Pharmacy News

‘Women take HRT to remain sexy forever’

‘Husbands can`t keep up with nympho wives on HRT’

This has many causes, and is not only experienced by women. The level of sexual interest starts to fall, and then continuous to decline, in men and women in their middle years. While some women undoubtedly find HRT of tremendous benefit to their sexual lives, others find it little or no help at all. It is difficult to distinguish which symptoms in women are caused by lower levels of oestrogen, and which are just the effects of ageing.

Physical causes. In women, physical effects of the menopause that can affect the enjoyment of sexual intercourse are that the breasts and clitoris become less responsive to stimulation, and muscle contraction of the womb during orgasm, which can be equally off-putting. Men of around this age may be starting to find that an erection takes longer to achieve, and it is harder to maintain, so physical factors in both partners can contribute to a failing sexual relationship.

*39\42\4*

Restoring normal function to the body is the crux of recuperation. Bowel function is less active than usual for a day or so after hysterectomy due to the effects of the anaesthetic and the handling of internal organs during surgery. For this reason, food is vetoed and fluids are restricted for anything up to twenty-four hours after surgery. In order to provide adequate nourishment during this time an intravenous drip is connected to a vein in the arm. Once bowel activity starts — and this is helped by getting up and moving around — fluid intake can be increased and light meals started. Many women experience distress at this time due to large amounts of ‘wind’ and colicky pain which usually last for one to three days. Strategies to overcome these side-effects include pain relief which may come in tablet form or, in severe cases, injections. Some pain killers, such as codeine, are best avoided because they can cause constipation. Charcoal tablets, which absorb gas in the bowel, can alleviate this problem very effectively. A mild laxative is often found helpful or, if difficulty persists, a suppository. Strong laxatives and enemas may be used when there is a prolonged delay in bowel emptying, particularly if this is associated with colic. It is not unusual for bowel function to take several months to return to normal after hysterectomy.

On rare occasions, the bowel may be paralysed for several days after surgery. Eating will stretch the paralysed bowel and cause further delays in recovery of bowel function. So an intravenous drip is needed to supply nutritional needs in the meantime. Another rare occurrence is bowel blockage caused by the formation of adhesions during the operation. The blockage may resolve if the bowel is rested, but if not, further surgery is required. Although this is an unusual and unpleasant complication, the outcome is generally quite satisfactory.

*54\198\4*

It is estimated that about 20 per cent of the normal population experience some form of insomnia at some time in their lives. The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted a survey in 1983. They interviewed 465100 people at random and asked them if they had been taking sleeping medication in the last two weeks. They found that 3.6 per cent of those interviewed had been. Hence the problem of insomnia is fairly common. Consequently the manufacturers of sleeping pills are making millions of dollars out of insomnia.

But what is insomnia? The Oxford Dictionary states that insomnia means habitual sleeplessness. To the doctors, insomnia is only a symptom of underlying problems. Insomnia itself is not an illness. It is like a fever which is symptomatic of some underlying infection. If a patient has a fever, there is generally a cause for it. Both the fever and the cause should be treated.

However, there is a difference between fever and insomnia. Fever can be confirmed objectively by taking body temperature, and we can measure how high the temperature is. Insomnia is a subjective symptom and cannot be confirmed by measurement to assess how bad it is. Very often people complain that they never sleep a wink. Does this mean that they have the most severe form of insomnia? In other words, how reliable are people’s assessments of the severity of their insomnia?

With the help of the sleep laboratory we can now measure and objectively assess how much insomnia these people have. In Paris, Dr Betty Schwartz tested chronic insomniacs who insisted that they never slept. These people were monitored at night in the sleep laboratory. Since these people were convinced that they did not sleep at night, they agreed to press a button to signal that they were still awake whenever they heard a buzzer. It was found that, in most cases, they all had a normal sleep pattern on the EEG recordings. The buzzer sounded many times throughout the night, but none of these people pressed the button. These people, who insisted that they had insomnia, had in fact been sleeping soundly and could not hear the sound of the buzzer. In the morning, when they were questioned about their sleep, they still insisted that they had not been sleeping at all.

It has been reported that 95 per cent of healthy adults fall asleep within half an hour. Hence those who fall asleep within half an hour do not have insomnia. But is this true? People who fall asleep easily may wake up at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. in the morning and fail to go back to sleep. This is called early morning insomnia. What about those that sleep and wake at normal hours, but wake up very frequently throughout the night. Do they have insomnia? And there are people who need only three or four hours of sleep without feeling any distress at night, and they function well the next day. They never complain of insomnia, but are they experiencing insomnia?

