Updated Monday, May 21 2012 at 22:00 GMT+3

By Veronica Kirigo

If you have experienced frequent and persistent cases of heartburn and indigestion, you need to seek medical attention as the problem could be bigger than these symptoms may suggest. Medical experts say such symptoms may point to an endemic condition known as reflux disorder, which if untreated, may lead to serious diseases such as cancer, strictures and ear and teeth complications.

Thus, you should not ignore these symptoms or rush for known over-the-counter medication as you may be treating symptoms as a serious medical disorder worsens, doctors now warn.

At a recent meeting on the effective management of Reflux Disorder, doctors and pharmacists said a majority of Kenyans, who are not aware of the condition, have been treating the symptoms with over-the-counter antacids, which do not treat the illness.

“we have been treating the iceberg, with the patient going to see a specialist when the condition is so severe,” said Prof Godfrey Lule a consultant gastrointestinal.

He observed that there has been a notable increase in the new and recurrent cases of reflux disorder they are handling.

“we see four patients out of 20 with reflux disorder. this cases are severe and in need of specialised treatment,” said Lule.

He attributed the situation to multiple causes owing to the type of lifestyle people are living. “with the changing lifestyles, we have seen more people turning to spicy foods. this, coupled with other factors such as stress, alcohol consumption and smoking, has seen more people suffer from illnesses relating to the digestive system and particularly reflux disorder.”

Lule cautioned that although the main symptoms are heartburn and indigestion, there are other problems that manifest and conceal the diseases.

For those patients who don’t self-medicate or use milk to relive heartburn, they see clinical officers or pharmacists for help.

The health expert says due to the recurrent episodes of discomfort in the stomach, the sufferers have limited productivity at work or in schools.

Lule cautions that failure to seek prompt treatment exposes individuals to the need for prolonged medication or surgery.

People also continue to subject themselves to unnecessary suffering by consuming foods that aggravate the problem.

You can’t prevent every trip to the emergency room, but simple steps can keep you safe — or keep you alive when the worst happens.

Americans made more than 119 million visits to emergency rooms in 2006, according to the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care. among the most common causes cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are trauma, abdominal pain, chest pain, fever and acute upper respiratory infection.

To find out how to cope with those issues, we turned to experts.

To help you keep out of the ER, they say you should be getting ongoing care from a primary physician who may be able to catch small problems before they escalate. at the same time, they echo the position of the American College of Emergency Physicians: Don’t hesitate if you are experiencing bleeding you can’t stop, gaping wounds, breathing troubles, chest pain, extreme pain, vomiting that will not stop, extremely high fever or suicidal thoughts.

In addition, they note that the danger signs for children sometimes vary from those for adults; parents should consult with their pediatricians for symptoms that warrant an ER visit, such as any fever in a baby less than 3 months old.

When it comes to preventing and coping with the most common ER problems, here’s the advice we received from Dr. Matt Bush, Medical City Dallas Hospital’s Medical Director of Emergency Services; Dr. Ketan Trivedi, emergency department medical director at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center; and Dr. Halim Hennes, medical division director of pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s Medical Center.

Prevention: Use bike helmets, seat belts and motorcycle helmets when you ride. Watch children in grocery carts to make sure they don’t fall. be wary of sharp objects. Practice safety measures around swimming pools.

Before heading to the ER: Immobilize broken arms and legs with a straight object wrapped alongside the bone with a bandage. Create a sling for an arm with a large cloth pinned with a safety pin over the shoulder.

Put an ice pack on any area that is swelling. Stop bleeding with pressure. Apply gauze and wrap the bandage around the gauze. be aware that anyone taking blood thinners is at increased risk for excessive bleeding and should share that information with the ER staff. Know the signs of concussion and get checked out immediately if the person shows signs of headache, nausea, confusion or slurred speech after hitting his head.

Use CPR immediately on someone who doesn’t have a pulse. Each second without oxygen can cause permanent damage to the organs.

