Archive for December, 2010

TYPES OF INFECTION: HEMOLYTIC STREPTOCOCCUS INFECTIONS

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

The streptococcus is one of the most widely distributed and variable organisms that attacks mankind. Such conditions as sore throat, sinus infections, scarlet fever, erysipelas, puerperal fever, or lymphangitis may be caused by streptococci. Other conditions associated with such streptococci include acute rheumatic fever and acute inflammations of the kidney.
Such infections are found in all races, in both sexes, at all ages, and they come on at any time of the year. Scarlet fever is said to be rare in the tropics. Very small babies, under three months of age, seldom have streptococcal infections, because they get some immunity from their mothers at the time of birth. Tonsillitis, pharyngitis, and scarlet fever are more frequent up to ten years of age. Streptococcal infections can result from contaminated food, milk, water but most frequently pass from one person to another with coughing, sneezing, spitting and what are known as “hand-to-mouth” infections.
Tonsillitis and pharyngitis are usually streptococcal infections which begin with sore throats. When there is a rash, the rash is said to represent sensitivity of the skin to the products of the streptococcus; this condition is scarlet fever. Infections of the sinuses usually follow infection of the tonsils and throat. Ear infections occur in many cases and the streptococci are said to be responsible for ten per cent of ear infections. Specific methods of inoculation against streptococci are difficult because of the many different varieties of the germ. The Dick test will indicate whether or not a child is susceptible to the streptococcus of scarlet fever and there are methods of building resistance against these streptococci by inoculating small doses of the toxin.
Regardless of the portion of the body that is attacked by the streptococci, the control of the condition is now possible through the proper use of the sulfonamide and antibiotic drags. Streptococci are especially susceptible to attack by the sulfonamide drugs. The complications of infected throats are more important than the sore throat itself. Penicillin is the antibiotic drag most frequently used in treating throats infected with streptococci. Penicillin is especially beneficial in laryngitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis and scarlet fever. The complications of scarlet fever have in the past done more harm than the disease itself. In severe cases of scarlet fever convalescent serum may be used, and good results have been reported from use of the antitoxin.
Saline gargles and irrigations of the throat help to wash out the byproducts of throat infection. One of the most significant advances is the use of sulfonamide drags to prevent streptococcal infections. When there are outbreaks in large homes, in barracks, in asylums, or places where great numbers of people assemble, the sulfonamide drugs may be taken as a means of preventing infection with the streptococci. All sorts of attempts have been made to cut down respiratory diseases by the use of ultraviolet light in the air, by the spraying of medicated vapors or aerosols and by other techniques for keeping the germs from floating in the air. These, in general, have not been successful.
*3/318/5*

TYPES OF INFECTION: HEMOLYTIC STREPTOCOCCUS INFECTIONSThe streptococcus is one of the most widely distributed and variable organisms that attacks mankind. Such conditions as sore throat, sinus infections, scarlet fever, erysipelas, puerperal fever, or lymphangitis may be caused by streptococci. Other conditions associated with such streptococci include acute rheumatic fever and acute inflammations of the kidney.Such infections are found in all races, in both sexes, at all ages, and they come on at any time of the year. Scarlet fever is said to be rare in the tropics. Very small babies, under three months of age, seldom have streptococcal infections, because they get some immunity from their mothers at the time of birth. Tonsillitis, pharyngitis, and scarlet fever are more frequent up to ten years of age. Streptococcal infections can result from contaminated food, milk, water but most frequently pass from one person to another with coughing, sneezing, spitting and what are known as “hand-to-mouth” infections.Tonsillitis and pharyngitis are usually streptococcal infections which begin with sore throats. When there is a rash, the rash is said to represent sensitivity of the skin to the products of the streptococcus; this condition is scarlet fever. Infections of the sinuses usually follow infection of the tonsils and throat. Ear infections occur in many cases and the streptococci are said to be responsible for ten per cent of ear infections. Specific methods of inoculation against streptococci are difficult because of the many different varieties of the germ. The Dick test will indicate whether or not a child is susceptible to the streptococcus of scarlet fever and there are methods of building resistance against these streptococci by inoculating small doses of the toxin.Regardless of the portion of the body that is attacked by the streptococci, the control of the condition is now possible through the proper use of the sulfonamide and antibiotic drags. Streptococci are especially susceptible to attack by the sulfonamide drugs. The complications of infected throats are more important than the sore throat itself. Penicillin is the antibiotic drag most frequently used in treating throats infected with streptococci. Penicillin is especially beneficial in laryngitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis and scarlet fever. The complications of scarlet fever have in the past done more harm than the disease itself. In severe cases of scarlet fever convalescent serum may be used, and good results have been reported from use of the antitoxin.Saline gargles and irrigations of the throat help to wash out the byproducts of throat infection. One of the most significant advances is the use of sulfonamide drags to prevent streptococcal infections. When there are outbreaks in large homes, in barracks, in asylums, or places where great numbers of people assemble, the sulfonamide drugs may be taken as a means of preventing infection with the streptococci. All sorts of attempts have been made to cut down respiratory diseases by the use of ultraviolet light in the air, by the spraying of medicated vapors or aerosols and by other techniques for keeping the germs from floating in the air. These, in general, have not been successful.*3/318/5*

