HOW WE’RE BEATING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

You could have high blood pressure at this moment and not know it. Usually, there are no symptoms of this sneaky disease that slowly and secretly undermines your organs.
Then, one day, a blood vessel bursts in your head, and a stroke paralyzes you. Or a blood clot forms in one of the coronary arteries, which feed blood to your heart. A clot prevents blood (and, therefore, oxygen) from getting to the heart muscle. Starved for oxygen, a chunk of the heart dies.
Or your body fills up with water – your heart and kidneys cannot get rid of fluid.
Still, there is hope for the 70 million Americans with elevated blood pressure that warrants some type of therapy or regular monitoring. In more than half the cases of high blood pressure, or hypertension, doctors can control the disease with drugs. And many don’t even need drugs; doctors simply prescribe losing weight, lowering the intake of salt and alcohol, exercising, and learning to relax.
The lowering of salt in food is somewhat controversial. Not all types of high blood pressure respond negatively when you eat too much salt. The pressure in these types of hypertension does not increase with salt intake. But only a doctor can tell you whether your high blood pressure is salt sensitive.
“Thanks to the progress made in treating high blood pressure over the last 30 years, largely with new drugs and greater patient awareness of a healthy diet and lifestyle, tens of thousands of lives have been saved,” says Dr. Ray Gif-ford. He works at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and is one of the nation’s leading experts on high blood pressure. Since 1973, deaths from stroke have dropped by more than 50 percent, and deaths from heart attack have fallen 35 percent.
“Better hypertension control has contributed to the remarkable decline in deaths,” says Ed Roccella of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “The precise contribution is still not clear, but evidence from clinical studies has clearly demonstrated the effects of lowering blood pressure on reducing stroke deaths. The effects of reduced blood pressure on heart attack are less clear but still apparent.”
Three of four individuals with high blood pressure are being treated today – that’s twice the number of patients who were under treatment in 1972, adds Dr. Roccella.
Normally, as your heart contracts, it pushes blood out into that giant web of arteries and veins. Arteries carry blood away from the heart; veins carry blood back to the heart and lungs to refresh the blood with oxygen.
With the heart pumping, the blood, which, of course, is liquid, pushes against the walls of the blood vessels. That’s the pressure that doctors talk about. The pressure rises to a peak when the lower half of the heart muscle squirts blood into the arterial tree. That’s called systolic pressure.
When the heart relaxes, the pressure drops but the blood continues to flow. That’s called diastolic pressure.
In the United States, 28 million hypertensive adults have systolic pressures greater than 160 or diastolic pressures greater than 95. An additional 20 million Americans have less severe but still serious readings: systolic pressures between 140 and 160, and diastolic pressures between 90 and 95.
*1/266/5*

UNRESTRICTED ENTRANCE – EXAMPLES

For example, on day 56 of human gestation, one particular hormone is required for the organs of the fetus to begin developing testicles or the fetus will not develop as a male. If the timed sequence of hormone signals is disrupted, development of the male reproductive organs can be skewed, resulting in undescended testicles or other problems.
Chronic exposure to hormone disrupters during the, embryo stage can result in functional loss of ovarian follicles in females. As these women develop, this can lead to decreased progesterone productio, which results in estrogen dominance, PMS, endometriosis and miscarriages. Many other types of’ ovarian dysfunction can also be linked to these earlier exposures.
The effects of chemical and hormonal alterations can thus be imprinted in the developing fetus like a ticking time bomb. Although it appears that a healthy baby has been born, it many take many years if not decades for the real damage to become apparent.
*12/165/1*

ASTHMA IN CHILDREN: THE INHALED ALLERGENS – ANIMALS AS ALLERGENS- A GENERAL RULE

A child may be allergic to domestic animals like cat, dog, horse, fur-bearing and feather-bearing animals. A thorough clinical history gives a clue to the diagnosis. As in other forms of allergy, here also, it should be understood that children may have come in contact with a cat, dog or horse, and never exhibited any symptoms, but may develop them later without any apparent reason.
Exposure to animal allergens in children who are already allergic to house dust, may lead to an increase of symptoms. In a similar manner, removal of animal allergens may lessen symptoms.
As a general rule children should be made to avoid the allergenic agent. This applies not only to the offending pets in the house, but also to animals in the houses of other people they visit.
Getting rid of pets is not easy but if it is not done allergic symptoms are likely to continue.
*32\260\8*

