Sponsored By Nursing Essays
Sunday, 22 April 2007
Nursing Is A Profession
Nursing is a profession that blends the rich traditions of the past with the ever changing realities of today’s health care industry. Nursing is not simply an assortment of special skills and the nurse is not simply a person proficient in performing these specific tasks. Nursing is a profession. I believe this statement to be true because of several factors. The Title 19 Code for Nurses is titled “Standards for Professional Nursing Practice”. The status of nursing as a profession reflects the values that society places on the work of nurses and how central nursing is to the good of society. “By being a professional we imply that the person is conscientious in actions, knowledgeable in the subject and responsible to self and others.” (Potter & Perry, 1993, p. 27) Flexner’s characteristics of a true profession are: • Is basically intellectual (as opposed to physical) • Is based on a body of knowledge that can be learned • Is practical, rather than theoretical • Can be taught through the process of professional education • Has a strong internal organization of members • Has practitioners who are motivated by altruism (the desire to help others) (Creasia & Parker,1996, p. 48) Although nursing can be a very physical endeavor, it carries with it responsibilities that are strictly intellectual in nature. For instance, walking into a room to assess a patient, you have to have the knowledge of human anatomy, normal characteristics, normal vital signs, normal systems responses, etc. This is all taught and (hopefully) learned in nursing school. Nursing has a very strong internal organization of nurses that have joined together over the years into organizations such as the American Nursing Association, WVNA, WVSNA, and various other state & national organizations. Not all nursing jobs are physical, some are almost strictly intellectual, such as an educator, case manager, and instructor. There are staff nurses that I work with who are motivated by the fact that they are helping others. They are energized and encouraged by just knowing that the patient’s life was saved by them. This is a motivation for entering the profession and also for staying in it when the work gets rugged and the money tight. “Brenner (1984) described the 5 stages of development for the professional nurse. The stages are (1) Novice (2) Advance Beginner (3) Competent practitioner (4) Proficient practitioner (5) Expert Practitioner. The stages progress from a nursing student to the professional practitioner through growth and knowledge.” (Lopez-Boyd, 1997, p. 41) Nursing is a profession. Look around you, you see competent, caring individuals on a daily basis, doing the work of nursing.
Nursing As A Second Degree
Growing up I have always had a love for medicine. When posted the famous question: what will you be when you grow up? the answer came readily and with assurance: A Doctor". My childhood dream had always been to be a doctor, but that dream never seemed to materialize as I found myself doing other things and going into other profession. Of recent I have found myself yearning to go back and fulfill my childhood dream of being a doctor or a nurse. It started all over again, a few years ago when my dad fell ill and had to be admitted for pneumonia, which also affected his kidneys. Throughout his stay in the hospital, the physician and the nurses took the time, held his hands in time of need and stayed beside him throughout his hospitalization. Just by the comfort, confidence, and continual communication, his overall condition improved and he got well. If you ask my father today, he would tell you that the care and dedication of the nursing staff was one of the reasons he pulled through and got well.
I strongly believe that health is more than the absence of disease, and care is more than the provision of diagnostic and treatment services. My father's story illustrates this very belief. One must not get tied up in the negatives that have surrounded the health care profession, but rather focus on the positive aspect of health care, which is one of the reasons I am applying for the nursing program. No matter the changes and advances in technology, that occur in the health care profession one thing will always remain unchanged and that is the "face-to-face interaction with patients is the most powerful diagnostic and therapeutic resource".
Nursing is both an art and a science. It is a blend of technological know-how, a scientific mind, a compassionate heart, and healing hands. The nursing profession is concerned with the physical aspect of health and illness, as well as the psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of health and wellness. Every job has attributes that are valuable in nursing. In my job as a customer service officer excellent communication skills was required to deal with angry or difficult customers, I was also required to pay attention to details, show encouragement and empathy, moral and practical support to all customers. All of these skills are desirable qualities for a nurse. I believe I would be able to use my previous job skills in the nursing profession. With my experience as a customer service officer over the years, I believe that as a nurse I have the chance to do something different and to help people.
The field of nursing is one that offers job diversity with thousands of positions available in hospitals, clinics, physician's offices, home health, public health and more. With this my day-today job duties will be determined by my work setting, providing me with the opportunity to receive experience and increased responsibility in my setting.
For many people, nursing is a great second career because of the availability of job, the starting salaries are high, you can choose your own work schedule to fit your lifestyle and more, all these reasons have been given for choosing a career in nursing, but for me the greatest reward is the impact they have on peoples lives in a positive and direct way. It is not the job market that makes nursing a good career choice, it is the great opportunity to touch lives, comfort and care for people. I want to be able to provide compassion, strength, and an understanding to patients and families, consequently making a contribution to society.
I strongly believe that health is more than the absence of disease, and care is more than the provision of diagnostic and treatment services. My father's story illustrates this very belief. One must not get tied up in the negatives that have surrounded the health care profession, but rather focus on the positive aspect of health care, which is one of the reasons I am applying for the nursing program. No matter the changes and advances in technology, that occur in the health care profession one thing will always remain unchanged and that is the "face-to-face interaction with patients is the most powerful diagnostic and therapeutic resource".
Nursing is both an art and a science. It is a blend of technological know-how, a scientific mind, a compassionate heart, and healing hands. The nursing profession is concerned with the physical aspect of health and illness, as well as the psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of health and wellness. Every job has attributes that are valuable in nursing. In my job as a customer service officer excellent communication skills was required to deal with angry or difficult customers, I was also required to pay attention to details, show encouragement and empathy, moral and practical support to all customers. All of these skills are desirable qualities for a nurse. I believe I would be able to use my previous job skills in the nursing profession. With my experience as a customer service officer over the years, I believe that as a nurse I have the chance to do something different and to help people.
The field of nursing is one that offers job diversity with thousands of positions available in hospitals, clinics, physician's offices, home health, public health and more. With this my day-today job duties will be determined by my work setting, providing me with the opportunity to receive experience and increased responsibility in my setting.
For many people, nursing is a great second career because of the availability of job, the starting salaries are high, you can choose your own work schedule to fit your lifestyle and more, all these reasons have been given for choosing a career in nursing, but for me the greatest reward is the impact they have on peoples lives in a positive and direct way. It is not the job market that makes nursing a good career choice, it is the great opportunity to touch lives, comfort and care for people. I want to be able to provide compassion, strength, and an understanding to patients and families, consequently making a contribution to society.
Myasthenia Gravis
Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder. The term “myasthenia” is Latin for muscle weakness, and “gravis” for grave or serious. It is characterized by random weakness of voluntary muscle groups. Muscle groups most commonly affected include the eye muscles, facial, chewing and swallowing muscles, and shoulder and hip muscles. It is typical for a myasthenic patient to have a flattened smile, droopy eyes and an ineffective cough due to weak expiratory muscles, are all also associated with MG. Most myasthenic patients usually don’t complain of extensive feelings of fatigue. They experience localized fatigue in specific, repeatedly used muscles. Today, MG is one of the most thoroughly understood neurological disorders, which has lead to treatments, which enormously improves the length and quality of life of myasthenics. Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune disease in which the lymphocytes in the blood produce antibodies that destroy muscle-cell sites for the reception of acetylcholine molecules. Normally, acetylcholine is used in signal transmission between nerves and muscles, its goal is to provide muscle contractions. The diagnosis for MG is often very difficult. Since there are many disorders that cause weakness, a number of tests may be used to determine a diagnosis of MG. In addition to a complete medical and neurological evaluation, a blood test for the abnormal antibodies can be completed to see if they are present. Three studies are used for the diagnosis of MG, anit-AchR antibody titers, the Tensilon test, and electromyography, including both the Jolly test and single fiber EMG. Used together, these three studies are almost 100% sensitive for Myasthenia Gravis. There is no known cure for MG, but there are effective treatments that allow many, bur not all people with MG, to lead full regular lives. Therefore, the next concern would be to decrease or eliminate the symptoms that go along with the disease. Common treatments include medications, thymectomy and plasmaphersis. Thymectomy is the surgical removal of the thymus glad. By removing the thymus gland it lessens the severity of the MG weakness after many months. Plasmapheresis or plasma exchange is a procedure of removing the abnormal antibodies from the plasma of the blood. This is brief due to the abnormal antibodies continually producing. Treatment is based on the individual and their severity of the MG weakness and the patient’s age and sex. There may be minimal restrictions on lifestyle, sexuality, and on some activities in many cases. Chemicals such as pesticides and insecticides, hot tubs, and extremes in temperature should be avoided, which can interfere with the AcH. Remission is possible but there is no cure. The only hope for treatment for Myasthenia Gravis is depending upon the testing and research that is continually being done.
Muscular Dystrophy
Scientists have been struggling with the cause, treatment of, and cure for Muscular dystrophy since its discovery in 1886, by Dr. Guillaume Duchenne. Muscular dystrophy is a hereditary disease, affecting thousands of people every year, two-thirds being children between the age of birth through adolescents. However, Muscular dystrophy can occur with no family history of the disease.
Muscular dystrophy is a degenerating disease, in which the skeletal muscles degenerate, lose their strength, and cause increasing disability and deformity. Muscles attached to the bones through tendons are responsible for movement in the human body, however, in muscular dystrophy the muscles become progressively weak. As the muscle fibers become extremely weak they start to die and are replaced by connective tissue. The connective tissue is fibrous and fatty rather than muscular. These replacement fibers are normally found in skin and scar tissue and are not capable of movement, which cause the muscles to become even weaker.
While muscular dystrophy continues to be a debilitating disease, there are a variety of recognizable types, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or pseudohypertrophic, being the most common. In this disease, the muscles involved are in the upper thigh and pelvis. The disease strikes in early childhood, usually between the ages of three and five years of age. This form is genetic, transmitted from mothers who are known to be carriers of the defective gene. Although rare, females with a history of ovarian dysgenesis have been known to develop symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by a defect in the dystrophin gene that is vital for healthy muscles. The abnormality causes little or no dystrophin protein to be produced which is critical for cell membrane growth. A direct result of fluid leakage from outside of the cell membrane into the muscle is weakness in the upper thigh and pelvis. Boys begin to have difficulty sitting up and standing, weakness that progresses to muscles in the trunk and shoulder, and later affecting the heart muscle. By the age of twenty years individuals affected with Duchenne dystrophy die.
While there is no known cure, scientists are certain of the genetic make-up that causes muscular dystrophy, an inherited faulty gene. This gene can be inherited in one of four ways: X-linked or sex-linked recessive, when a man with X-Linked muscular dystrophy has children, Autosomal Recessive Inheritance, and Autosomal Dominant Inheritance.
The mother, who is a carrier, inherits an X-Linked or sex-linked faulty gene. The result is producing an affected son and or a daughter being a carrier. The second way is an affected male producing children, particularly daughters. All daughters born to fathers with x-linked muscular dystrophy will be carriers; on the contrary their sons will be unaffected. Scientists link this to a genetic mutation in the gene, appearing most often for the first time in a family.
Autosomal recessive inheritance is the third type known to cause muscular dystrophy, whereas both parents are carriers of the defective gene. For this reason the offspring have a 25% chance of being affected with both malformed genes, resulting in them being affected. The chance increases with cousin marriages.
The final link to inheritance of Muscular Dystrophy is known as Autosomal Dominant Inheritance. With each pregnancy, this couple has a 50% chance of producing an affected child, whatever the child’s sex. Based on this percentage, both parents should consider genetic counseling prior to bearing children.
Although there is no known cure for Muscular Dystrophy, researchers continue to analyze the make-up of the faulty gene and a suitable treatment. However, doctors and researchers find themselves in a dilemma, lack of necessary funding. Without sufficient funding doctors can only prolong the lives of individuals affected by muscular dystrophy. Through genetic counseling doctors are able to educate couples on the rare possibility that they may produce affected offspring. By doing so couples can make the decision whether to continue the inheritance of the defective gene to their offspring, or make a conscience decision not to. Through medical research we will have a cure of how to stop this debilitating disease.
Work Cited
Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy." The New Complete Medical
And Health Encyclopedia. 1996 ed.
"Facts About Muscular Dystrophy MD)." Muscular Dystrophy
Association Publications. 6/2001.
WWW.mdausa.org/publications/fa-md.html
"Facts About Muscular Dystrophy (MD)." Muscular Dystrophy
Association Publication. 6/2001
www.mdausa.org/publications/fa-md-ga2.html
"Muscular Dystrophy." New Standard Encyclopedia. 1996 ed.
Robinson, Richard. "Muscular dystrophy." The Gale
Encyclopedia of Medicine. 1999 ed.
Muscular dystrophy is a degenerating disease, in which the skeletal muscles degenerate, lose their strength, and cause increasing disability and deformity. Muscles attached to the bones through tendons are responsible for movement in the human body, however, in muscular dystrophy the muscles become progressively weak. As the muscle fibers become extremely weak they start to die and are replaced by connective tissue. The connective tissue is fibrous and fatty rather than muscular. These replacement fibers are normally found in skin and scar tissue and are not capable of movement, which cause the muscles to become even weaker.
While muscular dystrophy continues to be a debilitating disease, there are a variety of recognizable types, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or pseudohypertrophic, being the most common. In this disease, the muscles involved are in the upper thigh and pelvis. The disease strikes in early childhood, usually between the ages of three and five years of age. This form is genetic, transmitted from mothers who are known to be carriers of the defective gene. Although rare, females with a history of ovarian dysgenesis have been known to develop symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by a defect in the dystrophin gene that is vital for healthy muscles. The abnormality causes little or no dystrophin protein to be produced which is critical for cell membrane growth. A direct result of fluid leakage from outside of the cell membrane into the muscle is weakness in the upper thigh and pelvis. Boys begin to have difficulty sitting up and standing, weakness that progresses to muscles in the trunk and shoulder, and later affecting the heart muscle. By the age of twenty years individuals affected with Duchenne dystrophy die.
While there is no known cure, scientists are certain of the genetic make-up that causes muscular dystrophy, an inherited faulty gene. This gene can be inherited in one of four ways: X-linked or sex-linked recessive, when a man with X-Linked muscular dystrophy has children, Autosomal Recessive Inheritance, and Autosomal Dominant Inheritance.
The mother, who is a carrier, inherits an X-Linked or sex-linked faulty gene. The result is producing an affected son and or a daughter being a carrier. The second way is an affected male producing children, particularly daughters. All daughters born to fathers with x-linked muscular dystrophy will be carriers; on the contrary their sons will be unaffected. Scientists link this to a genetic mutation in the gene, appearing most often for the first time in a family.
Autosomal recessive inheritance is the third type known to cause muscular dystrophy, whereas both parents are carriers of the defective gene. For this reason the offspring have a 25% chance of being affected with both malformed genes, resulting in them being affected. The chance increases with cousin marriages.
The final link to inheritance of Muscular Dystrophy is known as Autosomal Dominant Inheritance. With each pregnancy, this couple has a 50% chance of producing an affected child, whatever the child’s sex. Based on this percentage, both parents should consider genetic counseling prior to bearing children.
Although there is no known cure for Muscular Dystrophy, researchers continue to analyze the make-up of the faulty gene and a suitable treatment. However, doctors and researchers find themselves in a dilemma, lack of necessary funding. Without sufficient funding doctors can only prolong the lives of individuals affected by muscular dystrophy. Through genetic counseling doctors are able to educate couples on the rare possibility that they may produce affected offspring. By doing so couples can make the decision whether to continue the inheritance of the defective gene to their offspring, or make a conscience decision not to. Through medical research we will have a cure of how to stop this debilitating disease.
Work Cited
Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy." The New Complete Medical
And Health Encyclopedia. 1996 ed.
"Facts About Muscular Dystrophy MD)." Muscular Dystrophy
Association Publications. 6/2001.
WWW.mdausa.org/publications/fa-md.html
"Facts About Muscular Dystrophy (MD)." Muscular Dystrophy
Association Publication. 6/2001
www.mdausa.org/publications/fa-md-ga2.html
"Muscular Dystrophy." New Standard Encyclopedia. 1996 ed.
Robinson, Richard. "Muscular dystrophy." The Gale
Encyclopedia of Medicine. 1999 ed.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is one of the most misunderstood diseases of this
century. Since it's discovery, there is still no known causes, no proven
treatments, and no known cure, yet it affects possibly five hundred thousand
people in the United States alone. People need to learn more about this
disease so it can be brought to the attention of the nation.
