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• Gulls are big sea birds that live on coasts all around the world, nesting on cliffs, islands or beaches.
• Gulls are related to skuas and terns.
• Skuas have hooked claws and sharp bills, which they use to attack other birds and force them to disgorge (throw up) their food – which the skua then eats.
• Skuas are such good acrobats that they can catch the disgorged meal of another bird in mid-air.
• The great skua often pounces on seagulls, drowns them, and then steals their chicks.
• A wandering albatross can glide for hours without a single flap of its huge wings. It glides quite low, usually less than 20 m above the waves, where rising Iv/Ms keep it aloft.
• Wandering albatrosses are the biggest of all sea birds, with white bodies and dark wings.
• The wandering albatross has the biggest wingspan of any bird – 3.7 m across.
• An albatross will often follow a ship for days without stopping to rest.
• Wild albatrosses may live for more than 50 years.
• Herring gulls watch ducks diving for fish and then steal it when the ducks resurface.

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a white, fatty substance manufactured mainly by the liver.

It is involved in a number of important bodily functions, including the formation of vitamin D and some hormones.

Particles known as lipoproteins circulate cholesterol to all parts of your body via your blood. At this stage it is called blood cholesterol. Scientific evidence shows that above-normal amounts of cholesterol in the blood increases the risk of atherosclerosis – the condition that can lead to heart attack or stroke.

There are a number of factors that influence the level of cholesterol in your blood. For most people the cause is diet-related. A high-fat diet is the main reason why high blood-cholesterol levels are so common. Rarely is it a hereditary condition.

Your doctor will tell you if the level is too high and if dietary changes are necessary. The National Heart Foundation’s publication Healthy Eating for the Heart will give you more details.

High blood cholesterol can be prevented. Most people can avoid ever having high blood cholesterol if they follow the right diet and start young enough. Most people who do have a high blood-cholesterol level can lower the level by dietary means.

Follow these guidelines:

• Maintain a healthy weight. If you are overweight now set about losing approximately 1 kg a week by changing your eating habits and increasing your physical activity (see the National Heart Foundation booklet The Weight Loss Guide).
• Limit your total intake of fat. You may need to reduce the amount of fat and fatty foods you eat, or substitute with polyunsaturated fats and oils or cut back on certain foods high in cholesterol. More foods rich in dietary fiber and starch may need to be included. (Remember that cholesterol present in foods and ingredients of animal origin is only one influencing factor on blood-cholesterol levels; the main dietary factor is fat.)
• Take a good long look at what you eat now. There is probably room for some improvement.

Often the following changes are all that are necessary:

• Always trim fat off meat.
• Browse through the butchers or supermarket for the meat with the least fat marbling.
• Always discard fat and skin on chicken.
• Experiment with low-fat dairy foods.
• Include at least one vegetarian meal per week based on dried beans, peas or lentils such as soya bean casserole, lentil patties.
• Avoid deep-fried and fatty takeaway foods.
• Try low-fat salad dressings and sauces.
• Switch to whole meal bread.
• Try brown rice and pasta instead of white.
• Limit high-cholesterol foods such as egg yolks, offal products, prawns, fish roe and squid.
• Avoid packet snacks and biscuits between meals.
• Ensure vegetables and fruit feature on your daily menu.
• Drink more water.
• Increase physical activity (get off the bus one stop early, swim three times a week, walk to the local shops instead of driving).
• When you buy supermarket foods, always check the label – if fat, shortening or oil is high on the list of ingredients, look around for an alternative.
• Use the Heart Foundation cookbook Guide to Healthy Eating.

Meal Suggestions

Breakfast

• Have wholegrain breakfast cereal such as rolled oats, untoasted muesli, commercial whole-wheat cereal and switch to skim milk. Include fruit or juice.
• If you like something hot, how about mushrooms on toast or grilled tomato or asparagus or baked beans?
• Try tasty whole meal bread or enjoy the texture of wholegrain types. Switch to easily spreadable polyunsaturated margarines and use just a little.

Lunch

• Whole meal sandwiches or rolls made with lean meat, salmon or cottage cheese and lots of salad makes a convenient lunch. If buying at the sandwich shop, ask for no butter or salt.
• Fill up with nonfat yoghurt and fresh fruit.
• On a cold winter’s day, warm up with a mug of hot homemade soup.

