Thursday, August 26, 2010

WHAT FRUITS,VEGETABLES GOOD FOR YOU..!!!

Apples

Protects your heart
prevents constipation
Blocks diarrhea
Improves lung capacity
Cushions joints

Apricots
Combats cancer
Controls blood pressure
Saves your eyesight
Shields against Alzheimer's
Slows aging process

Artichokes
Aids digestion
Lowers cholesterol
Protects your heart
Stabilizes blood sugar
Guards against liver disease

Avocados
Battles diabetes
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin

Bananas
Protects your heart
Quiets a cough
Strengthens bones
Controls blood pressure
Blocks diarrhea

Beans
Prevents constipation
Helps hemorrhoids
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
Stabilizes blood sugar

Beets
Controls blood pressure
Combats cancer
Strengthens bones
Protects your heart
Aids weight loss

Blueberries
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Stabilizes blood sugar
Boosts memory
Prevents constipation

Broccoli
Strengthens bones
Saves eyesight
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure

Cabbage
Combats cancer
Prevents constipation
Promotes weight loss
Protects your heart
Helps hemorrhoids

Cantaloupe
Saves eyesight
Controls blood pressure
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
Supports immune system

Carrots
Saves eyesight
Protects your heart
Prevents constipation
Combats cancer
Promotes weight loss

Cauliflower
Protects against Prostate Cancer
Combats Breast Cancer
Strengthens bones
Banishes bruises
Guards against heart disease

Cherries
Protects your heart
Combats Cancer
Ends insomnia
Slows aging process
Shields against Alzheimer's

Chestnuts
Promotes weight loss
Protects your heart
Lowers cholesterol
Combats Cancer
Controls blood pressure

Chili peppers
Aids digestion
Soothes sore throat
Clears sinuses
Combats Cancer
Boosts immune system

Figs
Promotes weight loss
Helps stops strokes
Lowers cholesterol
Combats Cancer
Controls blood pressure

Fish
Protects your heart
Boosts memory
Protects your heart
Combats Cancer
Supports immune system

Flax
Aids digestion
Battles diabetes
Protects your heart
Improves mental health
Boosts immune system

Garlic
Lowers cholesterol
Controls blood pressure
Combats cancer
kills bacteria
Fights fungus

Grapefruit
Protects against heart attacks
Promotes Weight loss
Helps stops strokes
Combats Prostate Cancer
Lowers cholesterol

Grapes
saves eyesight
Conquers kidney stones
Combats cancer
Enhances blood flow
Protects your heart

Green tea
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Helps stops strokes
Promotes Weight loss
Kills bacteria

Honey
Heals wounds
Aids digestion
Guards against ulcers
Increases energy
Fights allergies

Lemons
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin
Stops scurvy

Limes
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Controls blood pressure
Smoothes skin
Stops scurvy

Mangoes
Combats cancer
Boosts memory
Regulates thyroid
aids digestion
Shields against Alzheimer's

Mushrooms
Controls blood pressure
Lowers cholesterol
Kills bacteria
Combats cancer
Strengthens bones

Oats
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
Battles diabetes
prevents constipation
Smoothes skin

Olive oil
Protects your heart
Promotes Weight loss
Combats cancer
Battles diabetes
Smoothes skin

Onions
Reduce risk of heart attack
Combats cancer
Kills bacteria
Lowers cholesterol
Fights fungus

Oranges
Supports immune systems
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
Straightens respiration



Peaches
prevents constipation
Combats cancer
Helps stops strokes
aids digestion
Helps hemorrhoids

Peanuts
Protects against heart disease
Promotes Weight loss
Combats Prostate Cancer
Lowers cholesterol
Aggravates
Diverticulitis

Pineapple
Strengthens bones
Relieves colds
Aids digestion
Dissolves warts
Blocks diarrhea

Prunes
Slows aging process
prevents constipation
boosts memory
Lowers cholesterol
Protects against heart disease

Rice
Protects your heart
Battles diabetes
Conquers kidney stones
Combats cancer
Helps stops strokes

Strawberries
Combats cancer
Protects your heart
boosts memory
Calms stress



Sweet potatoes
Saves your eyesight
Lifts mood
Combats cancer
Strengthens bones



Tomatoes
Protects prostate
Combats cancer
Lowers cholesterol
Protects your heart



Walnuts
Lowers cholesterol
Combats cancer
boosts memory
Lifts mood
Protects against heart disease

