I just bought a cat from a friend. she was shy at first but she sometimes scratches and bites a little. recently she would jump out the window and stay out side for the whole day, sometimes 2 days. I'm worried if she caught rabies and can transmit them to me. if so should i get checked or if the symptoms show will it be too late??

If a person is bit by a rabid animal, it takes a few weeks for the foaming-at-the mouth thing to happen. if that happens, it's way too late. right after you get bit, I would go to the ER or something and get the shot, because it would be better then than later on.

I seriously doubt your cat has rabies. Some cats just have an attitude. every rabid animal I have ever seen or heard about had to be killed to prevent it from attacking you. They cannot be scared away, as their brain has (deteriorated for lack of a better term) beyond the point of rational thought. you can get a mild infection from cat scratched though and should clean them with an antiseptic.

MEGAN JOHNSTON

when it came to his teeth, Patrick Forman always considered himself ”an old romantic”. his gums would bleed continually and he never paid much attention to toothaches.

”The thought of old age without teeth didn’t bother me,” he says.

But when Forman’s knee began playing up three years ago, he was forced to rethink his attitude. the rheumatoid arthritis gradually became worse and he began to suffer psoriasis, chronic colds and heart palpitations.

Nothing seemed to help, until his local dentist in Bathurst removed some bad teeth from his infected gums. his symptoms improved so his GP sent him to a Sydney ”holistic dentist”, who extracted more teeth and put Forman on a strict hygiene routine.

”Ever since I’ve been ‘cured’; my heart’s been strong, my knees are good and the psoriasis is totally gone,” he says. now 64, Forman even cycled across Australia and to Victoria and back recently.

whether his dental problems caused his other health issues is uncertain but many studies over the past decade have suggested a link between dental infection and general health issues, especially cardiovascular disease. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, people with gum disease are almost twice as likely to suffer coronary artery disease. It has also been linked to strokes, low birth weights and diabetes.

while the exact nature of these associations is still unclear, the research has highlighted the role dentistry plays in patients’ overall well-being. In turn, more patients are turning to holistic dentists.

Simply put, these specialists consider the patient as a whole. They are trained to the same level as regular dentists and often combine their services with acupuncture or naturopathy.

”The health of the oral cavity is critical to overall health,”  the dentist who treated Forman at the Sydney Holistic Dental Centre, Dr Ron Ehrlich, says.

Practitioners might trace headaches to teeth grinding, link sleep apnoea to problems with the jaw or treat erosion by examining nutrition. more controversially, many do not use mercury amalgam and a few avoid root canal and fluoride therapy. while the Australian Dental Association states that research has not shown amalgam or other common treatments to be harmful, some holistic dentists are more wary.

”Where there’s reasonable doubt, I think you have to err on the side of caution,” Ehrlich says.

He believes using a highly toxic material such as mercury in any form is a sign of ”very low health IQ”, considering its possible effects on the nervous, renal, immune and other systems.

”Dentists who argue for mercury amalgam are saying, ‘What specific problem does it cause?’ But that’s a linear question,” he says.

”We’re exposed to a lot of materials in our society and adding one into the mouth 24 hours a day is perhaps not the best thing for one’s health.”

Dr David Howard, who practises in St Leonards, does not perform root canal therapy and only uses one metal at a time. Residual bacteria can release toxins following root canal procedures, he says, while multiple metals in the mouth can create electrical disturbances. He is also interested in acupuncture meridians between teeth and different organs and always checks patients’ sensitivities to any dental materials he plans to use.

”Dentists are the world’s biggest implanters of foreign things in people’s bodies and rarely do people get tested to see if they’re allergic,” Howard says.

while few dentists go to such lengths, other conventional dentists say the perceived divide between holistic practitioners and so-called mainstream ”mouth mechanics” is largely a myth.

??”The vast majority of dentists try to practise holistically,” says Dr Christine may, from Holdsworth House Dental Practice in Darlinghurst.

“Holistic gets tagged to things along the lines of alternative medicine and complementary medicine – and there’s definitely a place for that – but to be a holistic dentist doesn’t mean you have to embrace all of those things.”

many dentists, such as Dr Tijana Fisher, question the wisdom of rare practices such as eschewing fluoride. ”It has played an amazing role in disease prevention in a few generations of  children, which cannot be disputed,” she says.

overall, patients need to weigh up the risks and benefits of any treatment.

the most important thing is to be discerning, may says.

