Search results for 'tag:Whom tag:Phobias' matching tags 'Whom' and 'Phobias'

Re: Evolution - are all races equally developed?

MrPedantic — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:17:32 GMT

Stannum wrote:

the venal brickbats that are hurled with gay abandon...do hit a bloke smack bang square in the face at times and he wonders why the world can be so cruel

Alexa For Australia wrote:

You don't know really to whom you are talking to. I may very well be a woman who suffers from agoraphobia and depression, for all you know. If it was so, it would be very easy to drive me to the brink of suicide.

Alexa and Stannum,

If my posts have the deleterious effect on you that you say, further discussion is naturally out of the question.

Thank you for an interesting debate,

MrP

Re: Evolution - are all races equally developed?

Alexa For Australia — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 21:50:29 GMT

MrPedantic wrote:
Alexa For Australia wrote:

But apparently believing quite the contrary is a sin of some kind; otherwise, why is everyone attacking Stannum's point of view and person in such an awful way?

No one is forced to contribute to Controversial Subjects; but if you do contribute, other members may well disagree with what you say.

On the subject of burnings at the stake, as far as I know, everyone reading this is sitting safe and sound at their pc, surrounded by dogs doing cryptic crosswords, cats knitting cardigans for their grandmothers, and budgies preparing PowerPoint presentations on Pushkin's Use of the Imperfective Gerund.

MrP

Of course no one is forced. This is a forum, not a concentration camp.

But one thing is to disagree with someone and other attack him unmercilessly.

Words written in the net can hurt as much as words said face to face. You know it as well as I do. Virtual life is not so safe and sound as you say. Otherwise the tragedy of the Solar Temple Cult would not have happened.

You don't know really to whom you are talking to. I may very well be a woman who suffers from agoraphobia and depression, for all you know. If it was so, it would be very easy to drive me to the brink of suicide.

Stop writing?

Yes, but for an agoraphobia sufferer the virtual life is the only life left.

Alexandra

The only acceptable racism left: Islamophobia by Abdul Malik Mujahid

Firas — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 14:44:34 GMT

"So what do you do for a living?" the activist asked me. He was an American Christian, an ordained minister and leader of an interfaith peace organization. I was attending a conference organized by his group.

"I produce Islamic videos and programs, particularly for children," I replied.

"Oh. Doesn't Hamas produce programs for children, too?" he asked.

I was stunned. This exchange occurred shortly before the Hamas victory in the recent Palestinian elections. What floored me though was that this man associated what I do for a living with a group considered terrorist by the American government. It is clear that the ugly tentacles of Islamophobia have penetrated places where Muslims have normally felt safe from it. An interfaith gathering is the last venue I'd expect these comments.

I was representing the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago as it's chair, and he knew that pretty well. It's a federation of more than 55 mosques and Islamic organizations serving 400,000 Muslims from the region.

The Danish cartoon affair - Europe's latent Islamophobia comes to life
The latest example of Islamophobia comes from Denmark and Europe, not the United States. By now, we've all seen and read about the protests against 12 deeply offensive cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

What is critical to know is that it was not some random cartoonist drawing one cartoon and an editor who decided to publish it. Rather, a neo-con newspaper chose to commission artists to draw these images that depict the Prophet as a terrorist. These cartoons were not an ignorant mistake. The intent was to insult and inflame. The concept of respect and honor among Muslims is well-known. So is the potential risk of incitement, especially after knowing what happened when the Muslim world came to know about some American soldiers disrespecting the Quran last year.

The Danish embassy in Lebanon has been torched, the country's flags burned, death threats have been issued and some protesters have been killed as a result of police firings.

But well before these dramatic images that must have made editors salivate for their sensational qualities made the news, Muslims in the Muslim world and abroad launched peaceful, lawful protests for four months against the cartoons that would have made Martin Luther King Jr. proud.

Danish Muslims wrote letters of protest. They were ignored. Eleven Muslim ambassadors in Denmark asked to meet with Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He refused to do so. A grassroots boycott of Danish products was launched in the Middle East. That got some attention, but not much until Danish businesses realized how much of their $1 billion business in the region was at stake.

The cartoons were printed in September 2005. In September, October, November, December and almost all of January, the Muslim opposition to the cartoons was characterized by peaceful demonstrations of love for the Prophet and restrained protests of how he was being denigrated.

