Hello, I'm Agatha
Thrash, a staff physician
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from Uchee Pines Institute
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We have a topic for you today
that I KNOW you will enjoy!
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It's about various of the
precious structures we have
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in the head and neck, the
eyes, the ears, and so forth...
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So we invite you to join us
on "Help Yourself to Health"
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Welcome to "Help
Yourself to Health"
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with Dr. Agatha Thrash
of Uchee Pines Institute
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And now, here's
your host, Dr. Thrash
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I suppose there are a
hundred structures in the body
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that I have told my students...
this is the most marvelous
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structure in ALL the human body.
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And sometimes, when I
think about the human ear,
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I think THIS is most marvelous
structure in all the human body
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But then I look at the eye,
and I say, "No, this is the most
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marvelous structure
in all the human body. "
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And then I look at
just a hair, or a tooth...
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"No, this is the most marvelous
structure in ALL the human body"
00:01:21.75\00:01:25.68
Then I look at
the human placenta...
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"This is the most
marvelous structure"
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...Or the hand, this is
the most marvelous structure.
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We are just filled
with priceless structures.
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The one that I'd like to
start talking with you about
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is that of the human ear...
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And I have a
plastic model for you.
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This plastic model is not
alive, it doesn't even feel like
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tissue... you know,
it's not compressible.
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It's just a model, and yet,
this model is very intricate
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and you will see that there
are some things about this model
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that are quite
interesting to see.
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They, of course,
will show you things
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that look just like
what we have that are real...
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The ear... here is the external
ear, and then here is the
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external ear canal...
this little canal right here
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And what is this that we see
down at the end of the canal?
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Well there it
is... it's the eardrum.
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The eardrum is
stretched completely across
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the external ear canal,
so that no water could get
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down in THIS chamber.
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This chamber is the middle ear.
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This is the external ear.
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This is the middle ear.
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And back here is
the internal ear.
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Just past the eardrum, we
come to an air-filled chamber
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This chamber is
called the middle ear.
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It is this part
that gets infected a lot.
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And here is the Eustachian
tube... just a little part of it
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It, of course, goes down
here like this, comes down
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and if you're very observant
when you go up in an airliner,
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you will feel that a little
bubble of air will exchange
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way down here, at the
place where this Eustachian tube
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goes down into the
palate, back in the pharynx,
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back in the back
part of the throat...
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Then in here, in this
chamber, there are the hammer,
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anvil and stirrup and the
little stirrup ends right there
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on a membrane which puts us
in touch with the internal ear.
00:03:40.83\00:03:46.01
The internal ear is
now a fluid-filled chamber
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...This is
air-filled, this is air-filled,
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but back here,
this is fluid-filled.
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And the reason that
it's fluid-filled is because
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these structures are
extremely delicate...
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There are extremely delicate
hairs that string across
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this little rounded part
which is called the cochlea,
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little hairs that are so
delicate, they can hardly
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even be seen with
an ordinary microscope
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and they're like a
harp... there are short ones,
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and long ones, and they
resonate, or they vibrate
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As we hear various pitches,
they will resonate either
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a very high pitch, or a
very low pitch depending on
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whether the little thread... the
little ALMOST invisible thread
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which connects to
the nervous system...
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whether it is very
short, or very long.
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Now interestingly enough,
these structures can be damaged
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by the magnitude of the sounds.
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If they are too loud, then
when they resonate with these
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tiny, delicate structures, then
they're likely to damage those
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and when they damage
them, we may become deaf...
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at least for
that particular tone.
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So people get deafness
either for high-pitched tones,
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or low-pitched tones, and
most of us, as we get older,
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we lose some of these pitches.
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But then, in addition to
what we hear, there are also
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the very precious
semicircular canals...
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And here they are right here.
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And if you'll notice carefully,
they go in all directions
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...so there is no way that the
head can turn... this way, or
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that way, or in any direction
that it won't set up movement
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in some portion of
the semicircular canal...
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And there are also, tiny,
little threads connected to
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our nerves of balance
in the brain that tell us
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exactly where we are
and exactly how we move...
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whether we move this way,
or this way, or that way...
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There is no way we can
move that we can't sense that
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by these very
delicate structures.
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I am just AMAZED at the
ENGINEERING of this very
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common structure.
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We're always talking
about a middle ear infection
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We don't realize the
PRECIOUSNESS of the structures
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that are involved in
that because it's so common
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because most everybody is
getting a middle ear infection
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at some time in their life,
and we just don't even think
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about how
precious these things are.
