Young children tend to place everything in their mouths as part of their exploration, and small objects can then very easily be inhaled. Do not allow toddlers or young children to eat nuts, and make sure that the toys they play with do not have small removable parts that can be easily inhaled.

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The aim of resuscitation when required is firstly to clear the newborn baby’s airway. This often involves sucking out mucus or meconium (the baby’s waste products) which block the windpipe. Your baby may require additional oxygen for a short period of time. This is provided through a special mask which allows maximal concentration of oxygen to reach his lungs.

Attention is then given to the baby’s heart and circulation and he is kept warm in order to reduce heat loss. Your baby is given a score out of 10 at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth, called the Apgar score. This is a measure of five objective signs in the newborn — heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflexes and colour. A score of 10 indicates a baby in a perfect condition, but this is quite unusual. Most babies reach a score of around 7, which means that they are in a satisfactory condition and do not require resuscitation.

Resuscitation procedures are only used when necessary, and every chance is given for your baby to make it into the world as much on his own steam as is possible. Gentle support is always available, and only becomes more vigorous if there is any imminent danger.

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ANSWER: No. Absolutely not. If your feelings about this are based on sexual interest or desire, then the issue of gender is irrelevant. Male or female homosexuals have the same range of feelings and desires as anyone, may or may not want a lot or a little sexual relationship with the same or the opposite sex, and have as much healthy and unhealthy sex, as many problems and sexual joys, as anyone else. We must learn to stop labeling people or ourselves by what we do sexually. This is a basic super marital sex rule. The homosexual couples I have treated sometimes report the reverse concern, that diminishing interest on the part of one partner may mean that he or she is a “latent heterosexual.” It is one’s feelings, general hot or cold lifestyle, overall health, values, morals, fears, hopes, and relationship status that affects interest, desire, and arousal, not gender identity.

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It has been suggested that hysterical behavior is not a manifestation of disease, but a means of communication. It is part of our culture that sickness is not seen to be the fault of the sufferer and that when a person is ill he is entitled to our care and concern. He is excused from the normal demands of work and is not expected to accept the consequences of his actions until he has recovered.

Hysterical behavior may be a way for the person to communicate that he is unable to cope with the stresses of life and has a need for care and concern. It may be a way of avoiding the consequences of his actions or of escaping from an — to him — intolerable situation, such as war.

Most psychiatrists regard hysteria as notoriously difficult to treat. Perhaps if it is regarded not as an illness, but as an individual’s attempt to communicate, then we may react differently.

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The cause is unknown but is thought to be due to forceful stretching of the opening by passage of a large, hard stool. This certainly seems to be the cause in infants and children.

The condition is extremely painful, usually only on emptying the bowel. This pain in small children may cause them to hold on to the motion and become increasingly constipated.

It may be recognised in the infant too young to complain by the fact that he screams when passing a bowel motion and the stool maybe streaked with blood.

Treatment is successful. Mild cases may be managed by the topical application of local anaesthetic and then stretching the anus with a special dilator.

A short-acting but deep general anaesthetic and then forcibly stretching the anal margins by inserting eight fingers will be followed by rapid relief of symptoms and cure within days.

Chronic fissures with the development of thickened scar tissue may require operation.

In children, local anaesthetic and an agent to soften the stool may be sufficient.

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The bacteria attack the mucous membranes lining the airways, and after an incubation period of one to two weeks, a cough, runny nose, mild fever and loss of appetite develop. Conjunctivitis, where the eyes become pink, sore and runny, is sometimes another symptom. In about another week coughing becomes paroxysmal, particularly at night. Spasms of coughing end with a characteristic ‘whooping’, a noisy indrawing of breath. Vomiting may follow a paroxysm of coughing, ridding the body of mucus congesting the respiratory tract so as to make breathing easier. The illness may last up to four months, but the sufferer is contagious for only a month from the onset of symptoms.

