This day is celebrated in
remembrance of Michael Jackson who suffered from vitiligo and died on 25th
June, 2009 to create global awareness about vitiligo. It encourages unity among
the people with vitiligo to rule out the discrimination faced by them by the
people and raise their voices and visibility in all the areas of life. Over 1%
of the total world population suffers from vitiligo where it affects all the
genders and ethnic groups especially in the age groups of 20-30 years.
Causes- Vitiligo is an
autosomal disease that causes the loss of skin pigment cells called
melanocytes. This causes the skin to lighten in patches across the body and
face. It is often unpredictable but children born to both parents having this
disease are more likely to develop vitiligo. This is non-communicable disease
and around 80% of the people develop this condition before the age of 30 years.
Symptoms-
- Depigmentation of the hair, skin and eyes.
- Patch on the skin with no color especially on the inside of the
mouth.
- Premature graying of hair on the scalp and eyebrows.
- Light sensitivity
- Change in color of the eye’s retina.
- Freckles and moles with light pinkish color due to reduced
pigment.
Diagnosis and Treatment-
- Physical examination of
the skin
- Electroretinogram for
detect of light sensitivity in the eyes associated with vitiligo.
- Micro-pigmentation also
called permanent make up, is a tattooing procedure to treat vitiligo.
- Protective sunglasses,
clothing and sunscreens to protect from the UV exposure.
Genetic
counseling to understand the inheritance of vitiligo in the family history.
Sickle cell anemia is the most common inherited
blood disorder which causes “sickle†shaped red blood cells in humans. These
deformed blood cells stick with each other, blocks the blood flow and oxygen to
reach the other parts of the body. This day is observed annually with the goal to
increase public knowledge and an understanding of sickle cell disease, and the
challenges experienced by patients and their families.
This sickle cell
mutation occurs when negatively charged glutamine is replaced by a neutral
valine at the sixth position of the beta-globin chain and this mutation is
transmitted and is inherited by an autosomal co-dominant fashion. People
suffer from severe pain and has to be treated with strong painkillers like
morphine. Symptoms of sickle cell start showing from around 5 to 6 months of
age and along with the pain a person can also suffer from anemia, swelling in
the hands and feet, bacterial infections, blindness, bone damage and stroke.
The only available treatment to the
sickle cell anemia is the stem cell transplantation. Genetic counseling is very
vital to understand the possibility of inheritance of sickle cell anemia in the
family history. Periodic checkups with the doctor is very
crucial for the people suffering with sickle cell anemia to check the blood
hemoglobin, Red Blood Cells counts etc.
Menstruation or menses
is the monthly shedding of the lining of a woman’s uterus. It is also known as the
menstrual period, cycle or period. The menstrual blood is composed of blood and
tissue from the endometrium of the uterus and flows through the cervix and out
of the body through the vagina. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days long and can range in
length from 21 days to about 35 days. The menstrual cycle is triggered by
hormones controlled by the pituitary gland in the brain and the ovaries in the
female reproductive tract. Girls start menstruating
at the average age of 12 and as early as 8 years of age or as late as 16 years
of age. Women stop menstruating at menopause, which occurs at about the age of
51.
Significance of National Menstrual Hygiene Day:
- It aims to bring together the people
for promoting good menstrual health and hygiene for everyone around the world.
- To break the silence, raise awareness
and change the social stigmas around menstrual health and hygiene.
- It provides an opportunity to engage decision-makers and increase the
political priority to catalyse the actions for menstrual health and hygiene at
global, national, and local levels.
Tips to maintain Menstrual Hygiene:
1. Change the sanitary pads regularly to avoid the conditions like Toxic Shock Syndrome (bacterial infection) and other infections.
2. Maintain
cleanliness and hygiene.
3. Choose the correct
method of sanitation.
4. Wash yourself
regularly.
5. Consult a
gynaecologist immediately if any discomfort or infection arises.
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Hand hygiene is an effective way to prevent infections and reduces the transmission of microorganisms (including those that are antibiotic-resistant), reduces the spread of COVID-19, increases patient safety, and decreases health care-associated infections (HAI). Effective, timely hand hygiene is very important for infection prevention and control.
