The Tree Man

I was browsing the web these morning and I came across an interesting article of a person named the Tree man. Papilloma virus (HPV) is usually a common disease that causes small warts on people who suffer from the disease. But with Dede it's quite different, if you look at him he really looks like half tree and half man just like something you will see at a circus. Well actually he traveled with the circus for a while in order to support his family. Dedes immune system is unable to stop the rapid growth of warts that is covering his body and turning him into a tree. The virus is taking over his life and producing massive amounts of cutaneous horns mostly on his hands and feet.

Dr. Gaspari is caring for Dede and treating him with vitamin A which is showing signs of improvement. The warts have seemed to slow the growing process and the most stubborn warts will be surgically removed.

I don't know if this disease is related to the cutaneous horns that is growing on jack rabbits. Nevertheless, it's a very interesting disorder to research and study in much deeper depth.

Betsy and her skin disorder

Betsy is my 10 month old shnauzer however she looks nothing like a shnauzer. I think it has alot to do with the fact that I shaved her hair about three times already! Well, when Betsy came into our home she was the cutest puppy. But a couple of months later she started to get dry skin. At first I didn't pay much attention to the scratching. However, her dry skin started to get worse to the point she was going bald. I took her to the vet and he said it was mange. He gave me an ointment and I was to rub the cream all over her skin for about a week. Unfortunately, she only got worse. I had a feeling she didn't have mange but I figured what the heck maybe it would help. The veterinary visit cost me $180! Well I was definitely not taking her back to the Vet again. Then I started reading on schnauzers skin disorders and I found numerous conditions. One was the hormonal imbalance which can be diagnosed with a blood test what happens is that the glands are not working properly which produces dry skin and even hair loss. The other disorder is bacterial infection which causes yellow spots filled with pus. Later the ulcers turn red, patchy and flaky. Another condition is allergies and can be caused by the grass, carpet, trees, pollen, or dust. This disorder causes the dog to scratch and biting and chewing. The most severe place would be at the armpits, paws, groin, and flanks.

I knew right away it was allergies causing poor Betsy to scratch continously. So I went and bought her allegy medicine over the counter. Claritin did wonders on her and I also included some booties to help for the scratching.  I put the booties on her for about a three weeks and when she tried to scratch she wouldn't irritate her skin as she did before. After three week later I started noticing she stopped scratching and her skin coat looked much healthier. I am happy to say Betsy is doing much better. Unfortuately, her hair is taking a while to grow back.

Life is the essence of Biology

Life is Gods wonderful creation! A week ago my mothers Chihuahua had one female puppy which it doesn't surprise me since Cookie (the chihuahuas name) is of age. She shouldn't be having puppies anymore. Cookie had four puppy litters even though my mother took her to the Veterinary so she won't be able to get pregnant anymore. Well, I'm not sure what happened but the operation was useless and Cookie still keeps going at it.

I went over to visit my mother on Sunday and I looked at the puppy and it looked very skinny. I asked mom if Cookie nurses the puppy and she said yes. And while I was there I kept an eye on Cookie to see if she was caring for her puppy. Well mother was right however Cookie is so old she can't even produce milk anymore and maybe that is why the puppy is skinny. I immediately went over to pet smart and bought a can of puppy milk and gave it to the puppy. But the puppy was so weak she couldn't even latch on to the nipple. Finally, after much struggle she was able to drink from the bottle. Although Cookie is a good mom and tries to feed her puppy, she won't be able to care for it anymore. So I took the puppy home with me and I'm feeding the puppy every three hours until she gets stronger and she can go back home with her mom. I named her Canelita (cinnamon) hope she makes it through because she is so tiny and weak.

It's amazing how life is formed, biology is the essence of a living organism. Life promotes growth, homeostasis, maintains growth, reproduce, and are able to adapt to environment.

