Health and medical information

Is a rabbit killed each time a woman is tested for pregnancy? Is this really how pregnancy tests are done today?
P.L.
Jacksonville, Arkansas
Only in the movies. “The rabbit test” is historically interesting, but it is not used any longer. Pregnancy testing dates back to the Egyptians who, in those days before modern plumbing, noticed that the urine of pregnant women caused certain flowers to bloom. The urine contained biotropic substances. In 1927, the first “modern” pregnancy test was developed—a bioassay based on the studies of Drs. Aschheim and Zondek, two physicians who discovered that specific hormones developed during pregnancy. Their test changed forever the way women would know they were pregnant.
Ironically, the first bioassay pregnancy test was performed on a mouse. A woman’s urine was injected into a mouse that had not yet begun to ovulate. Five days after being injected, the mouse was killed and its ovaries were examined by a lab technician. If the urine was from a pregnant woman, it would contain hormones that would have caused the mouse ovaries to mature rapidly and develop blood spots. If the urine was from a woman who was not pregnant, the mouse ovaries would still be small and immature. Depending on the state of the mouse ovaries, a woman would be told whether or not she was pregnant. This method was used from 1927 to 1929.
In 1929, an improved pregnancy bioassay, which only took two days, was developed using immature rabbits instead of mice, and henceforth, the bioassay was known as the rabbit test. But all the wives who told their husbands they were pregnant by using the expression “The rabbit died” were saying something that didn’t apply. In the rabbit test, all the rabbits died, not because they were injected with a pregnant woman’s urine—they were killed by doctors who were examining their ovaries. Fortunately, with the advances in pregnancy testing today, no rabbits are dying because no one is doing a bioassay.
The urine test is not one of the innovative testing methods, but it is still frequently used. Two weeks after a woman misses her period, her urine may be tested for the presence of HCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin), a hormone that pregnancy causes to rise. Physicians often perform convenient urine slide tests in their offices by putting a drop of a woman’s urine on a slide and adding a test solution and HCG antibodies. Within two minutes, if the test is positive, the mixture turns a milky white but remains smooth. When the result is negative, the mixture stays clear and gets a lumpy sour-milk consistency.
If a doctor prefers not to conduct a slide test in his office, he may send the urine to a lab for analysis. The laboratory test of a woman’s morning urine is based on the same principle as the slide test. The urine is mixed in a test tube with a test solution and HCG antibodies. After two hours, if a red ring appears at the bottom of the test tube, the test result is positive. A woman learns she is pregnant, but she has had to wait two weeks beyond a missed period before she knows. The new pregnancy tests eliminate the wait.
A radioimmunoassay (RIA) blood test for the beta-subunit HCG, the placenta-produced hormone that increases with pregnancy, can determine a pregnancy within a week after conception, even before a missed period. It is probably the most popular pregnancy blood test today. The RIA is extremely sensitive and if it is carefully conducted in a reputable laboratory, it is virtually free from error. Another pregnancy blood test, the radioreceptor assay (RRA) is equally sensitive, and is also used in several laboratories. The beta-subunit HCG was undetectable before the development of these blood tests.
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In addition to the common environmental health threats faced by both women and men women encounter particular diseases that are specific to their sex. Environmental health threats very well may play a role in their development and persistence. The following conditions are currently being studied to determine specific environmental influences.

Breast cancer
Scientists are studying the possible links between environmental estrogens and breast cancer. Environmental estrogens are synthetic and natural compounds scientists believe may mimic the female hormone estrogen and may either act like estrogens or block the body’s natural hormone. Environmental estrogens are found in pesticides, PCBs, and even natural plant products in our diet.

Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition in which the tissue that lines the uterus and is shed during menstruation grows outside the uterus, often creating painful implants on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and ligaments that support the uterus. Again, environmental estrogens are suspect in the development of endometriosis.

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis, a debilitating bone fragility, commonly occurs in postmenopausal women. Scientists think that cadmium, lead, and possibly other heavy metals in the environment may contribute to the development of this disease.

Autoimmune diseases
Women are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma (a connective tissue disease), and systemic lupus erythematosus. Scientists have linked autoimmune diseases to chemicals such as pharmaceuticals, solvents, and food additives.
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We already know that ageing causes everything to droop, but the nose, too? Unfortunately, this is also true, and as a result the nose tends to appear longer. A tiny amount of Botox injected in the tip of the nose can help relax the muscle that is causing the droop. Another consequence of ageing is loss of fat and muscle and in the chin this manifests itself as a dimpled ‘cobblestone’ effect. Again, a shot or two of Botox restores it quite well.
SIDE EFFECTS
By now you’re probably thinking that Botox has to have a down side. Like with any other procedure, whether cosmetic or not, side effects are always a concern. In the case of Botox, the most common side effects are headaches, drooping of the eyebrow (brow ptosis), drooping of the eyelid (eyelid ptosis], double vision or the paralysis of the wrong muscles. Expect most of these side effects to clear up on their own within a few weeks. The only exception is brow ptosis, which can last for the lifespan of the Botox. Bruising at the site of the injection is another possible side effect. On a lighter note, picking an experienced doctor lessens your chances of winding up with any of these side effects in the first place.
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Husbands don’t want passive partners and critics of their sex powers. He wants responsive, welcoming and even initiating lover in his wife. He wants a wife who can experiment new sex positions willingly without guilt.