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system. It
destroys the fatty myelin sheath that insulates your nerve cells. Without
this insulation, nerve communication is disrupted. The body then makes this
worse by repairing it, and clogging the area with scar tissue. Signals going
from your brain and brain stem, such as muscle coordination signals or visual
sensation signals, are slowed greatly, or just blocked off. Thus, a person
afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis can suffer any number of symptoms.
Researchers are not sure yet as to the cause of Multiple Sclerosis.
There is a kind of deadlock among scientists and doctors whether it's
hereditary, viral, or a combination of the two, with the disease being
hereditary, but with a viral trigger, or just a simple chemical imbalance in
the immune system. One thing is certain, though. Some sort of defect in the
immune system causes white blood cells to attack and destroy the myelin
sheath.
There are five main types of Multiple Sclerosis. The first type is
Benign Multiple Sclerosis. It is the least severe, has little progression, and
takes up twenty percent of all cases. The second type is Benign Relapsing-
Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. It carries symptoms that fluctuate in severity,
mild disability, and it makes up thirty percent of the total. The third type
is Chronic Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis. It is characterized by disability
that increases with each attack, and it is the most common with forty percent
of all cases. Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis is the fourth type. It
has continuous disability that worsens as time goes by, and ten percent of all
cases are this. The last type is a very rare class called Acute Progressive
Multiple Sclerosis. This kind can kill in weeks or months, in contrast with
the usual years or decades.
Due to the type of disease and the areas it affects, there are a great
number of possible symptoms. These symptoms can fool the most experienced
physician into thinking that it is a psychological disease. The most common
symptoms are bouts of overwhelming fatigue, loss of coordination, muscle
weakness, numbness, slurred speech, and visual difficulties. These symptoms
may occur for a number of years before one is actually diagnosed, and these
symptoms will appear with little or no warning. Attacks of these symptoms
appear most often three to four years after the first incident.
Multiple Sclerosis is diagnosed by a number of ways. Most of the time,
the first test done is an MRI -- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner. This
test maps out your brain and looks for areas that have been scarred over, or
'plaques', and usually takes an hour. White spots on normally gray areas
usually signify a plaque. Next, a lumbar puncture, more commonly known as a
spinal tap, is done. This test involves some discomfort, and although the
actual puncture lasts only fifteen minutes, the procedure can leave the
patient disabled for anywhere from two hours to two weeks. About a week after
the spinal tap is done, a series of three tests are performed to measure the
time it takes for impulses to travel through your brain and nerves. These
tests are known separately as the Visual Evoked Potential Test, the Auditory
Evoked Potential Test, and the Electrodiagnostic Test. The Visual Evoked
Potential Test, or V.E.P., records the brain wave patterns and reaction time
with alternating patterns on a nearby monitor. The Auditory Evoked Potential
Test, or A.E.P., uses pulses of sharp 'clicks' to time your reactions. In the
final test, the electrodiagnostic, an electric current is passed through
certain pressure points, and sensors on the head, chest, and back record just
how fast the impulses are transmitting through your body and brain. With the
positioning of the sensors, the technician can determine where a slowdown, if
any, is occurring.
The disease cannot be cured, and treatments are few. There is no common
treatment that researchers can agree on. Some swear by diet treatments, which
have been found by patients in nonclinical studies to slow or arrest the
advancement of Multiple Sclerosis. Usually the diet therapies involve a few
months eliminating allergic foods from your diet, and since foods that are
slightly allergic are usually your favorite foods, it's a very hard treatment
to stick to. Others swear by drugs and the like, such as ACTH
(adrenocorticotropic hormone), which is the most commonly prescribed
treatment, or copolymer I and cyclosporine, which have shown promise in
laboratory studies.
The statistics of Multiple Sclerosis are puzzling at best. For example,
the fact that there are many more cases in the northern latitudes than in the
southern latitudes is one thing that confuses researchers. As you approach
the equator, patients suffering with Multiple Sclerosis are almost zero.
Also, most victims are between the ages of twenty and forty-five years old,
with the majority of them being women. Multiple Sclerosis also affects more
people of the Caucasian persuasion. Multiple Sclerosis affects an estimated
three hundred fifty to five hundred thousand Americans, with eight thousand
more cases being reported each year. Fortunately, the average life span of a
patient with Multiple Sclerosis is seventy-five percent of normal, and only a
quarter of all diagnosed will ever need a wheelchair.
Multiple Sclerosis is one of the most confusing diseases that has ever
afflicted mankind. More and more possible treatments are found, but still no
cure. So people with Multiple Sclerosis must learn to live with the disease,
learn to cope. And others should learn more about the disease, so it isn't
ignored in the future.
century. Since it's discovery, there is still no known causes, no proven
treatments, and no known cure, yet it affects possibly five hundred thousand
people in the United States alone. People need to learn more about this
disease so it can be brought to the attention of the nation.
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system. It
destroys the fatty myelin sheath that insulates your nerve cells. Without
this insulation, nerve communication is disrupted. The body then makes this
worse by repairing it, and clogging the area with scar tissue. Signals going
from your brain and brain stem, such as muscle coordination signals or visual
sensation signals, are slowed greatly, or just blocked off. Thus, a person
afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis can suffer any number of symptoms.
Researchers are not sure yet as to the cause of Multiple Sclerosis.
There is a kind of deadlock among scientists and doctors whether it's
hereditary, viral, or a combination of the two, with the disease being
hereditary, but with a viral trigger, or just a simple chemical imbalance in
the immune system. One thing is certain, though. Some sort of defect in the
immune system causes white blood cells to attack and destroy the myelin
sheath.
There are five main types of Multiple Sclerosis. The first type is
Benign Multiple Sclerosis. It is the least severe, has little progression, and
takes up twenty percent of all cases. The second type is Benign Relapsing-
Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. It carries symptoms that fluctuate in severity,
mild disability, and it makes up thirty percent of the total. The third type
is Chronic Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis. It is characterized by disability
that increases with each attack, and it is the most common with forty percent
of all cases. Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis is the fourth type. It
has continuous disability that worsens as time goes by, and ten percent of all
cases are this. The last type is a very rare class called Acute Progressive
Multiple Sclerosis. This kind can kill in weeks or months, in contrast with
the usual years or decades.
Due to the type of disease and the areas it affects, there are a great
number of possible symptoms. These symptoms can fool the most experienced
physician into thinking that it is a psychological disease. The most common
symptoms are bouts of overwhelming fatigue, loss of coordination, muscle
weakness, numbness, slurred speech, and visual difficulties. These symptoms
may occur for a number of years before one is actually diagnosed, and these
symptoms will appear with little or no warning. Attacks of these symptoms
appear most often three to four years after the first incident.
Multiple Sclerosis is diagnosed by a number of ways. Most of the time,
the first test done is an MRI -- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner. This
test maps out your brain and looks for areas that have been scarred over, or
'plaques', and usually takes an hour. White spots on normally gray areas
usually signify a plaque. Next, a lumbar puncture, more commonly known as a
spinal tap, is done. This test involves some discomfort, and although the
actual puncture lasts only fifteen minutes, the procedure can leave the
patient disabled for anywhere from two hours to two weeks. About a week after
the spinal tap is done, a series of three tests are performed to measure the
time it takes for impulses to travel through your brain and nerves. These
tests are known separately as the Visual Evoked Potential Test, the Auditory
Evoked Potential Test, and the Electrodiagnostic Test. The Visual Evoked
Potential Test, or V.E.P., records the brain wave patterns and reaction time
with alternating patterns on a nearby monitor. The Auditory Evoked Potential
Test, or A.E.P., uses pulses of sharp 'clicks' to time your reactions. In the
final test, the electrodiagnostic, an electric current is passed through
certain pressure points, and sensors on the head, chest, and back record just
how fast the impulses are transmitting through your body and brain. With the
positioning of the sensors, the technician can determine where a slowdown, if
any, is occurring.
The disease cannot be cured, and treatments are few. There is no common
treatment that researchers can agree on. Some swear by diet treatments, which
have been found by patients in nonclinical studies to slow or arrest the
advancement of Multiple Sclerosis. Usually the diet therapies involve a few
months eliminating allergic foods from your diet, and since foods that are
slightly allergic are usually your favorite foods, it's a very hard treatment
to stick to. Others swear by drugs and the like, such as ACTH
(adrenocorticotropic hormone), which is the most commonly prescribed
treatment, or copolymer I and cyclosporine, which have shown promise in
laboratory studies.
The statistics of Multiple Sclerosis are puzzling at best. For example,
the fact that there are many more cases in the northern latitudes than in the
southern latitudes is one thing that confuses researchers. As you approach
the equator, patients suffering with Multiple Sclerosis are almost zero.
Also, most victims are between the ages of twenty and forty-five years old,
with the majority of them being women. Multiple Sclerosis also affects more
people of the Caucasian persuasion. Multiple Sclerosis affects an estimated
three hundred fifty to five hundred thousand Americans, with eight thousand
more cases being reported each year. Fortunately, the average life span of a
patient with Multiple Sclerosis is seventy-five percent of normal, and only a
quarter of all diagnosed will ever need a wheelchair.
Multiple Sclerosis is one of the most confusing diseases that has ever
afflicted mankind. More and more possible treatments are found, but still no
cure. So people with Multiple Sclerosis must learn to live with the disease,
learn to cope. And others should learn more about the disease, so it isn't
ignored in the future.
Mental Illness
Mental illness is a disorder that is characterized by disturbances in a person’s thought, emotions, or behavior. Mental illness refers to a wide variety of disorders, ranging from those that cause mild distress to those that impair a person’s ability to function in daily life. Many have tried to figure out the reasons for mental illnesses. All of these reasons have been looked at and thought of for thousands of years. The biological perspective views mental illness as a bodily process. Where as the psychological perspectives think the role of a person’s upbringing and environment are causes for mental illnesses. Researchers estimate that about 24 percent of people over eighteen in the United States suffer from some sort of common mental illness, such as depression and phobias. Studies have also shown that 2.6 percent of adults in the United States suffer from some sort of severe form of mental illness, such as schizophrenia, panic disorders, or bipolar disorders. Younger people also suffer from mental illnesses the same way that adults do. 14 to 20 percent of individuals under the age of eighteen suffer from a case of mental illness. Studies show that 9 to 13 percent of children between the ages of nine and seventeen suffer from a serious emotional disturbances, that disrupts the child’s daily life. Major depression is a severe disorder. Symptoms include withdraw from family and/or friends, weight loss, sleeping problems, frequent crying, fleeing helpless, delusions, and hallucinations. This disease is usually diagnosed during adolescence; parents may notice grades dropping, poor self-image, troubled social relations, and suicidal acts. This disease may be fatal if the person becomes suicidal. Phobia is a disease where a person has an irrational fear of an object or situation. Some examples of phobias are fear of flight, cats, heights, enclosed spaces, reptiles, and the most severe is agoraphobia the fear to leave a safe place such as home. Phobias are diagnosed personhows sings of a certain fear many times. This can only affect a person’s life if the phobia is severe. For example, if a person has agoraphobia, fear of leaving a safe place then that person’s life would be very isolated. If a person has the fear ailurophobia, fear of heights then that person can still live a normal life. This disease is not fatal unless the person becomes depressed because of being isolated. Schizophrenia is a disturbance that causes you to have misperceptions of reality; this may also cause hallucinations and delusions. Person may also show inadequate speech patterns, impaired social and occupational functioning, and bad personal hygiene. This disease is usually diagnosed at a young age. Family and/or friends may notice symptoms.
Kidney Failure
Treatment of Kidney Failure
When a patient has a mild to moderate kidney failure where the serum creatinine is less than 400 µmol/L, he does not require renal replacement therapy such as dialysis or renal transplant. This is due to the fact that he still has enough residual renal function to sustain life. However he requires certain medications and dietary restriction to delay damage to the kidney.
When his serum creatinine increase to 900 µmol/L, he requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Dialysis in General
Dialysis is a process which allows diffusion of solutes dissolved in blood across a semi- permeable membrane into another solution and vice versa. This means that it removes waste products through this special membrane and bicarbonate can diffuse across to the blood to neutralise acid. In this way the imbalance in the body can be corrected.
Peritoneal Dialysis
What is Peritoneal Dialysis?
Peritoneal dialysis is a form of dialysis that occurs inside the body.
Dialysis solution will flow into the peritoneal (abdominal) cavity through a silastic catheter. The peritoneal membrane (petrionuem) acts as a filter. Waste products and excess water pass from the body through the membrane into the dialysis solution. When the filtering process is completed, the waste filled solution is to be drained from the peritoneal cavity into a bag and is then discarded.
Fresh dialysis solution is drained into the abdominal cavity through the catheter again. Each exchange takes about 45 minutes.
There are two forms of peritoneal dialysis :
• CAPD or Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis - The patient will perform four exchanges during the day
• APD or Automated Peritoneal Dialysis - The exchanges are performed by the machine during the night while the patient is asleep.
The advantages and disadvantages of peritoneal dialysis
Advantages
Disadvantages
Patient's involvement in self-care Four exchanges per day
Control over schedule Permanent external catheter
Less diet & fluid restriction Change of body image
More steady physical condition as it provides slow, continuous therapy Potential weight gain
Most similar to original kidneys Some risks of infection
Can be done in the night as in automated peritoneal dialysis If on automated peritoneal dialysis, one will be tie onto a machine in the night
Provide less severe cardiovascular instabilities in patients with underlying heart disease Storage space is needed for supplies
Haemodialysis
What is Haemodialysis?
Haemodialysis is a process by which excess waste products and water are removed from the blood. This process requires an access to the patient's blood stream and the use of a haemodialysis machine. An access is a specially created vein in the arm known as arterio-venous (AV) fistula.
In haemodialysis, the blood channels through plastic tubings (blood lines) to the dialyzer which is a bundle of hollow fibres made up from semi-permeable membrane. Here the exchange (diffusion) takes place from blood to the dialysis solution (dialysate) and vice versa. The dialysate has a salt composition similar to blood but without any waste products.
Usually one dialysis session takes about 4 hours to complete and patient requires dialysis 3 times a week.
The advantages and disadvantages of haemodialysis
Advantages
Disadvantages
Staff performs treatment in the dialysis centre Requires travel to a dialysis centre
Three treatments per week in the dialysis centre Fixed treatment schedule
Permanent internal access required Two needle sticks for each treatment; tie onto a machine and cannot move about during treatment
Regular contact with people in the centre Diet and fluid intake restriction
When a patient has a mild to moderate kidney failure where the serum creatinine is less than 400 µmol/L, he does not require renal replacement therapy such as dialysis or renal transplant. This is due to the fact that he still has enough residual renal function to sustain life. However he requires certain medications and dietary restriction to delay damage to the kidney.
When his serum creatinine increase to 900 µmol/L, he requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Dialysis in General
Dialysis is a process which allows diffusion of solutes dissolved in blood across a semi- permeable membrane into another solution and vice versa. This means that it removes waste products through this special membrane and bicarbonate can diffuse across to the blood to neutralise acid. In this way the imbalance in the body can be corrected.
Peritoneal Dialysis
What is Peritoneal Dialysis?
Peritoneal dialysis is a form of dialysis that occurs inside the body.
Dialysis solution will flow into the peritoneal (abdominal) cavity through a silastic catheter. The peritoneal membrane (petrionuem) acts as a filter. Waste products and excess water pass from the body through the membrane into the dialysis solution. When the filtering process is completed, the waste filled solution is to be drained from the peritoneal cavity into a bag and is then discarded.
Fresh dialysis solution is drained into the abdominal cavity through the catheter again. Each exchange takes about 45 minutes.
There are two forms of peritoneal dialysis :
• CAPD or Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis - The patient will perform four exchanges during the day
• APD or Automated Peritoneal Dialysis - The exchanges are performed by the machine during the night while the patient is asleep.
The advantages and disadvantages of peritoneal dialysis
Advantages
Disadvantages
Patient's involvement in self-care Four exchanges per day
Control over schedule Permanent external catheter
Less diet & fluid restriction Change of body image
More steady physical condition as it provides slow, continuous therapy Potential weight gain
Most similar to original kidneys Some risks of infection
Can be done in the night as in automated peritoneal dialysis If on automated peritoneal dialysis, one will be tie onto a machine in the night
Provide less severe cardiovascular instabilities in patients with underlying heart disease Storage space is needed for supplies
Haemodialysis
What is Haemodialysis?
Haemodialysis is a process by which excess waste products and water are removed from the blood. This process requires an access to the patient's blood stream and the use of a haemodialysis machine. An access is a specially created vein in the arm known as arterio-venous (AV) fistula.