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Now out here, in
the external canal,
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sometimes things
can get wedged out here.
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The wax that we produce
can get wedged out there,
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or some kind of
foreign body can get in there,
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and can get wedged in
there, and sometimes that
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requires some very special help.
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And Don Miller, is going to
talk with you a little bit about
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ears, and talk with you about...
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Are you going to talk with
us about irrigation of the ears?
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I'm going to talk
about irrigation of the ears.
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Very good... that will help
us to know just how we can get
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things out of there! Yes,
that's very important to know.
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You know the old
saw, as we grew up...
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"We should never put
anything smaller than our elbows
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in our ears"... and I remember
as a child, trying to figure out
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how do you do this... trying
to get that elbow in my ear.
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And I really missed the point.
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We shouldn't put, really,
anything in our ears without
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really
knowledge of how it works.
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You look back in the old
days when men used to use
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muzzleloader rifles and
they would put stuff down the
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barrel and
they'd pack it down...
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and the purpose was to pack
it down there and we'd call it
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packing the charge.
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Many people,
they'd take that Q- tip,
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and they'd pack the charge.
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They just go in there and
they push and they push and push
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and because of the fact
that this external ear canal
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produces a waxy
substance, we can be pushing it
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and pushing it until finally we
have built up such a wall of wax
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that our hearing
capability is impaired...
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and so that needs
to be cleared out.
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...Or we might have
gotten something in our ear.
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I remember one time, I got
a little sweat bee, and it...
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I guess it was looking for a
way out and it went all the way
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back to that window... and
was trying to get through that
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little window called my eardrum
and it was driving me crazy.
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How do you get those things out?
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Well, I've asked Dr. Thrash's
granddaughter, Melissa Thrash,
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to help me... with
a little demonstration
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of some very easy equipment
that we have in our homes
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We're going to use something
as simple as a bulb syringe.
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Now, some people may have a
Waterpik at home and they make
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a special
adapter for the Waterpik
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...and it's a long, metal wand
you can do it with that, but
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for right now, we're
going to use something as simple
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as a bulb syringe...
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Whenever I go
anywhere in the world,
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I'll take a bunch of
these with me because I run into
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people with
problems in their ears.
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And so, what we're going
to do, is assume that Melissa
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has somehow gotten
something in her ear...
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perhaps impacted wax, or
an insect, or a foreign body
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and we want to get that out.
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Now I'm going to stress
something very important
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right now because you
may see this happen...
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Melissa is very sensitive
to having her ears touched.
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She's very ticklish.
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Whenever you are helping
somebody with a part of the
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body that's very ticklish,
sometimes if they can be a
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part of the
treatment, it will help.
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If nothing more than laying
their hand on the bulb itself
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...or their hand on your
hand, will help them sometimes
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with this particular sensation.
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We're going to
see if we can do it
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without having to go that far.
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So what we're going to
do is position her here so
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that you can see that
it's really happening there
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in your homes.
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We're going to take a basin.
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Now I like to use a
kidney dish but most of us don't
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have kidney dishes in
our home, so we'll use
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something that you might have.
00:09:48.80\00:09:49.84
This is nothing more
than a little red pitcher.
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And we're going to put
it underneath her ear...
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The purpose for that...
we're going to lean forward
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so we can see it pretty well
00:09:56.34\00:09:57.77
The reason for the
pitcher is to catch the water,
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but you see, also, we
have over her shoulder,
00:10:00.63\00:10:03.03
a towel because we're
going to be using water.
00:10:03.06\00:10:05.39
You take the bulb
syringe, and you take some water
00:10:05.42\00:10:08.80
and it should be
warm water, not hot water,
00:10:08.83\00:10:12.25
and certainly not cold water...
00:10:12.28\00:10:13.40
The cold water
would make her dizzy...
00:10:13.43\00:10:14.98
but warm water, perhaps
the temperature of her body
00:10:15.01\00:10:18.67
...now you have to understand
and I think all of you have had
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this experience when you have
those few times, put a Q-tip
00:10:21.93\00:10:24.63
back there... you just
touch the eardrum and it can be
00:10:24.66\00:10:28.35
exquisite pain and so the
idea certainly is not to put
00:10:28.38\00:10:32.02
this thing all the way in there
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and it's not to aim it back
there and give it a big blast
00:10:33.45\00:10:37.24
and blast the stuff out of
there because that would just
00:10:37.27\00:10:39.67
cause her pain...
