Pharmahealthblog. Health and medical information

Why seasickness (the term given to all forms of motion or travel sickness) should be considered funny is a mystery to anyone who has ever suffered from it. There is probably nothing to compare with the misery its victims endure. Nausea, dizziness, headache, and vomiting can be so severe that prostration results. Fortunately, however, it usually vanishes quickly, leaving no ill effects.

The exact cause of seasickness is not fully understood. We do know that it is related to stimulation of the eye and the labyrinth of the ear, which is an organ of balance as well as of hearing. Psychological factors can also be important.

There are countless ways to help ward off seasickness. Here are some useful suggestions:

Be sure you are rested and in good condition.

Get plenty of fresh air; avoid stuffy rooms and unpleasant smells.

Sit on deck with your eyes facing the ship, not the ocean. Keep warm.

Get some exercise unless you become actively ill; in that case, lying down with the head low often helps.

Do no overload your stomach. Small amounts of food taken frequently are usually better than a large meal.

Avoid rich, indigestible food.

Alcoholic beverages make some people feel less nervous, and in that way help to ward off seasickness. Also, iced creme de menthe and other pleasant-tasting drinks may help ‘settle the stomach.’ But, of course, alcoholic drinks in excess can also upset the digestion.

There are other things your doctor can do to help. Be sure to consult him if you know from experience, or if you are afraid, that you are going to have motion sickness on a boat, car, train, or plane. He may give you a sedative such as phenobarbital for a few days before the journey. He may prescribe medicines such as Dramamine or Thorazine, which have worked wonders in preventing or curing seasickness and other types of motion sickness. These must not be taken except on a doctor’s orders.

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The heart is a muscular, pear-shaped organ, slightly bigger than your fist, composed of four chambers with valves in them.

The heart is by no means a delicate organ. It has been handled by surgeons who have successfully sewn up wounds in it and have repaired or replaced the valves and corrected malformations. Protected by the tough and resilient ribs, the heart is rarely damaged by a blow. Like any healthy muscle, a healthy heart is not injured by exercise. However, there are definite limits to the amount of strain that should be placed on a middle-aged, old, or damaged heart. If you are over 40, such strenuous activities as shovelling sand or high-altitude hiking can precipitate heart strain. If you are overweight, your heart has to work much harder than it would if your weight were normal.

Guard your heart by avoiding obesity and, if you are middle-aged, by being sensible about exercise. In addition, follow this piece of advice: take your heart seriously but don’t worry about it. This may sound contradictory, but it is not. It simply means that you should have your heart checked at your regular medical examination, and if the doctor says it’s all right, forget about it.

Between your check-ups, you can keep your heart in good condition by some everyday precautions and activities. Avoid excessive smoking, especially if there is a tendency to heart attacks in your family. If you must smoke, use a pipe occasionally or a mild cigar. A good diet, with regular spacing of meals, helps the heart to work at its best. Keep your work and social life under control so that you are not chronically fatigued. Avoid reducing pills, as they may contain thyroid If you are so tense and driven in our competitive world that you suffer from a tendency to high blood pressure or heart pains (angina pectoris), ask your doctor about the advisability of a talk with a psychotherapist. You may be able to reduce the nervous tension to the point where you will avoid trouble with your heart in later life.

The great enemies of your heart are the following diseases (read the detailed accounts of them in the encyclopaedia section so that you will be alerted to their dangers and know what medical science has learnt about their prevention or mitigation): coronary heart disease, diabetes, hardening of the arteries, hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperthyroidism, nephritis (Bright’s disease), rheumatic fever (not rheumatism or arthritis, which do not
affect the heart), and syphilis.

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As described earlier in this chapter, the harder you work, the more food you need, just as a motor car consumes more petrol when going fast or going uphill. The work or energy that can be obtained from food is measured in calories. Some foods contain far more calories than others. One excellent calorie guide is How to Lose Weight Wisely, a booklet distributed by the National Heart Foundation of Australia. It can be obtained free of charge from the Foundation’s head office, Box 691, P.O., Canberra City, A.C.T., 2601, and from branch offices in each capital city.