In haemodialysis, the blood channels through plastic tubings (blood lines) to the dialyzer which is a bundle of hollow fibres made up from semi-permeable membrane. Here the exchange (diffusion) takes place from blood to the dialysis solution (dialysate) and vice versa. The dialysate has a salt composition similar to blood but without any waste products.
Usually one dialysis session takes about 4 hours to complete and patient requires dialysis 3 times a week.
The advantages and disadvantages of haemodialysis
Advantages
Disadvantages
Staff performs treatment in the dialysis centre Requires travel to a dialysis centre
Three treatments per week in the dialysis centre Fixed treatment schedule
Permanent internal access required Two needle sticks for each treatment; tie onto a machine and cannot move about during treatment
Regular contact with people in the centre Diet and fluid intake restriction
Is Salt Really Harmful?
As we know, salt is the most useful resource found on earth. In Ancient Rome, salt was used as part of the salary to the soldiers. From this, we can see that salt was as valuable as gold in the past.
In our daily life, besides making nutritious food more palatable, salt is very useful in making bakery products, canned and frozen foods. Salt is a good preservative that retards the growth of micro-organisms to make food storage possible for a long period of timie before refrigeration.
Recently, an opinion that is harmful to our health was raised by Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr,. former comissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Admistration in 1981. The American Heart Dissociation, the American Medical Association also joined the low-salt appeal. They believe that sodium salt is connected with heart disease, circulator disorder, stroke and even early death.
By many doctors and researchers are now beginning to feel that salt has gone too far. At the University of Alabama, a short-term research has been done on 150 people on the effect of the intake of salt related to high blood pressure. Result shows that those with normal blood pressure experience no change at all when placed in a extremely low salt diet, or later when salt was introduced, Of the hypertensive subjects, half of those on the low salt diet did experience a drop in blood pressure, which returned to its previous leel when salt was introduced.
Of course, these are other researcherswhgich tend to support the findings. A small Indiana study showed that when normal individuals took large amount of salt, the bolld pressure did not consistenly rise into the hypertensive range. Also, study in Israel showed that a low-calorie diet could reduce blood pressure without changing salt consumption. After viewing research statistics, we should know that salt is not exactly harmful to us. In fact, our bodies have a continual need for salt because our bodies need sodium and chloride ions each with a different task.
Chloride maintains the balance of water in cells and its environment. It also plays a part of digestion. Sodium assists in regulating the volumn of blood and blood pressure. Also, it facilitates the transmission of nerve impulses and is necessary for heart and muscle contraction. Without this, our bodies could not function properly. On our diets, how much salt is too much?? Medical experts agrees with the daily intake of salt for normal person should be around 4 to 10 grams a day. But those with kidney problem may have to limit dietary salt, if their doctor advises.
The cause of hypertension consists of a number of factors. Such as deficiencies in calcium, potassium and obesity. In conclusion, salt restriction may harm more people than it helps. Unless your doctor has proven that you have a salt related health problem, there is no reason to give salt up!!
In our daily life, besides making nutritious food more palatable, salt is very useful in making bakery products, canned and frozen foods. Salt is a good preservative that retards the growth of micro-organisms to make food storage possible for a long period of timie before refrigeration.
Recently, an opinion that is harmful to our health was raised by Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr,. former comissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Admistration in 1981. The American Heart Dissociation, the American Medical Association also joined the low-salt appeal. They believe that sodium salt is connected with heart disease, circulator disorder, stroke and even early death.
By many doctors and researchers are now beginning to feel that salt has gone too far. At the University of Alabama, a short-term research has been done on 150 people on the effect of the intake of salt related to high blood pressure. Result shows that those with normal blood pressure experience no change at all when placed in a extremely low salt diet, or later when salt was introduced, Of the hypertensive subjects, half of those on the low salt diet did experience a drop in blood pressure, which returned to its previous leel when salt was introduced.
Of course, these are other researcherswhgich tend to support the findings. A small Indiana study showed that when normal individuals took large amount of salt, the bolld pressure did not consistenly rise into the hypertensive range. Also, study in Israel showed that a low-calorie diet could reduce blood pressure without changing salt consumption. After viewing research statistics, we should know that salt is not exactly harmful to us. In fact, our bodies have a continual need for salt because our bodies need sodium and chloride ions each with a different task.
Chloride maintains the balance of water in cells and its environment. It also plays a part of digestion. Sodium assists in regulating the volumn of blood and blood pressure. Also, it facilitates the transmission of nerve impulses and is necessary for heart and muscle contraction. Without this, our bodies could not function properly. On our diets, how much salt is too much?? Medical experts agrees with the daily intake of salt for normal person should be around 4 to 10 grams a day. But those with kidney problem may have to limit dietary salt, if their doctor advises.
The cause of hypertension consists of a number of factors. Such as deficiencies in calcium, potassium and obesity. In conclusion, salt restriction may harm more people than it helps. Unless your doctor has proven that you have a salt related health problem, there is no reason to give salt up!!
Importance Of Physical Fitness In Life
If a sensible man is asked to answer the question as to what he does prefer, health or wealth, naturally he will answer without much hesitation 'Health' because wealth without a good health becomes useless. The westerners pay more attention to their health than the people of the orient. In b\Britain they have the Central COuncil of Physical Recreation, the Scottish Council of Physical Recreation, the National Playing Fields Association. THe function of these various bodies is to keep the nation fit, not only physcially but mentally alert also. In modern education, physcial education and training forms part of the curriculum. In singapore schools, physical training is imparted to the young with the view to keep the young fit so that the future citizens of the country will be healthy. Only by enjoying good health can we think of enjoying wealth. Physical fitness is a must to both the young and old. THe best time to have exercise is early in the morning and late in the evening. If we cannot have a strenuous exercise, it is better to have at least a free hand exercise daily. In som countries like India and Britain, the yoga exercises are practised by some people. It is said that the best form of physical exercise is to stand on one's head. Experiments have proved that this exercise enables the man to get the required movements of the inner as well as outer organs and the result is man is also made mentally alert. People who do not take regular physical exercise are the ones who easily fall ill. The diseases such as diabetis and rheumatism can be prevented if we take regular physical exercises. A body without exercise can be compared to a machine that is kept inactive. Inactivity will lead to the machine getting rusty and in the long run becoming ueseless, so also is it the case with human body. The Japanses are an envy to the rest of the world. From a very young age the children of Japan are trained in Physcial fitness and the result is tremendous. Japan has one of the healthiest populations in the world and the mortality rate in Jpaan is low. Needless to say, physcial fitness is imperative evn among women and many of them do not seem to realise the importance of this. It is a folly to be so.
Holistic Medicine
In a lot of conditions, medical cures and treatments have proven more harmful than the disease itself. In looking for other options, people all over the world have been turning back to the holistic way of health and healing.
Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing the WHOLE person, or in holistic terms, the mind body and spirit. The practice of holistic medicine integrates conventional and alternative therapies to prevent and treat diseases and promote optimal health. This condition of holistic health is defined as the ultimate free flow of life energy force throughout the mind, body, and spirit.
As I mentioned before, three parts make up the whole person. Based on a common law of nature, whole parts are made up of independent parts.
The body, which is treated and cared for through nutritional medicine, fitness medicine, and environmental medicine. The mind (mental and emotional health) which is basically behavioral medicine. The spirit is treated with spiritual attunement and social health. When one of these three parts isn’t functioning correctly or is impaired for some reason, the other parts of the person are affected. For example, a person growing nervous or anxious about an upcoming exam can literally give themselves a headache or stomachache.
Even Socrates, one of the greatest philosophers in history of time said in order for the whole of a person to be well, the individual parts must be well also. This can be achieved by many things.
For example, acupuncture is used to identify and treat disease and improve well being. During acupuncture, needles are inserted into the meridian points of the body. Sickness occurs when the flow of blood or “chi” is blocked at these points. The pressure applied to these points relieves blockage and buildup thus leaving the patient feeling better. Acupuncture can treat anything from allergies, headaches, sinus infections, stress, insomnia and chronic pain. For those people who don’t enjoy needles or wont tolerate needles at all there is colorpuncture. Colorpuncture is basically acupuncture without needles.
Meditation is another accepted form of holistic health. Meditation is using different methods of relaxation to calm yourself and make you healthier inside. Candles, salves, oils and incense are all commonly used during meditation. Meditation is an accepted form of recovery and health promotion in the medical field.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is yet another form of holistic healing. This helps remove conflict and stress from your life and promote success and happiness.
Reflexing and resetting is the vibrating and stimulation of the body’s reflexes. It is most commonly done through the feet and can help with sleep disorders.
Biofeedback is recognizing and manipulating the body’s signals. It helps to treat migraines, panic attacks, anxiety, hypertension, and A.D.D.
Some of the most common methods of holistic healing are resurfacing just about everywhere. Aromatherapy is therapy using scents to relax the mind, body, and soul. There is a line of products in Wal-Mart now called “aromatherapy” and even well known companies such as Delia’s manufacture aromatherapy pillows.
Chiropractors are a readily accepted form of holistic treatment. Chiropractors manipulate the body’s muscles and bones to relieve pain and stress.
Massage and is a big part of holistic life. There are deep tissue massages, Swedish massages etc… All of which help muscular posture, balance, stress reduction, increase of circulation and energy flow.
Nutrtiion is also an important part in a holistic lifestyle. Health food stores such as GNC are popping up everywhere. With nutritionists come herbalists who also deal with weight management and vitamins.
There is holistic dentistry which is generally mercury free and has less exposure to x-ray’s and harmful chemicals.
There is even Holistic Veterinary care which treats pets in the same way as humans. Pets said to be lost cases are sometimes revived by this form of veterinary care. Anything from arthritis, skin infections, and allergies can be cured.
Feng Shui is not as common in the US yet. It is Chinese consultancy in arrangement of objects in the home or office to achieve harmony. It is said your outer world is a mirror of your inner world. Lots of water fountains are used.
Spiritual Psychics, Astrologists, Child Birth, Tai Chi, Yoga, even health and beauty are all reviving to holistic methods.
These different treatments all fall under the six specialized areas of holistic healing
1. Bimolecular Diagnosis and Therapy
2. Botanical medicine
3. Energy Medicine
4. Ethan-Medicine
5. Homeopathy
6. Manual Medicine
Basically a holistic lifestyle is trying to unite your body with gravity and your heart with your mind. Once all your parts are in harmony, for example the ying and yang, you can achieve perfect health. In my opinion the holistic way of life is a very interesting way of life that really intrigues me. I would like to acquire the skills and self-control some of these methods call for. Some methods really don’t appeal to me, for example acupuncture, but other methods such as meditation, aromatherapy, reflexology, and feng shui, are all valid forms of the holistic way of life that would definitely be of interest to me. Although some people think that this way of life is crazy etc, I think it is helpful and important in every day life. Just about everyone can practice this lifestyle in the easiest of ways. Although many people do not believe in the holistic way of life, even more people are firm followers of these concepts and it is sure to be an evergrowing idea that lasts for generations to come.
Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing the WHOLE person, or in holistic terms, the mind body and spirit. The practice of holistic medicine integrates conventional and alternative therapies to prevent and treat diseases and promote optimal health. This condition of holistic health is defined as the ultimate free flow of life energy force throughout the mind, body, and spirit.
As I mentioned before, three parts make up the whole person. Based on a common law of nature, whole parts are made up of independent parts.
The body, which is treated and cared for through nutritional medicine, fitness medicine, and environmental medicine. The mind (mental and emotional health) which is basically behavioral medicine. The spirit is treated with spiritual attunement and social health. When one of these three parts isn’t functioning correctly or is impaired for some reason, the other parts of the person are affected. For example, a person growing nervous or anxious about an upcoming exam can literally give themselves a headache or stomachache.
Even Socrates, one of the greatest philosophers in history of time said in order for the whole of a person to be well, the individual parts must be well also. This can be achieved by many things.
For example, acupuncture is used to identify and treat disease and improve well being. During acupuncture, needles are inserted into the meridian points of the body. Sickness occurs when the flow of blood or “chi” is blocked at these points. The pressure applied to these points relieves blockage and buildup thus leaving the patient feeling better. Acupuncture can treat anything from allergies, headaches, sinus infections, stress, insomnia and chronic pain. For those people who don’t enjoy needles or wont tolerate needles at all there is colorpuncture. Colorpuncture is basically acupuncture without needles.
Meditation is another accepted form of holistic health. Meditation is using different methods of relaxation to calm yourself and make you healthier inside. Candles, salves, oils and incense are all commonly used during meditation. Meditation is an accepted form of recovery and health promotion in the medical field.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is yet another form of holistic healing. This helps remove conflict and stress from your life and promote success and happiness.
Reflexing and resetting is the vibrating and stimulation of the body’s reflexes. It is most commonly done through the feet and can help with sleep disorders.
Biofeedback is recognizing and manipulating the body’s signals. It helps to treat migraines, panic attacks, anxiety, hypertension, and A.D.D.
Some of the most common methods of holistic healing are resurfacing just about everywhere. Aromatherapy is therapy using scents to relax the mind, body, and soul. There is a line of products in Wal-Mart now called “aromatherapy” and even well known companies such as Delia’s manufacture aromatherapy pillows.
Chiropractors are a readily accepted form of holistic treatment. Chiropractors manipulate the body’s muscles and bones to relieve pain and stress.
Massage and is a big part of holistic life. There are deep tissue massages, Swedish massages etc… All of which help muscular posture, balance, stress reduction, increase of circulation and energy flow.
Nutrtiion is also an important part in a holistic lifestyle. Health food stores such as GNC are popping up everywhere. With nutritionists come herbalists who also deal with weight management and vitamins.
There is holistic dentistry which is generally mercury free and has less exposure to x-ray’s and harmful chemicals.
There is even Holistic Veterinary care which treats pets in the same way as humans. Pets said to be lost cases are sometimes revived by this form of veterinary care. Anything from arthritis, skin infections, and allergies can be cured.
Feng Shui is not as common in the US yet. It is Chinese consultancy in arrangement of objects in the home or office to achieve harmony. It is said your outer world is a mirror of your inner world. Lots of water fountains are used.
Spiritual Psychics, Astrologists, Child Birth, Tai Chi, Yoga, even health and beauty are all reviving to holistic methods.
These different treatments all fall under the six specialized areas of holistic healing
1. Bimolecular Diagnosis and Therapy
2. Botanical medicine
3. Energy Medicine
4. Ethan-Medicine
5. Homeopathy
6. Manual Medicine
Basically a holistic lifestyle is trying to unite your body with gravity and your heart with your mind. Once all your parts are in harmony, for example the ying and yang, you can achieve perfect health. In my opinion the holistic way of life is a very interesting way of life that really intrigues me. I would like to acquire the skills and self-control some of these methods call for. Some methods really don’t appeal to me, for example acupuncture, but other methods such as meditation, aromatherapy, reflexology, and feng shui, are all valid forms of the holistic way of life that would definitely be of interest to me. Although some people think that this way of life is crazy etc, I think it is helpful and important in every day life. Just about everyone can practice this lifestyle in the easiest of ways. Although many people do not believe in the holistic way of life, even more people are firm followers of these concepts and it is sure to be an evergrowing idea that lasts for generations to come.
