and part of the floor of the upper story. the latter was well preserved on the top of the pithos. the excavation gradually revealed the lower part of the inner walls. two small rectangular gaps in the masonry may indicate the existence of niches. one larger gap on the west wall was most probably a window, similar to the one we found on the west wall of room 14. we uncovered a large amount of stones, among them some bones, plaster, and charcoal. at the southwest part of this fill, four miniature handle - less conical cups came to light. it is exactly the same place that we unearthed a complete amphora the previous year. at the same level, we also found some charcoal, bones, and two fragments of white plaster. in total, we documented 67 slabs from the story ’ s paved floor. the small and irregular size of the stones may explain why they needed to be covered with clay, which was burnt ( and is why it was preserved to such a great extent ). on the surface of the clay, there was a great quantity of carbonized wood, some sherds, and a handle - less conical cup. the pithos we found took up a substantial part of the southeast and central parts of the room. it is 1. 15 meters high ( 3. 7 feet ), and has two rows of handles below the rim and at the lower part of its body. at the center of the room, and in contact with pithos ’ rims, we found two thin pieces of limestone that do not resemble the stones fallen from the story. this probably means that they were used to cover the pithos. at the southeast corner of the room, we found a one - handled cup and a bell - shaped cup. at the northwest side, we revealed two more handle - less conical cups. the latter had most likely fallen from a shelf on the wall. we removed the rest of the southeast fill and uncovered four more vessels : two incense burners, a lamp, and a miniature handle - less conical cup. at the opening of the door, we found fragments of white plaster, burnt wood, bones, and a great amount of fallen stones from the east wall. at the north - central part of the room, we discovered two miniature conical cups, a milk jug, some bones, burnt wood, three fragments of plaster, and two handle - less cups. the excavation continued at a lower level, revealing four jugs, a bridge - spouted cup, the lower part of a stirrup jar,


jug, some bones, burnt wood, three fragments of plaster, and two handle - less cups. the excavation continued at a lower level, revealing four jugs, a bridge - spouted cup, the lower part of a stirrup jar, and a conical cup. below these finds, we uncovered some limestone and schist slabs, which probably means that they came from a stone structure, maybe a bench. at the southern part of this fill, we found four more vessels, mainly cups, as well as some fragments of plaster, burnt wood, and some bones. at the southwest part of the room, an accumulation of four more vessels came to light. among them were a cooking pot and a shallow angular bowl. the excavation continued mainly across the south and east walls, where we unearthed a great number of finds, including a lid, a tray, a cooking pot, two handle - less conical cups, a milk jug, and a miniature conical cup. the accumulation continued in the northern part of the east wall where we found a tray, two conical cups, a jug, and a quartz crystal. as usual, we also collected many bones and pieces of burnt wood. lastly, two more dense accumulations of artifacts came to light beneath the lower part of the pithos and the northeast part of the room, including an amphoriskos, an incense burner, two handle - less cups, a cooking pot, a shallow bowl, and many sherds coming from a medium - size vessel. we also found bones and carbonized wood. the excavation of room 17 had started in 2005. the research up to now was mainly concentrated on the central and western parts of the room, while the eastern part remained unexcavated. this year, the excavation continued in the lower fill of the southwest part of the room. in addition, we removed the upper fill of the eastern part. the single most important find was a pithos, which we uncovered in front of the west doorjamb. at the same level, in the southwest corner of the room, we discovered big sherds that belonged to the rim and the body of another large pithos. at the floor level, we uncovered four vessels : a jug, a beaked jug, and two conical cups. in addition, we found numerous bones and pieces of charcoal. we began to excavate the room ’ s eastern part this year. the upper fill was full of medium and large pieces of limestone and a few schist slabs. despite the masonry ’ s bad


we found numerous bones and pieces of charcoal. we began to excavate the room ’ s eastern part this year. the upper fill was full of medium and large pieces of limestone and a few schist slabs. despite the masonry ’ s bad state of preservation at the southeast corner, it seemed that there was one more opening at the southern part of the east wall. the door is 0. 80 centimeters ( 0. 31 inches ) wide and blocked by fallen stones. the disruption in this fill was confirmed by the pottery, since we found a lot of sherds from later periods. among the various finds were numerous bones and pieces of carbonized wood. lastly, at the lower part of this fill, there were a few more finds : a sherd of a tray, a handle of a cooking pot, a miniature cup, white plaster, and a probable stone tool. this year, we continued the excavation of passageway 16 at its southern end. we uncovered a great amount of fallen stones, which came from the upper parts of the east wall of room 15. in this fill, we found numerous sherds, bones, and pieces of burnt wood. also, we discovered two greenish pebbles, a small black stone with reddish inclusions, and two pieces of white plaster. at the lowest level of this fill, we unearthed two handle - less cups and sherds from a large pithos. in addition, we found many pieces of charcoal, three incomplete vessels ( a handle - less cup, hemispherical cup, and shallow bowl ), a quartz crystal, and a fragment of white plaster. in order to better understand the area occupied by the central building and to complete its ground plan, we conducted a geomagnetic prospection to trace any structures, mainly walls, that remain covered to date.


was this an iron furnace? yes, it was. welcome to archaeological mystery! the author is william d. conner, avocational archaeologist of columbus, ohio. my archaeological odyssey begins august, 1963, as i pose ( middle ) with amateur archaeologist arlington h. mallery, and a neighborhood youngster. we sit in the remains of the bowl of the overly furnace near the village of austin, ross county, ohio. this furnace and others like it in south central ohio, excavated 1949 - 1992 by amateur investigators, represent an old world technology 2, 000 years old. how did it come to exist in ohio? iron age america before columbus preface : the legendary azgens 1. norsemen among the indians? 2. spruce hill 3. mallery finds norse traces in newfoundland 4. spruce hill furnaces lure mallery to ohio 5. mallery vs. solecki 6. are virginia ’ s mysterious furnaces all gone? 7. investigators keeler and kelley 8. glacial kame furnace uncovered, july 1990 9. archaeologist urges us to dig 10. the hoover reservoir site furnace 11. america ’ s large copper artifacts 12. investigator ellis neiburger 13. new light shed on furnaces and maps 14. used by columbus? 15. proof of ancient astronauts? 16. the newark ‘ holy stones ’ debate at roscoe 17. the bent artifacts 18. the farfarers 19. period of unrest ’ caused by invasion of iron age celts 20. america and ohio : just before columbus? 21. forging links with pre - columbians appendix a : arlington mallery ’ s investigation chronology appendix b : ohio archaeo - pyrogenic sites database appendix c : the solecki report appendix d : rebuttal to solecki ’ s report by mallery appendix e : supplement to mallery ’ s rebuttal appendix f : sterling ’ s reply to mallery ’ s rebuttal of solecki ’ s report appendix g : spruce hill investigations, 1992 appendix h : report to the ohio archaeological council appendix i : triangulation : recording excavation site data points appendix j : arledge tl test yields 1740 ad results appendix k : mallery not the first appendix l : the georgetown forum appendix m : the legendary lost city of paint valley appendix n : carved stone buried 15 feet below chillicothe? appendix o : found with metal detector appendix p : was ohio prehistoric furnace iron appendix q : reported at symposium in 1973 appendix r : the thordsen map iron age america before columbus / william d. conner


stone buried 15 feet below chillicothe? appendix o : found with metal detector appendix p : was ohio prehistoric furnace iron appendix q : reported at symposium in 1973 appendix r : the thordsen map iron age america before columbus / william d. conner ‘ crushing ’ evidence of antiquity centuries before history began, someone left behind furnaces of ancient old world iron age design buried deep inside “ indian mounds, ” hillsides and the banks of creeks in and around the land that would become ross county, ohio. prehistoric iron age people from the old world built the furnaces to smelt bog iron ore into wrought iron, the metal blacksmiths shaped into tools and weapons. i will provide conclusive proof that all attempts to fit ohio ’ s pit iron furnaces into the 18th century - - before american settlers claimed the land - - are unworkable. instead, evidence indicates that these furnaces were constructed and used about a thousand years ago. i was a teenage boy at chillicothe high in ross county when first i met arlington h. mallery in 1949. scorned by professional archaeologists, mallery, a bridge - building engineer, knew iron age furnaces when he found them, even if they occurred in ohio, where they were not supposed to exist. he dug up several furnaces of ancient design along ross county ’ s deer creek in 1949 - 50. i have developed compelling evidence these furnaces are in fact prehistoric and this new evidence will be uncovered in my new book, iron age america before columbus. text and photos © 1997 - 2009 by william d. conner “ iron age america before columbus ” is now available! | order book here |


the ancient egyptians encountered magical bricks on the way into life and on the way out. on the way in, these were four bricks, stacked in pairs, that served to elevate a birthing mother so that when her child emerged beneath her, the baby could easily be caught in the hands of the midwife. ( according to midwives even today, a squatting or sitting posture is preferable to the supine position in which most modern western women give birth, generally resulting in a faster, easier delivery. ) on the way out, these were the four talismanic bricks that were placed in niches in the four quarters of a royal burial chamber. these bricks were decorated with amuletic figures : in the east, the anubis jackel ; in the south, a flame ; in the west, the djed pillar of osiris ; and in the north, a mummiform male figure. all of them protected the deceased. doubtless, the talismanic bricks that surrounded the body of the deceased in the tomb were meant to assist in her or his rebirth into the next life, just as the birthing bricks assisted in a child ’ s birth into physical life. the goddess most closely associated with the birthing bricks is meskhenet, protectress of the birthing place. the bricks were called meskhenut ( pl. ) after her. meskhenet is depicted either as a woman - headed birthing brick or as a woman with a distinctive curling headdress that has been identified as a stylized cow ’ s uterus. she protects mother and child during the dangerous process of birth, she foretells the child ’ s destiny as the baby is born, and she is among the deities of rebirth who witness the judgment of the deceased in the otherworld. with isis ’ own connection to both birth and rebirth, you will probably not be surprised to learn that isis is closely associated with meskhenet. at osiris ’ temple complex at abydos, four meskhenets serve as assistants to isis in the great work of rebirth done there. at hathor ’ s temple complex at denderah, a combined form of isis and meskhenet ( meskhenet nofert iset or isis, meskhenet the beautiful ) is one of the four birth goddesses of denderah. and in the famous story of the birth of three kings found in the westcar papyrus, both isis and meskhenet are among the four


