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Second Hand Smoke Is Also Dangerous To Health

We are aware how dangerous smoking is for health, but second hand smoke viz. the smoke that we inhale when someone else is smoking could be life threatening too. As per statistics second hand smoke is known to cause over 3000 deaths due to heart disease to non-smokers.

Second hand smoke can be particularly harmful to children because their lungs are still under development. Many children inhale this dangerous smoke at home if their parents or family members smoke, primarily. Even parents who smoke outside risk their children to harmful chemicals because of second hand smoke.

Also, known as environmental tobacco smoke, the smoke that is breathed out as well as the smoke that is released from pipes, cigars, burning cigarettes, cigars or pipes contains around 4000 chemicals. Almost 50 of these chemicals are carcinogenic and are known to increase the risk of cancer.

The American Academy of pediatrics (AAP) did a research on third hand smoke also. Third hand smoke is the smoke that is left behind in areas where people smoke. Though people leave the place after smoking, the harmful toxins remain for a while for example in bars, upholstery, even child’s hair if the care taker smokes.

Well, second hand smoke and third hand smoke both are harmful to adults, children and even the unborn developing ones. Unborn and children are at a higher risk. Children whose parents smoke cough more than children generally do. They are at the risk of getting coughs and colds, tooth decay, ear infections and respiratory problems. Children suffering from asthma are particularly prone to second hand smoke as it can lead to asthma attacks that to frequent and severe leading to a rise in hospital visits.

Well, so if you think that only smoking is injuries to health, you are certainly not right, its also the people around the smokers that are at the risk inspite of being not guilty of smoking. Take care. Quit now.

*Sourced from the Internet

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Dyslexia – Common Traits

As a child Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan suffered from Dyslexia. It is a reading disorder amongst children and is hard to detect as well. The Bollywood actor who has worked in over 50 films had issues with reading, spellings, sound of words, number difficulties and more. Irrespective, the actor did battle it out. The information about the suffering from dyslexia in childhood was revealed by none other than Aamir Khan during the release of his movie ‘Taare Zameen Par’.

Dyslexia has nothing to do with mental retardation, lack of intelligence or brain damage. It isn’t a disease as well. It’s just that children with dyslexia find it difficult to read. The simple solution to this is the use of blue or yellow filter glasses in order to help deal with the visual problems.

Here are a few common traits of dyslexia

  1. Poor self-esteem – Uses compensatory strategies to hide weaknesses. Reading and testing sparks emotions and frustrations.
  2. Day Dreamer – Day dreams often and seems to lose track of time or get zoned out easily
  3. Attention deficit – Cannot concentrate and gets distracted easily
  4. High IQ – Not necessarily does well in academics but high IQ and ability to score well in oral as that against written
  5. Confused – Reading, writing, letters, spellings and verbal explanations tend to confuse a lot.
  6. Writing Difficulties – Cannot copy or write properly and holds the pencil in an unusual manner.
  7. Artist – Should possess talent around sports, music, drama, mechanics, building or engineering.
  8. Sequence Confusion – A problem with remembering sequence of things
  9. Word Processing Issues – Problem around seeing differences and similarities between words and letters.
  10. Foreign language – Difficulty learning foreign language.

The symptoms include inability to ready by kindergarten or first grade but kids with dyslexia find it difficult to grasp even the basics of reading. They are also at a high risk of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

*Sourced from the Internet

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Encephalitis (CHAMKI Fever) The Deadly Fever That Has Killed Over 150 Children In Bihar And Jharkhand Already

The news of around 150 children dead due to the chamki fever is already a topic of concern present day. The Supreme Court also has taken notice of this serious or grave situation and directed Center to immediately form a medical expert team for the treatment of children having AES.

An inflammation of brain, encephalitis commonly known as chamki fever is the inflammation of brain. It is caused by viral infection and affects the nervous system. There are two main types of Encephalitis namely Primary and Secondary. This fever usually occurs in kids and youngsters below 15 years of age.

The primary is caused due to direct viral infection to the brain while secondary is a result of a weak immune system and can be a result of infection in any part of the body. Presently, there’s an outbreak of this fever in Bihar and Jharkhand. Recently, even Bengal has reported three cases of AES or Chamki of which one is critical.

