Health Watch

The last and deadly option!

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

There are problems. There are solutions. Some are very healthy. Some are not so healthy and some are illegal and deadly! We are talking about abortion. It says prevention is better than cure. Why take a risk when there are good solutions available freely?

Do you know the immediate complications of an abortion ? If not read further. According to the `Unplanned pregnancy and abortion’ published by the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka, the bleeding that occurs due to an induced abortion may be uncontrollable and endanger the life of the woman.

The instruments used at induced abortion and the method of their usage may lead to infection of the internal organs which endanger her life. The instruments and the way the abortionist uses them may injure the internal organs such as the womb and may lead to irreparable injury.

There are many late complications of an abortion. The organs maybe affected in a way that makes it difficult for the woman to conceive again. Chronic infections in the internal organs and chronic lower abdominal/internal pain are another late complications.

Even if she conceives, she will have higher likelihood of having a pregnancy outside the womb or a miscarriage. The woman may have difficulties to conceive later.

It is estimated that one in eight pregnancy related deaths occur due to complications following an abortion. These deaths could have been prevented if the patients come to hospitals for treatment early.

It is a must to seek immediate medical treatment from a hospital if lower abdominal pain, abdominal distention, prolonged bleeding, fever, vomiting, vaginal discharge (profuse, foul smelling, purulent) and feel unwell after an induced abortion. It will help to save the life of the patient.

According to the present Sri Lankan law, performing an abortion for any reason other than to save the life of the mother is a criminal offense and is punishable by imprisonment.

The Sri Lankan law does not consider a pregnancy with an abnormal baby as a reason to perform an induced abortion. As induced abortion is illegal in Sri Lanka, most of the induced abortions are performed under unsafe conditions leading to major complications and sometimes death of the mother. Quite often, the so called `doctors’ are unskilled.

The abortion can be easily and safely prevented by using a contraceptive before the sexual exposure and in an unexpected exposure (rape) by using emergency contraception within 72 hours of the event.

Persistent and correct use of a reliable method of contraception, proper knowledge on emergency contraception methods and all the other methods of contraception, reasonable knowledge on sexual and reproductive health help to avoid abortions.

Nawaloka offers breast cancer screening

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

According to Consultant Surgeon, Dr.Dilini Samarakoon, around 22.8 percent of female cancers are breast cancers. A six percent rise in breast cancer has been noticed in Sri Lanka from 1995 to 2000. There are proved benefits in breast cancer screening and early detection. Its the key to long survival and to minimize effects on body image (better cosmesis).

Dr. Samarakoon said that mammo grams performed on young females (bellow the age of 18 and around) does not provided proper images because of the tenderness of their breasts.

Breasts are still developing at that age. Fully developed breasts give clearer images. The females between the age of 40 and 65 years of age need screening. The females in high risk category (with strong family history) need screening even before that.

Not all females need mammograms. After examining the person, we can decide whether she needs a mammogram or not. Late presentation, lack of screening and conservative thinking of women hinder early detection and better treatment. Breast cancer is inter connected with some other cancers such as ovarian cancer, she said.

Family history (a very strong link), prolonged menstrual cycles, nulliparity (childlessness), high fat low fiber diets are some of the main causes for breast cancer. At the initial stage there will be no symptoms.

As the cancer grows, a lump or thickening in or near the breast, in the under-arm area or in the neck, a change in the size or shape of the breast, nipple discharge or tenderness, or the nipple being pulled back (inverted) into the breast, ridge or pitting of the breast skin (like the skin of an orange), a change in the way the skin of the breast, areola, or nipple looks of feels (warm, swollen, red or scaly) can be noticed.

Nawaloka now offers breast cancer screening through its Serene Breast Cancer Screening Unit. Clinical breast examination is available at this unit for initial assessment and it is done by a female surgeon.

Mammogram is an x-ray of the breast used to see lumps or other changes in the breast tissue.

Ultrasonography is using high frequency sound waves to see whether a lump is fluid-filled cyst (usually not cancerous) or a solid mass (which may or may not be cancerous).

A biopsy will be done to remove a sample of breast tissue to be tested for cancer cells.

H1N1 pandemic is over - Health Director says

The global H1N1 pandemic is over, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

“We are moving out of the pandemic into the post-pandemic period,” Director-General of the WHO Margaret Chan said.