Arrogant Response to Peaceful Protests
When newspapers in Norway, Germany and France, in their Islamophobic frenzy, decided to republish the cartoons in the name of "freedom of expression," the scale of anger and protest widened. What started off as peaceful opposition spiraled out of control.

Now, the situation was out of the hands of Muslims who had made serious attempts to resolve the issue peacefully. They had tried their utmost, but to no avail. From this point onwards, all kinds of people, including those with little knowledge of Islamic rules that forbid harm to foreign emissaries in Muslim lands, had upped the ante. The torching of embassies is wrong. So is stepping on and burning the symbols of Danish pride, their flag. It is Haram and a sin in Islam.

Unfortunately, some Iranian newspapers have commissioned the drawing of anti-Semitic cartoons in protest. This is a disgusting form of retaliation that deserves absolute condemnation. It will neither help fight Islamophobia, nor elicit any understanding about why Muslims are upset about the Danish cartoons. The conflic has hit a new low with this move.

But the world media, always in search of dramatic images of death and destruction, lapped up the anger and violence with glee. There was little coverage of the peaceful response of the Muslim community to these cartoons in the initial days after their publication. There were no calls for death, there was no fire involved or images of screaming bearded and Hijabed Muslims. Just peaceful bearded and Hijabed Muslims. Yawn. The media was bored.

When it comes to Muslims, everything goes
Would the media outlet which commissioned and printed these cartoons, as well as those which reprinted them, call for artists to develop grotesque anti-Semitic caricatures to prove that they have the freedom to do so? Of course not. The French even have laws to punish anti-Semitic "speech" and "writings."

The current cartoon affair is not about freedom of expression, it's about Islamophobia.

Islamophobia is real
Islamophobia, or the fear and hatred of all things relating to Islam and Muslims, has become an acceptable form of racism. A sympathetic Jewish lawyer who was representing a Palestinian client in Chicago pre-9/11 said something telling to me in this regard: "Muslims are the new Nâ¦ers of America. If you will not fight for yourself, no one will."

He's right. But Muslim complaints about Islamophobia continue to be dismissed. More than one fourth of all American Muslims surveyed by more than one public opinion organization stated that they have personally experienced Islamophobia or know someone who has. Over 200,000 American Muslims have been subjected to some kind of law enforcement activity since 9/11. At least 15,000 Muslims have been detained or arrested since that tragedy. Over 16,000 were either deported or are in the process of deportation. The Council on American-Islamic Relations annually issues reports about the state of Muslim civil rights in the United States. Harrowing tales of anti-Muslim discrimination on the job, at schools, stores, restaurants and on the streets fill these publications. The case of Capt. James Yee is a disturbing example of how American Muslims even in positions of authority and respect must endure Islamophobia publicly at the hands of our own government.

It is due to Islamophobia fanned by government policies and a media frenzy that a majority of Americans continue to hold negative opinions of Islam and Muslims. And a few thousand bin Laden terrorists contribute to authenticate this negative image. Forty-four percent of Americans queried in a Cornell national poll favor curtailing some liberties for Muslim Americans.

Over half of schoolchildren in the Australian city of Victoria view Muslims as terrorists, and two out of five agree that Muslims "are unclean", a survey has revealed.

Islamophobia is older than 9/11 and is based on ongoing ignorance
The fear and hatred of all things Islamic can be traced much farther back than 9/11. Edward Said's landmark book "Orientalism" outlined how European colonial masters viewed their Muslim subjects with disdain and disgust. This attitude continues to characterize the discipline today. That view of Muslims as bloodthirsty, misogynist and violent savages persists. It is furthered by Bernard Lewis, America's top Orientalist, and his neoconservative students, a number of whom are the architects of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In the 1980s, funding was cut throughout the United States for programs that attempted to understand other peoples and nations. With the fall of the former Soviet Union in 1991 and the establishment of America as the world's sole superpower, a fair amount of arrogance towards the rest of the world pervaded America's dealings with other countries and continues to do so.

The barring of Yusuf Islam in 2004 and Tariq Ramadan in 2005 from the United States are examples of how we are not only closing our borders to Islam but opening them to Islamophobia. Even worse, we are closing our minds. As Diana Eck, President of the American Academy of Religion wrote in the Boston Globe on February 2, 2006 about the Ramadan case, "Denying us face-to-face access to scholars and theologians who contribute to critical reflection on the religious currents of our world is an intolerable impoverishment of the academic enterprise." The Academy is currently suing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff for barring Ramadan entry into the US.

