Monsoon And Child Health Issues

Well, everyone loves the rains, more so the foodies as the season where you hog on hot pakoras or samosas, bhutta or chalebi while sipping on your hot piping tea. Coming to the flip side Monsoon does bring along health hazards in form of illness like Dengue, Jaundice, Cholera, Malaria, thypoid, Gastro-intestinal infections, hepatitis A. Here’s a run-down five of the most common illness viral/bacteria borne, that you need to protect your child from –

Dengue – Caused by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, Dengue mosquitos breed in stagnant water be it flower pots, buckets, tree holes or drums etc. The incubation period is four to seven days after being bitten. The symptoms include high grade fever with decreasing platelet count as well as rashes. To prevent dengue try to keep your body covered as much as possible and use mosquito repellents. Citronella is a good mosquito repellent plant.

Diarrhoea – This is one condition that can be prevented with proper precautions as it is caused because of unhygienic food and water consumption. The best way to prevent it is to drink boiled water and eat home cooked food. Both the types of diarrhea, chronic as well as acute can be managed through appropriate and timely treatment.

Typhoid This is another waterborne condition that is caused by S typhi bacteria. The main reason is poor sanitation. The symptoms include weakness, pain, fever as well as sore throat to name a few. This condition can also be prevented by avoiding street food, keeping your hands clean and keeping yourself hydrated with healthy fluids.

Malaria – This is also a water borne condition that is caused due to the female anopheles mosquito. This mosquito breeds in water logged areas and hence is a common condition in monsoon. The symptoms include fever with chills or shivering, body ache and weakness, etc. The best way to prevent the cause of malaria is to keep surroundings clean especially water tanks.

Jaundice – Jaundice is also a water borne disease that could go serious if not treated properly. This is again a result of consuming contaminated food and water. The symptoms of jaundice include yellow eyes and urine, weakness and liver dysfunction.

*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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Inauguaration of Rajarajeswari Centre For Diabeties in Children

Center for Diabetes in Children was inaugurated at the pediatric OPD block of RRMCH on 8/9/17. This centre caters to all children with diabetes with a multidisciplinary approach. This centre provides free insulin, glucometer and glucometer strips on a regular basis for underprivileged children with TIDM. It gives an opportunity to monitor the compliance to medication for all children. The centre also impacts education towards management of diabetes along with nutritional advice. This is a part of the project named “Changing Diabetes in Children” which is a global initiative. The centre at RRMCH is named as Rajarajeswari’s centre for Diatbetes in Children (RCDIC) which will be coordinated by Dr. R.Prema.

The Chairman A.C. Shanmugam has not left any stone unturned in providing services to the poor and needy and this adds another feather to his cap. Similarly last year Human Milk Bank, the first of its kind in Karnataka was opened to cater the needs of neonates till the mothers can recover enough milk.
To commemorate the opening of this centre, Department of Pediatrics, RRMCH, has organized a CME on changing diabetes in children helping all doctors understand the detailed and latest management of such children. Also an elaborate nutritional exhibition which throws much light and knowledge on nutritional aspects of TIDM including carbohydrate counts and glycemic index which is apt for today’s modern children’s lifestyle was displayed. This impacted practical knowledge of eating the right food. During CME our chairman Sri A.C. Shanmugham has promised to provide infrastructure and investigations including treatment for underprivileged children with Type 1 diabetes in pediatric ward.

The program was huge success with more than 200 doctors attending and the awareness of nutrition imbibed by them.

Dr. Adarsh E
Prof and HOD
Department of Pediatrics RRMCH

Artificial Limbs That Respond To Thoughts – A Reality That Costs A Fortune

Over the years, scientists have been working on prosthetic limbs that can respond to human thoughts. These projects have been heavily funded by many organizations and defense agencies across the world. A significant development in the direction has now led to the creation of the first ever prosthetic limb that responds to human thoughts much like a real limb.

Artificial Limbs That Respond To Thoughts

Earlier, there was news about creation of prosthetic limbs that respond to thoughts but their movement was quite limited and hence, people in need either abandoned them or never preferred to use them. But, as per the doctor of Imperial college London, the new approach which shifts their focus from the muscles to the nervous system has helped them create a limb that responds to thoughts effectively.

According to him, their technology helps them detect and decode the signals clearly. The experiments and testing have been carried out with amputee volunteers and after physiotherapy they have been able to make more extensive movements.

Today, a lot of research scientists are already working and testing bionic arms. There is already and alternative of using brain implants available. But, the benefit of using the nerve from the spine is the compatibility factor, making it usable with existing prosthetic arms that too wire free linking from the brain, as per the researchers at Imperial College of London.

Another example is that of a thought controlled prosthetic being developed at the John Hopkins University, USA. It is being tested on a 50 plus amputee who lost his limbs in an electrical accident as a teenager. It is yet to be clinically tested and find a place in the market. The limbs are called Modular Prosthetic Limbs or MPL and the customer socket inside brain can pick up brain signals that control the arms. Thus, just by thinking the amputee is able to move the limb or limbs. To do the same, the amputee had to undergo a surgery for remapping the remaining nerves of his/her missing arms so that the brain could send signals to the prosthetic. As per the chief engineer at John Hopkins, with the remapping growing deeper, the working will better because of the over 100 sensors fitted in the arm. Another advantage of MPL being its modular design. This design helps in creating prosthetic limbs customized as per individual requirements.

Having said that, as on day MPL costs a bomb, as much as a Maserati car to be precise. Well, scientists are yet to work on a budget prosthetic, affordable to people in need. experts at John Hopkins are also working on creating caps that send signals about brain activity to the robotic arm. As for the market availability, they do hope to make the MPL available to the consumers within a few years.