Significance of Hand Hygiene:
Commonly colonized pathogens are Methicillin Resistant  S. aureus  (MRSA), Vancomycin Resistant  Enterococcus  (VRE), MDR-Gram Negative bacteria (GNBs), Candida spp. and  Clostridium difficle, which can survive for as long as 150 h.  There are two main types of microbes colonizing our hands.
- Resident flora- These microbes reside under the superficial cells of the stratum corneum.
- Transient flora- They colonize the superficial layers of the skin and is more responsive to removal by routine hand hygiene.
Hand washing is the best way to stop germs from spreading. Thus, hand washing should be done:
(i) After using the toilet.
(ii) After touching any surfaces coming into contact with.
(iii) After touching pets, animals etc.
(iv) Before preparing and eating meals.
(v) Germs can spread to the hands by sneezing, coughing, or rubbing the eyes. Thus hand washing should be done in frequent intervals.
(vi) It virtually eradicates the carriage of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) which invariably occurs on the hands of Health Care workers working in ICUs.
WHO guided steps to maintain hand hygiene- Follow these five steps every time-
- Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), and apply soap.
- Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the back of your hands, between the fingers, and under the nails.
- Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds.
- Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
- Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
How to maintain Hand Hygiene?
- Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to get rid of germs in most of the situations.
- Cut the finger nails in frequent intervals to avoid the spread of infections.
- Alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol can be used if soaps and water are not readily available.
- Hand wipes containing at least 60% alcohol can be used while traveling.
- Teaching hand hygiene to kids, children and to the people of all the age groups.
- Providing Hand Hygiene awareness and guidelines to the food handlers, health care workers, schools and colleges.
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Either you currently have knee osteoarthritis, or just developing knee pain from time to time and worry about the best way of exercise. This health article got some answers for you.
Exercising is a vital activity for boosting the immune system as well as your endurance. The most appropriate exercise for patients with knee pain or knee osteoarthritis is the one that causes the least impact at the knee joint. The lesser impact at the knee joint means a lower chance of knee injury, so this is why most research suggests that cycling and swimming are the best exercises for patients with knee problems.
Therefore, cycling is a very great exercise for patients with knee osteoarthritis condition. In addition, cycling is also a right choice of exercise for patients who suffer from spondylosis with nerve root compression in some cases (and we will definitely talk about this in later articles). Cycling makes knee joint bend and stretch gently and helps to ease the movement of the joint. Cycling also improves the muscle strength around the knee joint, which ultimately protects the knee joint if there are any impact actions. So it’s wise to say that cycling promotes knee joint health in many ways. Furthermore, cycling is a cardio workout. Cardio workout is known to enhance cardiology strength, improving sleep quality, and a great way to relieve stress.
here are so many concerns about whether cycling could cause more severe knee osteoarthritis or not. The answer can be both “yes†and “noâ€ÂÂ. Usually, cycling cause quite a small impact to the knee joint. The joint also moves gently in a circular motion. Cycling has to be very extreme to develop osteoarthritis condition, like athlete cycling – which involves standing and fast-paced cycling. Cycling in this way causes intense pressure at the knee joint and cartilage. If the knee joint and knee muscle are not strong enough, the knee will be severely injured.
Another point to concern is to tone down the pressure at the knee cap during cycling. You can do this by customizing the bicycle appropriately. Adjust the seat to be a little higher. The seat is in a good position when you paddle the pedal to the farthest bottom; your knee position is bending by only 10-15 degrees angle. You may move the seat to the front or the rear as desired. The position of the knee joint when you paddle the pedal at the very front should be absolute vertical and directly match to the thumb joint of the foot.