00:10:39.70\00:10:40.91
And we don't want
to cause Melissa pain,
00:10:40.92\00:10:43.12
so what we want to do now is,
00:10:43.15\00:10:44.37
I'm going to come around behind
her so that you in the audience
00:10:44.40\00:10:47.76
can see this a little bit better
00:10:47.79\00:10:49.60
and I'm going to do
a couple of things...
00:10:49.63\00:10:51.38
#1... I'm going to
take the top of her ear
00:10:51.39\00:10:53.59
and sort of pull it up and
out which will straighten up the
00:10:53.62\00:10:57.18
external ear canal, then
I will take the bulb syringe
00:10:57.21\00:11:00.96
which I've already
filled with the warm water
00:11:00.99\00:11:02.95
and I will place
it in her ear canal,
00:11:02.98\00:11:06.42
aimed either up or
back, but not straight in
00:11:06.45\00:11:09.43
and I will give it a
soft push, so that it's not
00:11:09.46\00:11:13.12
blasting the water
out, but it's going in there
00:11:13.15\00:11:15.23
enough to dislodge
anything wax, bugs, popcorn,
00:11:15.24\00:11:20.13
whatever might be in
her ears right now...
00:11:20.16\00:11:22.09
and just give it a
nice steady stream...
00:11:22.12\00:11:26.92
That wasn't so
bad, was it, Melissa?
00:11:26.95\00:11:29.12
And you would do this
a number of times until
00:11:29.15\00:11:32.67
basically the
problem was over...
00:11:32.70\00:11:34.68
And it's quite painless, it's
quite enjoyable, quite frankly
00:11:34.71\00:11:37.97
Now, if ever the
situation becomes that it's just
00:11:38.00\00:11:41.57
too hard and too impacted,
if it is something like wax,
00:11:41.60\00:11:44.73
what I would do is,
I would put some oil,
00:11:44.76\00:11:47.59
perhaps some
olive oil, warmed up,
00:11:47.62\00:11:50.09
back in her ear and
stick some cotton in and let it
00:11:50.12\00:11:52.53
sit there for a while
to loosen up the wax...
00:11:52.54\00:11:54.91
And if we did something like
that, she might have a whole
00:11:54.94\00:11:56.89
lot better time of
getting rid of the wax build up
00:11:56.92\00:12:00.53
in her ears, or the
bugs, whatever else.
00:12:00.56\00:12:02.79
I want to mention just one
other thing while I'm on this
00:12:02.82\00:12:06.25
subject, or we are
on this subject of ears,
00:12:06.26\00:12:08.13
and that is something
that I have suffered with
00:12:08.16\00:12:09.75
for quite a few years...
a thing called "tinnitus"
00:12:09.78\00:12:13.08
Tinnitus is a Latin word,
basically standing for "to ring"
00:12:13.09\00:12:18.06
as in a bell, and I've got it!
00:12:18.09\00:12:20.54
It doesn't sound like a
bell... I don't know what it
00:12:20.57\00:12:22.83
sounds like but
it's always there.
00:12:22.86\00:12:25.39
But I can TELL when
there's MORE of the tinnitus
00:12:25.42\00:12:28.88
and when there's
less of the tinnitus.
00:12:28.91\00:12:31.00
And what I need to do
is start finding out...
00:12:31.03\00:12:32.84
and I DO know some of
the things that causes
00:12:32.87\00:12:34.95
my tinnitus to
be much increased.
00:12:34.98\00:12:37.60
And one of those
things is stress.
00:12:37.63\00:12:39.44
Stress will even
bring on a case of tinnitus
00:12:39.47\00:12:43.88
and it's not that
you have it all the time.
00:12:43.91\00:12:45.89
Some people... as a
matter of fact, almost everyone
00:12:45.92\00:12:48.75
some time in their life,
Dr. Thrash, will have a case
00:12:48.78\00:12:51.27
of this particular problem. Yes
00:12:51.30\00:12:53.20
Many times it will go away...
00:12:53.23\00:12:54.76
Some of us, I'm
afraid, are stuck with it.
00:12:54.79\00:12:56.52
I'm afraid mine is as
the result of years and years
00:12:56.55\00:13:00.10
of abusing my ears
with loud noises...