Islamophobia harms all of us
In my four interfaith interactions in the last two months, I have met a whole lot of very nice people. But I was surprised to find at almost each event I attended, one or two Islamophobic people who seemed to have a high dose of Fox News in their system. I listened to them and prayed for them instead of responding to them.

Like racism and anti-Semitism, Islamophobia hurts all of us. In America, it is eroding our civil liberties. In Europe, it is further isolating minority communities and inflaming latent xenophobia. It is perpetuating the neocon wish for a "clash of civilizations" at a time when no country in the world, Muslim or not, can afford it politically, economically or otherwise. Just ask the Danish dairy industry how Islamophobia has hurt its business.

Islamophobia is responsible for torture. Islamophobia is responsible for the grave misunderstandings that only serve to perpetuate hatred and demonization.

Perhaps we need to learn from Canada, where hate speech is banned despite the guarantee of free speech in the country's constitution.

Islamophobia is today's accepted form of racism. It will require Muslims to fight hard against it. Muslims are neither solely responsible for its creation, nor will they be able to fight it on their own. It is a collective responsibility for all bridge-builders of the world.

Let us today take a stand to end all kinds of fear and hatred of "the other."

I read this article on the following webstie: http://soundvision.com/info/racism/islamophobia.asp, and I liked to share it with you.

Re: I want to know what you think of gays

Za-Zen — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 16:00:23 GMT

I'd like to comment on the post of Guest of March 25th.

I respect your honesty with your telling us your story. Even across monitors, the pain and anguish you went through most have been horrible, especially from your family background. You must have felt even more alone and separated from your family.

You loved her for 7 years. At 15, most teenagers make a big deal if they remain together for 6 months let alone. I'm trying to imagine how you felt during that time. The unmistakable feeling of love for her, and the unrelenting feeling of guilt associated with that love. You used the word struggle very appropriately.

After reading your post, I could only wonder, was all that anguish necessary?

I disagree with Alex on the point of trying to pigeon-hole someone's sexuality in box. Someone was considers themself straight can fall in love with someone of the same-sex, eventually and maybe later on, fall in love with someone of the opposite sex later on. Someone who sees themselves as gay, may also fall in love unexpected with someone of the opposite, but still feel more attraction towards people of their own gender. Basically my arguement is, you fall in love with, whoever you fall in love with, beyond gender.

Maybe with her, it might have been just a one-off, or maybe it might happen again too, and she still might be for the most part attracted to men, if this is the case. I don't know to whom she's attracted to more - or even if she can honestly answer it herself. However, if she manages to find love and happiness with a man - so be it. I just saddens me that you may be closing yourself to possibly greater peace of mind and happiness because of denying something that may be so basic in you. I'm also curious as to whether you find yourself looking more at men or women.

It saddens me because it seems that you had something special with her, I can only wonder if your relationship would have bloomed further if it had been given a chance. I'm not referring to something physical or sexual - I'm talking about intimacy and trust.

I get the feelings that what brought about your viewpoint that homosexuality is wrong is your religion. If you want to stick by your particular brand of religion, it is your choice which ought to be respected. If you feel that your abstaining from your feelings will save your soul - so be it.

Others who can be equally religious and dedicated feel that they are living their religion and still be happy with their same-sex partner and save their soul. It is up to you ultimately - your happiness is at stake.

"My belief: homosexuality is not a choice but rather is a test(and not everybody is facing this same test), to see if we are able to judge what is right and what is wrong, to judge what's the best thing for us, and then to follow the judgement, not our desires. it might not be as easy for everybody else as it had been for me, but i think the first step is to want to be better. we have only one life and i believe everybody want it be the best life lived. "

I agree with what you're saying here - but through that same reasoning, I come to a different conclusion. One has to see how one will live their life most fruitfully, a life with as little regrets as possible. It might not be easy, but one knows that is the best way, for oneself at least. The desire to not be different from the rest of society is won over by the judgement that one has to be honest, at least with oneself. That is when people realise I am the way I am and I'm not going to shy away from myself any longer.

