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Problems A, B, C, D
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A
Abortion
Accidents
Acne Vulgaris
Adulterations In Foods
Aging Problems
Alcoholism
Allergies
Amnesia
Amputation
Anger
Anorexia Nervosa
Anxiety
Atheism
B
Bad Language
Baldness
Belching
Bidding Farewell
Bites
Blindness
Bribes
Budgeting Problems
Bulimia Nervosa
C
Cancers
Carnival
Chaos
Common Cold
Coma
Common-law Union
Constipation
Counterfeit
Currency
Covetousness
Criticism
Cults
D
Dandruff
Deafness (Hearing Loss)
Death Of A Loved One
Delirium
Delusion
Dental Problems
Depression
Devil Possession
Diabetes Insipidus
Diarrhea
Diseases
(Please go to Diseases--Causes, Symptoms & Treatment Page in this website)
-AIDS
-Alzheimers
Disease
-Arthritis,
Rheumatoid
-Asthma
-Diabetes
Mellitus
-Epilepsy
-Hepatitis
A
-Hypertension
-Malaria
-Multiple
Sclerosis
-Myocardial
Infarction
-Pneumonia
-Psoriasis
-Syphilis
-Tuberculosis,
Pulmonary
-Vitiligo
Disobedience
Doubt
Dowry
Drug Addiction
Dying
Dyslexia
Dyspnea
Abortion
is the expulsion of the fetus either through induced
or natural means. I am discussing
induced abortion. The supporters of
pro-life definitely think that abortion is a serious problem in society. Whereas the supporters of pro-choice
contemplate that abortion is not a problem at all. As you can see, there is a dichotomy of people
who see abortion as a problem and others who dont see it as a problem at
all. The pro-choice people believe that
life does not begin in the uterus; the fetus is not
alive, so when there is an abortion, they say there is no killing of any life.
On the other hand, the supporters of pro-life consider
that life begins in the uterus, therefore, when a fetus
is aborted, a life is taken or killed.
Hence, it is a serious problem.
Now how do we get over this problem of abortion in the society? Well,
were to look at different aspects before we decide what ought to be done.
Non-Spiritual
Solutions
The supporters of pro-choice think
that the solution to abortion had already been found. On January 23, 1973 the Supreme Court in the
case of Roe versus Wade decided or gave a verdict that, in the first trimester
the pregnant woman on advice of a doctor can medically terminate a fetus. However, during the second and third
trimesters the state has to give permission for abortion.1 Thus, the
supporters of pro-choice consider that the solution had already been given by
the Supreme Court in the United States of America for abortion to be legally
performed. Nonetheless, the supporters
of pro-life think that the Supreme Court wrongly passed the verdict.
The pro-lifers believe life starts
in the womb. After about four weeks of
gestation, the heart begins to beat and they perceive that life has already
begun. The pro-lifers believe that
abortion should not be conducted in any given situation. They believe what the Bible says in Exodus
20:13 Thou shall not kill. They
say that when one aborts, it is killing, so one cannot play God and take
somebodys life. The pro-lifers also
quote Jeremiah 1:5 where it tells us that the Lord had chosen the prophet
Jeremiah from the womb of his mother.
With this text the pro-lifers argue that God chooses people or creates
life in the womb itself therefore, abortion cannot be conducted. Im not taking any sides on either
pro-abortion or anti-abortion. Im just going to give the reasons for either
side choosing their stance.
The reasons for abortion are
several. The health of the mother is of the utmost importance. If a woman has an ectopic
pregnancy (the fertilized egg is implanted in the fallopian tube and the
pregnancy develops in the fallopian tube), it is detrimental to the mother
because the fetus grows in the fallopian tube.
As the embryo or the fetus grows in the fallopian tube, it becomes
really dangerous to the mother. If it were not surgically removed, the mother would
die. The other reasons for abortions are fetal abnormalities like hydrocephaly
and anencephaly, and chromosomal aberrations detected through amniocentesis
such as trisomy 18, trisomy
21 (Downs Syndrome), fetus with Philadelphia chromosome, that is 22p-, which
could lead to leukemia. All these conditions are the reasons for abortion. Still other reasons are rape or incest. All these cases could warrant an abortion.
The reasons against abortion is that
one should not take life; abortion methods are very inhumane; the mother may
have a lot of physical complications such as hemorrhage and fistulae; and once
abortion takes place, the pregnant woman cannot conceive again or it may lead
to spontaneous abortions. The other
reason is psychological complication like PAS (Post Abortion Syndrome). The
woman who experiences abortion would experience nightmares and have suicidal
tendencies. It is also said that when one aborts, one is playing God and that
should not be done. One other reason is
that the unwanted baby can be given up for adoption. To conclude, the solution
is purely in the hands of the pregnant woman. She should decide with her
relatives, friends.
Spiritual
Solutions
Pray to God to guide her decision in
accordance with His will. If the mothers
health is in jeopardy, like in an ectopic pregnancy
where there is no way that the fetus would be viable, there should be an
abortion otherwise the mother would die too.
Conditions like incest and rape require the seeking of advice and
constant prayer for insight into Gods will with regards to having an abortion.
We cannot say that abortion is 100% right or 100% wrong. It is in the hands of the pregnant girl or
woman whether or not she should undergo an abortion.
Top of Page
Accidents
There are different types of
accidents: road accidents, fire accidents, accidents in the sea or in the air,
accidents at home, and accidents out in the open. There are different causes for different
accidents. In fact, the word accident
means something that has happened without any premeditation or planning. We can identify some of the causes for its
manifestation but some we cannot know. When an accident takes place on the
road, sometimes that accident has no particular cause. It is just that when a person was driving, he
may have had a flat tire or brakes failed, which sent the vehicle out of
control and into an oncoming vehicle. It
was not premeditated, it was not the fault of the driver, it was nobodys
fault, it just happened. Sometimes, however,
we may be able to identify a cause. A driver might drink alcohol and when he
drives he may not be in his total senses and may then cause an accident.
When there is a gun in the house, a
licensed firearm, of course if it is not properly hidden from the children, it
may be stumbled across and while playing with it, may cause an accident. Do not keep licensed guns within childrens
reach. Sometimes licensed guns can be a
temptation to adults who may consider homicide in a fit of anger or commit
suicide in a state of utter depression.
Hence, it is not advisable to keep guns in the house.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
Regarding the solutions of any
accident, always remember, Prevention is better than cure. It is better to prevent an accident than to find
a cure after the accident has taken place.
Road accidents: Do not drink alcohol and drive. It is easier said than
done. Many people know better and still continue to drive under the influence
of alcohol. There should be stricter law to punish those guilty of drinking and
driving. Whether it is road accidents or
airplane crashes or accidents on the sea, the concerned management should take
extensive measures of precaution. When
the weather is very icy, windy or a hurricane is developing or there are other
weather problems, management needs to decide not to permit an aircraft to take
off if it is really detrimental to the lives of the passengers. The airplanes, ships or vehicles on the road
should be properly maintained. If
vehicles are not well maintained, this could lead to faulty driving, tire
blowouts, brake faults, disconnection of car parts and eventually an accident.
Another piece of advice regarding road accidents is, whenever possible,
drive during daytime. Avoid driving
long distance during the night. Driving
in the night, when ones vision is limited, leaves opportunities for serious
accidents. Research has shown that more
serious accidents have occurred during the nights than during the day. Road
rules should be followed. In fact, when
you apply for your drivers license, you should learn all the road rules in
order to pass the exam. Once you have passed the exam you must not forget those
rules and from time to time, you should browse through the book of rules. At times we may forget some of the rules
while driving so its good to brush up on them and adhere to them. While driving, wear your seatbelt at all
times even for a 1-minute drive. Cars
should be bought with airbags and those without should be fitted with
airbags. Baby seats should be used to
transport infants on the backseat of the car.
Motorcycle riders must wear helmets.
Helmets can save lives. They may
not prevent an accident but they can save lives. When you find a person or persons involved in
road accidents, try to help either by calling emergency services or
transporting the injured. Regarding fire
accident, do not leave a matchbox where children can find. Always check gas stove tubes. Smokers are not supposed to throw cigarette
butts just anywhere.
Top of
Page
Acne Vulgaris
This is
formation of pimples especially on the face, neck and chest. Persons between
ages 13-35 years suffer from acne vulgaris
problem. Even persons outside this age
group may also suffer from this problem but the condition is less severe. But
it affects the teenagers mostly, which may be an irritation to them.
Sebaceous gland increases sebum production during the teens life
because of increased hormonal levels, especially androgen, which in turn gives
an oily appearance and predisposes the particular individual to acne. Personal hygiene could also contribute to
this problem. With good hygiene, acne vulgaris will be less severe but with poor hygiene, it will
intensify because the sebaceous gland ducts are blocked by dirt when they
produce sebum, hence giving rise to more acne.
High fatty foods like butter and oils also predispose a teenager to
acne.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
We cannot completely avoid acne vulgaris in the teen years because of large increases in
hormonal levels, especially during puberty.
We can however, cut down on the production of acne. Persons with acne problems must maintain good
personal hygiene. When the face is
washed and kept clean, the ducts of the sebum are well cleared and are not
blocked. The person should not be
exposed to a lot of stress and strain because during this time, more hormones
are produced. Persons with acne problems
must eat less fatty foods. Teenagers
might speculate that they are eating less fat than their friends who have no
acne problems at all, and how come they are suffering? Thus they may reason
food doesnt really have anything to do with acne. However, for some people that may eat a lot
of fat, acne may not be a problem because they are not susceptible to it. Others who are susceptible to acne should cut
down on fatty foods irrespective of whether or not their friends eat high fatty
food and do not suffer. They should avoid junk food as much as possible. The affected person may not be able to
prevent the acne but can decrease the presence of acne.
If the acne is very severe, the
patient should see a medical doctor.
Topical antibiotics have been found to reduce acne especially comedone lesions. Benzoyl peroxide is also helpful in treating acne.2
Top of Page
Adulterations in
Foods
Grocery traders who have no scruples
in life try to earn more money for less quality and quantity. They try to
adulterate food, for example, some merchants add small stones or paddy or other
small substances to rice grains so that the weight of the rice will increase
and they would get more money for less of the actual product. We have to be aware that adulteration really
does take place. In the United States of America,
the Food and Drug Administration monitors and tries to ensure that there is no
adulteration in foods. In many
developing countries however, the adulterations are rampant and dominant. There are adulterations in many food items like lentils, cereals, and
oil. As long as it can be done, the
unscrupulous merchants and food handlers do it.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
Always check with other
shoppers. Regular shoppers at various
places are more likely to be able to inform you of unscrupulous merchants and
their grocery stores. When somebody
reports that a particular grocery store is guilty of adulterating foods, do not
go there to shop. If you wish to help
others, you should not just avoid that particular supermarket, but report them
to higher authorities. There are a lot
of milkmen who add water to the milk in order to gain more profit. One can purchase a lactometer that can detect
how much percentage of milk is in the product or if any water has been
added. There are a few milkmen that when
they are told that water has been added, they do no accept the facts. A particular woman told her milkman, Look,
you are always adding water to the milk.
The milkman refused to admit it and said to the woman, You have to
prove that Im adding water to the milk.
You cannot just accuse me or Ill be upset. One fine day the woman found proof and
confronted the milkman. He asked her
Okay, where is the proof? The woman
said, When you add water, at least add clean and pure water because here is a
fish which was in the milk. And she
showed him the small fish, which was found in the milk.
To be on the safe side, when in
doubt that some adulterations have taken place, avoid the distributor of that
particular food item. When you know that food adulteration is going on, tell
your friends and others to avoid that particular store. In doing so, you are
helping others. And when buying rice and
you find small stones or dirt, complain to the manager of the grocery store and
cause them to check it out from their supplier. If they dont check it out, the
next step is to simply avoid that store.
Only when unscrupulous people have a dent made in their profits, will
they be forced to stop the adulterations in food.
Top of Page
Aging Problems
Aging is a natural phenomenon. There are many theories regarding the aging
process. I am just going to mention only
two. One theory is Free Radical Damage. Free
radicals are produced because of oxidative process in the human body. They are highly unstable because they have
unpaired electrons. They inflict damage
on cells because of instability. The other theory is Genetic Program
Theory. Genes control the aging
mechanisms of the body.3 As you grow older
and older; the mitosis (multiplication) of the cells slows down, which in turn,
causes the cells to age. For more information, read my book Dr. Stevensons Book on Preventive
Nutrition.
Progeria is a rare genetic disorder where
there is premature aging. Patients of progeria usually die by 10-12 years. This disorder shows that genes do have a
control over aging. There is another
genetic disorder known as Huntingtons chorea.
Even in this disorder, we see that genes do control aging. The signs of aging are wrinkles on the skin,
white hair or baldness; especially people that are becoming senile may lose
hair and their memory. When people age,
the bones lose minerals like calcium and become brittle and are highly
vulnerable to fractures.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
One cannot stop the aging process
because genes are programmed in such a way that aging will take place. In order to die, apart from accidents and
diseases, we have to age and aging can cause natural death. However, we can
slow down the aging process. Through our
lifestyle we can slow down aging by exercising, maintaining a good diet, and
avoiding diets that cause diseases. We can slow down aging, if the diet has
antioxidants like vitamins E and C and carotenoids
and the micro mineral selenium. Antioxidants help to remove free radicals in
the body. For more details read my book
Dr. Stevensons Book on Preventive Nutrition. We must ingest more fruits,
which were the diet in the Garden of Eden and also a part of the diet for
people before the flood and people lived for a long time before the flood. We
should eat more vegetables, whole grains and enriched grains rather than high
fatty foods and junk food.
When we do a lot of exercise, we
tone our muscles and strengthen our bones and we can avoid fatigue, which
people who dont exercise, tend to suffer from. Then, we would have less
worries and stress. More worries and depression can cause the graying of
hair. If you are very worried about
wrinkles, my advice is that it is better to grow old gracefully but if you
think wrinkles are a problem, you could have a face-lift and any other form of
cosmetic surgery. The cosmetic surgeon would cut away the extra skin by pulling
it back over your forehead and chipping off the extra skin. If gray hair is a serious problem for you, it
is suggested that you dye the hair to cover the whiteness with black or brown
dye to match your skin tone. Remember that hair dyes are
carcinogenic. However, learn to age gracefully.
Top of Page
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a serious problem.
There are many people who are addicted to this problem. However, many do not realize that it is a
problem. Some think that it is a social
habit; others
think that alcohol is good to drink when one desires to have fun. An alcoholic said I
had drank three bottles of whiskey everyday for the last 25 years and I can
still give up alcohol anytime I want.
Here is a man that says he can give up alcohol after 25 years of
drinking. He has not accepted that he is
an alcoholic and he has the problem.
There are many people who believe
that moderate drinking of alcohol is okay and that it not a problem.
