Category: Diseases

Eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are serious illnesses that many women suffer from. Yes, there are some men who also suffer from eating disorders, but the majority of victims are women. There is a lot of pressure from our society today to look a certain way or to be a certain size and it can take a toll on a person. Unfortunately, some women want so much to fit an unrealistic standard that they starve themselves.

Many women actually die from eating disorders or become very sick. If you are concerned for a loved one whom you expect might be suffering from an eating disorder, then you need to find out for sure and offer help. It isn’t always easy to know if someone is struggling with an eating disorder so here are some warning signs to look out for.

Personality Change

If you notice a change in personality then you should start paying close attention. When a person is struggling with an eating disorder the tendency is for their personality to change in such a way that they are usually more irritable and less patient. Notice if they tend to have mood swings or become angry when the topic of food comes up and notice how they react when someone offers them food.

Women struggling with eating disorders also tend to become obsessed with working out or going to the gym. It is good and healthy to exercise but it can also be dangerous if one overdoes it. Notice how often they frequent the gym and if it is more than once a day, then this could be a clue.

Eating Habits

Pay close attention to what they eat, how they eat and how often they eat. If you can’t remember the last time was you had a meal with that person or when you last saw them eat, then this could be a sign.

If you notice that they don’t eat for long periods of time and then gorge themselves on junk food later, then they could be suffering from bulimia.

Physical Appearance

One obvious hint would be that the person is much skinnier. But if they are anorexic or bulimic then they might also have the appearance of being sick. They could look pale and tired.

If you believe someone to have an eating disorder then you should never make jokes about that person being overweight. Even if it is in sarcasm, someone dealing with one of these illnesses will take it to heart and make the condition worse.

If you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder then don’t hesitate to get help. The longer an illness like this goes on the more difficult it becomes to treat. If you believe that a friend or family member may be anorexic or bulimic then only ask if you are serious about helping that person. It is a very difficult thing for a person to admit to and they may become defensive if asked.

Eczema is a medical term that is attached to a vast amount of skin conditions. It is also often referred to as dermatitis. Many medical terms derive from Greek words. “Eczema” is Greek, and it simply means an eruption. When applied to define a skin condition, it is referring to the rashes, redness, bumps, crusting and flaking commonly associated with this condition. “Derma” means skin. The suffix “itis” means inflammation. Together, it simply means inflamed skin.

Common Symptoms of Eczema

Any irritation of the skin that manifests as a rash, redness, dry area, cracking skin, bumps, blisters, crusty areas, flaking of dead skin cells and areas that seep clear fluid are lumped in the medical category of eczema. However, the cause of the eczema, or dermatitis, helps to further define the condition so that proper treatment options may be pursued.

One trait common to most any type of eczema, regardless of cause, is that it is very likely to be very itchy. A problem with the itchiness is that it usually leads to incessant scratching. The act of scratching then often leads to a secondary infection of the skin.

Acute or Chronic Eczema

Eczema can range from a temporary condition to a chronic one. For example, eczema caused by exposure to something that one is allergic to will likely resolve once the allergen is removed. When an external allergen such as a new laundry soap or poison ivy triggers eczema symptoms, it would be diagnosed as contact dermatitis, and it be expected to resolve once exposure to the allergen ceases.

Chronic eczema would be associated as a symptom of other disease conditions such as an infection with the herpes simplex virus that causes eczema herpeticum. Celiac disease as well as some other digestive problems can also manifest with chronic eczema symptoms. Mutation in the genes that produce filaggrin (a protein) can predispose individuals to getting a severe form of eczema known as ichthyosis vulgaris.

Eczema Treatment Options

The most commonly prescribed treatments for symptoms of eczema are corticosteroid creams as well as ointments and moisturizers. Steroid creams and ointments are available in strengths from the mild over-the-counter hydrocortisone to the potent prescription clobetasol propionate. Doctors may even prescribe oral steroid medications to get severe eczema under control. Some forms of chronic eczema may be treated with a daily immunosuppressant therapy medication to control and lessen the severity of symptoms.

Eczema is treated depending on the location of the outbreak and the cause. Seborrhoeic dermatitis (eczema) that manifests as flaking on the scalp is dandruff. It is often treated with shampoos that contain zinc or coal tar. Hand eczema, an often chronic condition, that causes splitting of the skin at fingertips and knuckles is often treated with steroid ointments and creams initially. It then responds well to barrier creams that contain dimethicone.

