If your child can see things clearly close up but distant objects seem blurred, it is likely that he is short-sighted.

Cause

Short-sightedness is due to the length of the eyeball from front to back being greater than usual. This interferes with the way light is reflected from the back of the eye, distorting the image transferred to the brain. Short-sightedness can run in families. Contrary to popular belief, reading a great deal does not cause shortsightedness.

Clinical features

Short-sightedness tends to become worse as the child approaches adolescence. You may notice that your child always sits very close to the television, or holds a book very close to his eyes while reading. If he sits at the back of the class, he may complain that he has trouble reading what is written on the blackboard.

Treatment

Children with short-sightedness invariably need to wear glasses. These are prescribed after a thorough eye test and need to be checked every year, as vision tends to change as the child grows. Adolescents may prefer to wear contact lenses.

When to see your doctor

If you suspect that your child is short-sighted, see your doctor who will refer him to an eye specialist for tests. If your child is having learning difficulties, it is a good idea to get his eyes checked.

*268\90\8*

I don’t plan on letting any guy have it unless he is really special. I might give it to a guy if he shows he loves me, but not just because he wants it. They lie anyway, and they will say they love you. You have to be sure before you give it to them.

SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL

You make it sound as though intercourse is a gift. It is really something you do with someone else for joy, closeness, and love in a| relationship that you think will last a very long time. It’s for you, too, not just your lover. Intercourse is an exchange of feelings emotionally and physically, something for both people to enjoy. It is n0t a thing you give to someone, it is a process of life you share with someone. Doing it for someone is not intercourse, it’s just “course.” The “inter” part of intercourse is what is important, and that means together, between. You can’t tell you love someone by whether or not you have had intercourse with them and you shouldn’t hold intercourse out as something to be earned. You will only end up being hurt, because when the boy thinks he has to earn it, he won’t be thinking of you, he’ll be thinking of it. He might try to make making love a goal, and then the lies and manipulation start.

*304\97\8*

I knew I would pay for it. I masturbated when I was a kid and I continued it into marriage. Now I just don’t enjoy sex. This is my punishment, I guess.

HUSBAND

This man guesses wrong. Masturbation cannot cause any trouble for anyone unless it is engaged in against one’s own moral sanctions. It is an excellent educational opportunity, can lead to intense orgasms and a degree of psychasms through imagery, and is one way to develop sexual comfort and sexual self-esteem.

One problem, though, is that men tend to masturbate incorrectly. They try to get it done quickly, and their posture, technique, process, timing, and stimulation are all wrong. It does not train them for interaction with a partner but rather to “get off” or to “get rid of tension.” For men and women, masturbation offers an excellent opportunity for learning about the body, but may end up teaching a lesson of guilt, hurriedness, and secretiveness about sex.

The fact is that masturbation is separate from other forms of sexual behavior. It is not something that is done because you don’t have a partner, because you can’t find a partner, or because it must be done to be “good at sex.” It is not something that means that sex with your partner is not as good as it should be. Masturbation is one form of sexual stimulation, and if it is an option chosen with comfort and a sense of self-enhancement, it is generally helpful to sexuality in all areas of life. If you don’t masturbate, it means one thing: You don’t masturbate. It is not a sign of a hang-up or deficiency. It is no big deal unless we make it so. It probably gets too much good press and too much bad press, and it needs much more truth in advertising. It is a human sexual option.

Masturbation, or at least pleasurable self-exploration, can teach much about the F and R areas (and the G and Ñ areas in women). It can teach about the types of orgasm, about psychasms. But it teaches nothing but negative lessons if you feel badly about yourself for doing it.

*131\97\8*

This is another critical point in fasting. You can ruin most of your achievement, if you subject your body to a food shock. Your sub-conscious mind may not believe you the next time you fast. Without realising it, you may train it to expect a shock, rather than work spontaneously and purify itself with maximum efficiency.

Your body is now pure. Your mind developed in many directions. Treat them both with care and attention.

In the first day of breaking the fast,

start by eating small quantities of liquid food. Try to treat your body as that of a newly born baby.

Eating one spoon of natural yoghurt (no flavours !!!) is a good start. Include fresh fruit, but chew it very intensely. Eat very small quantities (baby size), but do so quite frequently, every hour or two for example. Squeezing fresh fruit juices and nectars will provide you with an excellent food. Continue drinking at least 2-3 litres of water. You may add honey to the (lukewarm) water if you wish.

Some experiences felt on the first day can be quite memorable. After fasting, you are very sensitive and your instincts are very sharp. Not only you will find food to taste differently. To your surprise you may discover some ordinary food like bread to be more toxic than others (natural yoghurt for example), especially if you take it as your first bit of food after fasting. The sensation after swallowing the first bite of such food can be compared to the one you experience after having an alcoholic drink. The major difference is that such a sensation lasts only a few seconds.

Do not eat anything in the evening. Drink water, with honey if you like.

