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WDDTY e-News Service - 4 September 2003

Thu, 4 Sep 2003 15:02:54 +0100

 

 

WHAT DOCTORS DON’T TELL YOU - E-NEWS BROADCAST No.49 - 04 September 03

 

Please feel free to email this broadcast to any friends you feel would

appreciate receiving it.

 

 

 

 

BACK TO SCHOOL I: And back to the head lice

 

The summer holidays are over, and our children are starting to go back to

school, and to a new term, new teachers, new classes-and the same old problem of

head lice.

 

It's a very distressing condition for parents and children, but one that doesn't

particularly interest doctors. It's also something that hasn't overly excited

the pharmaceuticals, although the conventional over-the-counter remedies that

have been formulated bear all their usual fingerprints.

 

Your friendly pharmacist is likely to suggest a malathion-based product, which

is an organophosphate pesticide used in sheep dip. Common side effects include

headache, nausea, paralysis, chest pain, muscular twitch, blurred vision,

cramps, giddiness, impaired memory and disorientation, dizziness and

hallucinations, but these tend to occur to farmworkers in regular contact with

the dip.

 

It may well be that your child's exposure to malathion will be too slight for

him to suffer any of these effects, but it's an area that has never been

properly regulated, so nobody can be sure. If you are a brave soul prepared to

take the risk, you need to know that malathion products are becoming less

effective. A study last year discovered that lice are building resistance to

organochlorine- and organophosphate-based insecticides such as malathion.

 

Safer conventional products, based on pyrethroids and permethrins, also quickly

lose their effectiveness.

 

Because of the ineffectiveness of conventional treatments, many exasperated

parents turn to alternatives; the treatment of head lice has garnered more

anecdotal stories of wonderful home-made concoctions than almost any other

condition.

 

Just as nobody has bothered to analyse the effectiveness of conventional

treatments, the same can be said of most alternative remedies, although many

parents have their own special solution that they swear by.

 

Favourite essences that the lice find unpleasant include citrus, lavendar,

eucalyptus, tea tree and rosemary oils, although one reader found that aloe vera

jelly was very effective.

 

Of the few natural remedies to be tested, those based on an extract of the yucca

plant have been found to be effective. These products quite literally suffocate

the lice. Yucca makes water molecules clump together, so blocking the airways

of the louse and effectively drowning it.

 

Neem-based products have also been found to be effective in trials. One trial

found it to be the most effective natural pesticide of them all, and was almost

as powerful as malathion but without the potential side effects.

 

But that's only half the story. Lice lay five to six eggs a day. These eggs,

or nits, have to be removed, and the only way to do it is by hand-or more

exactly with the aid of a metal nit-comb, a magnifying glass and a bright light.

 

 

 

BACK TO SCHOOL II: Another way for dyslexics to read

 

Dyslexia is another problem that affects too many of our schoolchildren, and

it's one that also won't go away. But one trick to help dyslexics read more

easily has been mooted in a recent issue of The Lancet.

 

Some dyslexics have problems scanning to the right. The answer? Rotate the

book 90 degrees and read from top to bottom. It's a technique that has been

used effectively by some dyslexics who have even gone onto university and kept

up with the intensive study programme just by turning their books.

 

(Source: The Lancet, 2003; 361: 2159).

 

 

 

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

 

What's the difference between a sheep shearer and a doctor? The shearer first

kills, then fleeces. The doctor first fleeces, then kills.- Courtesy of Idries

Shah

 

 

 

PSA: A test too far and wide

 

PSA (prostate specific antigen), the blood test that is supposed to detect

prostate cancer, correctly diagnoses the condition in just one out of four

cases. This alarmingly high false-positive rate, revealed in a new study,

throws into doubt the usefulness of the test, which is causing unnecessary

distress among men who are mistakenly being told they may have prostate cancer.

 

The researchers who made the discovery are advising doctors to repeat the first

positive test six weeks later before performing a biopsy. " Even if the repeat

test shows an elevated level, prostate cancer will only be discovered in about

one quarter of men who undergo biopsy, " said Dr James Eastham of the research

team.

 

In the study, which tracked blood tests on 972 men, blood levels returned to

normal in over half the men who had tested positive in the first test.

 

Many things can raise PSA levels, including inflammation and recent ejaculation.