Other forms of eczema may respond well to light therapy where the affected skin is exposed to specific wavelengths of light for specific amounts of time. Those with eczema that responds well to light therapy may get relief with just a little controlled exposure to sunshine.

Eczema may be mild and temporary to a lifelong condition that flares in severity from time to time. Eczema may be caused by something that is touched, something in the diet, an underlying disease condition, or even miscoded genetics. It is therefore important to get a proper diagnosis of what the cause of the eczema is. It is not uncommon to need blood testing or even skin biopsies to rule out other causes in the effort to determine the actual cause of eczema.

Are you S.A.D.?

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S.A.D., resembles depression. The cause is the lack of serotonin production throughout the fall and winter seasons in many parts of the United States, and the world.

Without appropriate amounts of sunlight, your body is not able to produce the same amount of serotonin. A limited ability to be outside in nature with regular intervals of fresh air can cause feelings of sadness, hopelessness, despair, anxiety, lack of energy, loss of appetite or regular episodes of overeating, an increased desire to sleep, decreased energy levels, social withdrawal and a preference for being alone, a loss in previously enjoyed activities, weight gain, difficulty concentrating, and an overall sense of depression.

Try these 5 holistic ways to combat the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder:

1. Move Your Body

Getting enough exercise and activity each day is important for everyone, and even more so for those suffering from S.A.D. Without taking on a marathon, try adding just 30 minutes of activity each day. Is there a yoga or pilates studio nearby you’ve been wanting to try? Do you already belong to a gym, but barely go?

Make 2014 the year you swim, participate in a group exercise class, or simply walk on the treadmill three to five times a week. You will be surprised by how much better you feel with just a little activity.

2. Eat Mindfully

When you crave a big greasy meal or a sugary dessert, ask yourself: will this food give me any helpful vitamins and nutrients? Instead, opt for something that does. Adding green vegetables and adequate fruits, while reducing sugar and fat intake, will yield great improvement in your mental wellbeing.

3. Avoid Caffeine

In our current society, coffee is an expected way to start the day. What the masses don’t know is that caffeine actually suppresses serotonin, so if you can wait at least until later in the day to consume your caffeine, you maintain a great portion of your naturally produced serotonin and elevated mood.

4. Eliminate Alcohol

At the end of a long day, a beer, a glass of wine, or a cocktail may sound appealing, but in the same manner as caffeine, your body is being stripped of its own “happy chemicals” when alcohol is consumed. When you’re experiencing symptoms of S.A.D., cut out all alcohol so you can start the next day with a healthier level of serotonin.

5. Create a Routine

With all these changes, be kind to yourself, but set your days and weeks up in a way that supports your success. If you generally work late on Mondays, get ample exercise, eat well, and don’t drink much caffeine or alcohol over the weekend. Go home after work, make yourself a healthy dinner, and then relax. Set up Tuesday morning or evening as your next time for exercise. Whatever your life looks like, create a schedule that you like, for the most part, and can stick to day after day.

With exercise, healthy eating, little to no caffeine or alcohol, and adherence to a routine, you will find the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder reduce and you will feel like yourself again.

Jared Friedman is a quality improvement manager who works at dual diagnosis treatment center and currently focuses on depression treatment at Sovereign Health.

I never did think I had brain damage. –Leon Spinks

In one of the greatest upsets in boxing history, Leon Spinks defeated Muhammad Ali and won the World Heavyweight Title on February 15, 1978 in Las Vegas Nevada. His career boxing record was a total of 46 fights, 26 wins, 14 wins by KO, 17 losses and 3 draws. He also competed in the Olympic games in 1976 and won Gold for Boxing as a Light heavyweight. While in 1974, he won the Bronze medal in the World Amateur Championship as a Light Heavyweight in Havana Cuba. Now, you have to assume that being a professional boxer, Mr. Spinks has been hit in the head a great number of times. And often enough, those punches were delivered by some extremely strong individuals.

Mr. Spinks admits that he never thought he had brain damage and that is exactly the error in thinking most of us would fall victim to. It is extremely difficult to judge head trauma yourself… as after all, it was your brain that’s been rattled. Not to mention, boxers and non-boxers alike have died from receiving single punches perfectly placed. Can you recall the last time your heads received a good knocking? If you can’t.. that in itself is a problem. But if you have been and can remember, chances are you suffered some form of brain damage even if it was only minor.