Dinner

• Enjoy fish more often or experiment with an occasional vegetarian meal. Eat only lean meat and lean poultry and have plenty of vegetables – hot or cold. Use recipes from the Heart Foundation cookbooks Guide to Healthy Eating or Harvest Cookbook.
• For dessert try your own combinations of fruit – fresh or cooked – with ricotta topping.

Snacks

• Try not to snack but if you must make your own and keep it small. Convenience and fast foods are often high in fat. Have a crusty bread roll stuffed with bean sprouts and mushrooms.
• Munch a crunchy apple or enjoy a few dried fruits, nuts and seeds. If overweight is not a problem, make your own cakes and loaves using skim milk, a little polyunsaturated margarine and egg whites instead of full-cream milk, butter and whole eggs. Carrot, pineapple, apple or zucchini are useful additions in cakes.

Triglycerides

Triglycerides are also an important type of fat. They are found in food and in most of the body’s fat tissue. The level in the bloodstream rises with overweight and dietary factors. As with blood cholesterol, a high level can increase the risk of heart disease, although a high triglyceride level is not considered as important a risk factor as high blood cholesterol.

• Fertilizers are natural or artificial substances added to soil to make crops and garden plants grow better.
• Natural fertilizers such as manure and compost have been used since the earliest days of farming.
• Manure comes mostly from farm animals, though in some countries human waste is used.
• Manure contains the chemicals nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium plants need for growth. It is also rich in humus, organic matter that helps keep water in the soil.
• Artificial fertilizers are usually liquid or powdered chemicals (or occasionally gas), containing a mix of nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium. They also have traces of sulphur, magnesium and calcium.
• Nitrogen fertilizer, also called nitrate fertilizer, is made from ammonia, which is made from natural gas.
• The first fertilizer factory was set up by Sir John Lawes in Britain in 1843. He made superphosphate by dissolving bones in acid. Phosphates now come from bones or rocks.
• Potassium fertilizers come from potash dug up in mines.
• The use of artificial fertilizers has increased in the last 40 years, especially t h roughout the developed world.
• Environmentalists worry about the effects of nitrate fertilizers entering water supplies, and the huge amount of energy that is needed to make, transport and Apply them.
• Fertilizers are natural or artificial substances added to soil to make crops and garden plants grow better.
• Natural fertilizers such as manure and compost have been used since the earliest days of farming.
• Manure comes mostly from farm animals, though in some countries human waste is used.
• Manure contains the chemicals nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium plants need for growth. It is also rich in humus, organic matter that helps keep water in the soil.
• Artificial fertilizers are usually liquid or powdered chemicals (or occasionally gas), containing a mix of nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium. They also have traces of sulphur, magnesium and calcium.
• Nitrogen fertilizer, also called nitrate fertilizer, is made from ammonia, which is made from natural gas.
• The first fertilizer factory was set up by Sir John Lawes in Britain in 1843. He made superphosphate by dissolving bones in acid. Phosphates now come from bones or rocks.
• Potassium fertilizers come from potash dug up in mines.
• The use of artificial fertilizers has increased in the last 40 years, especially throughout the developed world.
• Environmentalists worry about the effects of nitrate fertilizers entering water supplies, and the huge amount of energy that is needed to make, transport and apply them.

• Orchids are a group of over 20,000 species of flower, growing on every continent but Antarctica.
• In the moist tropics many grow on the trunks and branches of trees and so are called epiphytes.
• A few, such as the Bird’s nest orchid, are saprophytes, living off rotting plants in places where there is no light.
• Some species are found throughout the tropics, such as Ionopsis utricularioides. Others grow on just a single mountain in the world.
• Orchids have a big central petal called the lip or labellum. It is often shaped like a cup, trumpet or bag.
• The fly orchid of Ecuador has a lip shaped like a female tachinid fly so as to attract male flies.
• To attract male bees, the bee orchid has a lip that looks just like a female bee.
• The early purple orchid was said to have grown beneath Christ’s cross and the red spots on its leaves were said to be left by falling drops of Christ’s blood.
• The flavor vanilla comes from the vanilla orchid.
• Ancient Greek couples expecting a baby often ate the roots of the early purple orchid. They believed that if the man ate the flower’s large root the baby would be a boy. If the woman ate the small root, the baby would be a girl.
• In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the drowned Ophelia is covered in flowers, including the early purple orchid, famous as a love potion. Hamlet’s mother says that ‘cold maids’ call the flowers ‘dead men’s fingers.

