The Health Blog

Pores. Finally, there is the myth concerning the pores. Pores are the openings, on the skin surface, of sweat and oil glands and hair follicles. It is these which give the skin its texture and produce variations between all skins, not only those of humans. You will have noticed the difference between call and pig skin; similarly, the difference between young children and adolescents.

It is widely imagined, thanks to media exposure, that the pores open and close and require ‘cleansing’. This is of course complete nonsense. Our pores are completely static, and after adolescence never alter in size or shape, no matter what cosmetic is used. They do not breathe, feed nor require ‘deep cleansing’. Astringents, which usually contain alcohol, may remove excessive oil and make the pores temporarily less obvious. They may also cause irritation of the surrounding skin, so that it swells slightly around the pores, diminishing their apparent size for a very short time. Nothing, however, can change the number or size of ‘enlarged’ pores. Pore size is an individual characteristic which no product or treatment can alter.

It can thus be seen that there are a considerable number of untested and/or misleading claims made in the field of skin care and cosmetics.

It should be borne in mind, with relation to cosmetic advertising, that some cosmetic houses use suggestive advertising techniques alluding to flimsily-conducted experiments reported under the guise of scientific research. To further promote their products they infer that youthfulness and beauty are essential ingredients for a successful life. They imply that without the assistance of their products your skin will be inferior.

The external application of any nutriment, vitamin or other exotic substance will have no effect on the basic nature of a person’s skin. That is, the skin cannot be fed or nourished by any known cosmetic. The realistic person will accept the limitations of cosmetics as well as their benefits. Cosmetics cannot perform miracles. They can add colour to the skin and hair, help conceal minor blemishes, temporarily relieve excessive skin dryness or oiliness and, to an extent, reduce the drying of skin caused by environmental factors. In this way cosmetics help people to look and feel more attractive. But they accomplish this solely through such properties as colour, fragrance, and local physical action. They cannot, to date, rejuvenate or change the basic nature of the skin.

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Eating a low G.I. diet still means eating a variety of foods. Possibly a wider variety than you are already eating. Potatoes with a high G.I. can still be included. A food is not good or bad on the basis of its G.I. The G.I. factor of a meal consisting of a mixture of carbohydrate foods is a weighted average of the G.I. factors of the carbohydrate foods. The weighting is based on the proportion of the total carbohydrate contributed by each food. Usually we eat a combination of carbohydrate foods, like baked beans on toast, sandwiches and fruit, pasta and bread, cereal and toast, potatoes and corn. Studies show that when a food with a high G.I. factor is combined with a food with a low G.I. factor the complete meal has an intermediate G.I. factor.

High G.I. factor food + Low G.I. factor food = Intermediate G.I. factor meal

Supposing you have a meal of baked beans on toast.

Regular white bread has a G.I. factor of 70, and baked beans have a G.I. factor of 48. If we assume half the carbohydrate is coming from the bread, and half from the baked beans, we can add the G.I. factors of the two foods together and divide by 2, (70 + 48) + 2 giving the meal a final G.I. factor of 59.

The final G.I. factor of a meal depends on the G.I. factors of the foods that make up the meal and the proportion of carbohydrate contributed by each carbohydrate rich food.

If you have two carbohydrate rich foods combined 50:50, you can add their G.I. values and halve the result to come up with the new GJ. factor. But if you have two foods combined in uneven proportions, say 1/4 potato: 3/4 lentils, then 75 per cent of the G.I. factor of the lentils should be added to 25 per cent of the G.I. factor of potato.

It can be complicated to calculate the precise G I. factor of a combination of foods unless you have access to food composition figures of a nutrient analysis program. As with kilojoules, G.I. values are not precise. Use them simply as a guide.

The Low G.I. Eating Plan has a G.I. factor 40 per cent lower than the High G.I. Eating Plan, plus its fat content is half that of the high G.I. menu. Notice how the quantity of food is similar but the kilojoule content is nearly one-third lower because low-fat, high carbohydrate foods have been used.

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Technological developments in the area have led to a number of different machines now being available for directly or indirectly measuring body fatness. Some of these are extremely expensive and would not be used in the normal day-to-day counseling situation. Others are now becoming more portable and more accessible and provide at least an opportunity for adding to other measures. The current range of machines include: underwater weighing, bio-impedance analysis, etc.

Underwater, hydrostatic weighing, or densiometry as it is sometimes called, has been the ‘gold standard’ of fat measurement for many years. This is carried out by immersing the subject totally in water and corrrecting for air trapped in the lungs. The person’s weight in air and their weight underwater are then calculated to determine body density, body volume and body fat percentage. The fatter a person is, the heavier he or she weighs in air and the lighter he or she weighs in water. Because it requires a lot of equipment and delicate measuring techniques, underwater weighing is generally reserved for research purposes or for measuring body fat changes in elite athletes. Validity is high, as is the reliability and sensitivity of the measure. The practicality of this measure, however, limits it to research and teaching facilities, with little prospect for use in the practical counselling situation.