Even when people reach that stage - internalised homophobia is still there. The attitudes and beliefs instilled from when we were young remain with us. That gays are sick, paedophiles, freaks, sinful creatures abhored by God (which is not quite correct at least Biblically), that gay men or lesbians act or behave in certain ways. The stereotype is still there and affects gay people. When coming to terms, its hard as one knows that they are none of things.

1 + 1 = 2. Most definately. But some people prefer not to work with that particular formula. Some may prefer 0.5 + 0.5 = 1, or which is equally true, honest and just. That formula may lead them to growth possibly, not that 1 + 1 = 2. There aren't even 2 forumalae but a multitude of them.

Good luck with your choices - may you be happy and never regret them no matter what they may be.

Za-Zen

Re: Whom was given the book?

MrPedantic — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 02:06:45 GMT

Hello Casi

I would read them as follows:

1. To whom was the child given?
IO aux S pp

2. To whom was who given?
IO aux S pp

3. To whom was whom given?
IO aux S! pp

4. Whom was given (to) whom?
S! aux pp IO

where S! = hypercorrection (*).

The mild panic is fear-of-no-subject ('anonomastikophobia'?) bubbling over. By the time you reach 'given', you know the chances of finding one are pretty slim.

MrP

Re: To whom/whom

MrPedantic — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 12:20:19 GMT

Hello Paco

'To + whom?' as 'clarification where object and indirect pronouns are indistinguishable' is quite persuasive.

Your comment on the fact that 'whom?' originally derives from the dative (rather than 'hwane'/'hwone') makes me wonder whether that's why English native speakers have such resistance to it.

Obviously 3-year-old ENLs don't know the history of the word; but I doubt whether many mothers would say 'whom can you see? is it Daddy?' to their arm-waving infants. (And 800 years makes whom-ophobia a lot younger than arachnophobia.)

I think I could live with 'whom? ~ wem?', with a little practice; whereas 'whom? ~ wen?' has always troubled me.

MrP

Re: Longest word in the english language?

seyfihoca — Sat, 22 Jan 2005 10:31:52 GMT

and to sum up:

THE LONGEST WORDS IN ENGLISH

â¢ According to the Guinness Book of World Records, 18th edition, the following word is the longest chemical word for C1289H2051N343O375S8. Methionylglutaminy...serine is a scientific name for tryptophan synthetase, which is made up of 267 amino acids. It has appeared written down a number of times and has 1,909 letters.
The full name is:
methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginy

llysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalyl

prolylphenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysyl

isoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycyl

isoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglutaminyla

sparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutamin

ylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthre

onylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphenylalanylasp

araginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalyl

glycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylph

enylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisoleucylphenylala

nylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleu

cylalanylseryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycylvalylthre

onylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylala

nyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylg

lycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanyla

lanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhisti

dylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalany

lvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine

â¢ pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (a lung disease caused by the inhalation of
â¢ Honorificabilitudinitatibus
â¢ Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
â¢ contraneoantidisestablishmentarianalistically
â¢ The technical term for "Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Dahlemense Strain" is the current official longest word:
â¢ Antidisestablishmentarianism (a movement opposed to the separation of church and state)
o -disestablishment- - the separation of Church and State (specifically in this context it is the political movement of the 1860s in Great Britain)
o disestablishment-arian - a person in support of the movement designed to bring about the above (hereafter called the 'first' movement).
o anti-disestablishment-arian - a person belonging to the movement opposed to the first movement.
o neo-anti-disestablishment-arian - a person belonging to the new version of the movement opposed to the first movement. (Appropriate because in this context the original antidisestablishment movement had become defunct).
o contra-neo-anti-disestablishment-arian - a person belonging to the movement opposed to the new version of the movement opposed to the first movement.
o contra-neo-anti-disestablishment-arian-alistically - behaving in the manner of a person belonging to the movement opposed to the new version of the movement opposed to the first movement.
o pseudo-contra-neo-anti-disestablishment-arian-alistically - false behaviour in the manner of a person belonging to the movement opposed to the new version of the movement opposed to the first movement.
o pro-pseudo-contra-neo-anti-disestablishment-arian-alistically - in favour of the false behaviour in the manner of a person belonging to the movement opposed to the new version of the movement opposed to the first movement.
â¢ Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (85 letters) which is a hill in New Zealand.
â¢ Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the famous name of a town in Wales in the United Kingdom.
â¢ The longest station name in the UK, at 68 letters, is: Gorsafawddacha'idraigodanheddogleddollÃ´npenrhynareurdraethceredigion which was contrived to beat the Welsh Town.
â¢ The longest place name in the United States (45 letters) is Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.
â¢ The longest hyphenated name in the U.S. is Winchester-on-the-Severn, a town in Maryland.
â¢ Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - is the fear of long words (36 letters long).
â¢ Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk. Appearing on the first page, it allegedly is the symbolic thunderclap representing the fall of Adam and Eve.
â¢ "Twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbun" was used in a McDonald's Restaurant advertisement.
â¢ Floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of esteeming or describing something as worthless, or making something to be worthless by said means.
â¢ sesquipedalianism means "the practice of using words one and half feet long".
â¢ otorhinolaryngological (22 letters),
immunoelectrophoretically (25 letters),
psychophysicotherapeutics (25 letters),
thyroparathyroidectomized (25 letters),
pneumoencephalographically (26 letters),
radioimmunoelectrophoresis (26 letters),
psychoneuroendocrinological (27 letters)
hepaticocholangiogastrostomy (28 letters),
spectrophotofluorometrically (28 letters),
pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters).
â¢ In Voltaire's Candide, Pangloss is supposed to have given lectures on metaphysico-theologo-cosmonigology (34 letters).
â¢ Greek words, and the Latin equivalents; osteosarchaematosplanchnochondroneuromuelous (44 letters) and osseocarnisanguineoviscericartilaginonervomedullary (51 letters), which translate roughly as 'of bone, flesh, blood, organs, gristle, nerve, and marrow'.
â¢ praetertranssubstantiationalistically (37 letters), used in Mark McShane's Untimely Ripped (1963), and aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic (52 letters), attributed to Dr Edward Strother (1675-1737).
â¢ The formal names of chemical compounds are almost unlimited in length (for example, aminoheptafluorocyclotetraphosphonitrile, 40 letters).
â¢ Pneumonoultramicroscpicsilicovolcanoconiosis
â¢ Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwe
â¢ Krungthepmahanakornamornratanakosinmahintarayutthayamahadilokphopnopparatrajathaniburiromudo

mrajaniwesmahasatharnamornphimarnavatarnsathitsakkattiyavisanukamprasit
in Thailand which is a whopping 163 characters long so long that it doesn't even fit on one line! However whilst the New Zealand place name is recognised by the Guiness Book of Record, the Thailand name is not.
â¢ fluvialgeomorphologicaldendrochronology

in turkish we have: hassasiyetsizlestiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmisiniz

which more or less means "are you from those whom we will not be able to make sensitive to ...?

Story of a mother

sur — Fri, 01 Aug 2003 10:26:04 GMT

This story will give an insight into the struggle and all the possible odds one has to face, especially in the developing country, where somtimes struggle assumes the form of determination.