Will husband enjoy a most beautiful, but cold wife?

No, he wants to keep his beautiful wife as a social status, but he may Indulge in extramarital sex if wife is cold. He may have emotional divorce which suppurate within the marriage and is more devastating than legal divorce.

Is successful sex a source of creativity?
Definitely, all great poets, scientists, artists and musicians etc. are creative people. Without sexual happiness and concentration their sixth sense cannot work to create new heights. People who are unsatisfied sexually, out of frustration, go for extramarital sex, to prostitutes in search of satisfaction.

Who is an ideal couple?

Leader and innovator in love making is male who should have deep regard for his wife’s pleasure and concern for the means by which she may best attain pleasure. He may be required to modulate his own sexual urgency for better sexual harmony. Wife should welcome his love making approaches not out of duty or habit or sufferance or mere acceptance. She should have glint of wantonness in her eyes, high excitement in her behavior which will make the husband feel more welcome as a sex partner and more potent as a male.

Healthy husband is the gentle, considerate, tender male.

What is the biological image of male and female in India, today?

Male is urgent, aggressive, impatient, penetrating and ejaculating. The biological picture of sexual female describes her as passive, receptive, modest, retiring and submissive!

When boy sees his beloved, erection takes place, how female reacts?

She does not have erection when she sees her ideal man but she moistens i.e. the genital glands secrete, an indisputable sign of sexual arousal.

How good marriage affects wife’s sexual life?

Everything in wife’s sexual pattern is learnt even the orgasm. Only few women get orgasm within first year of married life. Within good marriage a wife’s sexual experience steadily improves, her pleasure deepens and her ability to reach orgasm becomes more and more dependable.
How coeducation will be helpful?

Boys and girls who are growing together by going to coeducational school, working and playing side by side may show an increasing similarity in their psychological responses to have better sex harmony in married life.

Why many women close their eyes during intercourse, or when husband takes off his garments?

Due to modesty and shyness wife will turn off the lights or will close her eyes during intercourse. Darkness removes or filter out unusual visual distraction. Husband prefers light becuase he wants to see and appreciates the female curves while wife believes more on feeling a husband instead of seeing him.

Can couple have intercourse on the eve of examination?

Tension of examination generally does not permit to arouse sex feeling but even after such stress if one feels strong desire for sex he can go for it otherwise it may have adverse effect next day. Generally for about 1/2 an hour after orgasm person cannot concentrate on studies. Similary sex on previous night will not affect on his performance in sports.
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Mrs Saroj was suffering from diverse troubles when she called on us – headache, colic, stomatitis, acidity. She was much depressed and feared she might not get cancer.
She had been under treatment in different system of medicines and under the care of so many specialists recommended by her friends and well-wishers. In fact she did not think for herself—rather she did not trust her own judgement in the matter of her health. Even if her inner self told her to continue the treatment which was giving her relief, she would change the medicine on the advice of an other “specialist” brought in by a neighbour.
Now she had almost lost all hopes of recovery. ‘GORSE’ T.D.S. for 4 days removed the feeling of hopelessness. A combination of ‘MIMULUS’ [for fear of cancer) and CERATO [ for distrust of her own decisions] T.D.S for 4 weeks gave her much relief in her physical troubles, also inculcated in her the confidence and trust of her own decisions.
Next time when she got a repetitive attack of migraine, she trusted her own decision to call on us. A few doses of ‘White Chestnut’ (for repetitive attack) and ‘Cherry Plum’ (for acute pain) relieved the trouble.
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It may be several weeks before your breathing habits improve, so be patient with yourself. You might find the following exercises tedious but, as you know, getting better requires effort. (If it does not stop you concentrating on the exercises you could have the radio on.) If your heart is bumping away as you lie down you could try closing your eyes and pressing gently on the eyeballs; this causes a reflex slowing of the heart and can be soothing.
If you pull in your abdomen as you breathe in this restricts the air intake. The aim is to breathe slowly, lifting the abdomen. If you breathe deeply you can become light-headed or your heart may bump a little. This shows how it is not only low carbon dioxide levels, but also rapid changes in those levels, which can cause symptoms. This is nothing to worry about, and if you get in a muddle take a rest and start again.
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Diverticulosis occurs when the walls of the intestine become weakened for undetermined reasons and small pea-sized bulges develop. These bulges often fill with feces and, over time, become irritated and infected, causing pain and discomfort. If this irritation persists, bleeding and chronic obstruction may occur, either of which can be life threatening.
Although diverticulosis may appear in any part of the intestinal wall, it most commonly occurs in the small intestine. Often the person affected may be unaware that the problem exists. However, in some cases, a person may actually have an attack similar to the pain of appendicitis except that the pain is on the left side of the body instead of the right, where the appendix is located. Although diverticulosis most frequently occurs during and after middle age, it can appear at any age. If you have a persistent pain in the lower abdominal region, seek medical attention at once.

