Posted on May 21, 2009 under General health |
Abrasion is a general term given to an injury such as a graze, scratch or cut. These are a common occurrence in childhood, and if not severe can usually be treated at home.
Treatment
Clean all sores immediately with running water to remove dirt. Clean the surrounding skin with clean gauze or a handtowel soaked in water. Do not use cotton wool as this can leave fibres in the wound. Always wipe away from the wound — never wipe from the surrounding skin towards the wound. Use a diluted antiseptic solution to clean the sore — this will sting, but you need to persist with its use in order to prevent infection. Then cover the sore with a sterile, non-stick dressing. If the wound is bleeding, apply firm pressure for 10 minutes.
When to see your doctor
• if the abrasion is deep and does not stop bleeding despite firm pressure;
• if there is a lot of dirt, gravel, or pieces of wood, metal or glass in the abrasion;
• if it is a large abrasion with rough or jagged edges;
• if you are unsure whether your child is up to date with his tetanus immunisation.
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Posted on May 18, 2009 under General health |
”I notice that I don’t have as much of an erection as I used
to. Isn’t that just aging?”
The quality of erections changes throughout the life. Usually, good health, good exercise, good diet, low stress, no drugs or alcohol, and an interested and interesting partner are the best guarantee that you will have whatever genital reflex the body can have. Remember, though, the erection of the penis or clitoris is not necessary for a fulfilling sex life. It is not the measure of enjoyment, only blood flow. That changes through life, so erections change.
”Same thing for men? Can we keep it going?”
Absolutely. There may be less ejaculate, less pressure at ejaculation, different contraction sensations, less frequent and less firm erections, but psychasms and orgasms continue. All health habits should continue through life, and that includes sex. Not only does aging not stop sex or sex interest and arousal, but some of the changes that come with aging can be slowed by remaining sexually active, either alone or with a partner.
”Doesn’t a woman lose her ability, though? She gets old
down there.”
We get old everywhere. A woman might notice less lubrication in her vagina and some pain when stimulated genitally, so adding lubrication can help. The ability to have orgasm and certainly psychasm is not affected. Some of the genital reflexes and the contraction of the muscles in the pelvic area might feel differently than years ago, but different doesn’t mean less. It is just plain myth and ageist attitudes that view sex as decreasing with the aging process.
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Posted on May 18, 2009 under General health |
I offered twelve types of husbands derived from the interviews. These were provided for discussion and for the fun of reviewing stereotypes that can emerge from a limited view of sex. Compare these twelve wife categories with the twelve husband categories. As I suggested in super marital sex opportunity number six, try to “match them up,” try to see those times when you and your spouse might have been acting out roles assigned by “sexpec-tations” rather than enjoying the opportunity for “sharegasms.”
1. The Helpee
I know that if I’m happy, he’s happy. God knows, I try to be happy. I try to respond in the way he wants, but I have to work on my groans a little more.
WIFE
This is the wife who feels that her role is to be the responder, to react in the sex-manual-predicted ways to the husband’s sexual ministrations. It seems from my work with couples that ministration is far more dangerous to sexual fulfillment than masturbation. She feels that her sexual response is a measure of her husband’s effectiveness rather than her own self-representation.
V
2. The Hounded
I love to hug and hug him hard, but when I do, he always gets harder than my hug. If I don’t want sex, I just don’t hug.
WIFE
This is the wife who feels that any sign of tenderness may be the overture to sex rather than an expression of love. Some wives felt that they had to monitor their expressions of feelings and touching for fear they would set off a chain reaction.
3. The Faker
I’ve never had an orgasm, but I’ll bet I fake it better than it actually is. It could never be as good as I make it look.
WIFE
-This is the wife who has learned to pretend. Feeling that her husband will not be fulfilled until she is fulfilled, she has learned to act rather than experience, to try rather than be. While there is nothing wrong with a little drama and acting in sexual encounters, faking it to “get it done” ultimately destroys any hope of intimate sexual communication.
4. The Hurrier
Someday, someday, I hope we can really take some time with this. I can get off quick, but it seems that I am trying to get off more than trying to enjoy us making love.
WIFE
This wife who is capable of extensive and fulfilling sexual response but rushes herself for the sake of time. She may feel that her husband is tiring, is struggling to control his ejaculation, which he has defined as his orgasm, or is becoming bored or anxious to get on with it. As a result she pushes herself to early and abbreviated sexual response.
5. The Piece
I feel like a piece of ass, just a piece. It’s funny how men are hunks, large hunks, and we are pieces, small pieces. We are diminished even in size.
WIFE
This wife feels that her husband is making love to someone, but not necessarily her. She feels that she represents “a woman” more than her “self.” She does not feel valued as a person but needed as a sexual outlet.
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Posted on May 18, 2009 under General health |
One of the husbands in my sample complained in a therapy session, “She just got heavy. Same old person, only a heavier version. How can I get turned on by her?”
