Botanical Name(s): Artocarpus Heterophyllus
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Artocarpeae
Genus: Artocarpus
Species: A. heterophyllus
Popular Name(s): Jakfruit, Jaca, Nangka
Parts Used: Seeds, fruit, leaves
Habitat: Rainforests of India

Jackfruit

Description
The largest tree-borne fruit in the world, jackfruit (artocarpus heterophyllus) is grown on a species of tree in the mulberry family. The evergreen trees are large, often reaching a height of above 20 m. The jackfruits can sometimes weigh over 75 lbs. however, the average sized fruits are 1-2 feet long, and 9-12" wide. The exterior of the fruit is green-yellow, with small spiky knobs, while the flesh is custard yellow, with a banana-like flavor. The leaves are oblong, oval or elliptic, usually 4 to 6 inches in length and leathery, glossy and deep green in color.

There are two varieties of jackfruits: one that is small, fibrous, soft, and mushy and the carpels are sweet, with a texture like that of a raw oyster. The other variety is crisp and crunchy, but not very sweet. Jackfruits are believed to have originated in the rain forests of the Western Ghats in India. They are vegetated in other parts of India, South-east Asia, East Indies, Philippines, Brazil and Surinam also. Jackfruit is known as kanthal in Bangla, panasa in Sanskrit, katahal in Hindi, pala in Tamil and chakka in Malayalam.

Plant Chemicals
(+)- all-trans-lutein (24-44%), all-trans-beta-carotene (24-30%), all-trans-neoxanthin (4-19%), 9-cis-neoxanthin (4-19%), 9-cis-violaxanthin (4-10%)

Uses & Benefits of Jackfruit

• The leaves of jackfruit tree are useful for curing fever, boils and skin diseases. When heated, they prove useful in curing wounds.
• The latex of the fruit is helpful in treating dysopia, opthalmities and pharyngitis.
• The latex can also be mixed with vinegar to heal abscesses, snakebites and glandular swellings.
• The wood of jackfruit tree is widely used in manufacturing musical instruments, furniture, doors, windows and roof constructions.
• The seed starch is useful in relieving biliousness, while the roasted seeds are regarded as aphrodisiac.
• To heal ulcers, the ash of jackfruit leaves is burnt with corn and coconut shells and used either alone or mixed with coconut oil.
• The root of jackfruit tree forms the remedy for skin diseases, fever and diarrhea.
• The heartwood of the tree is used by Buddhist forest monastics in Southeast Asia, for dying the robes of the monks to light brown color.
• In China, the pulp and seeds of jackfruit are considered as a cooling and nutritious tonic. The fruit is useful in overcoming the influence of alcohol on a person’s body system.

Caution

• The wood of jackfruit tree has sedative properties, due to which its pith can result in abortion.
• Jackfruit can increase coagulation.
• People who are allergic to birch pollen can show signs of allergy towards jackfruit.
• www.iloveindia.com

1987: WHO Admits Its Smallpox Vaccine Caused AIDS - WHO Omits That It Requested The Virus

1987: WHO Admits Its Smallpox Vaccine Caused AIDS - WHO Omits That It Requested The Virus

"[A] 1972 report (Bulletin #47) issued by the World Health Organization .... referred to an immune virus requested [Emphasis added] which would selectively destroy the Human T Cell System, to be distributed in conjunction with a Nationwide vaccination program "to observe the results". This coincided precisely with the extensive Small Pox vaccination program in central Africa - shortly preceding the outbreak of Aids in Africa, America & elsewhere. The determining factor most common in Aids victims is the breakdown of the T Cell System in the body."

From http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/a-universal-declaration-of-resistance-to-mandatory-vaccinations/

 

Below is an article describing how the WHO attempted to deal with those who saw and questioned the obvious connection between the WHO's massive smallpox vaccine campaign and the outbreak of AIDS in all the places it gave it.

 

Before reading the following article about the WHO and the smallpox vaccine, please be aware of seven things. 

1.  People have seen that ebola suddenly broke out in each of the places the WHO (and UN and UNICEF and Doctors without Borders) recently ran vaccine campaigns in West Africa.

2.  Ebola is a man-made bioweapons owned and patented by the US government and the CDC.

3.  The WHO now, on the basis of ebola outbreaks that coincided with its own vaccine campaign,  now plans a massive vaccine campaign against ebola with untested vaccines that will contain the ebola virus (a bioweapon) that can cause ebola and mass deaths.

4.  The US is interested in the oil, diamonds and minerals in West Africa, has been stopped by people living there, but, because of an "ebola emergency" claimed by the WHO after there were outbreaks of ebola following the WHO vaccine campaigns there, now has 1000s of troops in West Africa.

5.  The US and other countries who contribute to the WHO were also interested in the mineral wealth of Central Africa prior to the WHO's smallpox vaccination campaign.

6.  The pharmaceutical industry which was the main supporters of Hitler and intensely interested in genocide, became the main supporters of the WHO, coincidentally formed immediately after WWII, was involved in killing millions with the smallpox vaccines.  They coincidentally made an immense fortune on AIDS drugs and research funding, all the while not revealing that the WHO had requested an AIDS-like virus just prior to the pharmaceutical industry making the small pox vaccine and AIDS breaking out immediately afterwards.

 

7.  This WHO vaccine campaign issue is not a historical issue because Bush's pandemic laws and the WHO International Health Regulations would make vaccines mandatory now if the WHO declares a  pandemic emergency (with no proof needed) and even if people believed they could cause more AIDS or cause ebola and deadly.  Then, it would be Americans, not just Africans hiding from vaccines or killing vaccine teams because the vaccines are killing tens of thousands of children. 

http://exopolitics.blogs.com/ebolagate/2014/11/1987-who-admits-smallpox-vaccine-caused-aids-who-omits-that-it-requested-it.html

From http://www.wanttoknow.info/870511vaccineaids

       Top 3 Medicine Brands for a Dry Cough

The cough and cold medicine aisle is often confusing, and determining which product is the best cough medicine for a dry cough can be a challenge. There are cough suppressants, expectorants, decongestants, and a host of other medicines available. When you have a persistent dry cough, the best thing to do is to consult a doctor so that you can treat the underlying cause. If you need something soothe the symptoms you can take something that will fight off your body’s urge to cough. If the major symptom you are dealing with is a dry cough, and you are an adult with no other health problems, consider choosing one of these cough medicines, which get great reviews from doctors as well as patients. Remember that these don’t cure your cough they only suppress your body’s natural urge to cough. You should talk to your doctor and your pharmacist before taking any medications, especially if you also take prescription medication.
Always follow the directions on the product and consult a physician before trying any new medicinal products.

