Health News and Information

Panna is a small District situated in north-east of Madhya Pradesh. It is famous for diamond and temples. It is also known as city of temples. The total geographical area of the District is 5,10,156 ha. Out of which 2,37,136 ha. land is under vegetable cover. The main occupation of the people is agriculture. Mainly Rabi crops like wheat, maize, jowar, and pulses are grown. Stone quarrying is also a prominent buis ness. Flag stone is excavagted in large scale.

Panna is a backward District. It is not linked with railways. The total population of the District consists of 20 per cent SCs and 13 per cent STs. Literacy per cent is very low. For men it is 36.6 per cent and for women 2.3 per cent. Kalda plateau of the District has got characteristic geographical features. There are 119 villages situated on Kalda plateau. These villages are lacking transport and drinking water facilities.

The main tribes of the District are Gonds, Rajgonds and Bhumias. Kalda plateau is inhabitated by Bhumias and Gonds. Human population is increasing at rapid rate. People, because of poverty, illiteracy and ignorance do not show required interest in preserving vegetation of their surroundings. The people in the towns, because of their increasing needs always try to exploit forest resources, and inturn do not put any effort in protection and preservation of the natural heritage. Local villagers and tribals believe in traditional medicines. They have been using Jadibootis (herbal medicines) for various ailments but easy availability of allopathic medicines has greatly minimized the use of traditional medicines. New generation of the villagers specially tribes do not want to take trouble to extract medicines out of medicinal plants.

On account of extreme poverty, illiteracy and ignorance herbs of Panna District are fast disappearing at alarming rate. Apart from this following are the other causes of depletion and disappearance:
Fast increasing stone mines which has threatened whole of biosphere reserve.
Excessive grazing by domestic catties leading medicinal herbs to extinction.
Occurrence of fire in summer season destroys natural regeneration of medicinal herbs.
Regular extraction of Jadi-bootis by contractors, money lenders, etc. through villagers, played great role in depletion of medicinal plants.

Ethnomedicinal plants

1.    Abrus precatorius L. (Family – Fabaceae)
Local Name – ‘Gumchi’
Local Use – Used in cough. ‘Bhasma’ (ash) is given in asthma in small quantity.

2.    Andrographis paniculata Nees. (Family – Acanthaceae)
Local Name – ‘Chirayta’
Local Use – Used in high fever, Maleria, etc.
3.    Asparagus racemosus Willd. (Family – Liliaceae)
Local Name – ‘Satawari’
Local Use – Used to gain vitality and strength.

4.    Bambusa arundinacea Willd. (Family – Poaceae)
Local Name – ‘Bans’
Local Use – The powder obtained srom the plant is a powerful tonic.

5.    Bryonia laciniosa Linn. (Family – Cucurbitaceae)
Local Name – ‘Shivlingi’
Local Use – Used in sex determination of children. Also useful in menses.

6.    Bupleurum falcatum L. (Family – Apiaceae)
Local Name – ‘Bhojraj’
Local Use – Powerful tonic, used in liver trouble.

7.    Carum carvi Linn.    (Family – Apiaceae)
Local Name – ‘Kala zira’
Local Use – Used in worms

8.    Celastrus paniculatus Willd.    (Family – Celastraceae)
Local Name – ‘Malkangni’
Local Use – Used in Kanthmal (Goitre)

9.    Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. (Famaily – Amaryllidaceae)
Local Name – ‘Kalimusli’
Local Use – Used as tonic

10.    Cissus quadrangularis Linn.   (Family – Vitaceae)
Local Name – ‘Harjuri’
Local Use – Bone fracture in catties and men
11.    Cyperus scariosus R.Br.   (Family – Cyperaceae)
Local Name – ‘Nagarmotha’
Local Use – Roots are used to subside the heat of the body.