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Unlike hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism is usually a condition of older children and is more probable in girls in the 12-14 age group, but it may affect any age.

Symptoms may develop rapidly. Entire body functions are speeded up, and the child tends to be nervous and irritable, fidgets and cannot sit still for long. The skin tends to be warm and clammy, the skin flushed, and in some cases the eyes appear prominent. Often the heart seems to race. The child may often feel weak and look thin, despite a good appetite. There may be a substantial rate of growth, probably above average. In adolescent girls, menstrual periods may start late or may be absent. Any symptoms of this nature need medical attention. The doctor will arrange suitable tests to help diagnosis.

Treatment

Treatment will depend on the extent of the disorder and the age of the child. In some cases, medical treatment with the use of tablets aimed at reducing thyroid activity will be adequate. In other instances, surgery may be necessary. It is a case of a special form of treatment being worked out for each patient. With proper care, the outcome is usually good.

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The other name for mumps is epidemic parotitis. (Don’t you enjoy these gobbledegook names that doctors use? It makes even the simplest problem seem difficult. That’s probably why they use them!)

Mumps is a common infectious disease, rarely seen in persons under the age of three, but rife after that. It can occur at virtually any age, from young to old, but children are the usual victims. It is caused by a virus, and usually attacks the parotid gland. This is a large organ that sits in front of and below the ears. It produces saliva, and for some unknown reason the virus simply loves having an affair with it. Also, various other glands under the jaw (the submaxilliary salivary gland) may also become involved.

It is not as highly infectious as some of the other childhood disorders, such as measles and chicken pox, and is usually spread via contamination of toys and articles shared with others. A person may infect another from two days before the appearance of the glandular swelling, until it has subsided completely. The glands are not always affected. It takes 12-24 days for the germ to incubate and produce symptoms.

During the prodromal period (the days immediately before the glands are noticeably involved), there is usually a fever, a feeling of being unwell, and probably pains about the ear when eating and swallowing. The skin may feel sensitive and tingly.

Suddenly the salivary glands become affected. They swell, become tender to touch, and this is aggravated by any movement of the jaw, such as eating, talking, swallowing food or fluid. The fever may reach 40°C (104°F) or it may be only mild. There may be headaches, aches and pains and a general feeling of misery and being off-colour.

The most serious complication is the onset of a severe headache, stiffness of the neck or back muscles, vomiting, lethargy, and a further increase in temperature which may reach 41.1°C (106°F).

This may indicate meningeal irritation—meaning the virus has attacked the lining of the brain.

Another important and fairly serious complication is when the virus moves to the testes in males or the ovaries in females. This may cause swelling and pain in the scrotum or lower pelvic regions. In fact, it may prolong the illness and cause a great deal of discomfort. The main hazard is that this may reduce fertility in later life; and cases of subsequent sterility, whilst not common, have often been reported. Occasionally the pancreas (a gland in the abdomen which produces insulin), the kidneys and the ears may be attacked and can produce serious symptoms. But these complications, in the total picture, are not common.

Treatment

There is no specific antibiotic—as with most other viral infections—that will cut short the attack. Ideally, the treatment is bed for a few days, until the temperature has fallen and the child feels improved. Once again, most children are good barometers and will want to get up and start moving about as soon as they feel a little better. Isolation is often suggested until swelling of the salivary glands has subsided, for the virus is transmissible to others.

Plenty of fluids are advised, for they require little effort apart from swallowing and do not unduly exercise the jaws. Water, water-based drinks and fruit juices are all good. Any food may be served, but those requiring little chewing are best. Softly boiled and poached eggs, mashed vegetables, stewed fruit, broth and soup, custards, ice-cream, jellies and soft toast are all suitable. There is no restriction on food to be served to the patient.

Pain and fever may be reduced by giving analgesics and antipyretics. Paracetamol elixir for children aged under six is suitable; and for those over six years, paracetamol or aspirin tablets may be given. Dosage is usually written on the label.

Warm applications such as compresses may give relief if the swollen areas of the face are sore. Warm, salty-water mouth rinses may give a feeling of freshness, and improve the outlook.

Most patients recover with few, if any, problems. Even those with gonadal involvement usually recover. If there are any symptoms that appear odd, or that are not responding to simple home remedies fairly promptly, call the doctor for further advice on management. This is especially important if any of the symptoms indicating complications develop, particularly high fevers, headaches, neck stiffness, lower abdominal pain or testicular pain. These are the main problem areas.

A vaccine is available for children to prevent mumps. This may be given at the age of 12 months, and consists of one single injection. In time, it may be available as a combined mumps-measles vaccine. Its use is not widespread at present, for some doctors do not think mumps is serious enough to warrant routine immunization, but this attitude is now rapidly altering. In 1981 the National Health and Medical Research Council recommended routine immunization of children against mumps.

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