*52\174\4*

Once we can do it, this process is really quite effortless. The idea is in our mind, then we experience the effects of the idea. It just happens. We do not do anything to bring it about. In fact, once we make an effort to bring it about, the whole thing goes wrong, and we are immediately aware that we are not relaxed.

We use the trains of thought for the relief of symptoms in exactly the same way. The regression is the all-important factor. There is nothing new for us in this next step. We have already learned to present the idea of relaxation and then to experience relaxation. We can do this if we are tense, and our tension goes, because the positive feeling of relaxation will inhibit the negative feeling of tension by the process which we have already described as reciprocal inhibition.

I have mentioned the method of letting ourselves go as we breathe out. We let go our breath, and we let go ourselves. With each breath we will drift a little deeper into regression. This approach can be used very successfully by some people to enhance the effect of their sequences of thought. We are very relaxed and comfortable. The ideas of the train of thought come to us slowly and leisurely. An idea comes each time we breathe out, and we dwell on it a little. With the next breath follows the next idea. And all the time we are so relaxed that we are hardly aware of the things around us.

The trains of thought, which I have set out in relation to various symptoms, are intended merely as a guide. They are only suggestions. Each individual will modify them according to his own inner needs. Only the principle is constant for us all. The details, the approach, and the attitude are varied to suit the unique individuality which makes each of us different from anyone else.

*78\57\2*

“When the biologically oriented physician is confronted with a case of infectious disease his approach and his actions are entirely different. For him, bacteria and viruses which are present in certain infections, are phenomena of secondary interest He considers them only as symptomatic factors in relation to the host organism (the patient) and his body as a biological environment All his attention is directed towards the patient. His primary aim is to employ every measure available to increase the power of resistance within the host organism and avoid causing it any damage. The first principle of the art of healing, enunciated already by the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, Trimum est nil nocere —the most important thing of all is that treatment must do no harm—is violated in present-day medical practice more than in any other period of medical history.

“The biologically oriented doctor is aware that with chemical and antibiotic drugs he will always cause damage to the host organism’s biological milieu, even though with such treatments he can achieve a temporary effect. Therefore, he avoids to the utmost the use of such drugs in the management of simple and harmless infections. To treat a common cold or a sore throat with, for example, penicillin, for him is a crime against the fundamental rules of health. Instead, his attention is directed to increasing the body’s own resistance with all the natural, harmless, biological methods of treatment which are available.”

“In your experience, Dr. Essen, are the results of such biological treatments gratifying?” I asked.

“I have had the joy of observing how the body, as a rule, if the general resistance is not too much lowered and if given a chance and proper aid in the form of rest, fasting, wholesome diet, and other biological measures, will by the strength of its own healing power win the battle. And this is not only true in cases of milder infections, but also in cases of very serious diseases. Furthermore—and this is a very essential point—instead of coming out of the disease weakened and debilitated, as is always the case after treatments with chemical drugs, the patient, after biological treatments, comes out strengthened and renewed. It is my observation that biological treatments raise the general resistance of patients and they will, as a rule, become more immune to infections in the future.”

*35\176\2*

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK IN ADULTS

The presence of learning difficulties or physical disabilities in association with epilepsy usually carries a poor outlook. However, this does not necessarily mean either that the epilepsy has caused the additional problems, or that these problems have been responsible for the poor outcome. What it usually means is that the underlying abnormality of the brain (of whatever cause) has been severe enough to produce both an epilepsy which is difficult to treat and other neurological problems.

Long-term outlook in adults-The factors which predict a poor outlook in adults are also

well-known. The first is that if the epilepsy is initially difficult to control, then it will usually continue to be difficult to control. The longer that seizures have continued, the less likely they are to stop. Other poor prognostic factors include evidence of structural damage, as manifest by associated neurological signs, the occurrence of partial seizures and the occurrence of episodes of status epilepticus. Exceptions to this general rule are that neurological signs and seizures arising as a result of strokes in older age are not generally difficult to control.

*72\188\2*

Consulting your physician. In tens of thousands of arthritis patients, CMO has shown virtually no negative side effects. Independent laboratory tests have proved that CMO has absolutely no toxicity even at doses 500 times greater than normal. Still we suggest that anyone under the care of a physician should seek that physician’s advise about adding CMO to your current therapy.

Use of other supplements or medications. Generally speaking, any medication or supplement that has proved helpful previously can be taken concurrently with CMO and need not be discontinued. There are exceptions, however, and those are various strong immunosuppressants and anti-inflammatory prescription medications which can often (but not always) slow down or block the actions of CMO. The medications that have been so identified are Methotrexate, Rheumatrex, Cloroquine, Gold Shots, Prednisone, and other steroids.