Anyone can suffer from brain damage, and beyond being struck or hit in the head, you can suffer from it due to other causes as well. But sadly, many people are unable realize they’ve been so severely injured. For example, High School Football players colliding repeatedly in games and practices, hitting and rattling their heads frequently and often. Humans are tough enough to perhaps withstand a single or a few good blows, but repeated hits over a course of time can cause severe brain damage, and can even lead to further problems such as Dementia years later.

The biggest issue with brain damage beyond not being able to physically see something is wrong without an MRI is that often the symptoms can be bearable which keeps people from actually getting checked out. In order to help understand how serious an issue this can be and to protect yourself and loved ones in the future, read the following on statistics, types, causes, and symptoms of Brain Damage.  You may be surprised as to what you may find. Because after all, Mr. Spink thought he was safe… and that man has probably taken thousands of punches directly to his head. Any other person would obviously think brain damage would have occurred.

Brain Damage Statistics

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Nearly 1/3 of injury related deaths are due to a form Brain Damage
• Every year, around 230,000 hospitalizations occur due to a form of Brain Damage
• Around 2% of the U.S population has to live with disabilities due to Brain Damage
• Every 15 seconds an American sustains serious Brain Damage
• Roughly 50,000 patients die every year as a result of Brain Damage
• For children aged up to 14 there is an estimated 2,700 deaths, 37,000 hospitalizations, and 435,000 emergency visits every year

Types of Brain Damage

There are two types of Brain Damage that can occur: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). TBI occurs when the head is struck with some degree of force. The damage done is also dependent on the total force, location of the strike, and number of strikes. Of course, whether someone was wearing a helmet, or is simply thick skulled, also determines the amount of damage done. ABI occurs in every other scenario when force is not the cause of damage.

Due to the brazen nature and high risk behaviors of males, they are typically more at risk and especially those between the ages of 15 and 24 are most vulnerable. The most susceptible however are children and the elderly as you could imagine. Shaken Baby Syndrome for example occurs when an adult shakes a baby, usually out of frustration that the child won’t stop crying. As a result, the child’s brain rattles inside their skull and becomes permanently damaged.

Common Causes For Brain Damage

Common causes for Traumatic Brain Damage:

• Car Accidents
• Sport Injuries (Boxing, Football, and Rugby top the list for the most common)
• Falling (Slipping in the shower, on ice, on wet floors)
• Accidents (Essentially any accident where your head is struck such as falling off your bicycle)
• Physical Violence

Common causes for Acquired Brain Damage:

• Being exposed to toxic or poisonous chemicals and substances
• Infections from diseases
• Choking, drowning, or be strangled (Anything that cuts air off to the brain)
• Strokes
• Heart Attacks
• Brain Tumors
• Aneurysms
• Neurological Illnesses
• Abuse and use of illegal narcotics

Symptoms of Brain Damage

It’s easy enough to understand the various ways your brain can become injured; however it is a much more difficult task being able to notice the symptoms of Brain Damage. Especially when attempting to notice it in yourself. If you fear you have brain damage, be sure to ask friends and family if they’ve noticed anything different about you. And if your worries and fears only continue to grow, be sure to get checked out by a medical professional. There are four types of symptoms of Brain Damage to be aware of: Cognitive, Perceptual, Physical, and Behavioral/Emotional.

Cognitive Symptoms

• Inability or difficulty when processing information
• Inability or difficulty expressing thoughts or emotions
• Inability or difficulty when attempting to understand what others say
• Decreased attention span
• Reduced or impaired decision-making skills
• Loss of either long-term or short-term memory

Perceptual Symptoms

• Changes to vision, hearing, or sense of touch
• Spatial recognition (depths are off visibly)
• A loss of a sense of time, unable to tell how much time has passed
• Odd smells and tastes noticed
• Loss of balance
• Inability to deal with pain as well

Physical Symptoms

• Constant headaches
• Easily becoming mentally fatigued
• Easily becoming physically fatigued
• Paralysis
• Tremors, shaking, and seizures
• Sensitivity to light
• Odd sleep patterns
• Irregular or slurred speech
• Loss of Consciousness

Behavioral/Emotional Symptoms

• Increased irritability and a lack of patience
• Inability to deal with stress
• Constantly feeling tired and sluggish
• Reduced or increased reactions to emotions
• Inability to recognize a disability (balance, speech, sight, etc)
• An overly aggressive attitude