Water
Promotes Weight loss
Combats cancer
Conquers kidney stones
Smoothes skin



Watermelon
Protects prostate
Promotes Weight loss
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
Controls blood pressure

Wheat germ
Combats Colon Cancer
prevents constipation
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
improves digestion

Wheat bran
Combats Colon Cancer
prevents constipation
Lowers cholesterol
Helps stops strokes
improves digestion

Yogurt
Guards against ulcers
Strengthens bones
Lowers cholesterol
Supports immune systems
Aids digestion



7 Don'ts After a Meal

1. Don't smoke - Experiment from experts proves that smoking a cigarette after meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes (chances of cancer is higher).

2. Don't eat fruits immediately - Immediately eating fruits after meals will cause stomach to be bloated with air. Therefore take fruit 1-2 hr after meal or 1 hr before meal.

3. Don't drink tea - Because tea leaves contain a high content of acid. This substance will cause the Protein content in the food we consume to be hardened thus difficult to digest.

4. Don't loosen your belt - Loosening the belt after a meal will easily cause the intestine to be twisted and blocked.

5. Don't bathe - Bathing will cause the increase of blood flow to the hands, legs & body thus the amount of blood around the stomach will therefore decrease. This will weaken the digestive system in our stomach.

6. Don't walk about - People always say that after a meal walk a hundred steps and you will live till 99. In actuality this is not true. Walking will cause the digestive system to be unable to absorb the nutrition from the food we intake.

7. Don't sleep immediately - The food we intake will not be able to digest properly. Thus will lead to gastric & infection in our intestine.

My personal comments:

Re: 3 above - You may drink warm water or warm Chinese tea made of sun dried tea leaves, ( as opposed to kiln baked tea ).

Re: 5 above - Don't bathe soon after a meal, you may do so 2 hrs. later.

Re: 6 above - If you are young and eaten too much, or if you have eaten a normal amount, but you are middle aged or older, walking after a meal may help your digestive system.

Re: 7 above - If you have consumed 'Red Vine' before or during your meal,

it is alright to sleep soon after a meal. But if you have consumed liquor, beer or 'White Vine' before or during a meal, having a glass of milk or malted milk, will prevent you getting gastric pains.

Those who are 'Diabetic' should not follow the above chart blindly;

they should take their prescribed medication before consuming sweet

fruits, ice-cream, fudge, etc.

ANY FURTHER COMMENTS FROM YOU IS WELCOME ! GOOD LUCK - GOD BLESS

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The smell of rain...!!!



The smell of rain

At the end of this story, it gives you two options. I think you will figure out what option I chose.

A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. She was still groggy from surgery.


Her husband, David, held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news.
That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing.



At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature..

Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs.

'I don't think she's going to make it,' he said, as kindly as he could.


'There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one'



Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Dana would likely face if she survived.





She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on.



'No! No!' was all Diana could say.

She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four.

Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away



But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana. Because Dana 's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love.
All they could do, as Dana struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.


There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger.



But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there.




At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time.




And two months later, though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.



Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life.


She showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the end of her story.


One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving , Texas , Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing.


As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby, when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, 'Do you smell that?'



Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, 'Yes, it smells like rain.'



Dana closed her eyes and again asked, 'Do you smell that?'



Once again, her mother replied, 'Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain.'

Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced,
'No, it smells like Him.


'It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest.'


Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with the other children.

Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along.



During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Dana on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.



You now have 1 of 2 choices. You can either pass this on and let other people catch the chills like you did or you can delete this and act like it didn't touch your heart like it did mine.


IT'S YOUR CALL!


'I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.'
This morning when the Lord opened a window to Heaven, He saw me, and He asked: 'My child, what is your greatest wish for today?' I responded:
'Lord please, take care of the person who is reading this message, their family and their special friends. They deserve it and I love them very much'

The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginning, but not its end..


________________________
This message works on the day you receive it. Let us see if it is true. _____________


ANGELS EXIST but some times, since they don't all have wings, we call them FRIENDS.


_________________________


Pass this on to your true friends. Something good will happen to you at 11:00 in the morning; something that you have been waiting to hear.
This is not a joke; someone will call you by phone or will speak to you about something that you were waiting to hear.


