Medical Hotline with Dr James Wright

This month Dr Wright tells about life with kids—and without them;what to feed them and when. He also gives a warning regarding a potentially fatal heart condition. Plus there’s his usual helpful, healthful lifestyle hints and natural medicine advisory.

kids’ snacks

Growing kids all get really hungry. Ideally, all children’s snacks and meals should be healthful.

Snacks might include a piece of fruit (a pear or peach), a tasty vegetable (carrot or celery stick) or some dried fruit (raisins or sultanas, apricots). There are also healthful biscuits, such as mum’s wonderful Anzacs, or a Sao with Marmite. But avoid sugars, pastries, fried food (potato crisps), caffeine and soda drinks—in fact any nutritionally deficient foods.

battle the bulge

An X-ray or ultrasound can sometimes reveal a bulging aorta or aortic aneurysm, a weakening and bulging of the walls of the massive aorta. When it reaches a certain critical size, repair is usually essential. Today’s cardiothoracic surgery techniques yield excellent results in vessel repair. Although each case is different, left alone the condition will only worsen and, eventually, will burst. At that point, unless treatment is immediate— it’s impractical, however— death is imminent.

organic lifter

The herb St John’s Wort (“wort” equals “plant” in olde English), also called hypericum, has been used for centuries as an antidepressant. There are usually risks with any medication, plant or human-made, but this herbal treatment is extremely safe. In Germany, the herbal heartland, nearly 70 million doses are doctorprescribed annually and a recent report reveals sales have increased by 3000 per cent over the past year. On the downside, it appears to reduce the activity of some liver enzymes, reducing the effect of other medications.

alcohol not OK

More and more young people are drinking more and more—and at increasingly younger ages. Alcohol kills many more kids than drugs each year. But because of its unfortunate status as our national beverage, there’s only minimal efforts by health professionals to curb it. A report in a recent Lancet reveals that more potential “active” years are lost due to alcohol than cigarettes and illicit drugs combined. Although a glass a day of red wine is reputed to improve heart health, against this is a huge downside.

sight for sore eyes

Working at a keyboard and VDU all day can result in sore, tired and dry eyes. It can also make you irritable in your person. An airconditioned environment, direct heat, draughts and wind can all make it worse. We blink much less often when on computers, lubricating the sensitive surface less often, so make a conscious effort to look away regularly and blink. If this is your problem, apply “liquid tears” every hour or two. Most come in a plastic tube, which is adequate for a day, but then discard the pack and use a fresh one. Finally, try closing your eyes for a few minutes each hour.

honeyed words

If you suffer a recurring sore mouth but your doc can’t see why, try rinsing your mouth with a weak saltwater solution threehourly. Follow this with half a teaspoon of honey, with Manuka (from New Zealand) being the best. Honey contains an antibacterial, it’s full of isoflavones, and very soothing. It’s a favourite trick of professional singers and circuit lecturers before a performance. Back this up with sensible foods, plenty of water, a vitamin B complex and mineral tablet daily, and quit smoking.

snorers

Q: How can I stop my snoring, which commenced about four months ago? My husband constantly complains, even though I’ve listened to his for years.

A: You could change beds, rooms or even houses— divorces have been recorded as a result. Rather, see your GP and seek a referral (for you both) to a sleep disorders clinic. The condition is associated with sleep apnoea, the frequent cessation of breathing following the snore, which in turn can lead to serious anoxia—the lack of oxygen to the brain. Positive airway masks and nasal gadgets can help, and a last resort, surgery to the palate.

Extract from Signs of the Times, August 2002.

Home - Archive - Topics - Podcast - Subscribe - Special Offers - About Signs - Contact Us - Links