Most Common Symptoms Overall

• Confusion
• Fatigue, lethargy, and changes in sleeping patterns
• Easily becoming lost or confused
• Constant headaches
• Persistent pain in neck
• Slowness overall of actions
• Stark mood swings
• Becoming dizzy easily
• Easily distracted
• Increased sensitivity to sound and light
• A loss of senses (smell, taste, touch)
• Constant Nausea
• Listlessness
• Tinnitus (sharp ringing in ear)

The author of this piece is Damien S. Wilhelmi. If you enjoyed this article you can follow me on Twitter @CustParadigm. When I’m not writing about traumatic injuries for a local Brain Injury Attorney in Colorado, I’m generally reading what I can to keep on top of the laws surrounding this issue.

Fever is not a disease. It is a symptom. When any bacterial or viral infection enters our body, it puts up its defence. In. such a situation, the temperature of our body rises. This we call fever. There is a breakdown of the body protein and loss of other nutrients as well. For this reason, and because there is usually a loss of appetite and consequent diminished food intake, a person having fever loses weight; and if the fever is prolonged, he may even become severely emaciated. With fever there is also an increased amount of excretion of vitamins B complex and C, through urine.

In any kind of fever, an effort should be made to prevent the undue loss of body protein by taking a diet in which the protein content is in excess of the normal requirement. There is no ground for the old belief that a high protein intake increases the fever, nor is it right to follow the old saying, ‘feed the cold and starve the fever’.

Diet management in fever is made more difficult by the loss of appetite associated with most fevers, and it may be further complicated by the presence of nausea. Much can be done to help by ensuring that the patient’s mouth is kept clean. If the tongue is furred, it should not be surprising that the patient has distaste for food.

Using a mouthwash before and after each meal would be of great help. Fresh cucumber or tomato with a little salt, pepper and lime juice is a good appetiser.

To conclude if your baby is teething or not you must ask few questions to yourself. Whether she becoming visible to be fussier? Is she weeping at dark? Does she stick to you? Is she oozing in extreme quantities? Is she gnawing up on her hand or things?
Have her gums turned red and swollen? Is she demanding extra breast otherwise bottle feeding? Conversely, does she refuse breast or bottle feeding for the reason that you assume the sucking is aching her gums? Further signs consist of poor hunger as well as broken up sleep patterns?

All these signs are symptoms of teething.

Here are few cures to ease uneasiness due to teething:

• Massage her inflamed gums by means of your finger using a mild contact (rinse your hands completely first).
• Lay a cold washcloth drenched with apple juice in the baby’s jaws. (The washcloth should be cleaned earlier than being waterlogged, the overload juice wringed out as well as attached in a loop. place it in the cold storage for about one-half hour).
• Allow your kid chew on a Popsicle, a cooled but not freezing teething ring or else a freezing banana.
• Provide your little one Acetaminophen (Tylenol) for a small number of days if the baby is itchy, otherwise
• Provide your baby Advil (Ibuprofen) if Tylenol is not effective. Ibuprofen can be better as it includes an anti-inflammatory element moreover Tylenol does not.

Definition

Presenting signs and symptoms of adrenal disorders are those of excessive or insufficient hormone production. Addison’s disease implies adrenal gland damage thus causing aldosterone, adrenal androgen, and cortisol deficiency. Overproduction can be that of glucocorticoid (Cushing syndrome), mineralocorticoid, or catecholamine.

Symptoms

Adrenal insufficiency: Dizziness, fatigue, weakness, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, hyperpigmentation (nails, palmar creases), and salt craving.

Adrenal excess: Weakness, weight gain, hirsuitism, skin infections, acne, emotional instability, palpitations, headaches, and diaphoresis.

General: The symptoms may be insidious. New onset weight gain or loss, glucose intolerance, or hypertension may indicate glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid, or catecholamine excess. Inadequate adrenal hormone production may not be noted until a stressful event (e.g., myocardial infarction, pneumonia) precipitates a crisis.

Age: Any, although more common in adults and women.

Onset: Gradual to acute.

Duration: Months to years.

Intensity: Asymptomatic to acute crisis.

Aggravating Factors

Adrenal insufficiency: Stress, illness, trauma, or dehydration.

Adrenal excess: Medical illness requiring large dose steroid therapy (systemic lupus erythematosus, organ transplants). Use of beta blockers in the presence of pheochromocytoma may cause an increase in blood pressure.