Causes

AES is known to be a viral infection but can occur due to mosquito borne viruses, Zika or Nipah Virus, Rabis virus, childhood infections, enteroviruses and herpes virus as well. In India the most commonly known AES causing virus is the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) as almost 5 -35% cases are that of JE Virus AES. Though, this year only two cases are due to the JE Virus and exact cause of so many deaths is not known. What is known is that the deaths were caused by hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels)

Symptoms

At the initial stage the symptoms are similar to mild flu and include fever, headache, fatigue, muscle or joint pain. Though in the later or severe stage it leads to hallucinations, agitation, confusion, muscle weakness, hearing difficulties paralysis, sensation loss, vomiting, poor eating, body stiffness, skull bulging and more.

Treatment

There is not medicine yet for this fever and the mild one can be brought down through adequate rest and continuous fluid intake. Drugs like Tylenol, Aleve and Advil also can be used. Medications like Foscavir, Cytoven and Zovirax can be used for the viral Encephalitis only on prescription basis. Do not consume any medications with Doctors consult. At times supportive care like breathing assistance, intravenous fluids to keep the person hydrated, anti-convulsant and anti-inflammatory drugs against seizures and swelling could be required.

Prevention

Prevention is always better and hence to avoid getting this condition try to maintain hygiene at home, clean your hands properly after you visit the toilet and before eating food. Also, drink clean water and use mosquito nets and repellants when sleeping.

*Sourced from the Internet

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Lymphoma – A Cancer Of The Infection Fighting Cells

Lymphoma is the cancer of lymphocytes, the infection fighting cells of the immune system. In this condition, the lymphocytes start growing out of control. The lymphocytes are present in the spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes and other parts of the body. The two types of lymphomas include –

  1. Hodgkin

  2. Non Hodgkin – This is the most common type of lymphoma

lymphoma

The growth rate is different for different lymphomas and they have different lymphocyte cells. For people who aren’t aware, Lymphoma and Leukemia are not the same because both the cancers start in different cells. Lymphoma begins in the infection fighting lymphocytes as mentioned before while Leukemia begins in blood forming cells within the bone marrow.

Symptoms

The symptoms of Lymphoma are not very severe in the beginning. They include swelling on the lymph nodes, shortness of breath, fever, cough, weight loss, fatigue, itching and night sweats.

Diagnosis

The oncologist will carry out a physical examination and ask for one of the tests including Biopsy, MRI, chest X ray, Molecular Test and PET scan and Blood Test based on the examination.

Treatment

The treatment is based on the diagnosis that includes Chemotherapy, Radiation therapy, targeted therapy and immune therapy primarily. If the cancer does not subside then stem cell transplant is the alternative. This treatment involves killing the cancer cells but along with them even the stem cells get destroyed. So, after the therapy is completed, you need to get a stem cell transplant. There are two types of stem cell transplants namely autologous and allogeneic transplant. Autologous transplant involves replacement of own stem cells and allogeneic involves donor stem cells transplant.

Causes/ Risk Factors– As yet scientists haven’t been able to figure out exact cause of this cancer but risk factors include the following –

  1. Weak Immune System due to some organ transplant or HIV/Aids or some immune disease by birth.

  2. Virus infections like Hepatitis C, Epstein Barr or lymphoma(HTLV-1) / T-cell leukemia

  3. Exposure to chemicals or benzene use for killing plant bugs and weeds

  4. The age group prone to Hodgkin lymphoma is 15-40 years and 55 or older while for Non Hodgkin Lymphoma it is 60 plus.

  5. Family history of having this condition.

 

“RRMCH is one of the recognized premiere institute in Bangalore, to start surgical oncology department at its inception to cater to the growing needs of the society and offers surgical treatment to various cancers.”

 

*Sourced from the internet

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Hepatitis B – The Condition That Amitabh Bachchan Lives With

Many of us are already aware that our most favorite and loved film actor, Amitabh Bachchan, has been living with Hepatitis B for a long time now. He has also played an active role in spreading awareness around the taboo associated with the condition. He himself is an ambassador for it and recently speaking at an awareness initiative on Hepatitis B, he spoke about how he feels disturbed hearing about women with hepatitis being thrown out of the house. He showed his willingness to fight against the condition till the end of his life. He is 76 and was addressing a meeting held during the launch of National Action plan for fighting viral hepatitis in India.