with love to all

sur

Story of a mother

âHello Maâam,â I was surprised to see a young gentleman in his late 20s greeting me. I had never seen the caller, but still I responded his greeting with a smile, but my eyes were on my son, who was making fuss over his food.
He introduced himself, â I am Dr. Narayan, from school of Naval Medicine.â For me he also was one of the doctors from one of those polyclinics so I gave a nod without registering any other details in my mind.
I was preoccupied with my son, who was testing my patience, the more I was coaxing him to eat his food, the more he was irritating me. Not knowing what to do at that moment, I gave up, and started looking for my husband. I was wondering where he could be, how I will search for him in this crowd, at least he or my mother anybody around, so I can go and leave the table and wash my fingers.
It was one of our relativesâ wedding. Normally I donât take my son out for the functions because of his fussy attitude towards food, and being âa slow learnerâ he had a problem communicating with people, but sometimes one has to compromise also.
âMay I help you maâam?â I heard Dr. Narayan asking me, sensing my plight. More then willing I accepted his help and requested him to look after my son for a few minutes till I leave the table and wash my fingers.
I was surprised to see Ani, my son, engrossed with Dr. Narayan and making some small talk, a boy, who would not like to talk to any unknown person, is laughing at some joke!
âMaâam, at what age did your son have the surgery?â - a question that struck me hard, but seeing that sympathetic look in his eyes, and genuine concern in his voice as if mesmerized, my stern, stiff attitude melted and words started flowing.
â At the age of 7 months, he underwent retinoblastoma surgery, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Due to that his physical as well as mental growth suffered, we put him on growth hormone treatment for three years, and being a slow learner he is going in a special school, there they have to learn special syllabus.â
âWhy donât you give him HBOT treatment?â He said. âA what treatment?â I asked. I was alarmed, cautiously I told the gentleman, âyou see, I have to talk to my husband and my childâs doctor also; if they permit, then I can think of the treatment you have suggested.â
Hearing this he gave me his phone number and address and said I can call him any time to get further information about the treatment, and if I have a computer then I can surf the net and get the details. He warned me âyour doctors may not know about itâ. At this comment I didnât know how to react, so I thanked him and bid him good-bye.
On the way back I told my husband. He said ask Aniâs doctor, if he knows and if he feels it is useful for him, then give him the treatment. When I contacted Aniâs pediatric, his first question was âwhat is it?â and âhey think twice before you get into itâ. I was wondering whom to ask.
I thought might as well ask Dr. Narayan. Tell him to explain what it is and how one gives this treatment. I called on him and a typical âman-in-uniformâ response came. With polite conversation came a suggestion, why not to go to their center and see by my self, not only that âhave a word with our seniors, and surely all your doubts will be cleared; after that, if you feel confident, your son can be treated.â
Armed with all the medical papers and possible questions, I went to the HBOT center with my neighborâs son, an intern in a government hospital. Thus started my introduction to one more therapy.
They took me to the âchamberâ, where a person âbreathesâ 100% pure oxygen! ! !
You must be wondering - we all breathe Oxygen, but there is a difference in our breathing and this breathing. Like we use only 2 to 3 % of our brain, our lungs only breathe 21% oxygen in the air. Hence oxygen getting into our body is not 100%.
It was a cylindrical chamber. Inside 6 people can sit and breathe 100% pure oxygen with masks, or - if child is very small â through a hood. Once patients are made comfortable inside, with trained attendant keeping a watchful eye on all the patients, the chamber is sealed.
Gradually, the air pressure is increased. Patients start breathing pure oxygen at the one and half or two atmospheric level. Which means, our body comes under the pressure which is one and half time or twice more then our normal atmosphere level. Oxygen breathed at this level turns into medicine/drug and helps wounds to heal. After about an hour or one and half hours, the patient comes out of the chamber, all sweating, thirsty and little tired, but with lots of life giving oxygen!
I was wondering how this will help my son, and worried too. With great difficulty we have brought him to this level where he manages his own affairs, plays tabla, does his homework, but with problems in simple mathematical calculations, and being a âfussy eaterâ, he loves to drink his food rather than chew it.
Doctors around assured me: âMaâam, assume your child is at a 50% level, donât worry he will not go down to 40 or 35%; but we can assure you he will surely go to 65 to 70 % level of function, but donât expect improvement to 100% normalcy.â
I was more than willing to take a chance, if my son could go to 70% level and start eating solids, start doing âsimple mathematics, start understanding abstract concepts â like what is today, what is tomorrow.â
Thus began a new treatment for my son and a new quest for me to find out more about the treatment: Who can use it, how does it work, where is it available, etc.
Let me tell you one thing - I am not a doctor, I am a mother of a âspecial childâ who needs attention all the time, who has to be taught to do certain things, and this article is just to inform people at large and parents of âspecial need childrenâ in particular: Please donât feel shy in accepting that you have a special child. Once you accept this, then it becomes easy for you to access the doctors to help your child. Think along this line too: âAfter you are gone, how will your child manage?â A little improvement goes long way for these children.
With this treatment, a child who could not hold a cup may be able to hold a pen; a once autistic child may become more sociable and recognize people. A word of caution too: this is not the only possible treatment, but given in combination with other therapies, HBOT enhances the effect of other medicine.
As Dr. Arun Mukherjee of âUdanâ says:
âHBOT is like watering the parched earth of the brain. Watering alone does not give you a good crop to harvest.
You also need:
1.Good seed (intensive standard therapy with OT/PT/Special Education/Speech Therapy)
2.Good fertilizer to enhance cellular activity (Ayurvedic neuro-restorative drugs that enhance metabolism of the regenerating / recovering brain cells)
3.Good sunshine (Acupuncture to specific points that would stimulate the recovering brain areas to faster recovery)
4.Timely pruning (Botox nerve Block where intractable muscle spasm shows risk of causing permanent joint deformity)
Now let us see what the mechanism is which helps to heal the wounded tissue and briefly review the history of this therapy, and where in India this treatment is available.