Hiv and Aids
The issue of HIV/AIDS has been a developing concern since the early 1980's. It is an issue that has sparked fear in everyone, but "society" has narrowed it down to certain people that can contract the AIDS virus. The stereotypical "AIDS" victim is not an IV drug user or a practicing homosexual; it is anyone, anyone who has unprotected sex, anyone who has had a blood transfusion in the past twenty years, or anyone who was innocently brought into the world by an infected mother. As unfair as it is, HIV/AIDS can attack someone whom society would have never "branded" as a stereotypical AIDS victim. This issue of HIV/AIDS needs to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed now. The epidemic of HIV/AIDS is on the rise in the state of Massachusetts. As many as 15,000 residents may be infected with the virus and not be aware of it and the majority of these victims are between the ages of twenty and forty. The only solution to this problem, as is the only solution to any problem, is prevention through education. Of course it is easy to hand out literature and condoms to adults, but are they really going to listen? As a community, we can encourage HIV/AIDS testing, but will it be taken advantage of? Since these are adults being familiarized with HIV/AIDS, how to contract it, the consequences, and the raw statistics, they will probably disregard all of the information. Education on the issue of HIV/AIDS obviously needs to begin at an earlier age. HIV is spread most commonly by sexual contact with an infected partner. The virus can enter the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum or mouth during sex. HIV also is spread through contact with infected blood. Prior to the screening of blood for evidence of HIV infection and before the introduction in 1985 of heat-treating techniques to destroy HIV in blood products, HIV was transmitted through transfusions of contaminated blood. Today, because of blood screening and heat treatment, the risk of acquiring HIV from such transfusions is extremely small. HIV frequently is spread among injection drug users by the sharing of needles or syringes contaminated with minute quantities of blood of someone infected with the virus. However, transmission from patient to health-care worker or vice-versa via accidental sticks with contaminated needles or other medical instruments is rare. Although researchers have detected HIV in the saliva of infected individuals, no evidence exists that the virus is spread by contact with saliva. Laboratory studies reveal that saliva has natural compounds that inhibit the infectiousness of HIV. Studies of people infected with HIV have found no evidence that the virus is spread to others through saliva such as by kissing. No one knows, however, the risk of infection from so-called "deep" kissing, involving the exchange of large amounts of saliva, or by oral intercourse. Scientists also have found no evidence that HIV is spread through sweat, tears, urine or feces. Studies of families of HIV-infected people have shown clearly that HIV is not spread through casual contact such as the sharing of food utensils, towels and bedding, swimming pools, telephones or toilet seats. HIV cannot spread by insects such as mosquitoes or bedbugs. HIV can infect anyone who shares drug needles or syringes, or by having sexual contact without using protection. Since this is such a controversial issue, the age at which education should begin is debatable. The children need to be mature enough to handle the concerns and they need to be young enough to begin practicing measures of safety that will continue throughout their lives. But, when it comes down to it, education of HIV/AIDS should begin when these children are able to understand that sharing blood can be dangerous. A good example of this situation is a five- year-old boy confronting his mom and saying that he and his best friend are going to prick their fingers and become "blood brothers." A response that will give a good reason why this should not be done and provide information about HIV/AIDS would be: " Some people have some things in their blood that can make you very sick and sharing blood is not a good idea." An alternate solution would be to use a sterilized needle to prick their fingers and have them drop blood onto the ground and rub it into the dirt with their feet. Under these circumstances, the children have been supervised while blood is present and have been informally educated about HIV/AIDS. This may never happen, in which case, children should be made aware of HIV/AIDS at the same time the "drug" and "sex talks" are being given. This way the topics are being interrelated and connections can be made. Examples of these connections may include using drugs with needles or having unprotected sex that can result in the contraction of the virus. Not only is it the responsibility of the parents to discuss this concern with their children, but it is also that of the school system. As a community, we are all responsible for protecting ourselves and more importantly, others. It would be upsetting to realize that one of the more than 15,000 HIV/AIDS victims in the state of Massachusetts is someone you know. Moreover, it would be devastating to discover that you could have provided the education that could have prevented the spread of this life-taking disease to your friend.
Health Promotion and Care Plans.
Whilst on placement on an adult rehabilitation ward, I had the opportunity to participate in some health promoting activities.
Galli (1978) states that health promotion is an “essentially contested concept”. Different people use the term health promotion for different things. For instance, the use of the term by the government when they apply it to screening clinics in primary health care is very different from the holistic and political perception of the World Health Organization: “health promotion has come to represent a unifying concept for those who recognize the need for change in the ways and conditions of living in order to promote health. Health promotion represents a mediating strategy between people and their environments, synthesizing personal choice and social responsibility in health to create a healthier future” (WHO, 1984).
One health promoting activity I participated in was ensuring a safe and effective discharge, in order to prevent readmission. This would of course mean ensuring that a patient is medically fit. However, there are other considerations to take into account, such as where the patient is being discharged to, for example long term or intermediate care in a nursing home, or are they going home? If the patient is returning home, will their care needs be met? Can the patient and/or carer safely utilize equipment that the patient needs to take home? Are there support networks for the patient and/or carer? If there is a condition affecting the patient, the patient and/or carer may need to be educated regarding symptoms, affects and treatments. For
example, one patient on the ward needed to be encouraged to self-care for her colostomy, another patient needed to be encouraged to mobilize with minimal assistance.
Another example of health promotion is the use of a care plan. A care plan would include strategies to improve and promote health and actual and potential problems can be identified and addressed. For example, one problem for a patient could be that they have a urinary catheter. The goal would be to prevent infection. It would be important to educate the patient in catheter care, for example, hand washing techniques and emptying and changing urine bags.
Patient education and consultation, involving the patient in the writing of their care plan reflects current best practice. Patient education is now viewed as an integral part of high quality health care (Walsh, 1997). It is vital that patient’s understand their rights and choices, especially for the elderly, because as a professional nurse one cannot discriminate between people and assume that because the patient is old they do not need to know what is happening to them and treat them as children (Rhonda, 1998).
Nursing care plans are an effective form of communication if written accurately and comprehensively and if all staff read them.
I have written a few care plans, and although I feel they are accurate and comprehensive, I feel that they are time consuming for me to write, as I am not confident in this task. I sometimes have to refer to other care plans written by staff nurses to offer me guidance as to how to word things so that they are clear and concise.
References.
Galli, N. (1978) Foundations and Principles of Health Education. Oxford: Medical Publications.
Rhonda, N. (1998) Contradictions between Perceptions and Practices of Caring in Long Term Care of Elderly People. Journal of Clinical Nursing. Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 401-408.
Walsh, M. editor (1197) Watson’s Clinical Nursing and Related Sciences. London: Bailliére Tindall.
World Health Organization. (1984) Health Promotion: A Discussion Document on Concepts and Principles. Geneva: W.H.O.
Galli (1978) states that health promotion is an “essentially contested concept”. Different people use the term health promotion for different things. For instance, the use of the term by the government when they apply it to screening clinics in primary health care is very different from the holistic and political perception of the World Health Organization: “health promotion has come to represent a unifying concept for those who recognize the need for change in the ways and conditions of living in order to promote health. Health promotion represents a mediating strategy between people and their environments, synthesizing personal choice and social responsibility in health to create a healthier future” (WHO, 1984).
One health promoting activity I participated in was ensuring a safe and effective discharge, in order to prevent readmission. This would of course mean ensuring that a patient is medically fit. However, there are other considerations to take into account, such as where the patient is being discharged to, for example long term or intermediate care in a nursing home, or are they going home? If the patient is returning home, will their care needs be met? Can the patient and/or carer safely utilize equipment that the patient needs to take home? Are there support networks for the patient and/or carer? If there is a condition affecting the patient, the patient and/or carer may need to be educated regarding symptoms, affects and treatments. For
example, one patient on the ward needed to be encouraged to self-care for her colostomy, another patient needed to be encouraged to mobilize with minimal assistance.
Another example of health promotion is the use of a care plan. A care plan would include strategies to improve and promote health and actual and potential problems can be identified and addressed. For example, one problem for a patient could be that they have a urinary catheter. The goal would be to prevent infection. It would be important to educate the patient in catheter care, for example, hand washing techniques and emptying and changing urine bags.
Patient education and consultation, involving the patient in the writing of their care plan reflects current best practice. Patient education is now viewed as an integral part of high quality health care (Walsh, 1997). It is vital that patient’s understand their rights and choices, especially for the elderly, because as a professional nurse one cannot discriminate between people and assume that because the patient is old they do not need to know what is happening to them and treat them as children (Rhonda, 1998).
Nursing care plans are an effective form of communication if written accurately and comprehensively and if all staff read them.
I have written a few care plans, and although I feel they are accurate and comprehensive, I feel that they are time consuming for me to write, as I am not confident in this task. I sometimes have to refer to other care plans written by staff nurses to offer me guidance as to how to word things so that they are clear and concise.
References.
Galli, N. (1978) Foundations and Principles of Health Education. Oxford: Medical Publications.
Rhonda, N. (1998) Contradictions between Perceptions and Practices of Caring in Long Term Care of Elderly People. Journal of Clinical Nursing. Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 401-408.
Walsh, M. editor (1197) Watson’s Clinical Nursing and Related Sciences. London: Bailliére Tindall.
World Health Organization. (1984) Health Promotion: A Discussion Document on Concepts and Principles. Geneva: W.H.O.
Handicap Essays
For a week in February when I was twelve, my mom and dad started to work hard to
set up a Credit Union party. They asked me to help them so, everyday after I got out
of school I would help them. Finally Friday came, a day before the big bash and I still had to help set up decorations. We were almost done but, my mom said, " Mike can you sent the tables and put up a few lights?" After a two hours the two hundred places I had to set up were finally done. My mom took me home. When I got home I started making plans for the night of the party. So, I called a few of my friends and ask what they were going to do. All of them had made plans. I wasn't too
happy but didn't care too much because my mom told me that my cousin Bethany was coming up for the party. I was overjoyed to hear that because I didn't see her too much. After my mom told me the good news, I tried to find something to do. I tried watching television but that didn't work. Then I tried to play some videos games. I grew tried of that rather quickly. So, I deiced to get some much needed rest.
The next morning I got up at eight o'clock because my dog Barney had to go outside. I knew he had to go outside because he started to cry. So, I let him out. Then I went to see if my mom or dad had made me breakfast. I looked and found nothing had been cooked for me. Which was really odd because every Saturday and Sunday morning they had made me breakfast since I could remember. My sister Amy was watching television. So, I asked her where mom and dad were. She said, " Dad had hurt his back and had to go to the hospital." I was very worried. I asked her how he did it. She said, " He was carrying some decorations for the party and he slipped on a patch of ice." Finally my mom and dad came home. My mom had to help him in the house because he could hardly walk. I asked him if he was still going to the party and he said, "No." So, I helped my mom put up the last of the decorations.
After the party my dad was in lots of pain. He could hardly move without having great shooting pains in his back. My family and I had to help him with pretty much everything. Which was very hard on my dad because he is very independent. He couldn't get out of bed without help or tie his shoes. He found out that no matter how independent you are there will come a time when you need help from someone. He was very glad we were there to help. After a couple of weeks of caring for my father his back became well, He could pretty much do stuff on his own. My dad was very grateful to my family and I for helping him over come his handicap.
set up a Credit Union party. They asked me to help them so, everyday after I got out
of school I would help them. Finally Friday came, a day before the big bash and I still had to help set up decorations. We were almost done but, my mom said, " Mike can you sent the tables and put up a few lights?" After a two hours the two hundred places I had to set up were finally done. My mom took me home. When I got home I started making plans for the night of the party. So, I called a few of my friends and ask what they were going to do. All of them had made plans. I wasn't too
happy but didn't care too much because my mom told me that my cousin Bethany was coming up for the party. I was overjoyed to hear that because I didn't see her too much. After my mom told me the good news, I tried to find something to do. I tried watching television but that didn't work. Then I tried to play some videos games. I grew tried of that rather quickly. So, I deiced to get some much needed rest.
The next morning I got up at eight o'clock because my dog Barney had to go outside. I knew he had to go outside because he started to cry. So, I let him out. Then I went to see if my mom or dad had made me breakfast. I looked and found nothing had been cooked for me. Which was really odd because every Saturday and Sunday morning they had made me breakfast since I could remember. My sister Amy was watching television. So, I asked her where mom and dad were. She said, " Dad had hurt his back and had to go to the hospital." I was very worried. I asked her how he did it. She said, " He was carrying some decorations for the party and he slipped on a patch of ice." Finally my mom and dad came home. My mom had to help him in the house because he could hardly walk. I asked him if he was still going to the party and he said, "No." So, I helped my mom put up the last of the decorations.
After the party my dad was in lots of pain. He could hardly move without having great shooting pains in his back. My family and I had to help him with pretty much everything. Which was very hard on my dad because he is very independent. He couldn't get out of bed without help or tie his shoes. He found out that no matter how independent you are there will come a time when you need help from someone. He was very glad we were there to help. After a couple of weeks of caring for my father his back became well, He could pretty much do stuff on his own. My dad was very grateful to my family and I for helping him over come his handicap.
Dwarfism
In medicine, ACHONDROPLASIA is known as being undersized, or less than 50in. in
height. Having short limbs, a normal sized trunk, large head with a depressed
nasal bridge and small face. This is a result of a disease in the thyroid gland.
It can also be caused by Down syndrome or absorption, a cartilaginous tissue
during the fetal stage. Hypochondroplasia, a mild form of dwarfism. Spinal
tuberculosis and the deficiency of the pituitary gland secretions. Treatment
with thyroxin or thyroid extract early in childhood results in normal growth and
development. Somatrophin, also known as the human growth hormone is secreted by
the anterior pituitary. Respiratory problems start to occur in infants. Symptoms
of problems include snoring and sleeping with neck in a hyperextended condition.
The limbs have rhizometic shortening. The legs are straight in infantry but when
a child. He begins walking they develop a knock-knee position. When the child
continues to walk legs begin to have a bowed-leg look. Occasionally, these
curvatures are fixed. As the child continues to walk the kyphosis disappears and
the back assumes a lordotic posture. If a delay in child’s walking occurs, the
spine should be monitored closely for signs of gibbous formation. In infancy,
hypercephalus can occur. Infants head circumference should be monitored close.
Monthly checks of head circumference must be monitored. Radiologic studies are
indicated if head circumference raises to disproportionately, or if symptoms of
hydrocephalus. Child’s pediatrician should have a copy of head circumference
curves for children with achondroplasia. Radiologic procedures for dwarfism
include head ultrasound, C-T scan, or MRI of the head. If intervention is
necessary, a ventriculoperitoneal shunt is placed relieving the pressure.
Infants should also be monitored for foramen magnum compression. It is the
opening at the base of the skull in which the brain stem and cervical spinal
cord exit. When you have achondroplasia the foramen magnum is compressing the
brain stem and spinal cord. Symptoms of narrowing include apnea the cessation of
breathing and cervical myleopathy. C-T scans and MRI scans are done to examine
the size of the infectious foramen magnum. A neurosurgical procedure called a
foramen magnum decompression is executed to alarge foramen and alleviate further
symptoms. Adolescents are at risk of getting lumbosacral spinal stenosis. The
lumber spinal cord or nerve roots become compressed producing nerosurgical
symptoms. Initial symptoms including weakness, tingling, and pain of the legs.
Pain usually alleviated by assuming a squatting position. When condition
worsens, pain in lower buttocks occurs. Diagnosis made by neurosurgical
procedure called a lumber laminectomy. Dwarfism is an autosomal dominant
condition. This means a person with achondroplasia has a 50% chance of passing
it to his children. 75% of individuals with achondroplasia are born to normal
size parents. The gene for Dwarfism, fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3)
is acquired when one undersized individual and a normal sized individual produce
a child. Couples at risk of having a child with 2 copies of the changed gene. A
DNA test is now also available to detect double homozygosity.
Bibliography
The Merck Manual of Medical Information. P 295, Merck & Co, Inc.
Whitehouse Station, NS 1997 Hunter, AGW, et. al. Standard weight for height
curves in achondroplasia. Am J Med Genet, 1996, 62:255-261 Science Publishing
Inc., Disease Volume 7, p 73 "Dwarfism","Microsoft (R) Encarta (R) 98
Encyclopedia (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.
height. Having short limbs, a normal sized trunk, large head with a depressed
nasal bridge and small face. This is a result of a disease in the thyroid gland.
It can also be caused by Down syndrome or absorption, a cartilaginous tissue
during the fetal stage. Hypochondroplasia, a mild form of dwarfism. Spinal
tuberculosis and the deficiency of the pituitary gland secretions. Treatment
with thyroxin or thyroid extract early in childhood results in normal growth and
development. Somatrophin, also known as the human growth hormone is secreted by
the anterior pituitary. Respiratory problems start to occur in infants. Symptoms
of problems include snoring and sleeping with neck in a hyperextended condition.
The limbs have rhizometic shortening. The legs are straight in infantry but when
a child. He begins walking they develop a knock-knee position. When the child
continues to walk legs begin to have a bowed-leg look. Occasionally, these
curvatures are fixed. As the child continues to walk the kyphosis disappears and
the back assumes a lordotic posture. If a delay in child’s walking occurs, the
spine should be monitored closely for signs of gibbous formation. In infancy,
hypercephalus can occur. Infants head circumference should be monitored close.
Monthly checks of head circumference must be monitored. Radiologic studies are
indicated if head circumference raises to disproportionately, or if symptoms of
hydrocephalus. Child’s pediatrician should have a copy of head circumference
curves for children with achondroplasia. Radiologic procedures for dwarfism
include head ultrasound, C-T scan, or MRI of the head. If intervention is
necessary, a ventriculoperitoneal shunt is placed relieving the pressure.
