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TREATMENTS FOR SOME COMMON DISEASES
Anxiety, tension: bone meal, 5 to 10 tablets a day, with 2 capsules of fish liver oil (for vitamin D); B-complex vitamins; brewer’s yeast.
Athlete’s foot: mutton tallow. To make tallow, take mutton fat (preferably from lamb kidney – ask your butcher) and cook it over a slow fire. Strain and store in clean jar. Wash feet and apply at night. Change socks every day. Dust feet with garlic powder.
Back pain: vitamins E and C, calcium, magnesium, manganese.
Bed sores: topically: vitamin E. orally: E, A, C, zinc. Also: honey topically.
Bedwetting: cinnamon bark tea. Chewing cinnamon bark is even better.
Bee sting: antidote for: acid-forming minerals such as calcium chloride, hydrochloric acid, ammonium chloride.
Boils: tea of sarsaparilla, red clover, nettle; carrot and beet juice.
Bronchitis: tea of chickweed, slippery elm, mullein. Breathe the steam from hot catnip tea. Buerger’s disease: vitamin E, large doses up to 2,400 IU; lecithin; vitamin C
Burning feet: vitamin B6.
Burning mouth: B-complex, B12, niacin, folic acid.
Bursitis: peanut oil, internally, 1 tbsp. a day; alkaline diet; chloride-rich foods: kelp, watercress, avocado, endive, tomatoes, celery, oats, etc.
Canker sores (fever blisters): yogurt or lactobacillus acidophilus culture, in tablet form or liquid. Lots of vitamin с burdock root tea. Avoid sweets and citrus fruits.
Cataracts: vitamin B2. Chaparral tea taken internally. A drop of liquid honey in corner of eye at night.
Cold extremities (cold feet and hands): niacin, RNA (ribo-nucleic acid), B2.
Congestion bruises: witch hazel decoction, rubbed externally.
Cracked lips: vitamin B2, brewer’s yeast.
Cushing’s disease: potassium in large doses.
Cystitis: corn silk tea, steamed egg plant, apple cider vinegar.
Dandruff: nettle and chaparral tea, internally and externally. Rinse with vinegar added to the water. Castor oil, topically. Elimination of all sugar from the diet. B-complex vitamins.
Dizziness (vertigo, Meniere’s-disease): niacin; B1, B2, B6, pantothenic acid. Vitamin C. Catnip tea.
Dry skin: almond oil; sesame oil; formula f-plus.
Ear ache: a few drops of warm castor oil in ear; plug with cotton.
Eyes: to strengthen eyes, especially in weakness resulting from diabetes: chaparral tea, internally; vitamin A.
Fever: vitamin C. Chinchona bark tea. Lemon or grapefruit juice.
Gas: garlic, papaya juice, hydrochloric acid with meals. Herbs: calamus (sweet flag), peppermint, slippery elm bark.
Gout: cherries – raw, juiced or frozen. Purine-free (low animal protein, low grain) diet.
Gray hair: to restore natural color: PABA, pantothenic acid, folic acid, brewer’s yeast, blackstrap molasses. Also, multiple mineral and trace element formula, or sea water (2 to 3 tbsp. a day).
Hay fever: pollen (granules or tablets), pollen-rich (unprocessed, raw) honey. Herbs: black cohosh, jimson weed.
*73/103/5*

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COPING WITH INSOMNIA: IS YOUR BEDROOM HEALTHY?
Over the last few years complaints of headaches, skin rashes, nausea, lethargy, depression, stress and fatigue have been related to ‘sick building syndrome’. The health of workers in modern buildings has been affected by factors like artificial lighting, static electricity from synthetic furniture and fabrics, low frequency electromagnetic radiation from electronic machinery, and airborne particles. Air-conditioning and nonopenable windows further deplete the atmosphere of negative ions.
We don’t hear too much about ‘sick bedrooms’, but some of these factors can also affect your home, particularly if you are sensitive. Though it’s unlikely that your bedroom will be full of computers, an increasing number of synthetic fabrics are used in furnishings, bedlinen and nightwear, while harmful gas can be given off by insulation materials, lacquers, glues and vinyls. There is also increasing evidence that radiation from electric, pylons can affect the health of people living near them.
So, use natural fabrics in your bedroom furnishings, linen and nightwear; and don’t have a TV set in there. Although single items of electrical and electronic equipment are said to give off safe levels of radiation, we are increasingly exposed to radiation of all kinds, and the accumulation from various sources can ultimately get to us. It’s also best not to use an electric blanket; if you do, switch it off and unplug it before going to bed.
There is another cause of ‘sick bedrooms’ which has only recently started to receive publicity here, though in the United States and Germany scientists and doctors are very aware of it. And that is geopathic stress.
*44/169/2*

