Health News Blog. Lots of resources and information

Atheroma is the condition where fatty material is laid down in the wall of an artery.

Coronary artery disease occurs when the coronary arteries which supply the heart muscle with blood are affected by this atheroma. The artery is narrowed and the smooth lining becomes irregular.

The aorta is the main artery carrying all the blood from the heart to the tissues. The coronary arteries come off the aorta just where it arises.

Coronary artery disease impairs the circulation to the heart muscle or myocardium and leads to the condition of angina. When the heart is called on to do extra work, with exertion, it requires more blood.

When the arteries are narrowed, not enough blood can flow to the muscle and it reacts to this lack of blood and therefore lack of oxygen by producing the typical chest pain.

Angina usually comes on with exertion and is relieved by rest. A coronary occlusion is when the artery is completely blocked. This may lead to the death of that portion of the heart muscle supplied by the artery — a myocardial infarct.

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Haemorrhage or bleeding is the greatest risk and if severe, can be fatal or require a blood transfusion.

Infection is another severe complication. The raw surface is easily contaminated and the infant”: ability to fight infection is not well developed. The infection may spread to the blood, causing fatal septicaemia.

I am uncertain of the figures for Australia but it is estimated that in America each year there will be nearly IV2 million routine circumcisions and that these will lead to over 200 deaths.

Now, I have been painting a grim picture of the hazards of circumcision, but parents should understand that this operation is, in most cases, an unnecessary but harmless procedure. It is carried out for social rather than medical reasons.

While we may be prepared to accept these risks for necessary surgical procedures, a lot of thought should be given before undertaking operations for non-medical reasons.

The risk of complications from circumcision is indeed small and most infants survive this procedure with minimum discomfort.

Sexual performance or enjoyment does not seem to be affected by presence or absence of the foreskin.

Cancer of the penis, a rare cancer, is more common in the uncircumcised and this is thought to be due to the action of a chemical called smegma which is produced under the prepuce. However, circumcision to prevent the development of this cancer later in life is carrying preventive medicine a little too far.

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Symptom

Red patches, blisters, or spots on the skin

Home care

If die rash causes itching, have the child take warm baths, or apply a soothing lotion such as calamine.

Precautions

-    Do not be concerned about a rash that disappears within a few days and does not recur.

-    Certain distinctive rashes are symptoms of specific diseases. A rash that j is a symptom of a disease will disappear when the disease is identified and treated.

A rash is a skin eruption which appears as red patches, blisters, or spots. It is often accompanied by itching. A rash can affect a limited area or be widespread over extensive areas of the body.

A rash can be caused by exposure to the sun, heat, cold, chemicals in household products, or fabrics such as wool. Certain foods – strawberries, for example – also produce rashes in people who are sensitive (allergic) to that particular food. These rashes are often known as allergic rashes; the rash is a symptom of the allergy.

A rash can also appear as a symptom of a disease, in which case the rash is usually characteristic of the disease producing it. Distinctive rashes appear as symptoms of (among other diseases) measles, rubella (German measles), chicken pox, and shingles, all of which are infectious diseases. Certain sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes and syphilis also display distinctive rashes.

A rash often disappears when its underlying cause disappears or is successfully treated.

Signs and symptoms

The rash itself is obvious, but the cause may not be so easily identified. A rash caused by a disease will be accompanied by other symptoms.

Home care

You need not be too concerned about a rash that appears and then disappears within a couple of days and does not recur. If the rash causes itching you can apply a soothing lotion like calamine. Another suggestion is to have the child take a warm bath. A rash that recurs may indicate an allergy. If you cannot immediately identify the allergy-causing substance (a certain food, for instance), have the child checked out by a doctor. You can only avoid the allergy-causing substance in the future if you know what it is. If the child has a rash accompanied by other symptoms, consult the doctor.

Precautions

• A rash that lasts for a few days and has no identifiable cause should be seen by a doctor.

• Certain types of rashes are warning signs of specific infectious or sexually transmitted diseases.

Medical treatment

The doctor may prescribe a soothing lotion for minor itching caused by a rash. In allergy-caused rashes the doctor will try to identify the allergy-causing substance. If the rash is caused by a disease, the doctor will diagnose and treat the disease.

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What are they?

Involuntary contractions of muscle groups (usually in the legs, neck or back) which make the area painful and tender. Some people get them in bed at night. A particularly unpleasant form occurs in some people in the muscles between the ribs when making certain movements-for example when turning round to look behind them when reversing the car.

What causes them?

Often the cause is unknown but several are recognized:

•     Tired or stressed muscles, in swimmers or footballers, for example.

•     Certain occupational cramps are well recognized. An example is writer’s cramp, which affects typists, musicians and type compositors, as well as writers.

•     Very hot working conditions leading to profuse sweating. Many of those who work in blast furnaces or ships’ boiler rooms know all about this type of cramp. It is caused by a loss of sweat together with its salt, and the cramps are really the result of sodium shortage. In a similar way dehydration during serious illnesses involving a fever can cause cramps.

•     Chronic alcoholism causes cramps in the legs and feet.

•     An elusive but common form of cramp is the ‘stitch’ in the side-experienced, for example, by long-distance runners. It is thought to be caused by a cramp in the diaphragm muscle.

•     A shortage of calcium.

•     A lack of vitamin E.

•     Uterine cramps occur in some women on the first couple of days of their period. These period pains are the biggest cause of lost work and school days in females. There are many ‘cures’ for these cramps, the best of which is a drug which prevents the release of prostaglandins in the uterus – now known to be the cause of the pains -but there is as yet no fully proven way of preventing period pains.

Prevention

•     The prevention of sports-induced cramps is usually straightforward and involves doing proper warming-up exercises before embarking on any strenuous sporting activity. Avoiding chilling the muscles helps too, and some sportsmen and women find that binding up the area helps. As soon as you get any form of cramp it is best to stop what you are doing until the symptoms go. The best treatment for cramps is to put the muscles involved under tension (stretch them). Someone else will almost certainly have to do this for a cramped sportsman or woman.

•     The prevention of occupational cramps is usually fairly obvious. Special attention should be paid to posture, seating, lighting, desk height, and so on.

•     Those who work in very hot conditions should take salt tablets regularly.

Calcium is vital for adequate muscle function. Prevention Magazine in the US carried out a survey in 1977 of 3,000 readers to find out how calcium had improved their health. Over half wrote to say that it had relieved their muscle cramps. Probably the best way to increase calcium intake is to take Dolomite tablets before each meal and one at bedtime.

•     Vitamin E also seems to play a part in cramps. When a team of Los Angeles doctors gave the vitamin to 125 patients with night-time leg and foot cramps, 103 had complete or near-complete relief. Some of these people had had their cramps for thirty years. Almost half the patients got better on 300IU units or less of vitamin E a day. The other half needed 400 IU or more, and many had to stay on the vitamin if they were to remain cramp-free. Vitamin E has also been used to treat a cramp-like condition in the legs known as intermittent claudication. In a study of forty-seven men with severe intermittent claudication, thirty-two were given vitamin E and the rest drugs to prevent and cure the cramps such men experience on walking. After three months the men were tested to see how far they could walk. In the vitamin group 54 per cent could walk the maximum distance set by the tester (just over 1/2 mile) but only 23 per cent of the drug group could do so. It appears that the vitamin E improved the circulation in the legs. After eighteen months of taking the vitamin twenty-nine of the thirty-two men showed an increase in the blood flow to their legs whereas most of the men in the drug group had a decreased blood flow.

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