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Since time immemorial man has regarded honey and pollen as ambrosia—the food of the gods. Honey is mentioned in the Bible as a specially blessed food. In cave paintings from the Neolithic age (about 15,000 years ago) are illustrations of honey combs being gathered for food. Honey has been found in 3,000-year-old Egyptian pyramids. Pythagoras, a great Greek scientist (600 B.C.), recommended honey for health and long life. Throughout the ages honey has been regarded as a divine food with age-retarding and rejuvenating properties.
The miraculous powers of pollen were also recognized by man in the early ages. Ancient texts from Egypt, Persia and China refer to it. Greek philosophers claimed that pollen held the secret of eternal youth. Pollen was revered as nature’s own propagator of life. Raw, unstrained honey, with large proportions of pollen, was used by the original Olympic athletes for extra energy and vitality.
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In studying Misdiagnosis, we need first to learn the topography, that is, the divisions of the iris.
Nearly every iris researcher has tried to evolve something special for himself, with the result that varying perceptions and interpretations are current. With goodwill, all might be reconciled.
These differences are inevitable, for one investigator had no academic training, and presented his observations in the language that was familiar to him, while others had already studied medicine and made use of scientific qualifications. Some considered the colour changes more (Liljequist), while others were chiefly concerned with the location of signs (Peczely). It should also not be forgotten that many signs may appear according to the locality, and in consequence of nutritional and climatic influences.
This article will endeavour to present the best, the most useful, and generally considered most important information from all systems. What is the most important?
If one wishes to commence something it is usual to make a plan, either on paper or at least in the head. We shall also do so. For the purpose, the iris is divided radially and circularly.
Radial division: The pupil is surrounded by a circular formation—the iris. We will begin with the radial division of this circle.
The figure shows three possibilities—division of the iris into minutes, hours and degrees. The division into degrees 1-360 is too small for the purpose. The hourly division 1-12 is indeed familiar to everyone, but is rather crude for the precise location of iris signs, whereas the radial division into minutes 1-60 is suitable for all purposes. For those who wish to keep to the degree or hourly division it will suffice, but in this book, the 1-60 division will be followed.
Circular division: Now note the second most important aspect of iris topography, namely, the circular division. From the pupil to the outer border of the iris the area is divided by concentric rings. Each of these divisions is called a Zone.
In comparing the available literature in this respect we find considerable differences. Not only are many zones specified, but their names are very different. Peczely names three zones—a stomach, an intestine and an outer zone. He speaks, however, of regions. This division, with slight differences, is also given by Felke, Hense, Anderschou, Collins, Kronen-berger, Baumhauer and Maubach. Vannier, Wirz and Kritzer specify only two regions. Schnabel mentions three zones. However, he names as the first zone the one he calls the ‘Neurasthenic ring’, as the second the stomach, and as the third the intestinal zone. Frau Pastor Madaus, Frau Eva Flink and Struck divide the iris into three large zones or six small regions—or as we would now say—zones. Dr. Bernard Jensen of California also names six regions, not including the pupillary margin. Thiel is a particular exception, he has specified several narrow and wide rings in his system. In connection with this, there are also various interpretations.
In this article the division of the iris according to Frau Eva Flink will be adopted, using the designation Zone. Passing to the consideration of the iris structure, we note immediately around the pupil a fine dark-to-light brown border which is quite narrow, and which we designate: Pupillary margin. The real objective of observation is the ‘edge’ around the pupil. The alternative term—Neurasthenic ring—was coined by Rudolph Schnabel. Colour changes and organic lesions of this ring indicate disturbances of the central nervous system.
The iris itself is divided into three major, or six minor equal zones. On examination of the iris a particularly striking change in the course of the iris fibres is noticed. This interruption in the course of the fibres, which normally includes about one-third of the iris, is called the Iris-wreath. On close examination we find this first one-third division, i.e. the first major zone, normally subdivided, and including the first and second minor zones. This part of the iris is also known as the pupillary zone. If the iris-wreath is not visible, then one has to reckon with pathological disturbances.
The further division of the outer two-thirds of the iris, also called the ciliary zone, is less striking in terms of change in the iris fibres. However, this area is arbitrarily divided into two major, i.e. four minor equal zones. That it is important to examine the iris according to this division will be seen later from the study of the positions of the organ and disease signs.