Peptic Ulcers
An ulcer is a lesion or wound that forms in body tissue as a result of some form of irritant. A peptic ulcer is a chronic ulcer that occurs in the lining of the stomach or the section of the small intestine known as the duodenum. It has been thought to be caused by the erosive effect of digestive juices on these tissues. The lining of these organs becomes irritated, the protective covering of mucus is reduced, and the gastric acid begins to digest the dying tissue, just as it would a piece of food. Typically, this irritation causes pain that disappears when the person eats, but returns about an hour later.
In 1994, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that a common bacteria, Helicobacter pylori, may be the cause of most ulcers, and called for the use of powerful antibiotics to treat the disorder, which affects over 4 million Americans every year. This was a dramatic departure from the typical treatment of using acid-reducing drugs. The new treatment recommends a two-week course of antibiotics and antacids in ulcer cases in which excess stomach acid or overuse of drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen have caused an irritation. The good news is that by treating ulcers with, germ-killing drugs, the ulcers appear less likely to recur. People with ulcers should avoid high-fat foods, alcohol, and substances such as aspirin that may irritate organ linings or cause increased secretion of stomach acids and thereby exacerbate this condition. In some cases, surgery has been necessary to relieve persistent symptoms.
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When the actions of the bowel are too frequent, the amount of material large, loose, frequently foamy and full of mucus, the condition is diarrhea. Abdominal discomfort and pain at the end of the bowel are often associated with severe diarrhea. Constipation is the predominant digestive order of the city dwellers in the temperate zone, and diarrhea is common among primitive peoples in tropical areas and in men living under military conditions. In our Army the condition has been called “the G.I. trots.” Travelers may call it “turista.”
Infections with dysentery germs, ameba and staphylococci bring on diarrhea. In cities with good sanitation diarrhea is most often due to abuse of cathartics, irritant foods, nervous or emotional disturbances, fevers and infections, or just plain fatigue. Diarrhea is more frequent in hot than in cold weather.
In making his investigation the doctor will want to know first whether or not diarrhea is regular, frequent, related to certain foods, or other habitual activities. Most acute diarrheas clear up if you do without food for a day or two, taking simply hot tea or water. Well-cooked rice, applesauce or even meat may be taken when twelve hours have passed without any loose movement. Milk, fruit juices, and soft eggs should not be given until recovery is complete.
In the laboratory, examination may always be made of the waste material; from it a great deal of information may be gained as to the cause of the diarrhea. In severe chronic conditions the doctor may find it necessary to examine the bowel from below directly with the proctoscope, and also study by the X-ray.
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Type 2 diabetes is characterized by accelerated cardiovascular disease. The risk for myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death, strokes, and peripheral vascular insufficiency is increased at least 2- to 4-fold in people with type 2 diabetes. These risks are doubled in African, Hispanic, and Mexican Americans and are magnified in a profound way by hypertension, dyslipidemia, cigarette smoking, and a prothrombotic state, which often is seen in type 2 diabetes. In particular, before the appearance of fasting hyperglycemia, many type 2 patients have had years of a metabolic syndrome, which confers a high cardiovascular risk. In this syndrome, glucose intolerance may be mild (or absent), but hypertension, microalbuminuria, low plasma HDL-C and high triglyceride levels, increased concentrations of atherogenic small, dense LDL particles, altered platelet function, diminished fibrinolytic activity and insulin resistance with hyperinsulinemia are present in various combinations. The net effect is that people with type 2 diabetes have a high cardiovascular risk from a variety of factors that are active even before fasting hyperglycemia and frank diabetes are apparent. Thus, a program of prevention of progression of accelerated atherothrombosis, which starts even before the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is made, is the hallmark of intensive management of type 2 diabetes. A multifactorial approach that not only includes intensive glycemic regulation but also aggressively addresses multiple cardiovascular risk factors is indicated.
The goals of therapy are the same as in type 1 diabetes (see previous section). However, testing and preventive therapy for accelerated cardiovascular disease must proceed at an earlier stage in type 2 than in type 1 diabetes.
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Fish is one o the leanest sources of protein you car choose. In fact, even the fish with the highest fat content compare favorably with the leanest cuts of red meats and poultry. Seafood contains little saturated fat (the kind of fat most likely to raise blood cholesterol). Include varied types of fish and seafood in your menu at least twice a week.
People used to be advised to avoid some types of shellfish such as crab, clams, oysters, scallops, and lobster because of their supposedly high cholesterol content. However, new measuring techniques show that their cholesterol content is similar to that of lean beef and poultry. Of the shellfish, shrimp contains the most cholesterol, but it is very low in fat. A 3-ounce serving of shellfish is acceptable once a week, but avoid deep-fat fried fish or fish prepared with heavy, cream-based sauces. Instead of melted butter, serve shrimp, crab, and lobster with lemon juice or cocktail sauce. Broil, bake, poach, or grill fish to retain its low-fat quality.
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