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THE THIRD STAGE OF STRESS BREAKDOWN: LOSS OF THE ABILITY TO TOLERATE THINGS PREVIOUSLY TOLERATED
When the brain’s learning/unlearning cells are being over-stimulated and the circuit breakers are beginning to switch off overloaded circuits, the brain’s normal capacity for inhibition is seriously impaired. Consequently, the ability to tolerate things previously tolerated begins to be lost.
This loss began in the second stage, with loss of the ability to use the will-power to inhibit emotional display. Now the situation has become worse, and the person begins to lose the ability to ‘put the lid on’ reactions which were previously suppressed. In stage three stress breakdown, people will suddenly become intolerant to things they previously accepted. Common statements made during this time, include:
‘Henry,’ (she is speaking very quietly, through clenched teeth), ‘if I hear you slurp your soup just once more, like you have been doing for the last thirty years, so help me I’ll throw it over you!’ or ‘The next time you squeeze the toothpaste from the top of the tube will be the last time you’ll ever do it!’ or ‘If I find your dirty overalls just thrown on the floor behind the bedroom door just once more, they’ll be thrown out into the yard, and I hope next door’s dog rips them to shreds!’
I have found that an adult audience will often warm to providing examples such as those above, indicating to me that many people can recognize this aspect of stress breakdown, and one which is very often misunderstood. Men are often quite perplexed at finding that their wives are no longer willing to put up with their little faults and bad habits that the wives were able to tolerate for years. ‘What’s come over her, doctor?’ ‘I think she must be going through the change of life!’
*32/129/5*

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TYPES OF PROSTAGLANDIN
There are three series of prostaglandins: PG1, PG2, and PG3. Each of these has a different chemical structure. And within each series there are many different types, classified by letters A, B, D, E, F etc. In all, there are at least 50 prostaglandins, with new ones being discovered each year.
The three series of prostaglandins are each derived from a different fatty acid. Series 1 and 2 both come from the linoleic acid family. Series 3 is derived from eicosapentaenoic acid, a member of the alpha-linolenic acid family and most commonly found in oily sea foods.
Each prostaglandin has a different role to play. Health problems can arise when the different series of prostaglandins are out of balance with each other. The balance between the 1 and 2 series PGs can be influenced by diet. In inflammatory conditions, the end-products of arachidonic acid metabolism – prostaglandins series 2, cyclo-oxygenase and thromboxane A2 – are being produced in too great a quantity, whereas PGE1 is not being produced in great enough quantities.
Two of the most widely-used drugs – steroids and Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) work by inhibiting the biosynthesis of prostaglandins.
By suppressing the production of prostaglandins, the drugs dampen down inflammation.
The trouble with this drug approach is that all the prostaglandins are knocked out – including the good ones. Evening primrose oil works in a completely different way from these powerful drugs. Instead of stopping the manufacture of prostaglandins, evening primrose oil goes on to make the anti-inflammatory prostaglandin El, and so it manipulates the prostaglandins but in a completely natural way.
*11/60/5*

