Say Brother; Health Care; 328

Say cry about Plan B this week say brother we'll explore health problems that affect the black community. It is important to state at the onset that the areas we will discuss tonight are by no means just black health problems but also affect the society at large. It appears though that when black people's health is at stake. Treatment is always expensive and many times inadequate. There are nevertheless organizations and members of our community working to help solve our health problems. The structure of health care in the United States has made good health a luxury which few can afford. Sudden serious illness can destroy a family financially a national healthcare program is needed but the American Medical Association has resisted this plan for years. The concept of the neighborhood health center has been an important factor in the attempt to offer comprehensive health care to the black community. The areas of discussion on tonight's show will be lead paint poisoning a health hazard with a cure or as old as the

problem. Sickle cell anemia. The physical and political implications of which will be discussed with Dr. Louis Sullivan of The Boston sickle cell center alcoholism and the accomplishments of black alcoholism counselors with Howard Hughes hypertension and the black diet will be discussed with Dr. Houston Kelly. We will also cover mental health in the black community drug abuse proper foot care with Dr. Edward Hurwitz and finally dental care with Dr. Ronald Weston. Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure hypertension is found in particularly high percentages in the black population. It is estimated that 25 percent of all blacks over 18 have hypertension high blood pressure is a serious condition because of a correlation between it and heart attacks stroke and kidney ailment. The exact cause

of hypertension is unknown but doctors feel that salt intake and diet. Emotional stress and obesity all contribute to hypertension. Many black physicians feel that one of the biggest problems associated with hypertension is the lack of proper medical treatment. If large numbers of people are diagnosed and treated properly they predict a drop in the incidence of hypertension. One should pay particular attention to diet and the foods one eats all the old soul food may have certain cultural implications. It is by no means the healthiest for us. It is in fact a contributor to the condition of hypertension. With us this evening Dr. Houston hypertension is projected as being a particular problem with black people. How do you see hypertension and relation of black people. Well I like to think of hypertension first as being a particular problem

in America and the country hypertension gets to be so other black oriented and the care that black people get for hypertension. But this is true for the care that black people get for almost any medical treatment. I am a civil service examining physician. I do about 100 or better physical examinations for the civil service department each week and the rate of hypertension seen in the total community runs about 24 percent. I have had a practice in the black community for a short period of time and I examined a large group of black people in the community and I did not see the alarming rate of hypertension that the statistics claim. Most of these statistics are taken from the emergency room. Our big hospital climate statistics and naturally the black person that appears at these clinics

will have them but this person will have a lot of things wrong that might cause him to be hypertensive and take you out of his diet. Well that was one of the things that I'd like to talk about. How do you think the diet of black people do you think it is. It goes to it antagonizes a problem with high blood pressure or what are your impressions about the diet of black people as do I help one of the things I've been wanting to stand on a house top and screen for a long time is this fatalistic attitude that black people have that they must popularize some cultural character of food. I think this adherence to the so-called soul food diet food diet is probably the most dangerous thing in the black community. The first thing that we take a patient off of when he comes down with high blood pressure is poor. And that is one of the things that permeates the black community. It should be outlawed and not even be allowed to be sold on the black community.

How does what does it do. Well it does put you in your and your body and your bloodstream. That's that's destructive. If you'll read any of the diet enthusiastic whether they are professional people medical people or not they all have to admit that pork is very difficult to digest material. Secondly I can show you your statistics where the government doesn't even try to clean up pork. If you had to examine pork the way beef and the others are examined it would run the price up so high you couldn't afford it. Thirdly they have never gotten that Eugene a worm out of court. What does that worm do what this worm is in the muscle tissue of the animal itself. And here in the United States you have epidemics of trichinosis in this country at the present day. This worm bores itself into the muscle tissue of people that bores its way into the brain many times you go out and eat and you get a funny illness following it. And they will

write it off as a gastroenterologist or something like that. And in many cases you've had a brush with the twitching over a lot of people are very very conscious of their weight and being overweight. What we see as being the biggest contributor to overweight overweight people and how do you solve that problem. Well that's interesting because the way that they are going about solving it will never work. Overweight is never going to be controlled by specialized diets and things like that you're going to have to have a revision of the food habits of the total country you're going to have to have a revision of the way the shelves are stacked and the stores everything that you buy in the store is fat producing our obesity producing. And then when you have these people eating three meals a day of this material it's impossible that these people are ever going to be anything but obese and you walk down the street and look and