, meskhenet the beautiful ) is one of the four birth goddesses of denderah. and in the famous story of the birth of three kings found in the westcar papyrus, both isis and meskhenet are among the four goddesses who assist in the kings ’ births. both tomb bricks and birthing bricks were protective. an inscription from the temple at esna, khnum, the god who forms the child ’ s body and ka on his divine potter ’ s wheel, places four meskhenet goddesses around each of his various forms “ to repel the designs of evil by incantations. ” we even have a few spells that were used to charge the birthing bricks. these spells are supposed to repel the attacks of enemies to the north and south of egypt and may indicate that the birthing bricks, like the tomb bricks, were connected with the directions. and here ’ s another tidbit showing parallels between the magical tomb bricks and birthing bricks. in an egypt exploration society article by ann macy roth and catherine h. roehrig, the authors point out an interesting gender - balanced aspect of these magical bricks. you may recall that four sons of horus are the gods who protect the four canopic jars that contain the internal organs of the mummy. these four gods are, in turn, guarded by four goddesses. in tutankhamun ’ s tomb, the goddesses are isis, nephthys, selket, and neith. we may be able to explain the amuletic figures associated with the tomb bricks in a similar, though opposite, manner. if the four meskhenets are personified as four goddesses who protect the birthing place, perhaps the four figures on the tomb bricks — the god anubis, a mummiform male, a divine pillar associated with osiris, and a flame, the hieroglyph for which is rather phallic — may be considered divine males who protect the four meskhenet goddesses, just as four goddesses protect the four sons of horus. it is worth noting that these magical bricks were made in the same way as were the traditional mud bricks of egypt. they were fashioned from the fertile nile mud, which may be associated with isis as lady of the fertile earth, then they were dried in the brilliant heat of isis - re, the radiant sun goddess. i haven ’ t tried this yet, but it would be interesting to create four miniature mud bricks,


japa : a psychological treatment q. what is the starting point of japa from the linguistic - point of view? what are the halting places in this joumey? and how does the power of japa become comprehensive form the point of view of physiology or of the science of incantation? ans. japa, the repetition of the name of the deity, and jalpa, meaning sophistry, come from the root words japa and jalpa. the root word jalpa connotes plain, explicit speaking ; whereas the root word japa has two connotations - - explicit speech and mental talk. thus, the semantic journey of japa begins from loud note ' to mantra - articulation ' and, mental repetition ' thereof. of course, japa is always done aloud, but from the point of view of articulation, it has been divided into two classes - voiced and mental. from the viewpoint of the science of incantation, japa is of three kinds - japa, antarjalpa, and mental jalpa. in the language of the science of incantation, these are known as voiced, low - voiced, and silent ( i. e. mental ). all these three kinds of japa can prove useful supports for ones progress in meditation. basically, the whole process constitutes an effort to migrate from the gross to the subtle, from the visible to the invisible world. gross sound produces gross vibrations and subtle sound produces subtle vibrations. subtle vibrations are far more powerful than the gross ones nevertheless, in the initial stages of bringing about a change, gross vibrations have a role to play. but in the higher stages it is necessary to move towards subtle vibrations, because the state of meditation can be attained only through these. loud japa is gross ; low - toned japa is an advance upon the former ; at the level of mental japa, the distance between knowledge and. the. word disappears. here language and thought get very near to each other. in gross vibrations, language and thought function separately. subtle vibrations awaken the psychic centres situated in the human body. although the entire system of the body is affected by these, some centres of consciousness are specially activated. for example - the centre of energy, the centre of bio - electricity, the centre of purity, the centre of intuition and the centre of wisdom in the system of preksha meditation,, psychic centres are associated with the endocrine glands as under : psychic centres endocrine glands location 1


centre of bio - electricity, the centre of purity, the centre of intuition and the centre of wisdom in the system of preksha meditation,, psychic centres are associated with the endocrine glands as under : psychic centres endocrine glands location 1. centre of energy gonads bottom end of the spinal cord 2. centre of health gonads lower abdomen 3. centre of bio - electricity adrenal, pancreas. navel islets of langerhans 4. centre of bliss thymus near the heart 5. centre of purity thyroid, parathyroid adams apple - throat 6. centre of celibacy sense organ of taste tongue ( tip ) 7. centre of vital energy sense organ of smell nose ( tip ) 8. centre of vision sense of sight eyes 9. centre of vigilance sense of hearing ear 10. centre of intuituion pituitary middle of the eyebrows 11. centre of enlightenment pineal centre of the forehead 12. centre of peace hypothalamus front part of the head 13. centre of wisdom cerebral cortex top of the head through japa, a transformation takes place at all levels - physical, mental and emotional. in the ancient texts, while mentioning the results of japa it has been said : by reciting spells, one can conquer decay, aversion, loss of appetite ( dyspepsia ), leprosy, disorders of the stomach, cough, asthma, etc. like most distinguished persons, the doer of japa earns great merit, and in his next birth attains salvation which is the portion of the noblest beings. q. has the assertion in the ancient texts of diseases being cured by japa, been proved by experiments? if not, how do we establish its authenticity? ans. in the context of diseases, japa is one remedy. it is not an imaginary concept, but has a scientific basis. just as the atoms of medicine are capable of destroying the atoms of disease, in the same way the atoms of the mind attracted by japa pull out the disease - atoms in the body and collect healthy atoms. thus, there is little room for doubting that the disease will be eradicated. in ancient times, the mantra - therapy was used along with the ayurved system of medicine. it was a kind of psychological treatment. the mantra - therapy formed an independent discipline within the ayurvedic system. accordingly, only he who had mastered the science of mantras, could be a full


ayurved system of medicine. it was a kind of psychological treatment. the mantra - therapy formed an independent discipline within the ayurvedic system. accordingly, only he who had mastered the science of mantras, could be a full - fledged ayurved acharya. experimentation was done in respect of various mantras in the laboratory of the mantra - specialists. even today, the mantra - therapy is prevalent in some form. though only to a slight degree, modern people are scientifically reviving the mantra - therapy. if this work goes ahead, there is room for a great deal of research and new discoveries. sound - therapy is also a part of the mantra - therapy. the rhythmic vibrations of sound can create virbrations in both the inner and the outer environment. they affect not only man, but also the whole world of living beings. the impact of sound vibrations on the vegetable kingdom is even greater than upon human beings. in this connection, new experiments are being performed in america and other countries. they are also experimenting with the effects of music on vegetation. although music has no shape or appearance of a mantra, it certainly is a component vital to its incantatory effect. plants exposed to music develop early, the grass grows apace, the petals are larger and smoother, the fruit more abundant and delicious. sound - induced sweetness imparts to the vegetation all - round a sense of being loved and cared for and a feeling of joy at being so loved. during the period of experimentation, those plants which were deprived of the atmosphere of music, in contrast with their more happy brethren, showed the effect of such deprivation on their growth, leafing, flowering and fruition. experiments have also been conducted on the effect of music on animals. cows exposed to music yielded more milk. in view of the fact that waves of music exercise such a powerful influence on vegetation and animals, the effect of vibrations produced by a mantra can no longer be disputed. the working of a mantra is even more subtle, so its effect is visible on a subtle level. combined with faith, self - confidence and passion, a mantra ' s power of doing good is increased a hundred fold. q. you have talked about the scientific nature of spell - craft and the system of mantra - therapy. but it has been observed that those resorting to japa and mantras for years together, are not satisfied with the results. some even talk of giving up mantra - japa altogether. is that the right approach? ans. the


therapy. but it has been observed that those resorting to japa and mantras for years together, are not satisfied with the results. some even talk of giving up mantra - japa altogether. is that the right approach? ans. the words of a mantra are in themselves charged with electricity. the user of a spell also experiences its electric effect. how effective it proves, depends upon the disposition of the experimenter. " sweetness depends upon the amount of sugar put in, " is a traditional saying. similarly, the greater the devotion, the greater the power of japa. japa always yields some definite result, more or less. it seems to me that in order to advance in the field of sadhana, to remove obstructions in the path of spiritual progress, and to enter the inner world, the first thing to be done is japa. the doubt about the effectiveness of japa is now being replaced by a new faith in its power. in the jain tradition, the recitation of namaskar mahamantra ' ( obeisance - spell ), of seed - letters, of a spell word or the name of one ' s personal deity, is still very much prevalent. the question arises if it produces the desired results. some people get good results, whereas others draw a complete blank. but the talk of giving up. japa - sadhana in the absence of any visible results, is not right. because the reason behind the absence of results is not any lack of virtue in the mantra, but the practitioner ' s ignorance of the proper technique of recitation. the water has the power of slaking one ' s thirst. if because of some reason, the water is rendered unclean or it gets tepid as in the hot season and cannot slake one ' s thirst, it cannot be said that the water has lost its virtue. if the same water is cleaned and cooled, it becomes fit for use. similarly, people who undertake japa unsystematically, recite the mantra too quickly, or too lethargically, or sit down to practise it when their mind is restless and wandering - these are the defects of performance. if these defects are removed, japa can establish itself in the form of a powerful tool for bringing about physical, mental and spiritual change. the fundamental basis of change is the purity of the life - current. total concentration of the mind on the mantra does not in any way obstruct the flow of vital energy. the flow of vital energy


