Herpes Zoster Alternative names is Shingles. Shingles is a skin rash. Herpes zoster (shingles) is 1 of 2 unique manifestations of human infection with the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and other being varicella (chickenpox). Chickenpox is a common and publically known illness of childhood. Chickenpox is the primary infection, whereas herpes zoster shows reactivation of a previous infection. Herpes zoster usually objectifies as a vesicular rash in a unilateral dermatomal distribution associated with pain. Symptoms usually resolve over several weeks to a month. Herpes zoster has been proved since ancient times and still carries the name used by Hippocrates.

It is individualized by an exanthematous vesicular rash. Allthough, till 20% of patients may experience prolonged and sometimes debilitating sequelae, mainly postherpetic neuralgia. Eye problems agented by severe or chronic outbreaks of herpes zoster may comprise:  glaucoma , cataract , double vision, and marking of the cornea and eyelids. Herpes zoster may cause many problems with the eye and encircled skin that may have long term effects.  Inflammation and hurting of the cornea , with conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva ) and iritis are common problems which require treatment.  In few cases, the retina and optic neve are involved. 

Causes of Herpes Zoster

Common causes of Herpes Zoster

• Reactivation of VZV.
• Chicken-pox virus.
• Stress.

Symptoms of Herpes Zoster

Common Symptoms of Herpes Zoster

• Headache.
• Sensitivity to light.
• Fever.
• Itching.
• Tingling.
• Pain.
• Rash.
• Fatigue.
• Malaise.
• Hearing loss.

Treatment of Herpes Zoster

Common Treatment of Herpes Zoster

• Acyclovir helps to control the skin eruption.
• If the discomfort is mild, take Tylenol or a similar mild painkiller.
• If you have too much pain, we can order a prescription painkiller to take until the pain subsides.
• Treat the rash gently. Pressing with dilute vinegar will make more comfortable. Press the blisters for 10 minutes twice daily with a mixture of one-quarter cup of white vinegar and two quarts of lukewarm water. Stop the compresses when the blisters have soaked up.
• Small amount of white petrolatum (plain Vaseline) three or four times a day.
• Topical, intradermal, and systemic analgesics may provide relief from the discomfort caused by zoster

Glaucoma is a ailment caused from increased intraocular pressure (IOP) because of either from a malformation or malfunction of the eye’s drainage structures. Though increased intraocular pressure is an important risk element for developing glaucoma, there is no set edge for intraocular pressure that causes glaucoma. One person may have nerve wreckage at a comparatively low pressure, while another person may have high eye pressure for years and yet never cause damage. Unmedicated glaucoma leads to permanent rupture of the optic nerve and resultant visual field loss, which can leads to blindness. An elevated IOP is the most considerable factor for the development of glaucoma. The most thoroughly studied cause of non-pressure-dependent glaucomatous damage is the probability of an insufficient blood supply to the optic nerve head and adjacent retina. Glaucoma is a group of diseases which may damage the eye’s optic nerve and consequences are loss in vision los and blindness.

Glaucoma is similar to ocular hypertension but accompanying with optic nerve rupture and loss of vision. The aqueous refines out of the anterior chamber over a complex drainage system. In most people, this injury is because of increased pressure in the eye which is a result of blockage of the circulation of aqueous, or its drainage. Through early sensing, diagnosis and treatment, doctor can help to preserve the vision. Glaucoma is a group of diseases that can steal sight without warning or symptoms. Other variations involves congenital glaucoma, pigmentary glaucoma and secondary glaucoma.

Causes of Glaucoma

Common causes and risk factor’s of Glaucoma include the following :

• High blood pressure ( hypertension ).
• Diabetes.
• Family history of glaucoma.
• Secondary glaucoma is caused by other diseases, including eye diseases such as uveitis , systemic diseases, and drugs such as corticosteroids.
• Previous eye injury .
• Nausea and vomiting may occur.
• Over the age of 45 and not having regular eye exams.
• Primary open-angle glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among African Americans and Alaska Natives, occurring 6-8 times more often than in whites, often in the earlier stages of life
• Angle closure (acute) glaucoma is caused by a shift in the position of the iris of the eye that suddenly blocks the exit of the aqueous humor fluid.

