Health information

QUESTION: My father-in-law has finally decided to take a big step, and for
the first time in his life, fly a plane to visit his grandchildren
He has
been under care for some heart problems, and is a bit worried about the
possibility that air travel might aggravate his condition
Do you think it is
OK for him to fly? He relies on your advice.

ANSWER: Before buying the airline tickets, you should definitely consider
your father-in-law’s health problems
Since you weren’t specific about the
nature of his health problems or other health concerns, I’ll lay out some
guidelines about those who definitely should not fly.
Anyone who has suffered a heart attack should recuperate for at least a
month before considering being an airline passenger
During air flight, there
is relatively less oxygen available than is normal at sea level
Therefore,
anyone who suffers from conditions relating to hypoxia not enough oxygen in
the blood could be at risk in flight
Other heart-related conditions that
might put Dad at risk include uncontrolled hypertension, severe congestive
heart failure, uncontrolled irregular heart rhythms and unstable angina.
If he does decide to visit, here are a few additional tips
Make sure he
brings along enough medicine to last for the period of his visit
The
medications should be kept on his person during the trip, rather than packed
in luggage that is being checked through
Be sure he brings his health
insurance card and information with him as well
You just never can tell when
emergencies might arise
It would be wise for him to consult with his
physician for more advice, and perhaps a list of all his medicines
If he is
going to cross a time zone, a new schedule for taking the medication may be
necessary
With all these precautions taken, his trip should be both very
exciting and medically uneventful.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

“http://medications-low-price.com/item.php?id=814″ Sinequan
Our price: $0.42
Sinequan (Doxepin) is used to elevate the mood of patients with depression.

QUESTION: Though I have nursed my allergies for years, and probably spent
more on medications than vacations, I still am not sure what this miserable
condition is all about
Could you turn your special talent for explaining
about disease to this, and tell me about it so that at last I will understand
it all?

ANSWER: That’s quite an order, but I’ll try
The best one sentence
definition of allergy is that it’s an overreaction of the body’s immune
system to something that it probably shouldn’t have reacted to in the first
place.
The immune system is normally great at learning to identify potential
dangers, such as bacteria and viruses, and then remembering them and attacking
them the next time they show up
In a person with allergies, the immune
system over reacts and starts attacking things like pollen, mold spore, house
dust, mites, animal dander, or certain substances that are eaten, inhaled or
touch the skin
These “allergy causers” are called allergens.
In the case of an inhaled allergen, antibodies react to the allergen’s
presence and attach to the nasal passages and upper respiratory tract and
start attacking
The antibody destroys the allergen, but also wrecks havoc on
the surrounding tissue, resulting in sneezes, sniffles, watery eyes, and a
stuffed-up head
An allergic response in the skin may appear as eczema or
hives, while one in the intestinal system may show up as diarrhea, cramps, or
vomiting.
Allergic responses can vary in intensity from mild sniffles all the way
to anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening situation, intense reaction.
Anaphylaxis is most often caused by allergies to insect venom, penicillin, or
certain foods such as fish, peanuts or eggs.
I’ve simplified things a bit for you, but the field of immunology is one
of the most exciting in medicine, and research in this area may soon produce
answers to a great many important medical questions.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

“http://medications-low-price.com/item.php?id=2359″ Sorbitrate
Our price: $0.2
Sorbitrate (Isosorbide) is used for preventing symptoms of angina(chest pain).

QUESTION: Our young daughter, age 11, has been suffering with facial tics for
some time now, and was just diagnosed as having Tourette syndrome
Can you
provide me with some information and help about this?