Prevention: Maintain a healthful lifestyle, and don’t be a weekend warrior who exercises inconsistently. see your family practitioner regularly and be aware of your stroke and heart attack risk. Sweating and shortness of breath are red flags for a serious problem.

Before heading to the ER: call 911 and go in an ambulance, where technicians can help if your condition worsens. Baby aspirin helps thin the blood, which can avoid clots in most cases but can make things worse if the problem is aortic dissection, or bleeding of the main artery from the heart.

Prevention: Make good food choices, because abdominal pain can be caused by indigestion. if it is, over-the-counter stomach medication may offer relief.

Pain can also be caused by food poisoning, appendicitis, diverticulitis, inflammation or colitis. Expectant mothers should ask about a possible ectopic pregnancy. if a head injury is involved, let the ER staff know immediately, as this could be a sign of a fatal blood clot.

Before heading to the ER: if you’re vomiting, stay hydrated. Drink a half-ounce of clear liquid every 15 minutes and continue as long as it stays down. take ibuprofen and aspirin for pain and fever as needed.

Respiratory diffi culty

Prevention: be aware of triggers for breathing problems — smoke or allergies — and avoid them if possible. People with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, are at the greatest risk for respiratory difficulty. if you have signs of bronchitis, see your family practitioner before it leads to pneumonia.

Before heading to the ER: People with breathing conditions should use an inhaler and go to the doctor immediately for treatment. Stay calm, as hyperventilation can aggravate the problem.

Prevention: Avoid germs by washing hands frequently and not sharing drinks or utensils. Cough into your sleeve rather than your hand. Use hand sanitizers. Check with your primary care physician to make sure you are up to date on vaccinations.

Before heading to the ER: Babies younger than 3 months, senior citizens, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, patients taking steroids and people with a weakened immune system should go to the hospital with any fever, says the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Danger signs for otherwise healthy people can be a fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, a fever that lasts for more than four to five days, trouble breathing, a change in behavior, headache or neck stiffness. be alert to exposure to bacterial or viral infections if the person is not vaccinated or has been recently exposed to possible parasites or bacteria in the water.

Bacteria can cause potentially fatal infectious diseases if they get into cuts and wounds. Wash open or infected areas well with soap and water and apply antibiotic ointment and bandages. Bring fever down with acetaminophen or ibuprofen and stay hydrated.

Even ER doctors find themselves rushing to the hospital sometimes. Trivedi recalls being at a play with his wife and three children when the youngest, who was 2, started playing with his wife’s purse. “one minute she had a quarter in her hand and the next minute it disappeared,” he recalls. “I asked her, ‘Where is that quarter?’ and she pointed to her mouth.”

The American Academy of Family Physicians advises taking a child who has swallowed a battery or something sharp or metal like a coin to a doctor immediately. Even though most small objects will pass through the gut without causing problems, things can get stuck in a child’s windpipe that could prove dangerous even in the absence of obvious symptoms such as vomiting, gagging, drooling, not eating, stomach pain, coughing or wheezing.

Happily, the X-ray at the ER showed that the coin passed safely through his daughter’s system. But Trivedi doesn’t regret the trip.

“better safe than sorry,” he says.

Most people who visit a chiropractor with back pain aren’t thinking about their diet, but that is exactly what Dr. Katie Drake says they should be doing.

“Most people do not realize how important nutrition is to every part of the body and how powerful it is when it comes to healing the body rather than just covering up symptoms,” Drake, 25, said.

Drake, a doctor of chiropractic, graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic last December and has settled at Bemis Chiropractic in Godfrey as an internal health specialist.

“I was raised on the idea of a holistic approach to total health from a young age,” she said. “My father owned Nautilus Fitness Center, and he was big on doing everything as natural as possible.”

Employing the Loomis system, a focus on incorporating enzymes and nutrition into overall health, Drake teaches patients how what they eat can affect most of the aches and pains from which they are seeking relief.

“My goal is to remove stress from the body so the organ systems can work as they are intended to,” she said. “We use natural herbs and enzymes to heal the body from the inside out. Chronic aches and pains, acid reflux and indigestion, immune dysfunction, infertility, skin disorders, and arthritis are just a few of the things we attack with this approach.”