Do not break this prayer; send it to a minimum of 5 people

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Appreciation- Dr. S. Packiyanathar Athanasiyar...!!!

Appreciation- Dr. S. Packiyanathar Athanasiyar
2010-08-06 20:05:39

Dr.Swampillai Packiyanathar Athanasiyar was born on October 16, 1917 in Sillalai, a village called “ Little Rome “ in the Jaffna diocese to orthodox Catholic parents.

His father was Dr. Swampillai Athanasiyar and his mother Mary Josephine. He had six sisters and one brother of whom three sisters predeceased him after a long life time of service as an eminent physician in Sri Lanka and abroad he passed away peacefully at the age of 93 on July 8, 2010 while in London. Incidentally 25 years ago his beloved mother too died on this same day.

Completing his secondary education in Jaffna, he joined the Ayurvedic College in Colombo to pursue his studies in medicine. He joined his father Dr. S Athanasiyar and acquired more knowledge and experience from a renowned veteran well known in the field of Ayurvedic treatment in the Peninsula. Dr. Packiyanather earned the respect and affection of his patients. His kindness and goodness with his specialized ancestral medicine for children and adults reached out to all and he enjoyed a lucrative practice.

Always neatly dressed in white, he was a gentleman par excellence. He was so conscious of his profession that even if disturbed in the dead of the night he would not hesitate to attend to emergency calls.

He was a devout Catholic. He played an active role in the parish activities and served in different capacities with responsibility and honesty .In spite of his heavy schedule, he always found time to participate in all church activities and never failed to attend any functions of relatives and parishioners

Dr. Packiyanather was married to Perly Swampillai, a caring, loving and a compassionate wife much involved in social work and an ex- Chairperson of the Pandaterruppu Town Council. They were blessed with one daughter and two sons.

Dr. Pakiyanathar’s faith in God sustained him in all his trials and triumphs. His demise is an irreparable loss to the Ayurvedic medical profession and to the community at large

As his brother-in-law I will not forget the yeoman services he has rendered to my family.

May he rest in peace

S.B. David


© Copyright 2010 | Wieya newspapers Ltd.Colombo

Friday, August 20, 2010

HEALTH WATCH/ DAILYNEWS.LK: In the early days they were called `prostitutes’. No matter what you call them, they don’t wait doing nothing.!!!

HEALTH WATCH

A shock of your life
‘Seven Colombo sex workers HIV positive!’ Now we can call them ‘commercial sex workers’.

Nadira Gunatilleke

In the early days they were called `prostitutes’. No matter what you call them, they don’t wait doing nothing.


A child who is HIV positive

They have hundreds of `clients’ who provide them sufficient money to live. The clients also have hundreds of other `service providers’!

Who are these clients? They are either single or married men. How about their innocent wives/girlfriends who know nothing about their husbands’/boyfriend’s HIV positive `entertainer’. According to findings, over 50 percent of Sri Lankan married women get HIV/AIDS from their husbands!

May be you are fit and fine. May be you are well protected against all STDs and HIV due to your good sexual behaviour or fear for life! May be you are very enthusiastically reading news just to learn what is happening around you.

At the same time may be there are persons who faint after reading the above news item and who are dying inside about the safety and future of himself and his innocent wife/girlfriend!

Maybe you are not too late to think about it. That is why we need to discuss this issue. It is all about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and HIV.

According to Health Ministry Media Coordinator W.M.D. Vanninayake, Sri Lanka’s HIV prevalence rate has gone up from 0.1 to 0.5. since the discovery of first HIV infected person from the country around two decades ago. This is a fact that all of us should take into consideration. Although records say that only around 1323 HIV positive persons are there in the country, the actual number can be much more higher than this recorded number. Maybe there are a thousand more male and female HIV carriers in Sri Lanka who are in good health and have casual sex with other partners other than their wives/girlfriends.

According to the scientific findings, antibody tests may give false negative (no antibodies were detected despite HIV being present) results during the Window Period, an interval of three weeks to six months between the time of HIV infection and the production of measurable antibodies to HIV seroconversion.

Most people develop detectable antibodies approximately 30 days after infection, although some seroconvert later. The vast majority of people (99 percent) have detectable antibodies by three months after HIV infection; a six-month window is extremely rare with modern antibody testing. The most dangerous fact is during the window period, an infected person can transmit HIV to others although their HIV infection may not be detectable with an antibody test.

