Monsoon Dangers!

The monsoons are much awaited due to the vast relief they offer from the scorching summers, but there’s also a downside to the rains. Every monsoon season, the risk of catching various diseases is extremely high. Many of these monsoon diseases remain undiagnosed until they progress to the later stages, greatly increasing the risk of mortality. This is why early diagnosis of diseases in rainy season is so critical, making the difference between life and death. If you notice any symptoms of illness that are common in the monsoon season, visit a doctor right away!

In order to keep yourself safe, you should know these common monsoon-time diseases.

Typhoid

This water-borne infection is brought about by the consumption of contaminated water and dirty sanitation.

Symptoms: High fever, tormenting pain in the abdomen area and cerebral pain, sore throat, headache, rash and constipation

Prevention: Drink boiled water, avoid street food, wash your hands often, avoid cold food

Malaria

Malaria is caused due to parasites transmitted through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. It is very common during the monsoon because there is a sharp rise in the increase of mosquitoes. This is because, during monsoon, water collects in puddles and other empty areas and creates the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Symptoms: Fever at regular intervals, bouts of shivering, muscle pain and weakness

Prevention: Use mosquito repellent, wear long sleeves, use a mosquito net during the night, don’t let water stagnate in your area

Cholera

Cholera is another deadly disease. The bacterium that causes cholera is usually found in food or water contaminated. Also, poor hygienic conditions help this disease to spread.

Symptoms: severe diarrhoea, dehydration, fever, hunger and water-electrolyte imbalance

Prevention: Wash hands with soap and water frequently, drink only safe water including bottled water or boiled water, eat food that’s completely cooked and hot and avoid street food vendor food.

Jaundice

Jaundice can be a really painful experience. It is a kind of sickness that is caused by excessive bilirubin in the blood and causes your skin to become yellow. This sickness harms your liver considerably.

Symptoms: Yellow tinge to the skin and the whites of the eyes, itchiness, fatigue, abdominal pain, weight loss, vomiting and fever.

Prevention: Drink clean water, avoid excessive alcohol, eat healthy food

Leptospirosis

The disease is usually spread through the consumption of contaminated water and contaminated food or by wading in dirty water with open wounds.

Symptoms: High fever, cold chills, severe headaches, muscle ache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain with diarrhoea and rash

Prevention: Avoid contact with stagnant rainwater, keep all wounds clean and covered; use antiseptics to clean the wound and prevent infection, avoid swimming in possibly contaminated water (sea, lakes, etc).

Chikungunya

Chikungunya is transmitted by the bite of infected Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. These mosquitoes breed in the stagnated water and bite during bright daylight.

Symptoms: Fever, joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling and rash.

Prevention: Mosquito-proof your house, wear long – sleeved shirts and long pants, use insect repellents

Dengue

This disease is normally caused by Aedes mosquitoes and they have a track record of frequently wreaking havoc upon your well-being. It is not a contagious disease and therefore does not spread through contact with the infected person.

Symptoms: High fever, headache, rash, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain

Prevention: Mosquito-proof your house, wear long-sleeved clothes and long trousers when going outdoors, apply insect repellent

Hepatitis A

The Hepatitis A virus causes this disease, which is spread by the faeco-oral route. Though there have been isolated cases of people contracting the disease by coming in direct contact with a patient, epidemics are caused by flies.

Symptoms: High body temperature, headache, joint pains, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, rash and a general yellow tinge to the body

Prevention: Hepatitis virus vaccination

Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is commonly known as the stomach flu. The reason that it is so common in the monsoon is because it is caused by ingesting contaminated food or water. It is contagious and spreads through contact with the infection person.

Symptoms: Diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, nausea and fever

Prevention: Wash your hands often, do not eat raw or undercooked foods, avoid contaminated water and food when travelling, use hand sanitizer regularly

In case of severe symptoms due to any such disease, call our 24-hour helpline at +91-22-3099-9999.

Tobacco use harms nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases and reduces the health of tobacco users in general. Quitting tobacco lowers your risk for a variety of diseases and can add years to your life. Have a look at the grave threat that tobacco poses on your body.

Tobacco and your heart

The chemicals in tobacco harm your blood cells and damage the function of your heart. This damage increases your risk for:

• Atherosclerosis, a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up in your arteries
• Aneurysms, which are bulging blood vessels that can burst and cause death
• Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes coronary heart disease (CHD), heart attack and damage to your arteries, chest pain and high blood pressure
• Stroke, which is sudden death of brain cells caused by blood clots or bleeding

Breathing tobacco smoke can even change your blood chemistry and damage your blood vessels. As you inhale smoke, cells that line your body’s blood vessels react to its chemicals. Your heart rate and blood pressure go up and your blood vessels thicken and narrow.