When I responded that he was responsible for his own arousal, not merely reactive to a body image, he became angry. “Why do I need a partner, then? I can just get myself turned on.”
“It’s a system,” I responded. “You affect her, she affects you, and so it goes. You broke the chain when you declared her the sole source of your sexual feelings. Instead of asking why she is heavier, you might ask yourself about the qualities that lead to your arousal. Are you still able to see the whole, the total person? Do you want her thinner for you, for her, or for the two of you? Are you with her in this struggle of weight, or just an appraiser of final outcome? Are you aware of her or just her body?”
“You mean like my feelings that she is the mother of my children, the person who helped me through my heart attack, the person who tolerates my immaturity, and stuff like that? Okay … but that’s not sex,” he responded, “I mean it is not really sexual or a turn-on or anything.”
This husband is mistaken. Change and adaptation in marriage hinge on broadening our reactions to one another, not depending on predetermined, culturally determined standards. The stimulation comes from within the system, not from skin and bones and their respective arrangement. The question is, Does your relationship turn you on, not does someone or something turn you on. This emphasis equalizes responsibility for arousal.
If we cling to a search for newness, uniqueness, compliance by our partner to ever-changing external cultural standards of “sexiness,” we miss one of the greatest opportunities that marriage provides: the familiarity of communication on levels beyond the see-and-touch world.
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Posted on May 15, 2009 under General health |
With the onset of the menopause, there is a reduction in the amount of circulating oestrogen, the main female hormone. It is this lack of oestrogen which is responsible for the symptoms associated with the menopause, such as hot flushes and drying up of the normal vaginal secretions.
Giving oestrogen supplements to women at the menopause may reduce these symptoms and may prevent the development of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis may occur as a secondary problem due to some other disorder. There are four parathyroid glands and they lie half-buried in and behind the thyroid gland in the neck. They are concerned with the calcium metabolism of the body.
Over-activity of these glands, particularly due to the development of a tumor in them, can lead to an excess loss of calcium from the body through the kidneys.
This can result in the development of kidney stones and to osteoporosis. Other endocrine gland disturbances involving the thyroid or the adrenal glands may also lead to osteoporosis.
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Posted on May 15, 2009 under General health |
Scleroderma or Progressive Systemic Sclerosis is another of the collagen diseases. It is characterised by an increase in the collagen fibres of connective tissue which leads to obliteration of small arteries.
It usually starts in the skin but may later spread to other organs. The digestive tract, the lungs, the kidneys and the heart may all be involved.
The cause of this disorder, like SLE, is thought to be an auto-immune disease. Occasionally it may have an acute onset with rapid progression to an early death, but, more commonly, it is a slowly progressive disorder.
Involvement of the peripheral arteries may lead to the condition known as Raynaud’s Phenomenon, where the hands and feet become cold and blue and over-sensitive to cold.
When the gullet or oesophagus is involved, the scarring causes obstruction and difficulty in swallowing.
Treatment is unsatisfactory and cortisone is of little benefit.
Polyarteritis Nodosa differs from the other collagen diseases in that it is rare and affects males three times as commonly as females. It may occur at any age.
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Posted on May 12, 2009 under General health |
If the child or his parents show signs of marked emotional disturbance, referral to a psychiatrist is usually advisable and psychotherapy and counselling may be necessary.
The most effective treatment is some form of conditioning device. This is usually referred to as the “pad and bell”. There are different brands and they can be hired rather than bought.
The child lies on a special sheet which has electrodes connected to a loud bell. When the child wets, this allows the electric circuit to be completed and the buzzer sounds.
This should wake the child, who then gets up and finishes emptying the bladder. Eventually the child learns to wake under the stimulus of a full bladder before he wets. It may take three months or so for regular dryness to be achieved.
These are about 90 per cent effective, even if about 30 per cent relapse and have to have a second course.
In those cases where the enuresis is secondary to disorders of the kidneys or bladder, attention to the problem usually results in eventual control of the bed-wetting.
Some parents become obsessive over toilet training of their children and some attempt to get the child to control bowels and bladder at around nine months. It is worth remembering that where toilet training is left to later, say around two, children learn quicker than those started earlier.
This may be because the child’s bladder and nervous system are more mature and also because the parents are less obsessive and provoke less anxiety in the child.
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Posted on May 12, 2009 under Cancer |
Cancer research is necessary if we are to find out more about all aspects of cancer. It is quite likely that you will be asked to take part in some type of research. You need to know what your rights are in this regard.
Some research simply involves gathering facts. For example, if a researcher is trying to find the cause of the particular type of cancer that you have, you could be asked to complete a questionnaire asking about all sorts of past experiences, such as exposure to chemicals and drugs, your dietary history, previous illnesses, where you have lived and worked and so on.
Some research involves developing new tests or forms of treatment. You could be asked to undergo a new type of test which is not normally done. This would mean that they would not be sure what the results of the test mean and these results would not be of any use to your practitioner in planning your treatment. You could be asked to undergo a new form of treatment, perhaps with new drugs or a dosage or combination of drugs which is not standard. At this stage, I will just detail what your rights include in any type of research.
