How Rural India is a Bearing the Brunt of Non Communicable Diseases

A doctor practicing in the rural area was taken by surprise to find numerous cases of non communicable diseases amongst men and women in and around rural areas. While a 55 year old male suffered from from a heart attack, a 53 year old female was suffering from depression and anxiety. Other cases included that of chronic back pain and more, that too from a tribal village that is situated in one of the most backward districts of the state.

The question that doctors are pondering on is how are rural and tribal areas populace experiencing the health issues that are commonly associated with lifestyle of urban people. The fact is that the pattern of India’s health structure is making a paradigm shift and this has been so over the past 15 years. The fact came to light when the Government of India released its report on the death causing diseases. Further more, the figures of the report of 2010-13 showed enormous growth revealing 47% of the deaths were due to NCD’s and 30% due to Communicable Diseases. This significant rise of 7% undoubtedly indicated taking a keen interest in the healthcare issues of rural population and Non communicable diseases more so.

Well, even though as per statistics the life expectancy of people in urban as well as rural India remains the same more or less, the health issues related to aging seems to crop up in rural areas as well and not just the cities. Having said that, there are challenging dealing with rural NCDs compared to that of cities. Here’s a look through a few –

  • Unavailability for diagnosis and treatment in rural areas.
  • It can be expensive and economic issues like poverty amongst families
  • Unavailability of advanced professionals needed for treatment of NCD’s
  • Data Collection issues around Rural NCD’s hampers working on the problem further in a systematic way.
  • In India compared to developed countries NCD is common among the younger generation
  • Awareness is one of the main reasons NCD’s in rural region is not gaining the kind of attention it needs to get.

Well, NCD in rural India is no myth today as can be seen from the figures and hence the policy makers and government need to focus on devising and implementing solutions to deal with this growing healthcare issue of rural India.

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.

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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.

know more about Rajarajeswari Hospital in Bangalore

Top 5 Pregnancy Complications To Be Aware Of

The news of pregnancy brings in smiles on the faces of the family members. On the flip side, during the three trimesters, you need to be on your toes and all alert because pregnancy can cause complications if proper care is not taken. Though you are going to be under the scanner all through the pregnancy cycle and your doctor is going to get you tested on various complications, you yourself need to be aware of them and take self-care to keep them at bay.

Here is a run through some complications of pregnancy that can be life threatening to the fetus and the mom as well.

Top 5 Pregnancy Complications To Be Aware Of

1. Pre-eclampisa – It is the almost rare condition in pregnancy because it usually affects only 5 % of the pregnant women in India. This condition is caused by high level of proteins in the urine, high blood pressure or kidney conditions post 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Care needs to be taken to be aware and act promptly by the doctor if there are even mild symptoms of it because it can progress fast and can be life-threatening to the baby and the mother too. The solution to it is early delivery.

2. Gestational Diabetes – This is one of the common conditions occurring in pregnant women in India. Around 10% women could be prey to this condition that can be diagnosed during 24-28 weeks of pregnancy. Post-diagnosis your blood sugar levels will be monitored on a regular basis. Most of them with mild conditions manage to keep it at bay through exercise and diet and are able to deliver healthy babies without complications. But, care needs to be taken to avoid it from aggravating because it can then cause serious harm to the fetus.

3. Placenta Previa – This condition can cause complications towards the end of pregnancy not in the early stages. Hence, the doctors check the location and placement of your placenta with a sonography test during the second     tri-semester. 1 in 200 women suffer from this condition and it can be quite dangerous if the placenta is at extremely low levels.

4. Miscarriage – One of the most dreaded conditions which can only be avoided by taking proper care, miscarriage is caused in the first 20 weeks. This is common with Indian women and 20% of them experience this condition within 12 weeks mostly. The symptoms of it include spotting and bleeding at the vagina. The doctor does a sonography to check for the condition.

5. Premature Delivery – Premature delivery is when the cervix opens before 37 weeks of pregnancy. If the delivery happens too early then it can be life-threatening for the baby, so care needs to be taken to avoid it.

The department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has been providing comprehensive health care for women. We provide regular clinical services in Obstetrics like antenatal care, labor management, postpartum Care. We also provide specialized care in high risk pregnancies like P.I.H, Eclampsia, GDM, Multiple gestations, BOH. With the backup of NICU, we are able to salvage preterm babies of 30 weeks on wards. Highly qualified doctors, with the help of well equipped labor ward, conduct normal and caesarian deliveries

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

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.

Vitamin D Deficiency Signs Which You Tend to Ignore

Vitamin D is one of the most vital vitamins in the body and hence, its deficiency can affect the functioning of numerous systems across your body. It is made from cholesterol when your body is exposed to sunlight. More than a vitamin it is a hormone to which every cell in the body is receptive. While sunlight is a natural source, you can get it from foods like fatty fish and dairy products as well. As per the experts you cannot get the daily intake solely through food and relying on supplements is the way. Your daily intake of Vitamin D needs to be around 400-800 IU. Let us run down the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and risk factors associated with Vitamin D Deficiency.