This scheme of division was first introduced by Frau Pastor Madaus in her system. Frau Eva Flink and Colleague Struck also made use of the same schema. If we bear in mind the three major and six minor zones, as seen in a normal iris, there will be less likelihood of misinterpretation. The First Major Zone contains the organs of food preparation and resorption:
First minor zone—stomach.
Second minor zone—intestines.
The Second Major Zone contains the organs of transport and utilisation, with elimination through the kidneys:
Third minor zone—blood and lymph vessels.
Fourth minor zone—muscular system.
In this zone we also have the positions for the organs: heart, kidneys, adrenals, pancreas and gall-bladder.
The Third Major Zone contains the organs for body support and ultimate utilisation, including detoxication and elimination:
Fifth minor zone—skeletal system.
Sixth minor zone—skin.
Detoxication: liver and spleen. Elimination: through nose, mouth, urethra, anus and total skin.
Sectoral division: Besides the division into zones, it is necessary to define the exact position of individual organs. For this purpose, the iris is divided into sections by drawing lines from the outer border to the pupil. Frau Madaus writes in her article on this method:
The division of the iris into one-half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth, including the
‘change-over’ and insertions, establishes the mathematical structure and harmonic relations of Misdiagnosis in general. Each division shows a front and back or sideview of the body. Furthermore, it establishes as lying diametrically opposite each other, that which naturally belongs and functions together.
In these words, the so-called ‘change-over’ is explained.
If a diagram of the iris is divided into four equal quadrants by a vertical line drawn from top to bottom, and a horizontal line drawn from right to left, the body divisions belonging together will not be under one another, but opposite each other.
Thus, in the iris, the areas for face and neck lie in the upper nasal quadrant, chest and abdomen in the lower temporal quadrant. Occiput and clavicle lie in the upper temporal, and the back in the lower nasal quadrant. In other words: by ‘change-over’ one understands that the front view of the body lies in the upper half of the iris nasalwards, and in the lower half of the iris temporal wards. Correspondingly, the posterior body lies in the upper half of the iris temporalwards (laterally) and in the lower half of the iris nasalwards (medially).
The above will have clarified the concept of ‘change-over’, so let us pass on to consider the above-mentioned dividing lines and their interpretation.
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Symptoms: runny nose; low-grade fever; severe, strangling (“whooping”) cough followed by vomiting of mucus.
Home care:
Make sure your child is adequately immunized against whooping cough.
Isolate the child from other young children.
If the vomiting is severe, feed the child small meals several times a day.
Precautions
- Whooping cough is often fatal in infants. All infants should be immunized against this disease.
- Whooping cough is more common than many parents and doctors believe, and 90 percent of cases are never diagnosed.
- A child who has been exposed to whooping cough should see a doctor.
- A mild cough may indicate mild whooping cough, which the child can spread to others.
- Any cough that is getting progressively worse after two weeks should be brought to the attention of your doctor.
- Whooping cough is highly contagious and the infected child should be kept away from other people.
- Whooping cough can be caused by several germs, and the disease caused by one type does not give immunity against the others.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious infection of the respiratory tract, usually caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, but sometimes by Bordetella parapertussis or Bordetella bronchiseptica. Whooping cough caused by one organism does not provide immunity against whooping cough caused by other germs, and the vaccine that’s available provides immunity only against infection from the most common organism, Bordetella pertussis. The incubation period – the time it takes for symptoms to develop once the child has been exposed to the disease – is seven to 14 days. Whooping cough can be serious in infants under one year, and as many as 50 percent of these infants die. Newborns are not immune.
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Routine tests for a newborn baby
Certain tests are done on each new baby to check for abnormalities. Many minor problems can be taken care of before the baby leaves the hospital. Others can be treated by the parents at home. Some other problems that appear at birth must be detected early so that they can be corrected before they become serious.
One test that is required in most states is a screening test on samples of the baby’s blood and urine to check for PKU, or phenylketonuria. This rare disorder can cause brain damage and mental retardation. But, if it is detected right away, changes can be made in the baby’s diet to prevent such damage. Other routine tests may be done as well, depending on where you live. Your doctor may recommend additional tests.