In the second day of breaking fast,

Eat little, mostly in a liquid form. Cooked oats, semolina and other cereals, natural yoghurts are OK. Eat fruits several times a day. Drink at least 2-3 litres of pure water. Do not eat meat, fish or eggs.

*30\96\8*

This disorder tends to arise in the middle or late years of life. Each attack begins suddenly, usually with a buzzing in the ears and then severe giddiness.

It may be so severe that the person feels he is being thrown to the ground.

Consciousness is rarely lost. Nausea and vomiting are common.

The giddiness, nausea and vomiting are the same symptoms which occur with motion sickness due to a temporary disorder of the balance due to external motion.

The attacks last from 15 to 60 minutes but it may take the sufferer hours to fully recover.

Most attacks come on without any precipitating factor or any prior warning. They may occur during sleep.

Associated with the attacks of giddiness is a slowly developing nerve deafness and accompanied with the deafness is this condition of tinnitus or ringing in the ears which is often only noticed under quiet conditions.

The disorder can affect both ears.

The diagnosis is usually made on the history which involves those three factors of periodic giddiness, deafness and tinnitus.

The initial treatment is by drugs. Sedatives may be useful also a variety of the anti-histamine or anti-allergy drugs.

If those measures fail surgery must be considered.

Modern surgical procedures which have been made possible by the operating microscope can overcome the giddiness without damaging the auditory nerve and therefore preserve the hearing.

*499/71/1*

Like alcohol, cannabis is an intoxicant and has similar effects on mood and the appreciation of time and distance.

It is not regarded as physically addictive as there are no withdrawal effects when the drug is not continually used. It may cause psychological dependence and regular use does have profound and well-documented effects, both on physical and mental health.

Those who use the drug in a happy atmosphere with friends may feel good and relaxed. Those who use it when flat and depressed may find it intensifies these feelings or it may induce hallucinations or a psychotic reaction.

Regular use, daily or even twice weekly, may lead to considerable apathy. This can influence school work, tertiary study or one’s job. Apathy and lack of drive can lead to poor food intake and poor personal hygiene and this can then adversely affect health.

Although there are laws which prohibit driving while under the influence of any drug, it is hard to obtain convictions unless substantiated with proof such as a blood alcohol level. It is difficult to obtain a conviction unless the level is so high that the person was obviously so affected that he could hardly stand without assistance, let alone drive.

*242/71/1*

While about 95% percent of the body is water, protein, and tats, the remaining 4 percent is accounted for by minerals. When we think of minerals, the first one that comes to mind is calcium. Others include magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, iodine, potassium, and sodium. Hard skeletal structure is composed primarily of minerals, but we could not survive or reproduce without adequate and balanced amounts of the minerals that form the nuclei of soft tissues such as muscle and nerve cells.

Minerals are responsible for regulating a few crucial functions, such as nerve responses, and for maintaining the acid-base equilibrium that helps in the absorption of minerals and contraction of muscles.

Second in rank after calcium in the amount present in the body, phosphorus has been found to have more functions than any other mineral. About 80 percent of it will combine with calcium to strengthen bone structure, and the remainder nourishes soft tissues and bodily fluids. Among its important functions is to help metabolize fats and carbohydrates and fuel muscle energy metabolism. Unfortunately, many high-phosphorus foods are anathema for the endometriosis sufferer, since they tend to be high in fat and cholesterol. These include egg yolk, red meat, and whole-milk cheeses. Other foods are better bets, such as lean turkey breast and whole-grain cereals. Fruit, which you want to limit during the menstrual cycle and the ten days preceding it, is low in phosphorus, as are most vegetables. (Fruits contain bioflavonoid, which can mimic the effect of estrogen in the body.) If you have enough calcium and protein in your diet, you should be getting enough phosphorus.

*68\43\4*

The promotion of tanning has become big business. In our society a good sun tan is equated with health, success and sexual desirability. ‘Soft sun’, ‘Dr X’s Solarium’, and ‘Safe sun’ are just some of the reassuring terms used to describe the booming business of tanning bodies. Solarium franchises are currently the most successful and lucrative of all the franchise businesses in the United States and are booming in Australia as well. Unfortunately, however, these are probably the two countries whose people’s skin are least able to tolerate the extra radiation. In fact the UVA units originally came from Europe, and Germany in particular, where there is much less environmental sunshine and what there is, is of less intensity; furthermore in Europe these units are primarily promoted for private home use, not public use in tanning parlours, beauty salons, hairdressing salons, gymnasiums, etc. This means that in addition to their potential harmful effect being greatly diminished, far fewer people are at risk.

