Hepatitis B (serum hepatitis) is transmitted in children mainly via needle injuries. Children in institutions are also at slightly greater risk of being infected. In adults the risk is greatest amongst drug users who share needles.

All forms of hepatitis present a similar clinical picture, although hepatitis A tends to be more sudden in onset than hepatitis B. With hepatitis A, the child usually experiences initial symptoms of tiredness, fever, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea. The skin may feel very itchy, and the abdomen may be a little swollen and sore, especially over the upper right side overlying the liver. After several days the urine may appear to be darker and the skin take on a yellow tinge (jaundice). Convalescence may take several weeks. If your child has hepatitis B, he may at first complain of aching joints and may have a skin rash. Hepatitis B tends to be more severe than hepatitis A, and the clinical features tend to develop more slowly.

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Drugs: There is no high like the high of intimacy with another person. When that high is not available, it may be sought elsewhere, and that elsewhere might be drugs. Moodiness, changes in eating habits, anger without explanation, pallor, darkened circles beneath the eyes, withdrawal, defensiveness, and marked personality change are some of the signs of drug use. There are others, but I believe that our society’s failure to help our young people become sexual people plays a major role in their turning to artificial and deadly ways to get high. The war on drugs must be accompanied by an emphasis on teaching loving and intimacy. We are leaving our children with nothing to do with their developing sexuality. If we don’t teach them safe means of sexual self-expression, they may find other, dangerous ways to express themselves.

“Just say no” has been the new major campaign against dru{ use. It will never work. The issue is, What can our developing young people say yes to? How can they safely say it? Both answers relate as much to sexuality as any other aspect. A society thai campaigns against sex, drugs, and violence, but fails to teach sexuality, love, and tenderness, is running a dishonest and ineffective campaign.

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1. I feel I must respond sexually to my spouse’s advances.

2. I try to match my response to my husband’s, faking if I have to.

3. When I start to feel very good sexually, start to really get involved in the sexual experience, I get distracted by my spouse’s response.

4. I find that if I am too active in my sexual motions, it tends to cause my spouse to lose control of his sexual response, sometimes making him come too soon.

5. My orgasms are characterized by a throbbing in the vaginal area.

6. When I have not had sex in a long time, I tend to be more easily aroused.

Why Wives Have Too Many Orgasms    

7. I experience some physical discomfort when I have sexual intercourse, g. I try to “match” my response to my spouse’s, and if he is tired or wants to suspend sexual interaction, I go along.

9. I have trouble letting go and getting lost in my orgasms, usually trying to “come” like my husband “comes.”

10. If I don’t feel contractions in my vagina, I don’t feel as if I have had a really complete sexual experience.

11. My orgasms are essentially the same no matter what type of sex I am having (coitus, oral sex, masturbation). Whatever the source of stimulation, I essentially climax the same way.

12. As I get older, I notice that my orgasms are less intense than they used to be. The throbbing is less intense and there are fewer throbs.

13. I notice that my lubrication is less and less reliable than it used to be.

14. I feel a “turn-taking” in our sex, so I must have orgasm first and then he takes his turn.

15. Before orgasm, I feel warm and close in our lovemaking, but after orgasm, there seems to be a distance between us.

16. I have trouble “getting over the edge.” I seem to get right to the point where I could come and then it is difficult for me to go the rest of the way.

17. I hold back during sex. I might want to talk, groan, or say loving things, but I have trouble expressing myself during sex.

18. If I have masturbated, I feel some guilt, and this can even extend to my sex with my husband.

19. I feel that sex is focused on my breasts and in my genitals. I feel reacted to in parts, not “me.”

20.    I feel “worked on” during sex, rubbed and stimulated to get ready or to

get “there.”

Thirty-five or more points on this test, and it is likely that you are not experiencing psychasms but orgasms, working toward physiological reflex in response to genital or breast stimulation.

Remember that the object of this test is to promote discussion with your partner, not replace one set of expectations with another. Super marital sex depends on being open to the gift of complete erotic response with someone else, not on living up to the new goal of psychasms instead of orgasms. Orgasms are reflexes. Psychasms are emotional and conscious experiences related to a freedom from “organ reflex.”

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Removal and replacement of amalgam fillings instantly removes the source of mercury supply, however the mechanical removal process itself (drilling) can temporarily increase the concentration of mercury in your body.

When you decide to replace amalgams, make sure that you are already on the detoxification program and that you tell your dentist to apply a lot of suction during the removal process, reducing the concentration of mercury vapours.

Note, that it may take a considerable amount of time for your body to neutralise and excrete the mercury that has accumulated in your body over many years.

*38\96\8*

It is believed the virus lies dormant for many years before either directly or by some immune process causing the disease.

The half-closed eyes of the late Aristotle Onassis were very obvious in most published photographs of him.

Those eyes are probably the commonest sign of the disease from which it is alleged he suffered — myasthenia gravis.

This unusual disorder occurs in all races and in both sexes. It is characterised by abnormal muscle weakness which tends to affect one group of muscles more than others.

The cause is unknown but it is thought to be one of the auto-immune diseases, where the body, as it were, becomes allergic to its own tissues and makes antibodies which fix on and then destroy those tissues.

The thymus seems to be somehow involved in the disorder. This poorly understood organ lies in the upper chest, in front of the heart and lungs. It is large in childhood and slowly decreases in size, so as to be hardly noticeable when the chest of a mature or elderly adult is opened at operation or autopsy.

*507/71/1*

Chilblains, or perniosis, is one of those minor illnesses which are not regarded very seriously by doctors, but which can cause severe discomfort to the sufferer.