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REM SLEEP — IS YOUR DREAMING REALLY NECESSARY?
It used to be thought that the part of sleep essential to us was REM sleep, associated with dreaming; it was believed that these stages were needed for brain rest, and that people deprived of them would develop psychosis. This last has been disproved, though deprivation of REM sleep does produce irritability and difficulties in concentration, and affects the ability to retain information learned the day before. People totally deprived of it for more than three days have started having waking dreams, in the form of hallucinations. Others have been found to become less inhibited and conscientious!
In laboratories, REM sleep is measured by placing additional electrodes around the eyes to detect the eye movements, and over muscles in the chin or neck, which relax during sleep. During this time cells in the brain’s cortex, the grey matter, are also electrically very active. REM sleep has also been called ‘paradoxical sleep’, because although the brain is active, the body experiences a kind of paralysis and can’t move voluntarily; some people notice this when trying to awaken from a nightmare — it can be quite frightening.
Nearly all mammals dream; there are a few exceptions, like dolphins, who sleep with only one half of their brain at a time, presumably because they need to be aware of where they are in the ocean, and alert to predators. Humans dream about twice as much as most mammals, with a dreaming phase about every 90 minutes, though the amount of dreaming declines with age. New-born and even unborn babies spend an enormous amount of time in REM sleep, but whether they are actually dreaming can’t be known for certain.
The average sleeper spends about an hour and a half a night m REM sleep, sometimes more; it starts about 45 minutes after falling asleep, and increases as the night goes on, with most dreaming taking place in the later part of the night, during ‘optional’ sleep.
Contrary to the belief that dreaming is essential for mental health, it has been found that depressed people, deprived of dreaming sleep by taking anti-depressant drugs for up to and over a year, actually felt better. Dr Home suggests that dreams may not only be disturbing to a depressed person, but that too much dreaming may not be good for us.
However, for most people some REM sleep time does seem necessary, for when sleep laboratory subjects are deprived of these phases, there is a ‘rebound effect’: on recovery nights they lake more REM sleep, making up about 50 per cent of what they have lost.
People have come up with all kinds of contradictory theories as to why we dream. The fathers of psychoanalysis, Freud and Jung, believed that dreams shed light on our hidden desires, and opened the way to the unconscious. Some contemporary research psychologists suggest that we dream to reorder stored information, and to consolidate memories and learning. Some researchers believe that dreams are the result of the brain discarding information, like wiping old computer programmes, and that remembering them is therefore actually bad for us. Dr Home feels that REM sleep must have some importance, possibly as the ‘cinema of the mind’, a way of keeping the brain entertained during lighter stages of sleep.
What seems most likely is that all these theories are true: some dreams are simply junk-clearing; some simply result from indigestion. And some do serve as messengers from the unconscious, making you aware of unresolved problems, or suggesting solutions to them. People have certainly experienced dreams that are emotionally healing, or very creative. Both poetry and scientific ideas have been inspired by dreams — Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have dreamed the story of the best-selling Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. And there seems no doubt that a few dreams can be predictive.
If you are interested in dream content, it can be useful to keep a dream diary. As you note down your dreams every night, you may observe certain themes coming up regularly which could shed new light on your problems or your understanding of yourself. If you’re not sure what a dream means, don’t read books that give blanket meanings for dream symbols; by and large your dreams will choose symbols that are personally meaningful to you. Sometimes their meaning becomes clear in the process of writing them down.
As far as insomnia is concerned, dreams or nightmares are important when they are part of the problem, waking you up regularly or in a state of fear. If you have unpleasant recurring dreams, your unconscious mind may be trying to draw your attention to something that needs to be dealt with, perhaps a past traumatic event that you have not come to terms with, or a present problem like a difficult relationship. In such cases, some form of counselling, psychotherapy or hypnotherapy may help you unravel the message.
Meanwhile, states Dr Home: ‘Pleasant though dreams can be, it is possible that too much attention is paid to them and the importance of REM sleep. Evidence is growing that deep, non-dream sleep (Core Sleep) is more vital to well-being.’
*8/169/2*

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NUTRIENTS: PROTEIN ALLOWANCES
The protein need of the adult is based on body size. The recommended allowance is 0.8 gm per kilogram body weight. This amounts to 56 gm for the 70-kg man and 44 gm for the 55-kg woman. Hard work and exercise do not increase the protein requirement. On the other hand, advancing age does not decrease the requirement.
Under certain conditions the adult can maintain nitrogen balance with a protein intake as low as 25 to 40 gm. The quality of the protein in these circumstances must be excellent, and sufficient calories must be provided by carbohydrate and fat so that protein is not used for energy. Such reduction of protein intake becomes imperative when the food supply is very limited, and also when the kidneys are failing.
When new tissues are being built, the amount of protein eaten must be greater than the amount used for tissue wear and tear. Persons who are building new tissues are said to be in positive nitrogen balance. Infants, because of their rapid growth, are allowed 2.2 gm protein per kilogram (1.0 gm per pound) for the first 6 months, and then 2.0 gm per kilogram for the remainder of the first year. The recommended allowance for children 7 to 10 years is 36 gm, which is about three fourths of the woman’s allowance. Teenage boys and girls should include 44 to 54 gm daily, depending upon age and body size.
The pregnant woman should include an additional 30 gm protein. To supply the nursing infant with sufficient protein, the lactating woman needs to include 20 gm protein above her normal needs.
In planning diets it is generally recommended that each meal contain some complete protein foods or foods that complement each other so that all of the amino acids will be available to the tissues at the same time.
*23/234/5*

