Anemia – An Emergency Like Situation In India That Needs Immediate Attention

If we go by latest statistics around anemia, then the news is surely bad because it says that almost 40% of the population in India Is Anemic. Anemia, as we all know is caused due lack of hemoglobin, a substance carries oxygen to the RBCs. Iron rich dark green leafy vegetables are the source of the essential nutrients required to fight anemia.

Even worse, the global nutrition report of 2017 shows India in the last spot which is worrisome for sure. Also another report of 2016, shows over 45% of female population in India is anemic and over 20% women are overweight.

Though, the government has been able to curb population of people living below extreme poverty lines from a humungous 306 million to 48 million. But, as far as curbing malnutrition is concerned, the government hasn’t been as much successful, despite efforts.

Even today Anemia is known to affect every second child in the country. There is not much decline in the condition over the past two decades. Even among the age group of 15 – 49 year olds, there isn’t any significant decline. This is an emergency situation as it seems and needs immediate attention.

The factors that are the real obstacles in the fight against anemia besides poverty are poor sanitation, gender bias, iron deficient diet and the government has been working on resolving these problems consistently.

One of the projects of the government which gave great results was that of Iron Supplementation program which increased the consumption of folic acid tablets by 30%. Thus simple strategies like Food Fortification, could be the possible answer to this problem which is taking a toll on the health of Indians for a long time now. Rice which seems to be the staple of over half of the population in India can supplied through a network of shops that offer it at an affordable price.

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Heat Strokes – Warning Signs And How To Deal With It

Heat stroke is a condition that is caused when the body overheats due to physical exertion or staying in higher temperatures. Heat stroke can turn serious if the body temperature soars to 40 degree Celsius or higher. Heat stroke is a common particularly in Andhra Pradesh region of India. 1 out of every 5 person dead due to heat stroke in India is from Andhra Pradesh. Between 2010 and 2015 1825 people from Andhra Pradesh have been reported dead due to heat stroke, accounting to 24% of All India figures. A study also says that there could be a 200 fold rise in heat wave exposures by 2100.

Symptoms of Heat Stroke include confusion, disorientation, no sweating, breathing issues, hallucinations, agitation and coma. If you suspect of someone having a heat stroke, understand it is an emergency and opt for immediate medical help. If a heat stroke is not treated promptly and properly it can be life threatening. Do not compare heat stroke to stroke, a condition where the oxygen to the brain is decreased. The people who are known to be at a higher risk of heat stroke include Athletes, Infants, aged people and those who work in extreme heat conditions. Even children or pets if left in car for a long time unattended can be at the risk of getting a heat stroke.

First aid includes cooling the body temperatures primarily. Take the person indoor or in the shade. Remove excess clothing and use a tub of water or a cool shower to or a sponge soaked in ice water to bring the temperature down. You may also use ice packs around the head, armpits, groin and neck as well. If water is not available you may use the evaporation cooling technique in which misting cold water on the body while fanning warm air. If the patient tends to shiver then the doctor might give a muscle relaxant as well.

The best way to avoid is staying hydrated all the time, avoiding excess intake of alcohol or over clothing in summer.

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OCPD — Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

People who have an OCPD personality disorder, tend to be perfect to the extreme, orderly and neat. They want their standards to be maintained by others and hence they try to do that in a very severe manner.

• The characteristics that govern an OCPD personality include
• They are obsession with being perfect, apparently leading to become even more inefficient
• They are people who are often in aloofness
• They are anxious and depressed simultaneously
• They find it difficult to express their feelings

OCPD personality disorder people don’t have an idea if there’s anything wrong with their behavior. They think and feel that whatever and however they think is right and others are wrong. OCPD is often mistaken with OCD but the fact is that these two conditions are different and not the same.

OCPD Risk Factors

Usually more than women, it’s the men that are at the risk of having OCPD. It is one of the most common personality disorders as per a journal of personality assessment. Also, those who are having existing mental health condition have a probability of getting OCPD as well. Particularly people suffering from OCD of severe nature are at risk of getting diagnosed with OCPD.

OCPD Causes

The causes of this condition are yet not known but factors like genetics and childhood experiences can be considered as some of the causes.

OCPD Symptoms

• Always want to be on time and expect the same from others
• Paying extreme attention to every detail
• Engrossed in their work to an extent that they don’t ignore family and societal relationships
• Their mannerisms are rigid and stiff
• They keep on stocking items that are of no use
• They are stingy with money

OCPD Treatment

One of the treatments for OCPD is Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT). You meet up with a counsellor and undergo a few sessions where you talk about your anxiety, depression or stress. The counsellor emphasizes on giving enough time to family as well as recreation rather than just work.

