Wednesday,
August 5, 1998
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‘Miracle’ cure of
cancer proved false |
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Skin care: myths and realities COMMON myths related to the skin, hair and nail care are many and they are so prevalent that it is very difficult to refute them. A compilation of the most common false beliefs prevalent in our society are discussed below: 1. Household
cosmetics are harmless. 2. Oil
massage before bath gives a glowing skin. 3. Soap
used on the face is harmful. 4. Foreign
cosmetics are better than local ones. 5. Oily
foods and chocolates aggravate pimples. 6. Regular
steaming is good for the skin. 7. Regular
hair oil application prevents greying, hairfall and
dandruff. 8. Shaving
head or cutting hair improves hair growth. 9. Shampoos
with additives like pro-vitamin B5, keratin etc. are more
effective in damaged hair. 10. Soap
or shampoos which produce more lather have better
cleansing action. 11. Daily
use of shampoos is harmful. 12. Skin
creams and moisturisers with vitamin A, E and other plant
extracts prevent again and skin wrinkling. 13. Application
of kajal improves eyesight and eyelashes growth. 14. Trimming
of cuticle is an essential part of nail care. It is hoped that the
clarification of myths will help readers in adopting
correct approach in skin care. |
Acute abdomen in pregnancy ACUTE abdominal conditions occurring during pregnancy present unique challenges to the surgeons in diagnosis and treatment since successful management is measured by foetal as well as maternal survival. The relative rarity of surgical problems in pregnancy may lead to potentially dangerous delays in diagnosis and management. Delays in diagnosis can result from changes in pattern of symptoms and signs produced by physiological and anatomical adjustments occurring during pregnancy. Anatomical changes are particularly evident once the pregnant uterus becomes an abdominal organ at the end of first trimester, growing to occupy most of the abdominal cavity by term. Physiological changes include nausea, vomiting, heart burn, constipation and frequency of micturition. In late pregnancy it is important to differentiate colicky abdominal pain due to a general surgical problem from labour pains. Abdominal pain is not only a common complaint but also reported by nearly all women at some time during the course of pregnancy. Thus each of these symptoms may be associated with or attributable to pregnancy or may herald the onset of an acute general surgical emergency not related to pregnancy. The pregnant patient is subject to all surgical diseases of a non-pregnant patient. In the assessment of a pregnant patient with acute abdomen, the usual signs of intrabdominal disease remain valid and one may usually rely on traditional symptoms and findings. There may be some difficulty in accurately examining the abdomen owing to the enlarged uterus and mechanical displacement of the abdominal contents. Mortality due to acute abdominal emergencies complicating pregnancy is mortality of delay. There has to be a strong justification for altering the treatment plan usually employed for a non-pregnant patient and surgical treatment should not be withheld because a woman is pregnant. Surgical incisions heal well during pregnancy. In the post operative period adequate treatment is necessary to minimise the likelihood of premature labour. A close working relationship between surgeons, obstetrician and anaesthesiologist is a must to minimise maternal and foetal adverse sequelae. The surgeon recognising that the patient is pregnant must select diagnostic tests that will not harm the foetus and time the appropriate intervention appropriately. Ultrasonography is a valuable tool in pregnancy in the evaluation of possible general surgical problems. There is a reluctance to the use of X-rays, yet their use must be considered when faced with an ill patient where delay in diagnosis and management may be dangerous. Problems may occur during the first, second or third trimester of pregnancy and in the early post-partum period (soon after delivery). Outcome of pregnancy is highly dependent on the trimester during which the problem occurs. Acute appendicitis: It is the most common surgical problem requiring urgent intervention. Diagnostic delay increases the incidence of complications like perforation and gangrene which contributes to increased maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality. The surgeon thus must act early on localising symptoms and signs to prevent these complications. Clinical decision is of paramount importance even though ultrasound has been used in an attempt to define the disease preoperatively. Intestinal obstruction: It is a serious problem with significant maternal and foetal mortality. Obstruction remains a diagnostic enigma primarily due to changes associated with pregnancy itself. If the condition is not suspected, the diagnosis will not be