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CHICKENPOX TREATMENT: STOP ITСH FORMULA AND SUPPLEMENTS
Secondary infections can occur if your child is allowed to scratch the sores. Keep the fingernails short and the hands and nails clean at all times. This will minimize the risk of secondary infection occurring. To help stop the itching use the following mixture combined with water. Apply this paste to the itch.
Stop itсh formula
Zinc oxide 1 part
Bicarbonate of soda 1 part
Corn-flour 1 part
It is best to keep your child in bed until the temperature has subsided. Give the child plenty of fluids and keep the diet light. To help keep the temperature down lightly sponge your child with a cool cloth on the forehead and back of the neck.
Do not give the child aspirin as it has been associated with Reye’s Syndrome, an illness which can be life threatening. In very rare cases inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) can be a complication of chickenpox. If there is high fever, vomiting or convulsions see your medical practitioner.
Echinacea, red clover, sarsaparilla are all useful herbs to give your child. They have a blood purifying action helping rid the body of infection. Echinacea also stimulates the immune system and is mentioned in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia as an anti-viral herb.
Vitamin С helps the body to fight infection and build the immune system. Vitamin С is not stored or manufactured in our bodies and must be consumed in our diet daily. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a good source of vitamin С.
Supplements
Echinacea tablet or liquid extract 2 to 6 years
1 tablet containing 175 mg crushed in food daily
Vitamin С 6 to 12 years 1 tablet containing 175mg with food
morning and night
Vitamin С 2 to 6 years 75mg morning and night with food
chewable 6 to 12 years 250mg tablet morning and night
*13/199/5*

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DIFFERENTIATING BDD FROM OTHER DISORDERS: “A SIGN ON THE ROAD” r
The DSM-IV criteria for BDD provide a useful common language for BDD sufferers, clinicians, and researchers alike. They help researchers ascertain that they are all studying the same phenomenon. It’s important that what I call BDD is what a researcher elsewhere calls BDD; this allows a coherent body of knowledge about the disorder to be developed. The criteria also allow clinicians to make the diagnosis, which, in turn, guides treatment. They can also be helpful to patients. As a man with BDD said to me, “I read DSM to find out what was wrong with me. It was a relief to know what I had. Finally, I’d found the road and a sign on the road telling me where I was.”
While the criteria are useful guidelines, they do have the limitations I’ve discussed. In addition, they don’t fully convey the experience of people with BDD. They don’t tell us about their lives—the private torment, the fears, the isolation. Nor do they reflect what’s unique about each person’s experience.
Patients’ experiences tell us far more than diagnostic criteria ever could. Jennifer and Sarah had certain things in common with Jane, whose story follows. They all fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for BDD: each was preoccupied with physical defects that were nonexistent or minimal and went unnoticed by others. Each was significantly distressed or impaired by her concerns. But in some ways, their experiences were quite different. Sarah’s symptoms were relatively mild, and she functioned well despite them. Jane’s symptoms, in contrast, were very severe. Because of them, she couldn’t work and had been hospitalized. She thought she was so ugly that people stared at her through binoculars. And she even believed that people driving by her were so distracted by her “ugliness” that they got into car crashes when they saw her.
*30/204/8*

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YOUR BODY CLOCK: CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS
The functioning of our bodies is governed by a biological inner clock, known as the circadian rhythm (from the Latin circa diem, meaning ‘about a day’). This regulates the times when various organs become more or less active, and when the production of various hormones peaks and tails off. The length of the circadian day is normally between 24 and 25 hours; some people have sleep problems because their body clocks are out of timing with the norm, or disturbed by things like shift work and jet lag.
The siesta, traditional in hot countries like Spain, is in decline as Mediterranean businesses come into line with the rest of
Europe. Yet it could be much more natural than our own patterns. The circadian rhythm is set to bring on sleep twice a day, mainly at night, but also in the early afternoon, which is why many people feel sleepy after lunch.
The circadian rhythm also varies with age. Babies sleep regularly during the day, at first at around three-hourly intervals, tailing off to a morning and an afternoon sleep; by the age of about two and a half they are sleeping in the afternoon only. In the elderly, the need for an afternoon sleep usually returns.
It appears to be the circadian rhythm which is responsible for some people being ‘owls’, finding it hard to wake in the morning but lively at night, while others are ‘larks’, leaping out of bed first thing and drooping by ten in the evening. Interestingly, these differences seem to grow less as people age.
*7/169/2*