Symptoms

• Adrenal insufficiency: Dizziness, fatigue, weakness, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, hyperpigmentation (nails, palmar creases), and salt craving.
• Adrenal excess: Weakness, weight gain, hirsuitism, skin infections, acne, emotional instability, palpitations, headaches, and diaphoresis.
• General: The symptoms may be insidious. New onset weight gain or loss, glucose intolerance, or hypertension may indicate glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid, or catecholamine excess. Inadequate adrenal hormone production may not be noted until a stressful event (e.g., myocardial infarction, pneumonia) precipitates a crisis.

Age:Any, although more common in adults and women.

Onset: Gradual to acute.

Duration: Months to years.

Intensity: Asymptomatic to acute crisis.

Aggravating Factors

Adrenal insufficiency: Stress, illness, trauma, or dehydration.

Adrenal excess: Medical illness requiring large dose steroid therapy (systemic lupus erythematosus, organ transplants). Use of beta blockers in the presence of pheochromocytoma may cause an increase in blood pressure.

Alleviating Factors

• Adrenal insufficiency: Correction of underlying medical illness, replacement of hormone.
• Adrenal excess: Tapering of hormone replacement or removal of adrenal tumors.
• Associated Factors Adrenal insufficiency: Need to check if mineralocorticoid (aldosterone) insufficiency is severe enough to cause hypotension, salt loss, or hyperkalemia. Exclude pituitary insufficiency with lack of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), thus exhibiting cortisol insufficiency, but not mineralocorticoid insufficiency (mineralocorticoid system would still be intact since this system does not require ACTH and reninangiotensin system can continue to stimulate aldosterone release).
• Adrenal excess: Endocrine excess from the adrenal gland may be due to pheochromocytoma causing hypertension. If a pituitary adenoma causes ACTH secretion (Cushing’s disease), bilateral adrenal hyperplasia may result. Secondary hyperaldosteronism (not due to adrenal tumor) may occur with renal artery stenosis, diuretics, volume depletion, or ectopic ACTH secretion.

Physical Examination

General

• Adrenal insufficiency: The patient may appear normal or have labile emotions.
• Adrenal excess: Patient may have obvious signs of truncal obesity with a buffalo hump, hirsuitism, extremity muscle wasting, acne, or have labile emotions.

Cardiovascular

• Adrenal insufficiency: Hypotension may be present due to cortisol or mineralocorticoid deficiency.
• Adrenal excess: Hypertension may be seen with mineralocorticoid, glucocorticoid, or catecholamine excess.

Extremities

• Adrenal insufficiency: Increased pigmentation (see skin examination).
• Adrenal excess: Muscle wasting and fungal infections in nails or skin are seen in Cushing’s disease.Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose, and Throat (HEENT)
• Adrenal excess: Buffalo hump, moon facies, and cataracts may be seen with cortisol excess.

Genitourinary

• Adrenal excess: Fungal infections with Cushing’s disease.
• Neuropsychiatric Adrenal insufficiency: Labile emotions.
• Adrenal excess: Depression, labile emotions, hallucinations with high cortisol levels.

Skin

• Adrenal insufficiency: Evaluate for hyperpigmentation in the palmar creases, fingernails, elbows, knees, buccal mucosa, areolae, and nipples (due to elevated ACTH levels). Axillary and pubic hair may be less prominent in females due to a lack of adrenal androgens.
• Adrenal excess: Striae, acne, hirsuitism, easy bruiseability, and thin skin are all seen due to elevated glucocorticoid.

Pathophysiology

• Adrenal insufficiency: Autoimmune damage to the adrenal gland is the most common cause of primary adrenal insufficiency (approximately 80 percent of cases). Other causes include tuberculosis, heparin therapy, trauma, metastatic carcinoma, fungal infections and complications of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). For secondary adrenal insufficiency, the cause is lack of ACTH due to pituitary or hypothalamic dysfunction.
• Adrenal excess: Cushing syndrome refers to patient presentations with steroid excess. Cushing’s disease is specifically due to ACTH excess of pituitary origin with high glucocorticoid levels. Adrenal tumors, ectopic ACTH production, and bilateral nodular hyperplasia may all cause Cushing syndrome. Mineralocorticoid excess may be primary (adrenal adenoma or hyperplasia) or secondary (reno vascular diseases, high renin states). High levels of glucocorticoids have a mineralocorticoid effect. Pheochromocytoma is a rare endocrine tumor that may cause hyper

Bronchial asthma is the most serious allergic disease, and often fatal. The bronchial tubes are narrowed by spasmodic contractions and they secrete an excess of mucus. Hence breathing becomes difficult. The victim wheezes and coughs and feels as if his chest were caught in a vice. An asthmatic attack may last for minutes, hours, or days. The spasm of the bronchial muscles can usually be relieved by adrenalin. Every effort must be made to identify the offending allergen for long-continued asthma can produce serious changes in the lungs.