Relaxation Trianing

This process consists of breathing exercises to destress and decrease the sense of urgency and include yoga, pilates and tai chi.

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Fatty Liver Disease – An Insight

For those who haven’t heard of fatty liver, it means that liver has extra fat in it. The scientific name for the same is hepatic steatosis and is a resulting of addiction to alcohol. Due to high consumption of alcohol fat builds up inside the liver making it hard to work properly. It does not mean that if you do drink, you don’t get fatty liver. For those who don’t consume alcohol and still have fatty liver condition, it is a result of mainly a metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, high amount of belly fat and is known as Nonalcoholic Fatty liver Disease (NAFLD).

Simple Fatty Liver – This means there is only extra fat and no inflammation on the liver cells. Most people suffer from Simple fatty liver and it does not get worse.

Non Alcoholic Steathohepatitis (NASH) – This is known to be serious as compared to simple fatty liver. It occurs when the liver gets inflamed. Your liver cells get damaged due to NASH and can lead to further life threatening conditions like cirrhosis, liver cancer and fibrosis.

Alcohol related fatty liver disease – Also known as ALD, it might or might not exhibit any symptoms. If there are symptoms, they include discomfort or pain in the upper right side of belly. Though if drinking is not stopped, it can lead to complication like alcoholic cirrhosis and hepatitis.

Alcoholic Cirrhosis – The condition causes scar tissue buildup in liver. Symptoms that surface include fluid buildup in the belly, body bleeding, enlarged spleen, liver failure, dis-orientation and behavior changes as well.

Alcoholic Hepatitis – This kind of lever swelling can cause belly pain, jaundice, nausea and vomiting. Alcoholic fatty lever worsens to lead to alcoholic hepatitis and further more into Cirrhosis.

Symptoms – NAFLD as well as ALD as mentioned before may or may not give any symptoms other that fatigue or pain in the upper right side of the belly.

Though NASH as well as cirrhosis do exhibit symptoms like red palms, breast enlargement in men, swollen belly, enlarged blood vessels below skin.

Diagnosis – The diagnosis is based on physical exam, health history and based on tests like blood tests as well as imaging tests. If required a liver biopsy may also be advised.

Treatment – There is no treatment as such in terms of medications for NAFLD, but in case of NASH complications like liver failure or cirrhosis, you may have to go for a liver transplant.

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The Weightloss Plan That Has Taken Maharashtra by Storm

The Diet plan of Dr. Dixit, a professor at the preventive departments of social medicine at the Government medical college and hospital believes that accepting that you are overweight and that you need a diet correction which includes shunning away tempting food and controlling diet in order to keep your diabetes at bay.

Diabetes is very common in India today and more like an epidemic, hence people do need to take their diet seriously. Dr. Dixit has devised a diet plan for 18 years and above age group. His diet plan is quite unique in a way. He harps upon a meal that is high in proteins and low in carbohydrates.

As per Dr Dixit, the food that is high on carbohydrate is responsible for secretion of insulin in big quantities. The meal that is rich in protein will cause less secretion of insulin. Hence, eating anything in between two meals is not advisable. Better drink water, green tea, coconut water or buttermilk instead as they do not trigger the secretion of insulin.

This theory of carboinsulin connection has been discussed by late Dr Shrikant Jichkar, who presented this idea of eating only two meals a day for diabetes prevention. He also organized a study of 446 participants out of which 428 did complete the study with the 6 monthly follow up. There was an average loss of 6.8 kg during the six months. The logic was that there was a rise in diabetes if the insulin levels increased.

He also added that the diet plan he has designed does not lead to loss of stamina. Instead poor diet can lead to health hazards like diabetes, hypertension and even cancer. As per Dr Dixit, eating two meals a day and restricting yourself from eating anything in between the two meals not only leads to weight loss but also controlling diabetes as well. Keto diet is another easy way of controlling your insulin.

Inspite of the fact that there is no definite proof of the same, this diet plan has worked for many people across Maharashtra and many people have tried this plan out.

 

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Five Human Senses – Sight, Smell, Hearing, Taste, and Touch

We all are taught in early school days only about the five human senses. The brain is apparently the decision maker and these sensory organs only help send the information to the brain and help the brain. But, what some of us might not know is there are people with more than five senses in addition to the existing ones. Before we talk about them let us talk about the basic five.

