Egg Freezing – More Power to Women

Egg freezing is not an entirely unknown term. Awareness about it is fast spreading across cities in India. Even Gynaecologists have observed a spurt in the inquiries around egg freezing. Scientifically known as oocyte cryopreservation, this process involves the extraction of a woman’s egg from the ovary, freezing and storing it. Afterwards at the time of conceiving, this egg is thawed and placed in the uterus as embryos.

This is a boon for women in India today who want to make life choices on their own at their time. Many women delay marriages as they do not want to get married under pressure and want to prioritize education and career. Such women can freeze their eggs and use them later to conceive. There are numerous case studies to help you understand how egg freezing helped women in India conceive and deliver a healthy baby at a time when they were ready for it.

Case 1 – A 31-year-old female from Matunga wanted to conceive through IVF and her husband was in too much pressure while donating his sperm, so much so that he was not able to produce a semen sample required for the IVF on the day of collection. So, they extracted her egg and froze it. The IVF process was later completed once the semen was received and she had a hassle free pregnancy.

Case 2 – A 14-year-old female was diagnosed with cancer in one of her ovaries. The doctor extracted and froze her egg from the other ovary before she underwent chemotherapy. He mother was glad that her daughter had a choice to conceive in the future as freezing her egg granted protection to her fertility.

Case 3 – A 36-year-old who was not ready for marriage, froze her eggs at 32 so that whenever she is ready for it and for maternity, there are no issues with conceiving.

Today, egg freezing awareness is spreading fast amongst the society and many women are opting for the alternative as it empowers them to make a choice of becoming a mother, at the time they want to. Across the world, egg freezing has already helped conceive and deliver over 2000 babies. Having said that, even though the freezing can be done at any age based on the count of antral follicles and hormone levels, the doctors generally advise doing the egg freezing before 35 years.

In today’s times when the world is embracing gender equality and women are determined to match the abilities of men in almost every walk of life, egg freezing is an amazing addition to their empowerment arsenal.

RRMCH has got best gynecologist in Bangalore and the department provides the best treatment for women health care. RRMCH provides regular clinical services as well.

All You Need to Know About Terminal Illness

The term terminal illness means disease that is not curable and is expected to result in death of the patient over a course of time. It is a commonly used term for illnesses like cancer, heart disease of advanced stage, to name a few. When a person is said to be suffering from a terminal illness, there is near certainty that the patient is going to die in a course of time irrespective of the treatment. Once diagnosed with a terminal condition the patient knows that death is certain and the doctor informs the patient about the time left, in days, weeks, months or years.

Once a patient is diagnosed for terminal illness, the disease management process is decided. The options for it include continual of treatment, caregiving, hospice care and even physician assisted suicide. The decision making is done keeping the patient as well as the family in loop. Many a time patients with terminal illness experience anxiety around the nearing death as well as depression and hence requires psychotherapeutic treatment to help them deal with the same.

On the flip side, knowing about the terminal illness condition gives them time to get ready for advance treatment and care procedures as well as living will, to help them deal with end of life care effectively. Let us run through the different disease management or end of life care procedures for terminal illness patients.

Terminal Illness

Treatment Continuation

Palliative Care – Palliative care is more about after care of the physical needs of the patients post diagnosis. This includes emotional support, management of pain, psychological and spiritual care. It is a methodology that concentrates on improvement of quality of life of the patients and satisfaction besides helping family members deal and cope with the difficult situation.

Care Giving – Care giving is an integral part of terminal disease management. It involves keeping a nurse to take care of the person suffering from the condition. The care givers provide support like psychological support, food, assistance with movement and routine activities on a day to day basis.

Medications – Terminal patients who suffer from cancer related pain, need medications for relief. The medication prescribed varies based on the pain severity as well as status of disease. One of the common symptoms that terminal illness patients experience is dyspnea viz. breathing issues.

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Hospice Care – There is a misconception that people choosing hospice care live less compared to others, but study has proved that patients with hospice care live for the same span than others. It includes spending more time with family, friends or other inmates undertaking hospice disease management procedures. They usually stay away from a hospital at home or at an inpatient hospice facility.

Physician assisted Suicide (PAS) – This concept is legally approved only in a few countries in the world. It is when a patient decides to die with dignity that he or she opts for physician assisted suicide. The decision could be based on various different reasons like avoiding pain, disability, healthcare costs, family impact, personal and religious beliefs, to name a few. The patient has to give request in writing as well as orally after which the physicians offer them lethal drugs to help them die.