Years, sometimes decades, of an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to a multitude of health problems, including chiropractic issues, Drake says.

“The way people live really puts a stress on their digestive tract,” she said. “That makes it difficult for their bodies to deal with everyday functions and problems.

Drake works to combat the three types of stresses – mechanical, emotional and nutritional.

“The mechanical can be taken care of through (chiropractic) adjustments, the emotional has to be taken care of by the patient, and the nutritional is what I specialize in,” she said. “I am very passionate about educating my patients. I provide them with supplements and enzymes, but also the knowledge to create a healthy lifestyle.

“People eat a very processed diet, with a lot of foods that have had enzymes removed to be able to stay on the shelf longer. your body needs those enzymes that have been taken out of the food.”

The young nutritionist credits her background with helping her reach her goals.

“Dr. Frank (Bemis) has been my doctor since I was two years old, so I literally grew up in this office,” she said. “I am one of those lucky people who has found what they are meant to do in life. I cannot imagine doing anything else.”

Drake lives in the area and is engaged to Jacob Sherer of Springfield, Ill., himself an internal health specialist.

“We met while we were both attending Logan,” she said. “We only see each other on the weekends, so our down time is pretty important. We do love to be outdoors, and we like boating. I love the water, and he loves water sports, so we live for that in the summer.”

Drake is a personal trainer at Nautilus, and also will be conducting chiropractic consultations by appointment there on Mondays.

She also plans to have monthly lectures and discussions. Upcoming topics include heartburn, attention deficit disorder and nutrition, and infertility.

For more information, call (618) 463-1600.

Chepstow woman’s Race for Life is tribute to husband

11:50am Friday 23rd March 2012 in News

TWO years after her husband died of stomach cancer, his wife Jo Rees, with her family and friends are backing the Race for Life in memory of him.

less than a month before being diagnosed with stomach cancer Barry Rees was playing five-a-side football regularly – but within four months of diagnosis, he was dead.

Jo, 38, still struggles to comprehend the speed with which the disease took her husband from her and their two children Luke, six, and four-year- old Amelia.

she admits to days when she feels like “climbing into a dark cupboard and not coming out”. but she is also confronting the hurt and despair head-on, by corralling friends into taking part in Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, to raise money for research.

Mrs Rees, of Chepstow, said her engineer husband, was physically fit with a healthy lifestyle, and they did not even consider cancer as a possibility.

“He had some symptoms with indigestion the previous autumn, but it had been a stressful year for us both and we suspected a stomach ulcer,” she said.

“It wasn’t until Christmas that he started to get really ill. He became very weak, to the extent that he couldn’t even hold a screwdriver to assemble the children’s Christmas toys.”

mr Rees was admitted to the Royal Gwent Hospital on Boxing Day 2010, and the diagnosis came two weeks later. Stomach cancer can be particularly difficult to detect, and thus to treat, as symptoms often only manifest themselves once the disease is well-established.

“The cancerous cells were in the stomach lining, so there was no obvious tumour or growth. Barry understood the consequences, because he had researched stomach cancer as a possibility when he first became unwell,” said Mrs Rees.

“I was totally unprepared though, and just couldn’t take it in.

“The implications for me and our children, who were two and four years old at the time, were im-mense.”

After two full cycles of chemotherapy, mr Rees began then stopped a third, as the cancer was not responding, and the couple felt it was robbing him of his quality of life.

Mrs Rees recalls a “nightmarish”

time, wanting to be there for her husband and the children.

“I’d often stay up all night with Barry, then drive home to be there for the children in the morning. I don’t know how I got through it,” she said.

“My friends and family were great though, often just popping round with food because I didn’t have much time or energy for cooking.

“The hospital also helped, providing a bed so I could get some rest while with Barry.”

Mrs Rees also had the heartbreaking task of breaking the news to her children, and was helped to prepare for it by a support worker from St David’s Foundation Hospice Care.