Therefore if a person had unprotected sex, very worried about his/her safety and health, runs into a lab and gets tested for HIV within few days of the incident, it will give no relief to him/her. The test may say negative but the person can be HIV positive!


The world making an awareness

The best thing that can be done by a genuine husband/wife who had unprotected sex is, protecting his/her spouse until the window period ends and get himself/herself tested for HIV. It will ensure the safety of the innocent husband/wife who does not know a thing about his/her spouse’s `sex adventures’. But the question is whether he/she is (really)worried about the health and safety of his/her spouse. If one really loves and care for another first of all he or she will love himself/herself and protect himself/herself first!

The worst possible situation arises when a husband brings HIV home, gives it to his wife and the wife gives birth to their HIV positive child ! There is no need to describe the pathetic situation of such a family which is proceeding towards a huge tragedy. The innocent child may lose both or one parent in an early age of his life and then die from AIDS once his/her immunity gives up.

The sex worker found positive for HIV has nothing to do with any of these tragedies because she was earning a living selling her body without knowing her HIV positive status, and the mother is helpless without knowing anything about her husband’s behaviour.

The innocent child is paying the price for the sins of his/her father who seek some ‘thrill’ outside home!

After hearing or reading this breaking news you may start thinking twice of the safety of your family. It increase your blood pressure and take away your mental peace. The other fact is you do not have any right to infect your pregnant spouse with HIV. So why worry about breaking news? Live your life according to the nature and religion.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adolescent hearing loss on the rise in US
Do you ever get the impression your teen is just not hearing you? Well, maybe he’s not. Literally. According to a new study, more American adolescents may be suffering from early signs of hearing loss than previously estimated.


Listening to
music through
earphones for
a long period
of time is not good

Researchers looking at hearing loss in people ages 12 to 19 found that when compared with data from the mid-1990s there has been a 30 percent increase in the development of minimal levels of hearing loss, and a 77 percent increase in more serious hearing problems – those where obvious communication difficulties can be observed. About one in 20 children experienced hearing loss in 1994, and that number jumped to about one in 5, or an estimated 6.5 million adolescents, by 2006.

“What we’re seeing is a big jump in the prevalence of hearing loss in a very short period of time, in less than one generation,” an author on the study Dr. Roland Eavey said. “That means we’re on the front edge of an epidemic.” The results were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Hearing loss is a serious problem that can lead to developmental delays for school-aged children.

Even though the condition is common, getting to the root of the problem remains a challenge.

The authors of the JAMA article conclude that more studies are needed to determine the ex

act cause of the increase.

“We see smoke,” Eavey explains. “We’re not sure where the fire is yet, but we know it’s not good for the woods to be burning.”

An otolaryngologist with the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders Dr. Gordon Hughes, agrees that the findings are significant and says the next step is moving beyond epidemiological analyses.

“You’re taking a cross section of the population in certain age groups, and then comparing what you see from then to now,” he explains. “You cannot prove cause and effect with that.”

Both Eavey and Hughes say future studies should probe more specifically into questions about noise and music.

Even though the 2005 – 2006 survey included a question asking participants whether they had been exposed to loud noise or music for five hours or more a week, Eavey says adolescents may simply reply ‘no’ to a question either because they don’t understand the significance, or because to them a loud rock concert might be the norm.

Asking “have you experienced ringing in your ears in the last three months,” could really help pinpoint the cause, he suggests.

Despite the absence of a causal link, experts say technological trends popular among adolescents can’t be ignored.

CNN health


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The doctor of tomorrow
Dr Sujatha Liyanage - Health Education Bureau

An era of acute diseases with straight forward causes is gradually being replaced with chronic diseases of complex and multifaceted causation, most of which are man made.


Chronic disease epidemiology

Chronic non communicable diseases in Sri Lanka reaching epidemic proportions, pose a severe threat to the people- resulting in premature death and disability. Moreover, by diminishing the productivity of the nation and huge health care costs, NCDs (diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer) play out a huge economic burden to the Government.

Around the world 60 percent of all deaths are due to NCDs, and four-fifths of these occur in low and middle-income countries. But fortunately, nearly all chronic diseases are preventable. Four factors contribute to three-quarters of the risk for NCDs: physical inactivity and poor nutrition (which lead to overweight and obesity), tobacco use and alcohol use.

