Herbal Health

The next thing is to provide yourself with a heap of cushions or pillows, so that you can get yourself into the most comfortable position lying down. Eventually you’ll learn how to relax sitting down or even standing up, but it’s easier to learn the techniques if you’re lying down in a really comfortable position, either on a bed or sofa or on a carpeted floor.

Many people find it pleasant to lie on their backs with a mound of pillows or cushions supporting their head, neck and shoulders and a bolster under their knees. Others only need support under the nape of the neck. Some need a thin cushion in the small of the back. And if you’re skinny you may need cushions under your elbows. Others find that lying flat on their backs like this puts too much strain on their spines, especially if they are lying on the floor or on a firm mattress. They prefer to lie in a half-front, half-sideways position, with their head turned sideways on the pillow and their upper leg tucked up and possibly supported by a cushion. Take your time over this. Experiment until you find the position that’s just right. But don’t be surprised if you have to alter it as you go along, as you learn to relax various parts of your body. A relaxed body lies in a different position to a tense one.

*7\177\2*

The same sort of problems which are caused by hidden food allergies can also be caused by exposure to common environmental chemicals. Many people now know that such chemicals may have long-term, harmful effects on the body and may cause cancer and other diseases. The damage done actually goes far beyond this, however. Common environmental chemicals have become a major source of chronic illnesses of many types in the United States and other industrialized countries.

Knowledge of this problem emerged slowly from the study of food allergy. Dr. Albert Rowe, one of the fathers of this field, reported in the 1930s on a peculiar reaction which he called “multiple fruit sensitivity.” A characteristic of this problem was that certain patients tended to become ill when they ingested a wide variety of fruits.

Susceptibility to fruit is fairly common, but usually such allergies center on one or more of the botanically distinct fruit families (see Appendix A). These patients, however, had allergies to most, or all, domestically grown fruit, including examples of up to ten different food families. It would be understandable for a person who was allergic to peaches also to be allergic to apricots, for they both form part of the same botanical group—the rose family. But why should a person react to peaches and also to, say, pineapples, bananas, and dates, which are members of two other distinctly different biological families?

I confirmed Rowe’s observations in my own practice, but neither he nor I could offer any logical explanation of the problem, and our reports caused a good deal of scepticism among some of our colleagues.

*8\110\2*

Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin of the penis. Most boy babies have a cuff of skin (foreskin) that covers the end of the penis (the glans). The natural opening in the foreskin is usually large enough to allow urine through (rarely is there no opening at all). But in a condition called phimosis, the opening is not large enough to allow the foreskin to be pulled back to uncover the glans. It is important to be able to pull back the foreskin so that the normal, waxy material that forms under the foreskin (smegma) can be removed during bathing. When the opening in the foreskin is too small to allow the foreskin to be pulled back, the foreskin can be stretched by a doctor. However, if the penis is uncircumcised, there is some possibility that the pulled back foreskin cannot be drawn forward again and may act as a tourniquet, cutting off the blood supply to the glans (paraphimosis).

Circumcision has been practiced on all continents for centuries, both for religious reasons and as a ritual to reaching manhood. Its advantages are easier cleansing and lessened possibility of paraphimosis. However, contrary to what many people believe, circumcision does not protect the male against cancer of the penis. The disadvantages of circumcision are a slight chance of infection or bleeding after the operation (less than 1 percent); the brief pain of the operation; and rare, accidental injury to the glans during the operation.

In recent years many doctors have declared that circumcision is unnecessary surgery. On the other hand, many other doctors feel that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The decision whether or not to circumcise male infants remains with the parents. Parents should ask questions and gather as much information as possible to help them make the decision.

Signs and symptoms

Circumcision is required only when boys are born with no opening in the foreskin, when the opening is too small to allow passage of urine, or when paraphimosis has developed and must be immediately corrected.

Home care

A circumcision should be covered, until healed (two to five days), with a nonstick bandage and gauze coated with petroleum jelly. The area should not be submerged in bath water until the wound has healed.

Precautions

• Any bleeding of the circumcised penis beyond a few drops should be reported to your doctor.

• If there are any signs of infection (pus, spreading redness, swelling of the shaft of the penis), see your doctor.

• Any part of the foreskin left after circumcision should be pulled back to expose the base of the glans, and this area should be cleansed during bathing.

• Boy babies born with malformations of the penis should not be circumcised because the foreskin may be used later during surgery to correct the malformation.

Medical treatment

Your doctor or religious leader will perform the circumcision, using one of a variety of approved techniques. Ask for specific directions for care of the circumcision. In a rare instance of postoperative infection, the doctor will culture the circumcision and blood, and start antibiotics.

*34/84/5*