- yes, this is a good time to plant native grass seed in the ground. you may have to supplement with irrigation if the rains stop before the seeds have germinated and made good root growth. - which grasses should i plant? the wonderful thing about california is that we have so many different ecosystems ; the challenging thing about california is that we have so many different ecosystems. it ’ s impossible for us to know definitively which particular bunchgrasses used to grow or may still grow at your particular site, but to make the best guesses possible, we recommend the following : - bestcase scenario is to have bunchgrasses already on the site that you can augment through proper mowing or grazing techniques. - next best is to have a nearby site with native bunchgrasses and similar elevation, aspect, and soils, that you can use as a model. - after that, go to sources such as our pamphlet distribution of native grasses of california, by alan beetle, $ 7. 50. - also reference local floras of your area, available through the california native plant society. container growing : we grow seedlings in pots throughout the season, but ideal planning for growing your own plants in pots is to sow six months before you want to put them in the ground. though restorationists frequently use plugs and liners ( long narrow containers ), and they may be required for large areas, we prefer growing them the horticultural way : first in flats, then transplanting into 4 " pots, and when they are sturdy little plants, into the ground. our thinking is that since they are not tap - rooted but fibrous - rooted ( one of their main advantages as far as deep erosion control is concerned ) square 4 " pots suit them, and so far our experiences have borne this out. in future newsletters, we will be reporting on the experiences and opinions of marin ranchers peggy rathmann and john wick, who are working with uc berkeley researcher wendy silver on a study of carbon sequestration and bunchgrasses. so far, it ’ s very promising. but more on that later. for now, i ’ ll end with a quote from peggy, who grows, eats, nurtures, lives, and sleeps bunchgrasses, for the health of their land and the benefit of their cows. “ it takes a while. but it ’ s so worth it. ”


garrett had a hard time waking up for school during his sophomore year. at first he thought it was because he ' d been going to bed late over summer vacation and then sleeping in the next day. he assumed he ' d adjust to his school schedule after a couple of weeks. but as the school year progressed, garrett found himself lying awake in bed until 2 or 3 in the morning, even though he got up at 6 : 30 am every day. he began falling asleep in class and his grades started to suffer. most teens don ' t get enough sleep, but that ' s usually because they ' re overloaded and tend to skimp on sleep. but sleep problems can keep some teens awake at night even when they want to sleep. over time, those nights of missed sleep ( whether they ' re caused by a sleep disorder or simply not scheduling enough time for the necessary zzzs ) can build into a sleep deficit. people with a sleep deficit are unable to concentrate, study, and work effectively. they can also experience emotional problems, like depression. what happens during sleep? you don ' t notice it, of course, but while you ' re asleep, your brain is still active. as people sleep, their brains pass through five stages of sleep. together, stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and rem ( rapid eye movement ) sleep make up a sleep cycle. one complete sleep cycle lasts about 90 to 100 minutes. so during an average night ' s sleep, a person will experience about four or five cycles of sleep. stages 1 and 2 are periods of light sleep from which a person can easily be awakened. during these stages, eye movements slow down and eventually stop, heart and breathing rates slow down, and body temperature decreases. stages 3 and 4 are deep sleep stages. it ' s more difficult to awaken someone during these stages, and when awakened, a person will often feel groggy and disoriented for a few minutes. stages 3 and 4 are the most refreshing of the sleep stages — it is this type of sleep that we crave when we are very tired. the final stage of the sleep cycle is known as rem sleep because of the rapid eye movements that occur during this stage. during rem sleep, other physical changes take place — breathing becomes rapid, the heart beats faster, and the limb muscles don ' t move. this is the stage of sleep when a person has the most vivid dreams. research shows that teens need 8½ to more than 9 hours of sleep a night


— breathing becomes rapid, the heart beats faster, and the limb muscles don ' t move. this is the stage of sleep when a person has the most vivid dreams. research shows that teens need 8½ to more than 9 hours of sleep a night. you don ' t need to be a math whiz to figure out that if you wake up for school at 6 : 00 am, you ' d have to go to bed at 9 : 00 pm to reach the 9 - hour mark. studies have found that many teens have trouble falling asleep that early, though. it ' s not because they don ' t want to sleep. it ' s because their brains naturally work on later schedules and aren ' t ready for bed. during adolescence, the body ' s rhythm ( sort of like an internal biological clock ) is reset, telling a teen to fall asleep later at night and wake up later in the morning. this change in the circadian rhythm seems to be due to the fact that the brain hormone is produced later at night in teens than it is for kids and adults, making it harder for teens to fall asleep. sometimes this delay in the sleep - wake cycle is so severe that it affects a person ' s daily functioning. in those cases it ' s called delayed sleep phase syndrome. changes in the body clock aren ' t the only reason teens lose sleep, though. lots of people have insomnia — trouble falling or staying asleep. the most common cause of insomnia is stress. but all sorts of things can lead to insomnia, including physical discomfort ( the stuffy nose of a cold or the pain of a headache, for example ), emotional troubles ( like family problems or relationship difficulties ), and even an uncomfortable sleeping environment ( a room that ' s too hot, cold, or noisy ). it ' s common for everyone to have insomnia from time to time. but if insomnia lasts for a month or longer with no relief, then doctors consider it chronic. chronic insomnia can be caused by a number of different problems, including medical conditions, mental - health problems, medication side effects, or substance abuse. people with chronic insomnia can often get help for their condition from a doctor, therapist, or other counselor. for some people, insomnia can be made worse by worrying about the insomnia itself. a brief period of insomnia can build into something longer lasting when a person becomes anxious about not sleeping or worried about feeling tired the next day. doctors call this


, insomnia can be made worse by worrying about the insomnia itself. a brief period of insomnia can build into something longer lasting when a person becomes anxious about not sleeping or worried about feeling tired the next day. doctors call this psychophysiologic insomnia. periodic limb movement disorder and restless legs syndrome people with these conditions find their sleep is disrupted by leg ( or, less frequently, arm ) movements, leaving them tired or irritable from lack of sleep. in the case of periodic limb movement disorder ( plmd ), these movements are involuntary twitches or jerks : they ' re called involuntary because the person isn ' t consciously controlling them and is often unaware of the movement. people with restless legs syndrome ( rls ) actually feel physical sensations in their limbs, such as tingling, itching, cramping, or burning. the only way they can relieve these feelings is by moving their legs or arms to get rid of the discomfort. doctors can treat plmd and rls. for some people, treating an iron deficiency can make them go away ; other people may need to take other types of medication. obstructive sleep apnea a person with this sleep disorder temporarily stops breathing during sleep because the airway becomes narrowed or blocked. one common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is enlarged tonsils or adenoids ( tissues located in the passage that connects the nose and throat ). being overweight or obese can also lead a person to develop obstructive sleep apnea. people with obstructive sleep apnea may snore, have difficulty breathing, and even sweat heavily during sleep. because it disrupts sleep, someone with sleep apnea may feel extremely sleepy or irritable during the day. people who show signs of obstructive sleep apnea, such as loud snoring or excessive daytime sleepiness, should be evaluated by a doctor. if someone has gastroesophageal reflux disease ( gerd ), stomach acid moves backward up into the esophagus, producing the uncomfortable, burning sensation known as heartburn. gerd symptoms can be worse when someone is lying down. even if someone doesn ' t notice the feelings of heartburn during sleep, the discomfort it causes can still interfere with the sleep cycle. most teens have nightmares on occasion. but frequent nightmares can disrupt sleep patterns by waking someone during the night. some things can trigger more frequent nightmares, including certain medications, drugs, or alcohol. ironically, sleep


causes can still interfere with the sleep cycle. most teens have nightmares on occasion. but frequent nightmares can disrupt sleep patterns by waking someone during the night. some things can trigger more frequent nightmares, including certain medications, drugs, or alcohol. ironically, sleep deprivation can also be a cause. the most common triggers for more frequent nightmares are emotional, such as stress or anxiety. if nightmares are interfering with your sleep, it ' s a good idea to talk to a parent, doctor, or counselor. people with narcolepsy are often very sleepy during the day and have sleep " attacks " that may make them suddenly fall asleep, lose muscle control, or see vivid dreamlike images while dozing off or waking up. someone ' s nighttime sleep may be disrupted, with frequent awakenings throughout the night. narcolepsy can be disturbing because people fall asleep without warning, making it hazardous to do things like drive. a person ' s schooling, work, or social life can be affected by the unusual sleep patterns. narcolepsy is not that commonly diagnosed in teens, although many cases go unrecognized. people usually first begin to have symptoms between the ages of 10 and 25, but may not be properly diagnosed until 10 - 15 years later. doctors usually treat narcolepsy with medications and lifestyle changes. it ' s rare for teens to walk in their sleep ; most sleepwalkers are children. sleepwalking may run in families. it tends to happen most often when a person is sick, has a fever, is not getting enough sleep, or is feeling stress. because most sleepwalkers don ' t sleepwalk often, it ' s not usually a serious problem. sleepwalkers tend to go back to bed on their own and don ' t usually remember sleepwalking. ( sleepwalking often happens during the deeper sleep that takes place during stages 3 and 4 of the sleep cycle. ) sometimes, though, a sleepwalker will need help moving around obstacles and getting back to bed. it ' s also true that waking sleepwalkers can startle them ( but it isn ' t harmful ), so try to guide a sleepwalker back to bed gently. what should i do? if you think you ' re getting enough rest at night and you ' re still feeling tired during the day, it ' s a good idea to visit your doctor. excessive tiredness can be caused by all sorts of health problems, not just difficulties with sleep. if a sleep problem is suspected, your doctor will look at your


