Life span Health Dictionary

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Life Span: From 1 Different Sources

The longest period over which the life of any plant or animal organism or species may extend, according to the available biological knowledge concerning it.
Health Source: Community Health
Author: Health Dictionary

Life Expectancy

The average number of years of life remaining to a person at a particular age based on a given set of age-specific death rates, generally the mortality conditions existing in the period mentioned.... life expectancy

Kiss Of Life

Emergency mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of an unconscious person (see APPENDIX 1: BASIC FIRST AID).... kiss of life

End-of-life Care

Care of older persons who are dying.... end-of-life care

Half Life

The time taken for the PLASMA concentration of an administered drug to decline by half as a result of redistribution, METABOLISM and EXCRETION.... half life

Life Cycle

1 The entire course of a person’s life – from infancy to old age. 2 The genetically prescribed course followed by all living organisms, including humans.... life cycle

Mid-life Crisis

A colloquial description of the feelings of anxiety and distress experienced by some individuals in early middle age. They realise that by 45 years of age they are no longer young, and men in particular try to turn the clock back by changing jobs, dressing trendily, taking up energetic or unusual sports or engaging in extramarital liaisons. Sometimes those in mid-life crises develop mild or even serious DEPRESSION. The feelings of anxiety and insecurity usually disappear with time but some people may bene?t from counselling.... mid-life crisis

Quality Of Life

The product of the interplay between social, health, economic and environmental conditions which affect human and social development. It is a broad-ranging concept, incorporating a person’s physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, personal beliefs and relationship to salient features in the environment. As people age, their quality of life is largely determined by their ability to access needed resources and maintain autonomy and independence.... quality of life

Spanish Fly

A popular term for cantharides, which is used as a blistering agent.... spanish fly

Acute Life-threatening Event (alte)

See ALTE.... acute life-threatening event (alte)

Change Of Life

See CLIMACTERIC; MENOPAUSE.... change of life

Disability-adjusted Life Expectancy

A modification of conventional life expectancy to account for time lived with disability. It is the number of healthy years of life that can be expected on average in a given population. It is generally calculated at birth, but estimates can also be prepared at other ages. It adjusts the expectation of years of life for the loss on account of disability, using explicit weights for different health states.... disability-adjusted life expectancy

Disability-adjusted Life Years (dalys)

The number of healthy years of life lost due to premature death and disability.... disability-adjusted life years (dalys)

Expectation Of Life

The average number of years an individual of a given age is expected to live if current mortality rates continue to apply. See “life expectancy”.... expectation of life

Health-related Quality-of-life (hrql) Measure

Individual outcome measure that extends beyond traditional measures of mortality and morbidity to include such dimensions as physiology, function, social activity, cognition, emotion, sleep and rest, energy and vitality, health perception and general life satisfaction (some of these are also known as health status, functional status or quality-of-life measures).... health-related quality-of-life (hrql) measure

Healthy Life Expectancy

See “disability-adjusted life expectancy”.... healthy life expectancy

Life Course

See “life cycle”.... life course

Life Everlasting

Longevity, Health, Healing... life everlasting

Life Insurance

Insurance providing for payment of a stipulated sum to a designated beneficiary upon death of the insured.... life insurance

Life Satisfaction

See “well-being”.... life satisfaction

Life-sustaining Treatment

Drugs, medical devices, or procedures that can keep alive a person who would otherwise die within a foreseeable, though usually uncertain, time. Examples include cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, renal dialysis, nutritional support (i.e. tube or intravenous feeding) and provision of antibiotics to fight life-threatening infections.... life-sustaining treatment

Quality-adjusted Life Years (qalys)

Years of life saved by a medical technology or service, adjusted according to the quality of those years (as determined by some evaluative measure). QALYs are the most commonly used unit to express the results in some types of cost-effectiveness analysis.... quality-adjusted life years (qalys)