WOMEN AND DRUG ABUSE

Approximately 3.8 million U.S. women of all ages, races, and cultures use drugs. It is estimated that 31 percent of U.S. women (over 17 years of age) have used an illicit drug at least once in their lives. Today, approximately 28,000 (66 percent) of AIDS cases among women are related either to injecting drugs or to having sex with a man who injects drugs; consequently, AIDS is now the fourth leading cause of death among women of child-bearing age.
Findings indicate that many women who use drugs have had troubled lives. Studies show that at least 70 percent of women drug users have been sexually abused by the age of 16. Most of these women had at least one parent who abused alcohol or drugs. Furthermore, these women often have low self-esteem, little self-confidence, and a sense of powerlessness. They often feel lonely and are isolated from support networks.
Unfortunately, many female drug users are unable to seek help. Whereas some may not be able to find or afford child care during a course of treatment, others fear that the courts may take away their children once the drug problem is known. Others may fear violence from their husbands, boyfriends, or partners.
Research has shown that female drug abusers have a better chance of recovery when treatment takes care of their basic needs. Some women need the basic services of food, shelter, and clothing. Other women also need transportation, child care, and training in parenting. The most successful treatment also teaches reading, basic education, and the skills needed to find a job. As a woman’s self-esteem increases, her chances of remaining drug-free increase.
*41/277/5*

SOLVING SPECIAL SKIN PROBLEMS FOR MEN

Let’s face it, shaving your face daily or every other day takes its toll on the skin, and often leaves a man’s face more in need of conditioning than a woman’s. Additionally, using after-shave lotions that are high in alcohol only worsens the problem by drying out the skin even more.
Beware of the tingle! An after-shave lotion that makes your face tingle is doing more damage than good.
If your face looks red or blotchy after shaving, your skin is more sensitive than you think and needs help. Before shaving, wash your face with a mild soap such as simple soap then be sure to leave your shaving cream on for at least one minute to promote maximum beard softening. After shaving, avoid lotions that have more than 20 percent alcohol. (Beware of the tingle! Most after-shaves have an 80 to 90 percent alcohol content that can really dry and irritate your skin.)
If you use an electric razor, you want to remove as much water as you can from the skin’s surface. There are special powders available, but a light dusting of plain talc will work as well.
To prevent or clear up facial rashes and redness, men would be well advised to increase the vitamin-B-rich foods in their diets. If the face becomes irritated, a topical application of vitamin E oil will soothe and speed healing
A good supplement programme would be:
• High-potency multiple vitamin, 1 daily
• Vitamin E (dry form), 200-400 IU, 1-2 times daily
• Vitamin A (dry form), 10,000 IU, 1-2 times daily, for 5 days a week
• Chelated zinc, 3 times daily with food
• Acidophilus liquid, 3 times daily
*6/137/5*

HIV INFECTION AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE EMOTIONS: ANGER AND ENERGY

•    Anger and energy
•    Depression and hope
•    Fatigue and accommodation
•    Fear and realism
•    Guilt and self-worth
People’s reactions to HIV infection differ widely, but nearly everyone shares to some extent feelings of anger, depression, fatigue, fear, and guilt. These feelings are not stages; they come in no order. Some people notice more of one feeling at certain times, more of another at other times. Some people have several or all of the feelings at once. All the feelings are part of human nature. They are all reasonable reactions to HIV infection. They are also probably more or less unavoidable. This chapter describes the feelings, their causes, and the ways people have found to deal with them.
Anger and Energy-Lisa Pratt: My husband had a lot of anger, which he first directed at me. He criticized, lashed out, once threatened to kill me. At first he refused to use a condom. He said, “Why did some jerk donate blood and now I have to use a condom?” He’d beat his fist on the table.
Alan Madison: I am not particularly angry.
Some people, like Lisa Pratt’s husband, easily admit and express anger. Others, like Alan Madison, do not acknowledge it. In any case, everyone with HIV infection has reason to be angry.