Orange, garlic, lemon, musumbi (lime), carrot, beet and spinach juice will be very useful.

Check out the Complete Asthma Guide

This can be very serious, because infants are so easily dehydrated. In treating infectious diarrhea in infants, doctors often tell mothers to omit milk from the diet and replace it with ‘clear fluids’, ‘including carbonated beverages, juices and soups such as chicken and beef broth. However, many such fluids contain so much sugar or salt that they actually may worsen and prolong the baby’s illness, according to studies at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (Canadian Medical Association Journal, 8 September 1979).

The high sugar content of many carbonated beverages, juices and other liquids may cause a sugar-induced diarrhea. It has been recommended that beverages containing a lot of sugar be diluted to at least half strength to avoid problems.

High concentrations of salt, common in some prepared soups, pose another potential hazard. Too much salt in dehydrated children can make them vulnerable to complications such as seizures and irreversible brain damage. Because of the extraordinarily high salt content of many commercial soups, the researchers suggested-that homemade soups with no added salt might be more acceptable

Dangerously high amounts of salt or sugar also can arise when liquids are prepared from crystals or concentrate, the researchers noted. Adding extra amounts from a package or incorrect measuring can make the salt or sugar levels higher than they should be.

The (US) Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia recommend the following as one type of homemade fluid therapy to combat dehydration: combine 8 fl. oz of fruit juice (orange, apple or other), half a teaspoon of honey and a pinch of salt in a glass. In a second glass combine 8 fl. oz of boiled or carbonated water and a quarter teaspoon of baking soda. Have the baby drink alternately each mixture. Additional carbonated beverages or water should be drunk and solid foods and milk should be avoided until recovery .

Breast milk protects against diarrhea

Breastfed babies are far less likely to develop dangerous intestinal infections, than bottle-fed babies, say two California paediatricians. Over a period of two years, Spencer A. Larsen, Jr. and Daryl R. Homer, studied all the infants under one year old who were admitted with severe vomiting and diarrhea to the Kaiser – Permanente Medical Group hospital in Hayward California. Of the , 107 babies, they found that only one was breastfed at the time of admission – far fewer than in the general population served by the medical group.

About one-third of the hospitalized bottle-fed infants were breastfed at birth, the doctors said, but all had gone on the bottle at least a month before they became sick. These findings suggest that ‘breastfeeding plays a major role in protection against intestinal infections,’ the researchers concluded, and they pointed out that similar studies in Britain and in underdeveloped countries have shown the same thing.

Get more information on diarrhea and home remedies for diarrhea

A 66-year-old woman who was a patient of two doctors in Miami Beach, had a three-month history of severe chronic diarrhea, having to go to the toilet between 12 and 50 times a day. Yet, there was no mucus, blood, cramp, fever nutritional deficiency or other signs of real illness. X-rays and probes of various kinds revealed nothing of interest. Making it all the more frustrating, every kind of anti-diarrhea medicine in the book was tried without success.

What was the problem?

Chewing gum, her doctors say.’When dietary history was re-examined at length,’ they wrote in the American Journal of Digestive Diseases, it was revealed that the patient habitually chew.ed 50 to 100 sticks of sugarless chewing gum daily, to aid her in weight reduction. Upon abrupt withdrawal of chewing gum, all diarrhea ceased and gastro-intestinal complaints abated.’ The explanation for this chewing-gum effect is that most sugarless gums, well as many foods for diabetics contain sorbitol, and this, it turns out tends to have a laxative effect in large doses. Usually, in an adult, that effect would not be noticed unless the person was consuming 10 or more pieces of gum a day. At the rate of 50 or even 100 a day, the effect can be disastrous. Drs Lee D. Goldbetg”and Norman T. Ditchek dubbed the syndrome ‘chewing- gum diarrhea