“I wanted to be open and honest with them and explain the situation in terms they would understand,”

she said.

mr Rees died on April 7, 2010, aged just 37.

More News stories

Copyright © Mindful Mum 2009 – 2012. All rights reserved. Web design by dreilly.co.uk. Web development by RSGWD.

This site is published by the Mum Dad Baby Group (Mum Dad Baby Ltd), which is responsible for its contents as outlined in the terms & conditions. it is intended for visitors from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The information presented on this website is not intended as specific medical advice and is not a substitute for professional medical treatment or diagnosis. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult a doctor or other healthcare professional.

Please review the terms & conditions before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by these terms & conditions.

RESTON, Va., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Link Solutions, Inc. (LSi), a rapidly growing provider of high-end solutions to the federal government, announced today that it has received International Standards Organization (ISO) 20000 certification.

ISO 20000 is a customer-focused international standard that contains the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices for information technology (IT) service management, for the most cost-effective and efficient service delivery. The ISO 20000 Standard promotes an integrated process approach to deliver managed service in order to meet requirements.

LSi was presented with a Certificate of Registration for ISO 20000 and now holds Certificate Number: A1013UIT. with this, LSi becomes the 36th Company in the U.S. to attain this certification. We are now one of very few Small Businesses to have this certification and ISO 9001:2008.

To gain certification, LSI was required to pass a challenging evaluation of our management practices conducted by an independent auditor. LSi’s ISO 20000 initiative began in early 2009, and was led by the company’s President and COO, John Barrass. Less than a year after beginning preparation, LSi passed the formal assessment which was conducted by QAS International.

“Our ISO 20000 certification was a definite milestone for LSi and reaffirms our unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and continual improvement,” said the company’s Founder and CEO, Bhupesh Wadhawan. “with a strong management team, capable employees, excellent training, and a dedication to delivering quality services, LSi has earned a well-regarded reputation among customers for outstanding performance of their mission-critical systems.”

The ISO 20000 certification confirms that LSi’s management practices and processes are tightly controlled and applied consistently. The quality of service delivered to our customers is enhanced and improved through the reduction of process inconsistencies, and customer feedback becomes paramount to decisions made by LSi management in the future direction of what the organization can provide.

About Link Solutions

Since 2006, LSi has provided the U.S. government with mission critical solutions — supporting our employees and Partners as an engine to drive the support to customers’ missions. Solutions are developed in our core competencies of information technology, security solutions and Business Operations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, LSi is committed to ensuring repeatable processes with high-quality, low-risk results for our customers.

To learn more about Link Solutions visit linksol-inc.com

Press Contact: Chanda S. Cowger 703.707.6256 ccowger@linksol-inc.com

SOURCE Link Solutions, Inc.

RELATED LINKSlinksol-inc.com

HOUSTON–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–Physician’s Preference Vitamins & Supplements (PPVS) announced its third annual Optimal Eating Challenge: Yeast-Free with me 2012 (YFWM). YFWM is designed to give participants the tools necessary to achieve their ideal body weight and improve their overall health to kick off the New Year.

The YFWM Challenge officially begins Monday, January 16, and will end Tuesday, February 14. It includes a healthy eating program, detoxification from yeast-overgrowth, and provides the support needed along the way for success. Participants will receive weekly emails for guidance, yeast-free eating tips, a grocery shopping guide, recipe ideas, and exclusive specials as well as eligibility for giveaways. to join the PPVS team for the 30 day challenge, please visit yeastfreewithme.com, or call: 800.579.6545.

a new addition to this year’s YFWM challenge are four guest bloggers who will be featured once a week on the vitamin blog. Each YFWM team blogger will write about their biggest struggles and challenges, give you a sneak peek into their daily food dairies, and share many of their favorite yeast-free recipes.

The Optimal Eating plan focuses on eliminating the following symptoms which include but are not limited to: excess body weight, fatigue, bloating, belching, excessive gas, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, heart burn, indigestion, acid reflux, lack of energy, depressed moods, allergy symptoms, recurrent respiratory infections, fungal infections and brain fog.