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DEPRESSION: DESCRIPTION AND TREATMENT

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

Depression lies beyond the broad spectrum of accustomed human unhappiness. In some cases, depression is considered a normal human emotional response to abnormal circumstances including the death of a parent, spouse or a child. In these situations the expectation is one of an inevitably slow and painful recovery. When mood plunges past the lowermost boundary of abject human unhappiness with no obvious social or physical cause, doctors say that a person is organically depressed. This definition justifies the use of special mind altering chemicals or the application of Electro Convulsive Therapy.
A depressed person experiences alterations in the patterns of sleep. They have difficulty getting off to sleep and wake frequently. A striking feature of depression is early morning waking and often the mood cycles on a daily basis with despair at its height earlier in the day.
The concentration and memory of the depressed person suffer also. So do levels of energy and drive. Delusions in relation to innocent bodily experiences loom large. Depressed people become very negative and nihilistic and have difficulty seeing any future both for themselves and others.
When depression is at its worst, ideas of suicide and attempted suicide dominate. It is not unusual for very depressed men to kill their families and then themselves. About 20 per cent of the adult population experience symptoms of depression at some stage of their lives.
In spite of public opposition to the medical management of mental illnesses such as depression, the use of antidepressant drugs and Electroconvulsive Shock Therapy has miraculously changed the morbid course of many depressive illnesses. Medication restores the mood to normal within weeks and ЕСТ produces a similar response in days. Without treatment almost 40 per cent of severely depressed people successfully suicide. With treatment the suicide rate drops to five per cent.
Home Remedies
Despite an “organic” basis for its cause, depression and suicide plague aging individuals with chronic illness who lack supportive social networks. A wide range of stresses can plunge such people into the depths of suicidal depression. Prevention includes the adoption of an overtly satisfying series of social involvements. Bowling Clubs, The Senior Citizens, affiliation with churches that place an emphasis on fellowship, specific illness support groups and continued qualitative involvement with family affairs are all buffers necessary to keep a life threatening depression at bay.
“Furthermore it must be said that the key variable in a lot of depression related suffering could be a lack of sex. There is still a gaping hole in the literature on this point because sex is still a taboo subject in this and many other societies.
Sigmund Freud explored anxiety in relation to human fear, but no great pioneer has explored the psychological manifestations of human frustration and failure in the field of sexuality. As for the treatment of depression, shock treatment is very reminiscent of orgasm.
And of course antidepressant medication may well mimic the brain’s chemical changes which occur during and after acts of satisfying sexual intercourse. Posterity may well view shock treatment and antidepressant medication as the poor man’s substitute for deep and meaningful acts of sexual gratification.”
On a more mundane note L tryptophan – a naturally occurring amino acid elevates the mood of mildly depressed people. It has also been used as a mild sedative and a sleeping potion. Controversy erupted in and around the deaths of 20 people in the United States from the Eosinophilic Myalgia Syndrome. This syndrome was associated with the use of L tryptophan and the deaths were traced to the contamination of a batch of L Tryptophan manufactured by a Japanese company. Dietary sources of L tryptophan include soy beans, cottage cheese, uncooked rice, fish, lentils, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds.
*2/131/5*

