Thursday, July 16, 2015

Tuberculosis: A Historical Lung disease or not?

Tuberculosis is considered a historical disease that was once an epidemic in Europe and United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. It has been detected as early as 7000 BC according to ehow.com. It was thought to be a heredity disease,but German microbiologist Robert Koch discovered the microbial causes of tuberculosis in 1882. I have never liked taking pills produced in a lab, but this disease was a contagious disease once known as the "white plague". Doctors early on had little to work with and without any vaccines or effective drub treatment until the 1940s,many people died of this disease affecting the lungs and sometimes other organs.TB would have continued to spread and wipe out populations worldwide if it had not been for modern medicine. In the article, What is Tuberculosis? What causes Tuberculosis?.Last updated June 17, 2015 [Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8856.php#signs_and_symptoms_of_tuberculosis] that "TB is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs. It is the second greatest killer due to a single infectious agent worldwide, and in 2012, 1.3 million people died from the disease, with 8.6 million falling ill."
In 2012, worldwide 1.3 million people died and another 8.6 million falling ill to it. It is the "Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium causes TB. It is spread through the air from person to person, when people with TB affecting the lungs cough,sneeze,spit,laugh or talk." A person with active TB who has had treatment received appropriately for at least two weeks are no longer contagious. The disease now affect mostly developing nations and is present today in 22 countries. But what does this lung disease do to the body? Symptoms of tuberculosis are coughing with or without blood or mucus,fever,night sweats,loss of appetite, chills,fatigue,and loss of weight. TB affects the bones leading to spinal pain and destruction of joints. It can cause meningitis affecting the brain. TB spreads through the bloodstream. In the liver and kidneys it can hinder the waste filtration functions and cause blood in the urine. The heart's ability to pump blood can be fatal this is known as cardiac tamponade. Basically, the bacteria breaks down the body. This is a long term disease. Here are some sites that offer natural remedies,but my purpose here is to present what TB is. We tend to forget about our medical history assuming most diseases have always been curable. Early history reminds us that we can still be susceptible to disease of any kinds,especially when traveling to developing countries or if we aren't eating right,exercising,and our immune system is comprised or weak. Natural sites : http://www.all4naturalhealth.com/treatment-for-tuberculosis.html http://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/treatment/default.htm Treatment on the CDC( Center for Disease control has medication recommended for 6-9 months. According to the CDC, of the "approved drugs, the first-line anti-TB agents that form the core of treatment regimens" include: isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF), ethambutol (EMB),and pyrazinamide (PZA). Sources for this article are : http://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/treatment/default.htm http://www.ehow.com/about_6642929_lifespan-tuberculosis-droplets.html http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8856.php#what_is_tuberculosis

Sunday, July 12, 2015

In the Images of America : Banning book, I have learned a few things about its people, how it became a city, and see what still exists today. So if you love local history this series is the series for you. Did you know that there was a stagecoach stop at what is today Gilman Historic Ranch and Wagon Museum? Did you know there were two different Gilman families one that was in north Banning and did the stage coach stop and the other Gilman's Relief Hot Springs,which today is a Scientology complex? This series of books, Images of America, are mostly pictures of the past from small towns across the USA. Local authors have the ability to use pictures to create time capsules for future generations to learn about their city's past. These books contain short chapters starting with the first inhabitants of that city/area. No one writer is responsible for all the books in this series. Credit is given to those who provide pictures to the author. I find these books help me to research further information of the times.

Review of "TimberRidge Trilogy" by Tamera Alexander

I read all three Timber Ridge books within a month's time. Each book within 7 days roughly. I enjoyed the adventures,the drama,the relationships between each character and how unpredictable Tamera Alexander's action is. The intertwining of the two main characters of each book with the whole cast of the book and getting the happily ever after ending together took work. I enjoyed learning of the 1860-70s time. I currently am studying local history in the 1800s-1950s in the Cherry Valley, Beaumont,Banning,and the famous Highland Springs Resort. I enjoyed learning about the characters and their inner struggles through their eyes as the author tells the story about them. The seamless changing of the scenery ere so smoothly transitioned I did not have to reread any sentences unless interrupted by my little ones. Tamera Alexander is truly a gifted writer in her craft as a storyteller and historian. I tend to get bored when an author spends 2-4 pages describing the scenery. A story should flow like real life. I was completely emerged into the life of a pioneer in a new territory in a young town as well as in the individual women that each book focuses on. There were so many things going on but everything fit nicely together. I loved all three novels and I suggest rereading these books to better get everyone's connection. Yet, it is intertwined into each story so you can read each book individually and not get lost. In this Timber Ridge series, it starts with From a Distance, Beyond this Moment, and Within My Heart.
This second book is where I started and I fell in love with the story of the town of Timber Ridge. But it wasn't just the small town life that I loved. It was the character of this book that sent me wanting to read the rest of the trilogy. Dr. Molly Whitcomb, a college professor and the new school teacher at Timber Ridge. In this book, we see the interworking of a town, how justice is held, how people felt about others different than themselves "immigrants" as well as who gets education and who is excluded. The hard realities of life out West and what drove people out West in such distant places like Colorado before it was admitted into the union. It remembers me of the TV show Little House on the Prairie. aired from 1974-1983. There are not many shows on TV about the early days from 1800s-1900 anymore.
Rachel Boyd has been through all three books, but this one focuses on her story. Widow and mother of two, young boys of 8 and 10 years old trying to save her ranch. Each book start off with action and it keeps a good pace.