Spanish Moss

Protection... spanish moss

Spanomenorrhea

Scanty menstruation... spanomenorrhea

Advanced Life Support

(ALS) a structured and algorithm-driven method of life support for use in the severest of medical emergencies, especially cardiac arrest. Doctors, nurses, and paramedic personnel involved in ALS receive special training in the use of equipment (e.g. defibrillators and appropriate drugs). Paediatric advanced life support (PALS) is ALS for use in severe medical emergencies in children, while advanced trauma life support(ATLS) is specifically for patients who have been subjected to major trauma, such as a serious road accident. Compare basic life support.... advanced life support

Life Drops

A combination of tinctures devised to stimulate a healthy reaction from the major organs of the body. For promoting body warmth in winter; mobilising resources to fight off colds, chills, or threatening infection. When the fires of life burn low, a few drops in a cup of tea has power to revive and rouse the vital force.

Ingredients: Tincture Capsicum fort 70 per cent, (general stimulant). Ess Menth Pip 20 per cent (stomach and intestines). Tincture Elder flowers 5 per cent (to promote vigorous peripheral circulation). Tincture Cola vera 2 per cent (to activate brain cells). Tincture Hawthorn (or Cactus grand) 3 per cent (to sustain the heart).

Formula: Edgar G. Jones MNIMH ... life drops

Life Force, The.

The spirit of the body concerned with life and survival. An extension of the spirit of the Creator in the human body. The intelligence and power behind the immune system.

A weak immune system, with little ability to withstand infection or injury, may be genetic in origin. May be acquired by faulty diet, chemicalised food and medicine, antibiotics, vaccines, and steroid drugs that exhaust the glandular system.

The Life Force can be sustained by a diet of wholefoods, organically grown vegetables and an absence of chemicals in medicine, food and environment. It is safe-guarded by a relaxed life-style which predisposes to a balanced personality capable of meeting the stresses of modern living with equanimity and self-possession. Only the spirit can restore. It is the work of the practitioner to aid in its work. ... life force, the.

Life Root

Squaw weed. Senecio aureus L. Dried herb. Keynote: menopause.

Constituents: sesquiterpenes, pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Action: Tonic for relaxed womb, emmenagogue, astringent, mild expectorant.

Uses: Hot flushes of the menopause with nervous instability. Absent, painful or profuse menstruation. Ovarian pain. Stone, gravel. Diarrhoea. Bleeding from mucous surfaces. Prostatitis.

Combinations: with Motherwort for suppressed menses. With Oats for menopause. Preparations. Average dose: 1-4 grams. Thrice daily.

Tea: half-2 teaspoons to cup boiling water; infuse 15 minutes. Dose: half-1 cup. Liquid Extract. Half-1 teaspoon, in water.

Powder: 1-4 grams.

Not now used internally. ... life root

Basic Life Support

the provision of treatment designed to maintain adequate circulation and ventilation to a patient in *cardiac arrest, without the use of drugs or specialist equipment. Compare advanced life support.... basic life support

Dermatology Life Quality Index

(DLQI) a validated questionnaire designed by Finlay in 1994 to assess the impact of skin diseases on psychological and social wellbeing. It is the most common *quality of life tool used as an endpoint in dermatology clinical trials. DLQI scores of more than 10 (indicating a severe impact on life) are required before biological treatments for psoriasis may be administered in the UK.... dermatology life quality index

Disability-adjusted Life Year

(DALY) a common research measure of disease burden that accounts for both morbidity and mortality. One year lived in full health is equivalent to one DALY. Disabilities and disease states are assigned a weighting that reduces this figure, such that a year lived with disability is equivalent to less than one DALY. Some studies also use social weighting, in which years lived as a young adult receive a greater DALY weight than those lived as a young child or older adult. See also health-adjusted life expectancy; quality of life.... disability-adjusted life year