Well, some terminally ill patients stop all the treatments that they are undergoing to avoid side-affects while some go for even more aggressive treatment in a hope to increase their life span to the maximum. Some also opt for alternative methods of treatment that are non-proven as well as diet changes that are required.

What is Food Poisoning? An Overview

Recently, there was news of over 100 prisoners in Delhi falling sick suddenly and being admitted to the hospital. The reason cited for the same is either food poisoning, drug poisoning or contaminated water. Food poisoning is a common term and you hear people and kids suffering from it every now and then. It is a very uncomfortable condition that leads to nausea, vomiting or diarrhea and is caused due to the intake of toxic, contaminated or spoiled food.

Causes
Food poisoning can either be caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites. The most common though is through bacteria like Listeria, E coli and salmonella. The latter is said to be the biggest cause of serious food poisoning cases. Another rare or lethal bacteria responsible for food poisoning includes the C. botulism and Campylobacter. Norovirus is a virus type which can also lead to food poisoning but is not fatal mostly. Others include Rotavirus, Astrovirus, Sapovirus and Hepatitis A, wherein the latter can be serious. Toxoplasma is a parasite which causes food poisoning. Parasites live within your digestive tract but can go undetected for years.

Food-Poisoning-Main-blog-image-550x410

Symptoms
Usually, food poisoning is detectable based on the symptoms. The symptoms differ as per the infection source. The symptoms appear anytime within 1 hour or 28 days depending on the infection source again. Most people suffering from food poisoning show atleast three of the following symptoms.

  • Headache
  • Weakness
  • Nausea
  • Mild fever
  • Loss of appetite
  • Diarrhea
  • Abdominal cramps

Food poisoning ain’t life-threatening. But, this does not mean that you take the condition lightly. There is always a rare possibility of it getting life-threatening as well. Look out for the following symptoms and initiate immediate medical assistance –

  • Fever of 105 or higher
  • Severe dehydration, dry mouth, no urine passage
  • Difficulty speaking or seeing
  • Diarrhea that does not go for 3 or more days
  • Blood in urine

Treatment
Food poisoning generally does not require any treatment and can easily be managed at home. It can take three to five days to subside but the most important part is to stay hydrated all along. Consumption of Sports drink that has electrolyte in them works really well in dealing with the condition. To help yourself out of fatigue try natural drinks like coconut water and fruit juice.

Know about best Hospitals in Bangalore, Karnataka.

Top 5 Ongoing Trends in Healthcare Sector

Gone are the times when healthcare sector had a reputation of almost negative customer experiences. Nowadays, healthcare companies are going all guns blazing about their approach towards their customers. The approach also includes the optimum use of advanced technology besides newer approaches in-order to create a progressive change in the healthcare industry. Let us run through some of the upcoming trends in the healthcare eco-system.

Trends in Healthcare Sector

Tailored Medicine – Medicine is all about observation based diagnosis with evidence to support the same. Today, healthcare centers are equipped with the latest in technology that results into accurate and speedy diagnosis. For example, with the help of radiology clinicians can investigate structures deep inside the body and with techniques like histopathology, clinicians can identify virus and tumors using microscopes.

Virtual Reality – Virtual reality is working well in the management and treatment of pain. As per a study of the recent times, children responded to chemotherapy better when they played games while undergoing the same. This was because their attention got concentrated from the treatment part to the play part and hence even resulted in them requiring less dosage. Side effects like nausea and hypertension were also reduced compared to children who were advised to rest.

Patient Customization – Data has grown and so has the ability of the healthcare facilities to provide their customers with an experience that is absolutely personalized. Based on the history of the patient, these clinics provide facilities like potential health issues, doctors preferred by the patient, patient preference in terms of remote treatment or walk in, to name a few. This can help avoid the complexities involved with the navigation through health care professional web and makes patients information available readily for speedy and accurate treatment solutions.

Augmented Reality – Besides other fields, augmented reality is playing a crucial role in healthcare and is fast turning out to be one of the most effective applications in medical training. AR helps doctors while monitoring diagnosis with the treatment procedure options to look forward too. They don’t have to spend time in honing their medical knowledge further because treatment options can simply pop up on their screen with options and suggestions. For example, while doing a child checkup the growth chart can pop up on the monitor itself, thus helping the doctor with seamless treatment procedures.