Chan said that while several countries, including India and New Zealand, are still experiencing significant H1N1 flu transmission, out-of-season flu outbreaks are no longer being reported in the northern or southern hemispheres.

“This pandemic has turned out to have been much more fortunate than what we feared a little over a year ago,” Chan told reporters in a news conference Tuesday.

She attributed the end of the pandemic to several factors: that the virus did not mutate to a more lethal form, the H1N1 flu vaccine proved to be a good match and widespread resistance to the antiviral drug Tamiflu did not develop. “This time around, we have been aided by pure good luck,” Chan said.

The WHO announced the global H1N1 pandemic on June 11, 2009. A pandemic is a sudden outbreak of a disease that is spread by human transmission, which quickly becomes widespread and affects a large region or several countries.

The CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, said the US Public Health emergency for H1N1 ended on June 23 of this year.

H1N1 is no longer the dominating flu strain. Chan said health officials are now seeing a mixed virus pattern: In addition to the H1N1 strain, an H3N2 flu strain and Influenza B virus also are circulating.

All three strains are included in the upcoming seasonal flu vaccine.

So H1N1 is not gone, but as the WHO explains, the flu activity health officials are now seeing is typical seasonal flu activity.

The CDC statement came after an emergency committee of the WHO said Tuesday the public health emergency triggered by the emergence of the H1N1 virus “should be considered over.” The committee advised Chan “that the world was no longer experiencing an influenza pandemic,” the organization said in a statement.

CNN Wire Staff

Dengue in the air

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

You may wonder what is behind the dengue epidemic which is very difficult to control no matter how hard the health authorities and all the other State sector institutions try.

Dengue is still on the rise and there are many preventive measures taken by both Government and the public. But it seems something is wrong somewhere. It is not absence of BTI or `Daxtran 40’ or anything else. Read further to discover what it is.

The main problem still exist without a solution at the grass root level. It is the persons and groups (they are actually not groups but aged cliques) which inspects dengue breeding sites located at homes. We can call them as a part of the public.

According to the information coming from the public, there are many problems with these grass root level inspection teams. Maybe same problems exist everywhere in the country without the knowledge of the next level committee, the Grama Niladhari Level Committee or the Divisional Secretariat level committee. Some grass root level ‘committees’ hinder the Government’s effort to eradicate dengue!

It is very interesting to see the problems exist with the grass root level inspection groups which inspect dengue mosquito breeding sites located in homes and other places. Many of these groups are consisting of people who are aged and retired, without proper employment or just housewives.

Some of them get tired easily due to their age and unable to carry out inspections actively for long hours. They are from the same area which they carry out inspection. Just like any other human being, they have their own friends and enemies.

Those facts have direct negative impact on their duty, which is inspecting possible mosquito breeding sites within their community. The aged and retired persons are good at paper work and preach but not for some active work like walking to locations, inspecting them and questioning the people. Therefore they always want to stop walking long distances.

To do this, they speed up their inspection and sometimes they never inspect. What they do is have a little chat, paste the sticker on the threshold and walk away.

Unemployed and uneducated persons are more interested in inspecting other things such as the what people wear, eat, what modern household appliances they use and more. By chance they may notice the dengue breeding sites but even then they ignore it (depending on who’s house it is)!

It is very interesting how these ‘inspectors’ inspect homes belonging to their friends and enemies. When they arrive at the door step of their friend, they melt....”Oh after a very long time...nice to meet you all....how are you doing?” Then comes the chat and then a cup of tea or a cool drink!

They never notice that the cool drink comes from a refrigerator and it has a water tray where dengue mosquitoes can breed. They see the beauty and landscape of the garden but not the dengue mosquito breeding bird bath or water tank. Roof gutters are non-existent for them!

Then they arrive at their enemy’s place. The show starts here! They see all (non existing) mosquito breeding places all over the house and in the garden. They try their best to tick the list which says there are mosquito breeding sites within the property.

They get this chance especially when the land owner have an enemy next door, who throws all the garbage into his/her neighbour’s garden! Therefore, the ‘inspectors’ tick the list very happily after inspecting the garbage thrown into their enemy’s garden by his/her neighbour (who is a thug!).

Then they visit the next home which belongs to this thug! “Hi how are you all doing. Its a nice day! How is your family doing? You know we are here to inspect this dengue breeding sites but we know you don’t have such places within your property. So take care. We are leaving.”