Nonetheless, remember that one drink will lead to another drink and will make a
person, an alcoholic. Hence, we have to
identify whether we have problem with alcohol or our relatives and co-workers
have alcohol-related problems. After we find out who has the problem, we should
help them get over the problem. Alcohol
is very addictive and it is very hard to give up alcoholism. Alcoholism is the
cause of many social problems like incest, rape, domestic violence, homicide,
suicide, road accidents and chaos and confusion in the society.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
First of all, the alcoholic has to
agree that he has a problem. If the
person thinks that his love for alcohol is not a problem, it is hard to solve
or treat the problem. The person needs
to accept the fact that he is an alcoholic
Some of the De-Addiction centers
give alcohol to the alcoholic in reduced amounts that he might slowly make him
kick the habit, or some drugs are administered that may cause him to become
nauseated ad even vomit when alcohol is ingested. However, when medication wears off, he can
easily go back to drinking again. The person should have the inclination or the
willpower to give it up. Friends, spouse
and others should also be there in support for the alcoholic to give up
alcohol.
I
am suggesting some methods on how to get over alcoholism:
(1)
Do not go to places
where it is easy to acquire alcohol (bars, homes of friends who drink a lot,
etc) and do not keep alcohol at home.
(2)
Anytime you have the
desire to drink alcohol, have a soft drink or fruit juice as a substitute for
alcohol.
(3)
Do not associate with
persons that indulge in drinking alcohol.
(4)
In case you do take a
drink, dont give up hope and start drinking alcohol all over again.
(5)
Seek the advice of a
non-alcoholic friend like an elder but dont seek the help of a person who
drinks.
(6)
Dont think that you
havent had a drink for a month and therefore you are no longer addicted and attend
parties where alcohol is served.
When you have successfully given up alcohol, you should assist your
friends who still have alcoholism as a problem through your testimony. Remember
for alcoholism, prevention is better than cure. A Chinese proverb states,
First the man takes the drink, then the drink takes another drink, and
finally the drink takes the man.
Spiritual Solutions
In
order for a person to solve the problem of alcoholism, he should seek help from
God. There are countless therapists who have tried to help a lot of alcoholics
but they have returned to the same problem. Hence, one of the best ways to give
up alcoholism is to depend totally on the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit takes control of the
alcoholic and he surrenders his will to the Holy Spirit, then I am 100% sure
that the person is going to be able to give up alcohol. If you choose to give up alcoholism without
the help of God and just with the help of your friends and doctors, the chances
are that you may be returning to your old habit again.
Seek
the help of Holy Spirit and pray to Him. The Bible clearly
advices against alcoholism. There
are many people who use the Bible by pointing out that Lord Jesus turned water
into fermented wine, so what is wrong if one drinks alcohol? Nothing can be farther from truth. Lord Jesus
did not turn the water into fermented wine but He turned it into fresh grape
juice. Paul advised Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23, Drink no longer water but
use a little wine for thy stomachs sake and thine
own often infirmities. Many take this text out of context and say Paul
advised Timothy to drink fermented wine or alcohol. This is grossly incorrect. The Greek work for wine is Oinos. Now Oinos could mean
either grape juice or fermented wine. Paul meant grape juice. Grape juice has
tartaric acid, which is good for stomach problems. There are many texts in the
Bible that condemn drinking alcohol. Proverbs 28:1 says, Wine is a mocker,
strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived is not wise. Some Christians say whoever drinks alcohol
does not sin but is just not wise but Galatians 5:21-22 clearly states that
people who drink alcohol will not enter the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:18 says, Drink not wine wherein is excess, but be filled with
the Spirit of God. Habakkuk 2:5
declares, Yea also because ye transgresseth by
wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who
enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and
cannot be satisfied Here, it clearly states that when you drink alcohol,
you are transgressing and committing a sin. If these texts are not enough, here
is another. But they also have erred through wine and through strong drink
and are out of the way states Isaiah 28:7. This text again informs that
we commit sin if we drink wine or alcohol. Hence, the persons who drink alcohol
must repent and surrender their lives to Lord Jesus.
All of us know the evil effects of alcoholism. Proverbs 23:29-35 details
about the problems of alcoholism the society and the alcoholics will face. Theyll all have sorrow, theyll cause sorrow
and theyll have redness of the eyes. It
clearly states that at last alcohol will bite like a serpent. Therefore, we need strong laws to abolish
alcoholism. When there is no strong law,
people will continue to drink and cause more problems in the society. However,
to be on the safe side, we should not ingest alcohol. Everybody knows that
alcohol has some detrimental effects on health.
Alcoholism will lead to cancer and cirrhosis of the liver and can
predispose one to oral and esophageal cancers.
Apart from that, the persons who drink will lose their balance and will
not be in their right senses. Therefore, let us help one another to give up
alcoholism.
Top of
Page
Allergies
Allergy is a condition where there is hypersensitivity in an individual
to foreign substances. Allergies are
actually caused by hypersensitivity to foreign antigens, in other words,
allergens. Let us look at the allergens
that could cause allergies or hypersensitivity. Allergens can be inhalants like
pollens, spurs, animal products like fur, saliva and urine, dust and the
droppings and excretion of insects. The foods that can cause allergies are
milk, eggs, shellfish, peanuts, soybeans, eggplant, tomato and wheat. Of
course, these food items vary from individual to individual that suffer from
allergies.
Even some drugs, when ingested, can cause allergic reactions. Such drugs
are tetracycline, aspirin, some when injected can cause allergies like
penicillin and it can sometimes cause anaphylaxis. Other allergens that come in
contact with the skin are like perfumes, cosmetics, jewellery, buckles and hair
dyes.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
It is better
to prevent than to cure the allergies.
It is best not to come in contact with those allergens that can cause allergies.How does one know what allergens cause his
allergy? The patient himself can find out through trial and error. If a patient
is still unsure of what he is allergic to after trial and error, then there are
tests to detect IgE antibodies. The first one is the
Vivo test, which is a skin test. In fact, the patient should go to the doctor
who specializes in allergies and have the skin test done. The other is the
Vitro test for IgE antibodies for which serum is
used. Once this test is done and the cause is found out, it will help the
doctor to diagnose, treat and prevent the allergy.
When you know what it is that you are allergic to, you have to completely
avoid them. If a person is allergic to pollen, then he or she should not have
any contact with pollen. If other people are allergic to animal fur or
excretion and dust they have to avoid them in order to escape from allergies.
Remember allergies are chronic and may be life long so you have to avoid them.
Some patients of asthma get an attack, which may be triggered by climatic
conditions, especially when it is cold. Those persons should not live in cold
areas. Also, if the person knows what foods (i.e. shellfish, eggs and peanuts)
cause their allergies, then they are to avoid them.
What should be done during allergy
attack? The only way is drug therapy.
The patient should consult a doctor who specializes in treating allergies and
follow his instructions carefully. Usually the drugs, which are given, are
dependent on the cause of the allergy. For example, Cromolyn
is a drug used as a bronchial inhaler or as a nasal spray. Then there are other
drugs like antimediator drugs like antihistamine
drugs, which inhibit the histamine receptors. Examples of those drugs are terfenadine and astemizol.4
Of course, if theres an
anaphylactic reaction the person needs to be immediately hospitalised. My advice is prevention is better than cure.
Avoid all the allergens that are cause your allergies. If you dont know for
sure which allergens cause your allergies, it is best to have either the Vivo
or Vitro test done to find out. The sooner you find out, the better it is for
you.
Top of Page
Amnesia
Amnesia
is a disorder, which causes partial or total inability to recall experiences in
the past. In other words, amnesia is memory loss. Usually amnesia is the result
of some form of illness, some drugs or because of injury to the brain. It could
also be caused by cerebral impairment and bilateral lesions in the brain. With
aging, many persons gradually lose their memory. First, they cannot recollect
names, then maybe they cannot recall birthdays and later they wont remember
their distant relatives. As you age the brain slowly becomes impaired.
Sometimes memory loss takes place because of delirium. See the topic Forgetfulness also. There I have discussed about forgetfulness
where no organic, structural conditions and trauma cause it.
Management
The patient should be taken to visit
a neurologist. Amnesia can be treated depending on what caused it to occur. For
example, when it is amnestic syndrome, thiamin would be given as supplements to the patient and if
it is because of chronic alcohol use, then alcohol use should be stopped. Some
of the memory loss due to cerebral degeneration may not be correctable like
Alzheimers disease. Then the only way is to help the patient to live under
supervision and make the person comfortable and help them as much as possible.
To know how not to forget see the
topic Forgetfulness where tips are given by me to remember better.
Top of Page
When there is a need to amputate,
whether the fingers, the hand, the toes, the feet or the legs, it is a very
serious psychological and physical situation that one has to undergo. Actually
the doctors and surgeons would try to do anything to save a limb but when they
cannot save the limb and it is dangerous to the life, they have no choice but
to amputate it. The severe mental tension and the severe depression that goes
along with amputation are profound. It is not easy to undergo amputation and
individuals who had an accident and became unconscious are devastated when they
regain consciousness and find out that they had lost a leg or arm in the
accident. Many amputees get depressed, some become suicidal and others may
become so despondent and suffer from delirium and may have problems in
recollecting the past.
Management
First of all, when one has an accident in which a finger or hand is cut,
immediately the cut hand or severed finger is to be put into a sterile plastic
bag. Next the plastic bag and its contents are to be placed in an icebox. By
putting it into a plastic bag, then into an icebox, one would be preserving the
limb. Immediately the affected person and his severed limb has
to be rushed to a hospital for surgery. Disease like gas gangrene, when it has
affected a part of the body, for example the leg, and if it is not amputated,
then clostridium perfringens bacteria would
eventually spread to the other part of the leg and then a major chunk of the
leg would be amputated. Gas gangrene could even cause death; therefore, the
patient should not be penny wise, pound foolish but have the amputation
performed. Hence, amputation could be a solution to save life. Ones life is
more important than a particular organ/limb. When the limb is amputated, the
patient should have already been prepared for what may occur after the
procedure because it is not easy for an amputee to live normally without proper
counseling. The patient should know that after the
amputation, the person might have excruciating pain especially when it involves
a large bone. The patient would be
given painkillers to ease the pain. The surgeons also sedate the person in the
first few hours or days after the surgery. The patient should also know that
not only is depression a problem but he may also suffer from phantom limb
pain. It is a pain felt as if it was coming from amputated limb. So he has to learn to live with this
situation.
He
should be told that all amputees could be rehabilitated. There are artificial
hands and legs, which are know as prostheses, which can help them to regain
their ability to walk or handle. They, however, need to have the willpower and
the inclination to learn how to use them. By the way, it cannot be done
overnight but slowly. The main factors are the willpower of the person and his
inspiration to go on with life. In fact, a particular parachute jumper lost
both legs after an accident but he decided, as a double amputee, he was going
to have prostheses and jump again from aeroplanes. It took guts, willpower and
Gods help to overcome all difficulties, and after several months, he jumped
with his parachute from the aeroplane and landed with both his prostheses
intact. So this type of stories can inspire amputees. The person ought to be
properly counselled before amputation and after amputation. He should be constantly
motivated and inspired. He should also read the Bible, pray to Lord Jesus for
willpower and strength. He should also
remember if he lives a good life and when Lord Jesus returns, he will receive
new limbs in heaven.
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What
is anger? Anger is a strong feeling of displeasure. It is rage or fury, in
other words indignation. Usually it shows antagonism. Who has a problem with
anger? Is it the employer or the employee; the teacher or the student; the
child or the elderly person? We must first identify who has got the problem. Is
the problem with ones self or with others, with the husband or the wife? There
are some people who are short-tempered but they never admit that they suffer
from anger. Whereas other people know they have a problem with anger but just
dont feel the need to do anything to solve it. There are others that have
problem with anger, but try as they might, they are not able to control anger.
One may say, This is my nature so you will have to
bear with me yet if that same person is at the receiving end, his anger will
shoot up ten times the actual anger that he usually displays.
What causes anger? We find that people tend to get angry as a result of
suffering from diseases. One such example is people who are hypertensive, they
become angered and irritated by little and trivial things. People who are
stressed all the time, down hearted and depressed can easily be provoked to
anger. Any situation, which makes them sad or upset, can trigger anger. Persons
who belong to type A personality can suffer from anger
problems because they try to be perfect and are highly ambitious. They are
invariably restless. People who belong
to choleric temperament tend to be angry because they always want to be
dominant and hate to be dominated. In Proverbs 15:1 it says, Grievous words stir up anger. So
sometimes when we address people roughly or answer them in a way, which is not
pleasing, they can be upset. Individuals, who maintain faulty diet and eat
salty and high fatty foods, can suffer from atherosclerosis, which can lead to
high blood pressure. This high blood pressure or hypertension can cause persons
to be upset and stressed all the time. Proverbs 14: 35 also expresses,
The kings wrath is against him that causeth shame. To amplify this: Anyone who does not do
his duty or is irresponsible and is not diligent in his work will cause others
to get angry.
Non-Spiritual
Solutions
We should not make purchases when we have no money because lack of money
can cause people to get upset and angry. We should cut down diets, which are
high in fats, and we should avoid large salt intake. We should have a high fiber diet so that this will help prevent from suffering
atherosclerosis, which in turn may help us in a way not to become hypertensive
and not become angry. We should not try to dominate others all the time but we
should be prepared to always live in humility.
Spiritual Solutions
To find solutions to anger, we have to return to the Bible because the
Bible has solutions on how to control anger or avoid anger, and it also tells
what is better than anger. Proverbs 15:1 states, A soft answer turneth away anger Hence,
when we talk to people with respect and in a manner that is not hurtful to
others, it can turn away wrath. We should have good understanding to avoid
anger and know when to get upset and when not to. Proverbs 14:29 admonishes, He that is slow to wrath is of great
understanding and he that is hasty of spirit exhalteth
folly. Therefore, we should be understanding and slow to wrath because
that is what God wants us to do. We should try not to get angry. What about
those that get angry perpetually? We should advise
them about the folly of getting angry but if that infuriates them more, it is
best to simply avoid them. What if a husband or wife and student or teacher are so angry that they are beyond reason? The
student cannot advise the teacher but he or she could send a card to the
teacher with the quotation from Proverbs 16:32, He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh
a city. Thus, when you give a card like this it may assist the teacher in
understanding that he or she is angry without a cause and it is not good. Maybe
the wife can quote some Bible scriptures to her husband or the employee can
quote some Bible scriptures that speak on humility to his or her employer. Of
course there are some unscrupulous persons, who when they receive such cards,
may become all the more upset. At that point, all you can do is pray. Pray to
Lord Jesus for them, that they may be controlled by the Holy Spirit in order to
get rid of their anger.