Best Cough Medicine for a Dry Cough: Mucinex

Mucinex is a powerful cough suppressant that controls your cough for 12 hours. While its clever commercials talk about the dramatic results it has when breaking up mucus, this medicine also works extremely well for a dry cough, where no mucus or phlegm is present. If a minor cold, allergy, or simple throat irritation is causing you to cough uncontrollably, take Mucinex as indicated on the box every 12 hours and you will begin feeling better as soon as your first dose sets in.
The active ingredient in Mucinex is Guaifenesin, which is provided in a convenient time extended tablet. If you look at a Mucinex pill, you will see one side is white. That is the medicine that is released immediately. The other side is a colored layer, which releases additional cough medicine into your system every hour to combat your cough. It is so much easier than remembering to take another dose of medicine every few hours. You can chose between Mucinex DM and Maximum Strength Mucinex, for your worst cough that seems impossible to shake.
Mucinex is a little more expensive than many other cough medicines on the market. Depending on the dosage and size of the box you buy, you can expect to spend between $15 and $20 on a package of 14 to 20 600mg pills. Be prepared to show some identification at the pharmacy or retailer where you buy it. Although it is an over-the-counter (OTC) medication, its strength requires that you be an adult in order to purchase it. Mucinex gets the first-place rating because it works immediately and you only have to take it every 12 hours.

Second Best Cough Medicine for a Dry Cough: Robitussin

Another popular brand, Robitussin, contains Guaifensin as well. It also contains suppressants that will calm your cough, and help your body reduce the impulse to cough. Most of Robitussin’s cough medicines are combined with medicine to treat chest congestion. Although you can get Robitussin cough gels and Robitussin Lingering Cold Long Acting cough gels which only contain cough suppressant. Your unproductive/productive cough will benefit from Robitussin Cough + Chest Congestion, but keep in mind that it contains an expectorant you may not need for your dry cough.
You can purchase Robitussin in bottles that are 4 ounces, 8 ounces, or 12 ounces as well as gel capsules. It will cost you less than $10 in most drug stores. Robitussin is in second place because while it isn’t as effective as Mucinex it is just as effective as Tylenol (our third recommendation) in treating your dry cough, but offers products that work only on suppressing coughs without unnecessary additional medicine.

Third Best Cough Medicine for a Dry Cough: Tylenol

Tylenol is a well-known brand for a host of medications that treat pain, fever, coughs, and colds. It is reliable and easily accessible. While the Tylenol Cold & Cough for Daytime, as well as Tylenol Cold & Cough for Nighttime are currently (and perhaps temporarily) off the market, the Tylenol Cold medicine can still be obtained. You might also benefit from Tylenol Cold & Sore Throat if your dry cough is irritating your throat, and causing it to hurt.
Tylenol Cold comes in a liquid form and is available as a Daytime or Nighttime product. You can also get it in capsule form, and there is a package on the market that provides both Tylenol Cold Daytime and Tylenol Cold Nighttime dosages. Tylenol treats many different symptoms that show up during the common cold, including a headache, fever, stuffy nose, and cough. While the medicine is not specifically targeted for a dry cough, it will still help you when you are suffering from such a cough. The Tylenol Cold Nighttime will help you sleep, and with the Daytime dose, you will find you are better able to control and manage your cough.

Tylenol contains Dextromethorphan HBr, which works to suppress your cough. It also has Guaifenesin, like Mucinex, but not in a time release format. You will need to take Tylenol every four hours in order to keep your cough suppressed. It will cost you under $10 in any local drugstore or department store. Tylenol came in third place because it is reliable in treating your dry cough, but it has a lot of extra medicine that you don’t necessarily need when you just have a dry cough.

http://thebestcoughmedicine.com/best-medicine-for-a-dry-cough/

FDA to crack down on antibiotics in animals reared for meat

Regulators announce new guidelines for drug firms to phase out some antibiotics as a growth enhancer in livestock.The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps toward phasing out the use of some antibiotics in animals processed for meat in the US, citing a potential threat to public health.

Many cattle, hog and poultry producers give their animals antibiotics regularly to ensure that they are healthy and to make the animals grow faster. Now, the agency has announced that it will ask pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily stop labeling drugs important for treating human infection as acceptable for that growth promotion in animals.
If the companies sign on — and one major company has already said it will — using those antibiotics to promote growth in animals would be illegal. Prescriptions would be required to use the drugs for animal illnesses.
The FDA has been debating how to address the issue of antibiotics in meat for several years as consumers have become more aware of the issue and are clamoring for antibiotic-free meat. McDonald's, among other companies, has moved to limit the drugs in their meat, pushing many animal producers to go along.
The FDA move is designed to limit antibiotic-resistant diseases in humans. Repeated exposure to antibioticscan lead germs to become resistant to the drug so that it is no longer effective in treating a particular illness.
Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health problem. In September the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released sobering estimates that more than 23,000 people a year are dying from drug-resistant infections.
The biggest risk is from germs spread in hospitals, and it's not clear how much of the problem is related to the use of drugs in meat. Still, the FDA says this is one step toward decreasing resistance.
"We need to be selective about the drugs we use in animals and when we use them," said William Flynn of FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. "Antimicrobial resistance may not be completely preventable, but we need to do what we can to slow it down."
The new guidance will give the companies three years to comply.
Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner of foods, said he believes asking industry to make the changes is the fastest way to help phase the drugs out. If the FDA made the process mandatory, he said, the agency would have had to move forward with a complex regulatory process that could take years.
"We have high confidence based on dialogue with industry that this initiative will succeed," Taylor said.
Drug company Zoetis, a leading manufacturer of animal antibiotics, has already said they will comply.
"This reflects our continued commitment to antibiotic stewardship and represents the many ways that Zoetis promotes the responsible use of antimicrobial drugs in animals," the company's statement said.
Animal agriculture groups will not have much of a choice in the matter if drug companies sign on and make the drugs' use illegal. But many antibiotics will still be available for those producers to use, just not those that the FDA has classified as most important for treating human infections. Some of the antibiotics that could not be used in animals are penicillins and tetracyclines, the FDA said.
Many animal groups signaled support for the FDA guidance after it was announced Wednesday, including the National Pork Producers Council. Still, Dr. Liz Wagstrom of the pork producers' group said the FDA action will mean "real change" in the way antibiotics are used on the farm, as some animals may not grow as quickly and producers may see more disease. She said she does not know how much it will cost the industry.
Some advocates pushing to rid the animal food supply of antibiotics said the FDA did not go far enough. Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York, a microbiologist, said the FDA should have made the action mandatory. The guidance "falls woefully short of what is needed to address a public health crisis," she said.
Others hailed the agency move as progress.
"We commend FDA for taking the first steps since 1977 to broadly reduce antibiotic overuse in livestock," said Laura Rogers of The Pew Charitable Trusts' human health and industrial farming campaign. "There is more work to do, but this is a promising start, especially after decades of inaction."