Sight – View is not as simple as ti seems. It is a complex procedure involving the transparent outer layer or the eye called cornea, the pupil and the iris. When the light reflects from the object you view to the eye the cornea bend the light as it passes through the pupil hole. The iris is like the camera shutter for eyes which opens to let the light in or retracts to let it out.

Smell – As per researchers humans are able to smell over 1 trillion scents. The nerve endings in olfactory cleft are responsible for transmitting smell to the brain. The oltefactory is located beside the smelling part of the brain on the roof of the nasal cavity. While human are equipped with 400 different smelling recepters, if there are issues in recognizing smells then it could be result of a rare disorder of effect of aging.

Hearing – Hearing is also a complex sensory organ that uses a complex labyrinth called human ear through which it funnels the sound from its external part into the external auditory canal. The sound apparently travels through eardrum or tympanic membrane, a thin connective tissue sheet that vibrates when sound waves strike. It then reaches the auditory ossicles in the middle year. These three little bones are known as malleus (hammer), stapes (stirrup) and incus(anvil) vibrate. The vibrates are send to the corti by the stapes bone by pushing the oval window structure in and out.

Taste – Taste is further divided into three different perceptions called sweet salty bitter and sour. Though scientists and researchers believe that the fifth one is savory or umami, they also say that there are many more that are yet to be discovered. As per the National Library of Medicine, spicy cannot be considered a taste but it is apparently a sign of pain. As humans we have 2000 to 4000 taste buds on the tongue, throat back, nasal cavity, esophagus and epiglottis. But, again smell does help the brain perceive the taste and hence, people with stuffy nose have difficulty recognizing taste properly.

Touch – As per researchers touch is said to be the first sense that humans develop. Specialized neurons in the skin communicate the distinct sensation to the brain. A touch sense includes sensations like touch, vibration, temperature, pain, pressure and more. It is said to be very important to human beings wellness beyond its use for interaction and does influence decision making to a good extent as well.

Now, about the additional senses. We do have some more subtle one that we never perceive. These include neuron sensors that control head tilt and balance besides kinesthetic receptors that are responsible for muscle and tendons stretching detection. Our body also has receptors that detect particular arteries of the bloodstream as well.

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All You Need To Know about Chikungunya In India

Chikungunya, is a viral disease that is now a household name is India, more due to its re-emergence in the year 2006 after a long break of 30 years. Yes, Chikungunya was earlier detected in India in the Barshi, Solapur district of Maharashtra state in the year 1973. When the disease resurfaced in India in 2006, it spread its wings long and wide, across 13 states and 1.3 million people as per reports. Even globally, Chikungunya has caught people in its dreaded claws across 60 countries in Asia, America, Europe and Africa already over the past few years. The better news though is that there has been a considerable decrease of almost 5 fold in the beginning of 2016 worldwide, as compared to the year 2015 according to international reports. But, the picture is a bit different in India it seems.

Recently, in the year 2016, umpteen cases of Chikungunya were registered across the country. Chikungunya’s epi-centre was the country’s capital, New Delhi this time. In September 2016 as many as 2600 cases were reported in the city itself while the national vector borne disease control program reported a startling figure of over 12000 across India. Considering the fact sheet we have to say this – here we are, trapped in between the constant threat of Chikungunya, Dengue and the most recent addition Zika virus. Though, thankfully enough zika is yet to be found in India but reports show that Zika is following trends similar to Dengue and Chikungunya. The reason behind mentioning Dengue and Zika along with Chikungunya is because all of them spread through bites of an infected female mosquito called ‘Aedes Aegypti’ or ‘Aedes Albopictus’.

Well, if we look back at the origin of this disease, it is known to have emerged for the first time in Tanzania around 1952-53, through a patient suffering from high fever. The name of the disease ‘Chikungunya’ also is supposed to have originated from Kimakonde or Swahili word which means ‘to become contorted’. Apparently, the disease name is derived from the experience of the Chikungunya infected people, who have to bear severe joint paint over a short or prolonged period of time and which gets them into a stooping or contorted body posture.

CAUSES & SYMPTOMS
Chikungunya spreads through mosquito bites and the mosquito responsible for the spread of the virus is Aedes Aegypti or Aedes Albopictus. The age group it affects the most includes adults above 65 years and children below 1 year. It is not known to contract from Human to Human, except from Mother to Child, in the rarest of cases. The time span for which the virus resides in the body of majority humans is around five days. During this period if an infected human is bitten by a mosquito, the mosquito gets infected with the virus as well. The symptoms of Chikungunya can be noticed in a period of three to seven days after the onset of the disease. These include joint swelling, fever, muscle, joint pain and rashes commonly. These symptoms can last upto two to three days.