Infants should also be monitored for foramen magnum compression. It is the
opening at the base of the skull in which the brain stem and cervical spinal
cord exit. When you have achondroplasia the foramen magnum is compressing the
brain stem and spinal cord. Symptoms of narrowing include apnea the cessation of
breathing and cervical myleopathy. C-T scans and MRI scans are done to examine
the size of the infectious foramen magnum. A neurosurgical procedure called a
foramen magnum decompression is executed to alarge foramen and alleviate further
symptoms. Adolescents are at risk of getting lumbosacral spinal stenosis. The
lumber spinal cord or nerve roots become compressed producing nerosurgical
symptoms. Initial symptoms including weakness, tingling, and pain of the legs.
Pain usually alleviated by assuming a squatting position. When condition
worsens, pain in lower buttocks occurs. Diagnosis made by neurosurgical
procedure called a lumber laminectomy. Dwarfism is an autosomal dominant
condition. This means a person with achondroplasia has a 50% chance of passing
it to his children. 75% of individuals with achondroplasia are born to normal
size parents. The gene for Dwarfism, fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3)
is acquired when one undersized individual and a normal sized individual produce
a child. Couples at risk of having a child with 2 copies of the changed gene. A
DNA test is now also available to detect double homozygosity.
Bibliography
The Merck Manual of Medical Information. P 295, Merck & Co, Inc.
Whitehouse Station, NS 1997 Hunter, AGW, et. al. Standard weight for height
curves in achondroplasia. Am J Med Genet, 1996, 62:255-261 Science Publishing
Inc., Disease Volume 7, p 73 "Dwarfism","Microsoft (R) Encarta (R) 98
Encyclopedia (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.
Drug Treatment Facitlities
Less than one in four drug abusers receives treatment for addiction, and yet the number of programs dwindles, according to recent research.
"Access has shrunk in the last decade," said lead author Marjorie Gutman, PhD, of the Treatment Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "Capacity falls far short of need and may be shrinking under managed care."
Gutman and co-author Richard Clayton, PhD, of the Lexington-based University of Kentucky Center for Prevention Research, found encouraging evidence of improvements in treatment effectiveness. Overshadowing the good news, however, is a steady reduction of availability and access. They report their results in the November/December issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.
According to the researchers, state-of-the-art drug treatment programs work best. These programs usually include detoxification; assessment and diagnosis; habilitation and rehabilitation; and aftercare, with or without medication.
"When clients do manage to enter programs, 30 percent to 50 percent stay off drugs for at least a year," said Gutman.
"There is an urgent need for new programs related to marijuana, inhalants, and methamphetamines," said Gutman. "The mentally ill, and people who abuse more than one substance, need new treatment options." However, rather than expanding, treatment options and opportunities are becoming less available.
"Treatment alternatives aren't simply dwindling; they are deteriorating in range, professionalism, and duration of services," said Gutman, citing national and local data. These declines are reflected in programs and services available in many different settings, including, for example, managed care programs that "carve out" mental health and substance abuse programs from physical health services.
The researchers also point out that controversy currently limits two treatment-related programs: needle exchanges and perinatal substance abuse responses. Needle swaps draw fire from criminal justice proponents, despite research consensus that such programs slow the spread of HIV without creating more drug users. Concerns about criminal justice issues have also restricted the availability of programs for pregnant addicts.
School-based prevention programs have gained sophistication, expanding beyond classroom instruction to include parents, media, and community. In comparison with students outside programs, results of up to 44 percent fewer drug users and 66 percent fewer polydrug users have been reported. "However, the widely publicized DARE program, sponsored by police in more than half the nation's school districts, has shown little if any sustained effect," said Gutman.
National and statewide efforts tend to focus on banning drugs, rather than prevention or treatment. One exception, the privately funded "Partnership for a Drug-free America" has tried for 15 years to "denormalize" drug use. "Unfortunately, it has not been rigorously evaluated to determine its effectiveness," said Gutman. Federal efforts on a much wider scope are under way.
"Access has shrunk in the last decade," said lead author Marjorie Gutman, PhD, of the Treatment Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "Capacity falls far short of need and may be shrinking under managed care."
Gutman and co-author Richard Clayton, PhD, of the Lexington-based University of Kentucky Center for Prevention Research, found encouraging evidence of improvements in treatment effectiveness. Overshadowing the good news, however, is a steady reduction of availability and access. They report their results in the November/December issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.
According to the researchers, state-of-the-art drug treatment programs work best. These programs usually include detoxification; assessment and diagnosis; habilitation and rehabilitation; and aftercare, with or without medication.
"When clients do manage to enter programs, 30 percent to 50 percent stay off drugs for at least a year," said Gutman.
"There is an urgent need for new programs related to marijuana, inhalants, and methamphetamines," said Gutman. "The mentally ill, and people who abuse more than one substance, need new treatment options." However, rather than expanding, treatment options and opportunities are becoming less available.
"Treatment alternatives aren't simply dwindling; they are deteriorating in range, professionalism, and duration of services," said Gutman, citing national and local data. These declines are reflected in programs and services available in many different settings, including, for example, managed care programs that "carve out" mental health and substance abuse programs from physical health services.
The researchers also point out that controversy currently limits two treatment-related programs: needle exchanges and perinatal substance abuse responses. Needle swaps draw fire from criminal justice proponents, despite research consensus that such programs slow the spread of HIV without creating more drug users. Concerns about criminal justice issues have also restricted the availability of programs for pregnant addicts.
School-based prevention programs have gained sophistication, expanding beyond classroom instruction to include parents, media, and community. In comparison with students outside programs, results of up to 44 percent fewer drug users and 66 percent fewer polydrug users have been reported. "However, the widely publicized DARE program, sponsored by police in more than half the nation's school districts, has shown little if any sustained effect," said Gutman.
National and statewide efforts tend to focus on banning drugs, rather than prevention or treatment. One exception, the privately funded "Partnership for a Drug-free America" has tried for 15 years to "denormalize" drug use. "Unfortunately, it has not been rigorously evaluated to determine its effectiveness," said Gutman. Federal efforts on a much wider scope are under way.
Down Syndrome Report
The chromosomal abnormality involved in most cases of Down syndrome is trisomy-21, or the presence of three copies of the 21st chromosome. As a result, the affected person has 47 chromosomes in all body cells instead of the normal 46, although how this causes the condition's symptoms is not yet known. Scientists assume that the reason for the abnormal chromosomal assortment is the fertilization of an ovum having 24 chromosomes by a sperm with a normal assortment of 23, but they have also found that the sperm can carry the extra chromosome as well. The abnormal ovum or sperm is derived from a germ cell in which the pair of 21st chromosomes holds together and passes into the same sperm or ovum instead of separating. In the type of Down syndrome called translocation, the extra chromosome 21 material is attached to one of the other chromosomes; when some, but not all, of the body's cells carry an extra chromosome 21, the condition is a type of Down syndrome called mosaicism.
Because of the extra chromosome 21, children with Down syndrome often have some characteristic physical features, such as a small head, a flat face, slightly upward slanted eyelids, skin folds at the inner corners of the eyes, small nose and mouth, and small hands and feet. Most of these characteristic do not interfere with the child's functioning, a doctor primarily uses the characteristics for diagnostic purposes. These physical features are variable, and children with Down syndrome are usually more like other children than they are different.
Individuals with Down syndrome also often have certain medical conditions such as weak muscles, neurological impairments, heart disease, intestinal abnormalities, poorly functioning thyroid gland, eye abnormalities, hearing problems, and skeletal problems. Almost all children with Down syndrome are mentally retarded, in the mild to moderate range. The degree of mental retardation varies considerably. Through medical treatment the disorders and infections accompanying Down syndrome have no effect on an almost normal life span.
The overall incidence of Down syndrome is approximately one in 700 births, but the risk varies with the age of the mother. The incidence of Down syndrome in children born to 25-year-old mothers is approximately 1 in 1200; the risk increases to approximately 1 in 350 for 35-year-olds and approximately 1 in 120 for women older than 40 years. Prenatal tests can be used to detect chromosome abnormality causing Down syndrome.
SOURCES
1) "Down Syndrome," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 96 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. (c) Funk & Wagnalls Corporation. All rights reserved.
2) "Down Syndrome," Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming.
Because of the extra chromosome 21, children with Down syndrome often have some characteristic physical features, such as a small head, a flat face, slightly upward slanted eyelids, skin folds at the inner corners of the eyes, small nose and mouth, and small hands and feet. Most of these characteristic do not interfere with the child's functioning, a doctor primarily uses the characteristics for diagnostic purposes. These physical features are variable, and children with Down syndrome are usually more like other children than they are different.
Individuals with Down syndrome also often have certain medical conditions such as weak muscles, neurological impairments, heart disease, intestinal abnormalities, poorly functioning thyroid gland, eye abnormalities, hearing problems, and skeletal problems. Almost all children with Down syndrome are mentally retarded, in the mild to moderate range. The degree of mental retardation varies considerably. Through medical treatment the disorders and infections accompanying Down syndrome have no effect on an almost normal life span.
The overall incidence of Down syndrome is approximately one in 700 births, but the risk varies with the age of the mother. The incidence of Down syndrome in children born to 25-year-old mothers is approximately 1 in 1200; the risk increases to approximately 1 in 350 for 35-year-olds and approximately 1 in 120 for women older than 40 years. Prenatal tests can be used to detect chromosome abnormality causing Down syndrome.
SOURCES
1) "Down Syndrome," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 96 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. (c) Funk & Wagnalls Corporation. All rights reserved.
2) "Down Syndrome," Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming.
Diet Macronutrients
My diet is acceptable in the following Macronutrients: dairy group (3 servings),
vegetable soup (3 servings), fruit group (4 servings), and starch/grain (7
servings). I take in over 100% RDA for vitamins and mineral (macronutrients)
with my diet plus additional vitamin and mineral supplementation (Centrum),
vitamin E and Echinachea. I take an average of 33.5g of dietary fiber calories
is 112% RDA which is acceptable. According to the analysis of the 3 day food
record it says that I consume too much fat (servings) and protein: (147g/ day)
which is 253% the RDA. I know that I consume a tremendous amount of protein a
day but my dietary goals from project I was to consume enough protein to gain
lean body mass through diet and exercise (weights). The reason I consume so much
protein is that protein contain amino acids necessary for muscle growth and
repair. I am sure to drink plenty of water ½ gallon a day to relieve stress on
my kidneys and other organs from the excess protein. To get enough protein I
must consume lots of meat products which can lead to health problems because of
cholesterol and fat. In order to get enough protein I supplement with low-fat,
high protein, and moderate carbohydrate shakes, flax seed oil caps, and fish oil
capsules daily. Protein supplements keep my LDL's down and give me the protein I
need in complete BCAA form while, the flax seed oil and fish oil raise my HDL's.
I think my diet is adequate because I want to gain weight through a complete
diet, weight training, and supplementation program. Also, a positive nitrogen
balance is necessary in order to gain lean body mass. *All servings represent an
average of 3 days.
vegetable soup (3 servings), fruit group (4 servings), and starch/grain (7
servings). I take in over 100% RDA for vitamins and mineral (macronutrients)
with my diet plus additional vitamin and mineral supplementation (Centrum),
vitamin E and Echinachea. I take an average of 33.5g of dietary fiber calories
is 112% RDA which is acceptable. According to the analysis of the 3 day food
record it says that I consume too much fat (servings) and protein: (147g/ day)
which is 253% the RDA. I know that I consume a tremendous amount of protein a
day but my dietary goals from project I was to consume enough protein to gain
lean body mass through diet and exercise (weights). The reason I consume so much
protein is that protein contain amino acids necessary for muscle growth and
repair. I am sure to drink plenty of water ½ gallon a day to relieve stress on
my kidneys and other organs from the excess protein. To get enough protein I
must consume lots of meat products which can lead to health problems because of
cholesterol and fat. In order to get enough protein I supplement with low-fat,
high protein, and moderate carbohydrate shakes, flax seed oil caps, and fish oil
capsules daily. Protein supplements keep my LDL's down and give me the protein I
need in complete BCAA form while, the flax seed oil and fish oil raise my HDL's.
I think my diet is adequate because I want to gain weight through a complete
diet, weight training, and supplementation program. Also, a positive nitrogen
balance is necessary in order to gain lean body mass. *All servings represent an
average of 3 days.
Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes occurs when the pancreas either cannot or has trouble making enough insulin to control the sugar a person receives from their food. (Bete, Co. 1972) Diabetes
Mellitus is broken down into two groups: Juvenile (Type One), and Adult (Type
Two) (McHenry, 1993). Type One diabetics are insulin dependant. People under
forty years of age are more prone to this type. They have low serum insulin
levels and it more often affects small blood vessels in eyes and kidneys. Type
Two diabetics are non-insulin dependant. This type is prone to people over forty
years of age. They have low, normal or high serum insulin levels. It most often
affects large blood vessels and nerves (Long, 1993). Type One diabetes was one
of the earliest diseases to be documented by historians. Once called "honey
urine" and the "Persian fire". The name diabetes was conceived by
the Greek physician Arteus almost eighteen hundred years ago. The disease
remained a mystery until 1700 when an English doctor demonstrated that a
diabetic’s blood was abnormally high in sugar (Aaseng, 1995). Thus, bringing
to the conclusion that diabetics are unable to use blood sugar as other persons
bodies do (McHenry, 1993). With this fact, a young doctor named Fredrick Banting
and a biochemist, Charles Best, were lead to the discovery of manufacturing
insulin, the hormone for which is the key to blood sugar processing. Many
diabetics lives have been saved because of this discovery (Aaseng, 1995). A
person is at risk of this disorder if they have diabetic relatives, are over the
age of forty years, are over-weight, and if they are of certain racial or ethnic
groups. Women with gestational diabetes who give birth to a baby that weighs
more than nine pounds are also at good risk of conducting this disease (Long,
1993). Higher numbers of diabetics occur more in Caucasian people than other
races, and the highest incidents of Type One diabetes in the world are found in
people residing in Scandinavian countries (Aaseng, 1995). Some signs and
symptoms of this disorder are: an increased thirst and appetite, frequent
urination, fatigue or anxiety, sickness of the stomach, loss of weight, skin
infections, blurred vision, or numbness to feet and hands. Blood, urine, or
supplementary tests can be done to determine whether a person is diabetic. Once
diagnosed, the patient can be treated by making changes in their diet,
exercising regularly, injecting themselves with insulin, or taking oral
medications (Diabetes, 1997). Type Two may be treated by only maintaining a
healthy diet and exercising regularly (Long, 1993). There is no known cure for
type one diabetes, only treatments. Since Banting’s and Best’s discovery,
insulin injections have been the primary treatment. A decade long study
completed in 1993 by the National Institute of Health (NIH) found that more
frequent shots may help infected people live longer and stay healthier (Aaseng,
1955). Presently, curing and prevention measures are being studied to treat Type
One diabetes and hopefully science will produce better treatments and medicines
to combat the disease (Long, 1993). Diabetes, no matter what kind or form, is a
very serious disease. If it is overlooked it could lead to complications such as
kidney disease, gangrene, blindness, and heart attacks. If a person suffers from
any of the symptoms they should consult a physician or a dietician. In the end,
life is not over after having been diagnosed with diabetes. Over the last
century, the treatments have gotten stronger and in the future they will grow
even better. Through simple measures one could live out their full life while
being a diabetic patient.
Bibliography
McHenry, Robert. "Diabetes Mellitus." Encyclopedia Brittannica.
1993 ed. Aaseng, Nathan. Autoimmune Diseases. New York, New York: Franklin Watt,
Co. 1995. Long, Barbera, Wilma Phipps, Virginia Cassmeyer. Medical Surgical
Nursing. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby, 1993. "Diabetes" 1997. http:/www.diabetes.org/ada/c20b.csp.
