HEALTH
In the United State on dollar out
of every even in our g nation 1
product (0 P) i pent on he Ith
care. Thi amounts to over $800 bil­
lion dolla or $3200 per pe on. We
have th world' mo t expensiv
healthc re y tern, but we don't have
the world' hea1thi t citizens. Even
if we look at the life expectancy of
. white Americans alone, it would rank
only about 15th in the world.
At one extreme, we are capable of
providing the mo t advanced and
technologically ophisticated health
care in the world for a wide variety of
disease. At the other extreme, we
spend a lot of money on dramatic
cure for advanced di ease but little
money on prevention, and we have at
least thirty-five million people with
no health insurance at 11.
THE INADEQUACIES OF our
current health care system are espe- I
In the United
States one dollar
out of every seven
in our gross
national product·
(GNP) is spent on
health care.
The remaining, largely urb n,
tive American population may be
uninsured or covered by Medicaid
only. Overall, about half of African
Americans and half of Hispanics re
either uninsured or are covered by
Medicaid.
While it i certainly preferable to
have Medicaid than to h ve no in­
surance, the reality is that whether
you are uninsured or have Medicaid
often makes little difference. Many
doctor will not see Medicaid
for the e di -
ea e r quire an empha i on
preventive care, p tient education,
treatment mo tly out ide of th
ho pit I, often a lifelong regirn no
daily medic tions, and eing th
am phy ici n each vi it who will
eep track of th di over a long
p riod of time and get to know the
normal fluctuation of that
individual' di ease.
It is the e chronic di eases which
now cause most of the deaths of
white and minorities in this country.
Almost h If of new AIDS ca e are
among minorities.
The rapid increase of AIDS, in
particular, h served to ruthlessly
expose the long- tanding inade­
quacies of our health care ystem.
T8--lt' back and
reported in th Journal of the
Americ n Medical iation 1 t
P mber, 20-ye r-old worn n
died of apl tic nemia after taking
tanning pill upplied to her by
comm rei I tanning Ion. Tan­
ning pill re illegal to beta
carotene. While beta carotene,
which occurs in carro and other
vegetable and frui , i an impor­
tant nutrient, canthaxanthin has no
known benefit to humans.
And, in the large amounts found
in tanning pill , canthaxanthin can
ca e evere side-effec , including
k.i.n eruptions and 10 of night
vision.
It ha been approved by the
FDA for use in very mall quan­
tities as a food coloring, and it's
also used in chicken feed to tum
egg yolks and chicken fat a deep
yellow. The doctors who treated
thaxanthin conclusively to the dis­
e that killed her. Still, they aid,
"the e of the drug for co me tic
purposes does not justify this risk."
TANNING PILLS and other
such products constitute a busine
that adds up to billions of dollars
annually; an unofficial untested
pharmacopeia that' sold by mail
order as well as in retail stores all
over the country.
The FDA is the agency respon­
sible for ensuring the safety and
emcacy of drugs. But the prepara-
tions that the FDA is not required to someone with active TB where
or permitted to regulate may con- Reprint From Minority Health
titute a larger share of the market News there is clo e contact on over a longer
than the ones it does regulate. period of time.
How does the unregulated drug Les . than three years after Dr. TB expo ure can usual y be
industry operate outside the law? Louis Sullivan, the Secretary of detected through skin test. Symptoms
The FDA re&\Alates tbose products rvt\i' �.�.. of active TB include coughing,
............ __ � .. MI .. _._� .. w: is 1 r night weats-
symptoms t can often be charac-
tions and ill­
nesses.
Infection does not necessarily
mean that one will develop active
TB. In fact, the probability of a heal­
thy person with good nutrition and
living conditions developing TB are
relatively low (between five and ten
percent will actuall y become ill at
some point in their lifetime). Such
persons may carry a latent infection
for a lifetime without becoming ill
and will not be contagious.
���·�,Gti""�� •• "��
tructure and function of the body.
Drug companie must submit
evidence t�he FDA that a product
is safe and effective before market­
ing it.
But, manufacturers who market
·\he·r wares without FDA approval
know how to stay ahead of the law.
They make no claims on the bottles
or packages, and many products
that are promoted in catalogues as
drugs are marketed as foods, which
conform to less stringent govern­
ment regulations.
IF A CUSTOMER in a health­
food store tells his troubles to a
salesclerk, a wide spectrum of
products will be offered. Cus­
tomers are also given leaflets and
catalogues that claim potent medi­
cal properties for nearly every
product listed.
Of course, these catalogues
usually carry a disclaimer in tiny
print on every page; a double mes­
sage if ever there was one.
Mail-order catalogues, too, are
free to say almost anything, until
the U.S. Postal Service catches up
with them, which seldom happens.
By the time a company can be
hauled into court for mail fraud,
another has taken it's place.
Nearl y every herbal remedy in
one typical catalogue claimed to
"purify the blood. tI And, much,
much more: "combats kidney
stone formation, urinary problems,
importance, gout." "Fights bad
breath, eases menstrual· cramps,
clears up infections." "Nourishes
heart, liver, and sexual energies.