”There’s no definite right or wrong – it’s the best solution for that problem for that patient at that point in time,” she says.

”Ultimately, prevention is the cheapest and most enjoyable form of dentistry.”

– Sydney Morning Herald

STDs are not discussed openly because of the shame and stigma associated with them. They are in fact referred to by some people as ‘private’ or ‘secret’ diseases. it is wrongly believed that STDs happen to “bad” people or women in prostitution. due to these reasons persons, with STDs do not seek treatment. However, STDs can not only cause much pain and discomfort but also have many damaging consequences. Counselors need to be sensitive to these perceptions. They need to demonstrate acceptance and a non-judgmental attitude to clients. every attempt should be made by them to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of their clients.

When counseling someone with a STD, the following points should be attended to:

• What STDs are, and how they are contracted?

• The common symptoms and signs of STDs in men and women. Counselors need to emphasis that there may not always be symptoms; or, they may be so slight that they do not bother the patient. Women especially, often do not have any symptoms at all. However, without treatment, the patient is and will remain infectious and can unknowingly pass on the disease.

• Myths about STD (myths regarding the mode of spread as well as means of cure) Consequences of not treating an STD, especially for pregnant women.

• The relationship between STDs and HIV. Where a person can go for further information and tests: primary health centers, STD departments in government hospitals, dermatologists (specialists in skin and sexually transmitted diseases), gynecologists, family physician (who may treat and/or refer) etc.

• Diagnosis and treatment. the importance of early treatment and compliance needs to be stressed to ensure complete cure. STD patients should be counseled to take all medication as prescribed even if the symptoms disappear or they feel better.

What Are The Symptoms of Pancreatitis?

Are you one of those individuals who like to eat, drink and make merry? Many younger people figure that life is short so we might as well eat and drink whatever we want regardless of the consequences. It is not until you get a little older and wiser that you begin to realize just how erroneous this attitude actually is. For instance, learning about the symptoms of pancreatitis is sufficient to convince any sane individual not to consume too much fat or alcohol. Anybody who suffers the symptoms of pancreatitis feels so ill that their very existence seems like a living hell. only those people who have been so sick that they actually thought that death would be preferable could possibly have any idea of how awful pancreatitis feels.

A Summary of The Condition

In order to understand the symptoms of pancreatitis it is necessary to know what the pancreas is and how it operates. The pancreas is a gland organ that is part of both the endocrine and digestive system. It secretes hormones such as insulin which help the body to metabolize sugar. It also secretes digestive enzymes which ordinarily pass through the pancreatic duct into the small intestine where they break down fats so that they can be absorbed into the bloodstream. if a person has acute or chronic pancreatitis the digestive enzymes are not secreted into the small intestine but instead attack the pancreas, which damages its structure and prohibits it from being able to function efficiently.

If you ever experience the symptoms of pancreatitis you will definitely know about it. Early indicators of the condition include an intense feeling of nausea, frequent vomiting, and severe abdominal pain and swelling. these symptoms of pancreatitis may be accompanied by fever, a rapid pulse, low blood pressure and dehydration resulting from the vomiting. if medical treatment is not sought immediately the symptoms of pancreatitis can be fatal. Severe dehydration and excessively low blood pressure can both lead to death. Untreated pancreatitis can also cause the kidneys, heart and lungs to fail.

If a person has chronic pancreatitis then permanent damage is done to the pancreas. if the pancreas can no longer produce digestive enzymes the body will no longer be able to absorb fat. if your body can’t absorb or store fat you will lose a massive amount of weight. Since the fat cannot be absorbed it is expelled in the feces. this makes the stools larger than average and particularly foul smelling. Some people may even notice droplets of oil and undigested matter in their feces.

If your pancreas cannot operate as it should it will not produce the insulin the body needs to metabolize sugar. Therefore diabetes is another of the more serious symptoms of chronic pancreatitis. Undiagnosed and untreated diabetes is also potentially fatal. People with diabetes need to control the disease with insulin therapy in order to survive.

You may experience some of the symptoms of pancreatitis but not actually have the condition. That’s because other health conditions and diseases present indicators that are similar to the symptoms of pancreatitis. Metabolic syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease and numerous chronic digestive conditions can all cause symptoms similar to those of pancreatitis. if you ever experience any of the symptoms of pancreatitis do not assume that you must have it and start panicking. instead seek immediate medical treatment and evaluation to find out exactly what is causing the symptoms.

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