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/11/fda-crackdown-antibiotics-animals-meat

The Olive Oil Hair Treatment

The Olive Oil Hair Treatment

Photo Credit

Olive oil isn’t just for cooking — it’s great for your hair, too! Olive oil has been proven to give hair a healthy sheen, help to repair split ends, and reduce frizz.
To give your hair a conditioning treatment, massage about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into your hair and scalp. The amount you’ll use should vary depending on the length and thickness of your hair. And remember to massage it in well – the massaging feels really nice on your scalp, but is also important to the treatment, as massage stimulates helps promote a healthy scalp.
Next, take a warm, damp towel and wrap it around your head and treated hair (“turban” it). Leave it on for about 30-45 minutes. This allows the olive oil to work into your hair to have the full effect.

Finally, rinse out the olive oil with shampoo. This might take a few shampoo-ings (when I tried it, it took 2 rounds.) Give your hair further rest by allowing it to air dry, if you have the time. Then say hello to your luscious locks!

http://www.collegefashion.net/beauty-and-hair/dorm-room-spa-3-easy-diy-beauty-recipes-to-try/

Amazing Onion.

Now let us read about the Amazing Onion. A friend of mine told me a story about when he was a kid he was in the hospital & nearly dying. His grandmother came to the hospital & told a family member to go buy her a large onion & a new pair of white cotton socks. She sliced the onion open then put a slice on the bottom of each of his feet & put the white cotton socks on him. In the morning when he awoke they removed the socks. The slices of onion were black & his fever was gone. The following story that someone sent to me might have some truth in it & we are going to try it this winter.  In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.  The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.  Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion business.)  The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.  For flu cure: Cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar... Placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs... Sure enough it happened just like that... The onion was a mess and I began to feel better.  Onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.  One more thing, never store cut onions and consume the next day.

Why need to apply medical card

Why need to apply medical card

February 13, 2010

 

 In modern era, medical cost is very high. Medical expenses is rising and it make sense that many of us get problem when get sick. Most of us prefer government hospital instead of private hospital. Government hospital has limited expert and the increase of patient will make us wait and queue to get medical treatment. It is make danger especially for critical or emergency sickness.
That’s the problem that we must avoid. Private hospital is an alternative for us but their costing is very high. To pay cash for their medical treatment fee is impossible. Medical card is an alternative way to settle your private medical bills. Modern medical card not only covered medical bill, it also have with life protection. This is good if something bad happen to you but if your life is safe, you will be paid for your saving or retirement fund.
Most of private hospital accepts the medical card because they can claim more at the provider. That’s the important for us who don’t have big cash. Just show them your medical card and you will need to paid small amount from the bill.
It is the basic thing about medical card but you must know that the medical card is not a health insurance. Lately, most of individual insurance provide with medical card. You must check first before applying the medical card. Check T&C and compare their advantage because not all of the company gives good offer. 

 http://yourhealthblog.net/why-need-to-apply-medical-card/

Berlin Patient, first person cured of HIV, may soon have company

Berlin Patient, first person cured of HIV, may soon have company

July 27, 2012|By Erin Loury | Los Angeles Time

Timothy Brown, a.k.a. the Berlin Patient, is the only person considered cured of HIV, but others may join those ranks soon. (EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS )

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/27/news/la-heb-hiv-cure-aids-meeting-20120727

Washington, D.C. — The Berlin Patient, the only person considered cured of HIV, may soon have some company.
Researchers at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., made presentations Thursday on two HIV-positive men from Boston who developed lymphoma. In both cases, their treatment included a bone marrow transplant, which results in a new immune system. The bone marrow donors did not have HIV.

The patients were conditioned for their transplants with a reduced-intensity protocol that allowed them to maintain enough strength to continue taking antiretroviral drugs to keep their HIV in check. These drugs are usually too toxic for HIV-positive cancer patients to handle.
So far, it appears that their new immune systems have remained HIV-free. Seventeen months after the transplants, researchers could not detect any HIV genetic material in the patients’ blood. They say the credit for this goes to the antiretroviral drugs the patients are taking.
Still unclear is whether the virus still lurks in the patients’ tissues. “It is possible that there is still other residual HIV material, “said study author Dr. Timothy Henrich of Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital. If doctors became convinced that all trace of the virus is gone, the patients could stop taking the antiretroviral drugs and be considered cured.
But they’re not there yet.
“We’re being very careful to refer to our patients as not being functionally cured,” said study author Daniel Kuritzkes, also of Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Only when these patients can successfully stop their medication can they be considered cured of HIV.
The only person in that category right now is the Berlin Patient, a.k.a. Timothy Brown. He had a bone marrow transplant to treat acute myeloid leukemia. In his case, the bone marrow donor was not only HIV-negative, but had a rare genetic mutation that blocks HIV from entering cells. That effectively makes Brown immune to the virus, and his body has remained HIV-free even without taking antiretroviral drugs.
The two patients in Boston received their bone marrow transplants from people who did not have the rare genetic variant, which is why they are still taking their drugs.
Researchers are working on potential cures that involve transferring that genetic mutation to HIV-positive patients without taking on the significant risks of a bone marrow transplant.
Another study presented Thursday reported on 12 French HIV-positive patients who received early treatment and have acquired an ability to naturally control HIV.  These patients offer hope that it may be possible to “functionally” cure the disease – enabling people to tolerate HIV without completing ridding their bodies of the virus.
The patients started taking antiretroviral medication within 10 weeks of their HIV infections and stopped about three years later.  Now, nearly seven years after ending treatment, these patients still have very low levels of the virus in their bodies. They appear similar to a small group of people known as “elite controllers” who naturally suppress HIV to low levels and do not get sick from the virus.
Reservoirs of dormant HIV can occur throughout the body. This sleeping HIV can periodically wake up and re-infect a person, which is why people with HIV usually have to take medication for life.

