Herald & lantern 22 February '84

39

CPR Taught

Rx

Cape Trip Cheers V.A. Patients

Students

AVALON — Twenty-one eighth-grade students at the Avalon School are learning how to save lives. Once a week, they meet volunteer Red Cross CPR Instructor Art St. John and his mannikin companions, Recording Annie and Anatomic Annie. Together they work at perfecting the lifesaving skill of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (a combination of mouth-to-mouth breathing and external heart compression used with heart attack victims). This course is unique because although many schools teach First Aid skills, few are able to certify their students. To date, 10 of the Avalon students have earned Red Cross ‘‘CPR Race For life” certificates. St. John expects all the students to complete the course successfully. The Red Cross encourages schools to seek First Aid Instructor certification for faculty members. For more information, call Nancy Vecere, County Red Cross Youth Chairman, 465-5372.

MacCarthy Retires

Lt. Col. Ned J. MaeCar thy, assistant to the Commander for Logistics Management Systems, has retired from the U.S. Air Force. He is the son of Jack MacCarthy and the late Kay MacCarthy of Avalon. Col. MacCarthy, a native of Pittsburgh, graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.S. in aeronautical engineering and received an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He entered the Air Force with a ROTC commission in 1959. He has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal. He and his wife, Barbara, plan to remain in Newark, Ohio, where he will be a representative with Investors Diversified Services Marketing.

Milk intolerance is experienced in varying degrees by an estimated 50 million Americans. It is often the subject of confusion because the cuase of milk intolerance in an individual can be either: a) allergy to milk proteins or b) a total lack or shortage of the enzyme which breaks down the sugar found in milk and milk products into a form usable by the body. The name of the critical enzyme is ‘‘lactase" and the name of the sugar it breaks down is “lactose.” The condition is called "lactose intolerance" because when you take in milk, which contains lactose, you develop symptoms showing that you are not chemically equipped to process the lactose in your digestive tract. These symptoms usually appear 15 to 30 minutes to an hour after eating milk or other dairy products. Milk allergy is rare; lactose intolerance is fairly common. Symptoms include nausea, abdominal cramps, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and loud gurgling sounds in your abdomen. This is all caused by the undigestible lactose hanging around in the intestinal fluid. THE BODY THEN sends more water in to' wash it out as an undesirable element. The extra water sent in by the body’s defense mechanism leads to diarrhea. Bacteria which normally are living in your digestive tract, in this case the colon, will eat the lactose and form gas as a by-product. Lactose intolerance is not always a permanent condition. There are three primary types. The most common is one where as we age our ability to handle milk products decreases, even though as a baby and child we could consume them in normal amounts. Certain ethnic groups are particularly likely to be lactose intolerant: One half to three quarters of all African and American blacks, Arabs, Asians, Israelis, American Indians and 5 to 20 percent of white populations of northern European ancestry. The second type of lactose, deficiency is caused by damage to the cells rff the digestive tract which produce the enzyme lactase. A number of serious digestive diseases can damage the lining of the small intestine where lac-

Fed Avoids Politics (From Page 38) complicated. It’s not just the huge present and prospective deficits that are keeping interest rates relatively high, but also fear that the Fed will help finance the deficits with rapid money growth. Federal Reserve officials have said for years that they can’t artificially depress interest rates indefinitely; today they know that even a hint of trying to depress them even temporarily can have exactly the opposite effect. The sucked-in theory might have made sense at one time, not today. w, As November comes close, Fed officials undoubtedly will follow their usual seasonal pattern: lying low. They will try not to call unnecessary attention to the Fed, will avoid public speeches where possible and may postpone certain kinds erf actions — like changes in the discount rate — that have a larger public impact than their importance warrants. This behavior should be interpreted for what it is: steering clear of politics, not engaging in them.

— David R. Eastbourn of Doylestown, Pa., in a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal.

by Dr. Robert C. Beitman

tase is made. This wilM^ad to a shortage of the enzyme and decreased ability to handle milk products. However, after treatment of the underlying digest ve disease (for example colitis) the lining of the digestive tract may heal and lactase production return close to normal. A THIRD, RARE condi tion known as “congenital lactase deficiency" exists whereby an infant is born with very limited or no ability to produce lactase. In such cases all milk and milk products are eliminated from the infant’s diet and special substitutes are required. Several diagnostic tests are available to determine whether your digestive problems are indeed caused by milk intolerance. These include a lactose tolerance test which monitors via blood samples at regular intervals the glucose levels in your bloodstream after drinking lactose. A hydrogen breath test is becoming available in this country which also detects lactose intolerance. In special cases, a biopsy of the intestine may be needed. Milk allergy' tests are sometimes indicated. Your family physician will review the special diets for lactose intolerent persons. New products on the the market make milk avoidance much easier these days. However, great care must be taken to include the proper dietary supplements because milk products provide us with many essential nutrients that we can’t afford to lose entirely. Lactose intolerance is considered to be a “diagnosis of exclusion.” The-, symptoms of gas, diarrhea, bloating, pain and nausea can be seen with many other disorders, some of which are extremely serious. Careful evaluation is required to exclude the diagnoses of diverticulitis, colitis, cancer and others before assuming and treating milk intolerance. Health Watch is a public education project of the Cape May County Unit of the American Canper Society.

RIO GRANDE - The County Veterans' Bureau, under the direction of Freeholder Gerald Thornton and director Jack Moran, sponsored "visit a hospitalized vet” trip to Wilmington Veterans Administration Hospital Valentine's Day. Two busloads of local veteran organizations and their auxiliary members participated. Approximately $700 was donated for canteen coupons from the various organizations, along with many other gifts. Many stores contributed

various gift items for the hospitalized veterans, food and beverages for the passengers. THE FOLLOWING merchants contributed to this worthwhile cause: Dellas. K-Mart, Murphy’s Mart, Jamesway; Harrah's and Caesar's casinos Mister Donut, Dunkin Donuts, Villas Market, Ben’s Restaurant, Butcher Block, Keene’s Kitchen, BAJ’s, Texas Market, A,LAP, and Coca-Cola Individual veterans received handmade Valentine’s Day cards from Dennis villc Girl Scout Troop

168, Stone Harbor Brownie Troop 101, a Lower Township Elementary School. The irip may become an annual event, said Thornton, since it was well coordinated by Pat Hienkel, Ginny Snyder, and Moran Thornton commendedthe staff of the Veterans' Bureau, County Library. Public Affairs, Fare-Free Transportation, and all employes anc^ participants. The dedication and initiative of these employes has been recognized by the board of chosen freeholders and county veterans.

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