âHYPERBARIC OXYGEN TREATMENTâ: âHyperâ means âgreaterâ and âBaricâ means âpressureâ, which means, HBO is a mode of therapy in which the patient breathes 100% pure oxygen at pressure greater than normal atmospheric (sea level) pressure.

It has long been known that healing cannot take place without appropriate oxygen levels in the tissues, where most illnesses and injuries occur and often linger. In many cases, such as in circulatory problems and strokes, adequate oxygen cannot reach the damaged area, and the bodyâs natural healing process does not function properly. HBOT can provide this extra oxygen naturally with virtually no side effects.
Hyperbaric works by dissolving much higher levels of oxygen than normal breathing does into body fluids, especially blood plasma. Usually, 95% of the bodyâs oxygen needs are transported by red blood cells, but this can be greatly reduced by injury or disease. When patient is placed in a chamber in which pure oxygen is delivered at one and half time greater than normal earthâs surface pressure, the amount of oxygen dissolved in other body fluids that reaches the brain is about six times that of normal respiration.
Several beneficial mechanisms are associated with intermittent exposure to the HBO treatment. In combination with other medical and surgical procedures this treatment enhances the healing process.
The method and its technology was originally developed by the military for diving operations, decompression sickness and air embolism.
First documented use of Hyperbaric Therapy actually precedes the discovery of Oxygen. Oxygen was discovered in 1775 by Joseph Prestly, whereas British physician Henshaw used compressed air for medical purposes in 1662. The chamber was called â Domiciliumâ, with pressure provided by a pair of large bellows.
There was no further development in the field of hyperbaric oxygen for another two centuries.
In 1837 Pravaz made the largest chamber. The first hyperbaric chamber in North America came in 1860 at Oshava, Canada. Cunningham built a chamber in Kansas city in 1920 to treat neurological diseases, but due to mechanical failure all his patients died.A mobile chamber was developed by Fontane in 1877 for surgery.
If the history of the treatment dates back to 1662, then after these many centuries why it is not used so extensively and why are very few doctors getting involved in setting up of the chambers? These are natural questions, which will come to anybodyâs mind after reading the usage of it. Before we find out the answer to the questions let us see which all indications can be treated with the HBOT.
A I R O R G A S E M B O L I S M: This occurs when air bubbles enter arteries, veins and/or capillaries. This results in reduced blood flow and poor oxygen delivery to the areas supplied by the affected circulation. If not fatal, this air embolism can result in severe, long-standing and irreversible physical and emotional disabilities. Paralytic limbs, impaired vision, brain, heart, lung and other organ damage, leading to severe disabilities, requiring maximum medical care.
Hyperbaric oxygen has been shown to reduce the size of bubbles and drives the remaining gas into physical solution, while the high oxygen pressure washes out inert gas from the bubble. When bubbles are resolved, blood flow resumes. Poorly oxygenated tissues then receive higher levels of oxygen delivery. Once the blood flow resumes with more oxygen, swollen tissues will start healing and local swelling also will subside.
Thus HBOT treatment is the primary treatment for Air embolism. Apart from this other indications are: Carbon Monoxide poisoning, Gas Gangrene, Crush Injury, Decompression Sickness, Arterial Gas Embolism, Enhancement of Healing in Selected Problem Wounds -(this includes diabetic feet / compromised amputation sites / non healing traumatic wounds and vascular insufficiency ulcer, all these indications share the common problem of tissue hypoxia - that is low tissue oxygen level - usually related to impaired circulation), Exceptional Blood Loss (anemia), Intracranial Abscess, Soft Tissue Infections, Refractory Osteomyelitis, Skin Grafts, Thermal Burns, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Migraine, Cerebral Edema, Coma, etc.
Oxygen, when breathed under increased atmospheric pressure, is a potent drug. But this can produce noticeable toxic effects if administered indiscriminately, and it may be a problem in the presence of certain indications, such as: Untreated Tension Pneumothorax, Cold and Cough, Emphysema, A symptomatic Pulmonary Lesions, Thoracic or Ear Surgery, Uncontrolled High Fever, Claustrophobia, etc.
After seeing the indications where HBOT can be used and contra indications where HBOT should not be used, let us examine why doctors rarely recommend the therapy, and why usually doctors themselves are not aware of this treatment, how it works and how it may help their patients.