(16 December 1998) Diabetes, Channing L. Bete Co., Inc. 1972. Pamplet
Mellitus is broken down into two groups: Juvenile (Type One), and Adult (Type
Two) (McHenry, 1993). Type One diabetics are insulin dependant. People under
forty years of age are more prone to this type. They have low serum insulin
levels and it more often affects small blood vessels in eyes and kidneys. Type
Two diabetics are non-insulin dependant. This type is prone to people over forty
years of age. They have low, normal or high serum insulin levels. It most often
affects large blood vessels and nerves (Long, 1993). Type One diabetes was one
of the earliest diseases to be documented by historians. Once called "honey
urine" and the "Persian fire". The name diabetes was conceived by
the Greek physician Arteus almost eighteen hundred years ago. The disease
remained a mystery until 1700 when an English doctor demonstrated that a
diabetic’s blood was abnormally high in sugar (Aaseng, 1995). Thus, bringing
to the conclusion that diabetics are unable to use blood sugar as other persons
bodies do (McHenry, 1993). With this fact, a young doctor named Fredrick Banting
and a biochemist, Charles Best, were lead to the discovery of manufacturing
insulin, the hormone for which is the key to blood sugar processing. Many
diabetics lives have been saved because of this discovery (Aaseng, 1995). A
person is at risk of this disorder if they have diabetic relatives, are over the
age of forty years, are over-weight, and if they are of certain racial or ethnic
groups. Women with gestational diabetes who give birth to a baby that weighs
more than nine pounds are also at good risk of conducting this disease (Long,
1993). Higher numbers of diabetics occur more in Caucasian people than other
races, and the highest incidents of Type One diabetes in the world are found in
people residing in Scandinavian countries (Aaseng, 1995). Some signs and
symptoms of this disorder are: an increased thirst and appetite, frequent
urination, fatigue or anxiety, sickness of the stomach, loss of weight, skin
infections, blurred vision, or numbness to feet and hands. Blood, urine, or
supplementary tests can be done to determine whether a person is diabetic. Once
diagnosed, the patient can be treated by making changes in their diet,
exercising regularly, injecting themselves with insulin, or taking oral
medications (Diabetes, 1997). Type Two may be treated by only maintaining a
healthy diet and exercising regularly (Long, 1993). There is no known cure for
type one diabetes, only treatments. Since Banting’s and Best’s discovery,
insulin injections have been the primary treatment. A decade long study
completed in 1993 by the National Institute of Health (NIH) found that more
frequent shots may help infected people live longer and stay healthier (Aaseng,
1955). Presently, curing and prevention measures are being studied to treat Type
One diabetes and hopefully science will produce better treatments and medicines
to combat the disease (Long, 1993). Diabetes, no matter what kind or form, is a
very serious disease. If it is overlooked it could lead to complications such as
kidney disease, gangrene, blindness, and heart attacks. If a person suffers from
any of the symptoms they should consult a physician or a dietician. In the end,
life is not over after having been diagnosed with diabetes. Over the last
century, the treatments have gotten stronger and in the future they will grow
even better. Through simple measures one could live out their full life while
being a diabetic patient.
Bibliography
McHenry, Robert. "Diabetes Mellitus." Encyclopedia Brittannica.
1993 ed. Aaseng, Nathan. Autoimmune Diseases. New York, New York: Franklin Watt,
Co. 1995. Long, Barbera, Wilma Phipps, Virginia Cassmeyer. Medical Surgical
Nursing. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby, 1993. "Diabetes" 1997. http:/www.diabetes.org/ada/c20b.csp.
(16 December 1998) Diabetes, Channing L. Bete Co., Inc. 1972. Pamplet
Deliberate Practice
The main point in Ericsson et. Al.(1993) is that in order to achieve expert performance, one must engage in deliberate practice with the explicit goal of constant improvement.This theory further dismisses to a large extent the role of genetics, in which Ericsson reasons that there has been no great correlations between the attainment of superior performance and inherited traits. The purpose of this paper is to show agreement with Ericsson's theory, but only to the extent that deliberate practice is just one of many factors which must be included in order to gain expert status. Also, the task at hand can be a major determinant of how large a role practice plays in improvement. For example, in endurance sports such as marathon running, some are genetically endowed with a high aerobic capacity/VO2 max, and if these "special" people develop and improve their performance through deliberate practice, they can attain expert status. In contrast, the "average" person may also engage in an equal amount of practice but will never be able to achieve that same level of performance because their body is physiologically incapable. Furthermore, physiologist Dr. Astrand contends that up to 90% of the variance in aerobic performance is due to one's genes, regardless of training programs. (McArdle,1994). But sports like golf are probably influenced very little by
genetics because skill acquisition far overshadows physical ability. History provides many examples of athletes who apparently has a poor genetic endowment, yet by hard training and motivation went on to international success (Shepard,1987). In conclusion, expert performance is most likely due to a complex interaction of psychological, physiological, and biomechanical factors (Powers, 1994); factors whose importance is dependent on the nature of the task at hand.
genetics because skill acquisition far overshadows physical ability. History provides many examples of athletes who apparently has a poor genetic endowment, yet by hard training and motivation went on to international success (Shepard,1987). In conclusion, expert performance is most likely due to a complex interaction of psychological, physiological, and biomechanical factors (Powers, 1994); factors whose importance is dependent on the nature of the task at hand.
Defence Mechanisms
Sometimes in dealing with anxiety and conflict, a level of the brain also deals with memories. This level is called the unconscious level.
Behavior that involves self-deception is a mental defense called defence mechanisms. Some of these defences can be valuable devices. When someone replaces
a seemingly impossible goal with a possible one, compensation has beenn used. Redirecting aggresion from hostility to a drive to be sucessful is helpful. This defence
is sublimation. While fantasy is a form of escape, it is also a way to work out imaginary solutions to conflicts.
Some of these defences can be harmful to you as well as others. When a person lashes out at another person for no reason, it may be the results of something that happeneded
earlier that day. The person who was lashed out at is the victim of displaced agression. When these defence mechanisms are taken to extremes and used over a long period of time these defences
can be harmful.
Behavior that involves self-deception is a mental defense called defence mechanisms. Some of these defences can be valuable devices. When someone replaces
a seemingly impossible goal with a possible one, compensation has beenn used. Redirecting aggresion from hostility to a drive to be sucessful is helpful. This defence
is sublimation. While fantasy is a form of escape, it is also a way to work out imaginary solutions to conflicts.
Some of these defences can be harmful to you as well as others. When a person lashes out at another person for no reason, it may be the results of something that happeneded
earlier that day. The person who was lashed out at is the victim of displaced agression. When these defence mechanisms are taken to extremes and used over a long period of time these defences
can be harmful.
Cloning
Genetic engineering, altering the inherited characteristics of an organism in a
predetermined way, by introducing into it a piece of the genetic material of
another organism. Genetic engineering offers the hope of cures for many
inherited diseases, once the problem of low efficiencies of effective transfer
of genetic material is overcome.
Another development has been the refinement of the technique called
cloning, which produces large numbers of genetically identical individuals by
transplanting whole cell nuclei. With other techniques scientists can isolate
sections of DNA representing single genes, determine their nucleotide
sequences, and reproduce them in the laboratory. This offers the possibility
of creating entirely new genes with commercially or medically desirable
properties.
While the potential benefits of genetic engineering are considerable, so may
be the potential dangers. For example, the introduction of cancer-causing
genes into a common infectious organism, such as the influenza virus, could
be hazardous.
We have come to believe that all human beings are equal; but even more
firmly, we are taught to believe each one of us is unique. Is that idea
undercut by cloning? That is, if you can deliberately make any number of
copies of an individual, is each one special? How special can clones feel,
knowing they were replicated like smile buttons. "We aren't just our genes,
we're a whole collection of our experiences," says Albert Jonsen. But the
idea, he adds, raises a host of issues, "from the fantastic to the profound."
When anesthesia was discovered in the 19th century, there was a speculation
that it would rob humans of the transforming experience of suffering. When
three decades ago, James Watson and Francis Crick unraveled the genetic
code, popular discussion turned not to the new hope for vanquishing disease
but to the specter of genetically engineered races of supermen and worker
drones. Later, the arrival of organ transplants set people brooding about a
world of clanking Frankensteins, welded together made from used parts.
Already there are thousands of frozen embryos sitting in liquid nitrogen
storage around the country. "Suppose somebody wanted to advertise cloned
embryos by showing pictures of already born children like a product," says
Prof. Ruth Macklin, of New York's Albert Einstein College of medicine, who
specializes in human reproduction.
Splitting an embryo mat seem a great technological leap, but in a world
where embryos are already created in test tubes, it's a baby step. The current
challenge in reproductive medicine is not to produce more embryos but to
identify healthy ones and get them to grow in the womb. Using genetic tests,
doctors can now screen embryonic cells for hereditary diseases. In the not to
distant future, prenatal tests may also help predict such common problems as
obesity, depression and heart disease. But don't expect scientists to start
building new traits into babies anytime soon. The technological obstacles are
formidable, and so are the cultural ones.
Copies of humans are identical, but are the people the same? Probably not.
For a century scientists have been trying to figure out which factors play the
most important role in the development of a human personality. Is it nature
or nurture, heredity or environment? The best information so far has come
from the study of identical twins reared apart. Twins Jim Springer and Jim
Lewis, separated at birth in 1939, were reunited 39 years later in a study of
twins at the University of Minnesota. Both had married and divorced women
named Linda, married second wives named Betty and named their oldest
sons James Allan and James Alan. Both drove the same model of blue
Chevrolet, enjoyed woodworking, vacationed on the same Florida beach, and
both had dogs named Toy.
predetermined way, by introducing into it a piece of the genetic material of
another organism. Genetic engineering offers the hope of cures for many
inherited diseases, once the problem of low efficiencies of effective transfer
of genetic material is overcome.
Another development has been the refinement of the technique called
cloning, which produces large numbers of genetically identical individuals by
transplanting whole cell nuclei. With other techniques scientists can isolate
sections of DNA representing single genes, determine their nucleotide
sequences, and reproduce them in the laboratory. This offers the possibility
of creating entirely new genes with commercially or medically desirable
properties.
While the potential benefits of genetic engineering are considerable, so may
be the potential dangers. For example, the introduction of cancer-causing
genes into a common infectious organism, such as the influenza virus, could
be hazardous.
We have come to believe that all human beings are equal; but even more
firmly, we are taught to believe each one of us is unique. Is that idea
undercut by cloning? That is, if you can deliberately make any number of
copies of an individual, is each one special? How special can clones feel,
knowing they were replicated like smile buttons. "We aren't just our genes,
we're a whole collection of our experiences," says Albert Jonsen. But the
idea, he adds, raises a host of issues, "from the fantastic to the profound."
When anesthesia was discovered in the 19th century, there was a speculation
that it would rob humans of the transforming experience of suffering. When
three decades ago, James Watson and Francis Crick unraveled the genetic
code, popular discussion turned not to the new hope for vanquishing disease
but to the specter of genetically engineered races of supermen and worker
drones. Later, the arrival of organ transplants set people brooding about a
world of clanking Frankensteins, welded together made from used parts.
Already there are thousands of frozen embryos sitting in liquid nitrogen
storage around the country. "Suppose somebody wanted to advertise cloned
embryos by showing pictures of already born children like a product," says
Prof. Ruth Macklin, of New York's Albert Einstein College of medicine, who
specializes in human reproduction.
Splitting an embryo mat seem a great technological leap, but in a world
where embryos are already created in test tubes, it's a baby step. The current
challenge in reproductive medicine is not to produce more embryos but to
identify healthy ones and get them to grow in the womb. Using genetic tests,
doctors can now screen embryonic cells for hereditary diseases. In the not to
distant future, prenatal tests may also help predict such common problems as
obesity, depression and heart disease. But don't expect scientists to start
building new traits into babies anytime soon. The technological obstacles are
formidable, and so are the cultural ones.
Copies of humans are identical, but are the people the same? Probably not.
For a century scientists have been trying to figure out which factors play the
most important role in the development of a human personality. Is it nature
or nurture, heredity or environment? The best information so far has come
from the study of identical twins reared apart. Twins Jim Springer and Jim
Lewis, separated at birth in 1939, were reunited 39 years later in a study of
twins at the University of Minnesota. Both had married and divorced women
named Linda, married second wives named Betty and named their oldest
sons James Allan and James Alan. Both drove the same model of blue
Chevrolet, enjoyed woodworking, vacationed on the same Florida beach, and
both had dogs named Toy.
Cigarettes and Their Destruction of the Brain
Smokers generally feel more comfortable after that especially important first cigarette of the day. Within just a few seconds of "lighting up," smoking activates mind-altering changes. Smokers are well aware of the long-term risks of their habit: such as lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other deadly illnesses. However, smokers are attracted by the immediate effects of smoking: "a stimulant that makes them seem to feel more alert, clearheaded and able to focus on work." Smoking however, does not really have these effects; what the smoker perceives is an illusion. Nicotine begins to act on brain cells within ten seconds of inhalation, fitting into "keyholes" on the surface of the brain; the same "keyholes" as acetylcholine(an important neurotransmitter), and mimicking epinephrine and norepinephrine, giving the smoker a rush, or stimulation. Within 30 minutes, smokers feel their energy begin to decline, as the ingested nicotine is reduced. This process continues, as the smoker's attention becomes increasingly focused on cigarettes. Nicotine causes smokers' brain cells to grow more nicotinic receptors than normal; therefore, the brain may function normally despite the irregular amount of acetylcholine-like chemical acting upon it. The brain is reshaped: the smoker feels normal with nicotine in his system, and abnormal without it. A series of tests were conducted on nonsmokers, "active" smokers, and "deprived" smokers. The "active" smokers were given a cigarette before each test, while the "deprived" smokers were not allowed cigarettes before tests.
The tests started simply, and then moved towards more complex problems. In the first test, subjects sat in front of a computer screen and pressed the space bar when a target letter, among 96, was recognized: smokers, deprived smokers, and nonsmokers, performed equally well. The next test involved scanning sequences of 20 identical letters and as one of the letters was transformed into a different one, responding with the space bar. Nonsmokers responded fastest, and active smokers were faster than those who were
deprived from smoking. In the third test, subjects were required to memorize a sequence of letters or numbers, and to respond when they observed the sequence among flashed groupings on the screen. The purpose of this experiment was to test short-term memory: nonsmokers again ranked highest, however, deprived smokers defeated the active smokers. Subjects were required to read a passage and then answer questions about it in the fourth test. "Nonsmokers remembered 19 percent more of the most important information than active smokers, and deprived smokers bested their counterparts who had smoked a cigarette just before testing. Active smokers tended not only to have poorer memories but also had trouble differentiating important from trivial details." In the final experiment, a computer-generated driving simulator(much like a video game) was used to test the subjects, who were required to operate a steering wheel, gearshift, gas pedal and brake, and to navigate through twisting roads, and sudden appearances of cars and oil slicks. Deprived smokers had 67 percent more rear-end collisions than nonsmokers, while the smokers who had just had a cigarette performed even worse: they had 3.5 times the rear-end collisions as did nonsmokers. As testing progressed, and became more complex, nonsmokers outperformed smokers by wider margins.
As a smoker, I must state that I am concerned as to the findings of this article. I have an exceptional memory, however, it is not quite as sharp as it once was. I have considered quitting smoking, yet I have not yet taken any actions toward doing so; however, I have cut down from the amount that I previously have smoked, and am still progressing in this manner. This article has definitely forced me to reconsider my habit, as I'm sure it would be beneficial. I would advise all smokers to read this article and then evaluate their personal smoking habits.
Works Cited
"How Cigarettes Cloud Your Brain." Ponte, Lowell. Reader's Digest. March 1995.
The tests started simply, and then moved towards more complex problems. In the first test, subjects sat in front of a computer screen and pressed the space bar when a target letter, among 96, was recognized: smokers, deprived smokers, and nonsmokers, performed equally well. The next test involved scanning sequences of 20 identical letters and as one of the letters was transformed into a different one, responding with the space bar. Nonsmokers responded fastest, and active smokers were faster than those who were
deprived from smoking. In the third test, subjects were required to memorize a sequence of letters or numbers, and to respond when they observed the sequence among flashed groupings on the screen. The purpose of this experiment was to test short-term memory: nonsmokers again ranked highest, however, deprived smokers defeated the active smokers. Subjects were required to read a passage and then answer questions about it in the fourth test. "Nonsmokers remembered 19 percent more of the most important information than active smokers, and deprived smokers bested their counterparts who had smoked a cigarette just before testing. Active smokers tended not only to have poorer memories but also had trouble differentiating important from trivial details." In the final experiment, a computer-generated driving simulator(much like a video game) was used to test the subjects, who were required to operate a steering wheel, gearshift, gas pedal and brake, and to navigate through twisting roads, and sudden appearances of cars and oil slicks. Deprived smokers had 67 percent more rear-end collisions than nonsmokers, while the smokers who had just had a cigarette performed even worse: they had 3.5 times the rear-end collisions as did nonsmokers. As testing progressed, and became more complex, nonsmokers outperformed smokers by wider margins.
As a smoker, I must state that I am concerned as to the findings of this article. I have an exceptional memory, however, it is not quite as sharp as it once was. I have considered quitting smoking, yet I have not yet taken any actions toward doing so; however, I have cut down from the amount that I previously have smoked, and am still progressing in this manner. This article has definitely forced me to reconsider my habit, as I'm sure it would be beneficial. I would advise all smokers to read this article and then evaluate their personal smoking habits.