BUT, ASIDE FROM raising
false hopes and wasting people's
money, these products can have
truly disastrous ide effects.
�trytophan, peddled as a cure­
all for sleeplessnes , depression,
and other ailments, was finally or­
dered off the market in 1989.
It. was implicated in an outbreak
of a rare and incurable blood dis­
ease, which killed atleast 27
people. Perhaps the most
dangerous aspect of herbals and
other self-styled remedies is that
while__most may be harmless, others
are not.
The problem i that no one
know , least of all the marketer,
who is pushing the tuff. In addi­
tion, even if they do harm, using
them may delay, or take the place
of, a treatment that might really be
effective.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a com­
municable disease caused by bac­
teria. It is usually spread through
airbor nc routes when persons with
TB cough, spit,or sneeze, releasing
droplets of bacteria into the air. The
lungs are the most common site for
TB, although it can attack other parts
of the body.
GENERALLY, TB is trans­
mitted through prolonged exposure
..
TODA Y, TB IS becoming more
SEX AFTER 50
By RIdIIrd r. JoIB, m, MD
.......... t,
of 0bItetrtduI
aDd GJIIKOIoPU
do experience irritation caused by.
insufficient lubrication, you miaht
benefit from estroaen creams or
lubricatina jeUy. Longer foreplay
can also improve lubrication. And it
. reasswina to know that althouah
OI'aaSmic contractions may become
weaker, many women report no
reduction of sexual pleasure.
In men, achievina and maintain­
ina an erection often become more
difficUlt with lie. You should not
mistake your partner's chanaina
physical response for a lack of
desire or your own diminished sex­
ual appeal, however. Beina patient
and lakin extra time to achieve
arousal can help reduce the fnistra­
tions of this problem.
You and your partner may
discover that your relations chanae
as you qe. Intimacy and closeness
may become more, important than
sexual activity. Some coup even
find that they are satisfied with
eliminatina sex altoaether. Any level
of sexual intimacy is appropriate
1001 as it suits both of you. If you
have questions or concerns about
your sexuality, you miaht discuss
them with your doctor.
of ObI .......
Gy.ecololl.tl,
1
..... DltCMI, DC 20024.
�
In our society, there is a
widespread misconception that peo­
ple eventually grow out of sex. But
as numerous surveys of both men
and women have shown, this is far
from the truth.
Althouah aaina causes
psychologic and phy iologic
chanaes that can affect sexual activi­
ty and interest, these chanaes need
not interfere' with a healthy and
fulftllina sex life. In fact, some peo­
ple report havina a better sex life in
their later years w children
are no lonaer at home and the wor-'
ries of prepancy have ended.
The key to continued sexual
satisfaction is adjustina to chanaes
in the sexual response cycle and
communicatina your feelinas and
any physical troub to your part­
ner. Stayina healthy, exercisina
regularly, and maintainina
positive attitude about yourself are
also important.
In omen, menopausal hormone
chanaes cause the linina of the
vqina to become thinner and I
elastic. Lubrication is often slower
.to beain and i abundant. In ad-
dition, m omen have weaker
vaainal contractions dwina orpsm
and sometimes uterine pain occurs.
H vin regular sexual activity
throuJh midlife can help prevent
vqinal chanaes and dryn . If ydu
As health care co ts have ri en,
employees increasingly are required
to bear a larger an� larg r proportion
an i u or a
few pia) intere t grou .
For th first tim we may have all
th ingredi n (nervous politicians;
public di atifa tion; and economic
imperativ ) to produce con tructive, .
thoughtful h alth c re reform which
will not only control c ts, but pro­
vide acce to health care for all
Americans.
trong r than.ever
complicated. A multidrug resistant
TB (MDR- TB) i a strain that does
not respond to the treatments that are
traditionally used to cure the disease.
It is caused by interrupted treatment,
inappropriate use of medication, or a
series of infection which can cause
TB to become resistant to multiple
drugs and therefore difficult to treat.
TB rates ro e beginning with an
. increa e of 2.6 percent in 1986 to 10
percent increase in 1991. In 1990
there were 25,701 new ca e of active
TB rep rted in th United States.
and
GOOD F'Btt:tt: FOOD!
� (Pregnant or Breastfeeding)
---
Call1-800-26-BIRTH
. Call your Local Health Department
Women, Infants & Children Program (WIe)
This i an Equal Opportunity Program. If you believ you hay b n di rrmtnated inst b cau
of race, color. national on n, e, x. or handicap. nt imm diately to the Admini tr tor. Food
& Nut\-ition Service. 3101 Park C nt r Driv . Al xandria, VA 22302.
nfants
CARE
for
Income EUpbUlty GuideliDee
Effective April 1, 1992
Family
Size
Weekly
Monthly
Yearly
1
1243
81,050
112,599
2
327
1 ..... 17
17,002
3
412
1,784
21,405
4
497
2,151
25,808
5
581
2,518
�,211
6
666
2,885
34,614
Each
,additional
person:
85
387
4,403
FOr Information
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