say you may run into one out of ten people who fit into a somewhat of a non obese character. Just about everyone else is dressing as hiring a tailor some way to hide the fact that there's this diet this is nutritionally what people eat what what kinds of things should people be eating. So they change their diet could change as well. This is sort of two questions in one. Number one the high indulgence of white sugar is really a tricky thing that causes many people to gain weight. If you read some of the books they will tell you that sugar is really a drug rather than a food. A drug is a substance it's utilized by the body but has no particular nutritive value. And sugar is exactly that it's utilized by the body but has absolutely no nutrition in it. It is a high energy material. So people who eat foods that are high in sugar tend to eat to operate on this high energy level when the sugar is

gone you get an immediate drop and this energy level and you find them rushing back to the refrigerator looking for something to eat particularly something with sugar in it. So this keeps people directed towards eating eating eating what they substitute. Well I have a little one at home that has never had white sugar. He's always had blossom honey and honey is digested a little bit differently. Secondly we got a lot of trouble at home to prepare our own meals we used no convenient foods we use no pre-prepared food at all just about everything we prepare ourselves. We even go to a little store and hang them and they grind our own wheat grain for our whole wheat flour. OK. I think that there is a book that every black person should have in their home. This book is a book written by the Honorable Roger Muhammad on how to eat to live. Now as a physician I have personally taken this book and researched it. And I

just have to admit the man is far ahead of the most astute nutritional departments that I've ever run into or hurt or anything. I've also researched certain foods and I'll give you just an idea in his book he'll state that black people shouldn't eat sweet potato. And we know that yams and potatoes have been able to get steroids from these materials. We know that they are highly gaseous forming. And by distending they had the intestinal tract. You do damage to the intestinal tract. This would take almost another whole discussion but there is another material we're able to take butternut squash. We can can do it. We can mash it. We can fix this so that it will defy your telling the difference between this and this sweet potato. And it is a much better digested material. What about what other kinds of foods besides abundance would be good to be included in meat was done. Well I hope that they never eat again things like collard greens kale and

this sort of thing well these substances. You can cook collard greens for 24 hours and they'll become flimsy but you can never get it done. You can never break down the fibres in tissue so that your intestinal tract can digest it. I've been in the process of trying to write some articles on how I felt we came about eating certain foods. I looked up chocolate because I see so many black people allergic to chocolate. It turns out that thousands of years ago before someone discovered the cocoa bean we were eating K-Rob K-Rob you'll even find it in the Bible. John the Baptist was a person who used to go through the woods and eat honey and locusts and we thought Lokos was a grasshopper but locusts of bread made from the soft seed of the grain tree which is carob itself. So he was really eating carrot bread and honey. I have taken pains to look into some of these things and this is the simplest quickest

message that I could get over black people is to buy that book and make it a part of their eating habits. I think. It is generally accepted that in a biological attempt to combat malaria in Africa and in the Mediterranean our bodies developed sickle cells. Cycling takes place when the normally round doughnut shaped hemoglobin become cycled or assumes a curve shape hemoglobin. It is important to know is a part of your blood that carries oxygen to all parts of your body. The process called signaling which helped protect us in Africa has the potential to harm us today. Sickle cell trait like sickle cell anemia is inherited it is not a contagious disease. About 2 million black people have sickle cell trait. When a person has sickle cell trait it means that in her or

his bloodstream or not nominal hemoglobin as well as sickle shaped hemoglobin. A person with sickle cell trait can lead a normal life and only in rare instances should he have to concern himself with the fact that they have sickle cell trait sickle cell anemia takes place when both parents of a child have the trait and passed this trait onto their child. This does not mean that every time parents with sickle trait have a child it will have sickle cell anemia when sickle cell anemia is present. There are low oxygen levels in the blood causing the blood cells to crystallize and sickle the sickle blood cells are fragile and have a much shorter lifespan than normal cells normal. He will globbing has a lifespan of 120 days sickle hemoglobin last. At best 60 days. This causes people with sickle cell anemia to tire a lot quicker. Sickle cells create other problems besides their short

lifespan. When sickle cells move through an individual's veins their shape makes them clog in spots causing a condition known as painful crisis. This creates extremely severe pain in the joints and extremities aching bones severe headaches jaundice and stomach pain or other problems associated with sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia has also been called the great masquerader owing to the times the disease has been mistaken for other illnesses. One in Six hundred blacks in the United States have sickle cell anemia. That's 50000 people. One in ten blacks that's approximately two million have sickle cell trait. Thank you for being here with us tonight talk to so to find out the kind of work that's being done to find sickle cell anemia in the community.