12.    Eclipta alba (Linn.) Hask.    (Family – Asteraceae)
Local Name – ‘Bhringraj’
Local Use – Blood purifier, hair tonic

13.    Emblica ribes Burm. (Family – Euphorbiaceae)
Local Name – ‘Baibidang’
Local Use – Root bark is used in toothache

14.    Nelsonia canescens (Lamk.) Spreng
Local Name – ‘Kamraj’
Local Use – Used as a tonic

15.    Plumbago zeylanica Linn. (Family – Plumbaginaceae)
Local Name – ‘Chirayta’, ‘Cheeta’
Local Use – Applied externally on eczema, and also in wounds

16.    Pueraria tuberosa DC (Family – Fabaceae)
Local Name – ‘Vidari kand’
Local Use – Used as tonic

17.    Smilax macrophylla Roxb. (Family – Smilaceae)
Local Name – ‘Ramdatone’
Local Use – Used in seminal emissions

18.    Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers. (Family – Menisp-
ermaceae)
Local Name – ‘Gurvel’ Local Use – Used in fever
19.    Urginea indica Kunth.    (Family – Liliaceae)
Local Name – ‘Jangli Piyaz’
Local Use – Cordial tonic

20.    Withania somnifera (Linn.) Dumal
Local Name – ‘Asgandh’
Local Use – Used as a powerful tonic

There is a greater need to identify, preserve and propagate all indigenous herbs of medicinal importance. A little effort by forest department has been made in Shyamgiri area of Kalda plateau but much more has to be done. Government and Non-governmental organisations together can play a great role in conservation and propagation of endangered species..
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This dietary regime needs to be worked out with individual patients. Adjustments for changes in individual tolerance may need to be made frequently. The most important dietary factors are:
1. Bland diet.
2. Modifications of fruits and vegetables.
3. Quantity of fibre.
4. Trial of milk free regime to rule out lactose intolerance.
Ample calories, proteins and electrolytes should be provided to compensate for diminished absorption and excessive fecal losses. Usually, three meals and an evening snack are advised.

Foods    to be avoided
1. Milk in pure form
2. Whole grains
3. Fried mutton, chicken and other fried foods
4. Vegetables with seeds and skin
5. All fruits with seeds
6. Raw vegetables
7. Spices and pickles.

Malabsorption
Since it is a disorder characterised by steatorrhoea and multiple abnormalities in absorption of nutrients, a diet high in proteins, high in calories and low in fat is recommended. The diet should be soft, bland and fibre restricted. Fat absorption can be improved by giving medium chain triglycerides like coconut oil.

Celiac disease
Is an inflammatory condition of the small intestine precipitated by the ingestion of wheat in certain individuals with certain genetic make up. The intake of wheat (gluten) can cause diarrhea, extreme weakness and weight loss.
The treatment is to remove wheat (gluten) from the diet. All products containing wheat (gluten) like bread, cakes, etc., should be avoided.
Rice, maize and other millets like barley are safe. Patients should be instructed to use cornflakes, rice flakes for breakfast instead of bread. Maize can be used for lunch and dinner along with rice.