*61\191\2*

THE HEALTH OF THE ELECTRICAL FIELD: USING YOUR HANDS TO CLEAR POSITIVE IONS FROM YOUR FIELD

Now that your hands are energized you can use them to clear congestion, increase relaxation, and ease discomfort.
J   Rub your feet and massage under the arch for about a minute. If your feet are very tense take a little longer over this, then place them flat on the floor if sitting.
2 Sit relaxed or lie on the floor or bed; slow down your breathing.
3 Close your eyes and imagine yourself totally well and peaceful. If you cannot conjure up this image, give yourself the command.
‘I am totally well and peaceful,’ and imagine a pure white light is entering your head, filling your body and coming from your fingers and palms. Reach up beyond your head and stroke about three to four inches above your body just as though you were touching it; move down over your face, neck, chest and abdomen and then sweep the hands to either side of the body; this is important because you need to take the congestion clear of your body. You will feel prickling or heat in your hands as you pick up congestion. You can just flick this off as though you are shaking water from your hands.
4 Continue stroking for about ten minutes or until your arms feel tired.
5 Now, still imagining you are filled with white light and seeing it coming from your hands, hold them over your abdomen and imagine your digestive tract and all your internal organs becoming healthy and vitalized.
*133\326\8*

THE KINDS OF SEIZURE: GENERALIZED SEIZURES – OTHER AREAS OF THE BRAIN THE OCCIPITAL LOBES AND PARIETAL LOBES

The temporal lobes and the frontal lobes are the most important in a discussion of epilepsy because they are most “epileptogenic.” We don’t know why.
Scars, tumors, and other damage in the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain are much more likely to be accompanied by seizures than damage to the occipital lobes or parietal lobes. However, just for completeness, we will briefly discuss these areas as well.
The primary function of the occipital lobe, located in the back of the brain, is vision. Messages from the retina (the back of the eyeball) are transmitted by way of the optic (eye) nerves and by a pathway (the optic radiation) to the occipital lobe, where vision is registered by the brain. Objects off to your left side (when you look straight ahead) are “seen” by the right side of your retina  and proceed along the path to the right side of your brain. Objects on your right (when you look straight ahead) go to the left side of your brain. Vision is complex, and when one stimulates the occipital cortex electrically, the patient sees only bright lights in a random pattern. When a seizure begins in the occipital lobe—which is not common—flashing bright lights may be experienced off to the left side, if it occurs in the right cortex, or to the left side if the right cortex is involved.
The parietal lobe is where “it” all comes together, where much of what we sense by vision or touch achieves meaning. Here, those flashing lights become patterns constituting a formed visual image; through interconnections with the frontal lobe (where memories are stored), we are able to store the images as memories or to recall the formed image as recognized faces or scenes. The posterior temporal-parietal lobe is the site where sounds heard become the pattern of words, which are recognized and remembered or given meaning by association with prior experiences stored in the frontal lobes. It is where speech that is heard becomes speech that is understood and where the sense of touch and feel of a particular object is identified as a key, a ball, or a block. Thus, the parietal lobe is called “the association cortex.” It is rarely the source of seizures and seems to play little role in our understanding of the types of epilepsy. It is not, in other words, very “epileptogenic.”
This basic and simplified lesson in anatomy should provide a better understanding of the many variations of partial seizures discussed below.
*68\208\8*

OVERCOMING CANCER: DRAWINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF OUR PATIENTS’ MENTAL IMAGERY: GLENN

Glenn, a fifty-year-old clinical psychologist, has cancer of the kidney that metastasized to his lung, and he has remained stable for four years. Therefore, no treatment was being given, since chemotherapy was considered inappropriate for his disease.
In his first drawing, Glenn showed his cancer surrounded by white cells and the cancer mass gradually being reduced to a single cell. During his relaxation/mental imagery activity, he had difficulty eliminating the last cell, but he found when he was jogging that he could see the final cancer cell being absorbed by a giant white cell and disappearing.
Although in the drawing he does finally succeed in eliminating the cancer, there were some weaknesses in the imagery. The white blood cells seemed to work around the periphery of the cancer; there was little interaction, and they met the cancer only on the surface. (This desire to stay on the surface of the problem sometimes indicates an unwillingness to investigate the details of why one has developed cancer.) Also, destroying the last cancer cell required a tremendous effort on Glenn’s part: He had to be jogging before it could occur. There appeared to be something almost magical about that last cell, almost a hanging on to the disease and an indication that it would take a very large white cell and an extraordinary event finally to get rid of the cancer.
Six months later, his drawing showed more interaction between the white blood cells and the cancer, yet the size of the tumor relative to the size of the white cells did not suggest overwhelming strength on the part of the body’s defenses. A single, large white cell was shown suddenly appearing and shattering the tumor mass, and the tumor fragments were then absorbed by the ordinary white cells. Again, the drawing showed that an extraordinary event was required, and that until this magical event occurred, the cancer would remain intact. To us, Glenn’s picture illustrated an unwillingness to deal with small component problems and a tendency to wait for the one event that would explain and remedy everything.
Similar to his imagery, Glenn’s cancer has not regressed, though his general health is superb and he continues as professor and long-distance runner.
*51\347\2*