There are a number of things that are being done both here at our center in Boston as well as other centers around the country. They might be classified into educational programs screening programs counseling and research educational programs designed to tell the community in general as well as individuals who have concerns what sickle cell anemia and sickle cell trait are and their significance. Our educational program has evolved so that we have a number of pamphlets slide type programs and filmstrips to help inform the public about this. We also have educate Educators Counselors who are individuals from the community who have been trained who actually provide a lot of information for individuals screening program consists of tests of individuals who wish to be tested to see whether they have sickle cell anemia or sickle cell trait. This testing occurs actually in the neighborhood health centers so the blood samples are sent to our laboratory at the Boston City Hospital for

the definitive test when the body is taken. And finally the counseling program is one in which individuals who are found to have sickle cell anemia or sickle cell trait are explained or told again what the significance of this is. And given the options that are available to them as to what they can do or should do Orange should not do concerning having sickle cell anemia or sickle cell trait. What kinds of problems do because an individual with sickle cell anemia face. And what kinds of medical treatments to deal with those problems. Right. But first I would like to mention that individuals who have sickle cell trait of course are perfectly healthy and they have no problems no symptoms whatsoever and they have no reason for any concern concerning their own health. On the other hand individuals who have sickle cell anemia do have a number of medical problems related to the fact that their red cells have an abnormal shape that interferes with their ability to go through the small blood vessels in the body

as a result of this. They may have anemia which will lead to symptoms of easy getting tired easily and not being able to exert themselves normally. And secondly because of the fact that the blood vessels become plugged plugged with the so-called cells they can have pain that can occur anywhere in the body and damage to a number of vital organs. That's what it's called painful cuts. Yes. Right. And this is what brings the patient to the hospital to the doctor's office. The repeated painful crises that will lead to hospitalization that may last from a matter of a few hours to as long as three or four weeks. And this is the problem that leads to impaired are a function of the heart or the kidneys or the lungs that patients with sickle cell anemia. Well have they also have a problem in terms of like infections fighting infections. Yes. Particularly in children with sickle cell anemia. So they are more

susceptible to infections and infections can actually bring on a painful crisis. So this can be a severe problem. There are some political implications with sickle cell that we've come to find out why some insurance companies have been charging people with sickle cell trait. Higher insurance premiums. What can we do to kind of deal with the political implications that we face along with the disease. Right. Well I think this is a problem for the entire community to become involved with because there is no medical evidence to support the stand that insurance companies some insurance companies have taken of either charging higher premiums or refusing to issue insurance to individuals with sickle cell trait. The insurance premium should be judged by the actuarial tables. What is the likelihood of this individual living a normal lifespan. And all of the data is of course these individuals with sickle cell

trait do live a normal lifespan. So that I think that the efforts of a number of people including ourselves at the Boston sickle cells that are directed to towards insurance companies as well as employers who also may hesitate to hire individuals with sickle cell trait to inform them that there really is no medical reason for that stance and hopefully to help them change their position. Do you do you think in conjunction with the the political implications of it you think that that screening of all people is for all black people for six or seven years is something that should be done. As a general public policy no. Our position is that we should form the black community as well as Italian Greek communities and other individuals from the Mediterranean area of Mediterranean ancestry. About the possibility that they may carry the sickle cell gene and what its implications are. And then they can decide whether or not they wish to be tested. But our position is