Complimentary Yeast-Free Wellness Workshop

PPVS will host a YFWM Wellness Workshop Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. at Hotze Health & Wellness Center in Katy, Texas. Seats are limited, so please reserve a spot today by phone 800.579.6545 or by email at vitamins@physicianspreference.com.

to help determine the likelihood of benefiting from a yeast-free eating program, take the yeast-overgrowth quiz. to learn more about preparing for YFWM, as well as additional health benefits from going yeast-free, visit the Wellness 101 page. for more healthful cooking ideas, yeast-free recipes, and the yeast-free starter kit visit: physicianspreference.com.

About Physician’s Preference:

Physician’s Preference vitamin and supplement store, a part of Hotze Enterprises, has been leading a wellness revolution by providing vitamin and mineral supplementation of the highest quality since 1993. Physician’s Preference enables its customers to live healthier lives by helping them obtain and maintain optimal health — naturally, through natural vitamin and mineral supplementation, which contains no fillers, additives or artificial flavors. The entire product line is quality tested to ensure maximum potency, effectiveness, and has been researched and developed with your good health in mind.

Learn more at Physician’s Prefrence.com and the vitamin blog; receive health tips and special offers on Twitter @physicianspref and on Facebook.

Most people are already feeling sick from taking all sorts of food and beverages during the festive season, we will discuss about a few of the common ailments that may be affecting you these days. It is common that most of the health facilities do not have enough staff members because they are also on holiday so why not try home remedies until you get a chance to see your doctor or health professional.

Home remedies for heartburn:

Heartburn is a burning sensation and pain in the stomach and chest, behind the breastbone. The symptoms of heartburn are the following: bloating, gas, nausea, shortness of breath and/or an acidic or sour taste in the throat and mouth. Heartburn is caused when hydrochloric acid, which is use to digest food, is release up the esophagus. On its way up the acid irritates the sensitive tissues in the esophagus and throat. Usually the esophageal sphincter muscle contracts thus preventing the stomach acid from shooting up into the esophagus, but if this muscle is not functioning properly, the acid can slip past it and this is when heartburn symptoms start, however it is called Gastroesophageal reflux disease because of the muscle malfunction but it’s also known as  chronic heartburn or acid indigestion. if left un treated the repeated flow of acid through the esophagus can scar and produce changes in the cells lining, it can cause cancer later in life. a hiatus hernia develops when the stomach bulges up into the diaphragm, this condition can also cause heartburn, other triggers for heartburn are alcohol drinking, smoking and eating acidic foods.  The best solution for heartburn is the use of herbs and vegetables. Refer to your food for blood type list: n Drink Aloe Vera juice to heal the intestinal tract. n Drink Chamomile tea after meals to relieve esophageal irritation. n Drink a large glass of water at the first sign of heartburn, if the symptoms are not too strong this will help. n Make a juice using raw potatoes. Wash the potato very well do not peel it, just place it in the juicer, mix it with some other juice for taste and drink immediately after juicing.

Home remedies for a hangover:

