Notebook Archives

A sneeze. A scratch. A tear. Typically, these reflexes barely register on your consciousness or, if they do, its as an annoyance. In reality, however, each is an unconscious action that, in its own way provides essential protection against disease causing microbes or toxins before they can do harm.

Scratching is a natural reaction to itching, which is triggered by tiny receptors in the skin’s nerve endings.

Coughing helps to clear mouth, throat and lung tissues of foreign invaders, such as moulds, pollen, dust mites and pet dander, as well as mucus laden with microbes. The irony of this is that many respiratory infections may be spread by droplets of pathogens put into the air by the cough.

Sneezing is like coughing but directed through the nose. We also sneeze to get ride of microbes that multiply in the nasal passageways, as the result of having cold.

Vomiting occurs when harmful substances in the stomach are identified by the receptors in the walls of the digestive tract.

Tearing keeps the surface of the eyes moist and sterile. Tears also protect the eye when dust or debris irritate it. Crying, a natural response to stress, flushes away certain harmful chemicals produced by anxiety.

Despite this impressive range of barriers, reflexes and chemicals, dangerous invaders do occasionally manage to penetrate the body.

• When it is one toast too many: If you are a modest drinker, even a little excess can make you sorry, so it is best not to get too carried away.
• Is there a right amount? Take no more than 30 ml of hard liquor, 100 ml of wine or 350 ml of beer (the amount that a typical shot glass, wineglass or beer bottle respectively hold) per hour. It is all an average person can metabolize in that time. Also, alcohol is dehydrating, so follow each drink with water or juice.
• What to do if you overdid it: If you wake up with a pounding headache, rehydrate with water and drinks that contain frutose (found in honey and fruit juice)

The inner voice is God’s own voice if we understand it as our own godliness, loving longing to be clean, creative, giving. God is not a person, but the ultimate in truth, the ultimate in gracefulness, the ultimate in beauty, the ultimate in love. The inner voice insists we experience our godliness. Feel it. If we experience it, if we feel its clean boundless beauty, we radiate a luminosity – “the personality of personalities.” We feel meeting any person is a gift, any situation, a blessing. “an all fulfilling sense of well-being and calm that resolves into radiant simplicity of being.” It’s coming home to our true nature – a fullness of being that knows no limitations – incomparably, profound vast…

There are some sure-fire steps to bust stress:

1. Meditation is the best way to improve concentration and sharpen your focus.
2. Sleep, provides instant energy; so complete your dailt eight-hour quota to invigrate your mind and body.
3. To recharge your battery take occassional breaks from work. Utilize break-time to take complete rest, spend time with friends and family, read a book or catch up on your favorite movie.

It is a real pain in the neck – in the literal sense of word. To avoid getting bitten by the traffic bug, keep yourself busy during that hour in the following ways:

• Look around and read people’s faces. Try guessing what they must be thinking at present, where they must be going, their age, and other facts about them.
• Check all boards and hoardsing in your view and see if you can coin words from them. For instance, if the word is ‘Marinate’, you can make ate, mate, rate, rat, tin, main, and so on. It’s an excellent mind excercise.
• Clean your cassette/CD shelf and arrange the CDs/cassettes in proper order.
• Organise your wallet; keep all the notes in order, place all importance papers properly and throw any waste receipts tucked in a hurry.

Concern occurs when cells multiply uncontrollably and form masses called tumours. Breast tumours grow slowly and may have been developing for some time before they are large enough to be felt. A yearly mammogram (an X-ray of the breast) can detect tiny tumours in their early stages before they can be felt. Detected early, cancer is often curable.

Many women fear losing their feminity if a breast is removed. Though not in itself life-threatening, a breast tumour, left untreated, implies a high risk of cancer spreading to other organs via the lymph nodes or bloodstream. This makes early detection of malignant tumours imperative. A mastectomy (removal of the entire breast) isn’t always necessary. If the disease hasn’t spread, a small tumour and the surrounding tissue may be removed by a lumpectomy, leaving the breast largely intact. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are other options.

All women are at risk for breast cancer, and approximately 80 percent sufferers have no family history of it. With early diagnosis and treatment, most can return to a normal life.

Myths on the cause of cancer:

• High doses of X-rays cause cancer, so mammograms cause cancer.
• Women with small (or large) breasts aren’t at risk for cancer.
• A blow to the breast causes cancer.
• Excess caffeine causes cancer.

For women who cannot afford an annual mammogram, many organisations sponsor free or low-cost mammograms. Ask for more information at local hospitals or from relevant NGOs in your city.

• A lump or swelling, usually painless, anywhere in the breast or underarm area (but most commonly in the upper and outer region of the breast).
• Changes in the appearance of the skin of the breasts, including flattening, indentation, dimpling, creasing, redness or scaliness.
• Changes in the nipple, including indentation, an itching or burning sensation, and dark or bloody discharge.
• Changes in the size or symmetry of the breasts.
• Discomfort or pain in the breast in advanced cases.

Given the importance of early detection, it is vital that women make a serious note of what they need to do on a regular basis.

When to call your doctor?

• If you find a lump anywhere in the breast or under arm. Most lumps are not cancerous, but a biopsy is necessary to diagnose – or rule out – breast cancer with any certainty.
• If you notice any change in the size, shape or appearance of the breast.
• If you experience any discharge from the nipple.