Health related information and news from around the world.

Many physicians and hospital personnel find the Mini Mental Exam shown below to be a useful screening tool for cognitive disorders. Scores less than 24 are usually a sign that there’s a problem. Obviously, dozens of factors ranging from medical illness to depression to educational levels can influence scores, but whatever the reason, such results should be looked at by a qualified doctor.

MINI MENTAL EXAM

Maximum Score

Score

Orientation

() What is the (year) (season) (date) (day) (month)?

() Where are we: (state) (county) (town) (hospital) (floor)? Registration

() Name 3 objects: 1 second to say each. Then ask the patient all 3 after you have said them.

Give 1 point for each correct answer. Then repeat them until he learns all 3. Count trials and record. Trials

Attention and calculation

() Serial 7s. 1 point for each correct answer.

Stop after 5 answers. Alternatively, spell “world” backwards. Recall

() Ask for 3 objects repeated above. Give 1 point for each correct answer. Language

() Name a pencil and watch. (2 points)

Repeat the following: “No ifs, ands, or buts.” (1 point)

Follow a 3-stage command: “Take a paper in your right hand, fold it in half, and put it on the floor.” (3 points)

Read and obey the following: “Close your eyes.” (1 point)

Write a sentence. (1 point)

Copy design. (1 point)

ASSESS level of consciousness along a continuum.

Total Score Alert Drowsy Stupor Coma

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When doctors begin to practice, they soon realize that they will have to purchase specialized equipment that will allow them to perform tests right in the office instead of sending them to a lab. This not only increases doctors’ revenue but also makes them appear to be more high tech than the doctor next door, helping them to attract new patients. Of course, if the office next door already has all the same high-tech equipment, the new kid on the block usually has to go one better, purchasing either more expensive equipment or simply more of it.

As many medical practices evolved into high-tech profit centers, the old American image of the physician naturally began to erode. The friendly family doctor who made house calls became the high-tech whiz-kid specialist who used CAT scans, MRIs, and other high-tech devices to help make a diagnosis. It became clear that the public was torn: they still wanted the old family doctor, but they were also very attracted to the exciting high-tech aspects of medicine. Access to this new wave of medical care also began to expand to many parts of the country, especially in major metropolitan areas, where the physician population has normally been more concentrated. In essence, it became almost impossible for patients to decline to have a certain test done, since they could choose from a number of conveniently located testing centers where the test could be performed. In this way, patients could seek the opinion of several specialists, who would give them numerous tests in order to offer second and third opinions on the previous doctor’s diagnosis. The more patients who walked through the door and the more procedures performed by a physician, clinic, hospital, or diagnostic test center, the more money everyone would make.

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Cancers are divided into two large groups: sarcomas and carcinomas. Sarcomas usually affect the bones and muscles, and are apt to grow rapidly and be very destructive. The carcinomas make up the majority of the cancers of the breast, stomach, lungs, uterus, skin, and tongue.

Fortunately, most cancers grow at first only in the site where they originated. Even then, the cancer may invade the neighbouring cells and tissues, and perhaps destroy valuable structures. However, it becomes far more dangerous when it spreads, or sets up new growths, in other parts of the body. The new cancer is called a metastasis or metastatic lesion. A cancer can spread from the kidney to the bones, or from the lungs to the brain, apparently by way of the bloodstream.

When cancer enters this stage, it becomes very difficult to cure. Yet, in some instances, it can still be held in check. For example, widespread metastases from a cancer of the prostate gland have been cleared up and kept under control for many years by surgery and the administration of certain hormones.

Obviously, the time when cancer can best be cured is in the early period of its growth, before it destroys neighbouring tissues or spreads to other parts of the body.

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This is a virus disease. Chickenpox and measles are the most highly contagious and therefore the most common diseases of childhood.

First, pimples break out, usually beginning on the chest. Then the pimples become blisters that dry into scabs. The blisters break out in series, one after another. The main danger lies in the fact that the blisters itch, and they may become infected by scratching. To ease the child’s itching, place him in a cold bath to which two or three handfuls of starch have been added. Because you will be unable to prevent a certain amount of scratching, keep your child’s hands clean by washing them several times a day, and keep his nails cut short.

Call the doctor if the child appears really sick or has a fever. This is mainly a precaution to rule out smallpox or other serious diseases. Most cases of chickenpox are mild and require no special treatment except bed rest and plenty of fluids during the feverish stage. Once the scabs arc gone, it is not necessary to isolate the child.