the keys to reaching or staying at a healthy weight are regular exercise and good eating habits. some people think exercise and good eating require lots of effort or planning. but that ' s not true. in fact, the best way to work them into our lives is by making small changes that gradually become part of our routine. we ' ve all succeeded in making changes that are now ingrained in our lifestyles — learning to brush our teeth, for example. here ' s the information you need to make these other healthy habits just as easy. teens should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity a day. note the word " activity " : as long as you ' re getting your body moving, it doesn ' t have to mean doing complicated exercises or hitting the gym every day. all that matters is that each week you get the right balance of activity, including aerobic, strength building, and flexibility exercise. make exercise a habit by scheduling some every day. on days when you have soccer practice or an aerobics class, you may have no trouble exercising for an hour or more. but most of us are busy, and 60 minutes a day of activity seems like a lot of time. the good news is that it ' s ok to divide it into shorter " exercise breaks " throughout the day. just as you might have a healthy snack to stop yourself getting hungry, exercise snacks can keep energy levels high. so get up 15 minutes early and do some yoga or other stretching activity. fast walk or jog for 15 minutes at lunch. do the same thing after school — or walk or bike home. add to that taking the stairs, gym class, and walking between classes during the day, and you ' ve probably reached your 60 minutes. here are 10 simple ways to make an exercise lifestyle change : start today. go outside for a walk. take the stairs instead of the elevator. instead of driving, walk or bike to places like school or a friend ' s house. if you have to drive, park farther away than you need to and walk the extra distance, if it ' s safe to do so. vacuum your room, wash the car, or mow the lawn. it ' s not a chore — it ' s an exercise opportunity! limit your time watching tv, using the computer, or playing video games — and when you do play, try interactive games that get you moving. try to keep screen time to no more than 2 hours a day, not including time spent doing homework. dance. even in the privacy of your


computer, or playing video games — and when you do play, try interactive games that get you moving. try to keep screen time to no more than 2 hours a day, not including time spent doing homework. dance. even in the privacy of your room, letting loose to your favorite tunes could help you burn more than 300 calories an hour! figure out what type of exercise interests you, then give it a try! take it slow if you ' ve never done it before. and if you ' re nervous at first, find an exercise buddy to join you. it ' s usually easier to stay motivated about exercise if you do something you ' re interested in. if you get bored or lose interest easily, alternate the kinds of activities you do so they always feel fresh. be sure to include some activity that gets your heart beating faster, quickens your breathing, and makes you sweat. eating well doesn ' t mean dieting over and over again. in fact, studies have shown that dieting often doesn ' t work — and diets may have the reverse effect, with dieters gaining back more weight than before they started. one reason diets don ' t work is because they can encourage people to think of foods as " good " or " bad, " when the truth is everything is ok in moderation. diets also encourage people to " give up " certain foods, which can make us feel more deprived. and not only do we feel deprived, diets often deplete our bodies of important nutrients. teens should eat a variety of foods, and there ' s nothing wrong with the occasional treat. a candy bar somehow tastes more special if we treat ourselves once in a while instead of every day. the best way to stay at a healthy weight ( or lose weight if you need to ) is to make healthy food choices daily. for some of us, that means changing our mindset about food. instead of thinking of food emotionally ( for example, as a reward for doing well on a test or as a way to deal with stress ), see it for what it is — a practical way to fuel our bodies. here are 10 tips for making healthy eating a part of your life : replace soft drinks, fruit juices, and sports drinks that are loaded with sugar with water, low - fat milk, or sugar - free drinks. eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. the fiber will fill you up and you ' ll get the nutrients and flavors to keep your body satisfied. choose foods from all


, low - fat milk, or sugar - free drinks. eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. the fiber will fill you up and you ' ll get the nutrients and flavors to keep your body satisfied. choose foods from all the different food groups. in addition to getting your fruits and veggies, include whole grains and lean protein at each meal. make healthier fast - food choices. pick a small, single - patty burger instead of a large one and a side salad instead of fries. stick to regular servings — don ' t supersize! better yet, avoid fast - food places whenever you can. keep healthy foods on hand. if your kitchen is stocked with healthy choices like celery, raisins, and peanut butter you can make ants on a log instead of dipping into the cookie jar ( you may need to teach your parents a thing or two about food to be sure they buy you the good stuff! ). take your own good - for - you snacks and food on the road so you can avoid the vending machine or convenience store. try carrot sticks, a piece of fruit, or your own homemade trail mix instead of cookies, chips, or processed foods that tend to be loaded with fat and calories. eat when you ' re hungry. if you ' re tempted to eat because you ' re bored, that ' s your mind telling you to find something else to do. eat a healthy breakfast every day. don ' t eat meals or snacks while watching tv because you ' ll probably end up eating more than you intend to. pay attention to portion sizes. if a portion is large, cut it in half and put half aside for later — or split it with a friend. use your creativity to come up with ways to fit exercise and healthy eating into your life in a way that works for you. we ' re all different. your best friend might prefer to schedule some gym time while you ' d rather take your frisbee - playing dog to the park. knowing what ' s right for you will make it a lot easier to do!


there ' s a reason why baseball has been called our national pastime for decades. it ' s as american as hot dogs and apple pie. it ' s been a summer tradition in big cities and little towns across the u. s. a. for generations. it ' s a great team sport, and it ' s fun. why is baseball safety important? baseball is by no means a dangerous sport. but it can present a very real risk of injuries from things like wild pitches, batted balls, and collisions in the field. at the high - school level, some pitchers can throw fastballs that reach 80 - plus miles per hour, speedy enough to cause painful welts, broken bones, even concussions. excessive pitching and improper throwing mechanics can lead to major league arm problems, and base runners and fielders frequently collide while running at top speed. as with all sports, wearing and using the right gear can go a long way toward preventing injuries. the amount of equipment required for baseball isn ' t on a par with football or hockey, but it is every bit as important. players need to be sure they always have all the gear required by their league. most leagues will insist on the following : batting helmets must be worn whenever a player is at bat, waiting to bat, or running the bases. some leagues may even require pitchers to wear them. helmets should always fit properly and be worn correctly. if the helmet has a chin strap, make sure it is fastened, and if the helmet has an eye shield or other faceguard, this should be in good condition, securely attached to the helmet. a catcher should always be wearing a helmet, facemask, throat guard, full - length chest protector, athletic supporter with a cup, shin guards, and a catcher ' s mitt whenever they are catching pitches, whether it ' s in the game, in the bullpen, or during warm - ups. baseball spikes should have molded plastic cleats rather than metal ones. most youth leagues don ' t allow spikes with metal cleats. it ' s possible that your league could have guidelines dictating what kind of bat you can use. some aluminum bats may be banned for hitting batted balls too hard. be sure to check your league ' s policy before choosing a bat. all players should wear athletic supporters ; most, particularly pitchers and infielders, should wear protective cups. rules regarding which players must wear cups vary from league to league. additional gear that some players like includes sliding pants, which are meant to go


. all players should wear athletic supporters ; most, particularly pitchers and infielders, should wear protective cups. rules regarding which players must wear cups vary from league to league. additional gear that some players like includes sliding pants, which are meant to go under your baseball pants to protect against scrapes and cuts ; batting gloves, which can keep your hands from getting sore while hitting ; shin and foot guards, which are designed to protect against balls fouled straight down ; and mouthguards. base paths are one of the most common places injuries happen. this is especially true when you slide into a traditional stationary base, which puts a rigid obstacle in your path as you slide. sliding into a fixed base can result in foot, ankle, and lower - leg injuries. as a result, doctors have started recommending that leagues install breakaway bases in all of their playing fields. these bases, which snap onto grommets on an anchored rubber mat, can be dislodged when a runner slides into one, lessening the chances that a base runner will get injured. during the course of normal base - running, the base is stable and does not detach. before you start the game ideally, you should get plenty of exercise before the season begins and be in the best shape possible before you swing a bat for the first time. this will not only lower your risk of injury, it will also make you a better ballplayer. be sure to warm up and stretch before a baseball game as you would for any other sport, but remember that in baseball, you have to pay particular attention to your throwing arm. most arms require plenty of warm - up before they can safely attempt a long, hard throw. different people have different preferences when it comes to warming up their arms. some like to make short throws, while others prefer to start with long, easy tosses. regardless of how you choose to warm up your arm, the idea is to start with soft throws meant to stretch your muscles and loosen up your joints. as your arm warms up, gradually increase the intensity of your throws until you are throwing as you would during a game situation. make sure that all bats, balls, and other equipment used during warm - ups are safely put away before play begins, and always inspect the playing field for holes and debris, especially broken glass. when you ' re out in the field, you ' re going to want to go full speed after every ball hit your way. the problem is that so will your teammates. with your attention focused on