First of all, doctors are rarely taught about hyperbaric oxygen therapy in medical colleges and therefore most donât know about it. Sometimes this therapy does get mentioned in the syllabus, but it stops at that level. Since it is expensive to provide hyperbaric chamber facilities, medico students donât have access to the treatment know how. So it is obvious - what a physician doesnât know he will not prescribe, and thus the most useful treatment remains unnoticed, unused.
How many chambers are being used around the world? Armed forces, especially the Navy, is using HBOT chambers - both monoplace, that is single person, and multi-place, where 4 to 6 or more patients can be treated at one time. Approximate figures show China and Russia have the most HBOT chambers â around 3000 each, which includes navy as well as civilian population chambers. South Korea has 4.9 chambers per one million population, whereas Russia has only 3.6. In the United States there are around 500 chambers and every year this number is increasing by about 30 chambers, both monoplace or multiplace. Australia and Germany have only multiplace chambers, whereas Japan prefers monoplace units. In USA, about 10,000 patients per day are treated with HBOT, and insurance coverage is provided for 13 indications. However, China and Russia are allowing insurance coverage for 40 to 70 indications.
Now - where does India stand with this therapy? Well, India has total of 16 chambers, out of which 9 chambers are with Indian Navy. Mumbai has three operational chambers - one with Kasturba Hospital, which is monoplace, another with Mumbai Port Trust Hospital that too is monoplace and one multiplace with INHS Aswini Hospital of Indian Navy.Apart from this New Delhi has one in Apollo Hospital and one in Banglore City. Considering the population of India, this figure is highly inadequate.
You must be wondering how my child has benefited and progressed, and how we managed to cope with this treatment.
After 30 sessions - one hour each for 30 days - we have noticed changes in Ani. He has started eating solids, he has become more expressive in his feelings - likes dislikes are clearly conveyed. Simple mathematical calculations, which were very difficult for him, are coming along easier, but he is yet to get hold of the abstract concepts like âtoday and tomorrowâ, which is a bit complex for him. But I am confident after more rounds of the treatment he will be able to understand that too.
Well, for the parents of normal children these things may not make any sense. However, those who understand the traumatic situation of dealing with âspecial needs childrenâ will realize: the gift of a small progress in your child is nothing short of a miracle. For a Cerebral Palsy or otherwise brain-injured child, if this child can manage to hold a glass of water by himself, this is a great achievement for the child and a relief for the parents. When an autistic child, normally a loner, improves and becomes little more socially active, then the parents will be more relaxed.
Dr. Paul Harch, one of the well known authorities on HBOT has treated a number of children with various ailments, and states, âthe results of the treatment is so encouraging that it is going to change the entire landscape of traumatic brain injury treatment, HBOT has change my career and life.â
Let me tell you we are not so fortunate that every city has these chambers and we can treat our children there. If in the advanced countries, parents of these children they have come forward to establish these facilities, then why not in India?
It was the courtesy extended by the School of Naval Medicine to treat the patients from outside armed forces, but they have their own charter to follow, where priorities are clearly defined. Surely, with their guidance and support, parents groups can establish such centers in the various cities of India.
To get more information please use any search engine (like Yahoo or Google) on the net and type in the word âhbotâ or âhyperbaricâ and you will be surprised to see the data available. Make sure you find a reputable website, because you may find some site which talks about âhow to stop the aging processâ. Look for sites that talk about HBOT for Cerebral Palsy and Brain Injury, Autism,Coma and Stroke.
If even one parent of a âspecial needs childâ accepts the reality and becomes actively involved in this treatment for their child, I will feel that my job is done. My E-mail Id is âsur52@yahoo.comâ.
Thank you.
Ref: any search engine on the internet (Yahoo search engine has almost 19,500 web sites listed).*www.hbot4u.com.
*www.hyperbarics.org.*http://www.netnet.net/mums/index.htm