Smart Technology in HospitalsSmart Technology in Hospitals has actually helped better patient experience, comfort, and care. For example, many hospitals have started using smart technology in hospitals. In a few countries, certain healthcare outfits use self-adjusting beds for pressure and support customization for patients. Many are also making use of man free facilities where robots carry out the monitoring process of the patient in the room. Smart technology is available in different forms and works in reducing risks while increasing comfort and efficiency. Affirmatively, the use of smart technology across the healthcare ecosystem is poised to grow day by day, obviously so.

All you need to Know About HLA-B27 Test

HLA B27 is a test that is conducted to identify the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA B27) protein. This protein is situated on the white blood cells surface and is an antigen that helps the immune system infection causing aliens and healthy body tissues.

Though most of the HLAs protect the body against harmful invaders, HLA B27 is on a particular protein that is responsible for system dysfunction by attacking the healthy cells instead of foreign substances. This causes autoimmune diseases like ankylosing spondylitis or rheumatoid arthritis.

HLA B27

Symptoms that indicate Test Taking
The HLA-B27 test is taken alongside other tests like MRI scan, urine and blood tests to confirm the presence of autoimmune disease.

  • Joint inflammation and skin lesions
  • Pain in the joints
  • Eye inflammation that reoccurs
  • Swelling or stiffness in the neck, chest or spine

Auto-immune conditions due to HLA-B27
Based on the symptoms the doctor may advise the test to check for the presence and progression of HLA-B27 with certain autoimmune conditions like

  • Bone inflammation in the spine – Ankylosing spondylitis
  • Joint inflammation in joints, eyes, urethra, and skins lesions at times – Reactive arthritis
  • Swelling and irritation at eyes middle layer – Anterior uveitis
  • Joint stiffness, pain, redness, limping, swelling and reduced motion range – Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Besides, HLA antigen tests are also taken when a patient needs to undergo a transplant of kidney or bone marrow as they help in determining a suitable match of a donor.

Diagnosis
If the test is positive, it indicates the presence of HLA- B27 in blood. Though, it still is not a cent percent confirmation that an autoimmune condition may develop. Other symptoms are also taken into account including blood tests and diagnostic exams.

Conclusion
HLA-B27 indicates the presence of the protein in blood but a positive or negative result cannot be taken as a cent percent confirmation of the autoimmune disorder. Once the test is done and the results are out, the doctor will advise you on further steps around the possible condition.

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All you Need to know about Brain Tumor

A brain tumor is a condition that is caused when abnormal cells in the brain grow within the brain or the spinal cord. It can be life threatening because it can disrupt brain functioning. There are two types of brain tumors, ones that are benign (cancerous) and the other malignant (malignant). The life expectancy varies depending upon the stage of the cancer.

Benign Tumor – This tumor grows slowly and does not spread to other tissues, thus is not cancerous in nature.

Malignant Tumor – This tumor grows very fast and contains cancerous cells that invade other parts of the brain and is considered to be life-threatening condition.

Brain Tumors are also classified as primary and secondary tumors depending on their origin. If the tumor starts in the brain it is known as primary tumor and if it originates from some other part of the body, it is known as a secondary or metastatic tumor.

Brain Tumor - signs

Symptoms

The symptoms of a brain tumor depend upon the type of tumor and the origin of it. The symptoms are mild initially and gradually increase. Sometimes there may be no symptoms at all. Some common symptoms –

A headache that persists
Nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness
Speech issues
Memory Issues
Seizures or convulsions
Personality Change
Coordination Change

Diagnosis
Diagnosis involves various tests to be carried out including the following-

EEG – An electroencephalogram is used to record brain activities for abnormalities if any using electrodes that are attached to the head.

CT Scan – It gives a detailed X ray picture of the patient’s brain

MRI Scan – It makes use of magnetic field as well as radio waves and provides a detailed image of the brain
Even biopsy is used to further confirm the presence of a tumor.

Treatment
The treatment depends on the diagnosis. It includes factors like the type of tumor, the age of the patient, size of the tumor, tolerance levels of the patient to name a few.

Surgery – The first course of treatment for Cancer starts with surgery and removal of the tumor or a part of it as much as possible. Due care is taken to avoid any harm to the neighboring tissues. The remaining tumor is removed with the help of various cancer therapies.

Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy is used for treating a serious type of malignant tumor. It stops the cells from multiplying or duplicating.

Radiation Therapy – Radiotherapy uses intense energy beams to destroy the tumor and prevent it from growing. It attacks the tumor cells, leading to shrinkage in the tumor, which can further be managed using an immune system of a person.

Radio Surgery – Also known as stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), this treatment involves giving a targeted and precise dose in the form of an X-ray radiation.