Diverticulosis
Regular, soft, low-fibre diet is appropriate. Adequate quantities of fruits and vegetables should be used if constipation tends to be a problem.
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Sterman then tried the experiment on people with epilepsy. EEG electrodes were attached to the subject’s head to record the brain’s electrical waves, or rhythms. These rhythms were first amplified in the EEG machine, and then filtered to select the particular rhythms the subject was trying to modify. Next, these electrical waves were fed into a computer which drove a light display, designed so that if there was any increase in the selected rhythm, the lights moved across the screen. The person could actually see the activity of their brain in visual form, as the light moved across the display. This is called biofeedback (literally, to be made aware of some aspect of body function of which one is normally not conscious).
The subjects were then ‘trained’ by being told to try to make the lights move across the board. They had to find their own method of doing this, by searching for some ‘mind activity’ or act of will which would move the lights in the right direction.
Sterman found that some patients could indeed modify their brain rhythms and that the exercise did help them to control their seizures. In his first trial a number of patients were able to decrease the frequency of their seizures by well over half. Some found that, like the cats, they could do so by sitting still. Others discovered different strategies, and some were highly successful but could not say just how they managed to do it. Like the cats, the patients were rewarded, though not with milk. They were given tokens which could be exchanged for sweets or money every time their brain activity was increased (i.e., the lights moved) beyond a certain point.
Once Sterman had shown that people could learn to reduce their seizure frequency by modifying brain activity, other laboratories were inspired to try similar experiments to see whether there were other anticonvulsant brain rhythms. Many people have fewer seizures when they are alert, and so one of the obvious targets for biofeedback training was to teach people to increase the brain rhythms which occur when you are alert. This was found to be equally successful. People with epilepsy usually have an increase of slow rhythms in their brains, and so people were taught to use biofeedback to reduce this slow activity. It was found that this exercise too helped to reduce seizures.
OTHER BIOFEEDBACK METHODS
Other biofeedback methods make use of a slightly different principle. One of the first investigators was Schwab in the 1950s who argued that if people could be stimulated at the onset of a seizure, then the seizure could be avoided. He put EEG electrodes on people who had absence seizures. When they had an absence seizure, the EEG recorded spike waves and, as it did so, a light bulb would flash. The flash alerted the person and this shortened the attacks. Eventually the person learned to alert themselves at the beginning of a seizure, without the stimulus of the flashing light. It was hoped that this method would stop the attacks altogether, but this result has never been achieved.
Other workers have shown that biofeedback can be used to teach patients to detect the abnormal electrical discharges – the spikes of epilepsy – which occur between seizures, and to reduce them. Reducing the spikes should also lead to a reduction in seizure frequency. This method too has been quite successful and helped a number of people to achieve a reduction in their seizure frequency.
We tried this method of seizure control at the Maudsley Hospital, and found that we could indeed teach people to reduce their spikes. It then occurred to us that if people could learn to decrease their spikes, maybe they could also learn to increase their spikes. In fact, perhaps the number of spikes that they have was to some extent under their control. We found that this was indeed the case. People were able to increase the number of spikes in their EEG in the same way as they can be taught to decrease them.
This result was interesting in itself, but something even more interesting emerged from the study. We found that many people, once they recognized that their spike numbers were increasing, refused to continue with the experiment. The reason they gave was that they recognized that they had to stop putting a ‘mental brake’ on their seizures. In other words, they acknowledged that they already had special mental ‘tricks’ for keeping their seizures under control, and to stop these tricks would allow their seizures to increase. This was a startling finding, as it suggested that, to some extent, people can modify their own seizures, and can do so by modifying the way they think, and how they behave.
Recently, Professor Niels Birbaumer, from Tubingen in Germany, has used biofeedback in a rather different way. It has been known for some time that the cortex becomes more excitable when it is electrically negatively charged. It therefore seemed possible that if the cortex were made more positive and therefore less excitable, seizures would be less likely to occur. Birbaumer did this using biofeedback.
The experiment he devised was very similar to Barry Sterman’s. Special electrodes were fixed to the scalp and connected to an EEG machine. The output of the EEG machine was interfaced with a computer, which could measure the amount of negativity or positivity. The display on the computer screen showed a space ship, which moved off its launch pad when the subject managed to make his cortex positive. The more positive the cortex, the further the space ship moved; the aim was to try and get it right off its launch pad and across to the other side of the computer screen.
After some training, most people were able to produce this positivity at will, and they were then instructed to practise at home without the help of the machine. Finally, once they had demonstrated that they knew how to achieve increased positivity and could do it easily, they were told to do it whenever they were in a situation in which they knew from experience that a seizure was likely to occur, or, if they had an aura, right at the beginning of a seizure. This kind of biofeedback training is still in its infancy, but certainly some of the people in research trials who have practised it say that it has greatly reduced their seizure frequency.
There is no doubt that biofeedback training in general can help to reduce seizure frequency, and that it might be especially valuable in people who have severe epilepsy which does not respond to medication. So why has this effective, drug-free method of treatment never really caught on? Unfortunately the reasons are very clear. Like so many things, it is a question of time and money. Biofeedback training is very time-consuming. It takes about 10 to 16 hour-long training sessions to learn the technique, as well as regular practice sessions at home. The patient must be highly motivated, and the training team very dedicated. And although the equipment itself is not very expensive, you do have to have a laboratory to put it in and a clinical psychologist to run the programme. Sadly, it seems that biofeedback requires a great deal more energy and commitment than most epilepsy services, or indeed most epilepsy sufferers, are able or willing to give. But if you are happy to work at it, it is a method worth considering.