DEPRESSION: DESCRIPTION AND TREATMENT
Depression lies beyond the broad spectrum of accustomed human unhappiness. In some cases, depression is considered a normal human emotional response to abnormal circumstances including the death of a parent, spouse or a child. In these situations the expectation is one of an inevitably slow and painful recovery. When mood plunges past the lowermost boundary of abject human unhappiness with no obvious social or physical cause, doctors say that a person is organically depressed. This definition justifies the use of special mind altering chemicals or the application of Electro Convulsive Therapy.A depressed person experiences alterations in the patterns of sleep. They have difficulty getting off to sleep and wake frequently. A striking feature of depression is early morning waking and often the mood cycles on a daily basis with despair at its height earlier in the day.The concentration and memory of the depressed person suffer also. So do levels of energy and drive. Delusions in relation to innocent bodily experiences loom large. Depressed people become very negative and nihilistic and have difficulty seeing any future both for themselves and others.When depression is at its worst, ideas of suicide and attempted suicide dominate. It is not unusual for very depressed men to kill their families and then themselves. About 20 per cent of the adult population experience symptoms of depression at some stage of their lives.In spite of public opposition to the medical management of mental illnesses such as depression, the use of antidepressant drugs and Electroconvulsive Shock Therapy has miraculously changed the morbid course of many depressive illnesses. Medication restores the mood to normal within weeks and ЕСТ produces a similar response in days. Without treatment almost 40 per cent of severely depressed people successfully suicide. With treatment the suicide rate drops to five per cent.
Home RemediesDespite an “organic” basis for its cause, depression and suicide plague aging individuals with chronic illness who lack supportive social networks. A wide range of stresses can plunge such people into the depths of suicidal depression. Prevention includes the adoption of an overtly satisfying series of social involvements. Bowling Clubs, The Senior Citizens, affiliation with churches that place an emphasis on fellowship, specific illness support groups and continued qualitative involvement with family affairs are all buffers necessary to keep a life threatening depression at bay.”Furthermore it must be said that the key variable in a lot of depression related suffering could be a lack of sex. There is still a gaping hole in the literature on this point because sex is still a taboo subject in this and many other societies.Sigmund Freud explored anxiety in relation to human fear, but no great pioneer has explored the psychological manifestations of human frustration and failure in the field of sexuality. As for the treatment of depression, shock treatment is very reminiscent of orgasm.And of course antidepressant medication may well mimic the brain’s chemical changes which occur during and after acts of satisfying sexual intercourse. Posterity may well view shock treatment and antidepressant medication as the poor man’s substitute for deep and meaningful acts of sexual gratification.”On a more mundane note L tryptophan – a naturally occurring amino acid elevates the mood of mildly depressed people. It has also been used as a mild sedative and a sleeping potion. Controversy erupted in and around the deaths of 20 people in the United States from the Eosinophilic Myalgia Syndrome. This syndrome was associated with the use of L tryptophan and the deaths were traced to the contamination of a batch of L Tryptophan manufactured by a Japanese company. Dietary sources of L tryptophan include soy beans, cottage cheese, uncooked rice, fish, lentils, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds.
*2/131/5*

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OCCUPATIONAL ALLERGIC RHINITIS

Saturday, December 11th, 2010

Occasionally, agents to which workers are exposed will cause allergic nasal symptoms. The symptoms are the same as those of seasonal or chrome allergic rhinitis but the causative agents are those unique to the workplace. In this form of allergic rhinitis, as in the other forms, symptoms tend to parallel the exposure of the allergic workers: Intermittent, occasional exposure produces intermittent, occasional symptoms. Daily exposure results in chronic daily symptoms.
Occupational Allergic Rhinitis Example 1.
Vicki is a twenty-five-year-old laboratory technologist who has worked in the animal lab at a university medical center for just over two years. She has been bothered with seasonal allergic rhinitis since childhood, but in the last three months she has begun to experience episodic paroxysms of runny nose, sneezing, and itchy, red eyes whenever she goes into the rat room. Yesterday afternoon, the janitor began sweeping the room while she was working in it and, in addition to her nasal symptoms, she began to cough and wheeze slightly. On consultation with an allergist, Vicki learned that she had become allergic to the proteins in rat urine, which can dry and get into the air in places like animal laboratories, especially during the cleaning of cages and the sweeping of floors. Furthermore, her symptoms had become too severe to permit continued exposure. Fortunately she was able to transfer to another research project that did not involve contact with rats or their urinary proteins. Diagnosis: occupational allergic rhinitis, rat urine.
*4/322/5*

OCCUPATIONAL ALLERGIC RHINITISOccasionally, agents to which workers are exposed will cause allergic nasal symptoms. The symptoms are the same as those of seasonal or chrome allergic rhinitis but the causative agents are those unique to the workplace. In this form of allergic rhinitis, as in the other forms, symptoms tend to parallel the exposure of the allergic workers: Intermittent, occasional exposure produces intermittent, occasional symptoms. Daily exposure results in chronic daily symptoms.
Occupational Allergic Rhinitis Example 1.Vicki is a twenty-five-year-old laboratory technologist who has worked in the animal lab at a university medical center for just over two years. She has been bothered with seasonal allergic rhinitis since childhood, but in the last three months she has begun to experience episodic paroxysms of runny nose, sneezing, and itchy, red eyes whenever she goes into the rat room. Yesterday afternoon, the janitor began sweeping the room while she was working in it and, in addition to her nasal symptoms, she began to cough and wheeze slightly. On consultation with an allergist, Vicki learned that she had become allergic to the proteins in rat urine, which can dry and get into the air in places like animal laboratories, especially during the cleaning of cages and the sweeping of floors. Furthermore, her symptoms had become too severe to permit continued exposure. Fortunately she was able to transfer to another research project that did not involve contact with rats or their urinary proteins. Diagnosis: occupational allergic rhinitis, rat urine.*4/322/5*

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