RATIONAL APPROACHES to ILLNESS
February 25, 2008 Posted by
In dealing with any disease, the first step toward diagnosis is found in the health history and its interpretation. All facts of significance in the lifestyle of the individual up to the time of illness should be evaluated as possible contributors to the present problem. Allergies to drugs, foods, or environmental factors should also be evaluated in the face of present illness. Second, the careful analysis of the illness under question with all of its various symptoms, including other factors that have ensued from the first onset to the present need to be considered. Most diseases fit certain patterns. As organ systems and their disorders are discussed, these patterns will become obvious. Thus, the intelligent interpretation of a medical history provides one of the most valuable clues to understand illness and its proper diagnosis.
Remember this one caution in the proper interpretation of health history. Accurate recall for the patient is very important. However, most sick individuals color their subjective awareness of symptoms with substantial concern over the consequences of illness to their families. Fear of disease, disability, and even death may affect the person’s response to the otherwise clear question or stimulus. Although the story of every illness is extremely important, in most cases, it is not definitive, but rather narrows the number of diagnostic possibilities, and thus guides any subsequent investigation. A physician’s skill, knowledge, wisdom, and experience are most clearly evidenced in his history taking. Likewise, the thorough analysis of symptoms in home health care will provide your best clues toward understanding disease.
INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH
February 24, 2008 Posted by
It is possible for you and your family to be healthy. You, my friend, may choose to enjoy better health. However, that means much more than the mere absence of illness. True health involves physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. It does not come by accident; vigorous health is a positive achievement. This book will introduce you to the exciting adventure of really knowing your body. The proper understanding of physical and mental health, and its mortal enemy, disease, will safeguard you against many worries. Fear of illness, disability, or suffering is a major destroyer of peace.
Welcome now to the greatest adventure. We will become good friends in the exploration of true healing, jointly in partnership with our bodies. Sickness in the home always presents numerous problems. There is usually anxiety in the heart of every family member, when a loved one becomes ill. Naturally, we harbor uncertainty concerning the diagnosis. Moreover, there is our built-in fear of death to be understood, as well as the frequent frustration experienced just caring for a sick person. Sometimes the numerous symptoms that characterize our health problem can be misinterpreted. They may be either trivial and self-limited, or much more serious than they really appear. All this must be studied.
Looking at illness from the viewpoint of home treatment, you must first consider the various possible causes. One author defined disease as an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from violation of the laws of health. That definition looks at the various symptoms as evidences that the body is trying to rid itself of poisons, toxins, or foreign invaders. In fighting for a speedy return of health, your body generates numerous symptoms and signs - for example, fever or pain.
Approaching disease from this vantage point, we must first endeavor to ascertain the true causes. The cause may be infectious in nature, or it may be related to various degenerative processes of the body. Disease can in addition result from an accident, injury, or another form of trauma. The accumulation of toxins or foreign viruses may result in the development of a growth, usually referred to as a neoplasm or tumor. Other causes of common diseases include allergic reactions, emotional problems, hormone imbalances, nutritional disorders, and occasionally inherited tendencies.
Correcting wrong personal habits that have contributed to the cause of an illness may require a major dietary change. Exercise often needs to be encouraged, or sometimes curtailed, depending upon the type of illness. Specific treatment recommendations will be presented in subsequent chapters as we consider individual diseases. Simple treatments in the home, such as water taken internally or applied externally—the use of hot or cold baths and showers—as well as simple poultices or herbs, may be therapeutically employed in any home setting to combat numerous ailments.
Most of the following natural methods assist “Nature” in her effort to restore right conditions and re-establish a normal balance to all of the body’ s processes. It naturally follows then, that a proper understanding of physiology and some knowledge of the structure of our bodies, especially our anatomy, is crucial to a person seeking assistance to combat disease in a home—like, natural setting. Wise progressive physicians today encourage more independent judgment on the part of their patients, while teaching modern mothers how properly to care for their children. This self—help trend became increasingly important in the recent decade as medical costs skyrocketed. It could be even more vital in the future when specialized health care becomes unaffordable.
AIMS OF ULTIMATE ENERGY
February 23, 2008 Posted by
There has never been a time in history when greater need exists for true preventive medicine and lifestyle changes to transform our society. New and mysterious diseases appear on the horizon each year. Preventable killer diseases, such as heart attacks and cancer, must be addressed and the death
toll modified. Ultimate EnerGI blog is to help husbands, wives,
fathers, mothers, children, physicians, students, and people everywhere to understand common symptoms, to learn to administer simple home remedies, and cooperate better with nature and their physicians in the treatment of common diseases.
