Health related information and news from around the world.

Compared with men, women are the physiologically resilient sex. Masters and Johnson found that older women are just as capable of reaching orgasm as young adults. In many areas of arousal and performance, female sexual capacities change little with age. When the years make a woman more self-confident and sharpen her sexual skills, sex may become better after age fifty, more passionate than ever before.
Often this physiological potential is untapped. Although the machinery is intact, the mind turns off. Gaining weight, defining oneself as “dried up” or ”menopausal,” and putting energy into mothering, not lovemaking, prevent many women from getting to step one – turning the engine on, wanting to have sex.
And it is hard to tango alone. In the Duke studies, “marital status” was the most important predictor of a woman’s sex life. Older women with a husband living were likely to still be having intercourse. Only a small fraction of those over sixty who were widowed, single, or divorced were.
While some women are able to stay interested in sex without having a partner – masturbating often, having an active fantasy life – many turn off. Perhaps because feeling desirable is so crucial to feeling desire, while the chance of being without a partner increases as a woman ages, in both the Duke and Consumers Union studies, decade by decade the proportion of women having sexual feelings declined even more steeply than was true for men.
It is also not accurate to say that nothing changes physiologically after age fifty. Menopause does cause physical changes that can sometimes have striking sexual side effects. Fifty is the average age when American women today reach menopause – the programmed shutdown of the ability to conceive and bear children.

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Factors Contribution to Obesity
- Overweight and obesity result from an energy imbalance. This involves eating too many calories and not doing enough physical activity.
- It could also be due to genes, metabolism, behaviour pattern, culture and socio-economic status.
- Environment and behaviour are most important and should be the targets of treatment.

Energy Imbalance
Weight gain = Energy intake is more than energy consumed.
Weight loss = Energy intake is less than the energy consumed.
Constant weight = Energy intake = Energy consumed.
Quality of diet is as important as the quantity and it should be a balance of all essential components like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals including fibre and water. To include the above-mentioned nutrients into a daily diet, a food group system can be followed. There are six basic food groups and one optional food group and each food group has its own function. It is essential to include foods from first six food groups into a day’s diet to make a balanced meal as seventh group supplies calories alone without any other nutrients and should be used in moderation.

Food Groups
1. Cereals, grains and their products
2. Pulses and legumes
3. Milk and milk products
4. Meat and meat products
5. Fruits and vegetables
6. Fats and oils
7. Simple sugars and alcohol
A diet containing the above-mentioned foods from the six basic groups in suitable proportions is adequate to carry out the main functions of body.
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The female responds more promptly as she grows older and has acquired sexual experience, unlike the male in whom arousal and erection are delayed with advancing age. Repeated sexual exposure makes her respond more quickly, whereas a virgin inexperienced in the intricacies of arousal is naturally slow and clumsy. In the West, where sex is free, older and sexually mature women are more eagerly sought after than raw virgins. In his book In Praise of Older Women, Stephen Vizinczey says, ‘I’ve found nothing more pathetic than the universal misery of young boys trying to charm young girls. There were luckier times, of course, when the girls kept their dates and even permitted themselves to neck with me. It was like being on a plane that zooms back and forth along the runway and never takes off. I began to feel unattractive, unwanted and helpless.’
In our country, virgins are prized for their inexperience in bed. They are eagerly sought after in marriage and in extra-marital sex. This is because most men go to bed only to satisfy their sexual lust. They do not expect performance from their partners, nor do they take the trouble to arouse them. For them, sex is for self-gratification or procreation. However, women are no longer prepared to be passive partners in such one-sided sexual enjoyment they want men to arouse them sexually. Nowadays, the male in order to get more in sex, must give more.
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Bach Flower Remedies can be used as a useful adjunct to other systems of medicines — allopathic, homeopathic or Ayurvedic. They do not interfere with the working of other medicines and they do not have any side effects or reaction by themselves.
Failure of Bach Remedies
They say that Bach Flower Remedies never fail provided the doctor and the patient fully cooperate.
But, what could Bach Flower Remedies do if the doctor or the patient loses faith midway and stops treatment ? There are also some patients who do not want to get well, lest they lose the privilege of special attention they receive because of their ailment.
There are also some patients who have been goaded to try Bach Flower Remedies against their expressed will. They deliberately reject the beneficial effects of the Flower Remedies.
There are some patients who lack patience. They want instant relief even if their malady has developed over a number of years. They do not allow enough time to the Flower Remedies to act.
Then there are some patients who do not visit the doctor themselves, but send some body to collect the medicine after briefly telling the symptom, and the emissary tells the doctor a translated version of the symptom leading to wrong prescription. Thus for example, if the patient has said, that he cannot leave the bed in the morning and lies awake for a considerable time, and the message conveyed to the doctor is ‘He feels too weak to get up in the morning’. The medicine prescribed would be OLIVE, which would be wrong. It should be HORN BEAM.
Similarly, if the patient complained that he has such an excruciating pain in the leg that he would like to cut it away, and the message conveyed to the doctor is in such words “The patient is suffering from terrible pain” the prescription would be CHERRY PLUM which would be again wrong. The correct remedy would be CRAB APPLE.
So when the Bach Flower Remedies fail to act, it should not be construed that the Flower Remedies have failed and the doctor should not get discouraged.
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Rheumatoid arthritis may begin subtly, affecting only a few joints, or it may begin with a sudden flare-up involving many joints. Often, the first sign of rheumatoid arthritis is non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, a low-grade fever, and loss of appetite and weight. Weakness and a general malaise may continue throughout the course of the illness, often being most pronounced in the early afternoon.
Rheumatoid arthritis varies in intensity from person to person. It can range from mild, chronic discomfort to severe pain with limited motion and deformity. Rheumatoid arthritis usually attacks the hands and feet, causing inflammation that results in swelling, pain, and often, eventual destruction of the tissue that lines and cushions joints. The cause of this inflammation is unknown, but we do know it attacks in a symmetrical pattern – that is, it affects the same joint on both sides of the body.