All of these can be effectively targeted. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommend multi-faceted multi-institutional’ responses to eliminate the global chronic disease burden.

With regard to the responses a three-point approach that merges epidemiological surveillance, primary prevention (preventing chronic disease in lay healthy communities through health promotion) and secondary prevention (preventing complications and improving the quality of life of people with chronic disease through medical, psychosocial and/or economic interventions) is suggested.

Considering the structure and agents of responses, (1) interdisciplinary research that addresses the multi-faceted causes and consequences of chronic disease; and (2) innovative interventions that efficiently use existing economic and human resources are further recommended by professionals.

Educational curricula of medical schools should introduce the higher level of reasoning and assessment. The habitual view of the patient from linear cause and effect, symptom and diagnosis to a broader real life viewpoint. The role of the future doctor should undergo a shift from today’s traditional practice. In a way it should be a multidisciplinary, patient centered and also inclusively concern body, mind and spirit.

The future doctor should be much more capable of working smoothly with partners of various allied health and non health professionals. This novel doctor should consistently be updated with new evidences of best practices to ensure that patients under his care receive high quality services and best available treatment options. High technology is not the sole hope for medicinal achievement; it must be coupled with a ‘high-touch’.

It is because of the natural healing powers of the human body and mind that we continue survival. Subsequently an ideal doctor should not compromise this capacity, but facilitate patients towards self healing. They should be empowered to adopt healthy life behaviors. In other words, health promotion, which emphasizes community empowerment for their optimal well being within supportive environments, must be the primary idea of future medicine . Accordingly the doctor should be where the community is, but not in a ‘in- the- clinic practice’. The delicate and inborn healing process is not to be compromised with robust interventions and drugs. Rather than fostering drug dependence and its adverse effects, the safest and mildest drugs should be used in the first instance.

It is important to utilize high technology and curative wisdom with utmost care and patience. The battle against complex chronic diseases cannot be solved solely by prescribing a drug or an intervention which is at the same time valuable in acute ill health and emergencies. In most chronic conditions such approaches will only temporarily relieve the patent’s current symptoms , with the threat of returning symptoms from the underlying problem.

In the management of chronic diseases the patient should be the navigator of a multidisciplinary team of care providers, not a passive recipient.

The empowered patient plays a giant role in controlling his/her own health and well being through adopting healthy life styles, involving in formulation of healthy public policies and advocating for supportive environments.

In short, to tackle the multifaceted nature of chronic disease causation the future doctor should have the ability to advocate for optimal supportive environments and be actively involved in the formation of policies conducive to the overall well being of communities.

Such a role of a doctor is urgently required to reduce risk, morbidity and mortality for a growing number of Sri Lankans affected by chronic diseases. It will be the inimitable solution to reverse the escalating health expenditure on chronic disease burden and to enhance the quality of lives of our nation.


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An Illegal Abortion:

Murdering in a point of secured living
Dr SHANTHA HETTIARACHCHI

A love affair of a matching young couple had been going on for several years. They were able to obtain the consent from their parents very recently after passing through a long period of opposing .

Both of them were willing to discuss their problem openly in the session of counseling .


A baby inside the womb

As the marriage was registered a few months back, they were preparing for their wedding ceremony in the near future. An unexpected problem had been encountered by them while waiting to see this happiest day in their life. The girl had developed ulceration in the genital region and later diagnosed as genital herpes. Though it was a sexually transmitted infection, it had come through another hidden route in this instance.

The girl had to undergo a termination of pregnancy in an illegal abortion center in finding an urgent but incorrect answer to an unexpected problem, before appearing as a bride in front of their relatives. The genital ulceration was apparent two weeks after this unpleasant experience and it was evident that such a gift had been received through the usage of unsterilized instruments in this illegal place.

The gift they received could not be discarded from their life. There is a possibility to recur the disease in time to time even after subsiding the relevant clinical manifestations with treatment. They were counseled and reassured how to reduce this burden from their mind while living with this recurring illness.

It is true that the word abortion is very familiar to people nowadays, irrespective of their religious or racial differences. When they see or hear this word the mind of the majority get struck with the term, illegal abortion. An increasing number of unwanted pregnancies which are occurring in the country, has invariably created this situation.