00:13:00.11\00:13:03.28
I'm afraid I was in the
Marine Corps for many years
00:13:03.31\00:13:05.38
I fired a lot of
different weapons,
00:13:05.41\00:13:07.17
and it really
made a bad problem.
00:13:07.20\00:13:09.36
It can also be a food allergy.
00:13:09.39\00:13:10.95
It can be the wax in your ears.
00:13:10.96\00:13:13.24
It can be a
middle ear infection...
00:13:13.27\00:13:14.89
which we can work on by
putting some tea tree oil
00:13:14.92\00:13:16.90
on our finger and go
back there and rubbing that
00:13:16.93\00:13:19.23
outlet of the
Eustachian tube back in the
00:13:19.26\00:13:21.12
back of our throat.
00:13:21.15\00:13:22.69
A number of things will
help to reduce it, or cause it.
00:13:22.70\00:13:26.46
Diuretics will cause it, oral
contraceptives will cause it...
00:13:26.49\00:13:30.69
Aspirin is very
famous for causing it...
00:13:30.72\00:13:32.11
ASPIRIN is a BIG cause,
and, now that wasn't my problem
00:13:32.14\00:13:35.18
but I know that
one... I remember vividly
00:13:35.21\00:13:37.74
when I first got
it... I had a cold
00:13:37.77\00:13:40.10
And it was a head cold, and I
remember Dr. Calvin Thrash said,
00:13:40.13\00:13:45.60
"Do the Valsalva maneuver"
00:13:45.63\00:13:47.11
But by the time I told him
my problem, it was too late.
00:13:47.14\00:13:50.45
Basically, he said if I
would have held my nose and
00:13:50.48\00:13:52.92
done a little bit of blowing,
it might have short-circuited
00:13:52.95\00:13:55.46
the problem,
but since that cold,
00:13:55.49\00:13:57.90
probably 15 years ago, I
am never alone in a room.
00:13:57.93\00:14:02.21
There's always someone there...
Always have a ringing in the ear
00:14:02.25\00:14:04.05
Someone is ringing
that bell all the time.
00:14:04.30\00:14:06.42
Well ringing in the ears
is a very common problem..
00:14:06.45\00:14:11.46
And until recently, I had very
little that I could tell people
00:14:11.49\00:14:15.38
to do, except make
certain that they eat correctly,
00:14:15.41\00:14:18.88
and that they don't take
aspirin and coffee is known
00:14:18.91\00:14:22.96
to cause it, and too much
sugar is known to cause it.
00:14:22.99\00:14:25.39
But recently, I read an article
in a medical journal saying that
00:14:25.42\00:14:30.44
Coenzyme Q10
generally marketed under the
00:14:30.47\00:14:34.11
trade name of CoQ10, which
is a natural product can be
00:14:34.14\00:14:38.65
very helpful for
ringing in the ears.
00:14:38.68\00:14:40.50
So I've told a
few people that...
00:14:40.53\00:14:41.81
I don't think I've told
that to Don Miller yet, but...
00:14:41.84\00:14:43.92
I'm glad you
just did! I'll try it.
00:14:43.95\00:14:47.09
You could try that
and see if it does work.
00:14:47.12\00:14:50.04
Some people say that it will
reduce their ringing in the ears
00:14:50.07\00:14:53.19
by 90% or more.
00:14:53.22\00:14:54.91
So, it's very worthwhile.
00:14:54.94\00:14:56.74
You mentioned about loud noises
and when you travel to places
00:14:56.77\00:15:00.67
where there are loud
noises, always take some kind of
00:15:00.70\00:15:03.41
ear protector with you,
such as this little plastic
00:15:03.44\00:15:07.01
earplug... it's just a
very small thing and most people
00:15:07.04\00:15:10.60
have these around
their houses somewhere
00:15:10.63\00:15:13.76
And, if you use one of these,
all you have to do is just to
00:15:13.79\00:15:17.57
roll it in the
fingers until it's very small,
00:15:17.60\00:15:21.02
then you introduce this
into the ear, and you can see
00:15:21.05\00:15:25.43
that it doesn't take
long before it assumes its
00:15:25.46\00:15:27.51
original shape and
size, and so it does that
00:15:27.54\00:15:30.95
inside the ear canal and
that gives you a good seal
00:15:30.98\00:15:34.58
inside the ear canal.
00:15:34.59\00:15:36.22
Sometimes people will
take one this size and cut it
00:15:36.25\00:15:38.98
into two, and
that's one for both ears.
