Archive for October, 2005

Wens

A wen is a blocked and much enlarged skin gland. When the duct of the skin gland becomes blocked by a blackhead-like process, considerable secretion from the gland accumulates and stretches it into a small, balloon-like structure. Under the skin it feels like a smooth, painless enlargement about the size of a pea to an acorn.

They are usually found in the scalp, back or scrotum, and are definitely not cancerous; however, they may become infected, and develop into a rapidly growing boil-like process. Treatment of wens consists of simple surgical removal. The balloon-like lining of the over-stretched gland must be completely removed or it tends to recur.

Lipoma

Lipomas are soft growths of fat just under the skin, occurring most often on the trunk, neck, arms, and armpits. They vary in size from a pea to an orange, and are usually painless, soft and easily compressed between the fingers.

A lipoma is not cancerous in nature, but sometimes it is confused with cancerous growths which also may be present just under the skin. Because of this confusion and because of their cosmetic appearance, they usually are removed in a very simple surgical operation.

Moles

The ordinary mole begins in youth, but may develop in middle or even later years of life. They are usually light brown, with a slightly elevated appearance and considered desirable as a beauty spot by many people. Most moles, including those with hair growth are not cancerous but certain moles are considered dangerous and should be removed as soon as detected. They are the blue or pitch black moles with a smooth surface, which occur at any age. Because these moles sometimes develop into serious cancers, the physician’s attention should be directed to them as soon as possible to be safe. Ordinary moles in spots of continual irritation such as the belt-line or shaving area are also usually recommended for removal, lest continual irritation stimulate a possible cancerous change in them.

Senile Keratosis

Soft, warty, raised and mole-like growths about the back, hands and face in adult years are known as senile keratosis or seborrheic warts. They are very common after the age of fifty, and especially in fair-skinned people. These soft, painless growths have little, if any, connection with cancer, but are apparently connected to excessive exposure to sunlight. They can be removed for cosmetic purposes or if they are in areas subject to considerable irritation but rarely do senile keratosis become malignant.

Angioma, Blood Warts, Senile Ectasia

About 5 to 10 percent of persons over fifty years have small ruby-red growths on their skin, especially of the face and chest. They are painless and made up of small, thread-sized, red blood vessels grouped in little clusters on the skin. As the years pass, they seem to become larger and more numerous, and if scratched, may heavily bleed, but they are not considered to be of a cancerous nature. They may be safely left alone, unless they are in an area of continual irritation, or unless they interfere with cosmetic appearance. The physician can remove these growths by excision or cautery, both of which are very simple procedures.

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Intertrigo, Sweat Rash

Reddened, wet and itching skin under large breasts and in the skin folds of obese abdomens is called intertrigo. The skin may be macerated, cracked and have erosions appearing as though sand-papered, and boil-like eruptions may appear.
This irritation, when coupled with a fungus infection in the groin region, is known as jock strap itch, or dhobie itch, and is technically named tinea-cruris. When it exists between the toes, combined with another fungus, the result is called athlete’s foot, or dermatophytosis.

All of these particular skin conditions exist because of trapped perspiration which macerates the skin and provides an ideal breeding ground for fungi and infection producing bacteria. Simple prevention of these intertrigo like skin difficulties, consists primarily of cleanliness with ordinary soap and water and exposure to air. It is only when cleanliness is avoided and the air shut out from the enfolding skin, that these disagreeable skin infections and irritations can persist.

Warts

Warts are most common in childhood, but they may persist after the age of fifty. They are non-cancerous, caused by viruses and are thought to be mildly contagious. Warts may occur anywhere on the body, but are most often seen on the fingers, the face and occasionally the sole of the foot where, as plantar warts, they cause considerable difficulty. Essentially the same as warts in other areas, plantar warts are quite painful because of the pressure put on the sole of the foot. Warts may disappear by themselves after several years, but active removal is usually required, with the size, position and duration of the wart dictating to the physician the manner of its removal.

One interesting fact about treatment of warts is hypnotism, which is sometimes very effective. While it is known that many warts disappear after genuine x-ray therapy, it is also true that many of them will disappear with only imagined x-ray therapy, x-ray treatment given with a machine that is not even turned on. Mind over matter in this treatment of warts is but one phase of this mysterious, relatively untouched field of medicine. At present, small scale exploration in the realm of hypnotism has produced some interesting results. They point to a possibly new medical tool, perhaps to be used more extensively in the future.