You know you have a hangover when you have a headache, nausea, intestinal upset, and perhaps diarrhea, aches in the muscles and joints, and fatigue. you can prevent hangover by taking 6 raw almonds before imbibing to prevent intoxication. you can also take two teaspoons of evening primrose before imbibing. Eating 1 spoon of peanut butter before drinking is an African remedy.use tomato juice: to help stop the urge for alcohol drink a tangy drink, such as tomato with the juice of one lemon added.use Water: One of the best preventive measures is to drink 2-3 large glasses of water before you go to bed. Drinking alcohol is very dehydrating and hydrating your system helps counteract the effects of the alcohol.use Apples: apples eaten on an empty stomach the day after drinking is an effective remedy.Bananas: One of the quickest ways to cure a hangover is to make a banana milkshake sweetened with honey. The banana helps calm the stomach, and with the honey, builds up the depleted blood sugar levels. The milk soothes the stomach and rehydrates your system. Bananas are also rich in the important electrolytes, magnesium and potassium, which are severely depleted during heavy drinking.Chicken soup: Grandma’s old stand-by, chicken soup, seems to work as well for hangover problems as it does for colds.Feverfew: use feverfew, an herb, in place of aspirin. Aspirin is very hard on the stomach, while feverfew is not.Ginger: Take a cup of ginger tea to help soothe your stomach.Honey: Take 2-6 teaspoonfuls of honey every twenty minutes upon awaking, depending on the severity of the hangover. Continue with the honey until you start to feel better, then take four teaspoonsful with your first meal. The potassium in the honey helps counteract the effects of the alcohol and will decrease the cravings for it. Alcoholic drinks are acidic in reaction and satisfy your natural desire for an acid, the same as coffee and tea do. if you have an alcohol problem, check your body chemistry and make appropriate changes in diet and supplementation. In addition, honey contains fructose, a type of sugar that helps your body metabolize alcohol more quickly.Lemon: Add the juice of one lemon to a cup of black coffee and drink it unsweetened and without milk.Lime: As soon as you wake up on the "morning after" add two teaspoons of fresh lime juice and a teaspoon of sugar to 2 litres of water. Drink it slowly. This concoction will help stabilize your blood sugar, which will be low after imbibing.Peppermint: The herb peppermint, either in tea form or chewing the leaves, will relax the intestines. Peppermint is a carminative, which is a substance that removes accumulated gas from the stomach and intestines. Make a tea by pouring one cup of boiling water over 1-2 teaspoons of the dried herb; cover; steep for fifteen minutes; strain. Drink 1-2 cups as soon as you can. It is important to produce your own herb even if you plant it in flower pots inside the house or in the veranda.Persimmon: Eat a raw persimmon for a headache.Prickly pear cactus: Prickly pear is known to reduce inflammation, and hangover symptoms are due to an increase in inflammation. Raw cabbage Eat raw cabbage to dissipate a headache.Thyme: Make a tea by lightly crushing five fresh or dried leaves; place in a cup and fill with water cooled to just below boiling; cover and leave to infuse for five minutes; remove leaves and drink.

Natural home remedies for diarrhoea:

n Ginger tea can stop cramps and pain. n Drinks like ginger ale or carrot juice is good for making the stools less watery.n Boil brown rice and water for 45 minutes eat the rice (it contains Vitamin B) and drink the water.n Grate an apple with its skin, let it turn brown and eat it to cure this condition.n Take two lemons and squeeze the juice into a glass, and then add a half teaspoon of baking powder. Drink it down as it foams.n Take a teaspoon of paste made from equal parts powdered ginger, powdered cumin, and powdered cinnamon mixed with honey three times a day.n In a cup mix 1 tsp of Cinnamon, 1 tsp or a little bit more of sugar. Add to hot water. Stir, let cool and drink in one gulp if you can.

REMEMBER TO STICK TO YOUR FOOD FOR BLOOD TYPE LIST

“W omen Are Not Small Men” was authored by a cardiologist that indicated women rarely get treated as individuals, especially when it comes to their cardiac health. Women should pay special attention to how they feel when exerting themselves. Heavy exertions such as shoveling snow, moving furniture, gardening as well as many other strong physical activities can bring on symptoms.

Women often experience shortness of breath, unusual fatigue, or pressure lower down in the chest mistaken for a stomach ailment or digestive complaints. Frequently sleep disturbances, back pain, indigestion, heartburn, gas, bloating and sometimes anxiety can indicate cardiac problems.

When cardiac symptoms worsen, these symptoms will show up with less and less exertion and can even appear during rest. It is well documented that women can get a heart attack up to six weeks following these exertion-related symptoms.

The typical time for a woman to have a heart attack is about 10 years after menopause. That’s around age 60. the really awful statistic is two-thirds of the women who have their first heart attack die suddenly.