00:15:39.01\00:15:42.34
They also come like this...
00:15:42.35\00:15:44.50
Then probably the deluxe variety
of things to put on your ears
00:15:44.53\00:15:51.35
as ear protectors, are
these very nice ear protectors
00:15:51.38\00:15:54.62
and, if I'm running some
kind of loud equipment...
00:15:54.65\00:16:00.22
such as a blender in the kitchen
00:16:00.25\00:16:03.95
Any equipment that you run
that if you speak in a normal
00:16:03.98\00:16:08.48
soft voice, and
count... 1, 2, 3... if you can't
00:16:08.51\00:16:13.15
hear yourself saying that very
distinctly, then the noise is
00:16:13.16\00:16:17.08
too loud for you ears...
put on something like this.
00:16:17.11\00:16:19.92
This kind of thing rests
on my refrigerator and anytime
00:16:19.95\00:16:24.59
anyone is using a blender,
I always put this on them
00:16:24.62\00:16:27.49
so that I can be sure
that I feel good about
00:16:27.52\00:16:30.69
protecting their ears.
00:16:30.72\00:16:32.45
Now if a siren goes
past you, you should always
00:16:32.48\00:16:35.86
use these little flaps
that the Lord made for us
00:16:35.89\00:16:38.11
and just push those
over your ears this way.
00:16:38.14\00:16:41.13
Recently I was in a
motel where they happen to have
00:16:41.16\00:16:46.26
a fire drill just at that
time and I was speaking to
00:16:46.29\00:16:48.57
some ladies, and one of
the ladies had a little baby
00:16:48.60\00:16:52.58
...must have been
about 2 or 3 weeks old,
00:16:52.61\00:16:55.10
and I was very pleased to
see that when the bell went off,
00:16:55.13\00:17:00.50
she took her fingers and she
covered the little infant's ears
00:17:00.53\00:17:04.98
...recognizing that the little
infant was much more tender
00:17:04.99\00:17:07.90
than she, and so she
dealt with the infant,
00:17:07.91\00:17:12.99
and let her own ears
deal with the bell-ringing.
00:17:13.02\00:17:17.07
THIS is a VERY LOUD instrument!
00:17:17.10\00:17:20.64
And, a lot of people don't
realize that these can cause
00:17:20.67\00:17:24.06
bad hearing, and so
anytime that you plug this in,
00:17:24.09\00:17:28.01
always plug your ears
up, so that you can protect
00:17:28.04\00:17:31.93
yourself from the loss
of hearing that comes from
00:17:31.96\00:17:36.00
using this on a regular basis.
00:17:36.03\00:17:38.58
Sometimes people use
this on a daily basis
00:17:38.61\00:17:40.88
and, of course, using it
that frequently can cause
00:17:40.91\00:17:44.36
a serious problem.
00:17:44.37\00:17:46.20
Now, the next
WONDERFUL piece of equipment
00:17:46.23\00:17:49.48
that I want to show
you is the human eye...
00:17:49.51\00:17:53.78
And I take the
eye almost reverently.
00:17:53.81\00:17:57.40
It's just amazing how
complex this structure is.
00:17:57.43\00:18:02.19
And here I have
opened this model up...
00:18:02.22\00:18:04.56
and I'm showing you
something that's just a model.
00:18:04.59\00:18:07.95
And yet, even this little
model is very interesting.
00:18:07.98\00:18:12.81
Let me just show you
some of the features of it.
00:18:12.84\00:18:15.47
Here on the front, is
the lens, and this part
00:18:15.48\00:18:21.83
is the little lens
that I took out very easily.
00:18:21.84\00:18:25.42
If it gets cloudy, then
this little lens will need to be
00:18:25.45\00:18:30.20
taken out, and you
can see that it has a
00:18:30.23\00:18:33.21
sort of a shape
somewhat like a magnifying glass
00:18:33.24\00:18:41.94
and that's exactly what it is.
00:18:41.95\00:18:43.61
It is a lens and, if
it gets opaque in any way,
00:18:43.64\00:18:47.51
then you're going to
have to have it taken out.
00:18:47.54\00:18:49.96
That cataract can
cause you to have blindness
00:18:49.99\00:18:53.05
Cataracts are one of
the commonest causes...
00:18:53.08\00:18:55.64
the commonest cause of visual
disability in this country.