Symptoms of Glaucoma

Some common Symptoms of Glaucoma:

• Abdominal pain.
• Headache.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Glare and light sensitivity.
• Severe eye pain.
• Blurred vision.
• Swollen or clouded cornea.
• Redness in the eyes.
• Halos around lights.

Treatment of Glaucoma

• Blindness will occur in a few days if it is not treated.
• Epinephrine compounds are eye drops that lower the intraocular pressure by increasing the rate of aqueous humor flow out of the eye.
• Laser or surgical treatment may be used when medical treatment isn’t sufficiently effective.
• These are the most common form of cures and must be used regularly. In some cases pills are prescribed. The drops can be varied to best according to the patient and the type of glaucoma.

Fordyce’s Condition is skin disorder and is characterized by tiny yellow dots. Sbaceous hyperplasia or Fordyce’s condition is contagious. Fordyce’s Condition is present in almost 90 percent of adult men. They may visioned as single lesions or as symmetrical groups of 50. The spots are 2 to 5 mm in diameter. Fordyce Condition is a variant of Sebaceous Hyperplasia. Fordyce Disease is characterized by dry, darkened patches of skin in the underarm. They are non-infectious and a fully naturally occurrening on the body.  They are sometimes addled with basal cell carcinoma.

Fordyce’s Condition is a rare skin situation and not the disease which is caused by an overgrowth of the sebaceous glands. They are usually non-infectious and normally resolve themselves. It mostly occurring in groups and sometimes it is found on the lips, inside mouth, and rarely on the genital skin. It normally does not interlope in love making as they are painless. The spots are a kind of ectopic sebaceous gland, and are not known to be related with any illness and are of cosmetic affair only. The papules are visible at birth but only become active when the child attains puberty. Fordyce’s Condition is hurtless and appears in most adults, there is no point to panic. They are naturally non-infectious and usually solve themselves.

Causes of Fordyce’s Condition

Common causes of Fordyce’s Condition

• Viral infection.
• Generic reason.

Symptoms of Fordyce’s Condition

Common Symptoms of Fordyce’s Condition

• Darkened patches of skin.
• Tiny yellow dots in the skin.
• Loss or breakage of hair follicles.

Treatment of Fordyce’s Condition

Common Treatment of Fordyce’s Condition

• Tretinoin cream or gel used daily will reverse sebaceous hyperplasia slowly overtime and will also help keep the condition from worsening.
• TCA chemical peels will also reverse sebaceous hyperplasia, but new lesions will occur slowly after treatment.
• Individual lesions may be removed by light cautery, diathermy or laser vaporization.

Nausea and Vertigo Relief with Mint

Chewing fresh mint leaves relieves feelings of nausea.

Nausea Relief with Chamomile

Pour 1cup boiling water over 1 teaspoon dried chamomile and steep 10 minutes Strain. Add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon to the tea before adding sugar to taste.

Nausea Relief with Cloves

Sometimes chewing 4-5 whole cloves will relieve motion sickness.

Nervous Indigestion Relief with Marjoram

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over several sprigs of marjoram and allow to steep, covered, 10 minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey. Also good for headaches brought on by nervous tension.

Parsley Tea

Make a tea using 2 cups of fresh parsley to 4 cups boiling water. Let sit covered until cool. Strain and reheat as needed. Sweeten to taste. This is good to help settle the stomach, as well as being a great diuretic for the kidneys.

Peppermint Mix for Stomach Upset

Mix 1 tablespoon each of dried peppermint and bruised caraway seed. Pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 teaspoon of the mix and steep 15 minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey.

This has the added benefits of soothing the stomach during upsets and relieving heartburn and indigestion. Also good to use during bouts of flu to settle the stomach.

Settles Upset Stomach

Mix together 1 teaspoon each of goldenseal, mullein, skullcap, 1 heaping teaspoon chamomile, 2 teaspoons lobelia, 1 tablespoon mint, ¼ teaspoon powdered peppermint, and 1tablespoon pennyroyal. Add 1 teaspoon of this herbal mixture to 1 cup of boiling water and allow to steep 10minutes. Strain and sweeten. Settles stomach quickly.