Special supplies and equipment
Before you bring your baby home, you will want to have everything you need on hand.
Clothes. A newborn baby usually needs only nappies and soft nightgowns for sleeping and extra sheets or blankets. Overdressing a baby can cause heat rash. Babies spit up on and otherwise dirty their clothes, sometimes many times a day, so be sure you have plenty. You don’t want to spend all your time washing.
Skin cleaner. Many doctors recommend using just a mild soap and water to keep your baby clean. Do not use oils, lotions, or powders; clear water is best. A baby’s skin can be very sensitive, and scented products can be irritating. Some babies are allergic to certain lotions and creams.
Bed. You can use a cradle or bassinet for a new baby, but a cot will work just as well and save the investment in a smaller bed that the baby will soon outgrow. Choose a cot with one side that drops, so that you can easily reach the baby. Make sure the catch is out of the baby’s reach; it won’t be long before the child is standing up in bed. Also, be sure the rails are close enough together so that the baby’s head won’t fit through them.
Mattress. The mattress should be firm, and covered with a plastic sheet. Put a regular fitted sheet over the plastic cover. Make sure the mattress is no more than 1 centimeter from the sides of the cot, so the baby can’t get wedged into the crack.
Toys. Babies like toys that are brightly colored. Soft toys are safest in the early months. Avoid sharp edges. Remember that soon everything will go into the baby’s mouth, so be sure toys are safe and washable. Mobiles and music boxes are interesting and stimulating, but be sure they are either out of reach or safe for the baby to touch.
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The comparatively recent “discovery” of the sleep apnoea syndromes and the heightened community awareness of problematic snoring has given rise to the misconception that it is an entirely new phenomenon, an affliction of the modern era like repetitive strain injury (RSI) suffered by computer keyboard operators. In fact snoring has been with us for centuries, but only recently has the technology been available to investigate the sleeping patient in a way that will not result in sleep disruption.
Unfortunately we will never know whether pre-historic man was a snorer but, with some exercise of the imagination, it is not difficult to picture our cave dwelling ancestors sharing this attribute with modern man. Snoring has been observed in animal species other than man, the most notorious being the easily recognizable brachycephalic or short nosed breeds of dogs such as the bulldogs, pugs and Pekingese; admirable dogs in many respects but with an unfortunate predisposition to respiratory problems. Laboured breathing after exercise, frequent infections and snoring all result from a distorted airway, particularly the elongation of the soft palate, a part of the airway which plays a crucial role in the development of snoring in both man and beast.
Some of the greatest writers and poets are responsible for the earliest references to snoring. Homer, the ancient Greek poet, believed to have lived around 800 B.C. wrote in his epic work, The Odyssey: “Then nodding with the fumes of wine, Dropt his huge head, and snoring lay supine.” ‘The great writers obviously knew something about the relationship between alcohol, sedatives and snoring, as William Shakespeare was to write in Macbeth (1605): “The surfeited Groomes doe mock their charge with snores. I have drugg’d their Possets.” Again from Shakespeare, and with a touch of artistic license in The Tempest: “Thou do’st snore distinctly, There’s meaning in thy snores.” Perhaps the most celebrated snorer appears in the pages of Charles Dickens’ novel, The Pickwick Papers (1837) as the fat boy Joe who was forever nodding off to sleep. Dickens’ portrayal of young Joe made an impression on the medical world, as the Pickwickian Syndrome became synonymous with obese and excessively sleepy patients which probably represented an early recognition of the sleep apnoea syndromes.
Snoring has not only provided subject material for poets, playwrights and novelists for centuries, but has without doubt been keenly observed by the medical profession for at least the same period of time. The very first volume of the British Medical Journal (1889) published a letter on the subject of snoring which, although somewhat dated by the quaint prose of the nineteenth century, recognized the effects of nasal obstruction and alcohol, and alluded to the sleep disturbance associated with severe snoring.
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The principle of breaking the chain in the transmission of an infective illness became the king-pin of the measures taken to fight the next major health hazard to hit Europe-bubonic plague. By this time there were laws that made it an offence not to report plague to the health authorities. Many public health measures were adopted to control this killer disease but from the preventive medicine point of view perhaps the most important was the introduction of quarantine regulations. The pandemic of plague in the middle of the fourteenth century forced the public officials of Italy and southern France to create cordons sanitaires, observation stations, isolation facilities and disinfection procedures. By the seventeenth century these procedures were widely accepted throughout Europe.