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Usually individuals who suffer from anorexia
nervosa are pre-teens and teenage girls. These girls have a fascination to
remain extremely thin. This is a psychological problem. Either they want to
remain extremely thin or it is a form of rebellion against their parents for
strict upbringing. They think that when they dont eat properly and are starved
they are actually punishing their parents and teaching them a lesson. Nothing
can be further from truth. They are not punishing their parents but they are
punishing themselves by starving their bodies. These individuals do not eat and
do everything to avoid food and remain extremely thin. They are actually
emaciated.
If forced to eat by their parents while at the
table, they may trigger vomiting when they get to their rooms or to the rest
room. They throw up everything that they have eaten. In so doing they are
making themselves weaker and slim. These anorexics usually have low blood
pressure and sometimes brachycardia. Some of these
teens will not experience menarche (the first menstruation), while other teens
that have experienced menstruation, will suffer from secondary amenorrhea
because of the constant starvation. Secondary amenorrhea is a condition in
females where their monthly periods have ceased.
Management
The anorexics must be psychologically treated. They should be actually
treated by psychiatrists or trained counsellors. The psychologist or
psychiatrist will try to find out what is the etiology
of refusing to eat food. What are psychological and social reasons would be
found out. Once they identify what
factors are involved, then they can slowly try to remove the factors or give
them inspiration and reasons to eat well and stay healthy. After they have
received psychological treatment, they may slowly begin to eat. Anorexia
Nervosa is chronic. Sometimes, after being advised by a psychologist they may
eat for a few weeks or months only to return to the same old problem. Thus, the
anorexia nervosa patient should be constantly monitored and always helped by
their parents. They should not be reprimanded, shouted at and scolded but with
love and care should be shown the importance of why they should eat well.
Apart from psychological advice, the patients could be given some drugs
that would enhance their hunger or appetite. They could also be given some
vitamins and mineral supplements and tonics, which would improve their health.
They could also be given tranquilizers or sedatives, which could help them to
forget the problem, which is causing them not to take care of their bodies but
to punish their bodies. Hence, a combined treatment of psychological counseling and good food and drugs could help them, along
with the love of friends, relatives and parents. Finally, the anorexics must
pray to God to solve their incorrigible problem.
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Anxiety is a fearful concern. It is an abnormal and overwhelming sense
of fear or doubt concerning a particular thing or matter. Why do people
experience uneasiness on a particular anticipated event like an examination,
speech competition, sporting event or a talent show? What really causes this
problem? One thing may be that the person has no experience in doing that
particular act like singing or giving a speech. They may be afraid of the
audience. Students may be afraid of the outcome of the exam, whether they will
do well or not or whether they will fail or pass. It is an apprehension or
uneasiness of the mind. Naturally, the causes of anxiety differ from person to
person and also what the person is anticipating. The major underlying cause of
anxiety is panic.
A few persons suffer from generalized anxiety disorder. They have sudden
attacks of panic, which could last for a few minutes. They could have palpitations,
hot or cold flashes, difficulty in breathing, severe sweating and some become
fearful of dying. Usually the panic attacks are frequent among persons between
15-24 years of age and maybe less than 1% of the population suffers from this
problem.5 Incidentally when people drink
too much alcoholic beverages, they may suffer from anxiety. Of course,
initially the alcohol may provide temporary relief but as they keep drinking it
becomes worse. Then there are persons who are hypochondriacs and will always
suffer from anxiety. Some persons, who have social phobia, dont want to meet
people in crowds, or others have fear of people in open public places. Now we
have to identify who has the problem. Do your children have the problem, your
wife or your husband or your employees or yourself? Who has the problem? Next,
how do we deal with this situation?
Management
Persons suffering from anxiety can be managed by psychological and drug
therapies. The management also depends
on what is causing the person to panic. If a person is suffering from
agoraphobia (fear of public places), then the person will avoid going to public
places. One would have to slowly de-train this person and the person will have
to go to public places with his or her best friend, close relatives or
parents. They could try places with few
people, then slowly try places where more people are
found. Some people, to avoid their anxiety, eat a lot of food (overeat) and
become fat. Some tell fat people are more anxious than thin people. To this I
disagree. Both fat and thin people have their anxieties. Some fat people may be
anxious about why they are fat and some thin people are anxious that they are
too thin. Patients who drink alcohol should avoid drinking it. Those who eat
too much when they are anxious ought to be advised not to do so. And patients
should be with friends who have deep concern for them and would do anything to
help them out to overcome anxiety.
Drug therapy would help them; especially hypochondriacs or persons who
are suffering from generalized anxiety disorder and with severe panic attacks.
The patients should be taken to psychiatrists.
Usually these people are sedated under severe attacks of panic. They
would be given drugs. Sometimes a combination of drugs and psychological treatment
are better than only one of them. Some of the drugs that are generally
prescribed are diazepam and buspirone. These drugs ought to be taken under the
prescription and supervision of a medical doctor. One should not self-treat the
problem because of side effects that may occur. One thing is for sure; the
patient should always be monitored and helped by other people. The person
should learn some relaxation techniques like deep breathing exercises, must go
out into nature or to relax in some cool place where he is not exposed to any
stressful conditions or environmental situations where it can trigger a panic
attack.
Above all, he or she must pray for the Holy Spirit to take control of
his or her life to relieve him or her of anxiety problem.
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There
is a sizable chunk of people in the world who do not believe in the existence
of God. They believe there is no God because they follow the adage seeing is believing. Remember, seeing is not necessarily factual.
We have never seen our great, great grandparents but we do know that we had
great, great grandparents. We have to
believe that there is a supernatural power that sustains us to live.
There
are individuals who are so scientific that only when they see some tangible
proof would they believe. There are many things that are beyond the explanation
of science. For example, parapsychology is the study of supernatural effects
that are beyond the physical laws and explanations of science. Some persons are possessed with demons,
ghosts haunt some houses and things can move here and there on their own. For
example when one puts a mango on the table that same mango on the table may
later be found on top of the terrace. How did this mango travel and defy the
law of gravity when nobody picked up that mango and put it on the terrace?
Thus, there are some events in the world that are beyond the laws of physics
and science.
We
should help these atheists with love and show them that just as how we cannot
see the wind but believe and feel it is there, we can believe in God. The
problem now is, why did they become atheists? Probably
they had bad experiences so they became atheists. Maybe their loved ones died
of cancer or from an accident and they thought there is no God in this universe
to save their loved ones. We have to find out the causes as to why they have
become atheists in order to help them.
Spiritual Solutions
First, we need to speak to the atheist with love and kindness. Next we
need to find out why they became atheists. What are the reasons? Once we find
out what the reasons are for them becoming atheists, then accordingly we could
advise them. Suppose they became atheists because a loved one had died, then we
can explain to them that when a potter makes a pot, he sometimes changes the
pot to his own liking or sometimes he breaks it and melts the pot again to make
another. In the same way God does what is good for us. Probably the person died
at a young age because at that time he would have died in Lord Jesus and when
He comes the second time he will rise to go to heaven. If a person hadnt died,
he may have become a bad person in the society, would have died later and he
would have lost heaven. One really does not know why the person died, hence, we
are to help the relatives out and give advice in a loving manner. Of course, it
is not God who brings trouble. Satan brings trouble. Satan can cause accidents,
tragedies and death if we do not follow Gods commands. God is not the author
of bad things, Satan is. God permits them but we really do not know why God
permits these things to happen.
There are some atheists that need scientific proof for everything. For
such people we have to explain to them that there are countless things that are
happening, and are beyond scientific explanation. For example, miracles! A person who has brain cancer may be given
one month to live by the doctor. He may have his church members pray for him
while he prays and fasts for himself and God has healed that person. When that
patient returns to the doctor and a CAT (Computerized Axial Tomography) scan is
done and compared with the results of the previous CAT scan, there is no trace
of the cancer. How do you explain why the cancer disappeared? The previous CAT
scan showed that there was cancer but in the next scan done after the miracle,
there is no presence of cancer. How do you explain this? There are many things
we cannot explain. As I mentioned before, if a mango is placed in a house
haunted by evil spirits, the mango would be on top of the terrace. How did the
mango arrive there? There are many things that we cannot explain by the
physical laws and scientific laws. There are many things that are happening
supernaturally. You know, all atheists, when in a sinking boat or a crashing
plane would call on any Supernatural Being just to save their lives.
An atheist boldly stated, "I'm an atheist, thank God." This statement is an oxymoron. This could mean that the atheist
is
thanking God for being an atheist, which means he is paradoxically admitting
that God exists. It is innate for everybody, in a life and death situation,
to call on a Supernatural Being just to escape the problem. Once the problem is
gone, then some are back to square one. The Bible says in Psalm 53:1, "The fool
hath said in his heart, there is no God." Anyone who is able to think should
wonder how could the universe be brought to existence
and continue to exist; the planets are not crashing against each other; the
whole world is not destroyed; and all the plants and animals have not been
destroyed or become extinct. Why is there physical order on the earth? There is
someone supernatural who is controlling it. Some people become atheists because
some Christian preachers teach that hell fire burns forever and ever. When some
people grow up with this idea, they begin to hate God and believe that there is
no God in this universe because no God would do this type of sadistic burning
forever. But those preachers actually misunderstand the Bible because in Malachai 4:1 it states, For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud,
ye, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day that cometh shall
burn them up saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall
leave them neither root nor branch.
It clearly states that the wicked would be burnt as in an oven and they
shall become stubble, which means they shall become ashes. And it also says
that the fire shall leave them neither root or branch. This means, when neither root
nor branch is left, they will be burnt completely. It is not eternal burning of
the fire but it burns and consumes and leaves no root or branch.
In order to bring the love of the almighty good God to the atheist, I am
suggesting some points below.
1. Find out the reason why they became
atheists.
2. Whatever the reasons are, show them
that Holy Bible is an inspired book.
3. State to them that the laws of
science do not explain some things such as parapsychology and miracles.
4. Show the creative power of God and
how lives are being changed. For example, how murderers have been converted and
have become disciples of Lord Jesus.
5. Always show kindness and love even
if the atheist talks harshly. Do not give tit for tat.
6. Pray for the atheist so that the
Holy Spirit will control their lives and change them.
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Bad (Profane) Language
Nowadays,
some children learn 26 bad and vulgar words before they have learnt the 26 letters of the
alphabet. When you see adult movies these days, every other sentence is packed
with expletives and vulgar words. In fact some movies have the F word in
almost every sentence. After seeing these movies people think it is normal to
use the F word and other expletives. They reason that if they do not use
these words, they are not
macho men and for them it is very essential that they use these
words.
Some
use expletives, bad language and swear to show off that they have already mastered
English. Some people think that when they use these vulgar words, it is not a
drawback but a sign of their social development and a mark of fashion. We are to find out why people are using
these bad words and what is influencing them to use them. We are to show that
speaking bad language is definitely wrong.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
We are to teach children from childhood that they should not use bad and vulgar
language. We should not only tell them not to use bad words but we should also
be examples to them by not using bad words. A wife said to her husband, "Honey,
our three year old daughter is using bad language." The husband asked, "What do
you mean bad language? What did she say?" The wife replied, "She said, 'Which
bloody fool took away my toy?'" The husband replied, "How did she learn that
bloody language?"
Conspicuosly, the father himself had
been using the term bloody and the daughter started using it. We have to show
the children by our exemplary lives. And also the decent members of the public
should protest the use of these vulgar words in movies and on TV. Even if you
do not use these words, when you switch on the television and these words are
being used, the children tend to pick tham up. We should ensure that bad words
are not being used at work and at school. The films and movies that we watch
should not contain these bad words. Using bad words is not a sign of machoism or a mark of social or physical development, but
rather, it is that of uncouth culture. Persons who are obsessed to use bad
words all the time suffer from coprolalia. It is an
obsession to use profanity or bad words
Spiritual Solutions
When we look at the Bible, Lord
Jesus clearly said in Matthew 5:22, Whoever shall say to
his brother, 'Raca! shall be in danger of the
council. But whoever shall say, thou fool! shall be in danger of hell fire.'
Lord Jesus admonishes that if we use bad words, then were actually committing
sin.
Again in Matthew 5:37, He says, But let your communication be yeah, yeah,
nay, nay for whatever is more than this cometh from evil. So Lord Jesus,
who is creator of all of the universe and us, advises us not to use obscene
language in our communication. Sometimes, when we say to people, Don't use bad
words, they fight and resent our advice and they proceed to use all the more
bad words. So after reading my advice, if someone still insists on using bad
words, then let him go ahead and help himself. Yet remember, the Bible
instructs in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Let
us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments
for it is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment,
with every secret thing whether it be good or whether
it be evil. Thus if one wants, he or she can still use profane words but
always remember that God shall bring every word you say into judgment whether
it is good or bad. Therefore, let us not use bad and vulgar language and be
examples to our children so that they wont use bad
language.
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Baldness
People are trying to find a cure for
baldness because they reason that baldness is a serious problem. What causes
baldness? It has been postulated that a gene on the Y chromosome is responsible
for baldness. Of course, baldness runs in families. If the father carries this
gene that causes baldness in his Y chromosome, chances are his sons would also
be bald. Apart from the genetically inherited baldness, there are other types
of baldness. The name for baldness is alopecia. Alopecia means loss of hair.
Some scientists do agree that the cause of simple baldness is not fully
understood, whereas others agree that baldness is limited to males, who have
baldness running in their families because of the genetic problem. Baldness is
often associated with aging too. As a person ages he might lose hair. Some have
baldness in an U shape others have the baldness in a
M shape. Alopecia areata hair loss is loss of hair
in defined areas, usually the scalp or the beard. Alopecia cicatrisata
is irreversible loss of hair associated with scarring generally on the
scalp.
Male pattern alopecia is loss of
scalp hair, genetically determined and androgen dependent, beginning with
frontal resistance and it tends to progress towards the back of the head. Some
scientists theorize that alopecia among males may be polygenic or autosomal dominant.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
The treatment for alopecia areata could be
potent topical steroids. Studies have shown that systemic steroids have been
effective but this cannot be used for a long time because of side effects. For
genetically controlled baldness from father to son has actually no cure. People
from the smallest county to the biggest city in the world are trying to find a
cure for baldness. There are many people who are selling herbs and different
concoctions and tonics for the growth of hair. As a matter of fact, there is no
drug or tonic that can cure baldness. Here is an episode to show you that
indeed there is no complete cure.
A man was selling a pill to cure baldness. He usually booked town halls
where he gave a speech and sold the pills to the people. Usually the town halls
were packed with half bald, quarter bald and fully bald people. In fact, there
were some children and teenagers who were not bald but desired to take the pill
as a prophylactic measure because their fathers were bald headed men. In one of
the town halls where he was showing the wonder pill, the pill fell on the
floor. This man who claimed to have a cure for baldness bent down to pick up
the pill. In the process of bending down, his head hit against the microphone
and the wig that he was wearing fell off. All the people in the town hall now
found out that the man who was selling the wonder pill, which would cure baldness,
was himself a fully bald headed man. Then they realized that this man was
cheating everybody by selling this pill because he himself was bald. The pills
that he was selling were utterly useless and they were as good as garbage. He
was obviously fooling everybody. So they beat this man up for cheating the
public. In this illustration, it shows that there is no cure for baldness.