Cycling tips for the beginners:
- Recommend to ride using lesser efforts; you can gradually extend the riding time based on your present conditions
- Stop the ride immediately if there is any pain. Take a break and reduce effort level for the next ride
- Stretch the muscle around your hip joint, knee joint, and ankle joint every time before and after cycling
The preferred bicycle should have these options:
- Can adjust the seat upper or lower to match your physique
- Offers bicycle gears to let you customize the effort level
- If you have neck, shoulder, or back pain, consider the bicycle with high handlebars
Taking good care of your knee joint today surely reduces the risk of osteoarthritis knee, which ultimately lower the concern knee pain as well as the chance for the patient to undergo knee replacement surgery. Having free of pain in your everyday life promotes better life quality.
- have high LDL (bad) cholesterol
- have high blood pressure
- smoke cigarettes
- have diabetes
- have a family history of atherosclerosis
- have obesity
- consume a poor diet
- engage in a sedentary lifestyle
On the other hand, following a diet rich in certain foods like vegetables, fruits, and fish has been shown to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease (4Trusted Source).
Here are 15 foods that may help prevent clogged arteries.
- Berries
- Beans
- Fish
- Tomatoes and Tomato Products
- Onion
- Citrus Fruits
- Spices
- Flax Seeds
- Cruciferous Vegetables
- Beets
- Oats
- Nuts and Seeds
- Leafy Grains
- Cocoa and Nark Chocolates
- Olive Oil
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Sleep apnea is a serious ÂÂ
sleep disorder  that happens when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night.
If it’s not treated, sleep apnea can cause a number of health problems, including ÂÂ
hypertension  (high blood pressure), ÂÂ
stroke, ÂÂ
cardiomyopathy  (enlargement of the muscle tissue of the heart), ÂÂ
heart failure, ÂÂ
diabetes  and ÂÂ
heart attacks. Untreated sleep apnea can also be responsible for job impairment, work-related accidents and motor vehicle crashes, as well as underachievement in school in children and adolescents.
There are two types of sleep apnea, ÂÂ
obstructive  and ÂÂ
central:
- Obstructive sleep apnea  is the more common of the two. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs as repetitive episodes of complete or partial upper airway blockage during sleep. During an apneic episode, the diaphragm and chest muscles work harder as the pressure increases to open the airway. Breathing usually resumes with a loud gasp or body jerk. These episodes can interfere with sound sleep, reduce the flow of oxygen to vital organs, and cause  heart rhythm irregularities.
- In  central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe due to instability in the respiratory control center. Central apnea is related to the function of the central nervous system.
Who gets sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea occurs in about 25% of men and nearly 10% of women. Sleep apnea can affect people of all ages, including ÂÂ
babies and children  and particularly people over the age of 50 and those who are overweight.
Certain physical traits and clinical features are common in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. These include ÂÂ
excessive weight, large neck and structural abnormalities reducing the diameter of the upper airway, such as nasal obstruction, a low-hanging soft palate, enlarged tonsils or a small jaw with an overbite.
What happens when you stop breathing?
When you stop breathing, your heart rate also tends to drop the longer your body is deprived of oxygen. Then, your involuntary reflexes cause you to startle awake at the end of that period of not breathing. When this occurs, your heart rate tends to accelerate quickly and your blood pressure rises.
These are changes that take place acutely when you stop breathing. However, your body starts to experience chronic effects if you experience frequent apnea. Data suggests increased risk, particularly when you stop breathing roughly 30 times or more per hour. But there is likely a risk at even lower frequency rates.
For example, your blood pressure tends to go up, your heart walls thicken due to increased workload and the structure of your heart changes. It tends to become stiffer and less flexible because there are more fibrous cells growing in between the muscle cells.
All of those things increase the risk that you can have either atrial or ventricular arrhythmias. They also tend to reduce the function of the heart so that it’s less efficient at pumping blood.
The third wave have seen a massive surge in the Covid cases. So far, many cases are mild and Doctors are recommending Home Isolation as a pre-emptive measure. Let us know more about 8 important tips on how to keep yourself and others safe.
- Stay Isolated in one Room: Stay away from your family and other people with Covid symptoms as much as possible
- Open Windows: Opening windows helps in circulation of the air and reduced the viral load of the room in which you are enclosed. Also try to use a seperate bathroom if there is an option.
- Avoid shared space as much as possible: When using using shared spaces, limit your movements. Keep your kitchen and other shared spaces well ventilated.