It is not with any desire to criticize conventional medicine that Ultimate EnerGI blog was written. Rather, it is to inform average individuals, laymen as well as homemakers, in the art and the science of medicine, thereby saving not only needless medical expenses, lost time with unnecessary illnesses, but possibly many lives as well. Careful application of the preventive principles in this blog will, without doubt, produce better health at home and offer more intelligent approaches to disease.
Ultimate EnerGI blog even more valuable as a handbook for emergencies, a reference for study, and a guide to health and healing in your home. Remember nevertheless, to consult your physician, Seek professional advice for a detailed diagnosis in cases of serious accident, or any prolonged illness, especially in children.
Ultimate EnerGI blog has been written, not only for laymen, but also for those special physicians and nurses who are seeking rational and natural approaches to common diseases. Together with detailed and systematic study of the medical literature, this introduction to simple remedies contains
knowledge with which every medical practitioner should be familiar. We anticipate that Ultimate EnerGI blog will become one of the most valued health references in every family library. It is to the health and happiness of you, dear reader or patient, that time has been devoted in translating a unique
medical education into terms understandable by everyone.
Final words ………………………..3
February 13, 2008 Posted by
People who suffer from sleep apnea can choose a number of treatment options, the most popular being a CPAP mask that’s worn at night. The mask—which looks like a traditional oxygen mask that’s hooked up to a machine with tubes—gauges levels of the swollenness of tissue and pushes air past the swollen tissue so that you can breathe easier. Though it has a 90 to 95 percent success rate, its downside is inadequate patient compliance because many wearers don’t like looking and sounding like Darth Vader when they go to bed. There are also surgical treatments, which are about 50 percent successful. Surgery removes some of the obstructing tissue, which helps you breathe better and cure the apnea, and procedures that help you lose weight (that is, gastric bypass surgery) are also effective and can help some people who have severe sleep apnea. But the biggest change can come from you. Losing just ten pounds can decrease your episodes of sleep apnea by 30 percent, while gaining ten pounds does the reverse—making weight loss even more effective than surgery.
Actually, that’s part of it. But the technical reason you yawn is because your body senses a dip in the oxygen level in the blood, so your body wants to yawn to take in more oxygen and get it back into the bloodstream. What we don’t understand is why yawning is contagious.
Sure, a lack of air means something’s not working in your respiratory system, but the problem doesn’t always start and stop with your lungs. If your heart isn’t working properly, it can’t pump blood forward, meaning that blood can back up into your lungs—making the dry, fluffy substance soggy. And that means it can no longer exchange air. So in many cases when you feel shortness of breath, the solution is in finding out and addressing what’s wrong with the heart to help move blood out of the lungs so they can work properly.
On the surface, air filters sound like they’d be the best things for your lungs since snorkeling tubes. Air filters are supposed to work by taking allergens out of the air so you can have cleaner breathing. But many of them don’t work that well, and the primary reason isn’t a mechanical malfunction, but an owner malfunction. Most people don’t change air filters or humidifiers with enough regularity, so they’re not that effective. Unless humidifiers are cleaned regularly, they’ll form a cesspool of water, which grows mold and fungi, and then you end up breathing it. If you stick to regular maintenance, however, they can be useful for taking allergens out of the air.
Supplementing your diet with vitamin A and beta-carotene can lead to megadosing—that is, taking in more than 2,500 IU of vitamin A or the vitamin A equivalent in beta-carotene. When you get more than that amount from supplements or vitamins, it doesn’t serve its purpose as an antioxidant. In fact, it does the opposite and oxidizes tissue, which causes DNA damage. One study from Finland showed that people taking vitamin A had a higher risk of lung cancer, atherosclerosis, and, for smokers, stroke. So keep your vitamin supplement dose to 1,500 to 2,500 IU a day.