00:18:55.67\00:18:59.80
Now, on the very front is
the cornea and, then of course,
00:18:59.83\00:19:04.02
is the white
part... this is the sclera,
00:19:04.03\00:19:07.74
but then, there is the
iris, and this model has a nice
00:19:07.77\00:19:14.05
iris and you can see it
here... it's the colored part
00:19:14.08\00:19:17.97
that you can see...
right here, this part
00:19:18.00\00:19:21.83
And then, of course, the pupil,
everybody is familiar with
00:19:21.86\00:19:23.85
the iris and the pupil, and
then the sclera is this part.
00:19:23.88\00:19:28.97
So, just looking at the external
parts that we ordinarily see,
00:19:29.00\00:19:34.20
doesn't give us much of a
clue of what's on the inside.
00:19:34.23\00:19:37.81
Supporting the lens, is a
little system of ligaments,
00:19:37.84\00:19:45.27
and tiny muscles...
just unbelievably delicate
00:19:45.30\00:19:49.80
little muscles but they
open and close in response
00:19:49.83\00:19:54.13
to light... You
never had to tell the eye
00:19:54.16\00:19:56.72
"Now it's getting dim in
here, you need to open up,
00:19:56.75\00:19:59.50
so that I'm
able to see better. "
00:19:59.53\00:20:00.98
No, that never
happens... it always does that
00:20:01.01\00:20:03.83
just automatically.
00:20:03.86\00:20:05.49
And then on the inside of
the eye, we have the retina
00:20:05.52\00:20:08.81
and the retinal arteries.
00:20:08.84\00:20:11.08
The retina is this part
right here, and then there is a
00:20:11.11\00:20:15.85
vitreous that is a
body that fits there.
00:20:15.88\00:20:20.09
Now, you will not be able to
see it too well... but I have
00:20:20.12\00:20:22.72
pasted right here on
this, a little macula.
00:20:22.75\00:20:26.36
You see that
little dot right there?
00:20:26.39\00:20:28.19
Now this is the
optic nerve right there
00:20:28.22\00:20:32.45
with the blood
vessels that come in...
00:20:32.48\00:20:34.11
the portions of
the optic artery,
00:20:34.14\00:20:36.78
and then there is
the little macula...
00:20:36.81\00:20:40.74
Notice that the portions
of the ophthalmic artery
00:20:40.77\00:20:44.72
...they spread out but
they don't cover this part
00:20:44.75\00:20:48.29
where the macula is... there's
very little direct blood flow
00:20:48.30\00:20:53.58
to it because it has to have
a clear place there, over it,
00:20:53.61\00:20:58.80
it's the place where we
do the most delicate portion
00:20:58.83\00:21:02.84
of our focus... the macula,
00:21:02.87\00:21:05.44
and when the macula goes bad,
then that really is bad news
00:21:05.47\00:21:10.37
because the commonest cause
of blindness in this country
00:21:10.40\00:21:13.87
is macular degeneration.
00:21:13.88\00:21:16.60
It has even now gone
ahead of diabetic neuropathy,
00:21:16.63\00:21:21.93
or retinopathy as the cause
of blindness in this country.
00:21:21.96\00:21:27.18
And, Don Miller is going
to talk with you some about
00:21:27.21\00:21:30.19
macular
degeneration and some issues
00:21:30.22\00:21:34.48
having to do
with it... Don Miller
00:21:34.51\00:21:36.02
It's serious...
it really is serious.
00:21:36.05\00:21:39.21
I know people with
macular degeneration,
00:21:39.24\00:21:41.82
and basically what happens
is, you get that blind spot
00:21:41.85\00:21:44.79
right in the center.
00:21:44.82\00:21:46.06
Your peripheral vision
is okay because basically
00:21:46.09\00:21:49.31
your sight goes in and
it focuses on the macula
00:21:49.34\00:21:52.35
and that's right
there in the center...
00:21:52.38\00:21:54.16
your most important part
00:21:54.19\00:21:55.54
And the people that I
know with this problem,
00:21:55.57\00:21:58.08
they could be driving,
and some of them still drive,
00:21:58.11\00:22:00.14
they're driving down the street
but if they go into a shadow,
00:22:00.17\00:22:02.75
they really can't see
anything in the shadow.
00:22:02.78\00:22:04.99
They can see plenty of
things on the periphery,
00:22:05.02\00:22:07.15
but nothing in
that particular area.