Hence, what is the solution for baldness?
First, one could wear a wig in such a way that it is not very
conspicuous. Second, one could have hair transplant. If one undergoes hair
transplant, one could cover baldness to a certain extent. Another thing to
consider is that one should not be afraid of baldness. There are a lot of
intelligent and talented bald people. One can live confidently with baldness
without masking it. Perhaps, by looking at a bald mans exemplary life and the
fact that he is not afraid of baldness, other men who are bald may be inspired.
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Belching is also known as eructation. It is involuntary release of gas
from either the stomach or the esophagus.
Belching could be caused as a
normal reflex after food when the esophagus sphincter
is relaxed. Belching is a normal reflex but when a person has this too often
then there is some kind of problem and belching is not etiquette. It could be
nauseating to others who either hear your belching sound or smell the belched
up air.
Most of the belching is from
swallowed air. There are some people who suffer from aerophagia;
where they constantly swallow air, especially when they are nervous or anxious.
Other persons that may experience belching problems are those who chew gum,
smoke, drink carbonated beverages and eat high fatty foods or simply overeat.
It can cause some problems like distension and abdominal pain. The swallowed
air, apart from causing belching, it can cause flatulence, which is leaving of
gas.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
We can solve belching by preventing
it. How do we prevent it? We can prevent belching by trying to remove the
causes. If a person is constantly swallowing air, then the person should avoid
the swallowing of air. Some of the points to remember to avoid belching are as
follows:
1. Do not drink carbonated beverages.
2. Do not chew gum.
3. Do not smoke.
4. Do not drink any liquid through
straw.
5. Do not be nervous and anxious
because it may cause more swallowing of air.
6. Do not eat high fatty foods or
overeat.
If you are already suffering from belching then for some antacids work
well and for others they wont work. Again, my advice is that prevention is
better that cure. Therefore, follow the advice I have given to avoid belching.
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For most people, biding farewell, especially to loved ones, is too
painful. In some Asian countries, people become so emotional, cry loudly and
they become very depressed. In Western countries, they may not show their
emotional state but they might be sad at heart. When you bid farewell to
persons, it depends on how much you love them and the place where you had
lived. If you love the people and the place too much, it is very hard for you
to say goodbye. If you have allergies in a area because of climatic conditions
and pollutants and the people are allergic to you; and you dont like the food you eat there,
youd be actually longing to get out of that place. So biding
farewell for some may not be a problem because they disliked the people and the
place anyway. Who has a problem with biding farewell? Children
going to the dorms; when the teacher finds another job; or the student is
graduating and has to bid farewell to his classmates and his teachers. And any individual leaving behind his or her loved ones.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
Take
it easy when you bid farewell! It is easier said than done. It is hard to bid farewell to the people whom
you loved so much and who cared for you. That is, however, a part of life.
Biding farewell is one of the things you must do in life. It should not be a
problem provided you would return, especially if it is your girlfriend or your
wife that youre to leave. And if you have no emotions of sadness because you
are leaving your wife or girlfriend or another loved one, there is something
wrong with you. If you dont have enough love for the person, biding farewell
will be easy but if you love the person a lot, biding farewell could be a
problem. Always remember the longer the distance, the more the love grows and
the more you will appreciate the person. When you are away from loved ones it
is actually increasing love towards that person because you will miss that
person each day. When you are away from that person you will know what you are
missing in that person. So in a way biding farewell could increase the love and
affection you have for that person. When
you bid farewell, you always long to return after some months or a year to see
how the person is and the changes that have taken place in that area. Thus
biding farewell may allow you to appreciate things better because while youre
living there, you may not appreciate certain things but when you return to that
place after a long time, you may appreciate and find a lot of changes.
I
know, some people would say to you Do not cry when I leave but if you cannot
control crying, then cry as much as you want. One
drawback of crying is that, when the loved one sees your crying face, the last
thing he or she would remember is your crying face because a last impression is
also a lasting impression. But when you smile and bid farewell, the loved one
will remember your smiling face. If youre crying and biding farewell, theyll
remember your crying face. If you can avoid crying, then fine. But if you cant
help crying then go ahead because it is better to express yourself than to
bottle up your emotions inside. To see your relatives and friends one day in
the future will also give you happiness, so the longing will add an icing on
the cake of your happiness.
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Bites
I am discussing the bites of venomous lizards, spiders and other animal
bites. Snakebites are discussed
elsewhere in this book. The gila-monster lizard and the bearded lizard are known to be
venomous. The gila-monster
lives in the South Western USA and is also found in Mexico,
whereas the bearded lizard is mostly found in Mexico. The symptoms and signs of venomous lizard
bite include intense pain, edema and swelling of the
lymph nodes. It can cause other symptoms
like weakness, sweating, and thirst.6
As a rule, most of the bites from spiders are venomous but some of the
fangs of the spiders are too short and fragile to penetrate the skin of human
beings. By the way, there are some spiders, which you are to be extremely
careful of. They are the widow spiders, funnel web spiders, tarantulas and wool
spiders. Nation like Australia
has alarming problem with spiders. In fact, the people of Sydney have to live daily with funnel web
spiders. Not all poisonous spiders venom has been studied, therefore, not much
is known about the venom of various spiders in the world. The bite of widow
spider usually causes sharp pains, muscular rigidity in the abdomen, shoulders,
back and chest. It also causes dizziness, headache, edema,
and pruritus.7
Management
The management regarding the lizard bite is that as soon as one is
bitten all the venom is to be sucked out of the wound because no anti-venom is
commercially available. The wound should be properly cleaned and disinfected.
The patient should be rushed to hospital.
The patient would be treated symptomatically.
If it is a widow spider bite,
first of all, ice should be placed on the bite to reduce pain. The patient
should be transported immediately to a hospital. Try to catch the spider that
bit the person because it is good to know which species of the spider bit the
person, so that the patient can be given the correct anti-venom. Anti-venom
should be given as soon as possible to an individual who is been bitten by a
venomous spider.
If it is a dog bite, cat bite or a camel bite, one should make sure that
animal had received anti-rabies vaccination.
If one is not sure that the animal had anti-rabies vaccination then it
is better for that person to have the anti-rabies vaccination because there is
no cure for rabies. Ensure that the wound is disinfected and properly cleaned.
Always remember for the dog bite, cat bite or any wild animal bite anti-rabies
injections should be taken since there is no cure for rabies. The anti-rabies
vaccination should be given within 24 hours of the bite. The best thing is
prevention. When you know that a dog or some other animal could bite you,
always take preventive methods. See also zoonosis in
this book. If a human has been bitten by another, he or she needs to take a
tetanus toxoid injection to avoid tetanus disease
because of the bite.
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The exact definition of blindness is highly debatable
because there are many different definitions. WHO has recommended blindness to
be visual acuity of less than 3/60 or its equivalent.
WHO also added that it is an inability to count fingers in daylight at a
distance of 3 meters.8 Of course, the
persons with the problem of blindness cannot read what I am discussing about
blindness and its management. However, the people who can see and read could
help the ones that are blind or partially blind. Let me first deal with the etiology of blindness. There are many reasons why a person
could be blind. One such example is cataract (opaque lens) that could cause
blindness. Trachoma, which is caused by the bacteria chlamydia
trochomatis, is another. Under nutrition of vitamin A
could also cause blindness. The lack of vitamin A could first cause xerosis of the eye; next it could lead to bitots spots and later to keratomalacia,
which could lead to irreversible blindness.
Even severe condition of diabetes
could lead to blindness. Injuries to the eye, which could happen while chopping
wood, chipping stone, burning some material and while playing games with
certain objects, could cause blindness. Blindness is quite prevalent. There are
more than 30 million blind people in the world. The highest rate of blind persons per
hundred thousand inhabitants is in Saudi Arabia where it is 3000 per
hundred thousand inhabitants. The lowest rate is 51 per hundred thousand
inhabitants in Belgium.9
Management
It is best to prevent blindness than trying to cure it. To prevent
blindness, we must have primordial eye care. That is, from the time the baby is
born until the time of death, there should be good care of the eye. Every time
when there is a routine medical examination, the eyes should be checked for any
kind of eye problem. During the elementary school, high school and college
education, there should be regular eye check ups along with the other medical
examination to completely avoid eye problems. Whether it is conjunctivitis, diplopia, partial blindness or night blindness, they all
can be avoided once there has been constant check ups over the years in ones
life.
However, when a person is irreversibly blind, what is the management? Of
course, it is easy to give counsel but for a blind person who had been seeing
and later became blind because of an accident or keratomalacia,
will find it really difficult to live as a blind person. The blind person
should learn to read Braille language. The person should try to get a guiding
dog to assist him in walking or he must have a white cane to help him walk and
identify himself as being blind. The blind person should try to be as
independent as possible because the more dependent a person is, the more the
persons assisting him would get tired of helping. Some who help the blind may
even curse the blind person in their minds. Hearing stories about great blind
people, such as, Fanny J. Crosby and Helen Keller, could inspire blind persons.
Their stories could inspire the visually impaired persons to live a normal life
and not be depressed and despondent about their blindness.
Of course, the blind person should know his or her limitations. A blind
person cannot dream of driving a car all by himself on the road. Everybody has
got to know his or her limitations and the blind person is no exception. Let me
illustrate. A person who can see well and a blind person were debating what
they could do to help the existing technology. The man with sight told he would
try to take an aeroplane to the moon without using a rocket while the blind man
told he could take a rocket to the sun. The man with sight said How can you
take a rocket to the sun? The sun is a ball of fire and before you reach the
sun you would burn to ashes. The blind man replied, Well, Id take the rocket
during the night time. This illustration may be amusing but we should know
what can be done and what cant. The counsel, which Im suggesting cannot be
read by blind people because it is not written in Braille but those that can
see can help the blind people to be always happy in spite of their sorrows.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
One good thing is that the Bible speaks in John 9:6 where Lord Jesus
said, I am the light of the world.
So He is the light of the world and we all need His light. Blind people do not
have to worry for too long because if they lead a righteous life and die, later
when Lord Jesus comes to resurrect the righteous to take them to heaven, the
blind will have their eyesight back. Our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christs coming is not too far.
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Taking bribes is a very, very grave and rampant problem. Bribery exists
in practically all countries in the world. In some countries, bribery is so
conspicuous, while in others the bribery practice is done on the sly. Persons from many walks of life have to face
bribery at some point in their lives. Bribery is predominant in the police
force of many nations. Getting reservations on trains is always tied to bribery
in India.
Passing traffic license examinations and road tests may be fair in some
developed countries but there are many instances where bribery plays lead role
in getting license through illegal means in other countries. Some fruits of
these briberies are seen in accidents caused by people who cannot drive well
because they have bribed their way to getting their licenses. In some places,
bribes are given to pass license examinations while in others,
persons try to avoid traffic tickets by bribing the traffic cops. Some
engineers and businessmen give bribes to get contracts. Some rich persons have
no problem in giving bribes at all, but this really hurts the poor individual
who cant afford to give bribes.
Some are of the opinion that giving bribes is no problem but taking
bribes is a problem. This opinion is actually ironic. If a person believes that
taking bribes is a problem but giving bribes is not a problem, it is
paradoxical because in giving bribes you are actually causing someone else to
take a bribe. Hence, this is only increasing the problem. Some persons claim
that they take bribes because their salaries are so low and bribery is a second
income to maintain themselves and their families. The Bible tells us in Psalms
26:9-10, Gather not my soul with sinners nor my
life with bloody men. In whose hands is mischief and their right hand is full
of bribes. Here the Bible refers to the persons who take bribes as bloody
men and sinners, thus taking bribes is actually a sin.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
The best solution for bribery is to have stringent laws to prohibit and
abolish bribery. Apart from having stringent laws to prohibit bribery, they
must also have severe punishment to punish the offenders. The saddest part is
that, the ones who are supposed to enforce laws against bribery are sometimes
themselves guilty of abetting bribery or are in fact, themselves, taking
bribes. In a situation like this, it is very hard to solve the problem. To
solve bribery problem, where it is highly predominant and very apparent, is
still more difficult because from the grass root level to the highest level of
officers in the land could be guilty of taking bribes. So how do you solve or
plug this problem? It is very difficult, not impossible though. To inhibit this
bribery it must be dealt with from the highest office. There is no use in making laws against only
the persons at the lower ranks of the administration to stop taking bribes
whereas the highest officer still continues to take bribes. The highest
officers do not take bribes directly; they go through the clerks to take the
bribe, lest they are caught. They would escape while the clerk would get
caught. In order to avoid this, there must be serious punishment that even the
persons who want to help higher officers would become afraid to do so.
It is always good to stop a bad thing from happening from the early
stages of childhood. Every time students are admitted in a prep school or high
school, they should voluntarily pledge to themselves or take an oath not to
take bribes. When they are under a pledge or oath from childhood then their
lifestyles will be such that they will have nothing to do with bribes. Of
course, we should not coerce the children to take the anti bribe oaths but we
should tell them the evil effects of bribery.
Make no mistake, we all make mistake of being selfish at some time or the other but it is rich to share than not to
share and be rich. When they complain that everybody does that, they may be placing
themselves in a place where it is hard not to take bribes. There should be
anti-bribery squads, which should be responsible for catching the culprits by
lacing the currency with invisible ink so that when the person takes it, the
squad members later can come and catch them red-handed. There could also be
undercover men who would act as likely bribers and should take some
photographs, minus the flash, or do something else. Once these people are
caught, they should be exposed completely in the newspapers and television that
they may be ashamed and embarrassed so that others wont want to be in the same
situation.
Spiritual Solutions
The Bible clearly tells us that if we take bribes, we are perverting
judgement. In 1 Samuel 8: 3 it says, And his sons walked not in his ways but turned aside after
lacquer and took bribes and perverted judgement. The solution is, if we want to have good and fair judgement, we should not
take bribes. Therefore, we should pledge not to take or give bribes. If we give
bribes, were only encouraging others to take bribes.
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People, especially the ones with smaller income, have difficult problems
in budgeting their expenses and their income. Some families have a hard time
paying rent, electricity, water and phone bills, meet the food expenses and to
take care of the tuition fees of the children, and if they have a car, to
maintain the car. Of course, for people who are extremely rich (stinking rich),
there are absolutely no problems of budgeting because in a way, theyre
actually wasting money and some of them dont accept that wasting money is a
budgeting problem. They think, We have so much money, it is our
business to spend it as we like. So wasting money, to them, may not be a
problem but to a sensible man it is a kind of budgeting problem because it is
wasting the money down the drain. There are always unseen problems, even when
youre having a hard time to balance your income, like:
(a) Your car needs to have new tires
(b) You have an accident and the insurance will
not cover the expenses immediately because they have to do a lot of
investigation and by then you are stranded.
