marathon. Sex isn’t everything. We’re partners. She doesn’t mind. She keeps me in carbohydrates and Coke. You know how running is. It takes your full attention.

HUSBAND

This husband has withdrawn from sex with his wife completely. While the wife may blame herself for this, actually the husband has neglected intimacy in the marriage and may be having an affair, not with another woman but with work, golf, or the television. Sex is very low on this man’s priority list, and so is the marriage. The wife may feel that she is just living in the same house with this man, not sharing a life with him.

5.    The Hero

I give her anything she wants. I really set her up. She wants for nothing. I kill all bugs, paint all ceilings, and am able to leap all of her problems in a single bound.

HUSBAND

p. Scott Fitzgerald once stated, “Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy.” This is the man who seeks to establish sexual IOUs by contributing a house, child care, money, status, a car, or anything else he feels will earn him his sexual due.

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Oxygen therapies use oxygen in various forms (ozone for example) to assist the body in the healing process. Their indisputable effectiveness comes from the fact, that oxygen is a key substance used by our body in the detoxification process. The rate of detoxification can be greatly increased, if the body has an excess of oxygen available to it. Selected safe and very effective techniques of oxygen therapy are listed below. Note, that breathing pure oxygen is NOT listed as the effective therapy. It is not the quantity of oxygen, which is the most important. Most effective healing techniques use minute quantities of active atomic oxygen, in concentrations occurring naturally in spring water and the air in the mountains.

Enema. This was described in detail in a separate section earlier on- in this book. Adding minute quantities of hydrogen peroxide to the pure water used for an enema, delivers small quantities of oxygen directly to excreting organs, helping them to work better. Never exceed the concentration of 1 drop of (30%) hydrogen peroxide per 2 litres of water for your enema. Your safety and comfort are most important. If in doubt, use much less. Do not use hydrogen peroxide sold in pharmacies for external use only. It contains so called “stabilisers” which may be toxic. Use only “analytical” or “food” grade hydrogen peroxide.

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The incubation period varies from two to 10 days, usually depending on the virus. The onset is sudden with aches and pains, a temperature and headache. Photophobia or dislike of light is a common symptom.

The diagnosis is suspected because of the presence of a stiff neck or back. The doctor finds that when he moves the patient the head cannot be bent forward for the chin to rest on the chest.

This sign may be present as a result of irritation of the meninges from some other infection without direct involvement of the brain coverings themselves.

If the diagnosis is suspected then it can be confirmed by carrying out a procedure known as a lumbar puncture. A needle is inserted into the lower back penetrating between the spines or projections of the vertebrae to enter the spinal canal.

The cerebrospinal fluid is withdrawn and examined under the microscope. This enables the doctor to tell the difference between a bacterial or viral infection.

Bacterial infections must be treated with ahtibiotics but for a viral infection there is no treatment.

Fortunately most cases subside within a week and all the patient requires is aspirin or paracetamol to relieve the temperature.

Often the headache is severe and unresponsive to strong analgesics. Occasionally some muscle weakness or paralysis may occur during the course of the illness. Fortunately most cases recover.

Occasionally the infection may spread beyond the coverings to involve the brain itself. This is an encephalitis. If this happens the person is sicker and more likely to develop a complication.

There is no vaccine available for prevention and its development is unlikely because of the generally benign nature of the disorder and the many different viruses which are likely to cause it.

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The situation has changed and there is now adequate scientific information to indicate that cannabis use can be dangerous and can lead to problems the same as alcohol and tobacco.

I know of no reputable medical association which supports the legalisation of this drug or which advocates its wider use.

The community has a vested interest in the health of its members and therefore has a right to consider the benefits and abuses to society as well as to the individual when considering both drug use and abuse.

Wise men have been advocating moderation in the use of alcohol for at least 3000 years, perhaps longer. Yet the level of alcohol abuse is increasing in Australia.

Can we afford another problem?

Because, like alcohol, it releases inhibitions, cannabis is often said to enhance sexual pleasure. It may do so in the early stages but regular use leads to apathy in this field of human activity as in the other areas and sexual desire and activity decline with regular use.

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The fact that you have cancer does not mean that you suddenly stop being an adult person with all the accepted and recognised rights of any adult person. It is your cancer, your body and your life. You are entitled to expect and get control over all important decisions to do with yourself. I have seen many patients give away their basic rights through ignorance, fear, awe, feelings of overwhelming helplessness and a need for protection. Unfortunately, giving away those rights completes a vicious circle—giving away rights leads to dependency on others, which leads to fear and helplessness, which leads to further giving away of rights and so on. You can break that vicious circle. Know about and insist on your rights to remain in control, that is, to function as a normal adult person, in every respect for which you remain physically and mentally able.

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1. Damage to the dermis (a) Because the UVA wavelengths are longer than the UVB wavelengths, they penetrate deeper and can cause damage to the supportive layers of the skin which house the collagen and elastic fibres. Celtic skin is unable to adequately repair this damage, due it is thought to certain blood vessel changes, as well as cellular mutations. As a result, abnormal cells are formed which may lead to skin cancer. The elastic tissue also becomes abnormal and loses its elasticity, and the collagen tissue disintegrates and disappears. Consequently the skin becomes thin, ‘liver spots’ appear, dryness occurs, and wrinkles develop—all features of premature ageing— and in time skin cancer will occur.

