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Dengue Is Back! – How To Deal With It?

As almost 500 cases crop up in Dakshin Kannada or Mangaluru, Dengue is back this season and with a big bang for sure in Karnataka. Already four people have succumbed to the deadly fever that is a result of the Aedes mosquitos. Unike malaria mosquitos, Dengue mosquitos breed inside the house in clean water. A viral infection, Dengue is at its peak in the monsoon season every year. The most common symptoms of dengue include headache, swollen lymph nodes, rashes, exhaustion and high fever. The main characteristics of dengue include high fever, rashes and headache.

The acute phase of the fever can last upto two weeks. The more serious and life threatening condition of Dengue is Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) occurring mostly in under 10 years children. This complication can cause circulatory collapse, hemorrhage and abdominal pain. The symptoms often occur after 3 days to 15 days of the mosquito bite. The weather conditions also are responsible to an extent for breeding the dengue mosquitos. Outbreaks are more common in tropical and subtropical areas. Though the condition is not contagious, if a mosquito bites a dengue infected, it does contract the dengue virus too and spread it onward to other people.

rrmch

Thus the Aedes mosquito is considered the vector or transmitter and humans as the source of infection. As mentioned Dengue Hemorrhagic fever or DHF is a shock syndrome of dengue that mostly affects children under 10 years of age. DHF starts abruptly with consistent fever accompanied with headache. Other symptoms include cough, nausea, sore throat, and vomiting as well as abdominal pain. The shock occurs around 2 to 6 days after the onset of symptoms with sudden collapse, mouth blueness, weak pulse to name a few. Bleeding is also a common possibility and DHF requires close monitoring. There is no particular treatment and only intensive care with blood transfusion and oxygen provision as well as immediate fluid replacement are some of the treatments. If proper treatment is provided the mortality rate could be less but it could rise to as high as 20% if not treated properly.

The best idea is to take care around your house and avoid travelling to mosquito prone areas. Check for water storage possibilities for breeding mosquitos and treat appropriately.

*Sourced from the Internet

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Hodgkin Lymphoma – A Sneak Peek

One of the common cancers across the world, Hodgkin Lymphoma affects the lymphatic system of the body. The cancer causes the cells in the lymphatic systems grow uncontrollably and spread across the body. There are mainly two types of lymphoma cancers, Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) and the other Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). The latter is much more common as compared to the first one. The treatment is different for both and hence it’s vital to know what kind of lymphoma you suffer from.

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma usually occurs around 20 to 40 years of age of after 55. The risk factors for this condition include a family history with the condition and a history of Epstein Barr infection. The condition is most common in between 15 and 30 year olds and particularly males.

The diagnosis requires a physical examination and blood tests, imaging tests or biopsy if lymph node as well as bone marrow if needed. The treatment is based on the diagnosis and the stage of cancer. The Hodgkin’s lymphoma has four stages of cancers.

Cancer Stages

Stage 1 – It’s the preliminary stage of cancer when it is limited to the single organ or lymph node only.

Stage 2 – If the cancer has spread through other lymph nodes and another nearby organ as well, it is stage 2.

Stage 3 – Stage 3 cancer is when the cancer spreads to lymph nodes both above and below the diaphragm.

Stage 4 – Known to be the most advanced stage of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Stage IV is when the cancer is spread through lymph nodes as well as other parts of the body like lungs, bones and liver.

If diagnosed at an early stage the cancer can be cured to a great extent and even the life expectancy levels increase. Though, accurate diagnosis is the key and it requires an expert pathologist to do so because there have been a lot of cases of misdiagnosis based on biopsy tests due to lack of experience. So, a good idea is to take second opinion even if it is diagnosed.

Treatment

Based on the diagnosis, the treatment involves chemotherapy sessions that uses chemicals to treat the affected cells. Post the chemotherapy, radiation therapy is carried out. At times they are done in combination. While chemotherapy can be done using pill or even through veins, radiation therapy involves usage of high energy rays like protons and X-rays to kill the cancer causing cells. The therapy is spread over several weeks and is carried out daily for half an hour period. Another option that could work is bone marrow transplant but there is a possibility of underlying infection risk. Targeted therapy is another kind of treatment that focuses on targeting specific cells and immunotherapy works in activating your immune system to fight these cancer cells. If these treatment are of no use then genetic mutations is another way that involves using drugs that target specific mutations of the lymphoma cells. Targeted therapy is the latest in cancer treatment options and is under research.

