|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 14 December 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
The tiny 'killer' worm Threadworm infection is widespread especially among children. good personal hygiene can go a long way in preventing this debilitating disease says DR. A. M. ABOOBACKER Enterobius Vermicularis (formerly called oxyuris vermiculris) which is also known as threadworm, seatworm or pinworm, is more common throughout the world since it is not affected by climate or soil. This worm produces a very common infection, especially in children, and can involve whole families. It is also a common problem in schools and mental institutions. Unlike many intestinal parasites, threadworm infection (enterobiasis) is not limited to the poor and those who live in rural areas only; but it may affect the well-to-do people and those who live in urban areas also. This worm is a very small nematode and looks, as its name implies, like a tiny piece of thread of cotton, being approximately 5 to 13 mm in length. The male has a coiled tail and is about 8 to 13 mm in length, as is usual with the intestinal parasites of all types. It has an alimentary tract and feeds from the intestinal contents of the host. The eggs of threadworms are elongated in shape and are about half the size of the roundworm eggs. To survive, the worms, (usually numbering several thousands) invade the upper portion of the large intestine, the caecum, the appendix, and the lower portion of the small intestine and attache themselves by suction with their buccal cavities to the mucosa. Pairing of the worm occurs within the intestine where most of the males die after copulation, while the females migrate through the lower portion of the large intestine to the rectum and anus and, having passed the latter, lay large numbers of characteristic eggs (up to 15,000) in the perineal and perianal folds. Then, here they die and disintegrate. The uterus of a mature gravid female worm contains about 1,200 eggs. In female patients, not only the anal region, but the genital region may also be invaded by the eggs. The embryonated eggs liberated by the females in the perineal and perianal region are not full-grown. They attain maturity in five to six hours at a temperature of 36-37 C and become immediately infective. Although the eggs are most viable in cool, moist surroundings for a month, they do not mature at a temperature below 22 F and become invasive. The eggs may be discovered in dust on the floor, walls, window-sills, wardrobes, etc. Symptoms Many patients are unaware of the threadworm infection until the worms are noticed in the faeces, or under the fingernails when the anal irritation is relieved by scratching. Usually symptoms do not appear until the worms come down to the rectum and anus, and the infection very rarely gives rise to symptoms and complications, unless very heavy. However, anal irritation is the most common early symptom. The migration of the female worms, through the anus to the surrounding skin, which usually occurs at night, causes a nocturnal tickling and itching in the areas of the anus and the genitals. Tickling and itching may produce loss of sleep and irritability. Due to the scratching which is done to relieve the intense itching the skin may break and secondary infections such as dermatitis, eczema, abscesses, and vulvovaginitis, with vaginal discharge may result. Penetrating into the depth of the intestinal mucosa, the worms may cause inflammation of the caecum and its appendix (acute appendicitis). However, the medical authorities are still debating about the relationship between threadworms and acute appendicitis. At the site of attachment, bleeding may occur or abscesses may form. Thus blood in faeces, abdominal pain and tenderness accompanied by chills and fever may be present. However, massive infection only gives rise to these dangerous, unusual complications. Nocturnal restlessness and intolerable itching will be persistent as long as the worms exist. Prolonged and intense itching in the anal area may produce the symptoms such as nervousness, irritability, capriciousness, anorexia, sleeplessness, nocturnal enuresis, frequent micturition and lassitude in the patient, particularly in the child. Persistent itching in women, especially in young girls, may lead them to sexual excitement, and even to masturbation. Diagnosis of the threadworm infection is based on the patient's complaints, evidence of the worms through the anus, and detection of their eggs. In heavy infection the patient may discover the female worms by finding them under the fingernails after scratching at night. Sometimes the worms may also be seen between the buttocks upon parting them slightly. The worms usually come down to the rectum and anus to lay their eggs about an hour or an hour and a half after the patient has gone to sleep. Their eggs are rarely found in the faeces since they adhere firmly to the skin-folds about the anus. To detect the eggs, a scraping is obtained from the perianal skin with a blunt blade or spatula immediately on rising from the bed in the morning and examined under a microscope. The eggs are also obtained for detection by placing the adhesive surface of a piece of 'Sellotape' across the anus in the morning, preferably before bathing or defaecation, and then sticking it to a glass microscopic slide. A mild eosinophilia may also be present. Treatment In Homoeopathic system of medicine there are many wonderful remedies for threadworm infection. If one of those remedies