Pain and Stiffness
The classic symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is morning joint pain and stiffness that eases as the day progresses – the so-called rusty gate syndrome. Pain and stiffness also occur after intense activity. These periods of pain and stiffness will generally lengthen as the disease becomes more active.
Typically, small joints in the fingers, toes, hands, feet, wrists, elbows, and ankles become inflamed first. They may become red, warm, and swollen, and the skin over the joint may take on a ruddy, purplish hue. Infected joints usually enlarge and can quickly become deformed. They may also “freeze” in one position, temporarily or permanently.

Rheumatoid Nodules
Another characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis is formation of rheumatoid nodules, small lumps of tissue that form under the skin, usually near the joints. These nodules are found in 30 to 40% of patients.
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This is wonderfully relaxing, detoxifying, helps constipation and can bring great relief to aching joints and muscles.
1 In a warm room, massage 3 oz of warm castor oil into the whole body starting on the neck, at the base of the skull. Pay particular attention to any painful area and the abdomen, base of the spine and feet. Cover these with white or pale-coloured cotton or woollen socks as soon as you have oiled them to prevent skidding on the bathroom floor.
2 Put on a pair of warmed light-coloured pyjamas or an old track-suit, or wrap yourself in a warmed old sheet or large towel’
3 Get into a warmed bed (prepared before starting) and stay there overnight if possible.
4 Take a warm shower or bath when you get up, taking care to remove the oil from the soles of your feet before you step into the bath, to prevent slipping. You will find that a great deal of the oil has been absorbed during the night and, after washing, your skin will feel wonderfully soft.
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Seizures do not always occur at random. They are intimately related to how you feel, what you are doing, and what you are thinking. Most people with epilepsy will tell you that there are situations in which seizures are likely to occur, and others in which they seem to get fewer seizures, or even to be seizure free. You may have learnt that you tend to have seizures if you do not get enough sleep, for example, or if you miss meals so that your blood sugar level is low. For some people, flickering lights often cause seizures.
Many people have fewer seizures on holiday, or when their interest is held, as at the theatre. Others find that a peaceful, low-key life style, without too much excitement or novelty, helps keep them seizure free. One study of adolescents found (perhaps not surprisingly) that they were far more likely to have a seizure if they were helping around the home than if they were relaxing by the fire.
THOUGHTS AND SEIZURES
Stress and other emotions are not the only factors which seem to influence the generation of seizures. If you have complex partial seizures activity in the nerve cells around the damaged area of brain from which seizures arise may be sufficient to start a seizure. Some seizures can sometimes be triggered by a particular mental process: doing mental arithmetic, for example. If seizures start in the part of the brain that is involved in mathematical calculations, for example, then adding or subtracting figures may precipitate a seizure. Some people find they have a seizure when they think sad thoughts, or feel angry or even (as in Marion’s case, quoted above) when they feel guilty. In some people a seizure may be triggered when they are imagining three-dimensional objects: thinking about diagrams or planning moves in a chess game. One man, a motor mechanic, reported that he often had a seizure when he was tightening a nut in an inaccessible part of an engine; because he could not actually see the nut, he had to visualize what he was doing as he did it.
People who have seizures will often tell you that they have discovered they can stop a seizure, or prevent it spreading, by some mental or physical trick they have discovered, usually by accident or trial and error. When patients in an epilepsy outpatient clinic were asked about whether they had some mental strategy which helped inhibit their seizures, more than a third said that they had. They were not always successful, but most found that they could at least reduce the number of seizures they had.
The essence of many of these methods is distraction – turning your attention right away from the area of the body in which the seizure starts. It may help just to start thinking about something else, or to stop whatever it is you are doing and do something different. Often some quite simple trick helps to focus your attention elsewhere; some people like to have an elastic band around their wrist which they can tweak when they are aware that a seizure is beginning. Twisting a ring on your finger or an ear-ring in your ear for a few minutes can have the same effect. If your seizures usually start with the movement of a particular limb, holding the limb still to prevent movement may inhibit the seizure.
Not everyone has the same trigger-factors. But if you can work out which your personal trigger-factors are, then you may be able to develop strategies to avoid them or reduce their frequency by altering your behaviour.