made. The delay between the onset of symptoms and definitive surgical treatment contributes to increased mortality and morbidity rates. The usual symptoms are those of abdominal pain, vomiting and constipation. Prompt management before development of gangrenous obstruction is important. Clinical suspicion and early surgical intervention are required. Resuscitation of the pregnant patient with bowel obstruction must be aggressive to maintain uterine blood flow and foetal viability. Adequate maternal oxygen saturation is critically important and must be continuously monitored. Gallstone disease: Patients may present with recurrent attacks of biliary colic, acute inflammation (cholecystitis with pus in the gall-bladder or perforation), jaundice, fever with chills, and pancreatitis (inflammation of pancreas). Patients who present in the first trimester are at a higher risk of relapse during the subsequent trimesters and relapses may result in premature labour. Ultrasonography is the diagnostic method of choice. Short term attacks may be treated with antibiotics and cessation of oral feeds. Operation may be delayed until after delivery in most patients. Emergency surgery may be required for worsening sepsis and jaundice or for perforation. Any patient whose condition deteriorates should undergo surgery or other therapeutic procedures regardless of the trimester. Surgery performed during second trimester may help reduce relapses of disease and does not increase morbidity. Patients presenting in the third trimester should be managed medically and offered elective surgery in the immediate post-partum period. Endoscopic surgery (laparoscopic) has been performed safely in the first or second trimester. Other conditions: Many other conditions like perforation of a hollow viscous producing peritonitis, and haemoperitoneium (blood in the abdominal cavity from rupture of spleen or liver) present with acute abdominal catastrophe and need early surgical intervention. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis) appear particularly dangerous especially for the foetus. An aggressive surgical approach to control toxaemia is advocated. Concluding, a pregnant
patient is subject to all the surgical diseases of
non-pregnant patient. Early efficient management of acute
general surgical problems complicating pregnancy and
puerperium is the secret of success. Obstetricians should
be involved right from the beginning as they are very
helpful with preoperative foetal monitoring and in the
postoperative period to minimise the likelihood of
premature labour. |
‘Miracle’ cure of cancer
proved false CONTROVERSY about a claimed “miracle” cure for cancer showed no sign of abating in Italy despite official test results indicating that not a single patient had responded to the treatment. Luigi Di Bella, the doctor who devised the supposed cure, last week accused the authorities of rigging the trials to get the results they wanted. “My method has not been tested. My drugs have not been used,” he said. His lawyers said they would ask the courts to find out which drugs had been administered. The “Di Bella cure” has been the subject of national debate since Italy’s drugs safety board refused to approve it last August. Several judges ordered their local health authorities to make the treatment available free of charge; tens of thousands of people joined demonstrations in support of patients’ right to choose; and their cause was taken up by the far-right National Alliance. As the news of the treatment spread, Dr Di Bella’s home at Modena in the north of Italy was besieged by cancer sufferers and their relatives seeking a prescription. The treatment, which involves a cocktail of drugs and vitamins, had long been available to private patients but was costly. Six months ago, after a ruling from the constitutional court, the government reluctantly began subsidising the treatment’s key component. But according to Prof Gordon McVie, head of the Cancer Research Campaign and one of several foreign medical experts invited to observe the trials, the “cure” is not merely ineffective but harmful. “Of the 136 patients in the trials, over 100 are dead or the tumour has progressed,” he said. “A few patients are still stable, but there is no measurable response in any of the patients at all after two months of treatment. This is the usual form of test for a new drug.” He added that the Di Bella cocktail had proved to be toxic, which he had not expected. “There was a lot of vomiting , weepiness and somnolence (drowsiness). Some had abdominal pain the diarrhoea. That is fairly disturbing. It is not likely to have been entirely disease-related. Advanced cancer causes problems, but I suspect a lot of this was not caused by the disease.” The first four trials were on patients with advanced cancer of the breast, head and neck and bowel. The patients included some chosen on compassionate grounds. A third were already in a critical condition. The government said its tests had shown that 49 per cent had suffered side effects. In three cases out of five, the side effects were serious. Among those unconvinced by the test results was Mr Carlos Madaro, district judge of a small town in southern Italy, who became known nationally after ordering the treatment to be given free. “I personally know of patients who have been given this therapy for some time and who have recovered their health,” he said. In a macabre coincidence,