that there should not be a general broad say compulsory testing program because this is like other health information it should be voluntary on the part of the individual. I see. Thank you very much. Thank you for information regarding sickle cell centers. Please contact the Avenue neighborhood health center. 1 2 9 5 Blue Hill Avenue Mattapan mass. Phone number 2 9 6 0 0 6 1 Boston City Hospital pediatric outpatient department 8 1 8 Harrison Avenue Boston. Phone number four to four five thousand Brookside Pawk family life center Thirty-Nine Brookside Avenue Jamaica Plain phone 5 2 to forty seven hundred the Columbia Point health center 300 Mt. Vernon Street Dorchester phone 2 8 8 1 1 4 0. The Dimick community health center 55 Dimmick street Roxbury

phone 4:4 to fifty seven hundred. Alcoholism is a disease that knows no discrimination. It affects women and men wealthy and poor black and white. It has been estimated by members of our community who work with the problem of alcoholism that approximately 10 percent of the Boston black community has a drinking problem. The vast majority of alcoholics in the minority community are working and supporting families. Unlike the stereotypes normally created about alcoholics one of the main causes underlying alcoholism is the social and economic pressures which come to rest on black people. Also the social stigma placed on admitting you are an alcoholic is a major stumbling block to pursuing treatment. Be that as it may by admitting you are an alcoholic you have taken the first big step

in the direction of the cure. Thank you for being with us tonight Mr. Hughes. What kind of symptoms would you see in an individual with a drinking problem. Well there are several system symptoms that an individual may encounter during alcoholism. There are so many that are so complex such as the change in attitude in an individual with change in lifestyle. The change in his. Physical ability to do the things that he has done in the past or he or she has done in the past and that she or he would be able to function in a normal capacity. A person who normally drinks is a person who is twice as abnormal as a normal individual who would slow down his

reactions or. Who would be able who will be able to attend the regular functions of society in a capacity in what he would feel very comfortable. What are some of the physical effects that that that alcoholism and how does it affect your body. Well in several different areas once a person accumulates a certain amount of alcohol of them it certainly affects the bloodstream in an individual's body which means that his equilibrium is is not up to par as an individual who may who may not drink to the capacity of a person who may have the addiction of alcoholism some of the physical problems within the body the pancreas the swallowing of the pancreas and with a person is able and is very comfortable and this is the liver problem which usually swells up to the extent where

a person has to be hospitalized for a certain amount of times. And then theres the psoriasis in which people feel that the medical profession feel that is a very serious effect through alcoholism. But most of all is that the person is in very ill health. What kinds of things are being done to combat alcoholism in the black community. Well there are several factions there. There is the day my community health center which I am director of the alcoholism program. We try to combat alcoholism in the community and we try to base all the priorities. Some of the major priority we feel is education. We feel that we're coming into a community which was. Had not in the past heard so much about alcoholism as it is today and that we feel that education. Alcoholism education for the

community will help people to understand the problem better. And to help them identify the problem that that really exists you know today what is being done to her in terms of the alcoholic who could well take the demarc alcoholism program. The program runs on different in different components. We have counseling. We have a counseling component a clinical component which which deals with the ongoing. Long term type therapy. We have a medical and psychiatric staff. What do medicals and psychiatric work ups on individuals and also are medication maintenance program which. An individual can come in on a weekly or twice weekly or whenever he and his social worker or counselor decides. That the individual can come in and get medications prescribed by the M.D. which will be

administered by a nurse. And under the supervision. Then a person usually. Is assigned to a counselor on an ongoing basis and wide range plans are made with that individual. To deal to combat his alcoholism. And we try not to duplicate. We try not to duplicate the situations in which he has gone through in the past and through you know the clinical aspect of the program. We have an outreach component in our research component which deals with the individual in the home. As I stated earlier you know education is a priority and that people are not used to being. Called or associated with alcoholism in the black community. And a lot of people feel that they are not ready or motivated enough to deal to associate themselves with the word alcohol because of the social

stigma. Definitely not dealing with the definition. Could you tell me something about the minority counsel on alcoholism. Well Massmart Council was founded by a group of people black Spanish speaking and American Indian people who were working in the alcoholism field and realizing that there was a lack of interest and a lack of commitment from the local state and federal levels. We decided to get together to talk about the needs of the minority community and what the priorities would be. After a lot of the liberations that there were a lot of discussion and struggle and arguments. We came up with a platform that we felt would be a benefit to the minority community and to the minority people. And one of the main things that we decided to. One of the main priorities. Number one priority was the fact that