The French patients still have very low reservoirs of virus in their bodies, and researchers wondered if their ability to manage the virus related to how these remaining patches of HIV were distributed among a type of white blood cells called memory T cells. Pockets of HIV usually build up in long-lived types of memory T cells. However, researchers found that this rare cohort had dormant HIV primarily in shorter-lived memory T cells – similar to elite controllers – so their infected cells don’t persist as long.
The results provide further evidence that antiretroviral therapy should be started soon after infection, researchers said.
To wipe out all traces of HIV, scientists must find a way to wake up reservoirs of sleeping virus and target them with drugs. Jerome Zack, director of the UCLA Center for AIDS Research, made a presentation about this approach.
Zack and his colleagues outfitted little lipid bubbles called liposomes with antibodies that specifically match up with CD4 cells, the type of white blood cell that HIV usually attacks. The liposomes deliver two drugs to the cell – one, called bryostatin, switches on cell activity, and the other, a protease inhibitor, prevents HIV virus from assembling more virus once it starts to reproduce.
These liposomes didn’t target or otherwise activate another type of white blood cells called CD8 cells. As a result, the treatment didn’t trigger toxic inflammation. However, scientists still need to figure out how to design liposomes that identify only the CD4 cells that are infected with dormant HIV.
Bryostatin is a useful molecule, but also exorbitantly expensive – a single gram can cost $1 million.
Zack and his colleagues published a paper in Nature Medicine last week that described a number of synthetic products that mimic bryostatin, and cost only about $2,000 per gram to manufacture. Zack said that a few of these compounds also outperform their natural counterpart in switching on latent HIV while triggering less inflammation.

Dr Richard Teo Keng Siang

Dr Richard Teo Keng Siang Recorded
at the Dental Christian Fellowship , on 24 Nov 2011,
8 months after his diagnosis. Richard would have liked to share this with you.

We are doing this to continue his work. Please have a read and leave it behind for someone else to benefit from his sharing.

 If you would like a copy, please let any of his family or close friends know and we will be able to provide both the audio recording as well as the transcript.

 Thank you, and may God bless you richly. Below is the transcript of the talk of Dr. Richard Teo, who was a 40-year-old millionaire and cosmetic surgeon with a stage-4 lung cancer, sharing at a Dental Christian Fellowship Meeting. He would have liked to share this with you too.

 HIS BACKGROUND Hi good morning to all of you. My voice is a bit hoarse from the chemotherapy, so please bear with me. I thought I'll just introduce myself. My name is Richard, I’m a friend of Danny’s, who invited me here. I’d just begin to say that I’m a typical product of today’s society. Before this, I was talking about how the media influences us etc. So I’m a typical product of what the media portrays. From young, I’ve always been under the influence and impression that to be happy, is to be successful. And to be successful, is to be wealthy. So I led my life according to this motto.

 Coming from a poor average family, back in those days, I was highly competitive, whether in sports, studies, leadership. I wanted it all. I’ve been there, done that. But at the end of the day, it’s still about money. So in my recent last years, I was a trainee in ophthalmology, but I was getting impatient, cos I had friends of mine who were going out into private practise, making tonnes of money. And there I was, stuck in a traineeship. So I said, ‘Enough, it’s getting too long.’

At that time, there was a surge in protégés of aesthetic medicine. I’m sure you’re aware, aesthetic medicine had peaked over the last few years, and I saw good money in there. So much so that I said, ‘Forget about ophthalmology, I’m gonna do aesthetic medicine.’ So that’s what I did. The truth is, nobody makes heroes out of the average GP in the neighbourhood. They don't. They make heroes out of rich celebrities, politicians, rich and famous people. So I wanted to be one of these.

I dived straight into aesthetic medicine. People were not willing to pay when I was doing locum back in those days. Anything more than $30, they would complain that “Wah, this lo kun (doctor) jing qwee (very expensive)”. They made noise and they were not happy. But the same people were willing to pay $10 000 for a liposuction. So I said, ‘Well, let’s stop healing the sick, I’m gonna become a beautician; a medically-trained beautician.’ And that was what I did – liposuction, breast augmentation, eyelid surgeries, you name it, we do it. It was very good money. My clinic, when we started off, waiting time was 1 week; 1 month; became 2 months; became 3 months.

There was so much demand that people were literally queuing up to have aesthetic work done on them. Vain women – easy life! So the clinic grew. I was so overwhelmed, from 1 doctor, I employed 2, then 3, then 4 doctors, and carried on. Nothing is ever enough. I wanted more and more and more. So much so that we set up shop in Indonesia to lure all the Indonesian tai tai’s. We set up shop, set up a team of people there, to get more Indonesian patients to come in. So, things were doing well. I’m there, my time has arrived. Around some time in February last year, I said, ‘OK, I have so much spare cash, it’s time to get my first Ferrari. So there I was, getting ready for the deposit. ‘OK! There comes my first Ferrari!’ I was looking for land, to share with some of my friends. I have a banker friend who makes $5 million a year. So I thought, ‘Come, let’s come together. Let’s buy some land and build our houses.’ I was at my prime, getting ready to enjoy.