Thus, there are various problems
where you have to meet those problems with finances. How do we solve budgeting
problems?
Non-Spiritual Solutions
The solutions to budgeting problems
are not easy. One solution to one family or person for a budgeting problem may
not be a solution to another mans budgeting problem. The solutions could be
basic and simple.
Live within your income
Your expenses should not be more
than your income. If you reason that you could borrow money from friends,
relatives and others, and would solve your budgeting problems you may be dead
wrong because it could increase more problems. It could lead to animosity if
you do not pay up what you have borrowed. Do not take loans unnecessarily
because all loans come with high interest and some day, at some point in time,
you will have to clear those loans.
Know your limitations
If you have an old Toyota car and your budget is not enough, you
cannot buy a Mercedes Benz or a BMW. One ought to be aware of ones
limitations.
Organize
your budget
Prepare a form to write all your
regular expenses. When the form is ready, make several copies so that every
month you can fill it up. Usually, the form should contain spaces to write the
expenses of various bills like phone, water, and electricity, the car expenses,
the childrens tuition, food, clothes and furniture expenses. Apart from all
these expenses, you should save some money and when you add up all these
expenses, it should not exceed your income. You should always save some money
in spite of all your difficulties because there is always some kind of
emergency in the form of health problems, emergencies or something else. Of
course, in some countries, there is insurance to cover health problems but in
some poor countries, there is no insurance. Some companies do not provide any
health insurance coverage. So always remember to have some money to be kept
aside. And do not keep the money in your home, like under the pillow or in the
cupboard because you will be tempted to use it. Try to save the money in fixed
deposits. If you save all the money in a regular savings account, you can
always withdraw it at any time but when it is a fixed deposit in a bank, you
will only be able to withdraw it when the term expires. It is therefore best to
keep some money in a savings account and some in a fixed deposit.
Be
practical
Be practical and dont live in a
fantasy world where you dream of having the best clothes, car and facilities in
the world. Try to live in reality. Don't waste money on lottery tickets. The
probability of winning a lottery bumper prize is one in a million. If lottery
tickets would make many persons very rich, then all the lottery ticket vendors
and hawkers would have become millionaires long ago and they would have stopped
selling the lottery tickets. If you cant really balance your budget, look for
a second job. The second job should not eat up your family time or expend all
your energy but if you can cope, then do find a second job.
Spiritual Solutions
Follow
Biblical principles
Dont love money too much because the
Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:10, The love of money is the root of all evil Women, dont live with a common-law husband
because when the going gets tough, he will just walk out of your life, leaving
you high and dry. Always try to marry someone who fears God and makes family
life as a major priority. It is best to pay tithe (one tenth of the salary) to
God. More often than not, God will bless anyone who is faithful in offering
tithe to God in a church. See Malachi 3:10 in the Holy Bible. Finally, this
solution is found in 1 Timothy 6:4, where it advises,
But godliness with contentment is great
gain. Let us be content with the income we receive and be God-fearing, and
live within the budget.
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Bulimia nervosa is a disorder where there are repeated episodes of binge
eating after which the person may feel guilty and would try to induce vomiting,
use laxatives and diuretics or would fast later. Of course, bulimia nervosa is
different from anorexia nervosa, that is, the patients of bulimia nervosa
usually are of normal weight whereas the patients of anorexia nervosa are
extremely emaciated and thin. Both the disorders affect females mostly. Usually
the symptoms of bulimia patients are that they will have erosion of dental
enamel of the front teeth or would have painless salivary gland enlargement.
They would also have fluid and electrolyte disturbances.
Management
The management of bulimia nervosa is
based on two approaches of treatment. One is psychotherapy and the other is the
use of anti-depressants. An experienced psychologist or psychiatrist who has
treated bulimics in the past should give psychotherapy. He would identify what
makes them eat so much and feel guilty later. Then he would advise them that
they should change their behavioral attitudes. The
other approach is to give anti-depressants in order for them not to be
depressed. Of course, a few other persons suffer from binge eating problem,
where they eat like crazy and would not vomit or purge later on. Since they are
just depressed, they want to eat like crazy. Such persons should be treated for
obesity and instructed that every time they are depressed, they should not go
on to binge eating.
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Cancers
Cancers
are malignant tumors. Cancers can be divided or
classified into two major categories. One category is solid malignant tumors and the other, leukemia
and lymphomas. Cancers can also be classified on the type of tissues. Cancers
that involve epithelial tissues are known as carcinoma. Cancers that involve
connective tissues are known as sarcomas. Cancer is a dreaded problem. For some
individuals, the moment they hear the news from a doctor that they are
suffering from cancer, their lives are completely devastated and shattered. In
the underdeveloped nations one out of every three persons could develop cancer
if they live to seventy. In USA
one out of every two to three could develop cancer.10
This cancerous problem is not only devastating to the patient but it
also affects the patients whole family, relatives and friends. The lives of
significant others may be plastered with sadness. For cancer patients, where there is not much
of a prognosis like different leukemias and
lymphomas, it is still all the more devastating and crushing.
The causation of cancer is highly complex. There are many factors
inter-playing in the cause of cancer. Some cancers are idiopathic, which means
the causes are simply not known. Some
types of causes are known as induced causes. Induced causes result because some
carcinogens are acquired through lifestyle.
Nicotine and carbon monoxide can be carcinogenic for lung cancer.
Alcohol can be carcinogenic for cancer of the liver. There are many types of
carcinogens that can lead to cancers. We can also group the factors, which can
cause cancer as environmental factors, and such examples are tobacco and
alcohol. Risk factors like ingesting smoked fish and jerk chicken can play a
role in stomach cancers. High beef consumption may contribute to bowel cancer
and highly fatty foods can make a person susceptible to breast cancer and
prostate cancer. The chemicals such as arsenic, benzene, asbestos and
polycyclic hydrocarbons are carcinogenic. There are some viruses that can cause
cancers. They are like hepatitis B
virus, the Epstein-bar virus, the human T cell leukemia
virus, which is associated with adult T cell leukemia
and lymphoma.11 Some parasite infections can also put a person at
risk. One such example could be schistosoma, which
could abet to cause carcinoma of the bladder. Other environmental factors like
strong sunlight, radiation, medications (artificial estrogens) and pesticides
are contributors to some cancers. Some genetic factors have also been suspected
to contribute to the etiology of cancer, like Downs
syndrome children can be susceptible to leukemia.
Then individuals who inherit Philadelphia
chromosome, which is 22p-, can also develop leukemia.12 For more information on cancers, please read my book Dr.
Stevensons Book on Preventive Nutrition.
Management (Both Non-Spiritual &
Spiritual)
An oncologist is a doctor, who
specializes in treating cancers. He is the ideal person to treat the cancer
patients. The treatment of cancer could include chemotherapy, which are anti
cancer drugs, radiation, surgery, graft (bone marrow graft for leukemia patients) and therapeutic nutrition. The
therapeutic nutrition should be followed as advised by the doctor and the
dietician. The patient should strictly adhere to the advice of the medical
doctor and take his/her treatment regularly. One of the reasons that a few
patients do not want to receive the treatment is because of the severe side effects.
The chemotherapy can cause abdominal pain and loss of taste and radiation can
make them very sick and make them lose hair in the long run. Some surgical
patients will have problems with the pain. The overall complication of cancer
patient is severe pain. Pain due to cancer can occur in two ways:
a) Cancer may directly attacks the nerves, therefore, there is intense pain.
b) The cancer/malignant tumor is becoming bigger, invading bone and other
tissues and pressurizing blood vessels, and causing pain.
By the way, I am adding
another aspect to management, which is prayer to Lord Jesus Christ who is the
greatest Healer. When a patient takes all types of the treatment and dont
depend on God, he will not usually have fast recovery. However, the patient who takes the regular
treatment be it chemotherapy, radiation or surgery and who prays to the
Greatest Physician called Lord Jesus Christ, can be healed if it is His will.
There are miracles, where the doctors have completely given up hope on cancer
patients but were cured of cancers as a result of prayers. There was an
instance in which a man was diagnosed to have had brain cancer and the doctor
told that he would live only for six months.
But he and the church members prayed to Lord Jesus. Now that man has been living for eighteen
years and there is no trace of the brain cancer. It is incredible! This is the miracle of Lord
Jesus Christ. This goes to show that miracles do take place.
The cancer patient must not
pray to God, Dear God, You heal me first and then
Ill give my life to You. Rather the patient should pray, Dear God, if it is Your will, please heal me, but I do believe if it is Your
will, You can heal me.
Friends and well wishers should make the patient happy at all times and
the patient should always be occupied. The cancer patient should be involved
with a club, church and should continue his daily life as usual and not be
alone. The moment the patient loses the will power to live, the cancer can
rapidly take over and cut short his or her life. Hence, the patient must not
lose the will power but must fight out progression of the disease as long as
possible.
The ones who have not yet been diagnosed as
having symptoms of cancer, should know that early detection can save their
lives. When one enters some hospitals, he or she would find posters, which
gives the seven warning signs of cancer. It is an acronym of CAUTION; each
letter stands for a particular symptom of cancer.
i)
C-- Changes in bowel/bladder
movement
ii)
A-- A sore that doesnt
heal
iii)
U--Unusual bleeding or
discharge
iv)
T--Thickening of lump
in breast or else where
v)
I--Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing
vi)
O--Obvious change in
wart or mole
vii)
N--Nagging cough or
hoarseness
Therefore, if you have
any of these signs, dont procrastinate because if you do, youre only
shortening your life span. Go immediately to your family doctor and get that
sign diagnosed if it is cancer or not. Now, I am advising those who do not have
cancer. One out of every two persons could develop cancer, irrespective of what
their health status is. That means the
very fact that we dont have cancer today means it is the greatest miracle
performed by Lord Jesus. Permit me to illustrate this further. When somebody
suffers from cancer, he or she will ask the pastor and the other church members
to fast and pray. The cancer patient wouldve prayed, God please heal me. If You heal me then I will not smoke, drink alcohol, will not
commit adultery or will not fornicate. The patient would make all kinds of
promises in the prayer. When he or she is healed through a miracle, he or she
would uphold the promises and would not fornicate or commit adultery, smoke or
drink alcohol but lead a good life. What Im trying to drive home is that the
very fact that we dont have cancer is a miracle. We dont have to wait for
cancer itself to strike us and then we promise not to smoke and drink alcohol,
not to fornicate or commit adultery and any other sin. When we dont have
cancer, it is the greatest miracle. Therefore, why cant we, when we experience
the greatest miracle (not suffering from cancer), pledge not to smoke or drink
alcohol in all its forms, not to commit adultery or to fornicate or not to do
any other sin but give our lives totally to Lord Jesus.
Remember that the very
fact that we dont suffer from cancer is a miracle. Psalms 150:6 declares, Let everything that hath breath praise the
Lord, praise the Lord. We have breath and this breath, right now, is not
cancer tainted. It is a good breath that is cancer free. So let us realize that
the very fact that we have been by passed over by cancer is the greatest
miracle in our lives and we should completely surrender our lives totally to
the will of the Lord Jesus because He has done a miracle in our lives. We
should pray everyday for every cancer patient to be healed. We should give all
the support we can to cancer patients.
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Persons who
are very close to God, who read and follow the Bible, and who pray daily reason
that carnival and wild spring break celebrations are abominations.
Persons who are not religious minded, who are not spiritual,
think that carnival is not a problem at all. To them, it is basically a
fun festival where they can just drink and dance, enjoy themselves and be
merry. But let us look deeply into this problem called carnival. In all the
Catholic countries, carnival was started as a ritual just before Lent season.
They would have all the fun and then during the Lent season they would fast and
pray. However, the very purpose of Lent is actually defeated. It is like one is
dancing with the devil, having the carnival, drinking alcohol and doing obscene
sexual things. The dances in the carnival are actually dry sex movements.
These dances are seen, not only by people on the roads or from their houses, but
also on television. It is like dancing and feasting with the devil and
afterwards trying to ask Gods forgiveness. Its like murdering a person or
raping a woman and then telling the dead body or the rape victim that you are
sorry.
Persons argue that carnival
brings people together. There is unity and gladness and therefore, carnival
should not be treated as a problem but as a solution to other problems in the
society. Let us dig even deeper into this problem. We cannot conduct a
referendum or a democratic vote on how many think or feel carnival is a sin and
an abomination and how many speculate carnival is okay in the society. And if
most people vote that it is not a problem then carnival can be excused. If
people are to judge on the basis of democracy, then that cannot be termed as
ethical or unethical.
We must not go by what
people picture carnival to be. We should find out how God views carnival to be.
Let me illustrate an example of a carnival in the Bible. When Moses went up
into Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, the Israelites according to Exodus
32:6 sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. In other words,
the Israelites were having a carnival. And what did God do to these people? God
cursed all these people that were involved in the carnival. The very same day
when the children of Israel
were involved in the carnival, at the foot of that mount three thousand people
were killed. The Bible goes on to say in the same chapter, verse 32 and
the Lord plagued the people. Hence, we should not see carnival as what
others see as, whether its a problem or not, but how God sees it.
When God sees carnival as a
problem, then it is 100% a problem. How
can you do all that sexual hip moving business; the
kinds of improper dressing, exposing the breasts and being scantily dressed?
How could those glorify Lord Jesus Christ? This is definitely a problem. In
fact, they are crucifying Lord Jesus again. This is not the way to celebrate
Lent and Easter. This is not the way to glorify Lord Jesus. Make no mistake,
carnival is evil and sinful.
Spiritual
Solutions
Solutions to
the problem of carnival is not easy because if the government of a
nation supports carnival, there is nothing much we can do. We should at least
protest to the government for allowing carnival. We should decently object to
the practice of carnival. The government gets money through tourism and is
trying to make as much as possible. So are some business entities and the
television stations. They dont realize that when God withdraws the Holy Spirit
from those guilty governments, companies and television stations, they will
collapse sooner or later. But it is the grieving presence of the Holy Spirit
that still enables them to survive. But
the Holy Spirit will not be lingering too long with the people and companies
who are mocking and blaspheming the name of Lord Jesus.
To open the eyes of those that
still think carnival is okay, let them look at the nations where the citizens
do not celebrate any carnival. Those nations have less crime problems, less
domestic problems, fewer divorces, and hardly have any common-law unions. But
the countries that have carnivals and spring break celebrations have high rate
of murder, robbery, drug addiction, alcoholism, incest, premarital sex and
rape. There are no strong family ties and there is a lot of sexual immorality
going on in those countries where carnival exists. Therefore,
the ones who believe that carnival is wrong have to do their part by writing
against it in the newspapers. Unfortunately, some newspapers refuse to
publish this kind of letters. But we must try to protest in whatever possible
means and we should never take part in carnivals and spring break celebrations.