field for holes and debris, especially broken glass. when you ' re out in the field, you ' re going to want to go full speed after every ball hit your way. the problem is that so will your teammates. with your attention focused on the ball, it ' s easy to lose track of where people are, and painful collisions can and do occur. make sure that if there is any doubt as to who should field a ball, one player calls for it as loudly as he or she can to let other players know to back away. practice doing this with your teammates so you get used to listening for each other ' s voices. when you ' re batting, it ' s important to stand confidently in the batter ' s box and not be afraid of the ball. that being said, baseballs are hard objects. getting hit with a pitch hurts. you ' ll get a free base if you get plunked, but it probably won ' t be worth the pain. know how to safely get out of the way if a pitch is headed toward you. the best way to do this is to duck and turn away from the pitcher, exposing your back and rear end to the pitch instead of your face and midsection. on the base paths, practice running the bases with your head up, looking out for other players and batted balls, and know how to slide correctly. many leagues make it illegal for kids to slide headfirst, as this can lead to head injuries and facial cuts. pitching, particularly for adolescent arms that are still growing, puts an enormous amount of strain on joints and tendons. injuries to wrists, elbows, rotator cuffs, ligaments, and tendons can result from excessive pitching but can be largely avoided if players and coaches follow a few simple guidelines : make sure you adhere to your league ' s rules regarding the maximum number of innings a pitcher is allowed to throw. this will generally range from four to 10 innings per week. if you play for more than one team, include all innings pitched each week, not just the ones for each team. most leagues follow rules regarding the number of pitches you can throw in a game. keep in mind that even major league pitchers have strict pitch counts to keep their arms healthy. here are the pitch count limits for teens recommended by u. s. a. little league and the american sports medicine institute : 13 - 16 years old ; 95 pitches a day 17 - 18 years old ; 105 pitches a day pitchers under 14 should limit total pitches to less than 1, 000


when you hear the word yoga, do you think of a person with his legs twisted up like a pretzel? if so, it may seem like yoga is very complicated or just for adults. not true! kids and teens can do yoga for the same reasons grown - ups do : because it feels good to stretch out your body, slow down your breathing, and relax your mind. yoga can help you feel calmer when life is busy and stressful. aaahh... what you need anytime you start a new exercise routine, it ' s a good idea to check with a parent. a yoga class can be a great way to get started because the instructor can teach you how to get into the poses. find a large - enough space with few distractions. no tv or people, if possible. wear comfortable workout clothes and no shoes or socks. a yoga mat can be helpful because it cushions a bit and keeps your feet from slipping. yoga should not hurt, so go slow and ease into position. go only as far as you comfortably can. why yoga for stress? when you get stressed or nervous, many things can help you feel better. talking with someone — a parent, friend, or school counselor — is a great idea because they can help you figure out what ' s wrong and start coming up with solutions. in addition, you can ease stress through exercise. you probably know exercise is good for your health, but it ' s also a proven way to put you in a better mood. so it makes sense that yoga is a favorite activity among people who want to feel stronger and more relaxed. yoga includes a lot of stretching, but that ' s not all. yoga also focuses on breathing and meditation, which means thinking calm thoughts. practicing yoga is a chance to learn stretching / breathing / thinking skills that you can use to calm yourself down the next time you feel worried or overwhelmed. in other words, yoga can help your body stay loose and relaxed when things heat up! meditation is the first part of a stress - relieving yoga practice. meditation means being calm, quiet, and focused. some people call this " feeling centered. " when you are feeling centered, you can do your best in stressful situations such as taking a test or working through a disagreement with a friend. try these meditation exercises : take a yoga vacation : find a quiet, private place, like your bedroom. sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. imagine a place where you feel safe and relaxed. is it your best friend '


a friend. try these meditation exercises : take a yoga vacation : find a quiet, private place, like your bedroom. sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. imagine a place where you feel safe and relaxed. is it your best friend ' s backyard? your grandma ' s house? camping in the woods? imagine yourself in this place for 3 - 5 minutes. you ' ll feel much calmer after your " yoga vacation. " positive pictures : when you ' re feeling stressed about a big test, game, or performance, it can help to imagine it going really well. sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. picture yourself feeling prepared for your test, kicking the winning goal in soccer, or reading your lines and getting a laugh from the audience. of course, positive pictures can ' t take the place of actual preparation, but can help you feel confident! if you meditate for just 5 minutes a day, it will help you feel good even when you ' re not meditating. the more you do it, the more it becomes part of your routine, like brushing your teeth or lacing up your cleats before a soccer game. on one hand, you already know how to breathe. you ' re doing it right now! but learning how to breathe in yoga practice can help you notice how your breathing changes when you ' re anxious or upset. often, when you start to feel nervous or uncomfortable, your breathing may get faster and you might not breathe as deeply. once you tune in to your breath, you can try belly breathing. there are many different yoga poses. some can help you stretch the neck, shoulders and back, which are most likely to get tense when you are nervous or stressed. try these two yoga poses when you want to de - stress yourself : surprise / sourpuss : open your mouth wide and bug out your eyes, then scrunch your face up into a little ball and pucker your lips. alternate back and forth between " surprise " and " sourpuss. " do this while you ' re studying at home to help loosen up your face and jaw, which can get really tense while you ' re studying. if you have a study partner, make a game of it! who can make the silliest face? shoulder gymnastics : do a few gentle shoulder and neck rolls right before a test to keep your shoulders nice and loose while you work. you can even do them during a test if you need a refreshing break. have fun with yoga yoga can help you in


iron is a necessary mineral for body function and good health. every red blood cell in the body contains iron in its, the pigment that carries oxygen to the tissues from the lungs. but a lack of iron in the blood can lead to iron - deficiency anemia, which is a very common nutritional deficiency in children. about iron - deficiency anemia the body needs iron to make hemoglobin. if there isn ' t enough iron available, hemoglobin production is limited, which in turns affects the production of red blood cells ( rbcs ). a decreased amount of hemoglobin and rbcs in the bloodstream is known as anemia. because rbcs are needed to carry oxygen throughout the body, anemia results in less oxygen reaching the cells and tissues, affecting their function. iron - deficiency anemia ( ida ), often caused by insufficient iron intake, is the major cause of anemia in childhood. it has become much less common in the united states over the past 30 years, primarily due to iron - fortified infant formulas and cereals. iron - deficiency anemia doesn ' t develop immediately. instead, a person progresses through stages of iron deficiency, beginning with iron depletion, in which the amount of iron in the body is reduced while the iron in rbcs remains constant. if iron depletion isn ' t corrected, it progresses to iron deficiency, eventually leading to ida. causes of ida iron - deficiency anemia can be the consequence of several factors, including : insufficient iron in the diet poor absorption of iron by the body ongoing blood loss, most commonly from menstruation or from gradual blood loss in the intestinal tract periods of rapid growth a diet low in iron is most often behind ida in infants, toddlers, and teens. kids who don ' t eat enough or who eat foods that are poor sources of iron are at risk for developing the condition. poverty is a contributing factor to ida because families living at or below the poverty level may not be getting enough iron - rich foods. iron deficiency can also cause the body to absorb more lead, which increases the risk of lead poisoning in kids, especially those living in older homes. the combination of ida and lead poisoning can make kids very ill and can put them at risk for learning and behavioral problems. during infancy and adolescence, the body demands more iron. kids are at higher risk for ida through these periods of rapid growth because they may not be getting enough iron in their diet to make up for the increased needs. in infants, discontinu


. during infancy and adolescence, the body demands more iron. kids are at higher risk for ida through these periods of rapid growth because they may not be getting enough iron in their diet to make up for the increased needs. in infants, discontinuing iron - fortified formula and introducing cow ' s milk before 12 months can lead to ida. cow ' s milk is low in the iron necessary for infant growth and development and it often replaces the consumption of iron - rich foods. milk decreases the absorption of iron and can also irritate the lining of the intestine, causing small amounts of bleeding. this slow, gradual loss of blood in the stool — combined with low iron intake — may eventually result in iron deficiency and anemia. prematurity and low birth weight are other factors that put an infant at risk for ida. before birth, full - term, normal - weight babies have developed iron stores that can last them 4 to 6 months. because preemies don ' t spend as much time in the uterus getting nutrients from the mother ' s diet, their iron stores are not as great and are often depleted in just 2 months. kids between 1 and 3 years old are at risk of iron deficiency and iron - deficiency anemia, even though it isn ' t a period of exceptional growth. most toddlers are no longer consuming iron - fortified formula and infant cereal, and they aren ' t eating enough iron - rich foods to make up the difference. toddlers also tend to drink a lot of cow ' s milk, often more than 24 ounces a day, an amount that injures the lining of the stomach causing chronic blood loss leading to iron deficiency. during the first stages of puberty, when a lot of growth occurs, boys are at risk of iron deficiency anemia. but adolescent girls are at higher risk than boys for ida because of smaller iron stores and the iron lost in the blood in their monthly menstrual flow. many girls also tend to consume a diet low in iron. many kids with iron deficiency don ' t show any symptoms because the body ' s iron stores are depleted slowly. as the anemia progresses, you may recognize some of the following symptoms in your child : fatigue and weakness pale skin and mucous membranes rapid heartbeat or a new heart murmur ( detected in an exam by your child ' s doctor ) dizziness or a feeling of being lightheaded rarely, a person with ida may experience pica, a craving to eat nonfood items such as paint chips, chalk,