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: MODIFY NEGATIVE THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIORS

When a new problem develops, it is tempting to indulge in negative thinking. After all, negative thinking is a part of human nature, and we all fall victim to it on occasion. Because RA is a chronic condition and the problems it poses often appear overwhelming, it is only natural that negative thoughts will occupy you from time to time.
Conversely, it is bard work to maintain a positive attitude. When we’re in the middle of a thunderstorm, it is difficult to focus on the sun hidden behind the clouds. Despite the difficulty of maintaining a positive attitude, let it be said: Persistent negative thinking is harmful. Persistent negative thinking can be our worst enemy. For one thing, negativism is often irrational in that it is based on emotions more than on facts. Focusing on negative thoughts usually makes us feel worse, and negative thoughts can lead us to take negative actions, alienating the people we love and need. Finally, negative thinking does not lead us to develop solutions to problems or help us to accomplish goals. In other words, it doesn’t lead us where we want to be.
Try to be vigilant about negative thinking: When you notice yourself thinking negative thoughts, stop yourself and redirect your thoughts. Tell yourself what you need to hear to stop these thoughts. For example, you might ask yourself, “How does this thought help me?” Or you can say to yourself, “Stop this useless rubbish”; “Enough of this negative thinking”; “These ideas are getting me nowhere.” Perhaps the words that work for you are as simple as “Cut this out.” In fact, sometimes if you become a little angry with (or even insulting to) yourself, you can “snap out” of negativity with relative ease.
Once you recognize the negative thought, think about it. What caused you to have this thought? Did this thought help you? Hurt you? Then modify the thought into something constructive. This strategy, called positive reappraisal, can be an extremely useful tool in coping with any chronic illness.
Here are some examples of positive reappraisal:
Negative thought: “I can’t do this.”
Modified thought: “This will be a challenge, but I’ll try to do it one step at a time.
“Self-message: I am innovative and capable.
Negative thought: “I can’t play ball with Billy like other fathers can with their kids.” Modified thought: “I’ll show Billy the antique cars at the auction and we’ll have a great time together.” Self-message: I have a lot to offer, and others enjoy my company.
Negative thought: “I’ll just be in their way.”
Modified thought: “We always have a good time together.”
Self-message: They love me, not my joints.
Negative thought: “I don’t even want to get out of bed.”
Modified thought: “I’ll feel so much better after my nice warm shower.”
Self-message: I can help myself.
Negative thought: “My boss is a heartless jerk.”
Modified thought: “I’ll talk to my boss about ways that I can be more effective in my job.
“Self-message: I am on the way to becoming a more valued employee.
Negative thought: “This is all my fault.”
Modified thought: “I’d rather not have arthritis, but I will learn to work with it.
“Self-message: Many good people have RA. I am a good person and I did not cause myself to have RA.
Negative thought: “I’ll never get ahead.”
Modified thought: “I am really becoming organized.”
Self-message: I can develop skills I never had before.
Negative thought: “No one helps me; I’ll just do it myself.”
Modified thought: “I will develop a chore list for the kids and discuss why it’s necessary that we work together as a family.
“Self-message: Communication is essential; asking for help is okay.
Negative thought: “I will end up in a wheelchair.”
Modified thought: “Most people with RA live normal lives, and I will too.
“Self-message: Facts, not emotions, should control my thoughts.
Finally, it’s important to remember that you only compound your troubles if you feel guilty about your negative thoughts. Everyone has them. You simply need to learn to redirect them and not let them control you.
A good mental attitude is extremely powerful. It can’t eliminate the arthritis, but it can definitely improve your ability to function, mentally and physically. Positive thoughts can provide you with sanctuary in even the most troublesome of situations. You can concentrate on treasuring each of your blessings rather than toting up all of your disappointments. This will fortify you and make you a person with whom other people will want to spend time.
*37/209/5*