ANSWER: Tourette syndrome has left the medical world baffled
Usually
occurring between the ages of 2 to 15, and mimicking the symptoms of attention
deficit disorders common to this age group, it has been difficult to diagnose
and treat
The major criteria for a diagnosis of Tourette syndrome, aside
from age of onset, are the presence of recurring, repetitive, involuntary, and
purposeless movements, the presence of vocal tics, the ability of the patient
to suppress the movements for minutes or hours at a time, variations in the
intensity of the symptoms, and the occurrence of symptoms for at least one
year.
Other signs might be present, and all symptoms seem to worsen with
stress
Psychiatric disorders, for instance compulsive disorder, can be
confused with Tourette syndrome, and, as a matter of fact, the drug used to
treat this disorder is also used in psychiatric disorders
The disorder
crosses all class and economic groups and appears equally in all
nationalities
There is some evidence that the disease might be hereditary,
but these findings are not conclusive
Usually anxiety and depression are
present in the kids who have it, and they need all the support they can get
from physicians, parents, and teachers
The Tourette Syndrome Association is
a valuable source of research, support, and up to date information about this
perplexing disorder
You may contact them by writing to Tourette Syndrome
Association, 42-40 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, New York 11361 or calling (718)
224-2999.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

“http://medications-low-price.com/item.php?id=728″ Azulfidine
Our price: $1.18
Azulfidine (Sulfasalazine) treats ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis.

QUESTION: Time is such a precious commodity for me that even when exercising,
I am sometimes tempted to shorten the warm up period and get at it
Is there
any good evidence that this might be more dangerous than I know? I don’t want
to turn a healthful practice into something that could be damaging to my now
great state of health.

ANSWER: Most athletes contend that if there’s a golden rule to exercise, it’s
the warm-up
In fact, it is so universally practiced that researchers testing
for the effects of warm-up on injury can’t seem to find anyone willing to
sprint at maximum speed without it
Athletes are simply too aware of the
potential dangers.
The only verifiable medical support for this routine is that a warm
muscle contracts more quickly and efficiently, receives more oxygen, and
performs cleaner and longer than a cold one
But this can only be
accomplished by choosing the right kind of warm-up, with a proper level of
intensity and duration.
For example, a general warm-up like calisthenics would never benefit a
runner
It only increases the body’s core temperature, not necessarily the
temperature of muscles needed for the run
A task-specific warm-up, however,
uses the same muscles
For instance, light jogging with brief bursts of speed
works well for sprinters
Look to crack a light sweat, warn the experts, but
don’t let warm-up lead to fatigue
After exercise, recover with a cool-down.
It all helps develop that winning edge.
Permit me one additional comment
Anyone that has a time compulsion
about the minutes spent in the relaxing (yes!) and invigorating experience
that regular exercises provide, should reflect a moment or two about the
importance of priorities in life
You will do better, and enjoy it all more,
if you can back off a bit from the time constraints that now seem to be such
an important consideration in your present life.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

Our price: $0.45
Zebeta (Bisoprolol) is used for treating patients with high blood pressure.

QUESTION: Our apartment requires us to climb a single flight of steps
They
are not overly steep, but as time has gone past, my husband has had more
trouble reaching the top without being a bit breathless
His doctor has found
nothing physically wrong, and claims that it is normal with advancing age.
But some of our more athletic friends have no difficulty whatsoever
Does
this mean that my spouse should get off his butt and begin moving it a bit?
Can exercise help even at his age (he is 69)?

ANSWER: It may well indeed indicate that a bit of exercise can correct the
problem, at any age
It is true that it is felt that with increasing age,
endurance and the ability to utilize our oxygen intake may diminish, but with
ever increasing numbers of citizens making it into the retirement years, new
studies have shown that a bit of regular exercise can slow down the losses
previously thought to be inevitable
There is a bit of a mental block though
for many people who have not indulged in athletics during or through their
lifetime, a block that fails to consider that a brisk walk may be all that is
needed to get on the right “track” (I just couldn’t resist the pun)
It
doesn’t require participation in an athletic sport, but merely a regularly
scheduled activity that gets the heart to beating a bit more rapidly than
usual, and a duration of 30 minutes or better
You may be the key to the
solution if you are inclined to accompany your “spouse,” for it is much more
rewarding and fun when done with someelse along
Start a diary, and keep
track of the time spent each week in your exercise walk
You can plan walks
into new areas, making it a bit of an adventure, or include it as part of
other routine activities, such as food shopping
Besides the benefit to heart
and lungs, these extra activities can burn extra calories, and either help
shed unneeded extra weight, or keep off unwanted pounds
You see, it isn’t
“exercise” that seems to be the needed solution here, but a bit of extra
physical “activity”
Once you embrace that philosophy, you will many ways of
adding a little extra healthful occupations that help get the “wind” back into
older lungs.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

“http://medications-low-price.com/item.php?id=2239″ Acne-n-Pimple Cream
Our price: $11
Acne-n-Pimple Cream effectively controls acne and pimples.