###table###
Other names: Clomicalm
DEALING WITH THE CAUSE OF INSOMNIA: NATURAL THERAPIES
Some forms of depression are physically based — post-flu and post-natal depression, for instance. Anxiety and depression in themselves deplete your energies, and become exaggerated when your general health is below par.
Most forms of natural medicine help to lift the emotions as well as healing the body. Homoeopathy, herbalism, and acupuncture can help to restore your emotional balance; so can bodywork, perhaps combined with counselling, from a massage practitioner or aromatherapist. Spiritual healing works on all levels, calming and uplifting body and mind.
It’s worth trying osteopathy, incidentally, for post-natal depression; the sacrum (the shield-like bone at the bottom of the spine) can be displaced by pregnancy and giving birth, and some osteopaths believe that this can have a profound effect on the balance of your emotions.
As temporary props, herbal tranquillizers are effective and have no harmful side effects. Herbal infusions can be even more helpful, supplying trace elements and minerals that strengthen the nervous system.
Bach Flower Remedies can bring about a totally natural change in your thoughts and feelings. White chestnut, for instance, is good for obsessive thoughts, and mustard for depression. Agrimony, for people who put on a cheerful front concealing inner torment, has helped a number of people recover their sleep.
*34/169/2*

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LIVER TROUBLE: VITAMINS, HERBS, ETC
Vitamins and supplements (daily)
Brewer’s yeast – 3 to 5 tbsp.
B-complex, natural, high potency
С – large doses up to 3,000 mg.
Choline – up to 10 grams a day for two weeks
B6 – 50 mg.
B12 – 50 mcg.
E -up to 600 IU
A – 25,000 units
Lecithin – 2 tbsp.
Niacin – 100 mg.
Juices
Red beet juice made from tops and roots, lemon juice, papaya juice (specific for enlarged liver), grape juice; radish, black radish and dandelion juice added in small amounts to beet juice.
Herbs
Dandelion, horsetail, bolbo leaves, birch leaves, St. John’s Wort, wahoo, lobelia, barberry, balmony, parsley, sarsaparilla, liver-worth leaves, centaury, golden rod.
Specifics
Red beet juice, juice fasting, vitamins B-complex and C, choline, brewer’s yeast, lemon juice, dandelion, artichokes. Airola Diet with adequate amount of high quality proteins, preferably from homemade raw skim milk cheese, kvark, and sesame seed butter.
Notes:
The liver is involved in almost all conditions of ill health. Therefore, liver cleansing programs can be of benefit in the treatment of virtually every chronic condition. When there is serious liver damage, it takes a long time to recuperate. Patient should not expect momentary results and should have the patience to remain on the special diet and other programs for a long time, often as much as 3 months to a year.
*55/103/5*

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TRANSITIONS IN RETIREMENT: EMOTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Because the psychological side of life cannot be captured in numbers, planning emotionally for retirement may seem more difficult. Not so! Taking these steps may help you come up with concrete solutions for the aspects of retirement you fear. (Adapt these suggestions to help get yourself on the right track if you are already retired and at loose ends.)
Imagine your life as a retiree. Think about what an average day or week would be like. What kinds of things would you do? Is your general mood upbeat or can you only imagine being depressed? If you cannot imagine being happy, consider this a very important warning light. Trust your gut feeling and try to put off leaving work as long as you can. If you know you will have to retire in a few months, start exploring new job possibilities. It is much easier to get a new job while you are still in an old one. You will be less frantic, and potential employers are likely to feel you are more desirable if you approach them having a job in hand.
Pinpoint your exact concerns. If you are like most people, you can imagine being happy but have a sense of foreboding too. Focus on exactly what concerns you, and if necessary write each worry down.
Come up with antidotes for each worry. Then brainstorm, drawing up battle plans for eliminating your concerns. Preferably, come up with a few possible solutions to each problem you foresee. For instance, your list of anxieties and antidotes might look like this.
Worry 1: I’m afraid of the lack of structure. How would I plan my day from nine to five? I can just imagine that listless feeling if the highlight of my morning became waiting for the mail. It would be terrible to wake up with each day stretching out as a soul-destroying monochromatic blank.
Solutions: Before I leave work I will have some sort of structure in place. I’ll sign up for a course at the local university. I’ll arrange to go swimming at the gym every day. I’ll go to a senior citizens’ center – the one that is open every day. I resolve never to go to bed with absolutely nothing planned for the next day. I will have at least one destination in place for tomorrow before I turn out the light. But I won’t overdo it. This is my time to enjoy smelling the flowers. It would be a shame if, out of anxiety at being aimless, I frantically rushed around.
Worry 2: I’m afraid I would miss my work friends. I can just see myself hanging around the office the way Joe did after he retired. I remember how foolish he looked, arriving at eleven for those lunch dates at one o’clock.
Solutions: I’ll join a club; cultivate that person I always liked who works across the hall and is retiring now too – avoid the office but keep in contact with my work friends at night and on weekends.
Worry 3: I’m afraid no longer being an important lawyer will depress me deeply. I can just imagine myself cringing inside when I go to a cocktail party and someone asks me what I do. I get such a kick out of telling them I’m a partner in Thomas and Belsky. It will be terrible to say I’m retired. I care so much about the status and satisfaction I get from work; my drive to accomplish something and be a productive professional is such an important part of who I am.
Solutions: To people who ask I will say, “I retired in 1988 from Thomas and Belsky.” More important, I have to find something else that gives me the same boost I got from work.
A person is likely to feel that work is irreplaceable when it seems the only way of satisfying some basic human needs-pride in achievement, the joy of showing what you can do. Your goal is not to damp down these needs or to live with frustration, but to have retirement fulfill them too.
*88/159/5*