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The ‘pill’ was developed in the 1950′s as a new approach to the prevention of conception. The rhythm method avoids conception. The pessaries and condom prevent the sperm and egg from meeting. But the ‘pill’ is a means of preventing ovulation, thus making conception impossible. This method of birth control became possible when scientists developed certain chemicals that behave like the hormone that controls the release of the egg from the ovary.

Here is how the ‘pill’ is taken: On the fifth day of the menstrual cycle, the woman takes the first one. She continues for 20 consecutive days. One to three days after she has taken the last tablet, menstruation begins, and the count begins again. It is of the greatest importance to start taking the pills on schedule and not to miss even one day.

If you are considering using this method of preventing pregnancy, you must ,do so under the close supervision of your doctor. The ‘pill’ may have long-term adverse effects, and is not recommended for women who have had blood clots, cancer, or liver disorders.

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Venereal diseases

Venereal diseases are spread mainly by sexual intercourse. The two main venereal diseases are syphilis and gonorrhoea.

Insect bites

Bites of insects are a source of infection because insects carry germs either in their mouths or in their excrement. An insect bite makes a tiny break in the skin, like the puncture of a hypodermic needle.

Malaria and yellow fever are carried by certain mosquitoes. If you visit areas where malaria exists, protect yourself against mosquitoes. Use a salve with an odour that repels them, and arrange mosquito netting over your bed. There is no immunization against malaria.

Animal bites

Any animal bite that breaks the skin should be thoroughly washed with soap and water and cleansed or cauterized by a doctor.

Rabies (hydrophobia), a virus disease that affects the brain and nervous system, comes from the bite of infected dogs and other domestic and wild animals that harbour the virus in their saliva. If the animal is infected, the person bitten must receive the Pasteur treatment or the new serum to prevent rabies, which is an inevitably fatal disease.

Due to the geographical isolation of Australia and New Zealand, plus stringent animal quarantine regulations, both countries have been kept free from this viral disease.

Wounds and scratches

All cuts, wounds, and scratches are potential entrances for infections. They should be washed with soap and water.

One of the most serious dangers from wounds and deep scratches is tetanus (lockjaw). The tetanus germ is commonly found in the soil and wherever there are horses, cows, and manure. It is also found in the dust of city streets. A deep puncture by a nail is serious. Many people think it is the rust of the nail that causes trouble, but that is not true. The danger lies in the germs that may be on the nail.

The best preventive against tetanus is immunization by toxoid. A series of three toxoid injections followed by a fourth about a year later, with booster shots at four-year intervals, provides the best possible protection against this serious disease.

For the person who has not been immunized with toxoid, deep wounds or scratches require tetanus antitoxin (TAT). Some people suffer unpleasant reactions to TAT. For this reason, doctors always test for possible sensitivity to the horse serum with which TAT is made. Recently, TAT made from human serum has become available.

Take reasonable precautions

I hope that after reading this chapter, you will take sensible precautions against possible infections. Make it a habit not to drink out of glasses or use towels that others have used, to stay away from sneezers, and to keep yourself and your house clean.

What about a household disinfectant such as Lysol, mixed in the proper proportions? Personally, I feel that there is danger of using such disinfectants as a substitute for cleanliness rather than as an aid to cleanliness. Sprinkling a little around makes everything smell so antiseptic that there is a strong temptation to go easy on the soap and water and elbow grease!

If you take reasonable precautions to keep germs away, you will find that there is enough room in the world for you to get along and stay healthy in spite of them.

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The kidneys are two organs located deep in the abdomen at about the level of the lowest ribs. By means of more than a million tiny, separate filters, they filter out and remove from the blood the urea and other waste materials it contains. These they excrete in the urine. They also regulate the volume of fluid and the concentration of minerals in the body. When a person drinks a large amount of fluid, the kidneys excrete the excess, but in hot weather, when extra fluid is lost via sweat, the kidneys excrete smaller amounts of urine.

Your kidneys do not need to be ‘flushed’ or ‘stimulated’ or any of the things that patent medicines claim to do. Trouble in the kidneys can cause pain in the lower back, and this symptom, together with changes in the urine, should always be reported to a doctor.

Some of the causes of kidney stones (renal calculi) are beyond our control, but preventing or curing infections will help to keep them from forming. Another thing you can do to prevent the formation of stones is to see that you drink sufficient water to have an adequate flow of urine.

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