QUESTION: Although many doctors were unable to diagnose my very peculiar skin
rash, I finally met a doctor with a new gimmick that did the trick
He took
me in a dark room, and used a special light on me that made the rash glow in
the dark
Within a few seconds he had the answer I had spent months looking
for
Now, can you tell me about that magic light? I am afraid that my doctor
was better at using the lamp than explaining how it works, so it is up to you.

ANSWER: The name of the “magic lamp” is a Wood’s Light, that produces black
light that is invisible to the eye
Using a mercury vapor source, the light
passes through a special nickel-chromium oxide silica filter that transmits
long wave ultraviolet radiation
Certain materials as well as fungi and
bacteria (including Pseudomonas) “fluoresce” or glow under this light, and can
be easily detected
The same light is responsible for many special effects
used in theatrical productions
This technique is useful in recognizing the
differences in skin pigmentation, as well as pigmented lesions
Many of the
organisms fluoresce in different colors, with tinea versicolor showing up a
golden yellow, and pseudomonas ranging from aqua-green to blue
The screening
works best if the patient has avoided bathing for 24 hours, and when the room
is totally dark
Once the Wood’s light has detected the problem, other tests
may be used to clinch the diagnosis.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

“http://medications-low-price.com/item.php?id=806″ Purinethol
Our price: $3.78
Purinethol (Mercaptopurine) is used to treat leukemia.

QUESTION: My doctor has kept me on cortisone medications for a long time now,
due to problems with my breathing
I can breathe alright now, and since I
have learned that the medications are dangerous, I just want to quit, before
any damage is done
Can I do that by myself? It is hard to keep going to the
doctor’s office.

ANSWER: Medications should be given for a specific reason, when the chance
they can do some good far outweighs the possible problems from side effects.
Cortisone like medications (corticosteroids, for accuracy sake) are powerful
medications, and do enormous good, such as helping you breath, but just
stopping this medication on your own is unwise
Your body needs to adapt, and
so a schedule of cutting back gradually is advisable
This can be
accomplished by reducing dosages, skipping one pill during a day, or other
such strategies that require the supervision of your doctor
Since this may
be a delicate process, you are going to need help
And have you considered
the possibility that the condition might flare up again? You may still need
your physician, though you are doing well now.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

“http://medications-low-price.com/item.php?id=748″ Elavil
Our price: $0.25
Elavil (Amitriptyline) is used to elevate the mood of patients with depression. Elavil is also a sedative, and is useful in depressed patients with insomnia, restlessness, and nervousness.

QUESTION: My husband works too hard at a very demanding job
He has been
running three to four times a week for more than an hour at each session.
When he began to have a pain in his right foot, he did nothing about it until
it became so bad he could barely walk
Now the doctor tells him he has a
stress fracture, and he must take it easy
Was it the stress on the job, or
just running too much that brought on this problem?

ANSWER: While it may be true that your husband is undergoing much mental or
emotional stress on the job, in this case it was the physical stress on the
bones in his feet that was the cause of this fracture
This is a common
problem in runners and is the result of the repetitive shocks to the bone that
happen during running rather than by a sudden forceful blow that can cause a
fracture during an accident
While the break may be seen in any bone that
receives this type of “stress,” it is found most frequently in the lower third
of the tibia and in the bones of the foot
It is sometimes a difficult
diagnosis to make if there is no local swelling, for the normal x-ray may not
reveal the presence of the break until three weeks or more after the injury.
While one of the reasons this occurred may be overuse, although his schedule
does not seem to be excessive, there are times when old and worn running shoes
are to blame, if the cushioning is worn out, or the shoe has lost its shape
and ability to probably support and cushion the foot
And rest is the answer,
of sufficient duration to give enough time for the bone to heal properly
If
your husband tries to push it, and begin his exercise routine before all is
ready, the fracture may never heal completely or heal improperly
Many
compulsive runners start up when the pain disappears, which can be too soon
for the bone, still in the process of repairing the fracture
While your
husband is suffering through this enforced repose, he might do well to
consider scheduling other types of relaxation activity to help relieve some of
the stress that his occupation may be thrusting upon him
That might help
resolve some of his other problems, and turn this period into a “lucky break”!