Complications from whooping cough include bronchopneumonia, encephalitis, brain and lung damage and dehydration as a result of vomiting. Death can result from complications. Babies are especially at risk of dying.

Vaccination against whooping cough is highly recommended, despite the possible side effects which are considered to be less dangerous than the disease itself.

A doctor should be called immediately if whooping cough develops. Natural remedies can also be used in conjunction with medical advice. Homoeopathies, Vitamin C and herbal expectorants and relaxants may be recommended. Keeping up the supply of liquids, particularly if the child is vomiting, and avoiding mucus-forming foods such as dairy products, is also advised.

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The symptoms of this troublesome but not dangerous condition include tiredness, irritability, anxiety, depression, headaches, tender and swollen breasts, constipation, acne, and a craving for salty or sweet food. Many women also have backache, swelling of the abdomen, fingers and ankles, and a decreased tolerance for alcohol.

One or more of these symptoms occur with every menstrual cycle for a few days before the flow and then cease. Though more study is needed, and coffee is certainly not the only offender, women who are bothered by PMS to could try to reduce their coffee drinking during this time of the month.

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When a child is born, and also at periodic checkups, a doctor will listen to the child’s heartbeat with a stethoscope. The doctor is listening to see if the heartbeat is regular and strong, and also to detect heart murmurs. Ordinarily, the doctor will hear the noise made by the lower chambers of the heart, which are called the ventricles, as the heart muscle contracts. Also, the valves that regulate the flow of blood through the heart can be heard as they shut. Most other unexpected sounds that the heart makes are called “murmurs” and the doctor can usually identify the innocent murmurs. If any murmur is found, however, the doctor may recommend a complete examination of the child’s heart, to make sure that the heart and circulation are normal and healthy. This will involve taking a detailed medical history, making a complete physical examination, and possibly giving the child a series of tests including an electrocardiogram, a chest X ray, and an echocardiogram, in which sound waves bounce off the heart and form a visual image of it.

Home care

An innocent murmur is completely normal and does not require any treatment or extra care. Treat the child as the normal, healthy child that he or she is.

Precautions

• No precautions are needed. Sometimes parents are frightened by the idea of a heart murmur and overprotect a child whose heart is quite normal. This is not good for the child’s health or well-being.

• If your doctor diagnoses an innocent murmur, do not be alarmed by the complicated names for innocent murmurs or by the tests your child may have.

Medical treatment

No medical treatment is necessary for an innocent murmur. The doctor may listen for the murmur at routine checkups to see if the sound can still be heard, but it really doesn’t matter whether the murmur continues or not.

Occasionally, an innocent murmur will sound somewhat like another type of murmur. If this happens, the doctor may wish to check the child’s heart again after a few years to be sure the original diagnosis was correct.

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The first thing to understand is that some occupations are hazardous by virtue of the type of work. And you’d better know an occupation’s risks when you get into it so that you can either take extra precautions or choose a safer line of work. Take elephant training, for example. Some years, the elephants get testy or trainers are careless or lack training, and one or two trainers are killed. Because there are only about 600 elephant trainers in the United States to begin with, having one or two killed during a single year can make it one of the riskiest occupations-with a fatal injury rate 68 times higher than that of the average American worker.

Sure, elephant training is an extreme example. But consider that every day, thousands of men face jobs almost as dangerous as teaching Jumbo to sit. Chances are that if you’ve ever thought about giving it all up to live off the land (or the sea, for those who fancy the water), you’ve never actually tried it. Farms look bucolic.

Forests seem peaceful. Seas appear serene. But making a living as a farmer, woodsman, or fisherman is not only hard work; it can be downright deadly.

In 1995, the most recent year for which data have been analyzed, farm occupations were the 10th most fatal in the nation, with a rate of 25-3 deaths a year for every 100,000 workers; 579 were killed that year. Tractor-related incidents-including rollovers, falls, and highway collisions-are responsible for about one out of every three farm-related deaths. Twelve farmers a year on average are killed by angry farm animals. Plus, farmers face lightning strikes, heatstroke, bee stings, razor-sharp farm equipment, and often severe weather conditions.