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MENTAL HEALTH: FIGHTING DEPRESSION
You feel sad, almost like crying. Sometimes you do cry. Mostly, you feel hopeless, overwhelmed and unable to move or work. Your problems weigh on you like so many stones on your chest. And you see no way of lifting those weights. Those feelings may persist without letting up for weeks or even years. A psychiatrist would say that you are depressed.
Up until a few years ago, doctors could do little to lighten the burden of depression. But now they have a variety of treatments to raise even the most depressed from the pits of despair. And that’s good news for the 10 million Americans who each year slide into the blackness of depression. Unfortunately, most remain untreated and continue to suffer. Many die by their own hand.
To help you understand this disorder better, Dr. Lewis L. Judd, formerly of the National Institute of Mental Health, has answered the following questions.
Many people believe a depressed person puts on an act. With just a little willpower, they say, he or she could be cheerful again. Is this true?
Depression is neither an act nor a failure of willpower. It’s a real disease, just as a heart attack is real. Depression produces physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms. Without treatment, depression can last for years and even end in suicide. With treatment, as many as nine of 10 people recover.
How can you tell whether a person is really generally depressed or saddened by some specific event, like a death in the family?
Everyone gets the blues or feels sad from time to time. If the symptoms grow too strong and last too long, the line is crossed from sadness to depression. The dividing line may seem fuzzy, but if four or more symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks, you should seek professional help.
We know that depression takes several disguises or forms. How can you tell which is which?
Some people suffer only one episode of depression in a lifetime; others may fall victim to depression many times. In still others, depression weighs so heavily that they can’t function at all. In many, the symptoms appear constantly and for a long time, but in milder form. Many patients go through cycles of deep, depressive “lows” and soaring manic “highs.” Their moods sweep from one pole to the other, so doctors call it “bipolar disorder” or “manic-depressive” illness.
Are more people depressed these days than they were in the past?
We do not know for sure, but it is not likely. With increased awareness and much better diagnostic methods, we are more accurately identifying and treating more depressed people. As a result, it may seem as if there are more depressed people, when actually we are much more alert to the disease now.
Depression often leads to suicide. How common is suicide among the depressed?
If not properly treated, one of seven severe depressives eventually will commit suicide. That’s a higher death rate than from most other serious diseases. More men-particularly older white men – than women commit suicide. We don’t understand the gender differences. We can, the statistics indicate, prevent suicide with quick diagnosis and treatment.
*2/266/5*

###table###
Other names: Neoral, Sandimmune
DIETARY CONSIDERATIONS FOR LIVER TROUBLE
After an initial liver cleansing program, the Airola Diet of raw, organically grown foods. Adequate high quality protein is essential in liver diseases. The best complete proteins for liver patients are obtained from brewer’s yeast (also rich in B-vitamins, which are vital for liver health), raw goat’s milk, homemade raw cottage cheese, sprouted seeds and grains, and raw nuts, especially almonds. Sesame seed butter (Tahini) is especially beneficial in liver disorders because of its unusually high content of methionine, unsaturated oils, calcium and high quality proteins.
Do not overeat – eat small frequent meals.
Exclude all fats and oils for several weeks.
Exclude all processed, canned and refined foods. Avoid all chemical additives in foods and poisons in air, water and environment. Environmental poisons damage liver. Avoid synthetic vitamins – they also are harmful and prolonged ingestion may damage liver. Avoid drugs.
No salt, no strong spices (like mustard, black and white pepper), no sugar in any form, no alcohol – all these can damage liver. Alcohol robs liver of B-vitamins. Use honey as sweetener.
Red beets, red beet juice or beet powders are especially beneficial in liver disorders. Also endive, artichoke, cucumber, garlic and lemon.
*53/103/5*