Certain starchy vegetables have a high calorie value. They include baked and canned beans, green and canned corn, fresh peas, lima beans, potatoes, and rice. Also, fruit prepared with added sugar may be high in calories.

The following vegetables are intermediate between the low and high calorie ones: beetroot, carrots, canned green peas, onions, parsnips, pumpkin, squash, and turnips.

Among fruit, too, there are those that are high calorie: canned apricots, bananas, cherries, nectarines, pears, and plums. The following fruit are especially fattening: dates, figs, raisins, dried peaches, prunes, and apricots. The intermediate fruit include apples, blackberries, fresh grapes, fresh pears, and raspberries.

The person who ‘eats nothing’ and gains weight is undoubtedly concentrating on fattening foods. Some of these high-calorie foods are:

Butter, oleomargarine, cream

Oils and salad dressings

Lards and all foods fried in deep fat

Sweets, sugar, jelly, jam

Ice cream, malted milk, sodas

Carbonated drinks

Bread, plain and sweet biscuits, cakes, pastries, rice, noodles, macaroni,

spaghetti Fat meats and gravies Potatoes

Corn, peas, beans (except string beans), figs, dates, and other dried fruit

Nuts and olives Chocolate and cocoa

On the other hand, the person who eats all the time and does not gain weight is apt to be selecting the less fattening, low-calorie foods, such as the ones given in the list that follows.

Lean meats and eggs

Skim milk and cottage cheese (most other cheeses are not low in calories)

Asparagus, string beans, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, zucchini, endive, lettuce, mushrooms, pickles, radishes, sauerkraut, spinach, tomatoes

Blackberries, currants, gooseberries, grapefruit, rock-melon, oranges, fresh peaches, fresh pineapple, strawberries, watermelon

Not everyone can gain or lose weight simply by substituting some high calorie for some low calorie foods or vice versa. You may be eating so much or so little that this would have almost no effect on your total calorie intake.

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Diet for children

The formula for infants should be prescribed by your own doctor or by a hospital clinic doctor, who will tell you when to supplement it with cereal, vegetables, egg, and so on, and how much juice or vitamin concentrates to include in the baby’s diet.

From the time the doctor says your child can eat everything, his diet can be much the same as that of the adult given in the preceding pages, except that the child needs a quart of milk a day, and he may need snacks between meals to supply extra energy. Bread or biscuits covered with cheese, butter, or jam; ice cream; cocoa; and chocolate milk are good for this purpose. However, remember that sweets increase the risk of tooth decay and cavities.

Diet for the adolescent

During their rapid growth in adolescence, boys and girls need extra milk, proteins, and vitamins. It is essential that they eat the balanced diet listed at the beginning of this chapter. They need extra food and milk drinks between meals to add poundage to the lengthening body. Good dietary habits are especially important at this age.

Diet during pregnancy

The pregnant woman must supply her own body with proper food and at the same time eat foods to build the baby’s bones and tissues. This means that extra minerals, proteins, and vitamins are needed. The diet during pregnancy should be regulated by a physician. This is one of the reasons why every pregnant woman should be under the care of a doctor.

Diet for the later years of life

Many doctors feel that older people benefit from additional vitamins taken in capsule or concentrated form. Let your doctor decide what is best for you. He will probably caution you against gaining weight. Of course, ageing also brings with it other special considerations.

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Enough is now known about the direct relationship between smoking and several extremely serious diseases to cause me to say, along with many other doctors, ‘If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, stop. If you can’t stop, then at least cut down.’ The dangers and diseases associated with smoking are fully discussed in the entry on smoking in the encyclopaedia section.

You may wonder why I do not just tell everyone to stop smoking, without even suggesting they cut down. One reason is that my experience as a doctor tells me most people will not listen to such drastic advice. Habits are hard to break, even habits that injure our health. But I do emphasize two things—if you have children, do everything you can to persuade them never to start smoking. For yourself, if you cannot stop, cut down on your smoking until it becomes a low-risk activity. There is no reason to panic at the knowledge of how smoking damages the body, but it certainly makes sense to indulge in low-risk, not high-risk, smoking if you cannot break the habit.

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