(bj Although UVB radiation predominantly causes epidermal rather than dermal damage, resulting in burning and later tanning, it also has long-term cumulative detrimental effects on the skin. UVA radiation has been shown to aggravate the effect of UVB radiation. Consequently, sun exposure shortly before or after exposure to a solarium will result in more severe skin damage.

(c) Recent evidence indicates that exposure to less intense UVA and UVB radiation over a longer period of time is more likely to cause permanent skin damage, including cancer, than the same energy applied over a short period. This accounts for the particularly damaging effects of chronic exposure on the face and hands. With solariums, the total body area irradiated is much larger, and therefore the potential for damage and cancer is much greater.

(d) Sunburn is nature’s warning of excessive sun exposure. This warning is absent when solariums are used as a tanning source. People who frequent solariums are either sold a certain number of possible exposures, or unlimited access for a period of months. The incentive to attend frequently to keep up the short-lived tan, together with the absence of the discomfort caused by burning, results in damage far in excess of what would occur in the sun.

2. Photosensitivity Because solarium operators have a strong financial incentive to process as many people as possible, have no medical training, and are not governed by any health regulations, a number of medical problems may arise.

It is not widely recognized that various internal and external preparations may make a person’s skin allergic to ultraviolet light and UVA radiation in particular. External agents include various soaps, perfumes, cosmetics, creams, and plants. Internal agents include many antibiotics, some diuretics, birth control pills, tranquillizers, and oral anti-diabetic drugs.

Also, there are also a number of diseases which are aggravated by UVA radiation; some of these may be latent, and only brought on by exposure to radiation from a solarium.

3. Bye damage Perhaps the greatest hazard concerns the eyes, which in most cases are given no protection during therapy. In fact, the implication that solariums are so safe that not even eyes need to be protected is emphasized in advertising. There is, however, conclusive evidence both from animal studies and experiments performed on animal and human eyes, that UVA exposure results in permanent damage to the lens, and sometimes mho to the retina. Initially, the lens of the eye becomes discoloured, and then opaque, and finally a cataract forms. This may eventually lead to blindness. Cataracts are the second most common cause of blindness in Australia and the United States. This high and increasing incidence of cataracts is thought to be largely due to the increasing exposure of the population to sunlight.

4. Advertising hazards Various advertising brochures present different inaccuracies. There are, however, three fundamental inaccuracies which most of them contain.

The first is the claim made for the enormous benefits of UVA radiation for the body! They reject the ‘blazing and potentially dangerous sun’, only to promote ‘the rich golden tan, which gives you that healthy, confident, affluent look*. Who could resist, especially as they say that the radiation which produces a tan is also the major source of vitamin D. In fact the major source of vitamin D is dairy products and fish oils, not sunlight. Moreover such supplementation of vitamin D is hardly necessary in our society: vitamin D deficiency results in rickets, a virtually non-existent condition in developed countries.

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It is normal and natural to lose oestrogen at the time of the menopause. If, like our forebears, we didn’t live much beyond the age of 50-ish, this wouldn’t cause many problems. Just as women in past ages were starting to get hot flushes and night sweats, along would come the Grim Reaper and their troubles in this world would be over. Few would live to experience the long-term effects of low oestrogen, such as osteoporosis, heart attacks and strokes.

We have looked at how and why oestrogen and progesterone levels fall. Now we will look at what effect this has, and why replacing these hormones — in the form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – can help.

Most women probably know about hot flushes, unpredictable moods and loss of sex drive, but what else might there be?

‘You won’t believe this, but I just didn’t realise my problems were due to the menopause. Of course I recognised the hot flushes, but not anything else. Over the course of 18 months I lost count of the number of times I went to my doctor – we got sick of the sight of each other. I went to him about pains in my joints (he gave me paracetamol), about insomnia and night sweats (he suggested a milky bedtime drink and sleeping tablets), depression (’Why not do some charity work?’).

Other things I decided not to see him about, such as sexual difficulties and general mood changes. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me as I’d been such a normal, healthy person. Luckily one day I saw another doctor in the practice. She explained that all these things were probably due to the menopause, and she talked to me about HRT, gave me a check-up (which proved I was quite normal!), and I’ve been on HRT ever since.’

The consequences of low or falling oestrogen are grouped in three categories: (a) early symptoms that, for most women, last between about six months and two years, (b) rather later symptoms that tend to become more noticeable as the years go by, and (c) conditions that may not start for many years and then get steadily worse.

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Psychological factors. For reasons that are unclear, women who are scheduled for hysterectomy are more than twice as likely as average to be distressed as indicated by psychological tests. It may be that symptoms such as chronic pain and heavy bleeding, and uncertainty about the future, have produced this psychological distress. Or else, an underlying psychological condition may have reduced tolerance of minor symptoms. Whatever the truth of the matter, improvement in gynaecological complaints, however this is achieved, tends to result in a marked reduction in psychological symptoms. On rare occasions such women may ask about, or be advised to have, a hysterectomy.

Post-pregnancy complications. Emergency hysterectomy may be the only option when uterine bleeding is uncontrollable. This is a rare occurrence after childbirth and may be caused by rupture of the uterus or damage to major blood vessels. Other situations that may give rise to hysterectomy include life-threatening infection of the endometrium (a very occasional complication of abortion), or the removal of an ectopic pregnancy in a woman who has finished her family.

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