heart murmur ( detected in an exam by your child ' s doctor ) dizziness or a feeling of being lightheaded rarely, a person with ida may experience pica, a craving to eat nonfood items such as paint chips, chalk, or dirt. pica may be caused by a lack of iron in the diet. iron - deficiency anemia is often first noticed during a routine exam. because ida symptoms, such as fatigue and decreased appetite, are common to many conditions, the doctor will need more information to make a diagnosis. if ida is suspected, the doctor will probably ask questions about your family ' s diet. to diagnose iron deficiency, one of these blood tests will probably be done : a complete blood count ( cbc ) may reveal low hemoglobin levels and low hematocrit ( the percentage of the blood made up of rbcs ). the cbc also gives information about the size of the rbcs ; those with low hemoglobin tend to be smaller and each cell contains less hemoglobin. the reticulocyte count measures how fast these immature rbcs are produced. in ida, they ' re made too slowly in the bone marrow to reach a normal level. serum iron directly measures the amount of iron in the blood, but may not accurately reflect how much iron is concentrated in the body ' s cells. serum ferritin reflects total body iron stores. it ' s one of the earliest indicators of depleted iron levels, especially when used in conjunction with other tests, such as a cbc. the doctor may also do a stool test because ida can be caused by gradual loss of small amounts of blood through the gastrointestinal tract. since the blood may not be visible, a stool sample is placed on a special paper card and a drop of testing solution is applied. a color change indicates the presence of blood. even though most cases of ida are the result of poor dietary iron intake, diet changes alone usually aren ' t enough to replenish depleted iron stores. likewise, multivitamins with iron aren ' t adequate for kids with ida who have such low iron stores, so a separate daily iron supplement may be required. it ' s extremely important to remember that your child should not be given potent iron supplements without first consulting a doctor. taking too much iron is a major cause of serious poisoning in children, according to the american academy of pediatrics ( aap ). iron is best absorbed on an empty stomach, because it can occasionally cause stomach upset. kids who experience


a doctor. taking too much iron is a major cause of serious poisoning in children, according to the american academy of pediatrics ( aap ). iron is best absorbed on an empty stomach, because it can occasionally cause stomach upset. kids who experience stomach problems when taking iron supplements may need to take them with a small amount of food. iron should not, however, be given with milk or caffeinated beverages, which will interfere with absorption. vitamin c enhances iron absorption, so try to include plenty of sources of vitamin c in your child ' s diet. after the first month on iron supplements, your doctor may want to repeat the blood tests to check that hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are improving. if there ' s a good response, the doctor will probably continue the iron supplement for several more months. once corrected, iron stores can be maintained with an iron - rich diet. about 6 months after discontinuing iron therapy, the doctor may want to recheck your child ' s hemoglobin. rarely, ida is so severe and possibly life - threatening that hospitalization and a blood transfusion may be required. the effects of ida will depend on the duration and severity of the anemia. if left untreated, it may lead to behavioral or learning problems. these may not be reversible, even with later iron supplementation. but in most cases, ida is preventable by following some basic recommendations : infants younger than 1 year old should drink only breast milk or an infant formula supplemented with iron. it is important for breastfed infants to receive iron - fortified solid foods starting at about 6 months of age. kids under 2 years old should have no more than 24 ounces of cow ' s milk a day. as noted earlier, milk can inhibit absorption of iron, and drinking too much milk can dampen a child ' s appetite for other iron - rich foods. in addition, too much cow ' s milk has been shown to irritate the gastrointestinal tract, which may cause intestinal bleeding — a cause of iron loss. iron - fortified products such as cereal can be a great way to get kids — especially those under 2 years old — to get more iron. a variety of foods can provide great sources of iron : lean meats ; egg yolks ; broccoli, spinach, and other green leafy vegetables ; dried peas and beans ; blackstrap molasses ; raisins ; and whole - grain bread. make sure kids or


scientists have discovered a gene that interferes with the clearance of hepatitis c virus infection. they also identified an inherited variant within this gene, interferon lambda 4 ( ifnl4 ), that predicts how people respond to treatment for hepatitis c infection. the results of this study, by investigators at the national cancer institute ( nci ), part of the nih, and their collaborators at nih and other institutions, were published online in nature genetics earlier this month. chronic infection with hepatitis c virus is a cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. up to 80 percent of people who are acutely infected with hepatitis c fail to clear the virus and develop chronic hepatitis c infection, and of these, approximately 5 percent develop liver cancer. individuals of african ancestry do not respond as well to current treatments of hepatitis c infection compared to patients of european or asian ancestry. previously, results from genome - wide association studies ( gwas ) identified common inherited genetic markers that were associated with response to hepatitis c virus treatment and spontaneous clearance of the infection. those markers are located on chromosome 19 near a known interferon gene, ifnl3 ( il28b ). however, molecular investigations into ifnl3 did not explain the gwas association with spontaneous virus clearance or treatment response. to find the new gene, the investigators used a technology involving rna sequencing on human liver cells treated to mimic hepatitis c virus infection. " by using rna sequencing we looked outside the box to search for something beyond what was already known in this region. we hit the jackpot with the discovery of a new gene. it is possible that other important genes may be discovered using this approach, " said co - lead investigator ludmila prokunina - olsson, ph. d., of the laboratory of translational genomics in nci ' s division of cancer epidemiology and genetics ( dceg ). the researchers found that the ifnl4 region harbors a variant that is found in two alternative forms. one form, called deltag, results in a deletion in one of the four bases that comprise dna. the change creates an alteration known as a frameshift, which produces the ifnl4 protein, while the form without the deletion does not produce ifnl4. by analyzing data from hepatitis c - infected african - americans and european - americans participating in clinical studies, the authors found that the presence of the ifnl4 protein is associated with poorer clearance and response to treatment than the form that does not produce ifnl4


analyzing data from hepatitis c - infected african - americans and european - americans participating in clinical studies, the authors found that the presence of the ifnl4 protein is associated with poorer clearance and response to treatment than the form that does not produce ifnl4. the deletion variant is more common in people of african ancestry, which helps partially explain why african - americans have a lower response to current hepatitis c treatments than patients of asian and european ancestry. " our work fulfills several promises of the genomic era, " said nci ' s thomas r. o ' brien, m. d., infections and immunoepidemiology branch, dceg. " one, a better understanding of biology ; two, personalized medicine ; and three, new potential treatments. we deliver immediately on the first two. we ' ve identified a new gene that may help us better understand response to viral infection and the new genetic marker may transition to clinical practice because it predicts treatment outcome for african - american patients better than the current genetic test. for the third, the infl4 protein may be used as a novel therapeutic target for hepatitis c virus infection, and possibly other diseases. " the new gene belongs to what is now a family of four interferon - lambda protein - encoding genes, three of which were discovered more than ten years ago ( ifnl1, ifnl2 and ifnl3 ) the mechanism by which the ifnl 4 protein impairs hepatitis c virus clearance remains unknown. further studies will explore molecular function of this novel protein in normal and disease conditions. this study was conducted collaboratively with the national institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases at nih, as well as the u. s. food and drug administration, and a number of universities and research institutions. funding was provided by nci grant z01 cp005782.


hese peeled trees are at indian tree campground in the bitterroot national forest, very near the route the corps of discovery may have followed on september 5, 1805, as they descended from the ridge now known as lost trail pass, which separates the salmon and bitterroot river drainages. photo : bitterroot national forest alking overland west of the gates of the mountains on july 19, 1805, clark " saw where the natives had pealed the bark off the pine trees about this same season. " this, lewis reported, " the indian woman with us informs that they do to obtain the sap and soft part of the wood and bark for food. " and on september 12, the second day of their toilsome journey over the bitterroot range from travelers ' rest to weippe prairie, clark wrote, " on this road, & particularly on this creek, " — today ' s lolo creek — " the indians have peeled a number of pine for the under bark, which they eate at certain seasons of the year, i am told in the spring. " the species that was favored was pinus ponderosa, ponderosa pine. trees could be peeled early in may, after the bitterroot was judged ready for harvest, and never before. the process was steeped in ceremony ; the result was literally the first sweet taste of spring. it was women ' s work. hard work. they used sharpened juniper sticks or rib bones of elk or bison to pry heavy slabs of thick bark from each tree. then, with slicing tools made from the horns of mountain sheep, they carefully scraped off the nutritious inner bark and ate it immediately. the treat had a brief shelf - life, because it was unpalatable after it dried out. 1 it is often said that indians ate the cambium, but that is incidental and irrelevant, for the cambium itself is functionally just one cell thick ; its components divide to produce a cambial zone, which is only a few cells thick. although it is a key to a tree ' s life, it has no value as human food. on its inner surface, the cambial zone generates the water - conducting cells, or xylem ( zy - lem ), which, as the tree grows, expand the dead, woody center of the stem, or tree - trunk. on its other side the cambium merges into the phloem ( pronounced flo - um ), or bast. about one - eighth to


tree grows, expand the dead, woody center of the stem, or tree - trunk. on its other side the cambium merges into the phloem ( pronounced flo - um ), or bast. about one - eighth to one quarter of an inch thick in a mature ponderosa pine, the phloem carries food between the tree ' s crown and its roots. in spring, at the onset of the tree ' s new growing season, it is rich in proteins and carbohydrates, and that is why it was once valued as food. as the outer cells of the phloem deteriorate, they become the corky interior surface of the outer bark. 2 peeled trees also served as trail signs. en route back across the bitterroot mountains, on june 17, 1806, over deep snowbanks that hid the ground, clark noted : " i was in front and could only pursue the derection of the road by the trees which had been peeled by the nativs for the iner bark of which they scrape and eate. " the peeling of ponderosa pine trees was discouraged and finally prohibited as settlers moved onto reservation lands, because it was considered injurious to trees that were valuable to them as sources of lumber for building. but since cuts such as that illustrated in the photo above did not sever the cambial zone around the whole circumference of the tree, they did no harm. in fact, a layer of cambium soon formed within the callus tissues to help heal the wound. - - joseph mussulman, with help from mark behan 1. jeff hart, montana : native plants and early peoples ( helena : montana historical society, 1976 ), 50 - 51. 2. stephen h. spurr and burton v. barnes, forest ecology ( 3rd ed., new york : john wiley & sons, 1980 ), 89.