we felt there was need for an intervention and detoxification center and which the state has supported. In 1971 the state passed a law stating that. Alcoholism public drunkenness is no longer a crime. And they established 15 the docs a case and centers throughout the state to combat this on an inpatient level. And we found as the guidelines were through the Department of Public Health. And that. The black community was split up actually into five different areas. There were detoxification facilities in Dorchester child's town matter pan back bay and in the south then well after long deliberations and meetings with the people up at the state level we convinced them that there was a need for a six Center in Boston. And which minorities will be able to relate to and

where they will not have to go out of their own community to get the necessary services that are available to them. Is that the sort of that will be over and this is the Senate that will be over in approximately on July 15th. Of this year. Thank you for being with us today. Thank you. For information regarding alcoholism. Contact the Dimmick community health center alcoholism program Kerry building which is 55 Demick street Roxbury phone number of four to 88 hundred or the open air associates alcoholism halfway house 53 Dudley Street in Roxbury phone 4 4 5 2 7 9 9. Lead paint poisoning is a national health hazard that creates a special threat to black and poor people. Lead poisoning causes damage to vital organs of your child's body particularly the brain. The reason lead

poisoning is a greater problem in the black community is attributable to the older and less maintain housing in which we have to live. Also the housing is less likely to have been painted before 1950 when lead paint for interior use was declared illegal. What are the initial dangers with lead paint. Is the ease with which a child can be poisoned. All children from 1 to 5 years of age go through a stage of development where they eat non-food substances during this period. Paint chips can be easily consumed by your child. In addition when teething children bite on numerous painted surfaces in your home possibly elevating the lead levels in their blood the symptoms of lead poisoning or loss of appetite drowsiness and digestive problems. Looking for symptoms though can be deceptive since only 5 percent of the children poisoned by lead. Show any recognizable symptoms. This is why we urge you

to have your child's blood and urine tested to get positive information about the lead levels in their blood. Lead poisoning killed 200 children last year in the United States. Nationwide 400000 have elevated lead levels in their blood. Twenty thousand young children in Massachusetts are lead poisoning victims 30 to 40 percent will be left with severe brain damage. 75000 Massachusetts children live in housing with lead paint dangers a child will have permanent brain damage if poison twice. 81 percent of Boston houses contain lead paint. Once a child is admitted to a hospital with an attack of lead poisoning it is already too late.

He has been poisoned and runs the risk of incurring visual difficulty mental retardation and emotional problems. The most effective solution to lead poisoning is the removal of lead paint from the child's environment. This means lead paint poisoning must first be viewed as a housing problem placing the burden of proof on the government instead of the individual federal and state lead poisoning programs need increased funding and the ability to enforce violations of the housing sanitary code. Money must be allocated as an incentive to small property owners to lead their property tenants must be educated to their rights. The Massachusetts Supreme Court recently ruled that tenants have the right to recover damages as compensation and punishment from landlords who purposely don't obey the law. The most important action parents can take is to have their children tested for lead paint poisoning. If it is found that your child has elevated lead levels in their blood or urine

there are drugs that can be prescribed to remove the lead from this system. June 24th through June 28th is lead poisoning prevention week in Boston. The Boston lead poisoning prevention center states that summer is the peak season for childhood lead poisoning. So have your child tested immediately. For information regarding lead paint poisoning please contact the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester. Phone 2 8 8 3 2 3 yo Harvard Community Health Plan 80 Brighton Avenue Brighton phone 7 8 3 2 5 3 yo the South End Community Health Center 65 West Brookline Street Boston 2 6 6 6 3 3 6. Mental health as a problem that has not customarily been associated with the black

community but as the pressures to survive in a white society increase as the pressures to succeed in a white society increase as the pressures to conform to and compete in a white society increase. We have begun to notice an increasingly large proportion of black people succumbing to this pressure. Black people often live in two worlds one black and one white Both require different cultural roles while both are necessary for survival. This real phenomenon is in fact a difficult reality to totally reject one or the other may be uncool. While dealing with both can also be uncool as some doors have opened for black people and as black people have become increasingly aware of themselves and the economic social and political contradictions in this country. It has also become more difficult for many to cope. Another factor to consider is environment. Often times black