Diuretic Using Borage Leaves

To make a good diuretic, pour 2 cups of boiling water over a handful of borage leaves. Let sit for 15 minutes. Strain and sweeten if desired. Drink several cups daily for 2 days.

Diuretic Using Burdock Seed

Add1 teaspoon crushed burdock seeds to 2 cups of boiling water. Steep covered for 30 minutes. Strain and drink. The teas will stones.

Diuretic Using Com Silk

This works to clear the kidneys rapidly. Pour 2 cups boiling water over 1 tablespoon com silk. Let simmer 5 minutes. Strain, sweeten, and drink as much as you like for 2 days. It is good for the prostate too. Dry plenty of corn silk when it is on hand when needed in the winter. This is one of the easier herbs to get and dry.

Diuretic Using Meadowsweet

pour 2 cups boiling water over 2 teaspoons dried meadowsweet flowers and leaves. Let steep, covered, 15 minutes. Strain and sweeten. Drink 1cup after meals for 1week.

Diuretic Using Mustard Seed

Pour 4 cups boiling water over 2 tablespoons of bruised mustard seed and 4 tablespoons freshly chopped horseradish root. Cover and steep 4-5 hours. Strain and bottle. Dosage is 3 tablespoons 3 times daily for 2days.

Diuretic Using Parsley

Do not use this one for over 2 days as it is very strong (and effective). Use 4 cups of parsley and add 4 cups of milk. Place in an oven at low heat (about 150-175 degrees). Take out when liquid is reduced to about half. Cool thoroughly and strain. Take 1 tablespoon every 2 hours for 1 day. Skip 1 day and repeat the next. Use this if you suffer from repeated kidney or bladder infections. Clears up the problem fast.

The gall-bladder is a pear-shaped organ attached to the under surface of the fiver under the edge of the right lower ribs, about half way between the center of the body and the center of the right side line, that is, the line immediately below the arm-pit center. When there is trouble with this condition there frequently is an uncomfortable feeling at the point mentioned, though in many cases the location of the discomfort is indefinite and it is impossible to come to a quick decision as to the location of any inflammatory pains. Often gall-bladder inflammation and appendicitis are mistaken one for the other.

The purpose of the gall-bladder is to receive bile (gall) from the liver, where it will be ready for passage into the intestinal tract in considerate quantities when needed in the process of digestion. Where the diet is alkaline and where sufficient fluid is taken into the body, the bile usually will be liquid enough to pass into the gall-bladder and out of it again through the small ducts or tubes leading into and away from this sack. But very often the diet and mode of living in general are such that the bile becomes concentrated and becomes irritating. This produces in time an inflammation of the lining wall or membrane of the gall-bladder, and here we have cholecystitis. If the bile becomes concentrated and yet not so decidedly concentrated that it can pass out of the gall-bladder, it may cause dilatation of the gall ducts and irritation and inflammation.

Gallstones are due to a concentration of bile or to a precipitation of some of the elements forming bile, but a great deal of irritation and trouble often results before gallstones develop-and many people never would develop gallstones, and yet have gall-bladder trouble.

Treatment of Gall Bladder

Operation rarely will be required in gall-bladder trouble if natural treatment is applied in time. It is necessary in these cases that the bile be thinned and that it be rendered non-irritating. There is nothing better as the initial part of the treatment than a fruit diet, with copious quantities of water, preferably hot water.

Early in the morning may be drunk a quart of hot water containing the juice of one lemon and one-half teaspoonful of salt. This should be as hot as possible and yet drunk rather than sipped. It should be taken within ten minutes if possible.

Nothing should be taken until at least three hours later, when grapefruit or orange juice may be taken. Half a dozen grapefruits or a dozen oranges or half these numbers of each may be taken during the day, with two or four quarts of water-but not necessarily together. This hot water mixture is very effective in cleansing the intestines, the liver, the kidneys, the blood and the skin. It also may have a laxative effect.