Health-adjusted Life Expectancy

a measure developed by the World Health Organization to capture life expectancy in terms of both morbidity and mortality. The number of years lived with ill-health, weighted according to severity, are subtracted from the overall life expectancy. Previously known as disability-adjusted life expectancy, it is sometimes referred to as healthy life expectancy. See also disability-adjusted life year.... health-adjusted life expectancy

Life Table

an actuarial presentation of the ages at which a group of males and/or females are expected to die and from which mean life expectancy at any age can be estimated, based on the assumption that mortality patterns current at the time of preparation of the table will continue to apply.... life table

Sanctity Of Life

the religious or moral belief that all life – and especially all human life – is intrinsically valuable and so should never be deliberately harmed or destroyed. Many of those who hold such a view will have ethical objections to *euthanasia, *abortion, and *embryo research. The phrase may also be used to denote that the value of life should always be respected, whatever the perceived quality of that life. See also humanity; personhood.... sanctity of life

Years Of Life Lost

(YLL, years of potential life lost, YPLL, potential years of life lost, PYLL) a measure of premature mortality that calculates the number of additional years a person could have expected to live, on average, had they not died prematurely. A reference age intended to represent the total number of years a person can expect to live, on average, is required for the calculation: this is often given in square brackets after YLL. Negative values for YLL are not used: if somebody survives longer than the reference age, their YLL is calculated as 0. YLLs for different diseases can be compared across populations to give an indication of which diseases carry the greatest burden of premature mortality.... years of life lost

Broom, Spanish

Spartium junceum

FAMILY: Fabaceae (Leguminosae).

SYNONYMS: Genista juncea, genista, weavers broom, broom (absolute), genet (absolute).

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A decorative plant, often cultivated as an ornamental shrub, up to 3 metres high with upright woody branches and tough flexible stems. It has bright green leaves and large, yellow, pea-like fragrant flowers, also bearing its seeds in pods or legumes.

DISTRIBUTION: Native to southern Europe, especially southern Spain and southern France; mainly cultivated in Spain, France, Italy and USA (as a garden shrub). The absolute is produced in Southern France.

OTHER SPECIES: Closely related to dyer’s greenweed (Genista tinctoria) and the common or green broom (Sarothamnus scoparius or Cytisus scoparius). There are also several other related species of broom, which are rich in their folk tradition.

HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: The twigs and bark have been used since ancient times to produce a strong fibre which can be made into cord or a coarse cloth. The branches were also used for thatching, basketwork, fencing and, of course, for making brooms. Spanish broom has similar therapeutic properties to the common broom, which is still current in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia for cardiac dropsy, myocardial weakness, tachycardia and profuse menstruation. However, the Spanish broom is said to be five to six times more active than the common broom, and even that must be used with caution by professional herbalists due to the strength of the active ingredients: ‘A number of cases of poisoning have occurred from the substitution of the dried flowers of Spartium for those of true Broom.’.

ACTIONS: Antihaemorrhagic, cardioactive, diuretic, cathartic, emmenagogue, narcotic, vasoconstrictor.

EXTRACTION: An absolute is obtained by solvent extraction from the dried flowers.

CHARACTERISTICS: A dark brown, viscous liquid with an intensely sweet, floral, hay-like scent with a herbaceous undertone. It blends well with rose, tuberose, cassie, mimosa, violet, vetiver and herbaceous-type fragrances.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: The absolute contains capryllic acid, phenols, aliphatics, terpenes, esters, scoparin and sparteine, as well as wax, etc.

SAFETY DATA: Sparteine, which is contained in the flowers as the main active constituent, is toxic. In large doses, it causes vomiting, renal irritation, weakens the heart, depresses the nerve cells and lowers the blood pressure, and in extreme cases causes death.

AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE None.

