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Our daily living style makes little room for beliefs, and clinging to morals that many view as old-fashioned has become difficult. The fear of AIDS has resulted in some people attempting to modify their sexual behavior to prevent illness or death. While behavioral change is necessary during the crisis of AIDS, we should also be busy asking ourselves about the meaning of sexual intimacy. We should be busy not only trying to prevent the spread of a deadly disease, but busy spreading a value system that teaches the emotional and physical immunity provided by mutually pleasing, exclusive sexual intimacy. If we fail to learn from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, another disease will simply replace AIDS after it is conquered medically.

The couples were asked early in the program to make at least one time a week “worship time.” It didn’t matter what they did during that time, but they were asked to go somewhere and worship living, love, and life together. One wife reported, “You know what we did? We did every church and temple we could find. We took the kids every Saturday or Sunday morning and went to any place of worship. Just sitting there together was relaxing. It was really the only time other than watching television, or going to funerals, or weddings that we have ever sat together quietly, respectfully, spiritually and just were together.”

Sex and Problems of Daily Living: Why Nobody Has a Sex Life 271 Super marital sex is the most highly advanced, exclusive, high-level form of human relationship possible. It requires attention to all of the dirty dozen. It requires an effort, commitment, and willingness to change first and think about it later. Unlike the first three perspectives of sexuality, the fourth perspective upon which super marital sex is based emphasized a totality of life involvement, a cleaning up of the dirty dozen.

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If your situation is life threatening your decision is more difficult. As well as questions like those above you would also need to ask yourself and your doctor: What do I stand to gain and to lose by going through a major operation which is likely to result in me living a bit longer? What could that extra time be like? How much of it is likely to be spent in hospital? What new problems could the cancer cause in that time? What might I die of later if I don’t die of bowel obstruction now? Can my present unpleasant symptoms be controlled by some other means if I decide to let nature take its course?

It takes a very courageous person to refuse a temporarily life saving treatment of any sort. This is definitely not ‘taking the easy way out’ or ‘giving up’. Even though it might be best for everybody, including you, such a refusal is never easy. I hope that whenever the time is right for you, you will be realistic, brave and tough enough to say ‘No’.

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Some doctors ask their patients, under treatment for hypertension, to buy and use such machines for self-monitoring, so the doctor can have a more accurate assessment of the daily fluctuations of the levels.

It is my belief that monitoring one’s own blood pressure without instruction and interpretation may cause anxiety and serve no useful purpose.

High blood pressure causes no symptoms and therefore is usually detected only at routine checking. Symptoms, when they do develop, are most often late and due to damage to various organs.

Headaches may be common in well-established and severe hypertension, but the symptom is so common it may be unrelated to the level of pressure.

Persistent high blood pressure places a strain on the left ventricle of the heart. This is the chamber which pumps blood through the aorta to all the body. Persistent strain causes this side of the heart to enlarge.

This pattern of left ventricular strain or hypertrophy (enlargement) may show on the electrocardiogram, or ECG.

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Allergic conditions are a little like rheumatic disorders — they’re common in our community but tend to be forgotten when there’s money for research.

Figures show that between 10 and 20 per cent of the population suffer from one or more allergies and over 80 per cent of families have a sufferer.

It’s not only pollens and dust which may offend — but food. Allergy to food may cause a variety of symptoms, including hives or urticaria, asthma, rhinitis or nasal problems, eczema, gastro-intestinal troubles and even migraine.

Allergy to foodstuffs has been incriminated in hyperactivity in children and may be a factor in Meniere’s syndrome (which causes giddiness) and in the bowel disorder of ulcerative colitis.

Animal foods such as cow’s milk and hen’s eggs are the most common but shell fish, some vegetables and fruit are also recognised as potent allergens.

A great deal of attention has been focused on cow’s milk because of its widespread use in infant feeding. The gut of infants appears to be able to absorb the proteins of this food without digesting them so they enter the bloodstream and can provoke the onset of allergy.

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During the second half of the menstrual cycle—the two weeks that begin with ovulation and end with menstruation—the endometrium, or lining of the uterus, prepares for conception. Activated by the ovarian hormones estrogen and progesterone, the lining becomes swollen with blood and glandular tissue. Estrogen, the first female hormone, essentially primes the body for ovulation and fertilization. Progesterone changes the uterine lining, preparing it for the eventuality of nourishing a fertilized egg by turning the lining soft and spongy and increasing it to about ten times its normal thickness.

The cycle begins this way: immediately after menstruation, the hormone FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) is released from the pituitary gland and stimulates the ovaries to produce estrogen. On approximately the fourteenth day of the cycle, when the estrogen level is sufficiently high, a second hormone—LH, or luteinizing hormone—is released from the pituitary and triggers ovulation, that is, the release of the egg from the ovary. This egg is one of about four hundred eggs, from a reserve of almost half a million eggs, that will ripen during a woman’s lifetime.

If the egg is not fertilized by sperm, resulting in pregnancy, the endometrium follows another course. First, the female sex hormones drop and a third hormone, prostaglandin, is released. Then the enriched endometrial tissue breaks down. The menstrual cycle starts as the uterus begins its rhythmic contractions. The unused endometrial tissue detaches from the womb and is normally flushed out of the body in the form of menstrual blood.

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These exercises are very beneficial in promoting a general feeling of well-being and relaxation. In fact, they combine a mixture of hypnotic induction and yoga with reassuring suggestions about inner calmness. These exercises can be learnt under the auspices of the Council of Adult Education, at the Cairnmillar Institue, and elsewhere.

A useful adjunct to this type of treatment is the series of tape-recordings put out by the Australian College of Recorded Education in Sydney. One of their medi-talk series is called, for example, ‘How to relax’.