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You will have many questions about febrile seizures, among them these:
“Will he have more seizures?”
Only 25 to 30 percent of children who have had one febrile seizure will ever have another. If the first febrile seizure occurs in the first year of life, and if there is a family history of febrile seizures or epilepsy, and if the child’s seizure has been long or complicated, then that child may have a high chance (>8o%) of having another febrile seizure. If the child has none of these risk factors, the chances of recurrence may be as low as one in ten.
However, a child who has a second seizure has about four chances in ten of having a third, and after a third, also four in ten chances of having a fourth. But only nine in a hundred children with febrile seizures do have three or more.
“What will happen If he does have another?”
Nothing is likely to happen to your child as a result of the febrile seizure.
• There is no evidence that recurrent febrile seizures damage the brain.
• Children who have febrile seizures do not develop mental retardation as a consequence of the seizures.
• These children do not develop cerebral palsy as a result of these seizures.
• There is no evidence that these children have an increased chance of learning disabilities.
Children who have one, two, or even three or more febrile seizures grow up just like children who have never had such seizures. Virtually the only consequence of a febrile seizure is an increased chance of having another febrile seizure.
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The patient’s economic status, time and place for meals, food preparation facilities, and cultural and religious preferences must be considered when planning the daily meals. Since the type of fat is modified, food selection from the exchange lists is restricted to skim milk and skim-milk products, low-fat meat, and fats high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Most of the carbohydrate is derived from the bread exchanges that furnish complex carbohydrate which are more gradually digested and absorbed. Simple sugars are restricted to those present in milk, vegetables, and fruits; other sugars are avoided since they are digested and absorbed so rapidly that hyperglycemia occurs.
Meal distribution of carbohydrate. The division of carbohydrate at mealtime depends upon whether the patient is taking insulin or not, and the results of tests for sugar in the urine. For example, the 225 gm of carbohydrate in the calculation on p. 229 might be divided as follows:
Breakfast    Lunch        Dinner        Bedtime
75 (1/3)        75 (1/3)        75 (1/3)                                   No insulin; without or with
oral compounds
45 (2/10)       68 (3/10)      67 (3/10)        45 (2/10)            With insulin
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The doctor’s recommendation was monthly injections of a hormone-blocking drug called Lupron. It is the only recognized treatment for Precocious Puberty. Lupron blocks the release of gonadatropin-releasing hormone, made by the pituitary gland. Lupron is normally used for the treatment of
prostate cancer in older men. Pediatric medicine has now also begun using it to treat Precocious Puberty. (According to the Physicians’ Desk Reference, Lupron has 265 side-effects.)
I was most concerned about using this drug. After all, it hadn’t been used very long for Precocious Puberty What health problems might be expected? The doctor was recoav’ mending monthly injections until Sarah was eleven years old. That was six years of monthly shots! Of course, the doctor did her best to reassure me. However, from my own research about Lupron, I learned that there were, in fact, many side-effects and health problems caused by Lupron. I wasn’t at all certain about the use of Lupron in children since it was only approved for pediatric use in the mid-1980′s. There have been no long-term trials. Understandably, I was really worried.
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Finally, remember – apart from prevention in the first place, there is no single tool that is more important in preventing mortality from breast cancer than early diagnosis. If you are suspicious, get yourself checked out, and if you are told that there is nothing to worry about, but you still have doubts, get a second opinion. Do not delay in asking a doctor to check your symptoms out for any reason – there is no reason to be embarrassed, pretend they aren’t there or feel that you are wasting your doctor’s time. Any competent and caring doctor will not mind examining any irregularities. It is the experience of surgeons that I have talked to that a disquietingly large number of women still come for treatment at an advanced stage, having ignored their symptoms for quite a while. Embarrassment, fear and the hope that it will ‘just go away’ are reasons that are given. Treatment is much more effective if given during the early stages of breast cancer.
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About 15 percent of people with RA develop sicca syndrome, which causes them to have a dry mouth, dry eyes, or both. This syndrome produces inflammation in the tear glands, which in turn causes the eyes to become uncomfortably dry. Eyes that are not being bathed by sufficient quantities of tears can feel itchy or gritty or it may feel as if there ii something in them. Occasionally, the eyelids become red and irritated.
A dry, windy climate or exposure to air conditioning can aggravate the symptoms, as can medications; certain kinds of cold medications, sleep inducing medications, tranquilizers, and muscle relaxants can all increase eye dryness. If you are experiencing a problem with dry eyes, you ma) want to review your medications with your doctor. To help reduce the irritation of dry eyes, we also recommend the use of one of the many kind: of eye lubricants, or artificial tears, which are available both over the counter and by prescription.
Any other symptoms involving the eyes, such as pain, redness, or a change of vision, should immediately be brought to the attention of a physician. An ophthalmologist can examine the eyes to rule out the presence of either of the two other conditions that can affect the eyes in RA. These are the rare conditions called scleritis and episcleritis, which may require treatment with topical corticosteroids or occasionally with medications taken by mouth. These serious complications of RA need to be monitored closely by an ophthalmologist.
Dry mouth is another possible consequence of RA and is thought to be caused by inflammation of the salivary glands. Any of the medications mentioned above can exacerbate the problem of dry mouth, too.
For people who have a dry mouth, excellent oral hygiene is crucial because a decrease in saliva can prompt tooth decay. Flossing the teeth and then gargling with an antiseptic mouthwash followed by thorough brushing with a tartar control toothpaste several times a day will help provide protection against decay. Ask your dentist about what products are right for you, and find out from your dentist whether fluoride treatments might be a good idea. It is also important to avoid lozenges and candies that contain sugar. Anyone who has a severe problem with mouth dryness or who experiences recurring swollen salivary glands should ask to be tested for primary Sjogren’s syndrome, a condition that resembles RA.
*27/209/5*