We should further tell the younger generation not to take part. It is worse now
that they are having carnival for juveniles and training the small children to
behave like dogs. My only advice is we can protest and pray to God. My last
solution to the problem of carnival is found in II Chronicles 7:14 where it
states, If My people, which are called
by My name shall humble themselves and pray and turn
from their wicked ways, then will I hear their voice from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal
their land. Let us unite, pray and protest, so that carnival will not be
conducted. Let us not crucify Lord Jesus
Christ again on the cross by having carnivals and also wild spring break
celebrations.
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Chaos is basically utter
confusion. This sort of confusion and mayhem can take place during a strike, in
a marketplace, fighting among sports spectators and during a festival. How do
we try to ensure that the chaos is prevented or solved?
Non-Spiritual Solutions
If you know that a particular
festival is going to result in with chaos, a particular strike is going to lead
to chaos or a game or sports is going to have some problem, it is better not to
attend that particular event. You certainly do not want to be a part of that
chaotic situation. Now to solve a chaotic problem, there should be a large
presence of the police. In fact, the police should expect the unexpected. Just
because there was no chaos at the previous events does not
mean that they should contemplate or come to the conclusion that there
will be no chaos this time around. The police should always be prepared for the
worst and hope for the best. The police should be in large numbers in
situations like with striking students or workers.
A teacher should see that
students do not create chaotic conditions. Especially in a large school or
college, students tend to make noise and some love to create trouble. Thus, in
such cases the concerned authorities have to take precautionary methods by
having more presence of teachers and enforcing strict rules and regulations.
But once there is a chaotic condition, what should one do? In a chaotic
condition, a person that is a good public scrupulous speaker should go up and speak to the
crowd cleverly and psychologically lure them to his or her side. The first
thing to do is calm them down when there is a chaotic condition in schools. Try
to make good sense prevail. But in a chaotic condition in a school, talking
rough and tough will make things worse and the students will become all the
more chaotic. If the chaos is on the street or in the marketplace or during a
strike, then the police must first use tear gas and other means to dispel the
crowd. They should not open fire with bullets as this would stir up more
violence. Start with milder means and try talking to the people because
sometimes when we talk things over, better sense will prevail. If the police
have used milder means and there is still absolutely no response, then they
will have to use stronger means like rubber pellets and other things to dispel
the crowd. Once the crowd has been dispelled, the police should assess what
went wrong and see that this is not repeated.
When there is mayhem in
stadiums for a cricket match, football match or a baseball match, it may be
caused by alcohol use. The basic problem is when alcohol and beer is flowing
freely, when people drink, they lose their inhibitions and could act like
animals. The game would also raise their adrenaline hormones and emotions.
Hence, in matches like cricket matches, football matches or baseball matches,
beer and other alcoholic forms should not be allowed. There should be no glass
bottles and other things that can be hurled at other opponents or at the
police. They should not be allowed to carry something that could be destructive
or could be used as a missile. Again, in these chaotic conditions, preventive
measures are always better than trying to control chaos later. Of course,
individuals who are responsible for these kinds of problems ought to be punished. Some unscrupulous leaders and politicians deliver great speeches on peace but had it not
for them there would be no need for peace speeches. Persons who have some experience in crowd
control should be involved to manage these problems.
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Common cold is caused by
viruses, especially rhinoviruses. A single virus is responsible for an outbreak
of cold in many persons in a closed area. Common cold is also known as viral
rhinitis. Some, when exposed to cold temperatures, may develop cold because
they may be susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections. The persons who
are suffering from excessive cold usually might be suffering from blocked or
running nose, excessive fatigue, emotional distress and some might have fevers
and some females have menstrual problems.
Some patients may develop secondary bacterial infections.
Management
For many patients of cold, a
warm environment may give them some kind of comfort. Rest is advised.
Anti-pyrexia drugs could be given if the patient has a fever. Generally, cold
is treated symptomatically. Nasal decongestions would provide temporary relief.
If the person has a cough, then the person should be treated for cough too. For
some, if they have a runny nose, they need to take a lot of fluids. Actually,
there are no potent drugs to treat cold. If a person has flu with cold, then it
should be treated accordingly. It is prudent to take anti-flu shots to prevent
flu.
For some, eating a lot of
citrus fruits might be helpful to them to prevent the common cold but it cannot
be the case for all people. As a few number of
individuals, in spite of ingesting citrus fruits, still catch a cold. Persons
who have cold must wash hands to reduce the spread of infection and the mucus
should be discarded properly.
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Coma
Coma is a state of unconsciousness where there is unresponsiveness to
external stimuli. The etiology of coma could be
because of many reasons. Trauma, intracranial tumors, drug and alcohol overdose, infections like
meningitis and septicemia, could be causing coma.
Other causes could be intracranial hemorrhage,
thrombosis, epilepsy and metabolic abnormalities like diabetes mellitus (hypoglycemia & hyperglycemia).
Most of the coma cases in the Western world are usually because of drug
overdose or alcohol abuse. Prolonged
coma may lead to vegetative state and brain death. Most patients in persistive
vegetative state will die in months or years.
Locked In Syndrome is a voluntary response of
eye opening or closing in response to a command but there would be paralysis of
all motor activity of various limbs and other parts of the body. 13
Management
Usually, when the patient is
brought in a coma state to the hospital, the medical doctors would ascertain
the cause of coma and try to revert the coma, if
possible. The general goal of treatment would be air maintenance by having
tubes through the nose or tracheostomy, treatment of
shock, hemorrhage control if there is hemorrhage, passage of urine through catheters into urinary
bags. The nurses would check temperature, respiration and BP very frequently.
If a patient is brought in a
coma state and it is suspected that it is caused by complications of diabetes
mellitus, the medical personnel would usually look out for a diabetic card in
the patients pocket or bag or ask the persons who brought the patient. Then
blood specimen of the patient would be immediately tested for glucose analysis.
If the glucose result shows that the patient is hypogycemic,
the doctor would immediately give glucose through IV. If doctor finds that the
patient is hyperglycemic then he would give insulin
immediately. Suppose a diabetic patient is brought unconscious and there is no
time for glucose blood test or no glucose test kit is available, what would be
done? If the doctor suspects that it is hypoglycemia, he would give glucose through IV for a very
short while. If the patient becomes conscious then the patient had become
comatose because of hypoglycemic condition. If the
patient does not become conscious, that means it is
not because of hypoglycemic condition and the glucose
would be stopped immediately for the patient would die because he is already in
hyperglycemic condition and instead, the patient
would be given insulin.
Spiritual Solutions
My advice, to the ones whose
friends or relatives are in coma because of head injuries or trauma, is not to
give up hope. I have known some comatose patients who have spent many months in
a comatose state and their doctors had given up hope that they would ever
recover. However, there was a lot of praying and fasting to Lord Jesus to make
them whole again. Eventually, the greatest physician on this earth, Lord Jesus
Christ brought them back from their comatose state and they are as a matter of
fact, living independently. Hence my advice to the those whose friends or
relatives are in a comatose state not to give up but to constantly pray to God
because nothing is impossible in Gods sight.
But we should always pray
saying If it is Your will, Lord, when asking God to
bring him/her out of the coma state. The Bible says in Luke 18:27, The things which are impossible with men are
possible with God. In fact, some God-fearing persons have prayed for some
comatose patients who were beyond hope but eventually they surfaced from that
comatose state and are giving glory to God. Significant others of the patients
must constantly go and speak loudly to them, play gospel music near their heads
to inspire them. If the patients could be healed miraculously, this may
motivate them to come out of the coma. Always talk to them and always be sure
that the patients do not suffer from decubitus
ulcers, that is, bedsores that could be formed because of the constant sleeping
conditions. They should be turned from time to time.
When you have prayed for a
long time, and the patient had still remained in the comatose state, do not be
discouraged. Continue to pray and ask Gods guidance of what should be done
next. Dont sit near the comatose patient and start crying. Instead, talk to
the patient with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Always pray that the will of
God be done. If the will of God is that
the patient should die, then let it be so.
For the patient will be resurrected when Lord Jesus
comes again, provided the patient was righteous before he/she became
unconscious.
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Common-law union had
basically been founded because of peoples way of speculating how a couple can
live together without being married. Several
Western nations have approved the common-law union. Who are the persons who usually approve these
common-law unions through the law? They are the very persons who are guilty of
not following Gods rules. These are the persons whose grandparents and parents
or themselves are living or have lived in common-law unions. Let us not see if
common-law union is a problem in the eyes of man but let us see if common-law
union is a problem in the eyes of God. God clearly states that a man should
leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife and the two shall become one
flesh (Genesis 2:24). Basically, this institution of marriage was started in
the Garden of Eden.
In fact, there were two
things, which were founded and instituted in the Garden of Eden. The first one
is Sabbath keeping that is the Seventh Day Sabbath, and the marriage. God
Himself conducted the marriage between Adam and Eve. Ever since, we can see
that in the Old Testament and New Testament times, the ritual of marriage was
followed.
Of course, polygamy and concubinage were practiced in the Old Testament times as
well. Jacob had two wives and concubines and Abraham had more than one wife.
David had many wives and concubines too. Since they had so many wives and
concubines then, many may reason that common-law unions today are okay to
practise. However, this is not the way to be reasoned. Acts 14:16 states, Who in times past suffered all nations to
walk in their own way. Here the Bible says that in times past, many people
walked in their own way. Some people who support common-law unions may argue
that during slavery in the Caribbean region, South America
and North American countries, slaves had to live without marriage. Hence, the descendants of those slaves are to
live in the same manner that their ancestors lived. During slavery, these
slaves had no choice but now we have freedom to choose between marriage and
other alternatives. Why try common-law union when there is marriage, which is
instituted by God. Therefore one should not quote the slavery times and the old
times, but they should do the will of God.
Spiritual
Solutions
How do we solve this common-law union problem? In Acts 17 v 30, it
declares, Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. There were times
when couples lived without marriage. There were times when God winked at that
but now commands all men everywhere to repent. We should follow the divine
institution that was started from the Garden of Eden, that is, the marriage.
One might argue, that to conduct a marriage is itself a problem, since one has
to bear the expenses of marriage and its very costly. This is an excuse that
is lame. When a person dies, the relatives of the dead person would go to any
extent of bearing the funeral cost, which is skyrocketing. They cannot argue
that a funeral is too expensive and that they should do away with the body by
throwing it into a ditch or on the road.
In the same way for marriage we have to have some kind of expenses, which
we have to bear. But we could limit the expenses by having the marriage
conducted in a small community or in a place where it is cheaper or we do not
have to invite too many people because to prepare a marriage feast for them
would be very expensive. We should always pray to God for helping out in
finances. Though there are so many alternatives to marriage, yet God does not
approve anything other than the marriage, which He had instituted.
I am not saying that marriages havent got any problem. Marriage has
problems but if you think common-law union has no or less
problems then you are dead wrong. The
latter has more problems than the former. It is like a peanut falling from the
pan into the fire. In common-law union, there is no guarantee that the spouses
would stay together as long as death does them apart. The property of the
common-law husband would not necessarily be inherited by the common-law wife in
case of his death. The fact is that there are no guarantees at all for
common-law union. Common-law union has no binding cement effect. One fine day
they can get up in the morning and a spouse can tell the other, Look, I have had
enough. Im walking out of your life! And the spouse can walk off. But that
cant happen in marriage so easily. Of course, marriages have problems like
divorce because God was not the Head of those marriages anyway but common-law
unions will lead to promiscuity. Adultery can be a problem within a marriage
but the worse still is promiscuity. In fact, common-law union could be
classified as fornication in eyes of God; Galatians 5:19 warns that all who are
guilty of fornication would lose the kingdom
of God. I am not judging the persons living in
common-law union because it is God who judges and not man. Let us do the things
that please God because Revelation 4:11 says, for Thy pleasure they are
and were created. We are all created for the pleasure of Lord Jesus, so
let us not engage in common-law union but let us choose marriage and have the
expenses very simple.
There are many individuals who reason that a couple should know each
other by living together before they get married. But knowing each other itself
like that could lead to sexual intercourse without any marriage. Usually a man
after enjoying sex with the woman after several months or years without
marriage, would think in his mind, that this woman is a used up mango, all the
juice is gone from this fruit, so let me go out for a fresh mango (a new
woman). Then he would walk away because there is no obligation that he should
stay with that particular woman. Marriage is always better than common-law
union. We can do what ever we want but God should be honored. Proverbs 14:12
states, There is a way that seemeth right unto
man but the end thereof is death. Thus if you think common-law union is
right remember Proverbs 14:12. Just because our ancestors or grandparents have
done it, doesnt mean that it is right. We have to do what God wants us to
do. We can repent if we are guilty, and do the pleasure of Lord Jesus, that is get married.
Top of Page
It is the hardening of stools and incomplete or no evacuation of feces.
There are many reasons why constipation occurs:
i)
Faulty dietary habits
like too much fatty food with no or less dietary fiber
ii)
Drinking little amounts
of water
iii)
Ingestion of some drugs
such as tranquilizers, sedatives, antacids, and calcium and iron supplements
iv)
Depression
v)
Some diseases like
hypothyroidism, Parkinsons disease, hemiplegia and
paraplegia.
Management
First of all, the diet
should contain less fat and high fiber. Dietary fiber increases the stool bulk and aids its passage through
the bowel. Please read my book, Dr. Stevensons Book on Preventive Nutrition,
for I have advised how to actually prevent constipation with the diet. To treat
constipation, there are a lot of laxatives but they should be used carefully
under a medical doctors advice. The bulking agents are like bran and
methylcellulose.
Mineral oils also soften fecal matter resulting in more easily passed stool matter.
For fecal impactation
(stool is very hard), it is treated with enemas under a doctors supervision.14 There
should be psychotherapy to help constipation patients with depression. Patients
who are trying to be perfectionists and want nothing to do with unclean things
may constantly take laxatives or enemas, but they actually deny the bowel the
chance to function naturally. A psychiatrist should give them psychotherapy.
With constipation, prevention is better than cure.
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This counterfeit currency
problem is rampant in many countries. In some countries, the offenders are
punished severely and the problem is quite uncommon. There are a lot of persons
who have no scruples and would go to any extent to cheat. They might turn one
of their rooms into a printing press and they would print counterfeit currency
just to become rich. And their counterfeit currency is almost as good as the
genuine currency and it is hard to detect. Therefore, since this counterfeit
currency could affect the common man, you should be aware so that you may not
be cheated. Once you receive this counterfeit money unknowingly from these
cheats and you try to spend it elsewhere, not only would you lose all the money
but also there are chances that you could be arrested for not being able to
defend yourself about where you got that money.
