Medsarticles. Medical Weblog

The principle of a rotation diet is to manage your diet formally, so that you only eat certain foods at given intervals. Its purpose is both to prevent and to cure. It helps prevent you developing new intolerances or allergies by keeping your diet varied and unrepetitive. It can help cure mild allergy or intolerance by reducing the load of a food in your diet, while still allowing you to eat it in moderation.

A rotation diet is usually planned on a four-day basis. You are allowed to eat a particular food on one day in the rotation, and not again until that day comes around once more. The foods that you tolerate are allocated to each of the days of the rotation and you stick to that system. So on Day One you have a list of foods from which you can choose what you will eat that day; on Day Two, you have your Day Two list, and so on.

A four-day basis is chosen because four days gives the body time to clear the food from the system, and most people are able to tolerate foods well at four-day intervals. You usually start out on a four-day rotation, keep to it strictly and then modify it to suit your own system, or way of life.

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Allergy and sensitivity to chemicals is a contentious and highly controversial area. Many doctors and scientists would agree that they have an inadequate understanding of many people’s apparent reactions to chemicals in their environment. There is little research data to explain what chemicals cause reactions, what symptoms result, and what the underlying mechanisms in the body actually are.

The areas that are best documented, and where most doctors and scientists agree, are those of allergy to chemicals (where the immune system is involved, and which can be detected by skin and laboratory tests), and irritant and toxic reactions, where exposure to high levels of chemicals, usually at work, causes symptoms and disease.

The area that is most disputed and under-researched is the one which some doctors call ‘chemical sensitivity’. The definition of chemical sensitivity is substantially empirical, based on clinical practice and observation of large numbers of people with a common history of disease and presenting symptoms. In this definition, chemical sensitivity means adverse reactions to tiny or very low levels of chemicals in the environment, in which the immune system is not demonstrably involved.

It may appear to you, if you react to chemicals, that this controversy over allergy versus toxic reactions versus sensitivity has very little relevance for you. However, it is important in that it conditions the response of any doctor who may treat you. You will get very widely differing diagnoses, sympathy and treatment, according to the individual doctor’s own beliefs and attitudes.

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Outerwear

Tracking down outerwear or snowsuits that are not of man-made fibre or of polycotton mixes is virtually impossible. It is occasionally possible to find corduroy snowsuits, anoraks and leggings with brushed cotton linings. These still have polyester wadding, but since these are enclosed by 100 per cent cotton, they cause less problems. Heskia produce a range of such outerwear. Their clothes are sold by John Lewis and House of Fraser stores.

Footwear, Socks and Tights

Cotton corduroy boots and padders in 100% cotton are made by many firms and are easy to find. Pex make 100 per cent cotton socks in newborn and baby sizes. These are widely available in children’s shops and large supermarkets. Hundred per cent cotton tights in baby sizes are sold by mail order by Cotton On and by Schmidt Natural Clothing.

Cotton On’s range is specifically designed and chosen for babies with eczema and skin conditions. Their clothes are formaldehyde-free, chlorine bleach-free and do not use other well-known irritants. Cot’n Kids, Fix and Schmidt Natural Clothing also sell formaldehyde-free and chlorine-free clothing. The Green Catalogue sell unbleached cotton underwear. Schmidt Natural Clothing sell silk, silk blend, wool and wool blend clothing.

The large mail-order catalogues companies (such as Littlewoods, Freemans, You and Yours, Grattan) also often sell a selection of cotton jersey sleepsuits and underwear.

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The following companies are suppliers of anti-dust mite bedding and covers: Allerayde, Derpi, Green Farm, The Healthy House, Medivac and Slumberland.

The anti-dust mite covers allow ventilation of pillow and mattress, and evaporation of damp without allowing dust mite allergens to pass. They are made of pure synthetic, or synthetic and cotton blend materials. Medivac and Green Farm supply anti-dust mite pillows and duvets which are washable at home at high temperatures. All of these products are sold free of VAT to people who need them on medical grounds. Derpi offers a further discount to people who are members of allergy charities.

Fogarty manufacture Superfil feather and down pillows and duvets in which the filling is treated with a special coating which stops the escape of any fibres which might cause allergy. The outer wrappings are 100 per cent cotton. Fogarty offer a lifetime moneyback guarantee if you react to them. The products have been selling since the early 1980s and none has yet been returned. The prices are similar to ordinary feather and down pillows or duvets.

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Pollens are the fine powders produced by plants, trees, shrubs and grasses to fertilise and reproduce their species. Pollens are probably the most common cause of allergic reactions.

The symptoms most closely associated with pollen allergy are those of seasonal rhinitis (also called hay fever) – sneezing, itchy eyes, runny and itchy nose, sore sinuses. Asthma, eczema and any other allergic symptoms such as headaches or joint pain can also be triggered by pollens. You can get late phase reactions – symptoms developing several hours after your exposure to pollens, often at night.

Contact dermatitis can sometimes result when airborne pollens come into contact with exposed skin. These reactions can sometimes be delayed by up to a few days.

If you know that you are allergic to pollens and want advice on how to cope. Spores of fungi and moulds are the subject of a separate section. If you want to know more about pollens, where they are found and how to detect pollen allergy, read on from here.

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Exercise can boost potency by increasing your sense of well-being and your ability to handle stress. It also helps keep your arteries functioning well. So it’s important that you exercise regularly. Your doctor can help you plan an exercise program that will be safe and beneficial.