Hives, Urticaria

Hives and similar skin reactions of allergy are a problem for many people. Hives are elevated pea-sized nodules accompanied by intense itching, and they can arrive in a few minutes after eating, breathing, or touching any substance to which the patient is allergic. Another type of hive reaction in allergy, is called the giant hive, a large, flat and raised skin area, six to eight inches in diameter, with a reddened and itching surface. Skin susceptible to these allergic reactions can often be written upon with the fingernail or other sharp object to produce a raised line or welt, and is known as dermographism, or skin writing. Allergic skin reactions are sometimes caused by drugs such as penicillin, or food, such as strawberries, chocolate, wheat or eggs. They can also be the result of bodily infection and on occasion can be mentally induced. A skin eruption due to a mental state is hard to understand and is possibly best described as the skin attempting to speak for the mind. Hives and other unpleasantly related skin reactions usually demand intense study to identify and eliminate, if possible, the responsible allergic substance.

Fig. 1. Skin writing (dermog-raphism) appears after scratch-like writing on the sensitive skin of semi-allergic people. Raised welt-like lines appear approximately a minute after scratching and last 10 to 20 minutes. They are due to a histamine-like reaction in the skin.

Many factors in allergy remain unknown, and often an onslaught of hives, thought due to allergy, may persist in a come and go fashion despite all therapy for a year or more, and then disappear as suddenly as they began.

Boils and Carbuncles

A boil is a rapidly forming, localized bacterial infection with a concentration of pus in its center, while a carbuncle is several boils grouped together. Boils develop around hair shafts on any hairy skin surface and progress quickly from a mild soreness to a painful, hardened and elevated sore, surrounding a core of pus. After the core has come to a head, drainage may occur spontaneously or the boil may have to be incised. Frequent sites for boils are the neck, the face, and the back. They are invited through infection induced by rubbing collars, squeezed blackheads and irritated or scratched skin. When they recur frequently or continuously, in spite of acceptable cleanliness, underlying diseases such as diabetes become a definite possibility and should be carefully investigated by a physician.

Yellow Jaundice

A progressive and rapid development of yellow discoloration in the skin and whites of the eyes, frequently reflects disease of the liver and gallbladder system. This condition, termed jaundice, is frequently connected with a light clay color to the bowel movement, an extreme body weakness, and sometimes pain in the liver and gallbladder region. Yellow jaundice is always a significant finding and tells a definite medical story. It may come and go painlessly and be entirely gone in the short duration of two weeks, but it is always significant enough to have a thorough physical examination to find the underlying cause.

Vitiligo

Vitiligo is the loss of the normal skin color in an irregular patchy manner anywhere on the body, and is due to lack of pigment formation in these skin areas. These regions sunburn readily but will not tan in the sunlight like normal, surrounding skin. The color difference is very hard to hide and attempts to cover these areas with pigmented powders and creams, and even tattooing, is usually very unsatisfactory. The reason for the pigment loss in vitiligo is still unknown, and complete cure is impossible, but this skin condition has no great significance aside from its embarrassing cosmetic appearance.

Seborrheic Dermatitis

This difficulty, in the simplest terms, means an over supply of oil in the skin. It is found primarily in the scalp but is also seen in the folding body skin sites, such as the armpits or groin. In addition to the excessive greasiness of the skin, there is usually a red crusting accompanied by intense itching which invites scratching and infection. The disease seems to be worse during adult life when sex hormones flow through the blood stream at their highest level, and is frequently seen at the age of fifty years or later.

Seborrheic dermatitis demands continual and scrupulous cleansing, frequent shampooing, and a diet low in fats. Severe, stubborn cases may require antibiotic treatment and possibly endocrine therapy.

The skin

The skin does more than just cover the surface of the body; it performs many essential functions for the body such as cooling, preserving heat, throwing off poisons, and absorbing sunlight. Fifty years of this continuous service, however, exacts from the skin a toll of natural oils and some of its elasticity. The well-oiled firm skin of youth eventually becomes the dry, stretched skin of later years with its lowered resistence and vitality, and it begins to experience problems unknown in its younger years.

Some diseases of the skin are localized and confined to its own structure, but other skin diseases reflect the state of the entire body or of specific internal organs.

Examination of the Skin

With good light and double mirror, examine carefully with the fingers, the scalp, face, trunk and the extremities. Note any obvious color changes, and any weeping or itching areas. Note also any growths or sores, whether large or small, smooth or ulcerated, painless or bleeding. Note any sores, in particular, about the face, eyelids, chest and tops of the hands.

Skin Abnormalities

Pallor-A pale skin for some people is normal and often enviable; but a rapid change from a healthy complexion to a pale skin after the age of fifty years, may signal diseases of the blood, or perhaps some other type of internal disease. A continued and progressive pallor of the skin, especially if combined with weakness and fatigue, is most certainly worthy of an examination for possibilities such as anemia.

Florid Complexion-A very florid or reddened complexion, without any obvious cause such as a sunburn, may mean a disease of the blood vessel system. Such difficulties may include high blood pressure, growth in the adrenal gland, neurologic diseases which create a continual flush, or happily it may also mean nothing more than very good health.