Everybody knows the two primary things teeth are used for—eating and stopping hockey pucks. But what may surprise you is that your teeth can provide clues into your health like virtually no other outward part of your body. Why? The biggest concern when it comes to aging and your teeth isn’t the presence of cavities; it’s the presence of periodontal disease, which can make you up to 3.7 years older. Gum disease (gingivitis) has been linked to many other health problems, presumably because the same bacteria that cause periodontal disease can also trigger an immune response that causes inflammation and hardening of the arteries. That same plaque that causes tooth decay—that sticky coating of bacteria, saliva, and three-day-old cauliflower—can also contribute to the plaque in your arteries. And that has a profound effect on all kinds of vascular problems, from heart attacks to erectile dysfunction. Here’s a telling fact: Many people in Great Britain don’t have regular dental care because it’s not provided free in the National Health Service. But when people in Great Britain go to the hospital with chest pain, they’re given an aspirin, a beta-blocker, and an antibiotic for gum disease—because doctors know there’s a strong link between the inflammation of gum disease and an aging and unstable cardiovascular system.
Our remarkably efficient digestive system extracts the most calories possible. The process starts in
final words ………………2
February 12, 2008 Posted by
Athletes get all the headlines when they get injured, but women are up to eight times more likely than men to tear their ACL. The looser construction of the female knee—and overall weaker skeleton—can compromise stability and predispose women to ligament tears. The injuries are also linked to hormonal changes around the time of menstruation, so female high school, collegiate, recreational, and professional athletes end up suffering many more tears than men.
Suspended by muscles, ligaments, and meniscus (cartilage), the knee is both powerful to bear its heavy load and also mobile, which makes it susceptible to jarring twists that lead to tears in the support structures. But the biggest culprit is obesity: the extra weight-bearing squashes the cartilage.
You ice an injury for forty-eight hours after an injury because of the swelling. While swelling indicates an increase in fluid or blood deposits in the area, it slows down recovery from the injury. The presence of this additional fluid makes joints stiffer and more painful, which makes them weaker. Ice reduces the swelling—and the pain. After that forty-eight-hour period, you use ice to generate heat (when you take the ice away it heats up) or heat alone on the injury to warm it up. The heat loosens up the joint or muscle, giving you more flexibility and allowing you to move more freely during rehabilitation.
Because it’s linked loosely with ligaments and muscles, your shoulder is extremely flexible. But that flexibility also makes you prone to rotator cuff tears from overextension.
Belly dancing isn’t the only thing hips are good for. Hip joints are the ones that provide the hinge for any kind of forward motion. While they’re not as flexible as shoulder joints, they’re large joints, and a lot of things can happen in there. Any chronic pain needs to be addressed by a doctor, but hip pain does not automatically mean you have arthritis. If the pain is coming from the front of the hips, in the groin area, it’s probably a sign of some form of arthritis. But if you’re experiencing some tenderness along the sides, your pain more likely stems from tendonitis or bursitis, which can be treated in a number of different ways, including anti-inflammatory medication and physical therapy.
Our strongest joint, the hip has a ball-and-socket construction that gives us stability, but at a price. The joint is difficult to stretch out and is prone to stiffening with arthritis. The effect is that your joint feels as if sand is being poured into the joint.
Cracking your knuckles makes you sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies and never goes over well in church. While it’s painful for us to hear, you’re not doing any harm to your joints, bones, or muscles when you crack—unless you feel pain when you crack them. It’s just caused by the high pressure suction of gas being expelled when your joints move apart. If it hurts when your knuckles or knees crack, you need to see your doctor to assess what kind of joint damage you may have.
For the record, osteoarthritis is only one kind of arthritis. Arthritis is the broad name given to any inflammatory joint disease. Rheumatoid and some other forms of arthritis are not diseases associated with aging, but rather autoimmune disorders, in which antibodies attack your cartilage, which is what triggers that inflammation and joint pain.
If you’ve ever strained your back, you know that on the scale of 1 to 10, the pain ranks at a 692. It can be paralyzing—making it difficult to walk, to sit, to get up, to sleep, to do anything. All you want to do is to lie down, prop your head on some pillows, flick on Ally McBealreruns, and remain still. And you can think of nothing better than having your spouse deliver ice packs, ibuprofen, and the latest issue of Tattoo Today directly to your bed. But your spouse shouldn’t play nurse. Why? Statistically speaking, married people with back pain suffer two and a half times longer than single people. Attentive spouses may be doing the right thing emotionally, but by encouraging the suffering to stay in bed, they’re doing the wrong thing physically. If you stay in bed for longer than forty-eight hours, your back muscles weaken—and can increase your risk for further injury. In order to recover from strain, your muscles need to grow stronger and stay active, and the only way



