00:22:07.18\00:22:09.22
Perhaps the best idea
at that point would be
00:22:09.25\00:22:10.97
to look to the side, so
that your eyes are pointing
00:22:11.00\00:22:14.55
in this direction and catch
things in the critical time
00:22:14.58\00:22:16.97
in the peripheral vision.
00:22:17.00\00:22:19.05
And they call it,
like Dr. Thrash has said...
00:22:19.08\00:22:21.95
it's the leading cause of
blindness in our country today.
00:22:21.98\00:22:25.37
It's called, not
just macular degeneration,
00:22:25.40\00:22:28.49
it's usually called "age-related
macular degeneration"
00:22:28.52\00:22:32.72
You rarely see it before 55
years of age, but after that,
00:22:32.75\00:22:35.84
it starts showing up into
the experiences of people.
00:22:35.87\00:22:39.15
You'll hear, for the most part,
that there is no cure for it.
00:22:39.18\00:22:44.71
They don't know
what causes it...
00:22:44.72\00:22:46.26
They don't know how to cure it.
00:22:46.29\00:22:47.44
But I do not believe that
there is an ailment, a disease,
00:22:47.47\00:22:51.39
a thing that harasses man
in this world that God does
00:22:51.42\00:22:55.36
not have a way to take care of.
00:22:55.39\00:22:58.00
Maybe not to completely
cure, although I even believe
00:22:58.03\00:23:01.31
it's there, but we
just haven't found that yet.
00:23:01.34\00:23:03.55
But I think what we're
seeing, because we've seen a
00:23:03.58\00:23:06.04
great rise in
macular degeneration,
00:23:06.07\00:23:08.48
what's causing the rise...
and if we can find out what's
00:23:08.51\00:23:11.96
causing the rise, we
might find out how to make
00:23:11.99\00:23:14.80
the rise go down.
00:23:14.83\00:23:16.43
There are certain
nutrients that we take into our
00:23:16.46\00:23:19.29
bodies, each day that can
stave off, or keep us from
00:23:19.32\00:23:25.95
making that macular
degeneration appointment,
00:23:25.98\00:23:28.76
but if we don't do those things,
00:23:28.79\00:23:30.93
we've got a solid
appointment with that.
00:23:30.97\00:23:32.62
There's been a study
showing that the risk of macular
00:23:32.65\00:23:36.61
degeneration falls by
82%... if we eat a diet
00:23:36.64\00:23:42.28
high in vitamin E.
00:23:42.31\00:23:44.03
So where do we get vitamin E?
00:23:44.04\00:23:45.50
Now, you can go out to
the store and buy it in little
00:23:45.53\00:23:47.59
gelcaps, but I would
recommend you eat whole grains,
00:23:47.62\00:23:50.70
and nuts... that's
where we find vitamin E.
00:23:50.73\00:23:53.80
What's society eating today?
00:23:53.83\00:23:56.31
It's eating highly refined
carbohydrates, eating a lot of
00:23:56.34\00:23:59.05
white bread, refined
wheats without the vitamin E.
00:23:59.08\00:24:02.43
When you refine it, the
vitamin E goes for a hike.
00:24:02.46\00:24:04.94
And so get back to
whole wheat foods and nuts
00:24:04.97\00:24:08.63
still in the shell...
take it out of the shell
00:24:08.66\00:24:10.65
and you'll be
getting plenty of vitamin E.
00:24:10.68\00:24:12.29
Another study
shows that 83% reduction
00:24:12.32\00:24:16.83
in macular degeneration or
the instance of receiving or
00:24:16.84\00:24:20.73
getting macular degeneration,
if you take omega-3
00:24:20.76\00:24:24.11
fatty acids... So where
do get omega-3 fatty acids?
00:24:24.14\00:24:27.21
We can get that from flaxseed...
00:24:27.24\00:24:29.12
I recommend for
everybody, no matter what your
00:24:29.15\00:24:31.72
problem is, every morning
you take about a tablespoonful
00:24:31.75\00:24:35.75
of flaxseed, grind it
and eat it right then.
00:24:35.78\00:24:39.73
You can sprinkle it over
your food... it's a very nice,
00:24:39.76\00:24:41.97
nutty flavor... Do NOT
grind it up for the week
00:24:42.00\00:24:45.47
in advance because we find
that flaxseed will go rancid
00:24:45.50\00:24:49.74
very bad, and then we
find that this rancid fat,
00:24:49.75\00:24:53.64
will cause, and rancid foods...
rancid fats of all types,
00:24:53.67\00:24:57.79
cause macular degeneration,
so we want some more
00:24:57.82\00:25:00.45
antioxidants in our food.
