Could the role of a not so fully developed or underdeveloped diaphragm explain “involuntary breath holding” in infants and thus SIDS? I was fortunate in not becoming another statistic of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). My foster mom claims that one late evening I was too quiet, and she found me unresponsive and turning blue. Does the same mechanism affect both sides of this coin? There is a break point there, but the diaphragm is “held” in a state of complete relaxation instead of contraction. There is a counterpart to holding one's breath: expelling air completely and seeing how long one can go before inhaling. Eventually I was able to do so for almost four minutes. I found that if I floated face down and relaxed, I could flex my diaphragm muscles repeatedly to delay the urge to take a breath. Parkes, I was reminded that in 1958 I decided to see how long I could hold my breath underwater. On reading “The Limits of Breath Holding,” by Michael J. We now see that other salmonellae can produce the same long-term problems. Wilson reported patients developing swollen joints after typhoid infections in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery in May 1899. Keen in 1898 included joint infection during the illness, rheumatic typhoid arthritis and septic typhoid arthritis. The different types of joint problems following typhoid infection listed by surgeon William W. Pain and swelling of the joints may continue long after discharge and apparent recovery. Those of us who have worked in developing countries have seen, treated and followed up on patients with typhoid fever, a severe infection caused by Salmonella typhi. Correlation alone does not prove causality.Īffected joints after infection with Salmonella bacteria, reported by McKenna, are an old, but apparently forgotten, problem. Alternatively, those with a propensity for development of these medical conditions may have a heightened sensitivity to E. coli ingestion and, if not identified a priori, could later be perceived as a consequence of the exposure. For instance, a compromised excretory system could cause a more severe response to E. That conclusion assumes that there was no preexposure renal or circulatory dysfunction. Maryn McKenna does not mention controls for medical history in her article on evidence that foodborne pathogens cause lifelong consequences, “Food Poisoning's Hidden Legacy.” An elevated incidence of renal impairment and circulatory problems within six years after individuals suffered severe immediate symptoms of Escherichia coli ingestion, as compared with those suffering mild or no symptoms, does not prove their E.

Oxygen not included food poisoning