Non-Spiritual
Solutions
In nation like USA, if you
want to know whether the dollar bills are counterfeit or not, there is a pen
known as counterfeit currency detective pen. With this pen, if you make an X
or some mark and it shows a light yellowish color, then the currency is good but if that pen makes a very dark color, then the currency is a suspect or fraudulent
one. So if you are a businessman or running a grocery store or handling a lot
of money, you must have this counterfeit currency detective pen. This pen
should be closed immediately after use or else the ink will dry up and may not
write properly. Another method is to see the currency against the light. Put the
currency up to the light and see if there is a watermark and the thread line.
If the thread line and the watermark are not found, definitely the currency is
counterfeit. If an individual has tried
to cheat you with counterfeit money, then report that person to the police.
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The Bible says that covetousness is sin. As a matter of fact, the tenth
commandment in the Holy Bible states that one should not covet anything that is
his or her neighbors. As you drive along, you see a
BMW or Mercedes Benz car and you decide that one day you will it, that is no problem. But if you covet, then it is
definitely a problem. If there is a craving for another
persons position or if you have an inordinate desire for another persons
wealth or position, then you are brooding covetousness.
Spiritual
Solutions
It is best that one obey Gods command. When you love God with all your
heart, soul and mind, you will not break His Ten Commandments. If you are
covetous, you are breaking the tenth commandment which is Thou shalt not covet It is better to
be content with what you have. Yes, you may have desires and ambitions that one
day you will possess a very costly car and a big mansion. But if you have a
craving for somebody elses mansion or somebody elses wealth, then youre
actually suffering from the problem of covetousness. But if you have a desire
and work hard to get yourself a good house or a nice dress or a car, that is
fine. There is no problem with that kind of desire or that kind of wish.
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Criticism
Criticism is a remark or
statement made to find fault in a person, group or thing. Criticism can be
divided into constructive criticism and destructive criticism. The destructive
criticism is actually the problem. Constructive criticism used to improve
someones life is okay. For some individuals, even if constructive criticism is
making them unhappy and sad then there should be a better way to do that
constructive criticism. There are some persons who love to criticize. These
same people will hate others criticizing them. But who decides what is constructive criticism and what is destructive criticism?
The person who is criticizing might be thinking that what he is criticizing is
to be constituted as constructive criticism but the person being criticized may
not muse that it is constructive but rather destructive criticism. So how do we
solve this type of problem?
Non-Spiritual Solutions
If youre always criticizing others, then it is better to have a look at
yourself and put yourself in the persons shoes and be the recipient of the
criticism. Would you be happy to hear it? Would it make you comfortable? When
criticizing someone, always think about whether or not it would make you
comfortable if you were in that persons shoes. If you think that it wont make
you happy, then dont criticize. When you have nothing to do,
at least talk good about a person, instead of criticizing.
Dont be blinded to the fact that criticism should not be a way of life.
If you cannot say something good about somebody, then don't criticize anyone at
all. It is better to say nothing than to criticize. Suppose you criticize a
person constructively, ask the person if he was offended. If that person was
offended then dont criticize the person again. Dont be a critic always. When
you have to critically analyze something, there is no problem, but when it is a
critical analysis of some other person then that will not be in a good taste.
Dont make it a habit to always find fault with others. Thats how some persons
who are proud and disgusting always want to find fault without any evidence. So
criticism is not good.
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There are many cults in the
world. The members in the cult may not assume that their cult is a problem.
Whereas the other people on the outside would think it is a problem. The
relatives and the significant others of the members of the cult would think
that it is a problem; for example, the Moonies. The members of the Moonies may
not think that they belong to a cult but whereas the significant others and the
relatives of the members of the Moonies would think that Moonies is a dangerous
cult. Another cult is the Brethren. The members of the Brethren cult completely
cut off their relationship from parents and misinterpret the Bible that the
enemies are from within the family. The parents and the relatives of the
members of this cult do not even know where they live since they lead a very
poor and shabby life. Rastafarianism is a cult too. But the members of the cult
are fighting to prevent it being called a cult. A cult is a collection of
people who have no set and organized beliefs and practices. Most cults may not
last many years or centuries. Sometimes the cult disintegrates and dies out or
becomes splinter cult groups.
Non-spiritual Solutions
The persons who want to join a
cult, first of all, should investigate if the cult has any good philosophy of
life. Most cults are founded by immoral individuals who have selfish intentions
or who want to cheat other people and become rich by keeping the members in the
dark. In fact, all school children should be taught the evil effects of cults.
From childhood they are to be taught that a cult is not good because they have
no organized set of beliefs and it is an organization which is led by one man
who may not be mentally sound or who might be a very cunning person.
From the beginning, if they
learn the evils of cults then it is easy for them not to join cults later. The
government of any country should study the evil practices and beliefs of cults
and then should firmly and vehemently take a position to ban those cults. Of
course, there are a lot of nations where democracy is the mode of rule. These
cult members would take it to the courts if the government tries to ban their
cults. Therefore, the parliaments must pass sound rules and wise regulations so
that a lawyer, who fights for the cults, cannot twist them. For example,
satanic cult encourages sexual orgies and human sacrifices. This satanic cult
should be banned. The guilty ones must be punished severely. As this severe
punishment could itself act as a deterrent for persons not to join this type of
cults.
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Dandruff is formation of white scales,
which are shed from the scalp of the head. Many people, young and old, male and
female, suffer from dandruff. Since it affects a lot of people, something is
always done to rectify this problem. Dandruff could be caused by poor hygiene.
Some people have excessive dandruff while others have very little but whatever the case
may be, the problem has to be rectified.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
To rectify it, personal hygiene
should be attended to with a daily bath and thorough washing of hair. For some
the dandruff problem is chronic, so there is no easy method or shortcut to get
rid of dandruff completely. Using of shampoo is basically the same concept of
personal hygiene. There are many who even after using these shampoos still have dandruff. There are some shampoos that are
anti-dandruff but even that will not work for some persons. If you wash your
hair daily with or without shampoo, the problem may be managed but the result
will not be permanent. If you wash your hair it does not mean that the dandruff
will not appear again.
Some people leave it because it is too much of a problem and they cut
their hair. Some males, by completely shaving the hair off their heads, are not
allowing the dandruff to accumulate. However, as the hair keeps growing, the
dandruff would accumulate so one has to shave often. Females with dandruff
problem, should keep their hair short. Too much hair is a problem to wash and,
therefore, getting rid of the dandruff is automatically a problem. Have your
hair cut short and wash it every day. Now some men dont like to wash their
hair every day because as they wash their hair, more hair keeps falling out.
This is another problem too. If a person doesnt want to wash the hair daily
and want to still get rid of dandruff, then to resolve is tough because when
he/she doesnt wash the hair often, dandruff will accumulate. This is a
situation where the following adage is true, You cant eat your cake and still
have it. In order to get rid of dandruff the washing of hair should be done
often. If that is not done, the dandruff accumulates. There is no other way,
shorter or easier, to get rid of dandruff.
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The etiology
of hearing loss or deafness depends on the type of hearing loss. The hearing
loss can be classified as conductive hearing loss, sensory hearing loss and
neural hearing loss.
Conductive hearing loss could be caused by obstruction in the ear tube
(i.e. cerumen or wax could be impacted). Sensory
hearing loss could be the malfunction of cochlea. It could also be as a result
of noise trauma, loud music for a long term and aging. Hearing loss because of
aging is known as presbycusis. Neural hearing loss is caused by lesions
involving the eighth nerve.15 A person who cannot hear should be
called a hearing impaired person and not a deaf person.
Management
The treatment for hearing loss would depend on the
cause. The person suffering from hearing problems should see an ENT specialist.
The ENT specialist would treat according to the cause. For example, if hearing
loss were because of cerumen impactation,
then the ENT specialist would remove the impacted cerumen.
Hearing could then be restored. But one should not try to remove cerumen at home because there is a danger of puncturing the
eardrum, which would completely worsen it. The people with hearing loss must
not procrastinate treatment; rather they should pay
attention so that they can get treated early. For patients whose hearing loss
cannot be corrected by medical therapy or through surgery, they could be the
benefited from hearing application. There are a lot of modern day hearing aids,
which are free from distortion and can amplify to make the hearing better. The
hearing aid must be properly selected in order to help the person with the
hearing loss. We now have digitally programmable hearing aids. Patients can
attend clubs for hearing loss and also school for the hearing loss. They could
also learn the sign language and lead a normal life and be independent after
mastering the sign language. If they have speech problem, sign language can
also help.
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Death is one of the worst problems man has to face. Life is uncertain
but death is sure. Death will come to us one day or another, today or tomorrow,
sooner or later. In fact, the Bible says in Romans 6:23, The wages of sin
is death Because of sin everybody has to die. It is very painful for
anyone to lose his or her loved ones. It is painful to see anyone dead. When
somebody dies, especially suspiciously, a post-mortem has to be done because
there are several cases where later on it was found that the person was
murdered. Hence, when the cause of death is not really known, it is always nice
to have a post-mortem done. It would be painful for the family members to see a
post-mortem done on their dead relative but it is always good to have a
post-mortem performed when the cause of death is unknown. There are a lot of
funeral expenses involved and worst of all is the depression and the sadness
that go with death. Another problem is when a person dies what happens to
him/her, where will he/she be, will that person go to hell or heaven or will
the persons soul roam in space. Thus, where are the dead?
Spiritual Solutions
First of all, when a person
dies, the cause of death should be known. The cause of the death should be
known especially when the death is suspicious. This is important so that the
relatives and others would be taking precautionary measures in order that kind
of death wouldnt be repeated, if possible. Suppose the death was because of
alcohol then others should take precautions in not drinking alcohol. If it was
because of heart attack, which was caused because of high cholesterol food and
smoking, then the relatives and others should take precaution that they do not
repeat the same mistake.
If a person was close to the
dead person, the death could be shocking and devastating. The death could be
devastating if the death was sudden like an accident or a heart attack than in
comparison of a person who was having a terminal illness or slowly dying. If
persons want to cry after they have lost a loved one, they are to go ahead and
cry because they should not bottle up their emotions in their minds. In ancient
days they usually hired some professional criers to cry when somebody died. By
the way, those had to shed artificial tears; in fact, they usually used cut
onions in order to bring tears. If one really desires to cry,
he or she can go ahead and cry, but not for long. Lord Jesus told His
disciples when Lazarus died that he was sleeping. In John 11:13 Lord Jesus
refers to Lazarus as not dead but asleep. Lord Jesus will resurrect the
righteous dead when He comes the second time. He stated in John 11:25, I am
the resurrection and the life and he that believeth in Me
though he were dead yet shall he live. Hence, all who believe in Lord
Jesus should not worry because He is the resurrection and life. When He comes
the second time, He will definitely resurrect all those who are dead in Him.
Psalms 116:15 says, Precious is the death of his saints and Proverb
14:32 declares, The wicked is driven away in his wickedness but the
righteous have hope in his death, Therefore, all who die in Lord Jesus
have hope and there is nothing to worry about. It is just that they have gone
away before us and they are sure of their salvation but we who are living are
not sure about our salvation. We should be concerned about living a godly life cause we do not know when death will snatch us away.
We are the ones who are supposed to be worried because we are not sure
of our salvation unlike those who have gone before us who were sure about their
resurrection. God doesnt really take lives unnecessarily. Ezekiel 18:32 says God
has no pleasure in death of him that dieth, God in His own sweet time takes the life which He
had given and righteous people die earlier than others because of the
wickedness of the land. In a way, death
is sweet for the ones who had suffered severe pain, discomfort and torture in
their lives. When Job was suffering, he mentioned in the book of Job 3:21, Which
long for death but it cometh not. We should not cry too much for
the dead as Jeremiah 22:10 advises, Weep not for the dead When a
loved one dies let the relatives be sad for a short time and not for long
because Lord Jesus is coming very soon as King of kings and Lord of lords and
they would see their loved ones in heaven.
Where are the dead? There are
many people who believe that when someone is dead, he/she goes straight to
heaven or hell. Now, because some pastors preach that, doesnt mean that it is
true or if the majority believe so, it must be true. The Bible articulates in
Ecclesiastes 9:5, For the living know that they
would die, but the dead know not anything neither have they any more reward,
for the memory of them is forgotten. The Bible clearly tells us the dead
know nothing, so when they have died they dont to go to heaven or hell. When a
dead person is cremated, the ashes would be thrown into a river by the
relatives but whatever the case may be the dead now nothing. The pastors and
others, who believe that as soon as the good persons die they will go heaven,
usually back up their belief from Luke 16:19-31, where a parable about a rich
man and Lazarus is mentioned. It talks about how Lazarus had died and gone to Abraham
in heaven; thus, this belief was erroneously conceived, that is, when a good
person dies, he/she goes straight to heaven. This belief is not true and has to
be humbly aborted because Abraham himself never went to heaven and is waiting
for the resurrection day. Lord Jesus was only telling a parable to bring about
a moral lesson to help the poor and was not discussing about the state of the
dead. However, this is the only parable where a name had been mentioned because
in all the other parables of Lord Jesus there were no names mentioned. The Holy
Bible expresses in Psalms 115:17, The dead praise not the Lord, nor any who
go down into silence. We see the dead praise not the Lord, so if Abraham
was dead and went to heaven and if Lazarus was dead and went to heaven, they
would be praising the Lord in heaven but the Bible says they do not praise the
Lord since they are dead.
God had made the human life by
making man from the dust of the ground and He gave His breath to him and man
became a living soul. According to Genesis 2:7, God
formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life and man became a living soul. Thus, when man dies
the breath of man goes back to Him and the body goes back to dust in the earth
because dust shall return unto dust. When Lord Jesus comes the second time He
will give back the breath of life to those who died in Him. First Thessalonians
4:16 expresses, The dead in Christ shall rise first,
so if all the righteous dead are in heaven, then there is no need for the dead
in Christ to rise. Hence, the dead dont go to heaven or hell but become dust
till the coming of Lord Jesus.
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Delirium
This is basically a confusional state where
the person is fluctuating in his thoughts and cognitive behavior. The symptoms
often fluctuate; the consciousness is accompanied by disorientation in terms of
time, place, and person. They do not pay attention as the condition worsens
during sun down. The causes of delirium could be because of underlying brain
disease like dementia. This could be more common in the elderly people.
Hypoglycemia, cerebral infection, cerebral hemorrhage, meningitis, sepsis,
urinary track infection and viral infection could cause confusion in the brain
of the affected person.
Treatment
The patient should be taken to a
medical doctor and after the underlying cause is identified, he would be
treated. If the delirium is caused by hypoglycemia and it is treated then the
person will surely regain his normal senses and would be oriented. When the
person is suffering from infection like meningitis and it is treated, the
patient would get back to his/her normal orientation.