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Posted on May 08, 2009 under Hormonal |
For women several years past the menopause, one of the most troublesome symptoms of low oestrogen is ‘atrophy of the vaginal and urogenital tract’. To put it another way, the vagina becomes so dry that sex becomes difficult, continence problems develop, and infections occur in the vagina and urethra. One medical dictionary defines atrophy as ‘wasting away, from disuse or lack of nutrition’. In the case of the vagina and urethra, the atrophy is caused by a lack of the ‘nutrition’ of oestrogen.
It is a problem that tends to get more noticeable as the years go by, affecting mainly women from their fifties onwards, and for many of them it will be the first time they have needed to see the doctor about menopausal symptoms. Perhaps our typical woman ‘sailed through the menopause’, or lived with it without too many problems, but now she finds that a dry vagina means that sex is becoming painful, and she is starting to notice embarrassing ‘dribbles’ of urine.
This is the point at which she should not think, ‘Oh, I’m just getting older, there’s nothing that can be done about it.’ There is, and it’s called HRT.
‘Sex started to be uncomfortable, and I thought it was just my age, even though I was only 49. It never occurred to me that this might be a symptom of the menopause, or that anything could be done about it. In any case, I wouldn’t have wanted to talk to my doctor about something so personal. Eventually I plucked up courage to see the Practice Nurse at the surgery, and she was very helpful. I didn’t want to take HRT as it seems unnatural, but I now use just a vaginal oestrogen cream, and it has made all the difference.’
As well as being available as tablets, patches and implants, oestrogen can also be applied as a cream. Used in the vagina, it makes the lining thicker, moist and healthy, less vulnerable to infection and more open to stimulation during sexual intercourse. The cream is especially suitable for vaginal dryness, soreness, discharge, pain during sexual intercourse, and vaginitis, and it can be very helpful for some bladder and continence problems. When you first start using oestrogen cream, you may need a fairly high dose, as absorption through the walls of the vagina is usually poor, especially in cases of vaginitis. Once the walls revert to their previous healthy state, however, absorption of the cream will be higher, so a low regular dose should be sufficient, minimising side-effects.
The cream is absorbed through the walls of the vagina into the bloodstream, so it would not be suitable for women who should not take any form of HRT. Also, because it contains only a low level of oestrogen, it is not particularly effective for treating hot flushes, nor does it give protection against osteoporosis. It is also important to be aware that it is a treatment for vaginal dryness, not a lubrication, so it shouldn’t be used just before sexual intercourse. If you do use it then, your partner could absorb undesirably high levels of oestrogen, and may even, in extreme cases, experience some breast enlargement!
If you have not had a hysterectomy, you may be advised to use the cream for a few months only, then your doctor will review it and see whether you need to be taking progestogen. In many cases, use of the cream form of HRT does not give a high enough level of oestrogen to thicken the lining of the womb or necessitate taking progestogen, so it is a particularly suitable form of replacement therapy for older women who do not want the return of periods or need treatment for hot flushes, and whose only menopausal problems are vaginal and some loss of continence.
Vaginal oestrogen is also available as a pessary, called Vagifem (manufactured by Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals), that is inserted high up into the vagina with a special applicator. It works in the same way, and for the same conditions, as a vaginal cream.
In some countries (such as France), oestrogen is available as a gel as an alternative to the tablet, patch or implant Unlike the vaginal creams available in the UK, the gel contains enough oestrogen to eliminate menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes. It is rubbed into the skin of the abdomen or thighs, and French women find it more acceptable than HRT in tablet or patch form. Perhaps it may become available in the UK if enough women press hard enough for the range of HRTs to be extended.
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Posted on May 08, 2009 under Women's Health |
Surgeons gain access to, and remove, one or more of the reproductive organs in a number of ways. This is the basis for another method of classifying hysterectomy.
If access is gained via an incision in the abdomen the operation is called an abdominal hysterectomy. This is usually performed when:
• one or both ovaries are to be removed
• there are large fibroids, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease or tough adhesions surrounding the intestines
• the surgeon wants to examine by touch or inspect the abdominal organs because of suspicious symptoms
• the surgery is likely to be prolonged because, for example, the woman is obese.
The incision in the abdomen can be either vertical (an ‘up and down’ cut) or horizontal (‘transverse’ ), and is about 13 cm in length. If the incision is horizontal, it is usually possible to minimise the visibility of any permanent scar by cutting near or below the pubic hairline (the so-called ‘bikini cut’) or along the line of a previous Caesarean scar. You should discuss the position of any scar before the operation to ensure your surgeon knows your views on this.
Whatever type of hysterectomy is going to be performed, a pre-surgery ultrasound is useful as it can help decide which type of operation is likely to be most suitable, and it means the woman and the surgeon are better prepared for what lies ahead. It is reasonable for a woman to request an ultrasound if any form of hysterectomy is proposed.
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