00:25:00.48\00:25:02.20
Antioxidants such as
your orange vegetables,
00:25:02.23\00:25:04.98
your yellow vegetables, and your
deep, green, leafy vegetables.
00:25:04.99\00:25:08.85
There are other
things it talks about...
00:25:08.88\00:25:11.20
You take things like
bilberry, and blueberries,
00:25:11.23\00:25:14.49
an herb called "eyebright"
00:25:14.52\00:25:16.23
...All of these things will help
00:25:16.26\00:25:17.49
As a matter of fact, if
you have macular degeneration,
00:25:17.52\00:25:20.14
my thoughts are you do
what would have kept you
00:25:20.17\00:25:22.64
from getting it
in the first place...
00:25:22.67\00:25:24.25
And I recommend, if you
have it right now, you eat
00:25:24.26\00:25:27.17
greens, especially things
like spinach 5 times a week.
00:25:27.20\00:25:30.73
This will arrest the
progress of macular degeneration
00:25:30.76\00:25:35.35
and perhaps even, by
God's grace, start doing some
00:25:35.38\00:25:38.78
backwards work on that plague
in our society today, Dr. Thrash
00:25:38.81\00:25:43.47
Yes, it is, indeed, a plague.
00:25:43.50\00:25:45.66
A surgeon friend of mine,
just became almost totally blind
00:25:45.69\00:25:49.58
He can hardly see anything
from macular degeneration,
00:25:49.61\00:25:53.31
and he's not elderly,
he's maybe in his early 70s.
00:25:53.34\00:25:58.11
So it was a serious problem.
00:25:58.14\00:26:00.14
His wife, also, seems
to be developing it now.
00:26:00.15\00:26:03.26
Another thing that people
have as an affliction with the
00:26:03.29\00:26:07.47
eyes is that of conjunctivitis.
00:26:07.50\00:26:10.13
That's the
membrane covering the eye...
00:26:10.16\00:26:13.89
And there's a very simple
little eye cup which you can
00:26:13.92\00:26:16.84
find in many places,
such as this little eye cup
00:26:16.87\00:26:20.68
that holds saline or some
other kind of nice irrigating
00:26:20.71\00:26:27.14
fluid for the eye.
00:26:27.17\00:26:28.62
So you just fill this
little cup with the saline,
00:26:28.65\00:26:32.60
then you just bend
over it in this way,
00:26:32.63\00:26:34.88
put it right up against the
eye, and, of course, if can't be
00:26:34.91\00:26:38.10
done with glasses on,
and then when the cup makes a
00:26:38.13\00:26:42.26
seal with the cheek and
the nose, and the eyebrow
00:26:42.29\00:26:48.52
above, then you just
begin to bat the eyes
00:26:48.55\00:26:51.55
in the saline that
you have here, and if it's
00:26:51.58\00:26:55.36
body temperature saline, then
it will feel quite comfortable.
00:26:55.39\00:26:59.27
And by doing this, you can do
it as often as every 15 minutes
00:26:59.30\00:27:03.26
if you have a very
serious problem with the eye
00:27:03.29\00:27:05.98
You can also wash some
kind of foreign body, or trash
00:27:06.01\00:27:11.66
from the eye using
an eye cup like this,
00:27:11.69\00:27:14.89
but its usual
use is in infections.
00:27:14.92\00:27:20.22
Now we have covered just a
few things having to do with
00:27:20.25\00:27:23.81
the eyes and the ears...
00:27:23.84\00:27:26.49
I hope that some of
the things we have told you
00:27:26.52\00:27:29.26
that you can do, will
help you to be able to take
00:27:29.29\00:27:32.29
more responsibility for
these very precious instruments
00:27:32.32\00:27:35.37
which the Lord has given us.
00:27:35.40\00:27:37.55
He has told us that
these are not our own...
00:27:37.58\00:27:40.24
these belong to Him.
00:27:40.27\00:27:41.94
They've been
bought with a price,
00:27:41.97\00:27:44.36
and the Bible instructs
us that we can care for these
00:27:44.39\00:27:47.75
wonderful things and
then we can give back to our
00:27:47.78\00:27:50.84
Heavenly Father,
His own with the usury.
00:27:50.87\00:27:53.73
May God richly bless you.
00:27:53.76\00:27:55.57