Yeast

As I was drinking the morning coffee with a sweet mexican bread I started to wonder how did our ancestors stumble upon yeast and coffee. Yeast is a fungi that is used to make bread, wine, and beer. With the lack of oxygen the yeast ferments to produce energy and converting the sugars into carbon dioxide and ethanol; thus producing alcohol and a delicious piece of bread. Even though our ancestors didn't know it but they were biochemists! Did someone accidentally placed the yeast with flour and noticed that the yeast made the flour mixture swell up and tadaaa, bread was produced. I don't know how it was discovered but one thing for sure yeast was used many years ago. It is even written in the Bible!

I am thankful for the discovery of yeast because I can enjoy my piece of mexican bread every morning along with my coffee. Plants and fungi are very important to everyone.

Home remedies

As a child I dreaded my mother's home remedies. Everytime I approached her with a stomach ache she would take out her tea pot and fill it up with water and insert a dried herb that she had tuck away to the very end of her spice cabinet. I could still taste that wretch bitter tea in my mouth! But surprisingly enough the stomach pain would go away. Our mother would hardly take us to the doctor instead she would cook up a witches brew and make us take it. Okay, I'm exaggerating about the witches brew. However, she would take out her herbs and make her own medicine. Plants are very important and due to home remedies we had a healthy life. In fact I still use some of my mother's remdies. In a saucepan I place a small garlic clove with one tablespoon of olive oil and warm it up on the stove. Once it's cooled I grab a cotton ball and let soak, then place three to four drops inside the earache and cover it with a clean cotton ball. When my daughter gets a minor earache I use this home remedy and it works everytime. Oh, and aloe vera works wonders for minor burns! More and more people are using plants for sickness rather then popping pills in their mouth.

Stop littering!

I enjoy fishing at South Padre Island but what really upsets me is when people are out by the jetties, they leave their trash all over the place. Why can't they carry a small trash bag with them and that way if they have something they want to get rid off they can go ahead an dispose of it in the trash bag. But Noooo, instead there's broken beer bottles along with empty boxes of shrimp bait and food wrappers laying on the jetties. Don't they undrestand they are polluting the Island. The same way is at Arroyo city. The people do the same thing, but there is worse because instead of letting the small fish go back into the water. They just leave the poor fish out by the sand to die.

 I mean why can't the people get it through their thick skull that they are not only hurting the earth but our children as well. You know they are the ones who have to figure out how to clean up the mess we left after we pass away. If we really love our earth and our children (which are the next generation) then we should be more cautious of our pollution habits. A good example of what I'm talking about is the oil spill in the Macondo well of the Gulf of Mexico killing many sea creatures and their habitat due to BP's negligence.

Cosmetic Surgery in Medieval age!

Absurd?......Indeed, nevertheless true.

Even in historic times women managed to figure out a way to improve their appearance. How far is a woman willing to change who they are? Plastic and cosmetic surgery is the leading medical  technology all over the world. Women place themselves in painful situations and many loose their lives just to look a certain way. I'm sure many of us know or heard of someone who under went a plastic surgery procedure. The most common one is breast implants however theres other surgeries such as rhinoplasty, tummy tucks, facelift, permanent makeup and so on.

During the Sung Dynasty in China, women carried out a cruel and tortuous lifestyle. Girls at a young age were forced to bind their feet with bandages and wear a three inch shoe. By doing so the young girls had a great possibility of getting married. Small feet was considered beautiful. The initial process was carried out by excruciating pain. The foot would be washed and manicured in order to prevent infection. A bandage would serve to keep the toes curled inward touching the sole of the foot. If the procedure was started early in their childhood around the age of three or four years old it was less difficult for the child to adjust. However, poverty would interfere and many girls had to work in the fields in consequence they started the procedure at an older age which contributed to a high level of pain. During this treatment the girls had to keep up with the daily chores at home. The feet would bleed and pieces of skin would shed allowing the feet to stop from growing. It would take two to three years to keep the feet at a desired size. Sadly, as the girls flourished to adulthood they were unable to walk, tend to the home, cook, rise from a chair, or squat. Osteoporosis would set in and cause spine deformation as they got older. Unfortunately, only women with small feet were worthy of marrying. The others had to stay with the parents and work on the farm.Sadly, many were looked down upon by society.

Its true what they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.