Many rural families have found that it is worthwhile to include a few geese amongst farm animals since they require little attention, virtually no housing and find their own. Besides, roast goose is a delicious and different Christmas or Thanksgiving treat.

Breeds

The Toulouse goose has a broad, deep body, is a fair layer, has on average about 25 to 40 or more eggs per year, and is a good market bird. However, its dark pinfeathers make it less attractive market prospect than the Emden.

Emdens grow well, are fairly good layers, producing 35 to 40 or more eggs a year, and fare at the market better than Toulouse geese.

Chinese geese come in white and are better layers, averaging 40 to 60.5 or more eggs. While the Toulouse or Emden weighs 12 to 20 pounds, Chinese geese weight up to 12 pounds. Crosses with the Emdens and Toulouse are also available.

Other varieties of geese include Pit, which have the advantage of being naturally sexed, the adult gander is white and the goose is gray. African geese are attractive gray birds with a brown shade. There are also Canadian geese, the American wild goose; the Buff, Egyptian, and the Sebastapol.

Housing

Except in extremely cold weather, mature geese need no shelter and hardly ever use a house. Open shelters shades are provided on range to give protection from the sun. In the North, a barn can be left open for the geese so they can move inside during cold weather.

Starting with Geese

The best way to start is to buy day-old goslings from a hatchery. Goose eggs do not incubate as well as hen’s eggs so it is inadvisable to begin with fertile eggs.

Don’t order goslings until the weather allows for it. If the outside temperatures are low, the eggs must be kept warm. Start them inside a brooder of 90°F (32.22°C.) and gradually reduce the heat over a period of ten days to two weeks, depending on outside temperatures.

Goslings can be fed wetted regular chick whole-grain bread soaked in milk or water, or cooked oatmeal covered with water. Supply tender, chopped greens at all meals to the goslings three to four times a day. After two weeks, reduce the grain supplement to only two- a day and offer more greens. At three weeks of age, cut the geese down to one pound of grain per day and provide greens and other feedings.

Water and fine grit should be available at all times. Provide water in a chick feeder and with pebbles in the trough so that the cannot get their whole bodies into the water.

At four weeks of age the goslings can be outside and will support themselves well on the range. Provide a shelter in case of rain and enclosed on the sides and top within wire. After a few days they can tolerate several hours of freedom a day, and back to their coop at night by a late on feeding of grain. Be sure that litter in the coop is clean and dry. At six weeks they sleep outside at night except during lengthy days of chilling rain, and by eight weeks can take care of themselves.

Feeding

After goslings are six weeks old they can be raised on pasture alone, but enough growing mash may be provided to keep them steadily growing. Pasture grasses, clover and alfalfa make fine pasture, and an acre of good pasture can support 15 to 25 geese. Poor pasture can be supplemented by cut fresh greens.

Geese may be used to weed strawberry beds until the plants are nearly ripe. Feed a pound of grain per five geese daily, and change location of this feeding and their waterers every few days so the geese range over the en-tire patch. After the strawberries are picked, geese can be turned back into the patch to handle late summer and fall weeding. In the garden, however, geese will supplement their pasture by feeding on your ripening vegetables, even onions. If you have a roaming flock of geese, keep them out of your garden with a heavy wire fence.

Geese need a constant supply of fresh, clean water. A waterer such as a hog fountain is excellent since geese cannot get into the water container. Like all poultry, they need a constant source of oyster shell or other in-soluble grit.

Geese should be fattened before slaughtering. This is best done in cool weather. Geese are ready to fatten when fully feathered or when the long wing feathers reach the tail when folded. They are usually five to six months old and weigh from 11 to 15 pounds, depending on breed.

Feed birds a crumbly mash three times daily, or twice daily with a feeding of whole grain. They should be allowed little exercise and confined or permitted limited range. Unlimited water should be provided, but the geese should not be able to fit into their water dispensers. If confined, plenty of clean, dry bedding should be available.

Geese must be starved for 12 hours before slaughtering, but should have water available.

Breeding geese kept over winter should have grain, laying mash and roughage. Oats Mixed with corn, wheat or barley are a good feed. Geese can be fed whole corn, and should be given clover or alfalfa hay as roughage.

Breeding

Geese mate permanently in pairs. Breeders should be selected from medium-sized, vigorous and well-developed birds that grow rapidly and have compact, meaty bodies. A gander may be mated with up to five geese, but pair and trio matings are most common. Mature ganders have a longer neck and head than females and have a higher pitched voice; the female is smaller, less coarse and has a deeper cry.