Process oriented dreambody work uses the concept of disease only as it plays a role in the personal psychology of the individual. Diseases are frequently formulated by the client as enemies to overcome. Many who experience their symptoms discover them to be purposeful expressions of the human unconscious which are searching for more expression. People are, a priori, neither ill nor well in the process paradigm. Body work indicates that the body is dreaming since amplifying body symptoms seems always to produce processes which mirror what the ‘sick person’ is dreaming. Thus, since one always dreams, it follows that one also has many types of body experiences. Just as some dreams are pleasant and others scary, some body experiences are pleasant and others are troublesome. Being sick is a primary description of a secondary process disturbing us. Change, in the process paradigm, occurs through the confrontation of awareness with processes trying to unfold. Since many processes cannot unfold completely, they spin in mid-air, like a wheel not touching the ground. This spinning may be experienced as a relationship problem, a body symptom, a dream, a neurosis, a psychosis or combinations of all of these expressions.
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The alcoholic’s entering treatment, especially residential treatment, may impose very real immediate problems for the family. The spouse may be concerned about even more unpaid bills, problems of child care, fears of yet more broken promises, and so on. In the face of these immediate concerns, long-range benefits may offer little consolation. Attention must be paid to helping the family deal with the nitty-gritty details of everyday living. Just as the alcoholic is requiring a lot of structure and guidance, so is the family.
Another issue for the family will be to develop realistic expectations for treatment. On one hand, they may think everything will be rosy, that their troubles are over. On the other, they may be exceedingly pessimistic. Probably they will initially bounce back and forth between these two extremes.
The family at some point will also have a need to have the alcoholic “really hear” what it has been like for them at the emotional level. If there has been an intervention, it stressed objective factual recounting of events and being sympathetic to the alcoholic. Although a presentation to the alcoholic of the family’s emotional reality may not be apropos at the time of the intervention, it must take place at some point. If the alcoholic and family are to be reintegrated into a functioning unit, it is going to require that both “sides” gain some appreciation of what the alcoholism felt like for the other. How this occurs will vary. Within some family weekend programs there may be a session specifically devoted to “feelings,” led by skilled family therapists. These sessions can be very highly charged, “tell-it-like-it-is” cathartic sessions. To do this successfully requires a lot of skill on the therapist’s/counselor’s part, as well as a structure that provides a lot of support for the family members. For the alcoholic, the pain and remorse and shame can be devastating. For the family this, in turn, can invoke guilt and remorse, as well. These responses must be dealt with; a session cannot be stopped with the participants left in those emotional states. More commonly this material will be dealt with over time, in “smaller doses.” It may occur within family sessions and frequently also within the context of working in the AA program. Again, the important issue is that you recognize this as a family task that must be dealt with in some way at some time. Otherwise, the family has a closet full of “secrets” or “skeletons” that will haunt them, come between them, and interfere with their regaining a healthy new balance.
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