Gall Bladderis a condition in which it is permissible to use an effective dose of some such laxative as Pluto water or citrate of magnesia at the beginning of the fruit diet, but not later. The fruit diet (or if preferred the absolute fast with an abundance of water) may continue for from five to ten or -fifteen days, depending upon the patient’scondition and the effects of the fact.

By constipation is meant a condition in which there are infrequent and irregular movements of the bowels. But the cause and degree of constipation differ to such an extent in different cases that sometimes it is necessary to observe other signs connected with the trouble.

Acute constipation

Acute constipation usually requires correction of the causative disease or condition. All laxative drugs should be discontinued and the bowels cleansed by the use of tepid enemas. Exercise should be continued if there are no harmful results. The diet should be modified so that constipating foods are avoided and laxative foods or foods with bulk substituted. Salad and green vegetables, fruits and whole-grain products are some of these foods. The diet may be somewhat broader than these sug-gested, but these should be the predominating foods.

In acute constipation, there usually is some other acute disease, especially those accompanied by fever. Sometimes there is intestinal obstruction or a more or less paralysis resulting from the use of drugs inhibiting intestinal secretions. Often there has been merely an extra consumption of constipating food, or cessation of exercise when one has been accustomed to exercise.

Chronic Constipation

Chronic constipation is the most common condition. Thousands of people are and for years have been constipated. Some of the more important causes of this condition are an inactive life, conditions that lower the nerve and muscular tone and the circulation, such as neurasthenia, anemia, drug habits, resort to drug laxa-tives, neglect of nature’s calls, excessive eating, deficien-cy of foods with bulk impoper mastication and wrong combinations of food .

Symptoms of Constipation

Practically everyone knows the meaning of constipation when the condition itself or the name appliedto it is encountered. But a great many people are constipated while being unaware of the fact. If a man or woman eats three meals a day and has one bowel elimination daily that person usually is constipated. Many persons have one bowel movement a day or every second day and give it no thought. They may have from three to six or eight meals in the bowels, whereas they should have at most three meals in the bowels by having an elimination for every mean consumed. Naturally, if a person is eating sparingly there may be inadequate stimulation of the rectal nerve to cause an elimination after each meal. With a very limited diet one may safely have one elimination a day even when eating three times daily, provided there are no flesh foods to undergo putrefaction, and only a minimum of starches to undergo fermentation.

Treatment of Constipation

Practically all cases of constipation canbe corrected. Naturally, if there is some obstruction of a mechanical nature, this may need correction by some means other than natural treatment. These cases are comparatively few. One of the best means of improving bowel activity is by resting the bowels and permitting them to recover their normal tone. To provide this rest nothing should be permitted to enter them. This calls for the fast or the fruit juice diet. If fruit juices are taken they are absorbed and no residue reaches the bowels. It Is permissible to thoroughly cleanse the colon at the beginning of the fast by a high colonic irrigation or by a series of enemas. Once the bowels are cleansed by any of these method s and no food given by mouth the bowels begin to rest. This rest may continue for from three to ten days, depending upon general conditions . Nothing should be done to aid the bowels to move during this time after they have been cleansed as suggested.

One must obtain sufficient rest and sleep to permit of recovery or maintenance of normal nerve-tone. The bowels can not function well or continue to function well if the nerve-tone is allowed to reduce to any appreciable extent.

Another treatment of benefit is cold abdominal packs or the cold or hot and cold sitz-bath. The cold packs may be used daily for twenty to thirty minutes for a number of weeks with benefit. The sitz-bath may be used daily or every second day. If a cold sitz alone is used, it may continue for from one-half minute to three minutes, depending upon the water temperature and reactive powers. If alternate hot an cold sitz-baths are used the hot should be taken for three minutes and the cold for thirty to sixty seconds, and both may be repeated if desired.

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the mucous mem-brane of the bronchial tube and its branches. It may be acute or chronic; it may involve one side or both; it may affect the larger or only the minor portions of the tube, or it may involve the whole bronchial system.