folks are forced to live in situations and settings that are subhuman. Environment is not restricted to physical conditions but must also include social and political environments such as racism. The effects of racism and oppression certainly have detrimental effects on the mental health of black people in this country for information about mental health. Please contact the following the Boston University Community Mental Health Center associate area director Don Taylor phone to 6 to forty two hundred extension 6 5 3 1. They can refer you to a group organization near you that can deal with your specific problem. Also contact before Hill mental health association director Mary McKinnon there at 21 Roxbury street Roxbury little city hall

foam 4 4 2 2 1 8 5. This organization deals with anyone who has not been able to get service. Also contact the Roxbury multiservice center at 3 1 7 blue hill Avenue phone 4 2 7 4 4 7 0. It is hard to gather statistics on the state of mental health in the black community since it is only recent that we have come to recognize it as a serious health problem but we can assume that there is one. A shortage of community facilities and clinics to deal with this problem too. There is a shortage of black psychiatrist and paraprofessionals available to deal with this problem in our community. Three the state institutions and programs are under supported and overpopulated and for people refuse to recognize that emotional instability is an illness that can be treated.

Black people must deal with this problem on many levels. One we must reinforce our cultural heritage so that we understand who we are in a majority white world to black people must understand their position in this society and fight for respect and recognition at all levels so that our social political relationship to whites is on an equal basis. Since we have to coexist on this one three the black community must insist that black psychiatrists medical people and power professionals be trained since our own doctors will be the most likely choice to serve our community for. We must insist that more local facilities be made available to all communities by the state. We must also insist that the state provide more and hiper resident facilities. 5. We must recognize this as a problem in our community and since

we must respect our elders and their wisdom they oftentimes can offer us the advice and love that we need in times of trouble. Drugs and escape a grasp at a moment of relaxation and responsibility scraping together the money for an ounce of marijuana a nickel bag of heroin a hit of mescaline or some pills is a relatively easy thing to do. Trying to ignore the physical or psychological need for a drug which develops the long term abuse isn't hard drug use is either die from an overdose spend months in a rehabilitation center or spend their lives in and out of prison. The narcotics use ironically exploited by his own desires destroys his body and steals from the black community in his search for a high and a friend the sky marijuana is

probably the most available drug and certainly the most widely used it is not physically addicting but its uses become dependent on the weeds euphoric effects and sometimes the side to use more dangerous drugs. Heroin is the most dangerous addictive drug. It destroys the brain and the liver. Furthermore the user is never sure of the quality of the drug he purchases and therefore can overdose easily. The High Cost of heroin and the need to acquire it places the addict in a world of crime deadly as the drug itself. Among the synthetic drugs are barbiturates in and fed amines these drugs were originally developed for medical use but they are now heavily abused. For instance Valium but it has become the most prescribed drug in the nation. Doctors prescribe it as a tranquilizer. Kids

abuse it as a downer. Sedatives are even given to hyperkinetic schoolchildren. In a society which relies heavily on drugs painkillers sleep induces and tranquilizers. It is not surprising to see youths strung out on the same pills their parents consume with a doctor's prescription. Barbiturates and amphetamines are psychologically addicting. Both can cause death from overdose and are especially dangerous when combined with alcohol. According to a study by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Borbidge which closely follow heroin as an addictive drug in the first half of this year 48 percent of the addicts over 19 and rehabilitative centers were on heroin while 16 percent were on barbiturates and 15 percent reportedly on marijuana. Approximately six percent were in fettucine uses use of barbiturates has risen from 6 percent in

1972 to 16 percent this year and there has also been a decided increase in those declaring themselves a continued marijuana use. In 1973 15 percent of this group sought help while in 1974 so far 17 percent of those reporting for treatment used marijuana. Heroin addiction has gone down since 1972 when 73 percent of those who went to rehabilitation centers were on heroin. That figure has dropped to 48 percent. Ironically while heroin addiction has apparently declined the rate for alcoholism has risen from 6 percent in 1973 to almost 12 percent this year. Racially a lower percentage of blacks are presenting themselves for treatment to those centers funded by the state. While in 1972 15 percent of those treated were black this year only 9 percent were black. According to the study this