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ILLNESSES IN CHILDREN: FEVERS
A fever is a rise in body temperature above normal. Most children have a fever at one time or another. Most fevers are n serious and are part of the development process in strengthening the immune system. However, it is important to monitor fevers and if needed keep them under control. All households where a baby or young children reside should have a thermometer to measure a rise in body temperature.
Normal body temperature
Oral 36.1-37.ГС
Rectal 36.6-37.8°C
Armpit 35.6-36.6°C
A rise in body temperature above 37.1 °C when the temperature is taken orally is a fever. This is not a cause for alarm as body temperature varies throughout the day. A fever is the body’s way of fighting an illness and does not have to be treated unless the temperature is over 38.9°C. If the fever starts to rise beyond the level then sponging the child and fanning will help bring relief. Even temperatures of up to 41.5°C do not cause brain damage and young children may often have fevers with temperatures nearing this level without any after-effects.
Babies under 12 months of age are different and abnormally high or low temperatures should be discussed with a practitioner for proper assessment Fever can be harmless and only an indicator of a disease. What is to be observed is the activity and appearance of the child. If it is advised that the fever should be brought down, sponging with water is one of the best methods.
Yarrow, peppermint and elderflower mixed in equal parts and drunk as a tea can help reduce fever. Do not let a fever persist for more than 24 hours.
Care should be taken in administering drugs to young children. Aspirin should not be used if the child is suffering from chickenpox or influenza. A serious complication called Reye’s Syndrome may develop in a small number of cases.
Supplements
Vitamin С 250mg daily just before food
children over 12 years take one l,000mg vitamin С tablet daily
Garlic equivalent over 12 years of age take 1 tablet to 2,000mg daily with food
*29/199/5*