Ask him to focus on aerobic exercise—steady exercise over a prolonged period of time which increases your heart rate and makes your body produce more HDLs. Many activities qualify as aerobic exercise, including jogging, bicycling and walking briskly. To be really helpful, however, most of these exercises need to be done for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, at least three times a week. You don’t need to start out at this pace. Begin slowly and work your way up gradually. Exercise activities with a lot of stops and starts, such as handball, tennis and weight lifting, won’t do your arteries as much good as a less strenuous, but continuous workout. The key is to get your heart rate up to 80 percent of its maximum, and keep it there for 12 to 15 minutes. Ask your doctor what your maximum heart rate should be. Then, when you exercise, stop periodically to check your pulse to see what your rate is.

Faithfully following an exercise program for several months also tends to lower your blood pressure. Doctors know that high blood pressure is a major cause of clogged arteries, so lowering your blood pressure can help your arteries, your heart—and your erections.

Sometimes men who enjoy exercise believe that all they have to do to protect their health and their potency is work Out. Some people believe in the tooth fairy, too. The truth is that all the other elements of the potency program—diet, normal weight, normal blood pressure, no smoking and moderate use of alcohol, if any—are essential, too. If you jog five miles and then reward yourself with a double cheeseburger and fries, followed by a cigarette, your arteries are still susceptible to trouble.

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An implant will not change your personality. It will not make you the most popular guy on the block. It can’t be counted on to save a failing marriage.

Having an implant does not, by itself, make you feel aroused. What causes you to feel desire before surgery should have the same effect after the operation. By the same token, if you rarely feel sexual desire before getting an implant, that’s unlikely to change.

Implants are not magic problem-solvers. The prosthesis will not change lifelong sexual patterns. If you rarely had sex before your erection problem developed, the operation will not turn you into a sexual superman. By itself, an implant will not increase your sexual appetite or desire. The prosthesis doesn’t change behavior; it just enables you to have an erection and makes intercourse possible.

Implants produce a simulated erection which, although close in appearance to a natural erection, is not identical. The implants are placed in the corpora cavernosa (those two cylinders which run parallel along the length of the penis, and, in a natural erection, fill up with blood). The head of the penis, which is part of a separate and much more delicate area called the corpus spongiosum, does not become erect with any of the implants. And it’s not likely that a model with such a feature will be developed, because of this area’s small size, irregular shape and closeness to the urethra.

The implant erection usually is not quite as wide or as long as a naturally produced erection. An implant won’t increase the size of a man’s penis.

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Sometimes the best way to tell if you’ve found a professional who may be able to help is by what he or she does not do. The following are some warning signs. We suggest that you look elsewhere for your care if your doctor does any of the following things:

• He refuses or is unwilling to have your partner involved in diagnosis and treatment.

• He ignores your sexual problem or tries to change the subject every time you bring it up.

• He tells you to adjust to life without sex, or tells you that sex isn’t important.

• He fails to take a complete medical history specifically aimed at diagnosing impotence.

• He makes any automatic, unfounded assumptions about the cause of your problem. If your doctor tells you without giving you a thorough evaluation that your erection problems are caused by psychological difficulties or that you have a problem just because you’ve been working too hard, run, don’t walk, out of that office. Generally speaking, no one can assume the cause of your problem without a thorough evaluation specifically focused on your potency problem. Don’t let a well meaning but ignorant professional dissuade you from seeking all the help you need.

• He can’t tell you the success rates and the dangers of various treatments.

• He is quick to tell you, “If this treatment doesn’t work, nothing will!” If you hear this, bolt for the door! No knowledgeable professional will put you under such wholly uncalled-for stress. There are almost always alternative treatments that will help. If you decide on a particular course of action, find out about alternatives if your first attempt at a solution (preferably the least expensive and least complicated treatment) doesn’t work.

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Women have many of the same fears as men. And a wife or lover may be afraid that by talking about the problem she’ll find out that she is the problem—that she’s doing something that turns him off. And she may fear finding out that her husband does fine with other women. She also may be afraid that his health is the problem; she may resist talking about the difficulty hoping it will “cure” itself, so she’ll know he is physically okay And some women want to protect their husband’s feelings Sensing their partner’s reluctance to talk, they avoid the topic They don’t want to, as one woman says, “make him feel an^ worse than he already does.”

Our research indicates that women react to erection problems in a wide variety of ways. In many cases we looked at, the way a woman responded appeared to be greatly influence by the way she and her husband normally communicated. The more reassurance and love that was available on both sides and the more both were involved in solving the problem, the more manageable the sexual difficulty was. When there was less communication there was more opportunity for hurt feelings, self-doubt, blame and anger to fester—and erupt.

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Jack’s reaction is far from unique. In fact, I’ve seen men, tortured by a long history of erectile dysfunction, suddenly change after taking the medication. With the restoration of a fulfilling sex life, patients have become calmer, happier, and more optimistic about their ability to fully engage in all the aspects of their personal relationships.

One patient described it to me this way: “For the first time in three years, I was able to make love without feeling that I had to totally control the situation from start to finish. We could both relax, take our time, and enjoy being with each other. It’s what sex should be.”

Often, regaining erectile function gives men the confidence to enjoy other sexual activities, including prolonged foreplay, sensate touch, oral gratification, and erotic role playing. It allows them to receive pleasure more readily, and share that excitement with their partner. With the pill there is no longer any need to restrict sexual activity. Men and women can now enjoy the full repertoire of sexual expression. The magic of the medication is that it allows sex to regain its natural rhythm.

Then, too, there are those men who regard their restored function as a second chance. This time, they want to make everything as good as it can be, and share optimally with their partners on every level. To me, they express a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude—especially those who have experienced ED for long periods of time. Such patients take nothing for granted, and particularly not where their relationships are concerned. They are willing, indeed eager, to examine their feelings in ways they couldn’t before because they were preoccupied with their physical states. The result, very often, is two people who are much happier. Having seen the transformative effects of the drug, the partners of these men are delighted with the changes that affect both of them.

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