Then the ‘inspectors’ walk away, and the show ends there. All the dengue mosquito breeding sites located inside the property stay on without any damage! Who wants to make enemies and fall into trouble?

This is not an isolated incident that took place in one place only once. This could be a very common incident that takes place all over Sri Lanka all the time these days. If the grass root level people (the public) do not act accordingly and unbiased in their duty, dengue will not be go away from Sri Lanka.

It will stay here killing more and more innocent children and adults no matter how hard health authorities and the Government try to eradicate dengue from the country. The responsibility is in the hands of the public. Dengue will not go away even the Government import one million litres of BTI bacteria and spray it from air all over the country if certain homes are allowed to keep dengue breeding sites by the community itself.

Checking a person’s health in chakras

Edward ARAMBEWELA

One of Sri Lanka’s Pyra Vastu Consultants and Bio-energetician Quintin Devanarayana last week checked the health status of centenarian Buddhist monk Ven. Getapola Wimalaratna Mahanayake Thera (102 years) in chakras at the Pahalagama Vidya Ravindra Pirivena in Gampaha. In Chakras, using an alternative medical instrument called ACMOS.

According to this system, there are seven chakras in a person’s life. It’s connected with health brain, heart, liven and other. All these have to be in perfect order for a person to be in good health.

With this single cosmic energy based instrument all these chakras can be checked within a short time.

Following are a few extracts from Devanarayanas report on the centenarian Monks health sent to the Health Watch Extracts.

“I was able to check the Mahanayaka Thera who is now 102 to trace whether there is any disorder within him by ACMOS method. I checked for the functioning of his seven major Chakras.

As you know, Chakras are the energy centres in the pranic or the energy body of a person. Any disturbance in any chakra, we become blocked or disconnected with the cosmos.

Then we begin to lose our vitality, go out of balance and it affect a person physically, mentally and spiritually. Out of the seven Chakras I checked, his third eye chakra (ajna) was not responding to my instrument.

Thereafter, I checked his cosmic connection. interestingly, it worked. Though his ajna chakra was not responding yet having the cosmic connection is a clear indication that he is in perfect alignment with the cosmos which shows signs of a good healthy body. For a person to be in perfect balance all Chakras must be open.

Later I checked for his total energy level. I found more than 10,000 units in my scale measured in microns while an average person’s energy level with a cosmic connection stands between 6,500-7,000 Units.

As regards, the ajna chakra the major organ related to this is the eyes. His vision is now weak. I believe this could be due to some environmental factor.

Any distortion in a Chakra is an indication that some defect or a blockage is in a part or the whole of a organ related to that particular chakra.

With a healing process, functioning of the chakras could be back to normal.

Chakras or the energy body can be analyzed by using this instrument as their vibrations have been discovered and can be measured with this method.

To boost up the priest’s energy level I suggested to give a pyramid charged water so that he will maintain a good physique. Devanarayana has studied this system in the Vastu World Academy in Poona, India.

Noise sensitivity

The science of sleep:

Susan BRAD

Sleep, sometimes an elusive luxury, is something the body has to have, on a regular basis, and in fairly standard amounts. Without a regular 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep the body gets cranky. Chronic sleep deficit causes detrimental effects on one’s ability to remain alert and attentive, and leads to cumulative effects on performance that could become a safety risk. Sleep deprivation can also cause irritability, depression, and contribute to obesity.

A variety of factors contribute to the enjoyment of a good night’s sleep, with one of them being the ability to block out noise.

In today’s issue of Current Biology, that ability is demystified by Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen, chief of the division of sleep medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and his researchers.

The study conducted centered on how sensitivity to noise during sleep is associated with a type of brain activity called sleep “spindles.” These spindles are described as bursts of fast brain rhythms that punctuate the otherwise slow-wave patterns characteristic of sleep.

Spindle rhythms originate out of the thalamus, which is located at the top of the brain stem and is known to affect motor control, and receive and relay auditory, somatosensory and visual sensory signals.

Researchers believe that the thalamus generates the sleep spindles to block out those night noises from reaching your brain and waking you. To test the theory they measured the spindle rhythms in volunteers in a quiet sleep environment.

Those volunteers were subsequently exposed to two nights of sleep during which loud noises were introduced. Those volunteers with the highest spindle rhythm production were less likely to wake up to auditory stimuli such as road noise and telephones ringing.

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