Works Cited
"How Cigarettes Cloud Your Brain." Ponte, Lowell. Reader's Digest. March 1995.
Cholera the Forgotten Disease
It seems every time we hear of a major flood or earthquake in a developing
country, we hear once again about cholera. Cholera has been very rare in industrial
nations, such as the USA, for the last 100 years, however, what we do not realize is that
cholera is endemic in many small countries which have limited drinking water and
sewage treatment facilities.
Caused by an infection of bacterium Vibrio Cholerae in the intestine, a cholera
infection is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes is severe. Symptoms appear
2 to 3 days after initial exposure. Approximately one in 20 infected persons display
symptoms of water diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps; this rapid lose of body fluids
leads to dehydration and sometimes shock. These fluids must be replaced either
intravenously or by drinking liquids such as fruit juice, soup, or fluids called oral
rehydration salts, which replace electrolytes. Antibiotics may be proscribed to shorten the
duration of diarrhea and excretion of bacteria in feces. Without treatment, death may
occur in hours.
Although cholera can be life-threating, it can easily be prevented and treated. A
vaccine for cholera is available; however, it confers only brief, 2 to 6 months, and
incomplete immunity, only about 50% effective. It is not recommended. Since cholera is
still common in other parts of the world, everyone, especially travelers, should be aware
of how the disease is transmitted and what can be done to prevent it.
The disease is not likely to spread directly from one person to another; therefore,
casual contact with an infected person is not a risk for becoming ill. A person may get
cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated with the Vibrio cholerae
bacterium. In an epidemic, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an
infected person entering the main water source. The cholera bacterium may also live in
brackish rivers and coastal waters. Shellfish from infected waters can cause infection.
Unwashed fresh fruits and vegetables irrigated with tainted water can also infect.
Prevention of cholera is easy. When in a possibly infected area: cook the food
properly, eat foods promptly after their preparation including shellfish, fruits and
vegetables, avoid drinking untreated water, and wash your hands thoroughly with soap
often.
Cholera will not have great impact on me as a surgical technologist. It is not
common in the United States, and since it is not transmitted directly from person to
person, there is no risk of the Operating room staff transmitting the disease from the
patient. If an ill patient is scheduled, elective surgery will be postponed, and in the case
of emergency surgery on someone with cholera, their fluids will be monitored
meticulously.
In closing, cholera, although not prevalent, is a threat to world travelers. Education of
the causes, treatment, and prevention are a traveler’s first line of defense
country, we hear once again about cholera. Cholera has been very rare in industrial
nations, such as the USA, for the last 100 years, however, what we do not realize is that
cholera is endemic in many small countries which have limited drinking water and
sewage treatment facilities.
Caused by an infection of bacterium Vibrio Cholerae in the intestine, a cholera
infection is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes is severe. Symptoms appear
2 to 3 days after initial exposure. Approximately one in 20 infected persons display
symptoms of water diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps; this rapid lose of body fluids
leads to dehydration and sometimes shock. These fluids must be replaced either
intravenously or by drinking liquids such as fruit juice, soup, or fluids called oral
rehydration salts, which replace electrolytes. Antibiotics may be proscribed to shorten the
duration of diarrhea and excretion of bacteria in feces. Without treatment, death may
occur in hours.
Although cholera can be life-threating, it can easily be prevented and treated. A
vaccine for cholera is available; however, it confers only brief, 2 to 6 months, and
incomplete immunity, only about 50% effective. It is not recommended. Since cholera is
still common in other parts of the world, everyone, especially travelers, should be aware
of how the disease is transmitted and what can be done to prevent it.
The disease is not likely to spread directly from one person to another; therefore,
casual contact with an infected person is not a risk for becoming ill. A person may get
cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated with the Vibrio cholerae
bacterium. In an epidemic, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an
infected person entering the main water source. The cholera bacterium may also live in
brackish rivers and coastal waters. Shellfish from infected waters can cause infection.
Unwashed fresh fruits and vegetables irrigated with tainted water can also infect.
Prevention of cholera is easy. When in a possibly infected area: cook the food
properly, eat foods promptly after their preparation including shellfish, fruits and
vegetables, avoid drinking untreated water, and wash your hands thoroughly with soap
often.
Cholera will not have great impact on me as a surgical technologist. It is not
common in the United States, and since it is not transmitted directly from person to
person, there is no risk of the Operating room staff transmitting the disease from the
patient. If an ill patient is scheduled, elective surgery will be postponed, and in the case
of emergency surgery on someone with cholera, their fluids will be monitored
meticulously.
In closing, cholera, although not prevalent, is a threat to world travelers. Education of
the causes, treatment, and prevention are a traveler’s first line of defense
Chlamydia
Chlamydia are intracellular parasites that have many of the same physical
characteristics of viruses. They cause inflammation of the urethra, vagina,
cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, anus, ovaries and epididymis. This is a common
sexually transmitted disease among young adults and teenagers. About 75% of
women and 50% of men with chlamydia have now signs of infection. Symptoms of
this disease are vaginal discharge, urethral discharge, anal swelling, pain or
discharge, reddening of the vagina or tip of the penis, abdominal pain, fever,
discomfort on urinating, genital discomfort or pain. The risk of contracting
this disease increases with unprotected sexual activity, sexual activity with
multiple partners, and the use of oral contraceptives or an intrauterine device.
Infection with chlamydia can also lead to other health problems such as:
sterility in female, infecting one’s sexual partner, secondary bacterial
infections in pelvic organs, genitals or rectum., pelvic inflammatory disease,
liver infection, reiter’s syndrome. Chlamydia can also cause early labor and
delivery and can be passed from mother to baby during birth. Chlamydia infection
in newborns can cause neonatal conjunctivitis, which is an infection in the
baby’s eyes, and pneumonia. The baby’s eyes can be permanently damaged.
characteristics of viruses. They cause inflammation of the urethra, vagina,
cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, anus, ovaries and epididymis. This is a common
sexually transmitted disease among young adults and teenagers. About 75% of
women and 50% of men with chlamydia have now signs of infection. Symptoms of
this disease are vaginal discharge, urethral discharge, anal swelling, pain or
discharge, reddening of the vagina or tip of the penis, abdominal pain, fever,
discomfort on urinating, genital discomfort or pain. The risk of contracting
this disease increases with unprotected sexual activity, sexual activity with
multiple partners, and the use of oral contraceptives or an intrauterine device.
Infection with chlamydia can also lead to other health problems such as:
sterility in female, infecting one’s sexual partner, secondary bacterial
infections in pelvic organs, genitals or rectum., pelvic inflammatory disease,
liver infection, reiter’s syndrome. Chlamydia can also cause early labor and
delivery and can be passed from mother to baby during birth. Chlamydia infection
in newborns can cause neonatal conjunctivitis, which is an infection in the
baby’s eyes, and pneumonia. The baby’s eyes can be permanently damaged.
Chicken Pox VS Tubercolosis
CHICKEN POX
OR VARICELLA
VS.
TUBERCULOSIS
OR TUBERCLE BACILLI
HISTORY OF CHICKEN POX
Chicken pox, a highly contagious disease that strikes many people, is caused by the herpes zoster virus. The virus is transmitted by the respiratory system and carried in the bloodstream to all parts of the body. The main symptom is a rash that appears on the face and torso, but also on the extremities. The rash turns into blisters that itch like crazy ( I know from personal experience), that go away in a few days. The other symptoms are loss of appetite, fever, and headache.
HISTORY OF TUBERCULOSIS
An acute infectious disease of humans and some animals, tuberculosis is caused by bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium. One of the oldest known diseases, it was known as the great white plague. TB was one of the leading causes of deaths in adults until an antituberculosis drug was introduced in the 1940's. The disease can remain dormant for years before becoming active. The typical symptoms are fatigue, night sweats and fever, loss of appetite and weight, and a constant cough. Hemorrhages may occur due to the destruction of lung tissue. The disease is spread through extended exposure to an infected person, because when the victim coughs infected droplets into the air, they can be inhaled by someone near by.
OR VARICELLA
VS.
TUBERCULOSIS
OR TUBERCLE BACILLI
HISTORY OF CHICKEN POX
Chicken pox, a highly contagious disease that strikes many people, is caused by the herpes zoster virus. The virus is transmitted by the respiratory system and carried in the bloodstream to all parts of the body. The main symptom is a rash that appears on the face and torso, but also on the extremities. The rash turns into blisters that itch like crazy ( I know from personal experience), that go away in a few days. The other symptoms are loss of appetite, fever, and headache.
HISTORY OF TUBERCULOSIS
An acute infectious disease of humans and some animals, tuberculosis is caused by bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium. One of the oldest known diseases, it was known as the great white plague. TB was one of the leading causes of deaths in adults until an antituberculosis drug was introduced in the 1940's. The disease can remain dormant for years before becoming active. The typical symptoms are fatigue, night sweats and fever, loss of appetite and weight, and a constant cough. Hemorrhages may occur due to the destruction of lung tissue. The disease is spread through extended exposure to an infected person, because when the victim coughs infected droplets into the air, they can be inhaled by someone near by.
Changes In The Nursing Profession
Nurses are no longer considered the doctor’s handmaid, but an important part of the medical team. Although nurses are crucial, there is an increasing shortage of nurses. The nursing shortage is causing many nursing schools to close and hospitals to not admit patients. The nursing shortage might be due to the nurses’ low income, advances in technology, and continuously being sued by their patients.
The increasing shortage of nurses might be due to nurses being sued daily. Today, nurses are practicing in a “sue-happy” society, which causes many nurses to be fired or resign due to outrageous liability insurance rates. The existing shortage of nurses is causing nurses to treat more patients at one time, which increases their chance for error and thus being sued. With so many suit-prone-patients, nurses are going into other professions that limit the possibility of being sued.
The shortage of nurses may be due to the income received by a nurse. Nurses have never been appropriately compensated for their hard work. Many nurses are leaving the nursing profession to go into professions that offer better wages with an equal workload.. The nursing shortage will continue as the students considering majoring in nursing reconsider, because they might find another profession that requires the same amount of school but with higher pay.
Advanced technology might cause the shortage of nurses to increase. Learning new technology is a part of the nurses’ continuing education; however, nurses are making more errors that cost them their job. Many older nurses might be retiring not only due to their age, but also due to their inability to grasp new technology.
To help decrease the shortage of nurses, there needs to be many changes made by the hospitals. With the hiring of more nurses, the frequency of a nurse being sued, hopefully, will decrease. The hospitals need to recognize the workload of a nurse and compensate appropriately. If there are more young nurses hired, the grasp of new technology could probably be reached, thus, fewer errors and more nurses on staff.
The increasing shortage of nurses might be due to nurses being sued daily. Today, nurses are practicing in a “sue-happy” society, which causes many nurses to be fired or resign due to outrageous liability insurance rates. The existing shortage of nurses is causing nurses to treat more patients at one time, which increases their chance for error and thus being sued. With so many suit-prone-patients, nurses are going into other professions that limit the possibility of being sued.
The shortage of nurses may be due to the income received by a nurse. Nurses have never been appropriately compensated for their hard work. Many nurses are leaving the nursing profession to go into professions that offer better wages with an equal workload.. The nursing shortage will continue as the students considering majoring in nursing reconsider, because they might find another profession that requires the same amount of school but with higher pay.
Advanced technology might cause the shortage of nurses to increase. Learning new technology is a part of the nurses’ continuing education; however, nurses are making more errors that cost them their job. Many older nurses might be retiring not only due to their age, but also due to their inability to grasp new technology.
To help decrease the shortage of nurses, there needs to be many changes made by the hospitals. With the hiring of more nurses, the frequency of a nurse being sued, hopefully, will decrease. The hospitals need to recognize the workload of a nurse and compensate appropriately. If there are more young nurses hired, the grasp of new technology could probably be reached, thus, fewer errors and more nurses on staff.
Care Plans.
Care Plans.
During my practice in a nursing home, I had the opportunity write up a care plan for one of the residents. The patient concerned has a long-standing condition called myxoedema, which is a condition I had never come across before. Therefore, in order to compile an accurate and comprehensive care plan I had to look into what myxoedema was.
Myxoedema is caused by hypothyroidism (under activity of the thyroid gland). Myxoedema refers to the buildup of mucoploysaccharide in the subcutaneous tissues of the skin (Kumar and Clark, 1998). Signs and symptoms of myxoedema include oedematous swelling of the face, limbs and hands, dry and rough skin, loss of hair, slow pulse, subnormal temperature, slowed metabolism and mental dullness (Weller, 1999).
Although very rare, severe hypothyroidism, especially in the elderly, can cause confusion or even coma. Hypothermia is often present and the patient may have severe cardiac failure, hypoventilation, hypoglycaemia, and hyponatraemia (a sodium deficiency in the blood, Weller, 1999). Depression is quite common and severe hypothyroidism in the elderly can cause the patient to become demented and psychotic, sometimes with delusions (Kumar and Clark, 1998).
With an understanding of myxoedema, I then compiled the patient’s care plan and consulted with the patient, when I had finished. I explained to the patient about the condition that was affecting her, that is to say what it was and how it may affect her. I then went through the care plan with her and asked if she was happy with it. We then both signed it.
Patient education and consultation, involving the patient in the writing of her care plan reflects current best practice. Patient education is now viewed as an integral part of high quality health care (Walsh, 1997). It is vital that patient’s understand their rights and choices, especially for the elderly, because as a professional nurse one cannot discriminate between people and assume that because the patient is old they do not need to know what is happening to them and treat them as children (Rhonda, 1998).
References.
Kumar, P. and Clark, M. (1998) Clinical Medicine. Fourth Edition. London: Harcourt Brace and Company Limited.
Rhonda, N. (1998) Contradictions between Perceptions and Practices of Caring in Long Term Care of Elderly People. Journal of Clinical Nursing. Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 401-408.
Walsh, M. editor (1197) Watson’s Clinical Nursing and Related Sciences. London: Bailliére Tindall.
Weller, B.F. (1999) Baillière’s Nurses’ Dictionary. Twenty Second Edition. London: Bailliére Tindall.
During my practice in a nursing home, I had the opportunity write up a care plan for one of the residents. The patient concerned has a long-standing condition called myxoedema, which is a condition I had never come across before. Therefore, in order to compile an accurate and comprehensive care plan I had to look into what myxoedema was.
Myxoedema is caused by hypothyroidism (under activity of the thyroid gland). Myxoedema refers to the buildup of mucoploysaccharide in the subcutaneous tissues of the skin (Kumar and Clark, 1998). Signs and symptoms of myxoedema include oedematous swelling of the face, limbs and hands, dry and rough skin, loss of hair, slow pulse, subnormal temperature, slowed metabolism and mental dullness (Weller, 1999).
Although very rare, severe hypothyroidism, especially in the elderly, can cause confusion or even coma. Hypothermia is often present and the patient may have severe cardiac failure, hypoventilation, hypoglycaemia, and hyponatraemia (a sodium deficiency in the blood, Weller, 1999). Depression is quite common and severe hypothyroidism in the elderly can cause the patient to become demented and psychotic, sometimes with delusions (Kumar and Clark, 1998).
With an understanding of myxoedema, I then compiled the patient’s care plan and consulted with the patient, when I had finished. I explained to the patient about the condition that was affecting her, that is to say what it was and how it may affect her. I then went through the care plan with her and asked if she was happy with it. We then both signed it.
Patient education and consultation, involving the patient in the writing of her care plan reflects current best practice. Patient education is now viewed as an integral part of high quality health care (Walsh, 1997). It is vital that patient’s understand their rights and choices, especially for the elderly, because as a professional nurse one cannot discriminate between people and assume that because the patient is old they do not need to know what is happening to them and treat them as children (Rhonda, 1998).
References.
Kumar, P. and Clark, M. (1998) Clinical Medicine. Fourth Edition. London: Harcourt Brace and Company Limited.
Rhonda, N. (1998) Contradictions between Perceptions and Practices of Caring in Long Term Care of Elderly People. Journal of Clinical Nursing. Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 401-408.
Walsh, M. editor (1197) Watson’s Clinical Nursing and Related Sciences. London: Bailliére Tindall.
Weller, B.F. (1999) Baillière’s Nurses’ Dictionary. Twenty Second Edition. London: Bailliére Tindall.