The most frequent occasions (usually called causes) for bronchitis are colds, improperly treated or neglected, or irritating inhalations of smoke, dust, gas or fumes. Becoming chilled after being heated may result in an attack if there is an injurious degree of toxemia. Certain trades tend to the production of such irritation to cause bronchitis: stone-cutting, milling, carpentering, paper-hanging, etc. Inhalation of tobacco smoke or tobacco dust is one of the most prolific causes. Living in overheated quarters with the air insufficiently moistened is somewhat Common in American city dwellings,and such conditions may lead to bronchitis.

Acute Bronchitis

Acute Bronchitis results from an accumulation of toxins in the body, making it necessary for the body to call upon the mucus surtaces of the respiratory tract for additional elimination. Aside from the causes already given, acute bronchitis may accompany other acute diseases.

The symptoms of acute bronchitis are quite abrupt, the condition itself beginning with a sudden fever, often accompanied by a chill. Fever sometimes, however, is absent. Cough is the most prominent symptom. This may be frequent and hard with no expectoration, especially for the first two or three days. There usually is soreness back of the breast-bone. Gradually the cough becomes somewhat productive, there being a tenacious mucous accumulation which is expelled with considerable difficulty. Its presence in the bronchial tube causes a wheezing or humming sound upon breathing. The cough may be so frequent and severe as to result in headache, dizziness, nausea and perhaps vomiting.

The cough gradually lessens after a few days and is more productive, the expectorated matter being thick and more or less greenish, a mixture of mucus and pus. The condition frequently causes bronchopneumonia in children and old persons, through extension to the lung tissue when neglected, improperly treated, or when the toxemia is so extreme that the body needs the increased surtace of the lungs for elimination. Within a week “these bronchial symptoms usually disappear in mild cases, and within two weeks in the more severe cases, though the trouble may linger on for a month or more. Considerable depends upon the patient’s inherent vitality and recupera-tive powers and upon the strictness with which proper treatment is carried out.

Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis may be either chronic from the beginning or may result from frequent or repeated attacks of acute bronchitis. The inhalation of dust or smoke is one of the most frequent causes. Cough and expectoration are the leading symptoms, the cough being quite obstinate, especially in the morning an evening and during the night. It often prevents sufficient sleep for the patient to recover quickly. The cough may cause vomiting. There mayor may not be any substance expectorated. What is brought up may be tinged with blood. During the summer the symptoms may subside or disappear entirely, only to return upon the appearance of cold weather.

Chronic Bronchitis Treatment

In acute cases it is necessary to remove any cause of direct irritation of the bronchial tubes. Usually when properly treated an acute case will subside in a few days. The “fruit fast” is very helpful in these cases and should continue until the temperature has been normal for twenty-four hours. The daily enema should be given, with plenty of water to drink. Fresh air is very important but a cold wind over the patient should be avoided. A blanket-pack will help materially in the general efforts of the body toward elimination. Every two or three days the general pack may be substituted for the local pack to the chest. Hot compresses or heat by a therapeutic lamp over the upper chest will be very soothing in case the cough is very distressing. After any hot treatment there should be a cold application for a minute or so, then careful drying and adequate covering. A “sun-bath” over the upper chest by a sun lamp will help greatly in this condition. After the symptoms have subsided, the patient may gradually return to a diet more ample in quantity and consisting of any natural food desired. Of course, the quantities should be only gradually increased. There is no definite curative diet needed after the acute condition has subsided, though the fruit and strict milk diet would be very valuable at this time.

Chronic bronchitis makes it necessary to treat the entire body, because the condition is not local, but is due to a systemic toxemia, with the selection of the bronchial mucus membrane for the point of elimination when the other channels of elimination are functioning insufficiently to take care of the encumbrances. In these cases the repeated complete fast or fruit diet will be of great value, continued for from three to eight or ten days depending upon the strength and vitality of the patient and the effects of the fast. The milk diet is a very excellent diet to follow a fast or to use between these repeated fasts. It is. especially recommended if the patient is below normal in weight and vitality. If the patient is normal or above normal, the milk diet may be used with benefit, but with a reduction in the amount of the milk sufficient to maintain normal weight or permit of a slow loss in weight.