This condition is due to the action of cold, damp weather on skin which is particularly sensitive to its effects.

The superficial blood vessels in the skin appear to be over-sensitive to the cold. They dilate, and the blood does not flow fully through the tissues, which then suffer from lack of oxygen.

The skin develops blotchy red or bluish areas which thicken, and are usually intensely itchy.

They occur on the exposed parts of the body, such as the nose, the hands, the feet and lower legs.

The disorders of superficial circulation such as chilblains appear to be much more common in women than in men, but why they occur at all is not fully understood.

Sometimes the skin breaks down over the chilblain and ulcerates, due either to scratching or to lack of nutrition from poorly circulating blood.

This may lead to secondary infection, and in treatment it may be necessary to use antibiotics both locally and generally.

In treatment, however, the most important element is to keep the affected part warm, and this can be done by the wearing of gloves, thick socks, stockings or boots.

The direct application of heat, such as exposing the part to an open fire or radiator, only makes the condition worse.

Drugs, unfortunately, are of limited use.

Calcium, either in tablet form or by injection, has long enjoyed a reputation as being useful in treating chilblains.

How it acts is not certain, although some people do obtain considerable relief.

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f)0 you feel that if you ask too many questions the practitioner will label you as a ‘troublemaker’? This can happen. I would say this: a practitioner who would call an anxious, responsible, questioning adult a ‘troublemaker’ is not the sort of person I would trust to give me unbiased information and advice, let alone make decisions on my behalf. If your practitioner is like this, then all the more reason for insisting on enough information to make decisions yourself. Alternatively, you may well think it is a very good reason to find another practitioner. I certainly would.

*8/40/1*

It has also been established that some people are genetically prone to develop skin cancer. Persons with blue or green eyes, fair or red hair, and pale skin—notably Irish and other Celtic peoples—are especially vulnerable. Ireland has the world’s largest skin cancer death rate after South Africa and Australia, even though Ireland is in a latitude that receives less than half the ultraviolet radiation of either of the other countries. The overall incidence of cancer amongst Caucasians in the United States is 15 times greater than for Negroes. For predisposed individuals of Celtic ancestry, living in potentially sun-intense countries, such as the United States, South Africa, and Australia, skin cancer is a real hazard, although there is a considerable latent period between the time of damage and the appearance of the consequences. This may in fact range from 10 to 30 years.

It is estimated that about half a million people will develop skin cancer this year in the United States, and that more than 5000 of them will die of it this year alone. Australia has a significantly higher incidence of skin cancer than the United States, and medical authorities estimate that one out of every five Australians will develop some form of it.

Skin cancer, like all cancers, is marked by the uncontrolled growth of certain cells. There are three common forms of skin cancer, named from the cells from which they develop. The most common is the basal cell carcinoma (B.C.C. U which rarely spreads to other tissues. The next most common is the squamous cell carcinoma (S.C.C.), which does spread or metastasize, and may arise from a pie-cancerous lesion known as a solar keratosis. Finally, there is the highly dangerous melanoma.

*104\44\4*

‘An unexpected benefit of HRT has been that my skin has looked so much better. It was beginning to get noticeably thinner, and quite dry and flaky, and that in itself made me suddenly feel about 10 years older – but I’m not trying to look like a film star!’

Improved skin texture is a visible — and welcome — result of taking hormone replacement therapy.

Skin consists of two principal parts: a thin outer layer called the epidermis, and a thicker lower layer called the dermis. Within the dermis is a substance called collagen, and this becomes thinner as oestrogen levels fall, causing the skin as a whole to become thinner. This could be because collagen increases the moisture content of the skin and ‘fills it out’. Collagen is lost from the dermis most rapidly in the years immediately after the final period, with up to 30 per cent being lost in the first five years, and about 2 per cent a year after that.

As the thickness of the skin depends on its collagen content, skin condition is related more to the number of years since the menopause than to actual age. Once oestrogen is restored, the collagen starts to increase; where conditions such as thin skin, dry flaky skin, and skin that becomes easily bruised are caused by low oestrogen they are almost always reversible within the first six months of taking HRT. This improvement doesn’t continue indefinitely, and balances out after about two years of treatment. However, although skin texture improves significantly, there is no evidence that HRT slows the development of wrinkles!

Not only can good skin improve a woman’s self-esteem, it can also be an indication of the state her bones are in. Collagen is also present in bone and, if collagen is being lost visibly from the skin, it is also probably being lost invisibly from the bones. Women with transparent skin are much more likely to have osteoporosis than women with opaque skin. If your skin appears to be getting noticeably thinner, it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor about osteoporosis.

A skin condition that quite a few women suffer from during the early days of the menopause is known as formication. The name comes from the Latin formica, meaning ‘ant’, which aptly describes the feeling you may get of insects crawling just underneath or on top of your skin. It doesn’t produce a rash, but the itching can be maddening, and can wake you up in the night. Formication is probably caused by changes in the nerve endings, and the condition can be helped by HRT.

*14\42\4*

Painkillers are widely used to deal with this pain and a variety of non-drug approaches may also help. Weekly acupuncture has been shown to ease painful periods in 90% of women, with a 41% reduction in the use of painkillers. This approach may be attractive to women who want to handle their menstrual pain without medication, either because it is no longer effective or because of unacceptable side-effects. There is also evidence that lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking can reduce menstrual pain. Women treated non-surgically for painful periods report increased physical activity levels a year after starting treatment, but the majority are negative about the prospect of continuing on with their nonsurgical efforts at pain relief.

*31\198\4*