All this effort effectively removed plague as a scourge and as England approached the eighteenth century it was a far healthier place to live than at any time since the Romans left 1,300 years before. At least the upper classes could look beyond the problems of immediate survival. It was from this group that the first real preventive medicine was to appear. In 1662 John Gaunt, a haberdasher, was the first to show that more boys were born than girls and that more births occurred in urban than rural areas. In 1676 William Petty wrote a book on Political Arithmetick which asserted that health and education were as much a part of a nation’s wealth and power as were its trade and manufacturing. This was something of a bombshell at a time when society simply didn’t think of health as a valued commodity. You were either healthy or sick. Petty, valuing the worth of a King’s subject at 20 a head, estimated that a 25 per cent reduction in natural death rate would add 4 million per year to the wealth of the nation. He estimated that it would take a century to achieve such a vast change in death rate but suggested that in the meantime the State should use the knowledge of illness rates to work out how many health-care professionals it needed.
Unfortunately, both of these far-sighted men were all but ignored-if only because they were centuries ahead of their contemporaries. Remember, this was a time during which people mainly accepted ill health as inevitable and during which the majority of society lived and worked with an overall condition of health that would appal most of us today. Chronic illness and early death were considered normal and diseases such as scurvy blighted the lives of millions yet did not kill them.
It was not until the eighteenth century that attitudes to health and disease began to change for the better-if only among the middle and upper classes. The concept that disease was simply divine retribution was being seriously questioned by the discovery that certain diseases at least had specific and provable causes. In 1757 James Lind proved that scurvy could be cured if sailors ate fresh fruit and vegetables, and environmental hazards such as lead poisoning were shown to be responsible for certain, hitherto mysterious, conditions. In 1798 Edward Jenner proved that smallpox could be prevented by vaccination and John Snow clearly proved the link between cholera and infected drinking-water supplies. Remember that all this was occurring long before bacteria were discovered.
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Your answers to the above questions will determine the form of treatment your physician will advise, since treatment will depend largely on what is causing your malaise. For instance, if you have recently lost weight and noticed that your bowel habits have changed, the cause could be the fact that you’re worrying about one of your children who recently moved across the country to take a new job. At worst, you could be suffering from cancer or bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, but this is a very rare cause of malaise. The more specific you are in narrowing down your symptoms and your recent health history, the better your physician can treat you.
If you’ve lost weight and are frequently thirsty, it’s a cleat sign of diabetes. And if you’ve recently traveled to an area where deer roam freely and you feel tired and under the weather, you may have been bitten by a deer tick; a rash will help alert your physician to a possible diagnosis of
Lyme disease. There is also always the chance that your discomfort is caused by menstrual changes that are leading you toward the onset of menopause. Then again, a general feeling of malaise may simply be due to physical deconditioning if you have recently adopted a more sedentary lifestyle.
Your age, of course, will have some bearing on your physician’s final diagnosis. If an elderly person complains of malaise, her doctor will be looking for signs of cancer, a blood disorder, or lymphoma. For people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who are feeling unwell, a physician will probably investigate certain infectious diseases first.
You should keep in mind that the above are only a handful of the possible causes of malaise; there are, in fact, many different illnesses in which this symptom is present. Because of this, make sure your doctor has as much information as possible so she can prescribe the most effective and fastest-acting treatment possible. I feel that an investigation of both your recent and lifelong medical history is vital to ensure proper diagnosis and course of healing.
Special Mention for the Elderly
In an elderly person, other factors may be causing malaise. These can include thyroid disease, a rheumatological disorder such as temporal arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, heart disease, and interaction among several of the medications she is taking. Again, making sure she is as specific as possible about recent changes in her health will help guide her treatment.