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Delusion
It is actually a false idea or belief that could not be characterized by
reasoning or by any other means. The person would hold on to his/her delusive
belief. Delusion of grandeur is discovered in a person who has belief in his
own greatness. Depressive delusion is feeling a sense of unworthiness.
Management
The patient with delusion should be taken to a psychiatrist. To manage
delusional disorder is not an easy one. Patients are paranoid that they are
being followed, poisoned or infected, someone loves them, or their loved one is
deceiving them. Basically, the treatment is psychotherapy. There should be a
good effective relationship between the patient and the psychiatrist so that
the patient could express clearly, what he thinks. If he is quite aggressive
and wants to take revenge, then he must be hospitalized. Anti-psychotic drugs
would be given to suppress the symptoms.
Patience with this patient is needed because reasoning would not easily
change this person. Through love and care, the patient should be de-trained of
his delusional thoughts.
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Dental Problems
The usual dental problems are
caries, gingivitis, periodontal disease, tooth ache and denture problems.
Management
It is better to prevent than cure
these problems. Good oral hygiene should be maintained. Brushing and flossing
should be regular routines in our lives. For teeth problems, a dentist should
be visited promptly without any delay.
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Depression
Depression is a state of dejection. There are many risk factors for
depression. The risk factors could be familial history where their
grandparents, fathers or mothers had bouts of depression. People who have an inclination
to alcohol or drug abuse could always be depressed and after post partum (after
delivery of a baby) or after an abortion, women sometimes go into depression.
When patients suffer from a long-term disease that is debilitating, it may also
trigger depression. Depression can lead some persons to commit suicide. There
are persons who get depressed because of guilt feelings, while others may get
depressed according to seasons.
Management
The patient should visit a
psychologist or psychiatrist. A thorough psychoanalysis would be conducted on
the patient by the psychologist or psychiatrist to find out why the patient is
depressed. After finding out the causes, they must be avoided or treated. The
psychiatrist would also prescribe antidepressants. If alcohol or drug abuse is
the cause, the patient would have to be slowly de-addicted. If patients are
lonely, with no social support, then they should be given some kind of help
where some social workers would work with them. They could seek the services from
a social club too.
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Devil Possession
The person suffering from devil possession should be carefully studied
because some mental disorders could be wrongly classified as devil possession. Therefore,
one has to first find out if the person has a mental disorder or if it is devil
possession to resolve it. If persons are suffering from mental problems such as
schizophrenia, delusional disorders, manic-depressive psychosis then they
should be treated in mental hospitals. If it is devil possession then they
should be dealt by righteous pastors/bishops/exorcists.
Usually if it is devil possession, you would notice a few traits. 1. The possessed person has
extraordinary strength. In fact, the Bible tells in Luke 8:24 about a person
possessed with the devils. Though he was chained, he used to break the chains
as if they were some kind of thread. He used to cut himself and cause wounds
but he never really got sick. So devil possessed persons have extra ordinary
strength. 2. The possessed person can recall correctly about many things that occurred in the
past or even in present experiences of other persons whom they are not
acquainted with. But persons with mental disorder do not have great strength
and can neither recall the past events of other persons nor those of
themselves. 3. The voice of the possessed person will change. In a female, the voice will have a deep & loud bass sound. 4.
It is very hard to sedate the persons with drugs, when they are possessed. Women are more susceptible to devil possession
than men because of following reasons: more fearful, more doubtful, more submissive and easy to dominate.
Spiritual Solutions
The Bible clearly tells us that in the name of Lord Jesus we can cast
out devils (Luke 10:17). Only people who are extremely pious, close to Lord Jesus and
are filled with the Holy Spirit can cast out devils. Persons whose lives are
not in tune with God cannot cast out devils. The Bible relates in Acts
19:14-16, about seven sons of a man named Sceva who tried
to cast out devils in Lord Jesus name but the evil spirits leapt on them and
beat them up because their lives were not right with God. People who do the
will of Lord Jesus will not be possessed by the devils hence, let us not give
the devils the chance to possess us by doing His will & obeying His 10 Commandments. The possessed is to be asked (made to
repeat the prayer) to repent of all sins and the exorcist must fast & pray, have all sins forgiven before the exorcism. When
a devil leaves a
man after possessing him, then the man should allow the Holy Spirit to control
him. Otherwise, the same devil can bring more devils who
are more wicked than himself to possess him. The condition of that man would be
worse than the first.
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Diabetes Insipidus
Diabetes Insipidus is caused by the lack of
vasopressin hormone, which is normally produced by posterior lobe of the
pituitary gland. Because of this disease, there is an increased flow of urine
and great thirst in the patient.
Treatment
The treatment is to use desmopressin as nasal spray, which contains the hormone
vasopressin.16 When a synthetic one of this
anti-diuretic hormone vasopressin is administered, this problem is managed.
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Diarrhea
Diarrhea is a rapid and frequent
movement of watery fecal material from the bowel. The causes of acute diarrhea
could be due to infections of pathogenic microorganisms (like viruses, bacteria
and protozoa). The causes of chronic diarrhea could be because of diseases such
as Crohns disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome and AIDS.
Management
The patient ought to visit a medical
doctor without delay. The patient should not self-treat with drugs. The doctor
would treat the patients according to the cause of the disease. The patient
should take a lot of fluids with salt and sugar to rehydrate
the body. The patient must eat liquid diets like soups. The patient is to
strictly follow medical advice.
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Diseases
(Major)
Please go to Diseases--Causes, Symptoms & Treatment page in this website for details.
The diseases
are AIDS, Alzheimers disease, arthritis, asthma, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy,
hepatitis A, hypertension, malaria, multiple sclerosis, myocardial infarction,
pneumonia, psoriasis, syphilis, TB, and vitiligo.
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Disobedience
It is natural for us to disobey when
we dont like what we are being told. But God told us in the fifth commandment
Thou shall honor thy father and
mother... We are to find out why people disobey, and why students dont
obey the teacher.
Why does a child refuse to obey
parents? Why doesnt the employee want to obey the employer? Why does a
motorist on the road refuse to obey the traffic rules? Why does the man on the
street refuse to obey the police? We have to find out the reasons why people
dont want to obey and find solutions to the problem of disobedience.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
Once the causes are known for a person not wanting to obey, one can find
the solution. A student doesnt obey the teacher when she says Do not come to
class late, because he is stubborn. May be he is not able to obey because he
lives far from the school or college and he may also have transportation
problems. Sometimes the student deliberately disobeys the teacher because he
has no respect for the teacher and doesnt like him/her. He may also enjoy not
obeying the teacher as he tries to find out what steps the teacher would take
in dealing with him. There are some persons under the influence of alcohol who
lose all their inhibitions and they may not obey when a traffic police tells them
to stop. Some deliberately break a red light for the heck of it.
Spiritual Solutions
When a child does not obey the
parents, they have to follow what the Bible says. The Bible says, Spare the rod and spoil the child
(Proverbs 13:24). The Bible does not mean beating the child black and blue or
abusing the child. It simply means to correct the child. We have to correct the
child when that child is very small because Proverbs 22:6 states, Train up the child in the way he should go
and when he is old, he will not depart from it. We are to correct the
child with love. When the child is taught to obey from early childhood, when he
grows up he would still obey the laws of the land. Children that are
disobedient should be corrected. Because this is not followed we have problems.
In Western nations where the children are not corrected properly, there is a
high sexual immorality, gun violence in schools and a lot of murder and rape
cases.
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Doubt
When a person always doubts, he is usually called a doubting Thomas.
The disciple of Lord Jesus, that is Thomas, had always doubted. We know that
there are some individuals who always doubt. Doubting can lead to mistrust and
to a state of unhappiness. One should not doubt facts.
Spiritual Solutions
We have to first of all trust in
God. We should not doubt God. Of course, we can doubt some of our fellow men
who are not honest, not sincere, and who are not persons of integrity. If we
trust the persons who have no scruples we can be cheated. In God, we should
have no doubt. When Lord Jesus told Peter to walk on the water, Peter doubted
and when he doubted he began to sink. We should believe that Lord Jesus could
save us provided we do His will. We should not doubt like Thomas. Lord Jesus
said, Blessed are the ones who believe,
even if they dont see. In Matthew 21:21 Lord Jesus said, Verily I say to you, if you have faith and
doubt not, he shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree but ye shall
also say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be cast into the sea and it
shall be done. Here when He spoke about the mountain being cast into the
sea, He was only speaking figuratively. When you do His will and have no doubt,
God shall bless you more abundantly.
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Dowry
Dowry is an act of giving something
(money, things or property) to the bridegroom by the parents of the bride. It
is a big problem in some of the Asian countries like India. Dowry creates more problems
for the girls parents because they have to expend a lot of money, apart from
the marriage expenses. They may even have other children to take care of and
this dilemma would only invite more economical and social problems.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
There should be a legislation to ban
the dowry system. Because of this dowry problem, some mothers-in-law have burnt
their daughters-in-law to death because the daughters-in-law failed to come up
with the entire dowry. Sometimes the parents of the bride would promise to give
money later on and they would fail to keep the promise. This, in turn, would
make the parents of the bridegroom to take revenge or the husband himself may
torture or kill his wife. Basically the bridegroom has married the bride, not
because of love, but because of love of money. A husband would kill his own
wife just because of a dowry predicament. Usually the dowry is paid in money or
in kind like gold, car, scooter, fridge or a washing machine. The
mothers-in-law, when they burn their daughters-in-law, dont realize that one
day their own daughters would become daughters-in-law for other persons. They
have not considered how it would feel if their daughters were burnt. When
mothers-in-law try to hurt their daughters-in-law, they should think of their
own daughters. If they dont have daughters, they must think of their sisters
or their mothers. These mothers-in-law must realize that when they were
daughters-in-law if they were burnt, then they would not have become
mothers-in-law in the first place.
The ones who
are guilty of torturing or harming their wives or daughters-in-law for lack of
dowry, should be thoroughly punished by either very long jail sentences or
capital punishment. These punishments could act as deterrent to put a halt to
all the dowry offenders. Sometimes the dowry victims should report the culprits
to the authorities otherwise theyll repeat the evil. The dowry offenders
should be exposed and their stories reported in the newspaper or on television
since they would be brought to shame and embarrassment.
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Drug Addiction
Drug addiction is a serious state of compulsive desire to take drugs and
to completely depend on them physically and psychologically. The drugs usually taken by the addicts are
stimulants (cocaine), depressants (barbiturates), hallucinogens (LSD), cannabis
(marijuana) and narcotics (opium). The
reasons why individuals take them are peer pressure, depression, to get high,
experimentation and to escape from problems.
Finally, they continue to take these drugs because they are addicted.
Management
When physical signs like needle marks on arms & legs, puffy face, dilated pupils, unusual laziness & shaking of body
parts and behavioral signs like sudden drop in grades, extreme privacy, telling lies and stealing stuff from home and being
paranoid are noticed, parents are not to procrastinate but seek professional help for their children. Once confirmed the drug
addicts must be treated and if necessary be admitted to a drug de-addiction center. Detoxification and psychotherapy are
conducted. Then the addict should be
properly rehabilitated. As recurrence is
very high, they are to be morally supported. For the dilemma of drug addiction,
prevention is better than cure. To know
about the repercussions of drug addiction please read my novel, Dr. Jonah
Stevenson's Novel: The Truth of Untrue Love.
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Dying
When a doctor tells you that you have only a few months to live and he
cant do anymore, that news will be shattering to you. The predicament of dying
is quite serious. How do you face death when you know that you are dying? Or
how would you converse with a person who knows that he is dying? Suppose one
does not know that next day he will die, and then he wouldnt worry all night.
He would sleep well and the next day he would drive and be killed on the road
in an accident. But that wasnt a problem to him earlier because he didnt know
that he was going to die. But what if one is suffering from a terminal disease
and he knows that he is dying? It is an alarming problem. How does one tackle
this?
Management
We have to believe in Lord Jesus as
our Savior. We should leave everything in His hands because He is the Creator
and the Redeemer. He is like a potter. The pots, which are not good, He might
destroy them or make new pots. If it is His will that we have to die, then we
have to die. By the way, it is easier said than done but we should not be
worried. Lord Jesus said in John 11:25, I
am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in Me
though he were dead yet shall he live. Hence, if you know that you are
dying, you should not worry. But there are many persons, whom I know, that
doctors told were going to die and yet they didnt die for they fasted and
prayed and were healed. God will not forsake anyone, more so a dying one.
When the doctor tells a particular
patient that he has a few more months to live, he should not give up hope. One must fast and pray and ask others to fast
and pray. The more the people pray, the better. James
5:16 expresses, The prayer of a
righteous man availeth much. We must also ask
righteous people to pray. If it is the will of God then definitely the Lord
will save a sick persons life. For example, the sickness of Hezekiah, which is recorded in Second Kings 20:1-11 in the Holy Bible.
Here, Isaiah told Hezekiah that he would die but Hezekiah went and prayed and
as it was the will of God he was given fifteen more years to live. When you
know that you are dying, ask if it is Gods will that your life be spared and
if it is Gods will then your life will be spared. If it is not Gods will, you
have to humbly prepare to die because God creates and takes life.
But you or me
should not die with any fear because Lord Jesus will resurrect you or me
provided we had followed His will in our lives. The most important thing is
that we must die in Christ, not out of Christ.
My advice to the dying ones is to
never lose the inclination or will power to live any longer or else death will
knock your door quickly. Another piece of advice is to keep a pet like a dog to
keep company, since it can be a source of comfort. Sometimes friends and a few
relatives can forsake dying persons but a pet dog will not do that. But
arrangement must be made so that after death, another person can take care of
the pet.
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Dyslexia
It is a condition where there is
difficulty to learn, read and to spell correctly. The exact cause is not known. However, babies born pre-term and babies
whose mothers had intra-uterine problems during pregnancy may develop
dyslexia. There may be genetic
predisposition too.
Management
The patients of dyslexia must be
thoroughly examined by medical doctors. They should be shown a lot of love and
care. The individuals working with them
must possess a lot of patience and experience to deal with them. Dyslexics must not be discouraged, as some
dyslexics have excelled in games and Olympics.
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Dyspnea
Dyspnea is a sensation of breathlessness.
It could be a result of many conditions. Dyspnea
could be caused because of pulmonary dysfunctions. Non-pulmonary disorders that
may cause dyspnea are heart disease like heart
failure and angina pectoris, shock, anemia, hyper metabolic state, anxiety and
abdominal distention.
Management
If you are suffering from dyspnea, you should
not procrastinate and wish that it would go away. You should go to the doctor
and get help as quickly as possible. Especially if it is a symptom of angina
pectoris or heart attack because there is no time to lose. The treatment
depends on the cause of the disease. The
medical doctor will treat according to the cause of dyspnea. For example, for angina pectoris, glyceryl trininitrate is given
sublingually.
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