Here’s is run down the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B. Even today there are thousands of cases of Hepatitis B in India, though they have been reduced significantly as compared to the last decade. Hepatitis generally occurs in the age group of 20 to 49 years. The chronic hepatitis is generally rare and is found amongst 5% to 10% of the people only. Though the carriers of Hepatitis B virus are over 1.4 million people.

Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver. The infection leads to scaring of the lever and at times even liver failure. The virus spreads form one person to another through blood transfusion, body fluids as well as open sores of the one suffering from Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B and C can turn out to be chronic condition while other A, C and E remain acute. Chronic Hepatitis B develops at a slow pace. It might not surface for as many as 3 months and can last from somewhere 2-12 weeks. The virus has the ability to live outside the body for a week.

Risk Factors
The HBV infection risk include a certain group of people like Health Workers, people using IV drugs, people with multiple sex partners, kidney disease, people above 60 and having diabetes as well as people travelling to countries with high incidence for HBV infection.

Symptoms
Some of the symptoms of acute hepatitis B include dark urine, appetite loss, abdominal discomfort, weakness, fever and jaundice like symptoms.

Diagnosis
The diagnosis of the condition is done mostly of the basis of blood tests after screening. The screening usually is based on risk factors mentioned above. The tests include surface antigen test that shows if the condition is contigeous, core antigen test that determines if you are infected or not, surface anti body test and liver function test to name a few.

Treatment
To prevent Hepatitis B, you need to get yourself vaccinated and if you are exposed to the virus get in touch with the doctor within 24 hours. Acute hepatitis does not need treatment and is healed by itself. Though it is advisable that the person does take rest and remains hydrated. Chronic Hepatitis B is treated with antiviral medications which help you combat the virus and avoid the risk of future liver complications.

 

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5 Common Food Allergens in India

Allergies are very common amongst us. Either we know we are allergic to stuff based on our experience post consumption of these foods or we aren’t. Many people have hiccups on eating spicy stuff like a chilly, while many get a runny nose. There are people who suffer from lactose intolerance and suffer from diarrhea after consuming foods like milk or cheese. But, if you think all these are allergies, then you aren’t completely right. These can be categorized under food intolerance or insensitivity. A food allergy is not the same. It occurs when your body considers harmless food to apparently harm the body. Food allergies could range from creating simple reactions like rashes on skin, or irritation to eyes or breathing problems to turn out to be life threatening if immediate steps are not taken. The best way to keep yourself safe is to be aware of such triggers and avoid them.

5 Common Food Allergens in India

Let’s look through 10 different food allergens and their side effects or reactions they cause. The most common allergens are as follows –

Eggs – The trigger that causes food allergies in eggs is egg protein like conalbumin, ovumucoid and ovalbumin. This allergy is found mostly in children than in adults. Some of the allergens are destroyed when the eggs are cooked but not all. This allergy can also cause anaphylaxis. The allergy can vary from person to person. While some might be allergic to yoke, some to egg white and some to all.

Fish – Fish allergy could be really harmful. It can be life threatening and lead to anaphylaxis. The allergy can show reactions like throat swelling, diarrhea and puking, skin irritations, blood pressure drop and anaphylaxis as well.

Milk – Many children may be allergic to cow’s milk. It can also be passed to the child indirectly through breast feeding. Many children out-grow of the allergy once adults but one fifth of them are said to have it in their adulthood too. The presence of the milk antibodies can be determined with the help of the blood test.

Soyabean – Soy bean is also one of the common allergy to have. The reactions of soya bean allergy includes vomiting, diarrhea, ashes as well as stomach cramps. Sometimes it could also cause swelling of the tongue, lips as well as hand, feet and puffed eyes too. Other reactions include bloating, flatulence. Though, it rarely gets life threatening and cause anaphylaxis.