- Clean often touched surfaces: Frequently use sanitizer and surface disinfectant to clean the surfaces you toch on a regular basis.
- Avoid sharing personal household items: Avoid sharing items such as dishes, towels, bedding and electronics. If possible, do not allow others to wash your dishes and clothes. Try to do it yourself.
- Wear a mask: Always wear a mask especially when you are near others. Change your mask every day.
- Frequently wash your hands: Wash your hands wkith soap. Apply soap and rub your hands for at-least 20 seconds. For complete information on Hand Wash, read our article (20+) Facebook. Also use an alcohol based hand sanitizer thatb contains at-least 60% alcohol.
- Consult a Doctor: If you develop any symptoms or experience any difficulty in breathing or fever, consult a Doctor immediately.
R-naught, or R0, indicates the average number of people who will contract the infection and how many healthy people can be infected by a Covid positive individual.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, Omicron is the predominant circulating strain in the spiking Covid cases. As per data, the R0 stood at 2.69  higher than the value of 1.69 that was recorded during the peak of the pandemic’s second wave in April-May last year.
So, what is this R0 value? Is it something you should be worried about it, or is it yet another jargon in the information overload that we have been battling since the onset of the pandemic, along with it?
R0 is the rate at which a virus spreads or is transmitted from one person to another. It is a mathematical representation of how contagious an infectious disease  is. It is also called the reproduction number  when the virus is transmitted, it reproduces itself. It is calculated by the epidemiologists by a simple equation: R0 = new cases of the infection over a said period/ existing cases of the infection. According to a BBC report, an infection’s R number has to be determined considering a number of factors, including the rate of deaths, hospitalisation and positive results from tests.
What is R0’s significance in policymaking?
The number tells the health policymakers about the average number of people who will contract a contagious infection like Covid-19 and how many healthy people can one infected person affect. This is pertinent when the infection, or a variant of the virus as in the case of Omicron, has not affected a population yet. Simply put, this is applicable to the population that was previously free of infection and have not been vaccinated, and thereby do not have immunity for the disease in question. Policymakers consider it to be an early warning signal that can suggest what trajectory the infection can take. Even minor variations can hold major significance  even a change of 0.1 in the values can translate to major numbers in terms of active cases.
While the numbers are scary, they cannot be taken in isolation. Despite Omicron being a new variant, the fact of the matter is that India has achieved major milestones in its Covid vaccination drive. Nearly 90 per cent of India’s eligible population has received one shot and over 63 per cent of the population has received both doses, as per government data. With Indian teens also being vaccinated, and the “precautionary†third dose set to begin for the frontline healthcare workers and senior citizens with comorbidities, most of the population has some level of resistance against the virus.
As prior immunity in a population plays role in determining the R factor, India’s number need not cause the alarm that was there ahead of the second wave. However, that does not mean the infection can be taken lightly.
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The Health Ministry revised guidelines relating to home isolation of mild and asymptomatic Covid-19 cases on Wednesday amid the surge of cases around India.
“Over the past two years, it has been seen globally as well as in India that majority of cases of COVID-19 are either asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms. Such cases usually recover with minimal interventions and accordingly may be managed at home under proper medical guidance and monitoring.
The guidelines are applicable to Covid-19 positive patients who have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic. This includes having an oxygen saturation of more than 93% without shortness of breath and other common symptoms.
Guidelines for home isolation
The Ministry underlines that for patients with mild/asymptomatic cases will be given a designated control room contact number at the district/subdistrict level to help with guidance for testing and management of illness.
Such cases should have the required facility at their residence for self-isolation and for quarantining
Ideally, the patient should have a caregiver who has completed their COVID-19 vaccinations on a 24Ãâ€â€7 basis
Elderly patients aged more than 60 years and those with co-morbid conditions will only be allowed home isolation after proper evaluation
Immunocompromised patients are not recommended for home isolation and will also only be allowed home isolation after proper evaluation
Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/new-home-isolation-guidelines-for-mild-asymptomatic-covid-19-cases/articleshow/88707406.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
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