Folks in the timber and logging industry don’t have it any better. At a rate of 101 out of every 100,000 timber cutters dying on the job, timber and logging is the second most deadly occupation in the nation. Of the 98 timber cutters who were killed in 1995, 82 percent were struck by falling trees.

Finally, taking your livelihood to the seas is literally taking your life into your hands. With a rate of 104.4 dock-siders dying for every 100,000 folks who hoist nets and poles for a living, fishing is the most dangerous occupation in the country today. Not surprising, the leading cause of fishing fatalities is drowning.

If you’re seeking safer employment, try a job in an industry like service and finance, insurance or real estate, where only about 2 out of every 100,000 people are killed at work each year. Otherwise, if you’re one of the legion of laborers who risk life and limb every day to get the job done, experts recommend taking a long, hard look at what kills people in your field and taking precautions to make sure that you live to work another day.

Here’s what labor experts have to say about some the nation’s deadliest occupations.

Trucking

Truck driving ranks ninth on the list of lethal jobs and accounts for more job-related deaths than any other occupation-killing 749 drivers in 1995, or 13 percent of all job-related deaths. Of those fatalities, 68 percent are a direct result of highway crashes. That means that every day, at least one truck driver is killed in a highway vehicle crash. But there’s a lot that drivers and their employers can do to make things safer for themselves, their employees, and the rest of us on the road.

Maintain a safe limit. One of the most likely culprits behind the increased incidence of fatalities in the transportation industry is the increased speed limits in many states. According to Department of Transportation statistics, when speed limits increase, so do highway fatalities.

Embrace new technology. Truck drivers are supposed to keep logs to ensure that they aren’t pushing themselves too hard and driving with too little sleep. But logs mean very little, and some safety professionals instead recommend using smart technology for trucks. For example, devices are available that monitor the number of hours a truck is running.

Train and maintain. One of the simplest ways to reduce trucker highway fatalities is to promote driver training programs and proper vehicle maintenance. Both of these are too essential to be skimped on in the name of cost savings.

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The cure begins by taking the steps I’ve described to rid your mind of the negative thoughts that have been making you sick. Haying done that, it’s time to meld the mind and body into a single entity under the direction of your “doctor within,” dedicated to making you healthy and happy.

How do you meld mind and body? Begin with affirmations.

Saying It Makes It So

Affirmations are strong, positive thoughts that you deliberately place in your mind. An affirmation is a way of directing your subconscious to help you achieve your goals. Positive, affirmative thoughts eliminate the negative notions that turn your mind against your body.

Affirmations are short statements you say in your head or out loud, affirming that your life is worthwhile and that you a success. With affirmations the future is already here: you tell yourself that you already have what you want.

1. Affirmations are verbal pictures of the events you want to occur.

2. Affirmations are spoken instructions to your subconscious mind.

3. Affirmations declare that you believe in yourself.

4. Affirmations affirm that what you want to happen is already happening.

5. Affirmations assert only the positive.

6. Affirmations steer your thoughts in the right direction.

7. Affirmations are a method of predisposing yourself to health and success.-

Do affirmations work? That all depends on you.

Thoughts pass through our mind constantly. Most of the time we’re not even aware of them. What kind of person we are depends on what sort of thoughts we hold in our minds. If we entertain greedy and evil thoughts, we will undoubtedly become greedy and evil. If we think of ourselves as sickly, we will become ill. If we meditate upon hate and revenge, we will spend our lives hateful and unhappy. But if our minds are blessed with happy, positive thoughts, we are well along the road to health and happiness.

Affirmations are strong tools for shaping your beliefs and thoughts, for making you into the person you want to be. They are a powerful medicine for mind and body.

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