Shellfish – Shell fish includes aquatic life like shrimp, oyster, crabs, mussels, clams, scallops, to name a few. This allergy can get serious and even vapor of the cooking shell fish can be allergic. The reaction are very much similar to other allergic reactions

As far as allergens go, prevention is always the best idea. So be aware of allergies if you have any and avoid food that can cause allergies primarily. Also, in case you get one for the first time, take immediate action and consult a doctor without wasting much of a time.

 

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*Sourced from the Internet

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E-Cigarettes are Harmful Too

A Harvard study says that the chemicals that are commonly used to in flavoring e cigarettes may damage our lungs in a way that its ability to fight the dust, dirt and other allergens can be put to risk, thereby increasing risk of diseases like asthma.

The researchers found that two chemicals namely diacetyl and 2, 3 – pentanedione are responsible for the impairment as they affect the functioning of antennae like proturberances. These proturberances are present on 50-75 percent of the cells lining the human airways and are very important contributors in keep the human airway free from dust dirt and mucus thus allowing people to breathe easily without irritation.

e-cigatettes

Cilia is the first line of defense in lungs and as per the study these chemicals harm it, by altering the gene expression pertaining to the cilia function as well as production.

The study carried out the testing of e-cigarettes and found that 90% of them have the flavoring chemicals diacetyl and 2 as well as 3-pentanedione are present.

The chemical diacetyl is also found in food flavors like butter flavored microwave popcorn, candy as well as baked goods. Though for foods it is not known to be harmful but only when it is inhaled that if turns dangerous.

HOW ARE LUNGS AFFECTED
Impaired cilia function is responsible for lung conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. An associate professor at the Harvard University also mentioned that even though chemicals are used for flavoring e-cigs but it is known as to how they impact the health. This study therefore throws light on the chemicals that are responsible for harming the lungs and how.

The chemical Diacetyl was earlier linked to lung conditions like bronchilitis obliterans, a lung condition also dubbed as popcorn lung for a reason that it was first found in workers of popcorn processing facilities after they inhaled artificial butter flavor.

As per researchers the present standards of safe limits of chemical exposure for workers are not enough and need to change as even low levels of the chemical does affect gene expression.

Thus as per researchers, today e-cigarette users are heating as well as inhaling the flavoring chemicals are in common use and users do not know that they are not tested for inhalation safety as well.

 

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Dystonia – All You Need to Know About This Common and Complex Condition

Though not a very common condition in India, it is the third most common condition in the USA behind Parkinson’s disease and tremor. Around 2.5 lac people there are known to be suffering from this condition. As far as the age group for this condition is concerned, there is none and can affect anyone from a child to old people irrespective of races, religion or ethnicities.

A deep part of the brain that helps to control movement is known as basal ganglia. The condition is a result of abnormal functioning of this part. This part is responsible for management of movements of the body and prevention of unwanted movements. But, if you are suffering from dystonia and you lose control over the movement management causing repetition of movements, positions and postures besides twisting as well. Not only can it affect the different parts of the body like the legs, trunk, arms and face, it can also affect your vocal cords.

DYSTONIA

This condition can adversely affect your daily routines disrupting one of many of the functions. For example if dystonia affects your neck then you will experience difficulty even in eating, chewing and swallowing. In-spite of it not being a life threatening condition it does tend to cause embarrassment and depression in many, thus resulting into emotional distress. As a result there are many support groups working to help people work on their mental health even though separate treatment for mental health is needed in-order to cope up with the challenges that that condition brings along.

AGE GROUP DIVISION
Dystonia is known to affect different age groups right from the age 0 to that of 20 and older. The Childhood onset of the condition is known to begin between 0 – 12 years, while adolescent onset stars around 3-20 years and adult onset starts above 20 years of age.

SYMPTOMS
At times this condition is not easily diagnosed and could be mistaken as stress or some sort of psychological disorder. Diagnosis therefore is not easy. In its initial stages dystonia symptoms are arise only after specific tasks or movements but when it advances it can also occur during rest period. As it affects the same group of muscles it leads to repetitive movement over time. The process of development is generally slow and the symptoms are confined to local region. Different types of dystonia exhibit different symptoms like for example blepharospasm dystonia shows symptoms like repetitive and blinking at speed, eye irritation and sensitivity to light. Even as far as progress of the different condition in dystonia are concerned they vary from people to people. In some people it might be a gradual progression while in some a speed one. In some it could be all plateaus. In its advanced form it could lead to a lot of postural issues and deformities, torso contortions, involuntary rhythmic movements and more.