OTHER USES: Used in soaps, cosmetics and high-class perfumery; also as a flavour ingredient in sweet rich ‘preserves’, alcoholic and soft drinks.... broom, spanish

Oregano, Spanish

Thymus capitatus

FAMILY: Lamiaceae (Labiatae)

SYNONYMS: T. capitans, Coridothymus capitatus, Satureja capitata, Thymbra capitata, oreganum (oil), Israeli oreganum (oil), Cretan thyme, corido thyme, conehead thyme, headed savory, thyme of the ancients.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A perennial creeping herb with a woody stem, small dark green leaves and pink or white flowers borne in clusters.

DISTRIBUTION: Native to the Middle East and Asia Minor; grows wild in Spain. The oil is produced mainly in Spain, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.

OTHER SPECIES: Although this herb is strictly a thyme, it serves as the source for most so-called ‘oregano oil’. For other related species see entries on common thyme, common oregano and sweet marjoram; see also Botanical Classification section.

HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: According to Mrs Grieve the properties and oil of Spanish oregano (Thymus capitatus) are similar to the common thyme (T. vulgaris); it also shares many qualities with the common oregano or wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare).

ACTIONS: See common oregano.

EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the dried flowering tops.

CHARACTERISTICS: A dark brownish-red or purple oil with a strong tarlike, herbaceous, refreshing odour.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Carvacrol, thymol, cymene, caryophyllene, pinene, limonene, linalol, borneol, myrcene, thujone, terpinene.

SAFETY DATA: Dermal toxin, skin irritant, mucous membrane irritant.

AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE None. ‘Should not be used on the skin at all.’.

OTHER USES: See common oregano.... oregano, spanish

Sage, Spanish

Salvia lavendulaefolia

FAMILY: Lamiaceae (Labiatae)

SYNONYMS: Lavender-leaved sage.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: An evergreen shrub, similar to the garden sage but with narrower leaves and small purple flowers. The whole plant is aromatic with a scent reminiscent of spike lavender.

DISTRIBUTION: Native to the mountains in Spain, it also grows in south west France and Yugoslavia. The oil is mainly produced in Spain.

OTHER SPECIES: A very similar oil is distilled in Turkey from a Greek variety, S. triloba, which is used for pharmaceutical purposes. See also entries on clary sage and common sage for other types of sage.

HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: In Spain it is regarded as something of a ‘cure-all’. Believed to promote longevity and protect against all types of infection (such as plague). Used to treat rheumatism, digestive complaints, menstrual problems, infertility and nervous weakness.

ACTIONS: Antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, deodorant, depurative, digestive, emmenagogue, expectorant, febrifuge, hypotensive, nervine, regulator (of seborrhoea), stimulant (hepatobiliary, adrenocortical glands, circulation), stomachic, tonic (nerve and general).

EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the leaves.

CHARACTERISTICS: A pale yellow mobile liquid with a fresh-herbaceous, camphoraceous, slightly pinelike odour. It blends well with rosemary, lavandin, lavender, pine, citronella, eucalyptus, juniper, clary sage and cedarwood.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Camphor (up to 34 per cent), cineol (up to 35 per cent), limonene (up to 41 per cent), camphene (up to 20 per cent), pinene (up to 20 per cent) and other minor constituents.

SAFETY DATA: Relatively non-toxic, non-irritant, non-sensitizing. Avoid during pregnancy; use in moderation.

AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE

Skin care: Acne, cuts, dandruff, dermatitis, eczema, excessive sweating, hair loss, gingivitis, gum infections, sores.

Circulation muscles and joints: Arthritis, debility, fluid retention, muscular aches and pains, poor circulation, rheumatism. Respiratory system: Asthma, coughs, laryngitis.

Digestive system: Jaundice, liver congestion.

Genito-urinary system: Amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, sterility.

Immune system: Colds, fevers, ’flu.

Nervous system: Headaches, nervous exhaustion and stress-related conditions.

OTHER USES: Extensively used as a fragrance component in soaps, cosmetics, toiletries and perfumes, especially ‘industrial’ type fragrances. Extensively employed in foods (especially meat products), as well as alcoholic and soft drinks.... sage, spanish


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