Most breeds lay in the early spring, the Chinese somewhat earlier. Laying mash is fed once a day in December or January to encourage egg production. Farmers with just a few geese can use regular hen laying mashes. Broodiness in geese can be checked by confining the broody goose in sight of but away from the gander. Geese will continue to lay until mid-June if not allowed to set, so collect the eggs regularly to encourage egg production. Geese kept outside can use nesting boxes made of old packing crates inverted on the ground and with a hole cut in one end. Fill the boxes with clean straw.

Eggs for hatching should be collected twice daily until March 1. Geese eggs do not hatch as well as hen’s eggs in an incubator, so you may want to use a hen or a Muscovy duck to set the eggs. Hens must be watched, how-ever, since the goose eggs hatch a week later than hen’s eggs. Eggs should be turned once a day, and should be sprinkled with lukewarm water daily during the last two weeks of hatching.

Newly hatched goslings should be to the geese to mother, if possible, and be to the geese to mother, if possible, and confined indoors until they are two cold. Even at that age, goslings should not be -allowed to get wet-even by walking through wet grass. Goslings are commonly not to swim until they have begun to feather.

Slaughtering

Kill geese the same way other poultry is killed. Goose down is a valuable by-product of raising and if down is desired, the bird should be dry-picked. Since geese have tend, be careful not to bruise the bird if you plan to market it. Semi-scalding makes picking easier. Dip the goose into almost-boiling water for two to 21/2 minutes until feathers pull easily. If desired, detergent may be added to the water. After picking, geese should be cooled in water or in the refrigerator, and then packed for shipping or storage, or bagged and frozen.

Feathers can be saved from dry geese. Flesh should be cleaned from any remains after picking and the replaced in a burlap or cheesecloth bag. Wash with soap and warm water and allow to dry in the shade or in a well-ventilated room.

The features of a heart attack are often obvious and quite straightforward. It is vital that a possible attack be recognized, and that treatment be started immediately. The quicker this can be arranged, and the patient transported to a place where expert attention is available, the greater are the chances of recovery.

Often in smaller heart attacks, the symptoms are not so apparent. However, the same precautions hold. It is far better to assume a heart attack has taken place and see that proper treatment is given, rather than the reverse.

Chest Pain

This is the most prominent symptom and occurs in practically every case of heart attack. (The term cardiac infarction is the one most used these days. It is the same as coronary occlusion. It means a narrowed coronary artery has been blocked with a clot or thrombus.)

The pain varies greatly, and it can come on suddenly. It may occur at any time of the day or night, although it is claimed to be a little more common in onset in short, obese men during winter.

It takes place without any apparent exciting cause. Maximum pain is soon reached. It usually is situated over the front of the chest, mostly over the breastbone (sternum). From here it tends to spread into the chest, particularly the left-hand side.

The pain has often been described as a constricting sensation or a pressure, rather than pure pain. It tends to spread into the lower part of the neck, probably the jaws, and into the left arm. The pain may also be present between the shoulder blades, and also in the pit of the stomach (the epigastrium). The distribution of the pain and its nature are very similar to that occurring in angina, but there has not been the exercise- induced cause as usually occurs with angina.

However, as opposed to the pain of angina, an infarct pain gradually or rapidly increases in intensity until a maximum has been reached. In some people this pain is excruciating, and is among the worst a person has ever experienced. Often the discomfort is not as severe as this, however, and the person tends to be active and quite restless.

Many instances have been recorded where patients think they have a bad attack of indigestion. They feel the more they move and exercise, the quicker it will disappear. A multitude of instances are on record of people going outside and digging the garden, doing exercises or attending the local gym and vigorously exercising. Of course, none of these activities can have any beneficial effect, and indeed they may jeopardize the person’s life.

Painless infarction is almost totally unknown. Cases have occurred during sleep, causing the patient’s death, but these are not usual.

Prodromal Symptoms

Some patients notice brief attacks of chest pain occurring during the 24-72-hour period before the true commencement of symptoms. These are referred to as prodromal symptoms.

There may be a general feeling of malaise, feeling off-color, and generally in indifferent health, often for no outward, obvious reason. Bouts of pain may take place, coming then going.