Risk Factors – There is no definite reason behind brain tumors. It might be hereditary but in rare cases. The only risk factor associated with the brain tumor is radiation exposure.

Survival – The survival rate post the diagnosis also depends on a lot of factors but for malignant tumors of a primary type, the 5-year survival rate is even less than 35%.

RRMCH is one the best hospitals in Bangalore and amongst the best Neuro hospitals in India. Equipped with the latest in Medical Technology, it also offers the expertise of the best neurologist in Bangalore.

HOW TO PREVENT BONE INJURY?

As we age our bones start becoming in brittle as they tend to lose their bone density. The risk of injuries increases and hence it becomes important that we pay attention to our bone health and stay away from orthopaedic injuries.
Throughout the aging process of the body, there is bone loss and old bones are absorbed with the creation of the new bone. The bone health depends on apparently the balance between the old and the new bones. Bone loss also happens across your lifespan when the body absorbs calcium and phosphate in high quantity from the bones.
Hence, you need to be aware and work on keeping your bones strong enough. Here are a few tips you can use to keep your bones healthy throughout and decrease if not stop the rapid weakening of the bones.

bones_with_no_personal_injury

Avoid Addictions – Smoking and alcohol can affect your bone health hence avoid smoking as far as possible and keep your alcohol habits at bay.

Balance your Diet – as they say you are what you eat, so keep yourself fit by eating a balanced diet and avoiding junk. Add a bit of walking, jogging or exercise to your daily routine. This will certainly make you fitter and enhance your bone health too.

Vitamin D Profile Check – Many women after pregnancy tend to lose vitamin D from the body. As Vitamin D is required for absorbing calcium also, its an essential component as calcium is bone food. So, getting Vitamin D profile checked is advisable and if low, vitamin D supplement intake is required.

Heath Check – A routine health check is important so as to know how your body and bones are doing. So meet up your physician and if required get your tests done to check your body and bone health. Based on the findings the doctor will recommend you further action.

Well, small inclusions and exclusions in your daily lifestyle can go a long way in maintaining your bone health and reducing bone injuries or spine injuries and keep you independent and strong.

 

RRMCH has got the best team of orthopaedic doctors in Bangalore. RRMCH has got many reviews as best orthopedic hospital in Bangalore by treating all kinds of RTA

Health Tips For Women Above 40

As women age and surpass the middle age milestone called 40, even though age is just a number, practically the body does have to deal with certain issues that crop up as we enter this phase. So what can you do to keep your health in optimal condition? Here are few tips that might just help you out.

Health First – Many a times while keeping the family needs as a priority women forget to check on their health issues or ignore It most of the times. One needs to understand that only when one is healthy then only can they take care of their loved ones.

Health Tips For Women Above 40

Body Check – If you haven’t done a medical checkup its time. Once you hit 40 do it once every two to three years. Check for deficiencies in your body particularly Calcium, Vitamin D and B12. Vitamin D and Calcium are needed for strong bones and in your 40’s you require 1000mg of calcium and 400 to 800 UI of vitamin D every single day so either you have to switch to that sort of diet or go for supplements. The checks you need at this age include eye testing, BP test, Mole check, Mammogram, Glucose test Pap and pelvic test as well as thyroid. All these need to be done every 2 – 3 years approximately.

Exercise – Exercise is good for all but more so once you turn 40. You are aging and you need to exercise to stay fit. Kick start your day with strength training and see the change within 6 months. Just dedicate 30 minutes a day to it.

Diet Check – It’s time you revamp your diet and go for a balanced one which will help you cope with your deficiencies and keep your cholesterol levels under check. Having breakfast daily can help greatly against skipping it. A study reveals that over a period of time people who take good breakfast lose more weight than the ones who make breakfast their smallest meal. Get in a lot of protein as they are mood boosters and help you relieve yourself from poor memory, excessive thinking or depression.

Get good Sleep – Sleeping helps you reduce stress and hence a good sleep is important. Particularly women don’t care about it much and it ultimately takes a toll on their health. Also try to control your stress through meditation and yoga. This will help you stay fit physically and mentally.

Spend time with Girl Friends – Ya, you might be busy to the core but take out time to hangout with your girl buddies because it is found that women with socialization or hobby activities have less risk of heart disease or less blood pressure and diabetes issues.

RRMCH has got the best health checkup packages in Bangalore. You can check out the pricing packages of 4 plans available for all employees and individuals.