DIAGNOSIS & CURE
If you suffer from one or all the aforementioned symptoms, immediately consult your physician. Also inform your doctor if you have recently been outstation. The doctor might then ask you to undergo a blood test to confirm if its Chikungunya, Dengue or Zika as all of them have similar symptoms. There is not definite vaccine, treatment or cure for the disease and the only measure to be taken while suffering from Chikungunya is complete bed rest besides intake of high quantity of fluids. Alongside, you may also take pain killers to relieve yourself from muscle and joint pain that occurs all through. Recovery from Chikungunya takes around a few days but the joint pain could persist for longer periods varying from individual to individual. This disease is usually not fatal but might as well be life threatening if complications arise.

Ultimately, as they say Prevention is the best cure, its always better to take precautionary measures and stay away from mosquitos as much as possible. This can be done using quality mosquito repellents, wearing full sleeved clothing, keeping your surroundings clean and free from stagnant water which is known to be the breeding ground for mosquitos.

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CAREER SCOPE IN FORENSIC DENTISTRY

Forensic odontology deals with knowledge of dentistry for solving criminal cases. The injuries caused due to bites or revolving around teeth are further evaluated for identification of criminals. Just like finger prints, even teeth of every individual are unique and therefore it becomes a very useful tool for identification of a criminal. More so, the teeth possess the quality for remaining intact under severe conditions like accidents, plane crashes, decomposition and more, while body might be damaged or destroyed. This is the time when teeth can be of great help in crime investigation.

Forensic dentistry is particularly useful while investigating cases of sexual assault wherein the criminal has left away bite marks on the victims body. Even Burglary cases can be resolved on the basis of bite marks left by some over smart burglars who eat around while stealing and leave the eaten food behind, after they exit. The teeth marks left on the food stuff makes way for criminal identification. Hence, in countries like USA, there is a provision of medical examining office for death investigation and it is incomplete without a forensic odontologist.

The history of dentistry is as old as Adam and Eve, when they had their first bite of the Apple. But, it was practically seen to be introduced in the court of evidence in the USA during an 1870 trial, but such evidence has become acceptable only after 1954. Ever since forensic odontology has been very popular overseas. Primarily may be because, many of the countries are not as densely populated as India and getting eyewitnesses easily for a crime is also highly difficult. So, the experts have to rely very much on forensic reports of every kind.

Here in India, this forensic dentistry is still in infancy stage. But, with organizations like Indo Pacific Academy of Forensic odontology opening up their head quarters in India, the scenario is changing already. The plan of the academy apparently was to release scientific journal for betterment of the field in India and also for promotion of forensic dentistry in India with the help of faculties from India. Hence, the future seems to be bright in the field as crime investigation in India gets advanced. But, time will only tell if it really is.

Achievements of Mr. S. Sowmya Narayanan in various verticals of Oncology

Mr. S. Sowmya Narayanan, Chief Medical Physicist in the department of radiation physics @ Vydehi Institute of Oncology.

He has fourteen years of experience in the field of Radiological Physics and served in various reputed institutes in India. He has completed his radiological physics specialization from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai after his M.Sc (Physics) and he is life member of Association of Medical Physicists of India. He attained one’s significant achievements in life to associate with various conferences, preparing course curriculum for universities & several scientific paper in the field of oncology.

European Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ESTRO), Founded in 1980 to enhance the development in the field of oncology through education, professional development, promotion of research and dissemination of outcomes, courses and conferences. Mr.S. Sowmya Narayanan participated 10th Biennial ESTRO Conference on Physics and Radiation Technology for Clinical Radiotherapy that held from August 30 to September 3, 2009, in Maastricht, the Netherlands. He is the only invitee from India delivered a lecture on IGRT in Varian’s European Users’ Meeting for the following topic “Quality Assurance for Gated Radiotherapy”

Under his guidance, the department of oncology @  VIMS & RC  has presented three scientific papers in the 30th Annual Conference of Association of Medical Physicists of India(AMPICON 2009) held at Hyderabad. This is the maximum contribution from any single institution.

He is also instrumental in the designing of Curriculum for the course M.Sc. (Radiation Physics) which was approved by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore WSM9N72XXJC2