is carefully selected according to the totality of symptoms and given in suitable potency it can eradicate the worms with their eggs and liberate the patient from the distressing symptoms of the infection. Among those remedies Aconite (3x or 12x), Caladium (6x or 30x), Cina (30 or 200), Ignatia (6x), Kali mur. (12x or 12x), Sabadilla (30), Santonin (3x), Schirrhinum (30 or 200), Silicea (30 to 1m), Terebinthina (3x or 200) and Teucrium marum (2x, 3x or 6x) are very effective. As an auxillary treatment a thick layer of petroleum jelly should be coated to the perineal and perianal areas at bedtime to prevent the worms from spreading. Prevention The infection can be prevented by strict observance of the rules of personal hygiene. The following measures are very effective: * Wash hands with soap and water before each meal and after bowel movement, and on rising from bed in morning. * Cut short fingernails and keep them well scrubbed. * Boil and wash all bed linen at least twice a week and avoid shaking bed linen when removing it from bed * Clean rooms periodically with a wet rag to prevent dissemination of eggs * Avoid scratching involved areas and putting dirty fingers in mouth and nose * Scrub toilet seats daily. ************ Kids focus : Carry on packing Don't blame rucksacks for children's back pain. inactivity is the likely culprit, says Peta Bee from the London Times CARRYING heavy rucksacks filled with school books has long been blamed for causing back pain in children. Re-search, however, suggests that soreness and strain is more likely to have been self-inflicted by the children's lifestyles. A study of children aged between 7 and 15 at the University of Michigan has found no link between the weight of the bags the children took to school and the incidence of backache. But the more overweight and less active children were three times as likely to suffer pain. Professor Andrew Haig - an expert in physical medicine and rehabilitation who led the Michigan study, which will be published later this year - initially questioned almost 200 youngsters. He asked them about how frequently they used their backpacks, how much they exercised, and whether they experienced back pain. Almost all stated they carried a bag at least once a day, but those who struggled with the heaviest, or who carried their bags on one shoulder, were at no greater risk. "There is no evidence to support the claims that a schoolbag load is a factor in the development of low back pain in growing children," Haig says. It was the older children who watched more television and video games, walked or rode a bike to school less often and had a higher body mass index, an indicator of obesity, who had more back pain. Being over weight and in poor physical condition are more probable culprits than carrying heavy bags". Claire Small, a musculoskeletal specialist and spokeswoman for the CSP, says, "Physiotherapists in the UK are seeing a lot more children and teenagers with back pain than used to, "A combination of factors is causing it. But a lack of total body strength and less tone in the core stability muscles - which are a result of too little physical activity, along with being overweight, which puts extra strain on structures such as the joints, discs and ligaments - doesn't help." She adds that adolescents with back pain often still suffer as adults. Exercise and normal patterns of movement help to stretch and squeeze the discs that act as shock absorbers to the spine. This ensures that they receive the nutrients and oxygen that keep the discs in healthy working order. It is a lack of physical activity that causes the discs to degenerate which results in pain. Haig says that the growing number of children who take the bus or car to school instead of walking means that the amount of time they actually spend carrying their backpacks is minimal. "For children who already have back pain, carrying a heavy bag might make it worse. But what probably caused the pain in the first place was inactivity or the fact that they weigh too much." ************ Alternative medicine : "Health in your palm" Palm diagnosis is an easy, quick and cost effective method of diagnosing compromised physiological conditions. The entire palm is segmented into areas that represent various organs, the endocrine system, the skeletal system and susceptibilities. One could by oneself determine one's state of health in a few minutes by palpation of such areas. Conventional or orthodox medicine relies on means like the ultra-sound scan, MRI scan, ECG, endoscopy etc. to assist in diagnosis. They are often invasive in nature and look at disease in parts - there is no holistic concept about it. Moreover, the means resorted to by conventional medicine would detect a disease only after its gross manifestation. It cannot in any way detect a latent but developing disease operating at the subtle bio-energy level. Dr. Devendra Vora of Bombay, has revived the ancient 'natural' therapeutic technique of Palm Diagnosis. In his best selling book 'Health in Your Hands' (available in Sri Lanka), which he has dedicated to Mother nature, Dr. Vora has expressed his profound gratitude to those unknown Rishis of ancient times who discovered points on the palms (and soles) that can help in diagnosis and be put to therapeutic use in times of illness. These Rishis have taught that the human body comprises five elements, namely: Earth (Prithvi), Water (Jal), Fire (Agni), Air (Vayu), Space (Akash). These five elements are governed by bio-energy, also called