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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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Nipah Virus Again On The Prowl In Kerala – All You Need To Know

Nipah Virus is again on the Prowl in Kerala. It’s just a year back that this Virus created a Havoc in the state and went on a killing Spree. The Virus with a fatality rate of over 88% killed 21 people of the 23 cases that were registered in Kerala in 2018 and scared the hell out of the citizens. This year already 5 people are suspected to have contracted the NIV and under isolation already. So, primarily, it is a good idea to avoid travel to and around the region where the Nipah outbreak has just started. Also, here’s all you need to know about this deadly condition. The Nipah infection is associated with Pteropus Bats genus as natural hosts and was first discovered in Malaysia and Singapore among pig farmers. It occurred due to close contact with pigs and is also known to spread through infected fruit bats besides humans and others like dogs, cats, rodents and horses as well. Though, the most likely ones are known to be humans, bats and pigs. The mortality rates in pigs is not high inspite of the fact that the infection rate is In India, the first NIV outbreak occurred in Siliguri West Bengal in the year 2001, taking lives of 45 people out of the 68 detected. Then it surfaced again in 2007, killing all the 5 people known to have contracted the virus.

There is no denial that the Nipah Virus is highly fatal and humans contract it through either the body fluids of pigs, exposure to secretion of sick pigs or corpses. Human to Human contraction occurs through body fluids, saliva of the patient and corpse as well. The fruit bat to human infection is known to spread by consuming raw date palm sap that are contaminated through the saliva or the urine of bats. Even livestock that feeds on wild fruits contaminated via bats with NIV.

Nipah infection can be variable as far as symptoms are concerned right from being asymptomatic to getting fata encephalitis or acute respiratory infection. As of now there is no vaccine or treatment available for humans as well as animals. Even the 2018 Annual Review of WHO R&D Blueprint list has a mention that this condition needs an emergency and speedy research as well as development. The only way at present is to make people aware about the risk factors and the precautionary measures to be taken in order to avoid the outbreak.

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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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Know About The Vital Screening Test That You Could Ignore!

In the times when pesticides and carcinogenic stuff has become a daily part of our life and is laying the path for different types of cancers, preventive screenings can help a lot in catching cancer in time and improving the quality of life.

Today people are very much aware about preventive screenings at an early age but due to lack of time and hectic work schedules and other priorities you tend to ignore a few. Definitely, people are taking cancer screenings seriously.

Vital Screening Test

One such condition is Osteoporosis. In this condition the body loses a lot of bone and makes very less or sometimes it could be both together. In Osteoporosis, bones become brittle. They could break even if there is a simple fall or at times even due to sneezing.

As per health experts early detection and intervention can help you curb the progression of the condition with the help of medicines as well as required life style changes. To detect osteoporosis, you need to go through the bone mineral density (BMD) test.

The diagnosis can help you detect the condition, the risk factors as well as the tracking over the course of your treatment. The test that is commonly taken and is painless in nature is the Central DXA test or the Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry test similar to X-ray. This test is recommended for the 65 and above women. As of now age based recommendations are not there for men. As per the NIH below 65 women who are at the risk of fracture also need to get tested.

Risk factors include low body weight, genes, early menopause, addictions like smoking and rheumatoid arthritis disorder. People with family history of osteoporosis are at the risk of getting it early on in their 40’s. So, thinking that osteoporosis can only occur post 65 years is not apparently true.

Well, get a little more aware and serious around some conditions that might not be life threatening but still vital because it could affect quality of life by getting you into painful problems.

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Madarosis – A Condition That Causes Hair Loss of Eyelashes and Eyebrows

A condition that is as rare as one in 500 people suffering from it, is the condition called Madarosis, that leads to loss of hair of the eyelash and eyebrows. The term was initially coined only for loss of eye lashes but now it is used even for loss of hair of the eyebrow. Known to generally not cause scars this condition can lead to hair loss of one or both eyebrows, but in rare cases it could lead to scarring as well. Madarosis also known to be an alert for complex body diseases both complex body and dermatological.

Also, the role of eyelashes is to protect the eyes from foreign bodies and eyebrows of to protect eye’s bony ridges and hence is critical to the health of the eye.

Madarosis

MADAROSIS SYMPTOMS
The preliminary symptoms is that the eyelashes turn brittle leading to eyelash fall. The symptoms include eyelid itching and burning sensation as well as swelling, thinning as well as hair loss from other parts of the body.

MADAROSIS CAUSES
The condition is said to be caused due to many other underlying diseases and health conditions like Trauma, Burns, Psychiatric condition called trichotillomania, eyelid infection like syphilis, leprosy or herpes, chronic blepharitis and eyelid neoplasm. Even genetic conditions like ichthyosiform erythroderma, ehlers-danlos syndrome, cryptophthalmos as well as ectodermal dysplasia are known to cause madarosis

DIAGNOSIS
The doctor examines the patient physically and checks the scalp, eyebrows and eyelids as well as facial skin. The tests done for the same include skin skin scrapping for fungal infection diagnosis, skin swab for bacterial infections diagnosis, dermoscopy for skin examination with the help of a magnifier as well as blood tests.

TREATMENT
The treatment is based on diagnosis and includes the use of medications, borax for infections, biotin supplements for hair repair, cosmetic treatment like eyebrow tattoos, artificial eyebrows, to name a few.

Home-remedies like opting for a protein rich diet, care with doing and choosing makeup and use of castor oil on the eyebrows and eyelashes could help you get rid of infections.

 

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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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