So, even on the second reading, the test can still produce a positive result

without there being a trace of prostate cancer. A better prostate test needs to

be adopted, and quickly.

 

(Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, 2003; 289: 2695-700).

 

 

 

WDDTY ON CD: Everything we've published over the past 14 years on a searchable

database

 

Millions of incisive health and medical information, published in What Doctors

Don't Tell You since 1989, is now available on a fully searchable CD. The text

is searchable by more than 10,000 keywords, which can be cut and pasted into

your document or printed out for reference.

 

It's a must for any health professional, or for someone interested in their

health.

 

It's currently available for £185, inclusive of VAT and postage, while the

combined WDDTY and Proof database is available for a limited period for £199.50.

 

To place your order telephone 0800 146 054 if you're in the UK, or 44 208 944

9555 if you're outside the UK or vistit our web site

http://www.wddty.co.uk/shop/details.asp?product=380

 

 

 

JUST FANCY THAT

 

The Lancet, 2003; 361: 1998: " Patients will happily spend large sums on

alternative health products that are unregulated, untested, unstandardised and

of unknown effects. "

 

The Lancet, 2003; 361: 2087: " There is objective evidence for the efficacy of

folic acid, vitamin B12 and pyridoxine in reduction of the rates of restenosis

and revascularisation after coronary angioplasty. These simple, low cost, and

safe interventions should be routine in appropriate patients. "

 

 

 

DEEPER INTO THE FIELD: Claim your place today

 

Now that everyone's back from their summer holidays, there's been a sudden rush

for tickets for our Deeper Into The Field conference.

 

The conference is planned over two days - Saturday, September 20 and Sunday,

September 21 - with speakers such as Lynne McTaggart, author of The Field, the

book that started it all, eminent physicists Russell Targ and Dr Marlo Varvoglis

and Stephen Schwartz, a parapsychology researcher, on the first day, and

workshops on the second.

 

It promises to be a remarkable experience, and we've upgraded the venue to the

Hilton Hotel in central London to ensure the weekend will be an enormous

success.

 

To find out more, or book your place, go to:

http://www.wddty.co.uk/thefield/deeper_conference_main.asp

 

 

 

 

READERS' CORNER

 

Iron supplements: Our article last time on the study into the benefits of iron

supplementation for women up to 55 years of age elicited several responses.

Readers wanted to know the current thinking on iron supplements and if it was

now considered safe for postmenopausal women. Despite the new study, the

present thinking maintains that iron supplementation for postmenopausal women,

and all adult men, can be dangerous if taken longterm. As postmenopausal women

no longer have periods, it's thought that they should not lose their iron

stores. Iron overload can lead to genetic disorders and to cirrhosis of the

liver and to heart failure. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to clarify

this important point.

 

Amalgam and dentists: You've got your teeth into the debate about the removal of

amalgam fillings, and several decided to take another bite after the throwaway

line last time about mercury in fish. One reader wanted us to emphasise that

people should have their amalgam fillings removed only by a qualified, holistic

dentist who knows what he's doing. The correspondent had hers removed by a

general dentist who didn't and, as a result, her daughter, who was breastfed at

the time, has had health problems linked to mercury toxicity ever since.

Talking of which, asks another reader, how do you find an holistic dentist who

can remove amalgam fillings safely? Our Dental Handbook lists many dentists in

the UK, the USA and Canada who can perform the procedure safely. To order a

copy, visit: http://www.wddty.co.uk/shop/details.asp?product=10 .

 

Alternatively, some are listed on our website

http://www.wddty.co.uk/finda/finda.asp

 

 

Listen to Lynne

 

On the radio: Hear Lynne McTaggart on Passion the new DAB Digital Radio Station

focusing on your health and your environment -

http://www.wddty.co.uk/passion_main.asp

 

On demand: Select and listen to any of Lynne's archived broadcasts on Passion,

there's a new one each week - http://www.wddty.co.uk/passion_archive.asp

 

 

View missed/lost e-News broadcasts:

 

View our e-News broadcast archives, follow this link -

http://www.wddty.co.uk/archive.asp

 

 

Help us spread the word

 

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Doctors Don't Tell You, please forward their name and address to:

info.

 

Please forward this e-news on to anyone you feel may be interested,they can

free by clicking on the following this link:

http://www.wddty.co.uk/e-news.asp. Thank you.

 

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