At the same time, my friend Danny had a revival. They were going back to church, some of my close friends. They told me, ‘Richard, come, join us, come back to church.’ I have been a Christian for 20 years; I was baptised 20 years ago, but it was because it was fashionable to be a Christian then. All my friends were becoming Christians then. It was fashionable! I wanted to be baptised, so that when I filled in a form, I could put there “Christian” – feels good. In truth, I had never had a bible; I don’t know what the bible is all about. I went to church for a while, after some time, I got tired. I said it’s time to go to NUS, stop going to church. I had a lot more things to pursue in NUS – girls, studies, sports etc. After all, I had achieved all these things without God today, so who needs God? I myself can achieve anything I want. In my arrogance, I told them, “You know what? You go tell your pastor to change your sermon to 2pm. I will consider coming to church.” Such arrogance! And I said 1 statement in addition to that – till date, I don’t know I’ve regretted saying that – I told Danny and my friends,

 “If God really wanted me to come back to church, He will give me a sign.”. Lo and behold, 3 weeks later, I was back at church. THE DIAGNOSIS In March 2011, out of the blues – I was still running around, ‘cause I’m a gym freak and I always go to the gym training, running, swimming 6 days a week. I had some backache, and that’s all I had, but it was persistent.

And so I went for an MRI to exclude prolapsed disc. And the day before I had my scan, I was still in the gym, lifting heavy weights, doing my squats. And the next day, they found that half my spine had bone marrow replacement. I said, “Woah, sorry, what’s that?” We had a PET scan the next day, and they diagnosed that I had terminal lung cancer, stage 4B. It had spread to the brain, half the spine, whole of my lungs were filled with tumour, liver, adrenals… I said, “Can’t be, I was just at the gym last night, what’s going on?” I’m sure you know how it feels – though I’m not sure if you know how it feels. One moment I was there at the peak, the next day, this news came and I was totally devastated.

My whole world just turned upside down. I couldn’t accept it. I have a hundred relatives on both sides, my mom and my dad. 100 of them. And not a single one has cancer. To me, in my mind, I have good genes, I’m not supposed to be having this! Some of my relatives are heavy chain smokers. Why am I having lung cancer? I was in denial.

 HIS ENCOUNTER WITH GOD So the next day, I was still in a state of denial, still unable to accept what was going on. There I was lying in an operating theatre in a hospital, for a needle biopsy (for histology). There I was, just completed the biopsy, and lying in the operating theatre. The nurses and doctors had left; told me I had to wait for 15 minutes to do a check X-ray to make sure there’s no pneumothorax (a complication). And there I was, lying on the operating table, staring blankly at the ceiling in a cold, quiet operating theatre. Suddenly I just heard an inner voice; it was not like coming from outside. It was inside. This small inner voice that I had never felt before.

And it said very specifically, it said, “This has to happen to you, at your prime, because it’s the only way you can understand.” I said, “Woah, why did that come from?” You know, when you speak to yourself, you’d say, “OK, what time should I leave this place? Where shall I have dinner after this?” You’d speak from a first person point of view. You don’t say, “Where should YOU go after this?” Whereas the voice that came spoke as a third party.

It said, “This has to happen to YOU, at YOUR prime, because this is the only way YOU can understand.” At that time, my emotions just overflowed and I broke down and cried, alone there. And I knew then, subsequently, what it means to understand that why this is the only way. Because I had been so proud of myself, my whole life, I needed nobody else. I was gifted with things that I could do, why do I need anybody else? I was just so full of myself that there was no other way I could have turned back to God. In fact, if I were diagnosed with stage 1 or 2, I would have been looking around busily for the best cardiothoracic surgeon, remove a section of the lobe (do a lobectomy), do preventive chemotherapy…

The chances of it being cured is extremely high. Who needs God? But I had stage 4B. No man can help, only God can. A series of events happened after that. I wasn’t sold after that, because of the inner voice, I became believing, prayers, all that. No I wasn’t. To me, it was just ‘maybe there was a voice; or maybe that was just me talking to myself.’ I didn’t buy the story. What happened next was that I was being prepared for chemotherapy. I started off with a whole brain radiation therapy first; takes about 2 -3 weeks. In the meantime they prepared me for chemotherapy, supplements etc. One of the things they used for chemo was a thing called Zometa. Zometa - they use it to strengthen the bones; once the bone marrow (replacement) is cured of cancer cells, it becomes hollow, so we need Zometa to strengthen the bone to prevent compression fractures.

 One of the side effects of Zometa is that it can cause osteonecrosis (bone death) of the jaw, and I had to have my wisdom teeth removed. Years ago, I had my upper wisdom teeth removed, cos it was giving me trouble. The lower ones didn’t give me trouble so I said, “Forget it, just leave it.” So of cause, Danny volunteered to remove it for me. So there I was, lying there in a dental chair, asking myself, suffering all the side effects of radiotherapy, and now I have to go through wisdom tooth surgery. As if I’ve not had enough to suffer! So I asked Danny, “Eh, bro, is there any other way? Can I not go though this?”

He said, “Yes, you can pray.” I said, “What’s there to lose? Ok lah, pray lah!” And so we prayed. And we did an X-ray after that. Everything was all there, all the appliances and everything. And lo and behold, the Xray showed that there was no wisdom teeth in the lower jaw. I know most people have 4 wisdom teeth, maybe some have none, but to be missing one or 2, as I understand – I’m not too sure, as I understand – is not that common. Still I was, “Nah, I don’t care about that.” To me, as long as I didn’t have to take out the tooth, I was happy. At that point, I still wasn’t sold on prayers. Maybe it was just a coincidence – for whatever it’s worth.

 I continued meeting my oncologist, asking him, “How long do I have?” I asked him. He said, not more than 6 months. I said, “Even with chemotherapy?” About 3 – 4 months, he said. I couldn’t grasp that. It was difficult to come to terms. And even as I went through radiotherapy, I was struggling everyday, especially when I wake up, hoping that it’s just a nightmare; when I wake up, it’s all over. As I was struggling, day after day, I went into depression, which is the typical denial, depression blah blah blah that you go through. But for 1 reason, I don’t know why, there was this specific day that I was supposed to meet my oncologist. At about 2pm, I felt this sudden surge of peace, comfort, and in fact, a little happiness. It was just overflowing.