Patients who have known angina may realize all is not well by the apparent frequency and recurrence of their chest pains. But they may recognize this as something more than their usual anginal attacks. The pains may be more frequent, and persist for longer periods of time. This could herald the onset of an infarct, and a patient is wise to seek medical attention promptly.

• Animals have different ways of escaping predators – most mammals run away, while birds take to the air.
• Some animals use camouflage to hide. Many small animals hide in burrows.
• Turtles and tortoises hide inside their hard shells.
• Armadillos curl up inside their bendy body Armour
• The spiky-skinned armadillo lizard of South Africa curls up and stuffs its tail in its mouth.
• Hedgehogs, porcupines and echidnas are protected by sharp quills (spines).
• Skunks and the stinkpot turtle give off foul smells when they are threatened.
• Meerkats stand on their hind legs and give a shrill call to alert other meerkats to danger.
• The plover, a type of bird, pretends to be injured in order to lure hunters away from its young.
• Many animals defend themselves by frightening their enemies. Some, such as peacock butterflies, flash big eye-markings. Others, such as porcupine fish and great horned owls, blow themselves up much bigger.
• Other animals send out warning signals. Kangaroo rats and rabbits thump their feet. Birds shriek.
• The nine-banded armadillo is one of 20 species of armadillo. Armor plating protects it against all but the most determined of predator.
• The hognosed snake rolls over and plays dead to escape predators. It even smells dead

Treatment prolonged lack of oxygen from being submerged under water leads to cardiac arrest, so it is important that rescue breathing or CPR (either mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-nose ventilation) be started immediately – even in the water if necessary.

• Call 911 for medical assistance and a quick transfer to the nearest emergency center.
• If you know what happened prior to the accident, tell the rescue workers, particularly if head and neck injuries are likely (as would be the case if the child was diving when the accident occurred). Keep the child warm, especially if he was in cold water. Wrap him in towels or a blanket until medical personnel arrive.

Drowning Prevention

Studies show that 70 percent of drowning accidents could be avoided if self-closing, self-latching doors were installed in homes and on gates in the fences around pools. Sturdy, childproof pool covers and alarms on doors leading to the pool area – or even an alarm that sounds when someone enters the water – are also appropriate safety measures. Parents need to teach their children the importance of swimming only when supervised and the necessity of life jackets when boating. Older children and adolescents should be warned explicitly of the risks of alcohol and/or drug consumption while swimming.

When young children are around water, they must always be supervised by an adult. Parents and teens should strongly consider becoming certified in CPR. Poolside telephones are helpful because they allow adults to answer the phone while continuing supervision. They also can speed the process of calling for help if an accident occurs.

Chances of Surviving Drowning

The chances of surviving submersion are not significantly affected by the type of water (salt, fresh, or pool water with chemicals). How long a child can survive without oxygen depends on many other factors, including age, previous health, the water temperature, and the speed and effectiveness of the rescue effort. Children under age five have an advantage because of a nerve reflex that causes the heart to slow down and blood to be directed to the brain and heart. Younger children usually survive if submersion lasts less than 3 minutes and may survive a submersion lasting up to 10 minutes if the water temperature is 50° to 60°F (10° to 15°C). In general, cold water temperatures improve survival chances.

Choose the freshest fish you can find. If necessary, substitute another variety with similar qualities and use this guide to experiment with varieties you are unsure of.

Lean Fish

Bream

• Round fish, saltwater
• Firm, moist texture; delicate, sweet flavour
• Fry, grill, bake, steam
• Substitute: Red Mullet, John Dory

Brui

• Flat fish, saltwater
• Fine texture; delicate flavour
• Fry, grill, hake, steam, poach
• Substitute: other flat fish

Cod

• Round fish, saltwater
• Flaky texture; mild flavour
• Grill, bake, steam, and poach
• Substitute: Haddock, Halibut

Haddock

• Round fish, saltwater
• Soft, moist texture; mild flavour
• Grill, hake, steam, poach
• Substitute: Cod, Halibut

Hake

• Round fish, saltwater
• White flesh with good flavour
• Grill, bake, steam, and poach
• Substitute: Cod, Haddock

Halibut

• Flat fish, saltwater
• Firm, moist texture; mild, sweet flavour
• Grill, hake, steam, poach
• Substitute: Plaice, Sole

John Dory

• Flat fish, saltwater
• Flaky texture; nutty sweet flavour
• Poach, bake, grill, and steam
• Substitute: Brills, Halibut