Once again it is important to know if you get any symptoms that show up after exertion. Heart disease accounts for more than 50 percent of all deaths in the United States and more than 50 billion dollars per year in medical expenses. It is the leading cause of death in the USA and it is one of the most preventable degenerative diseases that we currently face.

Nutrients to decrease homocysteine levels, including B6, B12, folic acid, betaine HCL, red beet root, Vitamin C and E, Co-Q10, omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids and hawthorne berries, should be taken to help nutrients specific for heart and vascular function. Exercise and diet also plays a strong role in a healthy heart.

We would like to thank our communities for their continued support for the annual “Giving Tree.” the recipient again for this year was the Iliff Head start. a special thank-you to our local churches and members of our community that were so generous with their donations. Thanks again.

God bless you all and all of our troops. Yours in good health!

• Tweet

• Tweet

Erasmo Calzadilla

[LSD] opened my eyes, made me a better, more honest and tolerant. – Paul McCartney, LIFE Magazine

HAVANA TIMES, Dec 3 — In a previous post I strongly criticized an official document (*) intended to discourage youth from abusing drugs. I criticized it for its moralistic and authoritarian arguments, its rush to demonize these substances associated with “dangers to the fatherland,” and its limited list of the causes that are today leading to an increase in the irresponsible consumption of psychoactive substances in Cuba.

In this post, I will continue the critique but will focus on the mistakes that — from a pharmacological point of view — were made in the brochure when dealing with these substances.

Let’s first look at the definition the handout gives:

“In general, drugs are any substance that are smoked, snorted, injected, or consumed in any way to produce psychic alterations such as pleasant feelings. however these create a pathological relationship with the individual in which they feel increasingly linked to the drug and are less capable of interesting themselves in or getting pleasure from the normal things of life.”

One of the most widely used devices for those who debate without solid arguments is lump all the varying cases into one category: those that excite as well as those that calm, the strong ones with the subtle, those that are dangerous to people’s health together with the relatively innocuous ones. this is precisely what was done by the author of the pamphlet and the specialists who advised him.

To prove that the information provided is false, I will concentrate on the group of psychedelic drugs or entheogens with which I’m most familiar.

It’s possible that some specific drug fits this definition, but in the case of entheogens — specifically LSD — it missed its target almost completely.

I’ll proceed by going step by step examining this definition:

Definition: “Any drug produce psychic alterations, such as pleasant feelings.”

Entheogens are not recreational drugs that are consumed to pass time having fun, to forget pain, ease the tension of socialization or other immediate benefits. They present us with our most delicate dramas in such a way that those who consume these substances usually go through emotionally difficult moments – ones that have nothing to do with fun.

After the catharsis, there usually occurs an engaging fullness, but one must pay a high price for this, something that discourages those who are seeking fun for fun’s sake.

Continuing with the definition: [these substances] “create a pathological relationship within the individual in which they feel increasingly linked to the drug…”

It’s widely documented by science that entheogens do not cause psychic or physical dependence, which is why they are used in medicine to combat dependency on other addictive substances, including alcohol.

Many people remain closely linked to entheogens, but this is due to feelings of gratitude, respect and others that are deeper. of course, there have been cases of people consuming compulsively, just as there are those who compulsively eat food or watch soap operas.

The definition concludes: [those who consume feel] “less capable of interesting themselves in or getting pleasure from the normal things of life.”

Finally, entheogens do not impede or prevent “getting pleasure from the normal things of life.” On the contrary, these drugs unbridle sensitivity and intelligence. They invite us to move forward into unexplored aspects of our relations with other beings that inhabit the world. They cause us to experience unfamiliar dilemmas that previously appeared too unreachable and remote. In other words, they cause the opposite of what was stated in the definition.

Specifically regarding LSD, the brochure reads: “It is a product highly toxic to human health, especially given the neurological impairment it produces…”

I have reviewed a large number of scientific and non-scientific articles that confirm the very low toxicity of LSD and other psychedelics in the short-term and long-term.

The “margin of safety” is a parameter used in pharmacology to assess the toxicity of a substance in the body. with aspirin, for example, it is low: 1/20. however, with LSD it is lower still: 1/600. In other words, LSD is hundreds of times less lethal than the most popular painkiller in the world.