Respiration

In simple terms, respiration means exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the living body and the outside air, and this exchange, effected by the breathing of fresh air, continually stands between us and the grave. Although we never think of it, each breath we take is vaporized, warmed and filtered as it enters the lungs. While these important functions are performed mostly by the nose, there is also an elaborate but simple cleansing system inside our lungs for the removal of dust particles and other impurities.

To understand the essentials of breathing, we must realize that our blood stream, the river of life, constantly flows in enormous quantities through the lung tissues. It is here that the blood drinks deeply of the fresh air and oxygen which we have inhaled and at the same time throws off the waste gases, such as, carbon dioxide, which we exhale. In short, the whole of respiration is the ability of our red blood cells to drink in oxygen and to discard carbon dioxide. Each red cell contains the chemical hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color and is the substance that actually carries the oxygen. Even in this atomic age, no one has been able to manufacture anything that can approach hemoglobin.

When the red cells have taken their fill of oxygen from the lungs, they travel throughout the blood vessel system of the body, bringing their eagerly sought parcel of oxygen to the body tissues. They then pick up the waste gas, or carbon dioxide, and return it to the lungs to be exhaled, thus completing the vital exchange.

How often do we breathe in sickness and in health? At rest, the average person may breathe in and out about sixteen to twenty-four times a minute. Exertion, excitement, or work of any sort increases the rate of breathing to bring into the body greater amounts of required oxygen. The fact that we breathe during our sleep tells us that there must be a mechanism which regulates breathing for us even when we are unconscious. We may voluntarily hold our breath for a time but we can never suffocate in this way, because as unconsciousness arrives, the brain centers again promote the regular respiration which will bring back consciousness. This governing mechanism is located within the brain and if it is damaged, breathing may be considerably changed. In disease the respiration can be greatly affected. One example is disease of the lungs, such as pneumonia, or tuberculosis. Because the body calls for more oxygen in such diseases, the remaining lung tissue must expand and contract faster to maintain adequate respiration. Like the heart, the lungs are capable of great effort when it becomes necessary for continuing life. From birth to the grave, the sweetest thing we will ever have is a deep breath of fresh air.

Pulse

The name pulse comes from the Latin word Pulsus, which means beating. As the heart contracts, blood is forced through the arteries causing them to dilate, or “beat.” All arteries have the same pulse beat, but it is usually felt in the radial artery at the wrist, where it is readily detected near the surface and can be easily compressed against the wrist bone. Only the arteries have a pulse. The veins which return blood to the heart, usually have no pulse that is noticeable.

The pulse as a mirror of the heart beating action, tells us a lot about the heart-its beat, its regularity and its force. To a minor degree the pulse also reflects the blood pressure and tells us a little about the arteries-whether they are still elastic and healthy, or whether they have become hardened, like pipes, in diseases such as arteriosclerosis.

The pulse rate which, of course, is the same as the heartbeat, varies considerably with age. While in the newborn it runs between 130 to 140 beats per minute, in adults, the pulse normally runs between 70 to 75 beats per minute. There are also variations between the sexes, with the female pulse usually beating about six times more per minute than that of the male. The pulse rate may be increased tremendously by exertion or excitement, and sometimes reaches rates up to 200 to 250 beats per minute. On the other hand, lying down, resting or sleeping, may slow down the pulse to possibly fifty beats per minute. Some people have a pulse rate of eighty, considered to be normal for their general constitution, while others have a pulse rate in the sixties, which can also be considered normal for them.

A temperature rise is usually accompanied by a rise in the pulse rate, and roughly speaking, for every degree of fever in the body, there will be an extra ten beats per minute in the pulse. Temperature elevation however, does not always accompany disease in which the pulse rate is raised. For example, some heart diseases, or over-activity of the thyroid gland, may be accompanied by a rapid pulse beat but show no temperature increase whatever.

If the pulse runs very fast or very slow, or is beating irregularly, we know that the heart is behaving in the same way. Since this may be due to a serious disease with very few other symptoms, the physician’s advice will be of great value.

GENERAL

Temperature

Human temperature is ordinarily considered normal when the oral thermometer registers 98.6. A variation in temperature is normal through the day for all persons because of such factors as type of work, time of eating and way of life. Generally, temperature is lowest in the early morning, at about 6 A.M., when the temperature reading may be 97 degrees or lower. It then slowly rises during the day to reach its maximum at about 5 P.M. This daily temperature rise seems to be mainly due to food and muscular exercise, and is referred to as the diurnal rhythm.

In elderly people, temperature generally tends to run somewhat higher; therefore, a continued elevation of temperature up to a half degree, in a person of sixty years or more, in the absence of any discernible disease, would be very common and have very little significance. When an oral thermometer cannot be used, as in some mouth diseases, the temperature may be taken in the rectum or axilla (armpit). These temperatures run a degree higher than oral temperatures, but both are very accurate and are easily taken.

