Ишемическая болезнь сердца-Ischemic heart disease

How to heat a home according to sound, ecologic principles is a topic beyond the scope of this book (see «Suggested Reading»). However, certain basic guidelines can be given to those responsible for this area of domestic life. First, it is a good idea to have a heating engineer recheck the efficiency and safety of the heating system periodically. This will minimize undetected leaks or breaks in the system and save money, as well as trips to the doctor.

If a chemically susceptible person has a gas-fired heating system, he has to consider changing it, or changing houses, regardless of the immediate cost. The reason is that it is difficult for a susceptible person to remain in anything resembling good health if he is subjected to the fumes of such a system.

An oil-fired heating system may also present a danger, since the fumes of the oil and its combustion products can often make their way into the living quarters of the house. If the oil is accidentally spilled, it is almost impossible ever to remove it, and fumes and odors will continue to contaminate the vicinity of the burner and beyond.

The ideal solution is to remove the heating unit from the house and locate it in a separate area or building of its own, so that only the hot water pipes enter the house. Installing electric heat, with or without solar heat, is another alternative.

For those in apartment houses who have a choice, it is best to live as far from the boiler room as possible. Steam or hot water radiators, on floors other than the ground level, are fairly good ecologically. It is a good idea to clean the radiators periodically and to give them an especially thorough cleaning in the fall before the heat is turned on.

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Not long ago, a Bulgarian political refugee in London died three days after a mysterious stranger jabbed him in the leg with a sharpened umbrella tip. Autopsy revealed a minute hollow pellet deep in his wound that, it was believed, contained a fatal poison.

From the nature of his slow death, it was determined that this substance was ricin, an intensely toxic substance (more poisonous than snake venom) present in the castor oil bean. It is not present in castor oil but remains in the bean «cake» after the oil has been extracted. The cake can be rendered safe for human consumption by cooking and is used as staple food in several parts of the world, including Mexico.

Mexicans and Caribbean islanders employ the attractive looking castor oil bean to make necklaces and other jewelry for the tourist trade. According to Toxicology, there have been serious reactions and deaths when people have eaten one of these beans or have merely crushed one in their fingers and subsequently put their fingers in their mouths. Ricin causes drastic purging with bloody diarrhea, shivering, fever, violent vomiting, and shock. Even a minute trace in a scratch can be fatal. So, when shopping abroad for trinkets, avoid buying castor oil bean jewelry.

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Signs and symptoms

Heat rash consists of hundreds of tiny pinhead eruptions, each surrounding a skin pore. These eruptions may look like small pink or red bumps or like tiny water blisters. They are moderately itchy and may show scratch marks. If you look at the rash with a magnifying glass in good light, each dot of heat rash can be seen at the mouth of a pore from a sweat gland.

The rash usually appears on the cheeks, neck, or shoulders, in skin creases, and in the nappy area. It frequently appears if the child has been wearing a wet bathing suit. Hot humid conditions, perspiration, and overdressing are further clues that the rash is heat rash.

Home care

Infants and children are safest from heat rash in an air-conditioned environment. Keep a child with heat rash as cool as possible. Cool baths, or baby powder or corn flour applied lightly with a powder puff, help ease the condition. If the heat rash is on your baby’s face, rest the child’s face on an absorbent pad in the crib. During warm weather, using prickly heat powders may give some relief.

Precautions

• Be careful with powder. If a baby inhales a large amount of powder, inflammation of the lungs can occur.

• Detergents and bleaches in clothing and bed linens may aggravate heat rash.

• Bubble baths, water softeners, and oily lotions should be avoided.

• Do not overdress the child. The clothing that’s appropriate to the weather for you is also appropriate for the baby.

Medical treatment

A doctor’s treatment is not necessary. Heat rash can be adequately and safely treated at home.

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