Saving Your Life !

A heart attack is what ends the life of many Australians and we are constantly urged to get immediate help if we experience chest pains or any of the other symptoms that give early warning.  But what happens if we are alone and far from the availability of summoning that help ?  It seems that there is a form of self medication that is a huge improvement - on just doing nothing !

START COUGHING - REPEATEDLY AND VIGOROUSLY.    A DEEP BREATHE SHOULD BE TAKEN BEFORE EACH COUGH AND THE COUGH SHOULD BE BOTH DEEP AND PROLONGED, AS WHEN PRODUCTING SPUTUM FROM DEEP WITHIN THE CHEST.

BREATHE AND COUGH MUST BE REPEATED EVERY TWO SECONDS UNTIL HELP ARRIVES -  OR THE HEART REGAINS IT'S NORMAL RHYTHM.

DEEP BREATHS GET OXYGEN INTO THE LUNGS AND COUGH MOVEMENTS SQUEEZE HEARTS AND KEEP BLOOD CIRCULATING.

This is a form of self CPR.  We are urged to learn basic CPR so that we may save the lives of others, but in many instances the timing of a heart attack finds us alone.  The above action may not save us from a massive heart attack but it is certainly very helpful and may make the difference between life and death where a less massive attack is under way.

One of the known causes of heart attacks - is obesity.  Fat people put their heart under strain pumping blood around the body and we are urged to mind our diets and have at least a little exercise each day.  Weight loss is now a billion dollar industry and in recent years there have been a rash of new gymnasiums open and most magazines implore us to try the diets they offer to shed a few kilos.It is a known fact that many young women smoke because they believe is assists in weight control.

There are few people who have not at some stage in their life started a diet or undertaken some form of regular exercise to reduce weight - and most have discontinued it either because it failed to deliver what they needed - or it intruded in the way they wanted to live their lives.

There is a form of surgery that comes into play when weight is life threatening.  A stricture surgically inserted reduces the size of the stomach and makes it impossible to over eat.  That is not something to be considered by the faint hearted, and now medical science has come up with a new medical miracle that promises to help people reduce weight - without effort on their part.

Saxenda is a new drug that encourages the natural gut hormones to send a message to the brain that food has arrived in the stomach.  It simply turns off the urge to eat and takes care of the problem for those with an insatiable appetite.

Of course, there are bound to be some sort of side effects and this is not a form of self medication. It takes a daily injection, requiring a daily consultation with a doctor and that raises the obvious problem of the costs involved.

The same problem can be solved by simply down sizing the plate to reduce our meal size - and creating the illusion that the smaller meal on a smaller plate achieves the same image as our former bigger meal.  It is also helpful if we make a habit of a thirty minute brisk walk after the main daily meal.   All that takes is a little personal discipline !