Vitamin D Deficiency

Symptoms
The symptoms could mean different in different people. Here’s a run down –

Fatique or tiredness – If you are suffering from excessive fatigue or tiredness, you could have a Vitamin D deficiency. The doctor might suggest supplement intake to improve energy levels.

Pain in Bone / Back – Vitamin D is responsible for calcium absorption so bone or back pain could be a sign of inadequate levels of Vitamin D. Chronic back pain is a common example.

Depression – However strange it may sound, but yes depression could be a sign of Vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D supplements can help improve moods as per research.

Hair Loss – Excessive hair loss can be caused to deficiency in Vitamin D. Many of us take it to be a result of stress and ignore but never does it strike that we get our Vitamin D tested.

Bone Loss – As vitamin D plays a significant role in bone metabolism management and absorption of calcium, a deficiency could lead to bone loss and increased risk of fractures.

Muscle Pain – Though not always, muscle pain could be a result of Vitamin D deficiency.

Diagnosis – You can find out if you have a Vitamin D deficiency of not by running a laboratory Vitamin D test. The reference levels for the test are as follows
Severe Deficiency  : < 10 ng/ml
Deficiency              : < 20 ng/ ml
Normal Range       : 20 – 30 ng/ml
Sufficiency             : 30 -100 ng/ml
Toxicity                   : >100 ng/ml

Treatment – Vitamin D deficiency is generally treated by prescribing Vitamin D supplements and again re-checking after a few weeks for the results. If you feel you might be deficient in Vitamin D visit a doctor to treat it. Taking vitamin D deficiency lightly only because it is very common, is not advisable.

 

RRMCH one of the leading private medical college and hospital in Bangalore

Arm Exercise Help Regain Walking Ability in Stroke Patients

A study published in the journal of Neurophysiology shows that arm exercises helps stroke patients improve their walking ability even weeks and months after the occurrence of stroke. The researchers at the University of British Columbia, Canada did the study on a group of adults who were prone to stroke in the period of 7 months and 17 years before the commencement of the study.

Arm Exercise Help Regain Walking Ability in Stroke Patients

A training session was organized and the physical abilities of the volunteers was measured before and after the training which included a six minute walk daily to measure the distance covered in that time, 10 meter walk with a timer on to find out how fast a person can cover the distance and finally again another timer based activity which included getting up from a seated position, walking 10 meters and coming back the same distance.

The researchers also checked the stretch reflexes, electrical activity in muscles in wrists and lower legs through walking and cycling tests.

The researchers observed that the participants show good improvement in their performance particularly in the time up and go test. There was no notable improvement in grip strength of participants but the participants showed less tightness in muscles after their cycling trial.

Even their nerve activity levels showed improvement during the arm cycling task. As per the researchers, it also activated inter-limb networks and contributed to rhythmic walking coordination. In short, the arm nerved activated and helped in improving the spinal chords functioning in areas affected by stroke like legs.

The researchers added that these results are a positive sign about improvements in walking ability even afters years of having a stroke. The researchers did say that walking improvement could not be compared to other training modalities, arm training did play a significant role in human locomotion rehabilitation.

The department of physiotherapy was established in 2003 at RajaRajeswari Medical College and Hospital to cater to the preventive, creative, therapeutic and rehabilitation needs of the rural people need was felt to impart the much needed physiotherapy vocational and rehabilitation training programme.

Early Cancer Detection To Be Easier In The Coming Times

Cancer is killing people across the world and there is a significant rise in the number of deaths that are caused by cancer. We are all aware that the cancer detection and treatment as well as life expectancy has lot of do with the stage of detection. The earlier you detect it the more the life expectancy and possibility of eliminating it completely. Here is some good news in the regard. Researchers at MIT have recently found a way to detect cancer at an early stage which always has been a challenge as the particular proteins that cancer cells secrete are not easy to detect, thus aiding cancer growth prior discovery.

Early Cancer Detection To Be Easier In The Coming Times

Now there is a breakthrough in cancer research at MIT wherein, using nanotechnology, researchers can make tests to detect potential life threatening conditions like Alzheimer’s, cancer and more in the early stage. They used the nano-technology in the blood scanner. It is especially useful in detection on cancers within the body like ovarian, pancreatic and lung cancer including 100 types.

Presently, the most popular method of detecting cancer is MRI scan, CT scan or a biopsy. But, the fact still remains that even these technologies aren’t able to detect micro-metasteses or micro tumors due to the minute size of them. Using Nanotechnology though, practitioners can effectively detect them and find out where the cancer is growing and spreading. These light emitting nano particles allow tracking of cancer in real time. The results are based on the research that was carried out by a team on a mouse model with human breast cancer. They injected the nano-probes, tiny X-ray using optical devices for detecting micro-tumors. These probes move around or commute through the blood stream and locate the cancer cells where-ever there are. These work quite faster than MRI and have the ability to identify micro-tumors in suprarenal, adrenal, bones and other animal glands.

In a nutshell, the researchers believe that they have been able to find the address of cancer now, as it can detect withing the first five years itself, if used. If this projection works in humans well then it will help save many lives.

Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital is one of the leading cancer hospitals in Bangalore