the vital force, life force, elan vital or the dynamis. It is a micro-representation within all life of the macro-cosmic power that holds sway over the universe. A derangement in the bio-energy or vital force can be ascribed to a prevailing imbalance in energy. Such an imbalance, if not detected in time, can manifest gross symptoms indicative of a diseased state. Palm Diagosis aims at resetting lost balance in bio-energy and rectifying the derangement so that cure is the inevitable consequence of whatever the disease may be. Palm Diagnosis, detects subtle imbalances in energy and the formation of disease in its very nascent stage. It provides an opportunity for early diagnosis before disease breaks out. It is truly a remarkable preventive method. Holistic diagnosis was practised for over 5000 years sans lab tests and scans. It developed disease detection methodologies that were uncannily accurate. The pulse diagnosis in acupuncture is one and Palm Diagnosis of Indian origin is another. They are so accurate that the modern day ultra-sound or MRI scans look so insignificant and redundant in toto. To quote an example, if by Palm Diagnosis, a physician detects a slight imbalance in the Kidney, this imbalance would not be reflected in an ultra-sound or MRI scan, for the simple reason that modern day scans would detect a pathological condition only after it assumes a gross form such as an inflammation or tumour. It cannot detect a morbid pathogenesis at the subtle energy level. As to prognostic ability, Palm Diagnosis reigns supreme along with acupuncture and even ayurveda. For example, if the area representing the pancreas is quite painful, it can be safely surmised that the patient has a strong proclivity towards a hypo-hyperglycaemic state. This way, a general prognosis can be made regarding the overall health of a patient. Palm diagnosis also reveals not only latent pathogenesis but even ones so overt that symptoms and disease are already manifest. In case of a patient already suffering from a disease, say for example a meningioma, the patient would elicit tenderness at the brain point. In case of cholelithiasis, the gall bladder point would elicit tenderness. Those with renal failure or a hepatic condition would have tenderness in their kidney and liver points respectively and so on. With the unique ability of Palm Diagnosis to scan the body by mere palpation within mere minutes and to detect not only manifest diseases but also latent imbalances and even embryonic pathogenesis, it surpasses by leaps and hounds the ability of the latest scanning techniques the modern medical world could offer. Palm Diagnosis is so simple that anyone with no knowledge of medicine would learn in a few hours the art of detecting latent diseases and to prevent them or to detect overt diseases and effectively counter them. Note Dr. Devendra Vora will conduct a training seminar to the general public on Palm Diagnosis in Sri Lanka shortly. Those interested to participate in this training seminar may contact NAHA at: [email protected] or at 0777 894450. Dr. Mass R. Usuf, Hony. Secretary, National Association of Homoeopaths & Affiliates (NAHA) ************ A reader's point of view : Harmful effects of UV rays With the gradual thinning of the ozone layer caused by atmospheric pollution, many nations are now exposed to the dangers of the harmful effects of UV radiation from the sun. As UV rays can cause very serious health problems mainly skin cancer and other diseases such as cataract, it is the duty of the Health Ministry in collaboration with the proper authority to make the public aware of the dangers of such exposure by giving over radio/TV. The public must also be educated on the protective measures that must be taken against the harmful effects of UV rays when they are exposed to the sun. Today, there are many creams advertised and available for sale, for application on exposed parts of the skin. Many do not know how effective these creams are against the UV radiations. This is where the Health Ministry can step in. Highly effective and safe skin creams can be made available to the public through the SPC Osusala outlets throughout the country. This matter should be given serious consideration by the health authorities. - Joe Muttucumaru ************ Medical update : Way to a healthy heart without drugs The Zero Heart Attack Path, a book on the way to a healthy heart by Rekha Shetty was launched recently by Vijitha Yapa Bookshop, Unity Plaza, Bambalapitiya. The book, published by Penguin India, is described as an ideal lifestyle change book for those who want to protect the heart or prevent re-block after angioplasty and bypass surgery. The author says that 50 per cent of all women are likely to die of heart disease. She says that a third of those who suffer from heart attacks tend to die in the first five minutes. The book introduces one to the Zero Heart Attack Path (ZHAP), an innovative, drug-free, scientifically designed package that helps reverse heart disease and prevent blockage of the heart. Based on the principle that a healthy mind and a healthy soul enhance the quality of life and improve the well-being of the body, ZHAP will help one realise that the power to keep one's heart healthy lies in one's own hands. Free of medical jargon this instructive book, offers a permanent cure for heart attacks and recommends a fifty-two-week programme, which outlines a practical way to a perfect heart and improves one's Happiness Quotient. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