Some of the self-help methods described in this chapter depend on being able to recognize the warning or aura which indicates that a seizure may be going to occur. These methods will not work for you if you have generalized seizures which come out of the blue, with no warning or aura. But whatever kind of seizures you have, looking at them in the context of your whole life, and learning to modify your life style and avoid situations which you know are likely to precipitate a seizure will be helpful.
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Cancer of the vagina is not common. Cancers of the vagina usually present similarly to cancers of the cervix, i.e. the woman will complain of abnormal bleeding or discharge, and the diagnosis is usually made by punch biopsy under local anesthetic.
Cancers of the upper vagina are usually treated as cancers of the cervix; (the patient is recommended to undergo a radical hysterectomy and removal of lymph glands from both sides of the pelvic wall.) For cancers of the middle vagina I and lower vagina, chemo-radiation tends to be the recommended treatment. This usually involves a combination of external treatments and the use of radiation needles inserted into the vagina, (‘brachytherapy).
When cancer of the vagina recurs in an area that has had radiation treatment, then treatment is enormously difficult as chemotherapy drugs have little benefit. Treatment is usually palliative and involves pain relief and local hygienic measures, such as vaginal douching with soda bicarbonate and/or antiseptic agents. Again, implantable spinal cord j pump devices for pain relief may be necessary, and occasionally blocking the blood vessel supply to the vagina is required to stop bleeding.
Survival rates for cancer of the vagina are very similar to those of cervix cancer, with very high levels of cure rates when the cancer is small and confined to the surface of the vagina itself.
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Eye discomfort ranges from simple itching, which can be caused by a common cold or an allergic reaction, to pain which can be a symptom of much more serious eye disease.
Conjunctivitis (pinkeye) refers to an inflammation of the conjunctiva — the outermost membrane that covers the eye and inner part of the eyelid — and is the most common eye disease. Pinkeye can be caused by bacteria, viruses, allergies, pollution or other irritants such as cigarette smoke. The most common symptoms are redness of the whites of the eyes, scratchy or itchy eyes, tearing, swelling, yellow discharge that becomes crusty at night and sensitivity to light.
Newborns are susceptible to bacteria in the birth canal that can cause a type of conjunctivitis that must be treated immediately to prevent blindness.
In all cases of eye discomfort, it’s best not to rub your eyes. This may aggravate symptoms and increase the chances of spreading a contagious infection to the other eye or to other people through personal contact. Most forms of eye discomfort respond well to self-care.
Prevention
There are some preventive measures that can reduce your risk of eye problems:
Don’t share towels.
Never use anyone else’s makeup.
Discard your mascara after a couple of months.
Wear goggles to protect your eyes against chlorinated swimming pools or airborne irritants such as chemicals or smoke.
Air conditioning in your home and/or car can reduce allergens that cause eye discomfort.
What you can do
CONJUNCTIVITIS
Avoid rubbing or touching your eyes.
Wash your hands every time you touch your eyes. If you’re around a child who has pinkeye, remember to wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
Don’t share washcloths or towels while infected with pinkeye.
Change bed linens and pillowcases daily.
Apply warm or cool compresses.
If you wear contact lenses, remove them until the infection subsides.
Over-the-counter (OTC) eye drops or boric acid washes can relieve itchiness.
Antihistamines may help relieve allergic eye discomfort.
Final notes
Eye pain sometimes is caused by injury, infection or some other disease. Pain in both eyes when exposed to bright light is common with viral infections such as flu, and will disappear when the infection clears up. Injury to the eye by a foreign object also can cause pain. This type of eye pain should be treated by your doctor.
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It’s important to have some time for yourself—for your responsibilities and the things you enjoy. Don’t use this time to participate in BDD rituals or provide excessive care for the person with BDD. Some family members feel they need to provide this care all the time. But by overprotecting the BDD sufferer and being overly involved in their life—without paying enough attention to your own—you can inadvertently communicate to them that they’re incapable of better functioning and can’t do things themselves. This can undermine their sense of confidence and self-worth. You may actually boost their feelings of self-confidence by encouraging them to do more on their own. You’ll also probably feel better yourself by taking a break from the BDD, which may make your support more effective. So don’t feel guilty about taking some time for yourself. If someone with BDD really  does require intensive care and very close monitoring – for example, because they’re so impaired, depressed, or suicidal-you probably need to get them more intensive  psychiatric care. At the same time, don’t avoid or give up on the BDD sufferer. Let them know that you care, support them, and want to help them overcome BDD.
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