could mean that sufficient services are not offered to the black community or that the problem of drug abuse is only slightly higher proportionately among blacks than among whites. The human body is like any other architectural structure it depends primarily on the foundation the foundation is poor the structure itself is unstable. Our feet are a similar foundation for our bodies. They transport us to thousands of places and people in our lives although we rely on them so heavily. We constantly abuse our feet shoes are bought for style not support or comfort. Proper foot care should start with children. The size of their shoes and stockings should be checked to prevent constricting the toes which could possibly cause deformities. Also any blisters of cones should be given

immediate attention. Thank you for being with us this evening Dr. hurts. I wanted to ask you what are some of the reoccurring problems that you see in treating people's feet. Well first I have to divide that into three age groups and the children. We see many times that they are now Ripp earth and they will end up with ingrown toenail. Unconsciously they'll just sit there whether they're watching television or just reading and they'll just rip their toenails. They'll hike one foot underneath and just start ripping away at their nails. And they do damage to the growing portion of the nail and cause it to grow in a different direction so that they then begin to have a chronic ingrown toenail which means that every month when that nail has to be cut it will be in the skin and eventually they will end up with an infection in the toe which would necessitate a minor surgical correction of the area. The other problems that we see in

children are at this time of year particularly our planter's warts which are actually a small tumorous growth which many parents will confuse with a callous and try to self-treat it. But a war itself is actually a tumor growth and they do spread from one wart you can end up with 150 warts and time and the young adult and middle age individual corns and calluses are the most chronic problems that we see and the average person who has a corn or a callous will come in every month every six weeks every two months depending on what their comfort span is in the senior citizen or the above thirty nine and a half year individual. They are played very much by very very thick toenails. Sometimes they can be an inch thick and this

pressure of the shoe just pressing down on it can cause ulcers underneath of the nails and can be extremely painful. What would cause someone to have a thicker toenail is that what what does that attaches to. It normally has to do with diminished circulation. It will normally occur in the big toenails more than the other toenails. It can also be caused by a chronic fungus infection or athlete's foot of the tone now that just over the years has eaten away at the growing portion of the nail and this damage just cause an out of growth thicker. Other than that the all age groups will have corns calluses ingrown toenail. There are also structural problems that occur in the feet. Also could you give us some preventive medicine. Well with children make sure when you cut their nails you cut them straight across. Make sure to try and stop them from ripping their toenails.

Try not to self-diagnose too many conditions of your of your own in the young adult. You can wear a properly fitting shoe which does not cause pressure on the toes or across the ball of the foot to prevent the reoccurring of corns and calluses. And in the older individual just the proper trimming of the toenails these thick toenails to grind them down will prevent a lot of the problems. Platform shoes are a pretty big thing right now. And I was wondering what your impressions from podiatrists point of view on platform shoes. Well platform shoes have. Really caused a lot more problems with men who are now wearing them and with the platform the foot is on like a sliding board and you

slide to the front of the shoe which causes tremendous pressure around the toes. And with this forward pressure you're getting corns on the tops of your toes the toes will begin to curl up from the pressure and across the top of the toes they'll develop corns. Also we've had cases in particularly with girls more than with men falling off the platform and ending up with a fractured ankle sort out with you. This is not very common but it is it does occur occasionally enough to be in statistics because does the change in pressure on the tendon of the leg and the arm of the foot change because of the height. Because men normally didn't wear shoes that were that high. Well it's harder to go from a high shoe to a low shoe than a low shoe to a high shoe. See the tendon behind which you're referring to is the Achilles tendon. It's easier for it to shorten than it is to lengthen. Once you have worn it a

high shoe for a length of time then you will get a shortening of the tendon and it does create a problem to go back into low shoes. At this time of year or when the school teachers start getting out where they've been used to wearing a heel of from two to three inches off during the winter. And now all of a sudden they go into a flat sandals or go barefoot or wear sneakers that polling in the back of their leg can be very severe for approximately a month until it will stretch out warm tub soaks will relieve some of the spasms and the back of the leg to ease up the pain on that. I see. Thank you very much for being with us. Pleasure. For information regarding foot care please contact the mass podiatry society 14 Beacon Street Boston phone 2 2 7 4 4 4 9. Boston City Hospital