Plaice

• Flat fish, saltwater
• Fine texture; delicate flavour
• Fry, grill, hake, steam
• Substitute: Sole, other flat fish

Sea Bass

• Round fish, saltwater
• Flaky or firm flesh; mild flavour
• Grill, fry, bake
• Substitute: Salmon, Grey Mullet, John Dory

Skate

• Flattened body with large fins (wings), saltwater
• Flaky, well-flavoured flesh
• Fry, grill, poach, steam

Sole (Dover and Lemon)

• Flat fish, saltwater
• Fine texture; delicate flavour
• Fry, grill, bake, and poach

Turbot

• Flat fish, saltwater
• Succulent; firm yet tender; superb flavour
• Bake, grill, poach, steam
• Substitute: Brills, John Dory

Moderately Lean Fish

Grey Mullet

• Round fish, saltwater
• Delicate, easily digested flesh
• Fry, grill, poach, and bake

Monkfish

• Round, saltwater
• Firm texture; sweet, similar to lobster
• Fry, grill, hake, poach, stew
• Substitute: Cod, Halibut

Red Mullet

• Round fish, saltwater
• Delicate texture with excellent flavour
• Grill, bake, fry
• Substitute: Trout

Swordfish

• Thick central hone, saltwater
• Firm, meaty texture; mild flavour
• Grill, bake, steam, and poach
• Substitute: Dogfish/Rock Salmon, Tuna

Trout

• Round fish, freshwater
• Tender, flaky texture; delicate flavour
• Fry, grill, bake

Tuna

• Thick central bone, saltwater
• Some varieties are more oily
• Firm, meaty texture; strong flavour
• Bake, steam, poach, and grill
• Substitute: Swordfish, Rock Salmon

Oily Fish

Carp

• Round fish, freshwater
• Soft, flaky texture; mild flavour
• Bake, grill, fry, steam
• Substitute: Cod, Haddock

Herring

• Round fish, saltwater
• Moist and tender; rich flavour
• Grill, bake, fry
• Substitute: Mackerel

Mackerel

• Round fish, saltwater
• Moist and tender or firm texture; rich, distinctive flavour
• Grill, bake, fry
• Substitute: Herring

Salmon

• Round fish, freshwater/saltwater
• Flaky, tender texture; rich flavour bake, grill, steam, poach
• Substitute: Large Sea Ttrout

Sea Trout/Salmon Trout

• A round fish, saltwater
• Moist, flaky texture; mild flavour
• Grill, bake, fry
• Substitute: Salmon, Rainbow Trout

This type comes on more insidiously, with tissue swelling (edema) tending to persist for many months. Blood in the urine is usually not a prominent feature, but protein is a critical feature, leading to serious depletion of the protein content of the blood. The patient may never fully recover, and the condition may linger on for years before final renal failure develops.

Nephrotic Syndrome Symptoms

This type of nephritis is claimed to be less common than the previous type mentioned. Most patients tend to follow a long, chronic course. Often the patient is diagnosed on a routine medical examination when protein is found by chance in the urine, often producing “frothy urine” with bubbles on the surface. This may occur many months before the appearance of the edema.

However, once edema sets in, it tends to progress rapidly and may become extremely massive. It may become generalized, affecting the face, hands, trunk and legs. It may make its first appearance with a puffiness of the eyelids, or swelling of the feet gradually extending up the lower limbs. The patient may feel quite well apart from the edema.

Alternatively, there may be a complaint of tiredness, nausea and reduced appetite, probably some abdominal pain or shortness of breath. The face tends to be pale, eyelids and cheeks puffy. When checked, the urine is shown to contain massive amounts of protein. The blood pressure may be only moderately raised. The patient is usually diagnosed by renal biopsy, when kidney cells are examined under the microscope by the pathologist.

Nephrotic Syndrome Treatment

As with other forms of kidney disease, attention in a unit dealing with these problems is the best. Here, bed rest is often started, even though the patient is in a chronic stage by the time treatment is being sought.

The objective of therapy is to counteract the protein loss by giving a high protein intake, and to make efforts to encourage fluid loss by administering diuretic drugs and thereby checking the gross edema. Severe swelling may present a major problem, especially in an overweight patient.

Complete cure with this type of disorder is rare, and it tends to develop into a chronic condition, running a progressively downhill course. The outlook is often closely related to the degree of blood pressure that tends to develop.