Bursitis
Does it hurt to move your arm? Is it tender and radiating pain to your neck and finger tips? Do you have a fever? If you answered yes to two or more of these questions then you may have typical joint injury called bursitis. Bursitis is an inflammation of the bursa that is easily prevented, detected and treated.
Bursitis is a common condition that can cause much pain and swelling around an affected bursa. A bursa is a sac between body tissues that move against each other. They are filled with a lubricating liquid to minimize the fiction between the tissues. The bursa are found mostly in joints between skin and bone or bone and tendons. When you irritate these lubricating sacs, the bursae fill with fluid and become irritated and inflamed. This inflammation causes severe pain with movement of the joint, often limiting the movement of the affected area. Bursitis commonly strikes in the shoulders, elbows, knees, pelvis, hips or Achilles tendons.
Bursitis can affect nearly anyone for any number of reasons. It affects mainly adults both male and female. The individuals most at risk are people who engage in excessive and improper stretching and people who are involved heavily in athletic training. Bursitis can be caused by many things. For one, it can be caused by injury or overuse of a joint. Strenuous unfamiliar exercise also can cause Bursitis. Plus, such diseases as gout, arthritis, and chronic infection of a joint can be likely causes. But frequently the cause of Bursitis can not be determined. The only ways to prevent getting it are to wear protective gear when exorcising, practice appropriate warm ups and cool downs during exercise and to maintain a high fitness level.
Bursitis is an easily treatable disease. If you suspect that you have bursitis, you will probably seek the advice of a doctor. Most likely the doctor will look at your medical history and take some x-rays. If you are diagnosed with bursitis the doctor may prescribe some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and/or pain relievers and may make some cortisone injections into the bursa to relieve inflammation. Once at home you are expected rest the affected area as much as possible and to apply RICE ( rest, ice, compression and elevation of the inflamed joint). Also to prevent the joint from freezing you should begin moving and exercising the affected area as soon as possible. Most likely the problem will subside in 7 to 10 days if proper care is taken.
Bursitis a common, yet painful, joint disorder that can be diagnosed and treated with much ease. Although it is most common in athletes, it can happen to anyone. So take the proper precautions to prevent yourself from acquiring this painful inflammation of the joints known as Bursitis.
Bibliography
1. Jeffrey R.M. Kunz MD, Asher J. Finkel MD, eds. The American Medical Association: Family Medical Guide. New York: Random House, 1982.
2. Griffth, H. Winter. Bursitis. Putnam Berkel Group, 1996. Online. Lycos. Internet. 19 November 1996.
3. Lockshin, Micheal. "Bursitis." World Book. 1992 ed.
Bursitis is a common condition that can cause much pain and swelling around an affected bursa. A bursa is a sac between body tissues that move against each other. They are filled with a lubricating liquid to minimize the fiction between the tissues. The bursa are found mostly in joints between skin and bone or bone and tendons. When you irritate these lubricating sacs, the bursae fill with fluid and become irritated and inflamed. This inflammation causes severe pain with movement of the joint, often limiting the movement of the affected area. Bursitis commonly strikes in the shoulders, elbows, knees, pelvis, hips or Achilles tendons.
Bursitis can affect nearly anyone for any number of reasons. It affects mainly adults both male and female. The individuals most at risk are people who engage in excessive and improper stretching and people who are involved heavily in athletic training. Bursitis can be caused by many things. For one, it can be caused by injury or overuse of a joint. Strenuous unfamiliar exercise also can cause Bursitis. Plus, such diseases as gout, arthritis, and chronic infection of a joint can be likely causes. But frequently the cause of Bursitis can not be determined. The only ways to prevent getting it are to wear protective gear when exorcising, practice appropriate warm ups and cool downs during exercise and to maintain a high fitness level.
Bursitis is an easily treatable disease. If you suspect that you have bursitis, you will probably seek the advice of a doctor. Most likely the doctor will look at your medical history and take some x-rays. If you are diagnosed with bursitis the doctor may prescribe some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and/or pain relievers and may make some cortisone injections into the bursa to relieve inflammation. Once at home you are expected rest the affected area as much as possible and to apply RICE ( rest, ice, compression and elevation of the inflamed joint). Also to prevent the joint from freezing you should begin moving and exercising the affected area as soon as possible. Most likely the problem will subside in 7 to 10 days if proper care is taken.
Bursitis a common, yet painful, joint disorder that can be diagnosed and treated with much ease. Although it is most common in athletes, it can happen to anyone. So take the proper precautions to prevent yourself from acquiring this painful inflammation of the joints known as Bursitis.
Bibliography
1. Jeffrey R.M. Kunz MD, Asher J. Finkel MD, eds. The American Medical Association: Family Medical Guide. New York: Random House, 1982.
2. Griffth, H. Winter. Bursitis. Putnam Berkel Group, 1996. Online. Lycos. Internet. 19 November 1996.
3. Lockshin, Micheal. "Bursitis." World Book. 1992 ed.
Birth Control Pill
Generations of women have lived with the task of controlling the childbearing
process. In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved the birth control
pill. The approval of the pill was a great event for women. The birth control
pill not only prevents pregnancy, it also treats several feminine disorders.
Before the birth control pill, many women turned to illegal or self-performed
abortion. In 1973 abortion was made legal by the case of Roe Vs. Wade. These
events have become a great privilege for women, but neither prevents A.I.D.S. or
other diseases. In 1916, the birth control movement was established by a public
health nurse name Margaret Sanger. Sanger opened up the first birth control
clinic in New York. This clinic informed women about deciding to become mothers
and when. It also provided education to women about existing birth control
methods. The idea of a woman’s right to control her own body and her own
sexuality, gave a new outlook to family planning. Sanger recorded in her
autobiography: "Every day the little waiting room was crowded. Women came from
the far end of Long Island (the press having the spread the word), from
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. They came to learn the"secret" which they thought was possessed by the rich and denied to the
poor." (Asbell 44) According to Bernard Asbell, the state of New York charged
Sanger with illegal distribution of contraceptive information and forced Sanger
to close the clinic (45). In 1951, Sanger and Katharine McCormick, an heir to
the International Harvester fortune, wanted a simple and a more efficient form
of a contraceptive. Sanger went to Gregory Pincus, a researcher at the Worcester
Foundation for Experimental Biology, with their idea. Pincus had been receiving
funds from the Planned Parenthood Federation to study mammalian egg, but it was
not enough to develop a hormonal contraceptive (Asbell 59). It was an $180,000
contribution from McCormick that funded adequate research development for a
hormonal contraceptive. By 1955, Pincus, a Harvard gynecologist named John Rock,
and graduate student Min Chueh Chang had found a way to keep a woman from
conceiving. The team of three came up with a progestogen pill that would keep a
woman from ovulating; therefore she could not get pregnant. This pill was called
the birth control pill and was approved by the Food and Drug administration in
1960. S. Snider reports that the birth control pill "was a major medical
achievement that rewrote the future of women and family life. For the first time
in history, it became possible for a woman to safely and effectively control
childbearing by taking a pill (4). Although the pill was a wonderful success, it
wasn’t long before health officials raised concerns about serious side
affects. Fears of blood clots, heart attack, and stroke, caused exhaustive
research on oral contraceptives in the 60’s and 70’s. The health risks are
not as large due to the low-dose birth control pills on the market today (Snider
5). The birth control pill does not only prevent pregnancies, but it also helps
control some diseases and other medical problems. Many women that have an
irregular menstrual cycle take the pill to keep their cycle normal. The pill has
also proven to help women who have endometriosis. In 1973, the Supreme Court
ruled case of Roe vs. Wade to legalized abortion. Since there has been health
scares about the pill abortion has seem to become the other alternative to
contraception. Some teenagers and women abuse abortion as a form of birth
control.
process. In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved the birth control
pill. The approval of the pill was a great event for women. The birth control
pill not only prevents pregnancy, it also treats several feminine disorders.
Before the birth control pill, many women turned to illegal or self-performed
abortion. In 1973 abortion was made legal by the case of Roe Vs. Wade. These
events have become a great privilege for women, but neither prevents A.I.D.S. or
other diseases. In 1916, the birth control movement was established by a public
health nurse name Margaret Sanger. Sanger opened up the first birth control
clinic in New York. This clinic informed women about deciding to become mothers
and when. It also provided education to women about existing birth control
methods. The idea of a woman’s right to control her own body and her own
sexuality, gave a new outlook to family planning. Sanger recorded in her
autobiography: "Every day the little waiting room was crowded. Women came from
the far end of Long Island (the press having the spread the word), from
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. They came to learn the"secret" which they thought was possessed by the rich and denied to the
poor." (Asbell 44) According to Bernard Asbell, the state of New York charged
Sanger with illegal distribution of contraceptive information and forced Sanger
to close the clinic (45). In 1951, Sanger and Katharine McCormick, an heir to
the International Harvester fortune, wanted a simple and a more efficient form
of a contraceptive. Sanger went to Gregory Pincus, a researcher at the Worcester
Foundation for Experimental Biology, with their idea. Pincus had been receiving
funds from the Planned Parenthood Federation to study mammalian egg, but it was
not enough to develop a hormonal contraceptive (Asbell 59). It was an $180,000
contribution from McCormick that funded adequate research development for a
hormonal contraceptive. By 1955, Pincus, a Harvard gynecologist named John Rock,
and graduate student Min Chueh Chang had found a way to keep a woman from
conceiving. The team of three came up with a progestogen pill that would keep a
woman from ovulating; therefore she could not get pregnant. This pill was called
the birth control pill and was approved by the Food and Drug administration in
1960. S. Snider reports that the birth control pill "was a major medical
achievement that rewrote the future of women and family life. For the first time
in history, it became possible for a woman to safely and effectively control
childbearing by taking a pill (4). Although the pill was a wonderful success, it
wasn’t long before health officials raised concerns about serious side
affects. Fears of blood clots, heart attack, and stroke, caused exhaustive
research on oral contraceptives in the 60’s and 70’s. The health risks are
not as large due to the low-dose birth control pills on the market today (Snider
5). The birth control pill does not only prevent pregnancies, but it also helps
control some diseases and other medical problems. Many women that have an
irregular menstrual cycle take the pill to keep their cycle normal. The pill has
also proven to help women who have endometriosis. In 1973, the Supreme Court
ruled case of Roe vs. Wade to legalized abortion. Since there has been health
scares about the pill abortion has seem to become the other alternative to
contraception. Some teenagers and women abuse abortion as a form of birth
control.
Antibiotic Resistance
Darwin’s theory of evolution can be explained like this; the environment acts
as a selective agent, weeding out organisms less able to survive. Darwin
described natural selection as a process in which organisms become better
adapted to their environment. The organisms that evolved with beneficial
variations are more likely to survive and reproduce, they pass on the favorable
genetic material. Over time, the genetic composition of the species may become
better able to escape being eaten or to capture prey. Do to such high demand for
antibiotics around the world people have created their own antibiotic resistance
and became immune to antibodies. At least half of the human use of antibiotics
in the United States is unnecessary or inappropriate. For example, a patient
demanding antibiotics for an illness that doesn’t require them leads to a lot
of unneeded drugs. Either the antibiotics are not needed at all, or it’s the
wrong dosage prescribed, or the wrong duration. More than 50 million pounds of
antibiotics are produced in the United States every year. Forty percent of that
total is given to animals, mostly to promote growth rather than treat disease.
Antibiotic use is also rampant in agriculture. Drugs are sprayed on to fruit
trees to prevent bacterial infections. The bad thing is, is that these bugs are
developing a resistance to these drugs that once destroyed them. We are
experiencing an alarming resurgence of common but no longer curable infections
from bugs that developed resistance. This is by being too much involved with
taking antibiotics for every little sickness and all other things that would
require antibiotics. Another thing that would pose as a problem is the way that
bacteria would evolve and adapt to our antibiotics. Darwin’s theory can be
related to antibiotic resistance in many ways. Through the years of using
antibiotics against bacteria, we have seen that they usually get the job done.
But as time progresses, so do the bacteria. As fast as we are producing the
antibodies, the bacteria are adjusting to them faster. With all the antibiotics
that humans take in, their bodies are becoming immune to the effects. Which is
like Darwin’s theory of natural selection; selecting out the organisms that
cant adapt or adjust to the environment around them.
as a selective agent, weeding out organisms less able to survive. Darwin
described natural selection as a process in which organisms become better
adapted to their environment. The organisms that evolved with beneficial
variations are more likely to survive and reproduce, they pass on the favorable
genetic material. Over time, the genetic composition of the species may become
better able to escape being eaten or to capture prey. Do to such high demand for
antibiotics around the world people have created their own antibiotic resistance
and became immune to antibodies. At least half of the human use of antibiotics
in the United States is unnecessary or inappropriate. For example, a patient
demanding antibiotics for an illness that doesn’t require them leads to a lot
of unneeded drugs. Either the antibiotics are not needed at all, or it’s the
wrong dosage prescribed, or the wrong duration. More than 50 million pounds of
antibiotics are produced in the United States every year. Forty percent of that
total is given to animals, mostly to promote growth rather than treat disease.
Antibiotic use is also rampant in agriculture. Drugs are sprayed on to fruit
trees to prevent bacterial infections. The bad thing is, is that these bugs are
developing a resistance to these drugs that once destroyed them. We are
experiencing an alarming resurgence of common but no longer curable infections
from bugs that developed resistance. This is by being too much involved with
taking antibiotics for every little sickness and all other things that would
require antibiotics. Another thing that would pose as a problem is the way that
bacteria would evolve and adapt to our antibiotics. Darwin’s theory can be
related to antibiotic resistance in many ways. Through the years of using
antibiotics against bacteria, we have seen that they usually get the job done.
But as time progresses, so do the bacteria. As fast as we are producing the
antibodies, the bacteria are adjusting to them faster. With all the antibiotics
that humans take in, their bodies are becoming immune to the effects. Which is
like Darwin’s theory of natural selection; selecting out the organisms that
cant adapt or adjust to the environment around them.
Abortion
Points of View
It is nearly impossible anymore to find someone who doesn't have an opinion
about abortion, and probably a strong opinion at that. Yet the endless debates on the topic
usually go nowhere, leaving the opponents even more committed to their positions and
the open-minded observers confused. Both sides make a good case. An unwanted child is
a pitiful thing, and the attendant social problems (single motherhood, financial
destitution, child neglect, and urban overcrowding, to name just a few) do not have easy
solutions. On the other hand, the thought of terminating something that, if left to run its
natural course, would ultimately result in the birth of a human being gives all but the
most hard-hearted among us cause for serious introspection.
One reason the debate goes nowhere is that each side focuses on a different topic.
We make no progress because we are not talking about the same thing. The
pro-abortionist prefers to discuss choice, and to dwell on all of the social problems
inherent in an unwanted child. The anti-abortionist is interested primarily in protecting
the life of the fetus. In simple terms, the pro-abortionist focuses on a woman's rights and
the anti-abortionist focuses on a fetus' rights. Though interrelated, these are basically
different topics.
Though neither side realizes it, there is actually much more agreement than
disagreement between the opposing views. The majority on both sides would agree that
social problems like child neglect and urban overcrowding are serious issues. Most
would also agree that the life of a child is a precious thing that deserves the full
protection of the law. There would even be nearly universal agreement that it is a
woman's exclusive right to make decisions concerning her body. So where's the
disagreement? The entire complex issue comes down to one question: Is the fetus a
person? If you believe it is not a person, then it is simply part of the woman's body and
subject to her exclusive control. From this point of view, any attempt to diminish that
control is a cruel infringement upon a woman's rights. If, however, you believe the fetus
is a person, then you are obligated to protect it, even to the point of delimiting the actions
of the woman carrying it. For you, the suggestion that this issue is a matter of personal
choice is like saying that whether or not a parent kills a two-year-old is a matter of
personal choice.
The goal of these pages is to examine the abortion debate from several perspectives,
focusing on the question of when the fetus' life as a person begins. Toward that end I
have divided my presentation into four areas: History, Medicine, Law, and Bible. History
provides insight into how other people and cultures have approached this issue. Medicine
discusses scientific evidence relating to the topic. Law considers how the Constitution
bears on this debate and the role of the court in it. Bible examines the teachings in this
area of one of the fundamental moral guides for Western culture. Throughout each of the
specific areas I have endeavored to honestly reflect views from both sides. But I make no
pretense of being unbiased. No one who spends any time considering this issue can be
truly impartial. Instead I admit my position freely, but try to avoid letting it cause me to
misrepresent the alternatives. If you feel that I have missed something significant, please
let me know. I hope to refine the content of these pages over time to make them more
useful.
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