Treatment
Either medication or surgery or botox injections are used for treatment purpose. They could be used separately or in conjunction with each other. Botox as well as medications do help in blocking the communication between the nerve and the muscle and slow down the abnormal postures and movements

 

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Genetically Modified Virus Effective in Cancer Treatment – An Overview

The study published in the journal for Cancer Research states that scientists have developed a new technique in which they use a genetically modified virus for killing cancer cells and even has the ability to destroy their hiding places. Named as the enadenotucirev, this novel dual action virus targets cancer cells as well as the healthy cells that are tricked into cancer cell protection by the immune system of the body called fibro-blasts.

Genetically Modified Virus Effective in Cancer Treatment

The therapy used presently for killing the tricked viruses of cancer may also kill the fibroblast cells leading to toxicity. Carcinomas, the most common kind of cancer are found to start in the cells of the skin or in the tissues covering or lining internal organs like lungs, pancreas, breasts, colon, prostate and ovaries.
As per Kerry Fisher of Britain’s University of Oxford there hasn’t been any way where you can kill the cancer cells and the fibroblasts that are known to protect them as well, without causing any harm to the other parts of the body. Therefore, this technique that can be used for targeting the cancer cells as well as the fibroblasts is definitely cited as a vital development in reducing the suppression inside the carcinomas as well as initiating the normal immune process.

rrmch

The team included some genetic instructions before publishing the study in the journal order the infected cancer cells to produce a protein called bispecific T cell engager, that has the ability to bind and stick two cells together. Here the first end is fibroblasts and the second end is T cells – a kind of immune cell that kills defective cells. The result, T cells started killing attached fibroblasts. The team also carried out the testing of the virus on a human bone marrow successfully to find that the process did not result in creating any toxicity to the rest of the body or any inappropriate activation of T cells.

The clinical trials of Enadenotucirev have already started for carcinoma treatment and in the upcoming year it will begin its clinical trials of finding out the safety and affectivity of it on people suffering from cancer.

 

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Swimming Can Reduce Mental Stress – An Overview

As per a new study swimming can help reduce symptoms of anxiety or depression. Mental Illness is not a taboo anymore as it used to be in the earlier times. Today mental health is being given as much importance as physical health not only worldwide but in India too. Due to the hectic lifestyles of Indians with extensive workloads and deadlines to match, people suffer from a lot of stress and anxiety. It has already affected millions of people worldwide. Mental health foundation statistics say that in Britain one fifth of the adult population is known to be affected by Mental Health Issues.

Swimming Can Reduce Mental Stress

While discussions are already rife around methods that could help in reducing symptoms of stress and anxiety, there are many different methods and ways coming to light for the same. This includes taking help of mental health professionals, following a proper balanced diet and even swimming. Apparently, an organisation call Swim England carried out a YouGov poll on around 1.4 million adults in UK, to find that Swimming did have a positive effect on their mental health. Almost half a million people of UK who swim and also have faced mental health issues have mentioned that swimming on a regular basis has shown a positive effect and reduced the number of visits they do to the mental health specialist. 43 percent said that swimming made them happy, while 26 percent of the swimmers said that they feel motivated and 15 of them said swimming helps them cope up with the stress that comes along in their daily lives.

As per the head of mental health activities, Hayley Jarvis, engaging into physical activities on a regular basis is good for the body. What the mind says shows the significance of exercising for physical as well as mental well-being. The more active you are physically, the lower are the levels of stress on a daily basis.

This voting campaign was launched on the ‘World Mental Health Day’, as a part of the global initiative in celebrating mental health and creating awareness about reducing the taboo around the same.

As per Ian Cumming, chair of the Swimming and Health Commission in UK, swimming is a very useful activity for the body and research is a good proof of the same. Simply being in water works well for restoration of the body, particularly outdoor swimming. In UK due to the rising population experiencing stress and anxiety issues,

 

The department of Psychiatry at Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital strives to achieve and follow “A healthy mind in a healthy body‘. Our dedicated team

 

*Sourced from the Internet