DISEASES YOU CAN CATCH FROM YOUR DOG
HEADACHE RELIEF WITHOUT DRUGS STROKE WARNINGS WHY PAINKILLERS CAN BACKFIRE DANGERS OF VITAMIN C INTERACTION DANGER TWO DRUGS THAT MAY IMPAIR YOUR MEMORY POISON SELF-DEFENSE READ THE LABEL (Prescriptions) WHO GETS ORGAN TRANSPLANTS-WHO DOESN'T
HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A VICTIM
The family dog may pass on contagious
diseases, particularly streptococcal sore
throats. About 100 diseases can be
transmitted from animals to humans.
Point: If the family is bothered with
persistent infections, especially sore
throats, take the dog to the vet for
testing. When the dog is cured, the
family problem with diseases may also disappear.
Source: Home Journal
Relief from incapacitating tension, vascular and migraine headaches is possible without drugs, using a self- administered form of acupuncture known as acupressure. The technique: Exert very heavy thumbnail pressure (painful pressure) successively on nerves lying just below the surface of the skin at key points in the hands and wrists. As with acupunc- ture, no one's sure why it works. Pressure points to try: The triangle of flesh between the thumb and index finger on the back of your hands (thumb side of bone, near middle of the second metacarpal in the index finger). just above the protruding bone on the thumb side of your wrist.
Strokes are often preceded by warning
signs. Reacting quickly can help pre-
vent the stroke or reduce its damage.
Danger signals that warrant an immedi-
ate doctor visit: Sudden weakness or
numbness in the face, arm or leg that
lasts a few seconds or minutes. Sudden,
temporary dimness or loss of vision,
especially in one eye. Sudden, tempo-
rary double vision. Temporarily im-
paired speech or loss of speech due to
difficulty in moving the tongue or jaw.
Temporary dizziness or unsteadiness.
Unexpected headaches or a change in
headache patterns.
Source: Dr. Edward Cooper, professor of medicine, University
of Pennsylvania. chairman, Stroke Cotsncil, American Heart
Association.
Painkillers that are taken for a head-
ache can, ironically, cause the same
symptoms they're taken to cure. What
happens: Three to four hours after the
headache remedy is taken, its level
comes down in the bloodstream.. .and
the headache returns, sometimes even
worse than before.
Source: International Medicine. Nen's, Rockville, MD.
While the US RDA is 60 milligrams
(mg) per day (the amount in a single
orange) and the British recommend
only 30 mg per day, some vitamin C
advocates tell us to consume as much
as 10,000-18,000 mg per day (to pre-
vent colds, for example). Truth: Vita-
min C deficiency in the US is rare. Side
effects, however, from too much vita-
min C are not. These may include:
Attacks of gout from increased blood
uric acid levels.
Destruction of red blood cells which
may lead to anemia.
Impairment of white blood cells.
Megadosing with vitamin C prevents
these cells from killing potential-
ly harmful microbes.. reducing the
body's resistance to influenza.
Skewed test results for diabetes, liver
disease, or colon cancer.
Damage to the pancreas... possibly
leading to diabetes.
Dental problems. Chewable or liquid
vitamin C especially may accelerate
tooth decay.
Promised results of high vitamin C
doses are scientifically unsubstantiated
and costly to your pocketbook and to
your health.
Source: Manreen Considine, MPH, research associate,
American Conocil of Science and Health.
Food and drug interactions can reduce
the effectiveness of medication or
lower your body's absorption of nutrients.
Important:
Ask your doctor exactly when and
how medications should be taken.
Source: The 50+ Wellness Program. A Complete Program for
Maintaining Nutritional Financial and Emotional Well-Being for
Mature Adults by Harris H. Mcllwain, MD, John Wiley & Sons,
605 Third Ave., New York 10158.
Two high-blood pressure medicines
can impair verbal memory. Inderal
(propranolol) and Aldomet (methyl-
dopa) have been found to cause mem-
ory loss in both hypertensive patients
and patients with normal pressures.
Such impairment was not observed in hy-
pertensive people taking only diuretics.
Medications poison more people than
any other substance. Other common
poisons: Household cleaning supplies...
plants... pesticides. The good news: Fewer
than one of 10 calls to a statewide hot-
line required hospitalization or an
effort to remove the substance from
the person's stomach. Vital: Keep the
phone number of your local poison-
control posted near your phone for use
in the event of an emergency.