Hospitalization. Occasionally, a patient requires hospitalization for the treatment of a severe skin disorder. Not infrequently, children with bad eczema require five to ten days in hospital to bring their condition under control and help their mothers learn to manage.

Many other skin disorders subside dramatically following hospitalization. This no doubt is due to a change in environment and the escape from the daily stresses and strains, as well as to the psychological effect of the patient turning himself over to physicians and nurses, who then fulfil the role of parent substitutes.

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The major food sources of fat in the Australian diet as determined by the CSIRO Division of Human Nutrition. The personal pattern of fat intake will need to be considered when advising individuals about eating for fat loss.

What is dietary fat? Dietary fats or triglycerides are made up of three fatty acids joined together by a glycerol molecule. Oils are fats in liquid form and these have the same energy value (i.e. 9kcal/g) as ‘hard’ fats. Hence all fats and oils have been generally thought to have the same effect on body fat storage, although there is now some controversy about this. In terms of other health issues such as blood cholesterol level, the type of fat is known to be more important. Fatty acids in foods can be divided into two major categories: saturated and unsaturated. Within the unsaturated category, there are also two major classes: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.

Fats in food contain a mixture of all types of fatty acids but in different proportions. For example, com oil contains around 14 per cent saturated, 32 per cent monounsaturated and 52 per cent polyunsatured oil and butter contains about 52 per cent saturated, 23 per cent monounsaturated and 1 per cent polyunsaturated fat. It’s a common misconception that only animal fats are saturated. Most plants and oils contain some saturated fat and in coconut and palm kernel oil, the saturated fats are the dominant ones (based on the fatty acid of greatest concentration).

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Thoughts about pain which are negative can lead to anxiety, tension and stress and ultimately more pain.

If negative thoughts and emotions can be removed and your perception of pain is altered then your coping abilities and lifestyle improve, often leading to a significant decrease in actual pain.

You have to accept that there is no instant cure for your pain and discomfort and that you need to take steps to do something positive about dealing with it.

Included in this chapter are some suggestions on how you can act more positively and counteract your negative feelings.

Reflexology

Reflexology is again similar to acupressure and is derived from the belief that discomfort and pain arises from blockings of the body’s vital energy.

It is believed that every organ of the body has a corresponding point on the foot. To treat problems affecting a particular part of the body, the appropriate point is located on the foot and then manipulated and massaged. This massage results in a stimulation and improvement of the energy flow to the affected organ and therefore brings about pain relief.

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Some discomfort at the time of ovulation is common. Many women with endometriosis experience significant ovulation pain, often lasting for several days. The pain is probably due to stretching and pulling of adhesions on the ovary when the ovary enlarges slightly at the time of ovulation.

Pain during vaginal examinations-Some women with endometriosis may experience pain vaginal examinations.

Bleeding-The more common bleeding problems associated with endometriosis are heavy bleeding, clotting, prolonged bleeding, premenstrual spotting, irregular cycles and irregular bleeding. A significant proportion of bleeding problems in women with endometriosis may be due to the presence of another condition, such as adenomyosis, fibroids or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

Heavy bleeding, with or without clotting, is a common symptom of endometriosis. Fifty-eight per cent of women surveyed believed they had experienced heavy bleeding. There is much debate amongst doctors as to just what constitutes heavy bleeding, but it would seem reasonable to assume that any woman could be said to have heavy bleeding if her menstrual loss caused anaemia or if it interfered with her normal lifestyle.

Premenstrual spotting is staining which is noticeable for at least 24 hours before the onset of menstruation. It has been reported that about 80% of women with premenstrual staining are subsequently diagnosed as having endometriosis.

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The technique of vaccination was discovered in England in the late 18th century by Sir Edward Jenner, who noticed that the dangerous disease, smallpox, did riot affect milkmaids, who were exposed to a similar disease in cows, known as cowpox. Jenner used material from cow-pox sores to immunise patients against smallpox.

Vaccines are made from viruses and bacteria which have been killed or weakened by heat or chemical treatment but are still able to provoke an immune response which causes the production of antibodies to that disease. Sometimes live organisms which are non-virulent to human beings, such as cowpox, are used as vaccines.

During pregnancy most live vaccines are not permitted, since the live organisms can cross the placenta, causing abnormalities in the foetus. Smallpox, rubella, hepatitis B and yellow fever vaccines all contain live organisms, as does the Sabin vaccine against poliomyelitis. None of these are suitable for pregnant women. However the Salk vaccine against poliomyelitis and vaccines against hepatitis A and B, cholera and typhoid fever are all permissible.

The subject of vaccination is controversial. Some children have serious reactions to vaccines. However a great deal of serious disease has been prevented by vaccination. As a result of world-wide vaccinations against smallpox, the virus has become almost extinct. Among the diseases for which vaccines are available are diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, tuberculosis, hepatitis A and B, cholera, typhoid, paratyphoid and yellow fever. Many of these vaccines are available free of charge, especially for children. It is recommended that children be vaccinated against polio at two months and begin a series of three ‘shots’ to immunise them against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. Unfortunately the whooping cough vaccine can cause serious side effects in about one in 100,000 cases. In Britain, where concern about these side effects prompted many people not to have their children vaccinated, major whooping cough epidemics resulted and a number of children died or suffered serious brain damage. It would be wise to consult a doctor if you are worried about the effects of such vaccination. One should also remember that the side effects of vaccination are generally less dangerous than the disease itself.

When travelling to foreign countries where certain diseases are common, doctors often advise patients to be vaccinated a number of days before their departure to allow time for the immune system to produce the necessary antibodies.

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