In the chronic condition, steam-baths or other sweat-baths once or twice a week will be very helpful. They should of course be followed by a cold or cool bath and vigorous friction. The hot shower bath, in which the water is allowed to play alternately upon the upper back and the upper chest, terminated with a decidedly cool or cold shower is an excellent treatment. Cold chest packs covered by dry flannel so that warmth is re-established; local heat to the upperchest followed by cold applications; hot compresses; steam inhalations; massage and spinal manipulation, are all of considerable benefit, and any of these may be used.

Asthma is one of the most aggravating diseases that humans may suffer. It involves the very breath of life. One of the characteristic features of this disorder is that between attacks the victim may appear and feel as normal as anyone else and yet in a very short time may be in an attack so severe as to cause him to wish for the end of life.

Asthma is a paroxymal difficulty of breathing resulting from sudden spasm of the bronchial tubes or their minute branches or sudden swelling of the mucous membrane of these tubes. What produces the hypersensitiveness of the respiratory membrane, which is necessary to the production of asthma, may be difficult to determine. It is Clssociated,however, with heart disease (cardiac asthma), kidney disease (renal asthma) or some outside irritant (hay asthma), or from minor causes. A protein sensitization often underlies the condition. Bron-chial, nervous or essential asthma is a form for which a leading cause can not be discovered, though usually there. has been inherited a neurotic temperament.

The symptoms of asthma are comparatively similar in the majority of cases. The spasmodic attacks come on suddenly, but without regularity as a rule. Any condition which gives rise to excitation of the nervous system may cause the attacks. Sometimes these paroxysms develop more gradually and are preceded by a sensation of oppression in the chest or frequent or increased urination or a belching of gas, etc. When the attack comes on, breathing is very difficult, particularly the exhalation of each breath. In severe cases the patients often sit with elbows on a chair or desk or table or stand with the elbows elevated by some object in order to be able to use to the fullest all of the auxiliary muscles of breathing.

In these severe attacks the lips become blue and the cheeks pale, the nostrils are dilated and the eyes bulged and the entire facial expression is one of anxiety. The pulse is rapid and the perspiration is copious. The breathing is not rapid, but is difficult and wheezing. There is a sensation as if one is being choked or smothered. Often it is necessary to open a window, or to sit in the open window to secure all the fresh air possible. There often is a cough, which may continue for quite some time before any matter is brought up for expectoration. This matter is tenacious and stringy.

Asthma Treatment

Asthma is constitutional disease, hence must have constitutional treatment. Because of the underlying neurotic or highly nervous temperament this condition may respond less readily than do many other diseases, but there have been numerous cases where all symptoms have disappeared permanently. Numerous factors may be necessary in the treatment, but diet will be the first factor in most instances. In any case it will be necessary to build up the nervous energy and to detoxicate as completely as possible.

The most reliable treatment is an absolute fast which if necessary may continue for as long as twenty, thirty or more days, depending upon the patient’s weight, strength and energy. After the fast or in cases where the fast can not be used the citrus fruits, particularly the grapefruit, will be of very great benefit. This fruit particularly seems to aid in clearing the bronchial tubes of accumulated mucus and in bringing new mucus-forming elements to the tubes by the blood-stream .

Anemia is a condition of deficiency in the amount of blood or in the number of red blood corpuscles or of hemoglobin. There are various forms of anemia: acute anemia, chronic anemia, chlorosis, and pernicious ane mia. There also are primary and secondary anemias.

Primary anemia is apparently an independent disease resulting from some defect in the blood-making organs or from some influence that destroys the blood cells after their formation, though the exact cause usually can not be determined. Pernicious anemia, also chlorosis some maintain is a primary anemia.

Secondary anemia results from some other disease or condition that can be determined or discovered: including hemorrhage, lactation, albuminurea, cancer, suppuration, toxic agents such as lead (poisoning), and bad hygiene.