Elevated temperature

Human oral temperature of 99 degrees or more should be investigated for its cause. The presence of a temperature producing febrile disease, such as a cold, sore throat, or an infected ingrown toenail, etc., well may explain the temperature elevation. If no obvious reason can be found for a fever which persists for several days, a doctor should be consulted. It is obvious that an elevated temperature of several degrees could be a matter of greater concern and a valid reason to call the physician without delay.

An example of an unexplained daily fever would be the mild temperature elevation caused by over-activity of the thyroid gland, and only a competent M.D. would recognize this disease. Unexplained, continued fever, therefore, is justification for a trip to the doctor’s office.

A lowered temperature

Oral temperature that is significantly lowered is almost always attended by unmistakable and obvious disease. However, in the absence of evident disease, a low temperature has little importance.

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT MENTAL PROBLEMS?

The early detection of a mental disturbance is very important. It is often close friends or acquaintances who suspect mental problems, and are instrumental in persuading the mentally ill to seek adequate help.

In years past, mental illness was considered a social blight, to be hidden from friends and neighbors because of the supposed shame involved. If afflicted family members were not completely hidden away within the home, they were confined in mental institutions, where they were treated as depraved animals in an almost medieval manner and atmosphere.

Centuries of study and observation fortunately now enable us to give to these patients specific treatment which has proved most helpful to them. Though half of our United States hospital beds are devoted to the care of the mentally ill, it is most significant that well over half of these mental patients are released from the hospital within one year.

If we could only look into a mirror which reflected perfect honesty, we would all have to admit some degree of mental problem in ourselves. It might be a matter of memory, or excess tension, worry, fear, etc. Fortunately, most mental disturbances can be adequately diagnosed and treated by the experienced physician skilled in psychiatry.

Cerebral palsy nervous system information

Personality Problems

Personality in later life does not differ much from younger years. Happy young people grow into happy older people, but life’s heaviest punches seem to be reserved for later life. Diseases and deaths of friends and life mates are extremely unhappy moments, and they force great changes in our ways of life. In spite of these sobering events, the mature personality still reflects a fairly steady manner of living, almost the same at all ages. It is a source of wonderment that the brandishments of life do not effect more mental problems but generally, the human mind stands up remarkably well under the beating of life.

The self-displeased personality

Some people are actually displeased with themselves and must continuously try to prove to themselves that they are as good or better than others. If they cannot prove this to their satisfaction, extreme displeasure overtakes them. This group of people has several distinct characteristics. They are very self-conscious and keenly aware of their own shortcomings; they can never admit that they are wrong; they fear and avoid all honest competition; they must have more money, more power, and more fame than anyone else; they avoid all situations which may detract from them; they must always have the last word; they are difficult to satisfy, and are apt to be very selfish; and they are very difficult persons to live with.

Personality problems involving displeasure with self, are likely to be found in the little Napoleon, the severe inferiority complex with the exaggerated way of compensating. These unfortunate persons need the uplifting influence of charity and love in their lives. It is difficult for the extremely selfish or self-centered person to love himself or anyone else, until he learns concern and charity for others. Then he may forget himself and begin to love life itself.

Displeasure with others, causing personality difficulties

Some people seem anti-social. They do not enjoy the company of others, and actually seem hostile in their attitudes to other people. They are obviously anything but joiners and have several identifying characteristics: they feel continuously alone, and display little concern for anyone else; they have very few friends and they are possessed with the idea that others are against them; they trust very few people whom they can love or enjoy; they are inclined to impose upon others and show little respect, if any, for their fellowman.

The personality problem displeased with others around him, is likely to be found in thieves, racketeers and other enemies of society. These people need to experience a strong feeling of trust in others, and to be trusted in turn, as well. Their lot is indeed a hard one, for without sharing the problems of life with loved and trusted friends, it is indeed a lonely and bitter road.

Displeasure with the world as a cause of personality troubles

Some people are always down on their luck or are always getting the bad breaks. The world of reality is too cold and hard for them to endure, and they dream of an unreal future through their rose-colored glasses. Some characteristics of this group are: They deftly avoid and shirk any real responsibility; they shun hard work in favor of an angle; they waste any real talents that they may have in their search for the proverbial rainbow; they shun making decisions, and new ideas or change of any kind are avoided at all costs.

Personality problems involving the world at large are likely to be found in the ne’er-do-wells, the alcoholics, and people with very shallow personalities. The great need of these people is the satisfaction enjoyed from hard work well done. Without this, they can experience very little real satisfaction or enjoyment in life, and their readjustment is very difficult. Their need to excel in something is very great indeed.