In the case of “magic mushrooms” (entheogen carriers such as psilocybin mushrooms), a person would have to eat roughly their own weight in fresh mushrooms for these to kill them – meaning they would die of indigestion before they would of intoxication.

Does this mean that entheogens are not dangerous? NO, they are, and complications arising from their use should be clarified and disseminated to potential consumers so they know how to address or minimize the risks, but teaching useful things doesn’t appear to be the intent of the official brochure.

Alleged neurological effects of LSD

Regarding the alleged neurological damage caused by LSD, I have reviewed many articles, documents, web pages, etc. seeking confirmation or denial. I found confirmation only in works with dubious scientific foundations, such as the one to which I’m referring here. otherwise, the scientific articles do not speak so poorly of this substance.

In the American Journal of Psychiatry, one author considered:

“Our findings are inconclusive regarding the question as to whether LSD ingestion produces known forms of central nervous system damage.” [2]

Wikipedia (in English), based on sources as reliable as the Encyclopedia of Medicine and the Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances, mentioned nothing concerning neurological damage.

There are religious communities on our continent that use entheogens in their traditional ceremonies and do not show symptoms of long-term impairment. [7]

Absurd pharmacological findings

In concluding the pharmacological section, the author of this pamphlet states:

“All drugs are harmful, their consumption causes damage to the organs of the body causing problems in the liver, heart, digestive tract, physiological processes, impairment of brain activity, digestion, blood circulation, and mental and emotional health. these cause memory loss and impaired reasoning and contribute to personality disorders. Drugs have led to thousands of deaths from accidents, disease and violence.”

Again, the old trick of lumping all drugs in the same category is an insult to one’s intelligence and to science. the booklet is mined in many other lies and half-truths, but I won’t dwell further on exposing these.

Anti-drug pamphlets like this are very harmful because they tend to create an atmosphere of prohibition around these substances (which makes them attractive to many) while also circulating misinformation: a deadly combination indeed.

Their main objective is ideo-political, and to accomplish this they don’t hesitate to ignore pharmacology and common knowledge.

(*) “Trabajo Preventivo Relacionado con el Uso Indebido de Drogas” (Preventive Work Related to Drug Abuse), Pedro J. Pascual Betancourt, Msc.; 2005.

As this is a complex issue, I am presenting the literature upon which I drew:

1. “Acute Adverse Reactions to LSD in Clinical and Experimental use in the United Kingdom,” Nicolas Malleson, British Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 118, 229-230, 1971.2. “Chronic Users of LSD: the ‘Acidheads,’” K. H. Blacker, MD, Reese T. Jones, NID, George C. Stone, PhD, Dolf Pfefferbaum, Vol. 125, September 3, 1968, pp. 341-351, American Journal of Psychiatry.3. Halpern J.H., Pope H.G. Jr., “Do Hallucinogens cause Residual Neuropsychological Toxicity?” Drug Alcohol Dependency 1999; 53: 247-256.4. Hollister L.E., “Pharmacology of LSD in Man.” In: Radouco-Thomas C., eds. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Abuse of Psychotominetics. Quebec: Les Presses de l’universite de Laval, 1974, pp. 173-183.5. “Long Lasting Effects of LSD on Normals,” William McGlothlin, PhD, Sidney Cohen, MD, Marcella S. McGlothlin, PhD, Los Angeles, Arch. gen., Psychiat, 17, 521-532 (1967).6. “LSD: side Effects and Complications,” Sydney Cohen, MD, the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Volume 130, no. 1, January 1960.7. “Psychedelic Medicine: Mind Bending, Health Giving,” new Scientist, Date: February 26, 2005.8. “The Pharmacology of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: A Review, Neuroscience and Terapeutic,” Torsten Passi, John H. Halpern, Dirk O. Stichtenoth, M. Hinderk Emrich & Annelie Hintzen.9. Wikipedia (in English). Search term: “LSD.”