the eustachian tube is a small canal that connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and upper throat ( nasopharynx ). its purpose is to equalize the air pressure in the middle ear with the pressure outside it. eustachian tube dysfunction ( etd ) occurs when the tube fails to open during swallowing or yawning. this results in a difference between the air pressure inside and outside the middle ear. it causes discomfort in the ear and temporary hearing problems. the ear may feel blocked if the pressure outside the ear changes, but the pressure inside the ear does not change. when this happens, the eardrum cannot vibrate normally. it often occurs during altitude changes, like flying in an airplane, driving on steep hills, or scuba diving. swallowing, yawning, or chewing usually make the symptoms go away. etd occurs if the tube is blocked or swollen, trapping air and fluids in the middle ear. this causes symptoms to continue beyond a few hours. sometimes it can lead to ear damage. a risk factor is something that increases your chance of getting etd. tell your doctor if you have any of these factors : - activities with large, rapid altitude changes, such as flying in an airplane or scuba diving - allergy, cold, or other upper respiratory infection - ear or sinus infection - narrow eustachian tube - presence of obstructing tumors in the nasopharynx - children with large adenoids - age : children ( their eustachian tubes are narrower. ) - environmental allergies symptoms can include : - feeling of fullness or clogging in the ear - discomfort or pain in the ear - hearing loss - ringing in the ear ( tinnitus ) - symptoms cannot be relieved by swallowing, yawning, or chewing - pain if the blockage results in an infection your doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history, and perform a physical exam. a lighted instrument, called an otoscope, will be used to look inside your ear. the doctor will check for a slight bulge around the eardrum, fluid, and swelling. if your case is severe, your may need to see an otolaryngologist, a doctor who specializes in ear disorders. other possible tests include : - tympanogram — to measure pressure in the ear canal and movement of the eardrum - audiogram — to measure hearing - examination of the nose and the back of the nose to deal with ear clogging, discomfort,


tests include : - tympanogram — to measure pressure in the ear canal and movement of the eardrum - audiogram — to measure hearing - examination of the nose and the back of the nose to deal with ear clogging, discomfort, or pain, you can try : - swallowing, yawning, or chewing gum to relieve the pressure - clearing your ears by breathing in and then gently breathing out while holding your nostrils and mouth closed if the symptoms do not go away within a few hours or are severe, your doctor may recommend the following medications : - nasal or oral decongestants - oral antihistamines - nasal steroids to relieve nasal congestion and enable the eustachian tube to open - pain medications ( eg, acetaminophen or ibuprofen ) in rare cases, a myringotomy may be necessary. the doctor makes an incision in the eardrum to allow the pressure to equalize and the fluid to drain. to help reduce your chances of getting etd, take the following steps : - avoid flying in an airplane or going scuba diving if you have allergies or a cold. - use decongestants or antihistamines if you have an allergy or a cold. - yawn or chew gum. encourage swallowing by sucking on hard candy or drinking water. - when taking off and landing, clear your ears by breathing in and then gently breathing out while holding your nostrils and mouth closed. - try special earplugs that slowly equalize the pressure in your ear. these earplugs can be found at drugstores and airports. - reviewer : kari kassir, md - review date : 09 / 2012 - - update date : 00 / 91 / 2012 -


vitamins and minerals for babies the need for infant vitamins is a confusing topic. babies do need vitamins to grow well and to be healthy. they need them for strong bones, healthy teeth, and to build up their blood and prevent anemia. the confusing part is that most infants get all of the vitamins and minerals they need through the foods that they eat and drink, including vitamin a, calcium, zinc, and the vitamins and minerals discussed in this section. so while they do need vitamins and minerals, they don ' t always need a supplement each day, unless they were born prematurely or have some other health problem. will iron cause my baby to have any medical problems? no. iron is essential for your baby ' s growth and development and it does not cause colic, constipation, or any other problems. infants who drink a low - iron formula or plain cow ' s milk are likely to develop medical problems, though, including anemia. iron is one of the more important minerals your baby needs. the effects of a diet poor in iron, which can lead to iron deficiency anemia, are well known. these include learning problems, developmental delays, and behavioral problems. however, your infant, unless he was born premature, should be able to get all of the iron he needs from breastmilk or an iron - fortified formula during his first four to six months. after that time he does need extra iron, but you can usually provide it from the baby foods that he is beginning to eat, such as an iron - fortified infant rice cereal, in addition to continuing to feed him his breastmilk or formula. if your baby is otherwise well, he probably won ' t develop an iron deficiency unless you switch him to cow ' s milk before his first birthday or you do not begin to give extra iron after he is six months old. remember that premature babies often do need a vitamin supplement that has iron in it. newborns don ' t need fluoride, but once your infant is about six months old and begins getting teeth, he will need fluoride to keep them strong and growing well. the main source of this fluoride isn ' t an extra vitamin though. you can instead provide it by offering your baby some fluoridated tap water each day. your baby may not be getting enough fluoride if he is drinking any of the following : - well water - tap water that is not fluoridated - bottled water that does not have added fluoride -


##d tap water each day. your baby may not be getting enough fluoride if he is drinking any of the following : - well water - tap water that is not fluoridated - bottled water that does not have added fluoride - water that is filtered of fluoride - breastmilk exclusively - ready - to - feed formula exclusively you can start your baby on fluoride supplements, but getting too much fluoride can easily lead to fluorosis or staining of their teeth, so it is usually best to try to give your baby fluoridated water. if you are exclusively breastfeeding, offering some extra water with fluoride once your baby is six months old is the best way to avoid problems. talk to your pediatrician to get a prescription for a fluoride supplement if your baby has no way of getting fluoride from the water he is drinking. rickets, caused by a deficiency of vitamin d, is a serious disorder that causes skeletal deformities and poor growth. although not as common as it used to be, it does still affect some children, especially those who are very dark - skinned, don ' t get any or little sun exposure, and are exclusively breastfed. not getting enough vitamin d can cause a baby to get a bone disorder called rickets. because infant formula is fortified with vitamin d, infants drinking at least 17 ounces of formula each day do not need any extra vitamin d. unlike formula, breastmilk does not contain enough vitamin d for babies, but that wasn ' t thought to be a problem because it was believed that exclusively breastfed infants got enough vitamin d from sunlight exposure. however, now that the effects of excessive sun exposure are known and sunscreen is being used more often, it is thought that exposure to the sun is not enough for breastfed babies. the american academy of pediatrics now recommends that breastfed babies receive a vitamin d supplement beginning in the first two months of life. the need for vitamin d supplements is a controversial topic though, especially for light - skinned infants in sunny climates, so you might talk to your pediatrician about whether this is necessary for your baby. more on : feeding and nutrition from the everything father ' s first year book copyright © 2005, f + w publications, inc. used by permission of adams media, an f + w publications company. all rights reserved. to order this book go to amazon.


how the creative process works if we want children to use painting as a tool for self - expression and self - discovery, we don ' t need to teach them technique. on the contrary : we need to unteach it. the less technique children have, the more they use their intuition. technique overrides intuition. as adults we should clear out unnecessary baggage for children ' s freedom of creation to unfold. when painting they must be allowed to follow the dictates of their intuition. free from rules, they can learn to paint images from deep inside and express what is unique about themselves. when at times a special technique is needed, technique spontaneously develops. children invent or reinvent it. their skill develops out of the intricate demands of their feelings, not from aesthetic concepts. whatever they paint is done with their whole being and carries the stamp of authenticity and the beauty of their innocence. the way each child perceives and senses the world is unique. while the body and mind constantly grow, perceptions also change. if children paint naturally, we can actually document the evolution of their perceptions of the world. their visual expressions of the sensations of the human body, for instance, change constantly, if they are not asked to copy models or respect proportions. for instance, the image of a person ' s head evolves spontaneously from very big ( much bigger than the torso ) to relatively small ( close to standard proportion ) within a few years. every part of the body image goes through an evolution. fingers, for instance, are first felt as long lines coming out of a circle. after a couple of years these five lines retract in length slowly to create fingers. children must be encouraged to be spontaneous and to forget about the outcome by spontaneously expressing these differences and changes, which, in fact, they are not aware of. children ' s sense of the material world and of the space around it also changes. they perceive space in a special way. first, not knowing the relationship between ground and object, very young children often paint objects and people floating in space. then the ground appears just as a brown line or leaves of grass, but later fills with dirt and grass. the sky often starts as a blue line and also expands slowly. if children are left free to paint intuitively, a fascinating process happens : the two lines - the one from the sky and the one from the earth - gradually move toward each other, slowly filling the gap between them. after a few months of spontaneous process, the space is finally conquered. this final