For no rhyme or reason, it just came about 2pm, as I was getting ready, dressing up to meet my oncologist. So much so that I whats-apped all my friends that, “Bros, I just feel so good suddenly! I don’t know why, it just came!” And it was only days, or was it weeks after, that Danny revealed to me that he had fasted for 2 days for me, and he was bargaining with God, and fasted for 2 days, and he ended his fast at that exact same point, about 2pm thereabouts, that this surge of sensation came to me for no rhyme or reason. And I didn’t know that he was fasting for me. And when he ended the fast, I felt that sensation! Whoa, things were getting a bit too coincidental. I was starting to buy a bit of the story, but still I wasn’t sold. As days passed by, I completed my radiotherapy, about 2 weeks plus. Getting ready for chemo, so they let me rest for a few days. See, the mortality rate of lung cancer : Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate.

 If you add up breast, colorectal (colon) cancer, and prostate cancer (the top few cancers in Singapore for men and women), if you add up the mortality rate of these 3, it still doesn’t add up to lung cancer. Simply because, you understand, you can remove the prostate, the colon, the breast, but you cannot remove your lungs. But there’s about 10% of lung cancer patients who do pretty well for some reasons, because they have this specific mutation; we call it the EGFR mutation. And it happens, only 90% of the time, in Asian ladies who never smoked in their lives.

Me, first of all, I’m male. 2ndly, I’m a social smoker. I take one a day after dinner; weekends, when my friends offer me, I take it as well. I’m a light smoker, not a social smoker. But still, my oncologist was still not hopeful for me to have this mutation. The chances of it happening for me was maybe 3-4% for me to get it. That’s why I was being primed to go for chemo. But through all the intense prayers, friends like Danny, people that I don’t even know, it turned out that, during my waiting for chemo, the results came back that I was EGFR positive. I was like, “Woah, good news!” Cos now I don’t have to undergo chemo at that time, because there’s this oral tablet that you can use to control this disease. Just to share with you some idea – this is a CT scan – thorax – of my lungs, before treatment.

 AFTER BEFORE Every single dot there is a tumour. You can see all the mets (metastasis) there. This is just one single plane. Literally I had it in both lungs, and I had literally tens of thousands of tumour. That’s why the oncologist told me, even with chemo, at most 3-4 months. But because of this mutation, they have this oral medication. This is what happened after 2 months of treatment. As you can see over here; this is what God can do. And that’s why I’m still here having this opportunity to share with you. As you can see over here, the difference between before and after treatment. At that point, I said, “Well, it’s to be expected, isn’t it? The medicine is good.” I’m still not buying the story. Well, the guys prayed for me and the tumour markers started to come down. 90% of the tumours were wiped out, and the tumour markers came down to more than 90% over the next few months. But still, you know, once you have the clinical knowledge, you know the statistics.

One year survival, two year survival; having all this knowledge is not a good thing. Cos you live with the knowledge that even with all this, the cancer cells are so unstable, they keep mutating. They will overcome and become resistant to the drugs, and eventually you’re gonna run out of medication. So living with this knowledge is a huge mental struggle, a huge mental torture. Cancer is not just about a physical struggle, it’s a huge mental torture. How do you live with no hope? How do you live with not being able to plan for the next few years? The oncologist tells you to bear with it for the next 1 – 2 months. So it’s a lot of struggles as I went through: March, then April. April was my lowest point, in deep depression, struggling even as I was recovering. HIS ACCEPTANCE & PEACE And one of those days, I was there in bed, struggling in the afternoon, asking God, “Why? Why do I have to go through this suffering? Why do I have to endure this hardship, this struggle? Why me?” As I fell asleep, in my dreamy state, a vision just came, that says Hebrews 12:7-8. Now mind you, at this time, I had not read the bible. I have no clue what’s Hebrews, I don’t even know how many chapters there are. Totally clueless. But it says Hebrews 12:7-8, very specifically. I didn’t think too much of it. I just continued sleeping.

Then I woke up, and I said, “What’s there to lose? I’d just check it out lah!” Danny had bought me a bible; it’s still quite new. I said, “It’s ok, just try.” So I flipped to the Old Testament. Hebrews to me sounds like something ancient, so it should be in the Old Testament right? So I flipped through the Old Testament. No Hebrews there. I was so disappointed.

 Then I said, “Maybe New Testament, let’s have a look!”. WOW – New Testament, there’s Hebrew’s!! It says Hebrews 12:7-8. It says, “Endure hardship as discipline as God is treating you as His children.” I said, “WAH!! Where did that come from?” I was getting goose pimples all over my body. I said, “This can’t be, right?” I mean, what’s the chance of somebody, who has never read the bible, to have a vision of a chapter of a specific verse, that answers my question directly?

 I think God called to me directly as I was there sleeping, struggling with it, asking God, “Why do I have to suffer? Why do I have to suffer this?” And God says “Endure hardship as discipline as God is treating you as His child.” At this point, the chance of that happening is even lesser than my EGFR being positive. There’s just no way; there’s so many millions of thousands of verses in the bible, how can I just conjure up something like that? So at that point, I was sold I said, “YOU WIN! YOU WIN!!”

 Ok , I was convinced. And so from that day onwards, I started believing in my God. And the last time I heard that inner voice was the end of April. And that inner voice, same thing, in the afternoon, as I was sleeping (this time I wasn’t struggling, just going to sleep). In a dreamy state I just heard Him say, “Help others in hardship.” It was more like a command, rather than a statement. And that’s when I embarked on this journey, helping others in hardship. And I realised that hardship is not just about being poor. In fact, I think a lot of poor people are probably happier than a lot of us here. They are so easily contented with whatever they have, they’re probably pretty happy. Hardship can happen to rich people; it can be physical hardship, mental hardship, social, etc. And also over the last few months, I started to understand what this true joy is about. In the past, I substituted true joy with the pursuing of wealth. I thought true joy is about pursuing wealth. Why? Cos let me put it to you this way, in my death bed, I found no joy whatsoever in whatever objects I had – my Ferrari, thinking of the land I was going to buy to build my bungalow etc, having a successful business. It brought me ZERO comfort, ZERO joy, nothing at all. Do you think I can hold onto this piece of metal and it’s going to give true joy? Nah, it’s not going to happen. True joy comes from interaction with other people. And at a lot of times, it is a short term pride, the past. When you pursue your wealth, Chinese New Year is the best time to do it. Drive my Ferrari, show off to my relatives, show off to my friends, do my rounds, and then you thought that was true joy? You really think that those guys who sold you your Ferrari, they share their joy with you?