Post Stroke Motor Skill Recovery Made Faster – Vagus Nerve Stimulation methodology

When a person suffers from a stroke, the nerve cells in the brain die away due to blockage in supply of blood. This results in failure in motor skills because the nerves are dead and the connection between the brain and the nerves is lost. The methods that are in use bypass the damaged area of the brain and use other brain cells to handle the lost function. As there are less number of neurons to spare, the patient has to face a movement disability that is long lasting. Now, researchers at the university of Texas, Dallas have found a way out to speed up the motor skill recovery process with the help of the vagus nerve stimulation methodology.

vagus-vagal-nerve-stimulation

The Vagus nerve is responsible for controlling the parasympathetic nervous system which in turn supervises numerous bodily functions like circulation and digestion. A device is implanted in the neck to achieve electrical stimulation. VSN, has been already used for treating depression and is a well- documented technique for fine tuning the functioning of the brain. The role of the VNS is to strengthen the path that leads to the neurons that is damaged after stroke. There has been a visible increase of three fold to five fold in the engaged neuron with VNS addition to the rehab.

The study determines that if we use the approach to deal with complicated motor skills, these improvements further improve the simple movements. It is a significant step in creating guidelines for using VS for post stroke therapy as per the researchers.

The results of the preclinical study carried out by the scientists here showed that the recovery in rodents on which the vagus stimulation (VNS) couple with physical therapy experiment was carried out, doubled long term recovery rate as compared to the therapy in use in these times.

The work is already published in the journal Stroke, and the trial is already on in humans in Dallas and 15 other sites in the country. The researchers have also developed an application that can help us monitor their performance and recovery process remotely too while they use it at home for improving their upper limb motor skills.

Rajarajeswari Heart Center, part of the esteem institute, Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital. Was established in May 2012 as an initial non-interventional department with 2D echocardiography, Treadmill Test and cardiac consultation.

Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic Kidney disease or CKD is s result of loss of kidney function over a period of time. Practically, the kidneys fail, if you may say so. There are though, five stages of CKD depending upon the severity. When the kidneys fail the waste, water and toxic substances accumulate in the body because the kidneys are not able to excrete them. This can further result in conditions like acidosis (excessive acidity of body fluids), disorders related to fatty acids and cholesterol, anemia and high blood pressure.

Chronic Kidney Disease

While Stage five is obviously the end stage known as kidney or renal failure which results in complete kidney function failure. At this stage the person needs dialysis to survive or kidney transplantation.
Acute kidney failure can also lead to loss of kidney function but it’s faster over a period of few days or weeks. But, this condition is reversible many times and there is a possibility of complete recovery of kidney function. But sometimes, it could end up as irreversible and require dialysis.

STAGES
Here’s a run-down the stages of chronic kidney diseases.
1. Slight damage with normal or increased filtration      GFR > 90
2. Mild decrease in kidney function                                GFR range 60-90
3. Moderate decrease in kidney function                       GFR range 30 -59
4. Severe decrease in kidney function                           GFR range 15-29
5. Kidney Failure                                                            GFR <15 / Dialysis

DIAGNOSIS
To check for kidney damage, you need to undergo a few tests that include checking the level of waste products like creatinine and urea, in blood and urine test for abnormalities that indicate kidney damage cause. You may have to undergo an ultrasound for kidney structure assessment and biopsy for determining the cause of kidney problem. The diagnosis is based on results of Glomerular filtration rate and includes details like patient’s age, gender, race and serum creatinine levels.

BEST KIDNEY HOSPITALS IN BANGALORE

RISK FACTORS
Some of the common risk factors of Chronic kidney disease include smoking, hypertension, obesity and diabetes mellitus.

TREATMENT
After course of treatment is decided after determining the cause of the disease. Some kidney complications are treatable while some are not. The treatment procedure includes controlling the symptoms, reducing the complications and slowing the progression process through tested methods. In case the kidneys are severely damage then end stage treatment is provided. The medications used include those for reducing cholesterol levels, treating anemia and high blood pressure, reducing the swelling and protecting your bones. You might also be required to go on low protein diet to minimize wastage in blood.

END STAGE TREAMENT
If your kidneys fail then the only treatment options available are dialysis or transplant. Dialysis is the process of removal of waste products from the body artificially with the help of a machine viz hemodialysis or a thin tube (catheter) fitted in the abdomen and dialysis solution that absorbs the waste plus excess fluids and is drained out. viz peritoneal dialysis. Kidney transplant on the other side is an expensive but better procedure because it involves replacing your kidney with a healthy kidney of a donor surgically. It could be of a deceased or living person. Though, medications after the procedure are to be taken life long for your body to accept the organ through life but no dialysis.