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Americans treat weight gain as a modern-day blasphemy of sorts, no matter whether they’re talking about 5 pounds or 50. I feel far too many men and women are totally obsessed with a process that I view as pure physics most of the time: weight gain is the body’s natural reaction when a person takes in more calories than his body needs. Most of the time, it’s as simple as that. Excess weight is one of the major contributors to America’s health problems and is so common because of the high-fat, high-calorie, sedentary life many people lead. When a person weighs more than 20% above his ideal weight, he automatically becomes more prone to developing high blood pressure, increased cholesterol levels, diabetes, and arthritis, as well as the psychosocial problems that go along with carrying extra weight, such as low self-esteem and emotional isolation.
As a physician, I become very concerned when one of my patients gains a lot of weight in a short period of time and/or morbid obesity develops.
However, the aging process works in such a way that a weight gain might actually be due not to an increase in body fat, but rather to an increase in the amount of water the body retains. This excess water can be the result of kidney, heart, or liver failure, and it accumulates most often in the abdomen or in the legs. Weight gain that results in fat and occurs without a corresponding increase in caloric intake can be a side effect of corticosteroid preparations such as prednisone, which are prescribed to treat arthritis or asthma. The face will commonly take on a round, moonlike look, and a hump may develop on the upper back. Prednisone can also raise blood sugar levels and aggravate an existing case of osteoporosis. However, the good news is that these symptoms and the weight gain will develop only in people who take high doses of the steroid for more than three or four months. Many times, however, an inactive thyroid is the first condition your doctor will check for. This can be diagnosed with a physical exam and a simple blood test.
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If your doctor determines that the loss of a few pounds is due to the aging process, he will probably recommend that you do nothing. Of course, many people who have struggled with their weight their entire lives will be thrilled at the fact that the pounds have seemingly come off effortlessly. If this continues, however, and is accompanied by weakness and malaise, your doctor may recommend that you increase your caloric intake with nutritious foods—not high-fat, high-calorie junk foods—and that you also step up your exercise program. The reason? Muscle weighs more than fat, and exercise serves the dual purpose of reducing fat stores and building up lean muscle mass, which will ultimately increase your strength.
If the aging process is not the culprit, your doctor will tailor your treatment to whatever underlying medical problem is responsible. Again, as with malaise, it’s important for you to be as specific as you can when you describe your symptoms to your physician, since this is what will ultimately help him to determine your treatment.
I want to tell you a story about a patient I once had who was about 60 years old and who had spent her entire life fighting and losing her battle with chronic obesity. She had been on numerous diets without success. Unfortunately, she ended up developing breast cancer—which can be more common in women who are overweight—and she subsequently underwent radiation and chemotherapy. In the process, she lost 50 pounds. At the end of her treatment, she was heartened to find that her cancer had been totally eradicated. She was healthy and doing quite well, so after her treatment stopped, she decided to continue to lose weight until she had lost a total of 60 pounds. To lose the extra weight, she followed the advice of her oncologist, who had recommended a low-fat, low-calorie diet to prevent a recurrence of her cancer.
All was well until she suddenly became concerned that the real reason why she was losing weight was that her cancer had returned. She became scared and returned to her old eating habits; she promptly gained back 30 pounds. She told me she was afraid to lose any more weight because everyone thought her weight loss was due to her cancer; therefore, she felt that as long as she gained weight, she was cancer free. She did remain cancer free, but her weight went up and down for many years. The moral of this story is: Despite past health conditions, if you lose weight and feel healthy, listen to your body. It’s telling you everything is working as it should.
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Diet and Exercise
Fat (especially saturated fat), cholesterol, complex carbohydrates, fiber, sodium, calcium. Caloric balance. Selection of exercise program.
Substance Use
Tobacco cessation.
Alcohol and other drugs.
Limiting alcohol consumption.
Driving/other dangerous activities while under the influence. Treatment for abuse.
High-risk groups. Intravenous drug users who share or use unstenlized needles and syringes.
Sexual Practices
Sexually transmitted diseases: partner selection, condoms, anal intercourse.
Unintended pregnancy and contraceptive options.
Injury Prevention
Safety belts. Safety helmets. Smoke detectors.
Smoking near bedding or upholstery.
High-risk groups. Back-conditioning exercises for persons at increased risk for low-back injury because of past history, body configuration, or types of activities.
Prevention of childhood injuries for persons with children in the home or automobile.
Falls by the elderly for persons with older adults in the home.
Dental Health
Regular tooth brushing, flossing, dental visits.
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