a fascinating process happens : the two lines - the one from the sky and the one from the earth - gradually move toward each other, slowly filling the gap between them. after a few months of spontaneous process, the space is finally conquered. this final moment - when paint covers the entire space - is a very special moment. watching that unique milestone always touches me greatly, because the children have reached within themselves to a brand - new place ; in it there is no return. it is a time of initiation for children, a precious stage in which space is inwardly conquered. this powerful event cannot take place if they are taught perspective and are depicting space in their paintings through rules and techniques. children never regress in their evolution. they keep moving ahead. a friend of mine has a ten - year - old boy. one day my friend was discussing with his son, just back from a painting class, how his drawing had three - dimensional qualities. the father was marveling at it. the son, a stern look on his face, didn ' t seem to think there was anything exciting about having struggled two hours for a little bit of perspective while painting a wooden chair he didn ' t care about. he seemed impatient to move on to other things, saying, in effect, i have worked hard enough, i deserve to play now. after that class he never wanted to paint again. having not touched his true creativity, how could he want to go back to it? learning technique often alienates the child and presents creativity as work without much reward. perspective can be discovered spontaneously ; children left to themselves come upon it bit by bit when the time is ripe. painting in perspective becomes part of a natural instinct instead of a mental discipline ; the resulting paintings breathe aliveness instead of the stiffness of those trying to do it right. trying to paint right often ends with a painting that looks like a scientific study. it ' s fascinating to watch the evolution of children ' s paintings. look at a table, for instance. when young children paint a table, they paint its legs hanging in the air. then, within a few months to a couple of years, the table legs slowly lower, until one day they are set firmly on the ground. this also proves why children don ' t need technique if they are allowed to paint what they feel. we must let children experience their world and create intuitively from their natural perceptions if they are to enter the magic of creativity. if we force children to paint with " normal " proportions and with perspective, they miss an


phhttpd uses an xml config file format to express how it should behave while running. more information on xml may be found near http : / / www. w3. org / xml / phhttpd ' s configuration centers around the concept of virtual servers. for us, a virtual server may be thought of as the merging of a document tree and the actions phhttpd takes while serving that content. phhttpd. conf may be thought of as having two main sections. the global section, which defines properties that are consistent across the entire running phhttpd server, and multiple virtual sections that describe properties of that only apply to a virtual server. there will only be one global section while multiple virtual sections are allowed. the global section defines properties of the running server that don ' t apply to a single virtual server. it should be enclosed in global config entities sets the maximum number of cached responses that will be held in memory. each cached responses holds a minimal amount of memory. more importantly, each cached response holds an open file descriptor to the file with real content and an mmap ( ) ed region of that content. phhttpd will start pruning the cache when it notices either of these two resources coming under pressure, but has no way to easily deduce that its running low on memory. the administrator may set this value to set an upper bound on the number of responses to keep in memory. this specifies the file that will be used to talk with phhttpd _ ctl. this specifies the file to which global messages will be logged. this specifies the file that contains the mapping of file extensions to mime types. it should be of the form : text / sgml sgml sgm video / mpeg mpeg mpg mpe controls various network connection timeouts. ' inactivity ' sets the amount of time that a connection can be idle before phhttpd will forcibly disconnect it. inactivity defaults to 0, which lets the connections idle until tcp timeouts take effect. enabling this option tells phhttpd to use sendfile ( ) rather than write ( ) ing from an mmap ( ) ed region. avoiding calling mmap ( ) will shorten the amount of time it takes to build cached responses. a virtual server can be thought of as the abstraction serving up a content tree ( " docroot " in apache speak ). there are a set of


mmap ( ) will shorten the amount of time it takes to build cached responses. a virtual server can be thought of as the abstraction serving up a content tree ( " docroot " in apache speak ). there are a set of attributes that are used to define a virtual server. these attributes are used to decide which virtual server will process a client ' s request. then there are attributes which define how the content is served. a virtual server must have a docroot. the virtual tag in the config file has a docroot attribute that must be set. < virtual docroot = path >... < / virtual > global config entities this enables the generation of the content - md5 : header. this greatly increases the cost of creating a cached response for this virtual, because the md5 function must be applied to the entire content of the response. once the response is created, though, there is no per - request overhead. this will cause phhttpd to traverse the entire docroot at initialization time and prepare cached responses for all the files it finds. this happens in the back ground during normal operation, so there is no dramatic increase in the time it takes for phhttpd to start serving connections. this tag surrounds the string that will be used to identify the server. this string will be compared to the host : header given in the request from the client, or will be compared to the ' host part ' of the full url if that was given. this will be used in combination with the network address and port pair to determine if a request should be served by a virtual server. this virtual server will be chosen to serve an incoming request if that request was made to the network address specified in this entity. there can be as many of these as one likes in a given virtual server, and ' * ' may be specified for either parameter to indicate that all addresses or ports should match. the logs section of the virtual server define the per virtual log files that should be written to during operation. see the following section on logging.


eat healthy, live healthy the recent outbreak of swine flu - - influenza a ( h1n1 ) - - is not passed through eating meat but it does makes us reflect on healthy lifestyles and eating habits. want to eat better but aren ' t sure what to begin? here is great checklist of tips on what you and your family can do to eat healthier, shop smarter and make sustainable choices, from sustainabletable. org : - educated yourself - - learn about the kind of food you ' re eating. is it local? is it sustainable? - shop sustainable - - don ’ t expect to change everything overnight. start with one item and pledge to buy it sustainably, such as buying one organic dairy, meat or produce item at your supermarket or one local food at a nearby farmers ’ market. visit the eat well guide to find local sources for sustainable food. - ask questions - - ask questions everywhere you go. were pesticides put on the produce? what were the animals fed? how were they raised? - reduce your meat consumption - - if we cut out meat just one day a week, it would have a huge positive impact on our environment and the health of our bodies too! check out meatlessmonday. com. - eat seasonal - - buy locally grown fruits and vegetables when they are in season. - grown your own - - nothing is more special than the connection you have with the food you grow, whether it be a large backyard garden or herbs in a pot on your kitchen windowsill. - cook - - re - learn ( or learn! ) the joy of cooking. find great recipes in the sustainable kitchen. - take back the tap - - bottled water causes a lot of problems, from environmental damage to plastic leaching into the water. visit h2o conserve to calculate your water footprint. also check out the take back the - spread the word - - you can contact public officials, voice your opinion, and stay on top of current issues with food. you can also help to educate others about the problems with industrial agriculture and the benefits of sustainable food. click here for more tools.


| student services | learning centers | lsc - kingwood learning center lsc - kingwood at lab the primary goal of the assistive technology ( at ) lab is to provide students with documented disabilities access to technology resources that can facilitate successful academic and career success. the services provided by the at lab support the mission of the lone star college system ( lscs ) and are coordinated with the instruction, counseling, tutoring and training provided by other departments on campus. how are students referred to the at lab? students are referred for at lab services by the disability services counselor, and the at lab provides accommodations as determined by the disability services counselor. what technology is available through the at lab? kingwood college maintains a number of devices and soft - ware programs that help " level the playing field " for students with disabilities. some items are portable, and can be checked out by the student. - alternative input devices allow individuals to control their computers through means other than a standard keyboard or pointing device. - braille embossers transfer computer generated text into embossed braille output. - reading tools and learning disabilities programs include software and hardware designed to make text - based materials more accessible for people who have difficulty with reading. options can include scanning, reformatting, navigating, or speaking text out loud. - screen enlargers work like a magnifying glass for the computer by enlarging a portion of the screen which can increase legibility and make it easier to see items on the computer. - speech recognition or voice recognition programs allow people to give commands and enter data using their voices rather than a mouse or keyboard. - text - to - speech ( tts ) or speech synthesizers receive information going to the screen in the form of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks, and then " speak " it out loud in a computerized voice. - talking and large - print word processors are software programs that use speech synthesizers to provide auditory feedback of what is typed. - tty / tdd conversion modems are connected between computers and telephones to allow an individual to type a message on a computer and send it to a tty / tdd telephone or other baudot equipped device. - videophones allow deaf and hard of hearing individuals to communicate with each other using sign language. assistive listening devices are hard - wired or wireless transmitting / receiving devices that transmit sound from the microphone directly to the listener, minimizing the negative effects of distance, noise, and reverberation on clarity. what


this information has been reproduced from the lsn fact sheet ‘ lipoedema ’ which was produced and verified by accepted experts in their field and reflects current practice. the information has been designed to assist you in managing your condition and is not intended to replace advice you may receive from your health care practitioner. if you, or your health care practitioner would like further information, to ask any questions about this information or to find out what research underpins it, please contact the lymphoedema support network on 020 7351 4480. what is lipoedema? lipoedema is a bi - lateral ( and symmetrical ) limb swelling mainly affecting the legs and thighs ( but sometimes arms too ) and is thought to occur as a result of an abnormal accumulation of fat cells in the tissues under the skin. patients generally present with very large lower limbs that are similar in shape and size on both sides. there is often a very distinctive pad of fat below the knees and many patients have a similar area on the thighs that can resemble a ‘ saddle bag ’ in appearance. the thighs, hips and buttocks often tend to be disproportionate ( much larger ) than the rest of the upper body and the feet ( and hands ) are hardly ever affected. the tissues of the limbs appear to be very loose and ‘ floppy ’ and are often very tender or painful to touch. bruising occurs easily and spontaneously ( without any apparent cause ). other common features are painful knees, which tends to cause increased patient discomfort and disability. due to the abnormal amount of fat under the skin, it can appear pale and feel cold to touch when compared to the unaffected parts of the body. bulging fat can often lead to a ‘ mattress effect ’ on the skin, often described as cellulite. at present, we do not understand why lipoedema occurs, but a family history suggests a genetic basis. it seems to affect females exclusively and it is usually first noticed when there is a hormonal change such as at puberty or pregnancy, or even the menopause. lipoedema is a condition that is little understood and is often inaccurately - or even misdiagnosed - by the medical profession. it is often mistaken for other conditions, in particular lymphoedema, as well as obesity. this happens most frequently in the later stages of the disease when the fat obstructs the lymphatic drainage leading to a mixture of lipo - lipoedema and lymphoedema. in this instance