And your relatives, wow, they share this joy with you? In truth, what you have done is just to illicit envy, jealousy, and even hatred. They are not sharing the joy with you, and what I have is that short-term pride that wow, I have something you don’t have! And I thought that was joy! So what we have is basically a short-term pride at the expense of somebody else. And that wasn’t true joy. And I found no joy at all on my deathbed, thinking of my Ferrari – to hold on to it, sayang it?!? True joy I discovered comes from interaction. Over the last few months I was so down. Interaction with my loved ones, my friends, my brothers in Christ, my sisters in Christ, and only then was I able to be motivated, able to be uplifted. To share your sorrow, to share your happiness – that’s true joy. And you know what makes you smile?

True joy comes from helping others in hardship, and because I’ve gone through this, I know what hardship entails. In fact, there’re some cancer patients who tell me a lot of times, people come up to them and tell them, “Stay positive. Stay positive.” Yah, right. You come in my shoes and you try to stay positive! You don’t know what you’re talking about! But I have the licence. So I’ve been going out to meet other fellow cancer patients, to share with them, encourage them. And I know, because I’ve been through it, and it’s easier for me to talk to them. And most importantly, I think true joy comes from knowing God. Not knowing about God – I mean, you can read the bible and know about God – but knowing God personally; getting a relationship with God. I think that’s the most important. That’s what I’ve learnt. So if I were to sum it up, I’d say that the earlier we sort out the priorities in our lives, the better it is. Don’t be like me – I had no other way. I had to learn it through the hard way. I had to come back to God to thank Him for this opportunity because I’ve had 3 major accidents in my past – car accidents.

You know, these sports car accidents – I was always speeding , but somehow I always came out alive, even with the car almost being overturned. And I wouldn’t have had a chance. Who knows, I don’t know where else I’d be going to! Even though I was baptised it was just a show, but the fact that this has happened, it gave me a chance to come back to God. Few things I’d learnt though: 1. Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart – this is so important. 2. Is to love and serve others, not just ourselves. There is nothing wrong with being rich or wealthy. I think it’s absolutely alright, cos God has blessed. So many people are blessed with good wealth, but the trouble is I think a lot of us can’t handle it. The more we have, the more we want. I’ve gone through it, the deeper the hole we dig, the more we get sucked into it, so much so that we worship wealth and lose focus. Instead of worshipping God, we worship wealth. It’s just a human instinct. It’s just so difficult to get out of it.

 We are all professionals, and when we go into private practise, we start to build up our wealth – inevitably. So my thought are, when you start to build up wealth and when the opportunity comes, do remember that all these things don’t belong to us. We don’t really own it nor have rights to this wealth. It’s actually God’s gift to us. Remember that it’s more important to further His Kingdom rather than to further ourselves. Anyway I think that I’ve gone through it, and I know that wealth without God is empty. It is more important that you fill up the wealth, as you build it up subsequently, as professionals and all, you need to fill it up with the wealth of God. I think that’s about it. It’s good to share. Thanks. http://www.heavenaddress.com/Dr-Richard-Teo-Keng-Siang/424153/379719/content (transcript of his testimony) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umLkfADe17s

What Is Rubella? What Are German Measles? What Causes Rubella Or German Measles?

What Is Rubella? What Are German Measles? What Causes Rubella Or German Measles? Rubella, also known as German measles, is an infectious disease caused by the rubella virus. The virus passes from person-to-person via droplets in the air expelled when infected people cough or sneeze - the virus may also be present in the urine, feces and on the skin. The hallmark symptoms of rubella are an elevated body temperature and a pink rash. Although rubella can infect people of all ages, it most commonly affects young children. If a pregnant woman becomes infected with Rubella there is a serious risk of birth defects in the unborn baby. If the pregnant mother is infected within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy the child may be born with congenital rubella syndrome, which consists of a range of serious incurable illnesses. About one-fifth of infected pregnant women will miscarry. The name "rubella" comes from the Latin word rubella meaning "little red". As the disease was first described by German doctors in the mid-eighteenth century, it is also known as German measles. Rubella is usually mild and frequently passes unnoticed. The disease can last from one to three days. Children usually recover faster than adults. What are the signs and symptoms of rubella? A symptom is something the patient senses and describes, while a sign is something other people, such as the doctor notice. For example, drowsiness may be a symptom while dilated pupils may be a sign. Rubella's incubation period is from 14 to 21 days. Some people may be infected and never know it. Patients typically have flu-like symptoms. The main symptom is a rash - pink or light red - on the face, which then spreads to the chest, stomach, back, arms and legs. When the rash reaches other parts of the body it usually fades from the face. Within about three days the rash goes away with no staining or peeling of the skin. After it has cleared up the skin may shed very small flakes where the rash was. While the rash is present there may be itching. Patients may also have a slight fever and swollen glands (which may persist for a week), headache, conjunctivitis and joint pains. The older the patient is the more severe symptoms tend to be. A significant number of older girls and adult women may have arthritic type symptoms. Infected people are contagious about one week before the rash appears and about one week after it has cleared up. What causes rubella? Rubella is caused by an extremely infectious virus that is transmitted from person-to-person in droplets in the air. When an infected person sneezes or coughs, those nearby are at risk of becoming infected. It is also possible to infect another person if they come into contact with the saliva of an infected person. The virus is capable of crossing the placenta and infecting the unborn child (feuts) where it stops cells from developing or destroys them. Diagnosis of rubella The National health Service (NHS), UK instructs people who suspect somebody in the household may have rubella to call their doctor - not to visit, as there is a risk others in the clinic or GP practice, including pregnant women, may become infected. Since the rubella rash is similar in appearance to irritations caused by other viral infections, a GP will confirm the diagnosis by doing a virus culture or a blood test. The presence of different types of rubella antibodies will corroborate the diagnosis. By law, doctors have to notify the local authority of all suspected rubella cases. The child's school or nursery should be told immediately. IgM (rubella virus specific) antibodies are found in individuals who have been recently infected. However, these antibodies may persist for a long time, sometimes for over a year. Therefore, a positive blood test result needs to be interpreted with caution. Treatment options for rubella In the vast majority of cases rubella infection signs and symptoms will resolve within a week or two. Patients should stay at home and avoid contact with other people, especially pregnant women. The NHS advises people to stay away from work/school for at least five days. If there is any fever or aches an OTC (over-the-counter), such as Tylenol (paracetamol) or ibuprofen may help. Do not give aspirin to children under the age of 16 years. To avoid dehydration it is important to consume plenty of liquids, preferably water. Prevention of rubella Immunization with the MMR vaccine is the most effective way to protect against rubella. It is a combined vaccine that protects children against all three conditions - measles, mumps and rubella. It contains the safest and most effective form of each vaccine. This is usually given to children between 12 and 15 months followed by a booster injection before entering school (usually between three to five years of age). Children who are too young to have had the MMR vaccine and are exposed to the virus may be given an injection of immunoglobulin antibodies which provide short-term but immediate protection against the disease. As a pregnant mother passes on her own immunity to her baby, the baby is protected at least during his/her first six months of life. Despite fears of an association between the MMR vaccine and autism risk, all studies over the last decade have shown that there is no link. Complications of rubella Complications, if they do occur, tend to be mild and may include diarrhea, vomiting, otitis media (inner ear infection), and convulsions (if there is a fever). Much more rarely, there is a risk of encephalitis, croup, bronchitis, and pneumonia. The most important complication is if a pregnant woman becomes infected, especially during the first 11 weeks of her pregnancy (the danger is present throughout pregnancy). Her offspring may suffer from heart defects, stunted growth, hearing problems, organ defects, eye problems (cataracts) and cognitive defects. Written by Christian Nordvist http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164504.php