On the other hand, CMO has never been shown to interfere with the actions of any other medications or supplements. The use of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and beneficial oil supplements is encouraged.

*88\142\2*

Symptom

A wound that is deeper than it is long or wide

Home care

Wash the wound carefully and apply a nonirritating antiseptic.

If no foreign body remains in the wound, cover the area with a sterile bandage and inspect it regularly for signs of infection.

If a foreign body remains in the wound, take the child to the doctor.

Precautions

-    Redness, swelling, or stiffness of the joint at the site of a puncture wound is a medical emergency. Take the child to the doctor.

-    A puncture wound in the abdomen, in the chest, or in a joint requires immediate medical attention.

-    Never try to remove a foreign body (for example, needle and knife blade) from a puncture wound yourself.

-    A puncture wound that is still tender after a day or two should be seen by a doctor.

-    Make sure your child’s tetanus immunization is always current.

Wounds that pierce the skin are classified as abrasions (scrapes), lacerations (cuts), and punctures. A puncture is a wound that is deeper than it is long or wide. Most puncture wounds in children are made by nails, needles, pins, knives, or splinters.

Because of their small opening and then-depth, punctures present four particular dangers: the tetanus germ thrives in the absence of air, so a puncture is an ideal site for developing tetanus; a puncture wound is hard to clean and therefore susceptible to infection; punctures can penetrate deep into the body; and a puncture wound may harbor foreign bodies that are difficult to detect.

*174/84/5*

If death doesn’t scare you enough to make radical changes to protect your heart health, how about a fate some guys might consider worse than death: impotence? We’re all too familiar with the grab-your-chest symptoms of heart attack and disease. Less well-known is that the artery supplying blood to the penis is much smaller than those that lead to the heart and, as a result, one of the first to get clogged by fatty plaque.

“What actually happens is that the arterial walls narrow, and so the velocity or the amount of the blood that can move through this artery is decreased,” says L. Dean Knoll, M.D., director of research at the Center for Urological Treatment and Research in Nashville. “And when the amount of blood is decreased, you can’t fill the spaces in the body of your penis.” In fact, one South Carolina study found that erection problems were 80 percent more likely in men with total cholesterol levels above 240 milligrams per deciliter than those with scores below 180 milligrams per deciliter. And while you’re watching those numbers, you probably should keep tabs on your blood pressure; hypertension has also been linked to erection problems, says Dr. Knoll.

*1/36/5*

Medical Treatments

If you are trying to conceive it is imperative that you start to ovulate. One of the most common drugs used to trigger ovulation is clomiphene citrate. Clomiphene is an anti-oestrogen that tricks the brain into thinking that there is no oestrogen in the blood. Because the oestrogen is blocked, the pituitary gland gets the message to increase the supply of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH).The FSH reaches the ovaries and egg production is stimulated. If the clomiphene is suddenly stopped, the brain recognizes that there is a massive amount of oestrogen and this results in an LH surge that releases the egg from the ovary.

Clomiphene is an effective drug for artificially inducing ovulation but, ironically, it may also increase the chances of a miscarriage by somewhere in the region of 20-30 per cent. It is thought that the clomiphene interferes with the womb lining, preventing the fertilised egg from implanting. Other treatments used to induce ovulation, like gonadotrophin treatment, can also increase the miscarriage rate.

Natural Treatment

Losing weight has been shown to be very effective in treating PCOS and restoring fertility. One study showed that overweight women with PCOS had more fertility problems than lean women with PCOS. However, even though the link between PCOS and excess weight (and between losing weight and reduced symptoms) is well-established, the reasons for it are unclear.

Nevertheless, overweight women seem to have much lower levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in their blood which resulted in more testosterone and worse PCOS symptoms, such as an excess of hair.

When these women went on a diet and lost weight their SHBG levels rose, their testosterone levels fell and their PCOS symptoms diminished.

Along with the weight loss, came a remarkable change in ovarian function: 82 per cent of the women who were not previously ovulating showed improvements, with a number of successful pregnancies occurring during the study, even though these women had a long-standing history of infertility.

One reason may be that weight loss lowers insulin levels, which reduces the ovaries’ production of testosterone. No one really knows why PCOS responds to weight loss but it must be linked with the fact that overweight women (without PCOS) can dramatically increase their fertility by losing weight.

One study found that 11 out of 12 women who had been overweight and not ovulating conceived naturally after reducing weight.

*71/73/5*