Acute anemia always occurs as a result of sudden loss of blood. This may be by internal or external hemorrhage. Surgical operation often is responsible for it, or some injury, or such a condition as an ulcer of the stomach, or a rupture of a blood-vessel in any part of the body. Some of the diseases of women result in this anemia. It may develop within a few hours or over a period of several days. Anemia so produced is not a disease. All the organs that have to do with making blood are in normal condition and will repair the loss of blood within a comparatively short time if blood-making foods are supplied and general hygiene is maintained.

Chronic anemia is slower in development and longer in duration. It is present in women more often than in men. Women average ten percent less blood than men of equal weight; the number of their red blood cells is lower and their blood is affected by two functions peculiar to their sex; menstruation and lactation. Intestinal parasites I cause chronic anemia quite frequently; so also do chronic dyspepsia or indigestion, or constipation of a severe degree. Fever or the general condition making fever necessary may sufficiently interfere with the nutritive processes as to result eventually in chronic anemia.

Pernicious anemia is a rare form of anemia and seems to be of comparatively recent origin. Pregnancy is a vulnerable period for its development, especially when several children have been borne in rapid succession.

However, men are more susceptible than women. In these the cause usually is undetermined. It is a serious condition appearing usually in middle life.

Causes of Anemia

Except for the acute form, anemia is a result of systemic toxemia and acidosis-a condition of poisons, toxins and accumulated waste products floating in the blood - and lymph-streams, and of enervation or lowered nerve-tone. There is either an accumulation of these injurious substances due to failure of eliminative organs to handle a normal amount of such products, or they are produced in such considerable quantities that even normal organs, eliminating a normal amount or more than a normal amount of eliminations can not remove them rapidly enough. They have the effect of poisoning the organs that make the blood cells, which produce a deficient amount of blood cells or altered blood cells.

Symptoms of Anemia

These symptoms may appear slowly or rapidly, depending upon the cause, but they include: pallor, cold and sometimes clammy skin, giddiness, weakness and faintness, noises in the ears, swimming before the eyes, a soft, feeble and rapid pulse, low or subnormal temperature, restlessness, air-hunger or shortness of breath on slight exertion, cold extremities and face, pinched features, fading of color of the gums and the lining of the upper and lower eyelids, whiteness of the finger-nails, nausea and loss of appetite. Convulsions may occur later. If due to sudden loss of blood, there may be collapse if the hemorrhage continues, and death may result if this loss is considerable or uncontrolled.

Treatment of Anemia

As with any other condition, the cause should be found and remedied if at all possible. In any case, however, it will be necessary to undergo general blood-purifying processes and prepare the way for producing more and better blood. It is necessary that the anemic individual be well nourished; but over-feeding must be avoided, as it will either aggravate the toxemia or the hemorrhage or both. In acute cases, if the loss of blood has been checked permanently simple means will bring about restoration to normal unless there is some serious underlying condition that prevents adequate nutrition, such as ulcer of the stomach or intestine. Usually in these cases wholesome diet rich in iron and all of the other necessary elements will quite quickly restore the blood to normal. There should be fresh air and sunshine provided, with rest at first and later gradually increasing activity, depending upon the absence or presence of any underlying serious condition modifying physical activity. Milk should form a good part of the diet in every case when possible.

In the chronic form a fast often is one of the best means of starting improvement. Many people fear the fast in this condition because of its associated weakness. But since one factor in the causation of the disease is toxemia, the fast is one of the best means of quickly getting the blood in a normal condition. Strength often increases from day to day in these cases even as the fast is continued. It is not necessary to continue the fast long but if possible it should continue until a normal hunger returns. Instead of an absolute fast, fair quantities of orange or grapefruit may be taken-either the fruit or the juice; or tomato juice or any other fruit juice or berry juice, such as loganberry or blackberry juice, may be taken.

The strict milk diet is a very excellent diet to use in such chronic cases. If one is below normal in weight the full milk diet may be used. Many over-weight people are anemic. These may take the milk diet also, but should so adjust the quantity that there will be a slow reduction in weight. But at the same time there is better nutrition and the formation of better blood. If this strict diet is not taken there should be an abundance of milk in the diet chosen.