It is evident that abortion could happen spontaneously in 10 to 15 percent of pregnancies. Abortion is defined as the termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is capable of extra uterine life, prior to 28th week of gestation.

The causes for the spontaneous abortion include, malformation or defective development of the fertilized ovum or zygote, general diseases of the mother such as rubella, syphilis, malaria, toxoplasmosis, diabetes, hypertension, renal disease, acute emotional disturbances and high fever, certain hormone imbalances like increased or decreased activity of thyroid gland, low level of progesterone and trauma, irradiation exposure or abnormalities of the uterus.

When the abortions take place intentionally, they are said to be induced. An induced abortion may be legal or illegal according to the law in the relevant country. The existing legislation in Sri Lanka, has been implemented in the year 1883.

There is a legal provision for induced abortion when the mother’s life is in danger due to her pregnancy. There are no other indications to allow an induced abortion, according to this law in our country.

The grounds on which abortion is permitted are different in countries. Saving the life of the mother, preserving physical or mental health of the mother, medical problems or birth defects of unborn fetus, economic or social reasons , rape or incest and demand or request are among the indications that has been selected differently in those countries.

In Sri Lanka section 303 of the Penal Code provides that anyone voluntarily causing a woman to terminate her pregnancy is liable up to three years imprisonment and/or payment of a fine, unless the miscarriage was caused in good faith in order to save the mother’s life. A woman who induces her own miscarriage is also liable to the penalties. If the miscarriage is caused without the consent of the woman, the person causing it is liable up to 20 years’ imprisonment and payment of a fine according to section 304.

The same penalty is imposed if the woman’s death results from any act carried out with intent to bring about a miscarriage, whether or not the offender knew that the act was likely to cause death according to section 305.

Currently, a vast number of illegal abortions are being reported while such tough legislations are existing in the country. It has been estimated through various researches that around 700 to 1000 illegal abortions are occurring in a day.

It must be emphasized that exact incidence of illegal termination of pregnancy could not be measured as many patients who are admitted to hospitals with symptoms of abortion deny any attempt in disturbing pregnancy. The suggestive evidence of manipulation can be detected in some of the cases during the examination.

The complications that arise as a result of abortions will endanger the life of the woman.

In addition to the acute complications of nervous shock, hemorrhage, infection, injury to genital tract and internal organs, chronic pelvic inflammatory diseases could occur as a long-term sequel of unsafe abortion. Sometimes drugs or other chemicals which are used to induce abortions, may cause adverse toxic or chemical reactions.

Unsafe illegal abortion could act as a path in transmission of sexually transmitted infections. No one can guarantee that operators of these hidden places adhere to proper sterilization techniques in induction and completion of relevant procedure. There is a possibility in sharing sexually transmitted infections through the use of improperly sterilized instruments when someone is having this type of disease, among the waiting group of women who are in the queue to get terminated the pregnancy.

The majority of deaths in illegal abortion are attributable to infection. The patient can develop septicemia as a result of multiplication of the germ, which has entered the bloodstream in these circumstances. Apart from this, nervous shock or excessive hemorrhage may be a cause for sudden death following these procedures.

The resultant infection may lead to chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, involving the genital tract. It can manifest clinically, with fever, lower abdominal pain, menstrual irregularities and vaginal discharge. Sub fertility may be another additional problem due to this condition.

The number of women, who undergo illegal abortion, represent group of married as well as unmarried.

The lack of proper knowledge on family planning is the common reason in considering both groups. There is an necessity in providing correct sex education to all, with different proportion to suit for the different age groups.

The good attitudes must be built among them while improving the knowledge on this context, in avoiding problematic circumstances. It should be emphasized that destruction and disintegration of socio cultural norms are the unavoidable results with delay in providing this knowledge to our society.

courtesy:dailynews.lk
Produced by Lake House Copyright © 2010 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Walking to a good night’s sleep...!!!

Walking to a good night’s sleep
August 15, 2010, 5:54 pm



By Professor Jim Horne



Much has been said about how to seek a good night’s sleep, from taking pills and potions, to ‘sleep hygiene’ – an unappealing term which conjures images of a sanitised sleep with sterile bed clothes, open windows and no bodily contact, but actually involves avoiding various things (alcohol, coffee, exciting films) and not going to bed until sleepy. But these methods do little to promote natural sleepiness.