the first patient for whom he ordered free treatment, a
two-year-old boy from near Lecce, died at about the time
he was speaking. —The Guardian, London |
Scaling of teeth DO you know that 98 per cent of India’s adult population suffers from gum diseases in one from or the other? Yes, this is a fact and the root cause of every gum disease is the bacterial plaque which when not removed properly hardens to form calculus. The more calculus you have, the more your gums and bone underneath recede from the teeth leaving them weak. Bacterial plaque is a filmy coating made up of millions of bacteria which collect around gum line and teeth. You can temporarily get rid of this furry coating by brushing, but the bacteria begin growing again almost the moment you finish brushing. If neglected, bacterial plaque attacks your gums, leading to inflammation and bleeding. This condition is called gingivitis. Bleeding gums are a warning that plaque is weakening the tissues between the gums and teeth and the bone supporting teeth. When not removed, bacterial plaque begins absorbing salivary salts, particularly calcium and phosphates and hardens to form tartar/calculus. When calculus settles between the gums and teeth, it forces gums to recede from the teeth exposing the roots. This makes nerves vulnerable to extreme temperatures and/or sweet and sour food. The bone also recedes in the same fashion as gums, which causes mobility of teeth and ultimately leads to tooth loss. To summarise, it is the presence of deposits that leads to weakening of teeth and not removing the deposits. The age old wrong notion that process of scaling causes weakening of teeth is absolutely baseless. And is scaling dentist removes the calcified deposits from the teeth and not the enamel, as wrongly believed. May be if the deposits are removed too late, at a stage when most of the bone is lost and teeth are temporarily cemented together with hard calculus, the tooth may move after scaling. Hence scaling does not make teeth loose, they have already become loose due to calculus. Only the removal of patch of calculus has set in the mobility. This happens at a very late stage. Scaling if done at a proper time (every six months) to remove calculus, the cycle of gum disease is broken and the onset of gum disease is prevented. Rest assured that scaling
will not weaken your teeth rather it will make them
stronger. |
Genetic link of
colour blindness People with rod monochromacy cannot sense any colours from birth, seeing only various shades of gray. About one in 50,000 people suffers from the disorder, chronicled by Oliver Sacks in his 1997 book “The island of the colourblind,” about the Micronesian island of Pingelap where 10 per cent of the inhabitants are fully colourblind. German geneticist Bernd Wissinger and Canadian vision scientist Lindsay Sharp said their research, published in this month’s New York-based Nature Genetics Journal, involved tests on colourblind people in Germany, Norway, Italy and the USA. Are beautiful
people happy? As might be expected, the men and women who ranked the teenagers considered the most attractive as being the most healthy. They rated the least attractive as being the least healthy. But no such correlation was found on repeated medical check-ups. Adolescent facial appearance was neither related to adolescent health nor predictive of their health as grown ups. In fact, the rates were least correct in the judgement of the health of the most and least attractive teenagers, and most accurate when judging the health or average looking teenagers. ‘Growing
pains’ in children Today the explanation is different but equally reassuring. According to medical scientists the pain is caused by too much use of the leg muscles or an occasional cramp. They advise soaking children’s legs in lukewarm water before they go to bed. If on a day of too much play, your child gets up and complains of severe pain in his limbs, a massage can bring relief. But if the pain is accompanied by fever or jerks, the problem could be something more than simple cramps. Visit a hospital or call for your family doctor in the morning. Potatoes and
immunity Eleven healthy adults ate
genetically altered potatoes for three weeks. Nearly all
of them developed blood antibodies targeting E-coli. With
this success some day researchers feel that vaccines
taken through vegetables and fruits might fight diseases
such as tetanus, hepatitis B, diphtheria and whooping
cough. |
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