Fungal Rash on Buttocks

Fungal Rash on Buttocks
The problem of fungal rash on buttocks is more prevalent in people who are on long-term use of antibiotics, or suffer from obesity or diabetes. Fungal rash can also affect areas such as the thighs or groin. Here we discuss the causes of fungal rash and their appropriate treatment measures in brief. Fungal rash on buttocks generally occurs uniformly on both the cheeks, and eventually it starts getting concentrated on the bottom of each cheek and within the folds. This rash is also common in people who are incontinent, perspire heavily, have a sedentary lifestyle, or are using skin care products that are skin-irritants.

What Causes the Rash? Fungal rash on buttocks could be commonly caused by fungal infections such as jock itch, ringworm, and yeast infection. The following describes the symptoms and treatment options for each of these types of infections. Jock Itch This infection is caused by the fungus called tinea. It is more common during summer months, or in warm, wet climates. Apart from buttocks, it also affects areas such as the inner thighs, and genitals. Symptoms include itching and reddening of the skin of these areas, apart from feeling a burning sensation. The skin at the groin area may start flaking, or peeling.

Treatment: Over-the-counter antifungal topical medications are good enough to take care of jock itch. Common OTC medications include allylaminesm, and azoles. Sometimes, such medications are not good enough, and the affected person may require to use prescription-strength topical or oral antifungals. Econazole and oxiconazole are topical medications, while itraconazole (Sporanox), and fluconazole (Diflucan) are the oral ones.

Ringworm This fungal infection is caused by microorganisms that live on the outer skin of the body as parasites. Its characteristic symptom, which also gets it its name, is a circular rash with a red and inflamed border, surrounding a normal spot of skin in the middle. It is also possible to develop the infection without this circular rash. Apart from affecting the buttocks, the infection may occur over the surface of the elbows, knees, scalp, area around the ears and that of the navel. Treatment: If the infection has affected a large area, usually, OTC medications do not help. So medications prescribed by the doctor must be considered. Common topical medication include butenafine (mentax) ciclopirox (loprox), and econazole to name a few. And oral ones include fluconazole (diflucan), itraconazole (sporanox), etc.

Yeast Infections Caused by the yeast-like fungi candida, yeast infections are a common skin problem with many people. Although the infection may affect any skin surface, more commonly it is found in the armpits, and groin which makes the buttocks a vulnerable area.

Symptoms apart from the red, and itchy rash on the buttocks and other areas, others include pimple-like bumps and burning sensation. Treatment: Similar to the treatment for problems mentioned above, even in this case, antifungal medications are used. Points to Remember

•Before applying any creams or lotions, it is advisable to clean the affected area gently and thoroughly.

 •Care should be taken that the area is not rubbed.

•Pat the skin dry with a clean and dry towel. •As the rash starts to heal, the skin tends to become dry and flaky. So to keep it hydrated and moist, you can apply moisturizers (creams, lotions).

•Do not forget to wash your hands, and wear gloves before treating the rash, and wash them again once you are done with it.

Prevention # Ailments such as fungal rash can be easily prevented. Moist and warm environment favor germs causing such problems. And what most people fail to do is to dry their skin well after having a bath or a shower. The vulnerability to contract the infection increases during summer months, when perspiration is more. So, one has to ensure to use every inch of a towel to dry himself/herself after bathing. Avoid using heavily perfumed bathing soaps. Such products usually irritate the skin, and worsen fungal rash. For those who use incontinence briefs, must avoid using ones that come with plastic liners. These products retain moisture and prevent the affected area from drying out. Leaving the briefs open would promote air circulation and help in healing the rash by keeping it dry.

 # Try to avoid wearing tight-fitting clothes, and especially tight-fitting briefs. It is advisable to wear loose-fitting briefs which are made of cotton fabric instead of nylon or polyester. Always wear clean and fresh clothes to prevent the risk of infection. However, it is not recommended to avoid wearing briefs that are too loose. Such briefs may cause friction between the skin from rubbing, and this may worsen the condition further.

# If the rash has occurred within the skin folds, then prevent the moisture from accumulating in the area, by placing a soft cloth or a cotton pad between the folds. This will help in keeping the skin dry and keep the infection from spreading further. Talcum powder could also be used in such areas to keep them dry. Fungal rash tends to recur even after it has healed completely. This can be prevented by using a barrier cream which contains petrolatum, dimethicone and zinc oxide. Keeping the body well-hydrated by increasing fluid-intake is also one of the effective ways for preventing fungal infection and its symptoms.

By Rajib Singha Last Updated: 1/1/2012 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/fungal-rash-on-buttocks.html