Sleep scientists have, however, found various enjoyable waking activities which are effective in bringing a sounder sleep.



While many believe that a physical work-out and plenty of exercise promotes sleep, it doesn’t, and nor does sleep provide any extra benefit to recovery after exercise, beyond that gained in relaxed wakefulness. Although heavy exercise can lead to deeper sleep, this has little to do with the exercise itself, and more to do with becoming hot as a consequence - the same exercise in a cool wind, keeping both body and brain cool, has no effect on deep sleep. A hot body also means a warmer brain; its chemistry will work faster and be in need of more recovery during sleep.



The good news for couch potatoes is there is an easier way to warm up body and brain, requiring no physical effort whatsoever, that not only increases deep sleep but also leads to more sleepiness at bed-time and a quicker sleep onset. Just lying in a hot bath in the evening will help deep sleep that night. Besides, it’s a relaxing pastime and the accompanying peace of mind also gives a more restful sleep. Adding plenty of bath foam also helps; the insulating bubbles keep the heat in the bath for longer.



More sleep science concerns the body’s need to cool down before a night’s sleep, which seems at variance with having that bath. But drying off afterwards accelerates this cooling; your body overcompensates, radiating out more heat than was gained in the bath, further speeding up sleep.



That exercise should be relaxing, not taxing, was strongly advocated by the Victorians. In 1900 the British Medical Journal pronounced: "daily bodily exercise in the open air, but always short of great fatigue must be enjoined. What is called carriage exercise is better than no outdoor change at all, but walking is far better exercise and cycling better still, and riding on horseback the best of all ….Gardening in the open air, not in conservatories or hothouses affords good exercises and it is very efficient in keeping up objective attention."



Though quaint, as a means to improve one’s sleep it is wiser than you might think; the mental activities of gardening will certainly ‘exercise the brain’ if sufficiently varied and stimulating. ‘Brain exercise’ leading to deeper sleep comes not so much from crosswords or suduku but from spending a few hours walking in a changing, interesting environment, looking around and absorbing what is going on. Window shopping, sightseeing; anything new and different enough to hold your attention will do. Having conversations and meeting new people adds the important ingredient of novelty, putting further agreeable demands on one’s mind and brain. All this new stimulation makes the brain work harder than staying indoors surrounded by familiarity. Reading or watching TV only engages relatively small parts of the brain, unlike getting out and about. Similarly, seeing an exciting film is still too passive - one has to be moving purposely, interacting with your surroundings. A multitasking parent, juggling various activities at once, may be comforted to know that their efforts may help them sleep well later.



The feeling of weariness after that day out at the seaside or walking around a museum is not so much due to the ozone or a surfeit of ‘fresh air’, but the novelty. And I suspect the accompanying aching feet is not from excessive walking, but a cry from the brain that it has had enough, and it’s time to sit down and stop. Here’s where sleep science comes in once more; not only will you feel sleepier that evening, but beneficial changes to the brain’s circuitry in response to the day’s novelty occur during this sleep. Such changes are reflected by increases in newly discovered ‘slow oscillations’ in the minute electrical brainwaves generated by the sleeping brain.



(C) The Telegraph Group London 2010

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Warning about Energy Saving Bulbs...!!!




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Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2010 06:38:27 -0700
From: noelsotha@yahoo.com
Subject: Fw: Warning about Energy Saving Bulbs.
To: noelv@rogers.com






HEALTH WARNING



You have to bury them deep, away from other sources.



Subject: Warning about Energy Saving Bulbs.


...Regarding Energy Saving bulbs

....Very Important

Warning from the British Ministry of health about Energy Saving bulbs
These type of bulbs which are called Energy Saving or low Energy bulbs, if it is broken it causes serious danger! As much that everybody will have to leave the room for at least 15 minutes.
Because it contains Mercury (poisonous) which cause migraine, disorientation, imbalances and different other health problems when inhaled.
And many people with allergies, causes them severe skin condition and other diseases just by touching this substance or inhaling it.
Also the ministry warned by NOT cleaning the debris of the broken bulb with the vacuum cleaner, because it would spread the contamination to other rooms in the house while using the vacuum cleaner again.
It must be cleaned through normal broom or brush and be kept in a sealed bag and thrown right away from the house in the bin for hazardous materials.
Notice: Mercury is dangerous, more poisonous than lead or arsenic!!!!