Source: Steven M. Marcus, MD, head of the NewJersey Poison
Information and Education System.
Prescription medicine dosage instruc-
tions are followed incorrectly by 30%
to 50% of patients. Example: Nicotine
patches have been associated with an
increased risk of heart attack because
many users continue to smoke while
wearing them, even though the instruc-
tions explicitly warn against doing so.
Source: Report by the National council on Patient Information
and Education.
Because the stakes are so high, rumors
about favoritism or "buying a miracle"
in the transplant world are common.
What isn't true about the way organs
are allocated:
The more money you have, the better
your chances. Reality: If you can pay
for the transplant and meet the medi-
cal criteria, you'll be listed with every-
one else waiting at a specific center. It's
not that the organs are expensive-
they're not available at any price.
Problem: If you have neither ade-
quate insurance coverage nor sufficient
funds, you will have difficulty getting a
transplant center to list you. And if
you're not listed, you're not in line for
available organs.
Well-publicized patients have a better
chance of getting an organ. Although
publicity can certainly help in a fund-
raising effort, it won't necessarily save a
life.
Example: Ronnie DeSillers, the
seven-year~old boy who died while
awaiting a fourth liver transplant, was
brought into the national news spot-
light because President Reagan con-
tributed money for his medical costs
after initially raised funds were stolen.
Three days before the young boy died,
a compatible liver became available,
but doctors decided that a child in
Dallas needed it more desperately.
Rich foreign nationals can buy their
way into the American transplant
network. Most centers have a limit of
no more than 5%-1O% of American
organs available for foreigners. Be-
cause America and England have devel-
oped transplant technologv, foreigners
may have no other choice but to look
here.
Moving to a transplant center will im-
prove your chances. It may make sense
to move your loved one to a major hos-
pital if he or she is too sick to be at
home, but moving to a major trans-
plant center can't really help your
chances. If an organ becomes available
and you are the best recipient, it
doesn't matter where you are in the
continental United States-you'll get it.
To get on an organ waiting list, you
must prove that you can pay for it with
your own funds or with insurance.
Exceptions: Kidneys and, sometimes,
hearts. Medicare covers kidney trans-
plants (or dialysis) for those eligible for
Social Security benefits, and heart
transplants are covered for Medicare
patients over age 65.
Once you have met medical and
financial criteria, you can be listed with
a transplant center. There are over 125
centers in the country, many of which
are affiliated with hospitals. Kidney
transplants are performed throughout
the country, and heart transplants are
becoming more common, but liver and
heart-lung transplants are done less
often.
After you have been listed, you must
wait for the proper organ to become
available-and matched to a pool of
recipients.
Note: Kidney transplants (which are
life improving, not lifesaving are avail-
able to anyone in need.
Improving your chances.
List with several organ procurement
centers. It's best to list with centers that
often perform the type of operation
you need. Ask the center's transplant
coordinator for the center's success rate.
Review the credentials of the doctors
on a transplant team carefully. They
should be members of the American
Society of Transplant Surgeons, which
guarantees that they are board-certi-
fied with a fellowship in transplant sur-
gery and at least six months of service
with a transplant team.
Contact transplant support groups. To
find a group nearby, check your phone-
book, ask the transplant coordinators
at the centers where you are listed or
contact the American Council on
Transplantation.
Source: Brian Broznick, procurement director for the
Pittsburgh Transplant Foundation, 5743 centre Ave.,
Pittsburgh 15206.
Unless you're a physician, you can't diagnose your own illnesses and decide by yourself whether or not you really need an operation. But you can and you should seek a second and third opinion if you're considering any operative procedure.
Fully a quarter of the surgical procedures performed in the United States each year are of very limited benefit-or entirely useless. It's valuable to become familiar with the types of procedures that may be performed unnecessarily:
Arthroscopy.
Biopsy of the skin.
Breast biopsies.
Carotid endarterectomy.
Coronary bypass.
Endoscopy.
Hysterectomy.
Lumbar laminectomy.
Tonsillectomy.
Surgical procedures that are often performed unnecessarily: Knee surgery, prostate removal, hysterectomy, repair of deviated septum of the nose, and podiatric surgery. Finding: When the state of New York required about one million people on state insurance policies to get second opinions on these procedures, the number of actual operations dropped significantly.
Source: Nelson Carpenter, associate director, Governor's
Office of Employee Relations, New York State, quoted in
Business Insurance
.