podiatry clinic 4 2 4 4 2 3 8. The hours of Wednesday's 1 to 3 p.m. Fridays 9:00 a.m. to noon Mass General Hospital Cambridge Street Boston. The phone is 7 2 6 2 7 8 2 and a Deaconess Hospital 185 Pilger Luud Boston 7 3 4 7 thousand. Dental care is an aspect of overall health. Blacks neglect mostly for financial reasons. The teeth however are important in starting a digestive process through chewing. They make speech possible and they maintain facial structure although a limited amount of corrective dental work is possible for adults. The basis for a strong healthy set of teeth must begin with the child. It is vital to keep

primary teeth cavity free so the permanent teeth have enough space to grow cavities result from bacteria destroying tooth enamel. These bacteria which react to sugars in the mouth can be eliminated only by reduction of sugar in the diet or by brushing immediately after meals. In visiting a dentist twice a year. Thank you for being with us this evening. Dr. West I wonder if there are any dental problems that you see reoccurring in the black community. This is not dental problems. See re-occurring the bright black community but there's problems I see all the time and we I've been working for the last 1 1/2 years which is Columbia Point we mostly handle the school age kids age 6 to 12. And the problem that we see this simply stems from a lack of education probably due to

part of fashionables and also part due to family environment. Part of the problem also stems from the fact that Boston was applied as an affluent flow of flotation and water we find in areas where the water is fluoridated. That was done on ponds. If we find a 20 point don't really exist you know. Are there any other any dental tips that you could give us to improve the way people take care of that. Well we're going to have to go back to school to the youngsters. OK. The problems that people have stemmed from when they're very young and. People should begin taking their children to the dentist from the time they're like three three and a half this would allow them to allow the children or rather to get used to the dentist and to then let them stimulate interest in them as

far as coming. Other than that people show children should brush your teeth like after every meal they should use dental floss which helps out in brushing and they should also use mouthwash and that sort of thing. What happens to people's teeth. They don't get the proper care that they need. What happens is that you get a buildup of if you don't brush you get a buildup of plaque and plaque is simply soft deposits that are left on to you after a person needs food. To eat food as a certain amounts of material that has opportunity. And if this isn't brushed of the assets in the mouth and the bacteria in the mouth unite with the soft material and causes two teeth to decay that's in the young people and the adults you find a definite problem which is Paradorn problem are most people call a power area where the power really is a is a dental problem a dental disease and it starts off again with soft material or plaque

and due to the chemical environment of the mouth it harms. And as it harms it starts destroying all the tissues around it to freeze the soft tissue the body tissue and eventually teeth gets loose and then come out the loser to the to. Power area are printed on disease. I see the high cost of dental care is a problem in your opinion. Do you see any changes in the whole structure of dental medicine that will lower the cost of dental care whereas the whole trend in medicine as a whole. You know that is to order a national type of health insurance. And this will make that history available for everyone you know right now dentistry is available for people who are suppose that economically deprived this is through the welfare system. And for those people who have had that is also available because they have the funds. But the area where I think that people are in most trouble is the area the

median income level. That is where people aren't eligible for welfare and they don't have enough money to take it I don't need and ASPI will be helped up through some kind of national health insurance. So that's one aspect of that national health will be we don't know. We don't know. What kind of advice would you give a parrot concerning the care of their children's teeth. Well the first first advice I would give them is to is to for them to write their state senators state congressmen and try to get them to pass the bill so that we can get the water flowing. OK. And as an alternative I would say that when I go to see their pediatricians or their doctors they should ask the doctor to recommend to them for them to have multivitamins with fluoride in it. All right. And as far as the toothpaste is concerned I think that children should rush in to face with fluoride. And as far as to brush up what should be a soft multitasked tooth brush hard to brush the very

races. And it usually causes laceration of the gums and also because it's wearing way of the teeth a multi-touch tooth brush is just day to brush that has a lot of bristles and that's that's the recommendation I would recommend. OK. Thank you. OK. For information regarding dental health please contact the Roxboro dental and medical group 25 Warren Street Roxbury phone 4 4 2 0 9 3 7 Roxburgh a comprehensive health center 109 Mt. Pleasant of Roxbury 4 4 2 5 3 3 yo that Charles Drew family life center 12 Bignell street Dorchester phone 2 8 7 0 900