###table###
Other names: Wellbutrin, Bupropion
SLEEP AND INSOMNIA: WHAT IS SLEEP?
It is an extraordinary fact that something that occupies up to a third of our lives is still a mystery. Of course, we all know that sleep gives us rest: without it we feel tired and irritable and don’t function as well as we’d like. Since 1952, sleep research laboratories attached to universities have been studying sleep patterns, with the help of human guinea-pigs. They have made numerous investigations not just into how we sleep but why, and no one has yet come up with a complete answer.
If you are beset by insomnia, you might wonder what use such investigations are. Whatever sleep is for, you know you need it and feel rotten without it. But the results of many of these investigations can offer some reassurance to the non-sleeper. They have, for instance, blown away the myth that everyone needs eight hours a night. Some of them suggest that most of us could get by on less sleep than we have without coming to harm. And some have come up with ideas for improving sleep.
During sleep all kinds of chemical and hormonal changes go on in our bodies; many of them are to do with bodily repair and restitution, and it has been thought that sleep was essential for these to occur. But at Loughborough University Dr Jim Home, Director of the Sleep Research Laboratory, has come to a different conclusion. In his recent book Why We Sleep (Oxford University Press, 1988) he suggests that for most bodily repair processes sleep is not essential; they can take place just as well during periods of ‘relaxed wakefulness’. Sleep, says Dr Home, is needed mainly to rest the brain; this takes place during periods of very deep sleep, which he calls ‘Core Sleep’, occupying only part of our total night’s sleep.
In sleep the brain goes through four main stages, each characterized by different types of brainwave — the electrical impulses emitted by the brain. In sleep laboratories these are measured by EEGs (electro-encephalograms), which are carried out by fixing electrodes to the sleeper’s scalp with easily-removable glue. From these electrodes, amplified signals are recorded on paper by mechanical inkpens, or on magnetic tape, showing the activity of the cerebral cortex — the outer part of the brain. In the waking state our brains normally emit fast beta waves, which have a frequency of around 15 cycles per second. During the night, we go through several cycles of different brainwaves, each cycle lasting around 90 minutes.
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WHY BDD MATTERS: PATIENTS WITH BDD
Of the many patients I’ve seen over the years, those with BDD have been among the most tormented. As a 21-year-old man said to me, “This obsession is the perfect torture. I’d rather be blind or have my arms cut off. I’d be happy to have cancer, because it wouldn’t isolate me the way this does, and people would believe that something was wrong with me. They wouldn’t trivialize it. I could talk to people about it, and they’d understand.”
Since treating Carrie, David, and Jane, I’ve met and treated many people with BDD. They have all suffered. Families and friends, girlfriends and boyfriends suffer as well. They worry about their loved one and may endlessly reassure them, hold mirrors, or apply hair tonics—to no avail. They may care for them, pay for surgery, try to find help—for a problem that makes little sense to them. Sometimes they don’t even know what the problem is. They know that their loved one is depressed or won’t go out, but they don’t know why. People with BDD may be too embarrassed to reveal their concern to anyone, even their closest friend or spouse.
After hearing about Carrie’s, David’s, and Jane’s concerns, I decided to learn more about this fascinating and little-known disorder. I hadn’t even heard of it during medical school or in the lectures of my psychiatric training. I hadn’t noticed any articles about it in scientific journals. I did, however, remember seeing BDD in the psychiatric profession’s diagnostic manual. The description there was brief but enough to make me think that Carrie, David, and Jane had this mysterious disorder. I started my search to learn more about it.
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Other names: Eldepryl
BRONCHITIS AND HOME REMEDIES
When a bronchus is inflamed, swollen and partially obstructed with mucopus, air passing through it makes a characteristic wheezing noise. Along with a cough and the copious production of mucopurulent sputum, this wheeze is sufficient to constitute the diagnosis of Bronchitis. It is sad to say that in many cases this diagnosis is one of convenience. It allows an attending general practitioner to prescribe antibiotics, which they think are in line with patient expectations. Having removed the pressure to perform, G.P.s have deliberately missed the chance of a proper diagnosis: which in many cases was asthma all along.
Even if bronchitis is the diagnosis, 50 per cent of the time antibiotics are inappropriate because the condition is viral in origin and not bacterial at all. In most cases, doctors can take a specimen of infected mucus and wait for a laboratory to come back with findings that make the use of antibiotics justified. In cases of Acute Bacterial Bronchitis, Amoxycillin is the antibiotic of choice.
Chronic bronchitis usually occurs in smokers or people with lung damage from other causes. The clinical definition of chronic bronchitis requires the presence of a chronic, productive cough for at least three successive months in two successive years. The aforementioned definition excludes chronic coughs by other causes such as cancer of the lung, heart failure; or the presence of an inhaled foreign body. Bean bag balls are an ever present worry in the airways of young children with a chronic cough.
Examination of the sputum before the prescription of antibiotics is even more important in chronic bronchitis than it is with acute bronchitis, because extensive prior use of antibiotics produces strains of bacteria that subsequent antibiotics just can’t kill. Sometimes bronchodilators such as Theodur and Nuelin are helpful in the management of chronic bronchitis, as well as steroid hormones such as Prednisone and Hydrocortisone.
Home Remedies
When a person with a productive cough is otherwise well and coping adequately with work and play it is unnecessary to present for a medical opinion; unless such a cough has not markedly abated after seven or eight days. Over the counter cough suppressants containing opiates such as codeine or dextromethorphan are adequate cough suppressants. So called expectorants or mucolytics don’t work. They are a waste of time and money.
Paracetamol and a high fluid intake act to reduce upper airway irritability and appear to reduce the frequency of a cough. The old fashioned steam inhalation with menthol and eucalyptus is still a stand by. It assists with mobilization of mucus by stimulating the activity of cilliated epithelial cells lining the inside of airway walls.
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MAJOR DEPRESSION
Patients with major depression are alarmingly prone to suicide. Using many medicines, physicians have been able to lift the depression in up to 65 percent of these cases.
Kay Phillips, 49, of Birmingham, Alabama, teaches computer use to people with disabilities. After struggling for 5 years with many prescriptions, she says, she finally found Dr. Ed Logue in Birmingham. He was testing Organon, a new drug. Ms. Phillips recalls that other medications she had taken had interfered with her sleep so severely that she’d been unable to keep a job.
“I was tired for 5 years,” she says. “But when you find the right medication, it is incredible. My energy level was restored. No more anxiety.”
Eventually, Ms. Phillips no longer needed the medication. “I’m depression-free now,” she says. But she stays in close touch with Dr. Logue, who reports, “Things in Kay’s life are going well now, and she is off medication. Unfortunately, the drug did not work as well for most of the other patients in the study, so we discontinued it.” But, he added, he would prescribe another medication for Ms. Phillips if needed.
Years ago, patients with major depression had no treatment available except electroconvulsive therapy (ЕСТ). Because that therapy – which sends small electrical currents into the brain – used to be somewhat dangerous, people still fear it. But new techniques in the hands of well-trained scientists have removed the danger. In fact, despite what most people believe, ЕСТ is safer than most of the drugs now being prescribed. It even has an advantage over medicine: it acts rapidly, within days or weeks; drugs take longer, leaving the depressed patient vulnerable to suicide.
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