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

“http://medications-low-price.com/item.php?id=735″ Cardizem
Our price: $0.7
Cardizem (Diltiazem) is used for the treatment and prevention of angina (chest pain).

QUESTION: My neighbor passed away so suddenly as the result of a stroke
I
don’t think she knew it was coming, but couldn’t help but wonder if there were
any signs that might have served her as a warning
I guess I am also a bit
worried about myself
Could you please answer this important question for me?

ANSWER: Sometimes strokes do come on suddenly and unexpectedly, without
warning
But there are many other times when the subtle signs of a stroke or
an “impending” stroke, as some doctors like to call it, are there if you know
what to look for
Strokes differ from heart attacks in that they cause no
pain and their warning signs pass unnoticed
But there are four major signals
that should not go unheeded
They are numbness, weakness or tingling in an
arm, leg or one side of the face; loss of vision in one or both eyes;
difficulty speaking; sudden loss of strength in an arm or leg
Other less
common warnings include; an unusual or unexplainable headache, memory loss,
dizziness, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting
These may signal a mini stroke or
T.I.A
(transient ischemic attack), which if undiagnosed or untreated can be
but the prelude to a major stroke with consequences that are far more serious.
The solution is to obtain medical help as soon as your suspicions are aroused.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

“http://medications-low-price.com/item.php?id=3326″ Clomid
Our price: $0.5
Clomid (Clomiphene) is used for treating female infertility.

QUESTION: We were distressed to learn of Jim Henson’s death, the “father” of
Kermit and all those adorable Muppets
What disturbed us most was our
inability to understand how a simple streptococcus infection could have killed
him in these days of powerful antibiotics
Would you please shed some light
on this disease, and tell us if there is anything new for us to worry about?

ANSWER: The tragic early death of Jim Henson probably affected many
households as it did yours
The newspapers reports as well as the television
coverage probably left many people with similar fears and concerns
Mr.
Hensen died of the complications of “Group A streptococcal pneumonia”, a rare
form of pneumonia, that represents less than 5 percent of all pneumonias.
Although this form of streptococcus may cause the common “strep throat”, as
well as other nonlife threatening diseases, and more serious illnesses such
as rheumatic fever, it rarely affects the lungs, and this type of pneumonia is
extremely unusual in circumstances outside of crowded living conditions
But
when it does occur it progresses with great rapidity and severity, despite
treatment with antibiotics
Known as “galloping pneumonia” in some sections
of the country, it is difficult to control and may last for weeks
According
to reports, it took but 5 days to run the course from sore throat to death in
Mr
Hensen’s case
However, there doesn’t seem to be anything new here to
cause undue worry, nor that a new disease is now loose
The course of the
ailment starts with the usual sore throat and fever, signs which must always
be taken seriously
When cough, chills and chest pain occur, you most
certainly need prompt medical care
A chest x-ray will help the physician
make the diagnosis of pneumonia, and a throat, sputum or blood culture may
indicate the nature of the bacterial infection
Then the appropriate and
intense antibiotic therapy can be provided or modified to meet the needs of
the situation
That is not to say that every sore throat will become a
pneumonia, which is most certainly not the case, but does demonstrate once
again, that any symptom which is severe, sudden, and which continues over
time, must be taken seriously.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

“http://medications-low-price.com/item.php?id=3187″ Accutane (Anti - Acne)
Our price: $1.25
Accutane (Isotretinoin) is used for treating severe acne.