The artificial light sources used in the solariums are usually fluorescent tubes emitting UVA wavelengths predominantly. However it is impossible for them to be totally confined to this wavelength as a continuous spectrum is emitted, and at least 2 per cent of the wavelength will be in the UVB band. Tanning is usually carried out on a bed-like apparatus with either half or total body exposure possible; exposure times are long, therefore stand-up arrangements are less practical. Exposure of the average Caucasian skin to UVA solariums will produce tanning within about 10 minutes, with the maximum tanning being reached in about an hour. Burning, although certainly possible, is unlikely. The acquired tan is, however, short lived, and requires regular frequent exposures to maintain it. UVB solariums are much more likely to cause burning, but the tan they produce is the so-called ‘true or delayed tan’, which is associated with new melanin formation and consequently is longer lasting. It is, however, important to be aware that although a tan protects against UVB sunburn, it does not protect the skin from the cancer-producing or premature ageing effects of UVA radiation. This is because, in order to tan, some epidermal and dermal damage must occur.

*96\44\4*

‘I heard that the earlier you start your periods the earlier they finish.’

‘Oh, I thought it was just the opposite, that the earlier you started the later you finish.’

When used by doctors, the term ‘menopause’ means, literally, ‘last menstrual period’, but women use it to mean that whole period of their lives between first starting to experience menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes, and the end of their periods and the troublesome symptoms. Doctors use the word ‘climacteric’ to describe this period (from the Greek klimakier, meaning a critical period’), and they divide it loosely into three phases:

Pre-menopause. When periods are still regular, but the first symptoms may appear – usually hot flushes and mood changes.

Peri-menopause. When the ovaries’ function declines, periods become irregular, and symptoms either start or become troublesome. This leads up to the time of the last menstrual period.

Post-menopause From the time of a woman’s last period until the end of her days.

The problem with the concept of a ‘last menstrual period’ is that a woman doesn’t know she has had her last period until quite a long time afterwards. Was that last period the last one, or will you get another one in several months’ time? It’s not until about a year has passed without a period that it is safe to say you have finished. Consequently, the period of time we call the menopause (and doctors call the climacteric) has no clear beginning or end. For some women it will last only a year, for most about two to three years, but about one quarter of all women will still be experiencing ‘short-term’ menopausal symptoms five or more years after they began.

It isn’t known exactly what determines the age at which a woman reaches the menopause. Nutrition is important; poor nutrition brings it on earner. Women who have never borne children tend to have an earlier menopause than women who have had several children, and those whose last pregnancy occurred before their late twenties reputedly have an earlier menopause than those whose last pregnancy was in their thirties. Smokers reach the menopause up to five years earlier than non-smokers, probably because smoking lowers oestrogen levels, and ‘passive smokers’ (non-smokers who live or work amongst smokers) also tend to have an earlier menopause.

As a rough guide, most women (though by no means all) will experience the menopause at about the same time as their mothers or older female relatives did. But how do you know when that was? It’s highly likely that neither your mother nor your elderly aunts ever discussed with you their experiences of the menopause; hopefully, you will feel better able to talk to your daughter about it than your mother did to you.

It is safe to say, however, that at some time in your middle years, things will start to change. It is most likely to happen around the mid to late forties, occasionally in the early fifties, and in some women it can happen as early as their thirties. Although the age at which girls start their periods has got earlier over the last few hundred years, the average age for the menopause still remains at about 50. In the third century BC, Aristode noticed that women couldn’t have children after about the age of 50. In the Middle Ages, the age was put at 50-ish, and it is still that today. We can still expect to end our reproductive days at about the same age our pre-Christian forebears did, despite the fact that our expectation of life has more than doubled since then.

*6\42\4*

Many women in their fertile years become moody and tense and feel ‘down’ in the week before their menstrual periods. In about 2-8% of women these changes are severe. They may also feel hopeless and angry, may be easily distracted and disinterested in work, friends and hobbies. In addition, their breasts may feel swollen, their heads may ache, their abdomens may feel bloated, and their joints and muscles painful. Difficulties with sleepiness or sleeplessness may also pose problems. Within a few days of starting to menstruate, these difficulties diminish or disappear.

Women for whom these sorts of changes occur at a predictable time in most menstrual cycles may be suffering from premenstrual syndrome. Hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle are sometimes blamed for the condition but it seems there is also a strong psychological component. Distress from other sources, such as marriage, parenthood or occupation, may interact with hormonal changes resulting in intermittent negative moods and behaviours.

Patricia, a 35-year-old mother, sought help for severe irritability, uncontrolled anger, confusion, insomnia, fatigue and low libido, which typically appeared two weeks before her period and disappeared about a week after bleeding stopped. With a thirty day menstrual cycle, this meant she experienced only about eight days when she felt well and ‘in control’ of her situation. Doctors occasionally suggest a hysterectomy in such circumstances in a bid to relieve symptoms that are disrupting relationships and generally making life a misery. There is, however, little evidence to support the value of this approach as symptoms often persist after hysterectomy.

Patricia found a coping skills program incorporating anxiety-reduction techniques and responsible assertiveness training to be extremely helpful. Within twelve weeks she was increasingly positive about her relationships in all directions and regarded her premenstrual phase as a time when she felt ‘out of sorts’ but from which she would recover her competence within a day or two.

*21\198\4*