Tobacco and your lungs

Tobacco smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs found in your lungs.

• Lung diseases caused by smoking include COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
• Cigarette smoking causes most cases of lung cancer.
• If you have asthma, tobacco smoke can trigger an attack or make an attack worse.
• Smokers are 12 to 13 times more likely to die from COPD than non-smokers.

Tobacco and your brain

Tobacco can seriously affect the normal functioning of your brain.

• Nicotine, the drug that makes tobacco addictive, goes to your brain very quickly.
• Nicotine makes you feel good when you are smoking, but it can make you anxious, nervous, moody, and depressed after you smoke.
• Using tobacco can cause headaches and dizziness.

Tobacco and Cancer

Tobacco use can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body:

• Bladder
• Blood (acute myeloid leukaemia)
• Cervix
• Colon and rectum (colorectal)
• Esophagus
• Kidney and ureter
• Larynx
• Liver
• Oropharynx (includes parts of the throat, tongue, soft palate, and the tonsils)
• Pancreas
• Stomach
• Trachea, bronchus, and lung

Tobacco smoking also increases the risk of dying from cancer and other diseases in cancer patients and survivors.

Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital’s Centre for Cancer brings together the expertise within the hospital to provide comprehensive and coordinated care for patients with all types of cancers. We offer a broad scope of cancer services, ranging from public education, screening and diagnosis, to treatment, pain management and palliative care.

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/centresofexcellence/centrefor_cancer.html

Tobacco and pregnancy

Using tobacco during pregnancy increases the risk for pregnancy complications. Tobacco harms babies before and after they are born.

• Bleeding during pregnancy
• Ectopic pregnancy
• Miscarriage
• Premature delivery of baby
• Stillbirth
• Abnormalities of the placenta

Tobacco and newborns/childhood

Maternal tobacco use during pregnancy and exposure of a child to second-hand smoke in childhood is known to be a risk factor for following conditions:

• Maternal smoking is associated with congenital malformations
• Increased risk of allergies
• Higher blood pressure in childhood
• Increased likelihood of obesity
• Stunted growth
• Poorer lung function
• Increased likelihood of developing asthma

Tobacco and autoimmune diseases

The immune system is the body’s way of protecting itself from infection and disease. Tobacco use compromises the immune system, making smokers more likely to have respiratory infections.

Tobacco use also causes several autoimmune diseases, including Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. It may also play a role in periodic flare-ups of signs and symptoms of autoimmune diseases. Tobacco doubles your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

Tobacco smoke has been linked to type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes. Smokers are 30% to 40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers. Additionally, the more cigarettes an individual smokes, the higher the risk for diabetes.

Quit Tobacco Use and Cut Future Health Risks

• Quitting tobacco use cuts cardiovascular risks. Just 1 year after quitting tobacco, your risk of a heart attack drops sharply.
• Within 2 to 5 years after quitting tobacco, your risk for stroke may reduce to about that of a nonuser’s.
• If you quit tobacco, your risks for cancers of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, and bladder drop by half within 5 years.
• Ten years after you quit smoking, your risk for lung cancer drops by half.

India is currently facing a ‘Tobacco Epidemic’. As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2010 more that 1/3rd of Indian Adults use Tobacco either as smokeless tobacco (26%) or as smokers (14%). Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital’s De-Addiction Clinic offers the ‘New Leaf Program’ which involves individualised treatment plans for patients taking into consideration medical issues, motivational interviewing to encourage patients to quit addiction and multi-disciplinary team approach.

Your eyes are an important part of your health. There are many things you can do to keep them healthy and make sure you are seeing your best. Follow these simple steps for maintaining healthy eyes well into your golden years.

Feed Your Eyes

Good eye health starts with the food on your plate. Nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zinc, and vitamins C and E might help ward off age-related vision problems like macular degeneration and cataracts. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, particularly dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, or collard greens is important for keeping your eyes healthy.

Know your family’s eye health history

Talk to your family members about their eye health history. It’s important to know if anyone has been diagnosed with a disease or condition since many are hereditary. This will help to determine if you are at higher risk for developing an eye disease or condition.

Never sleep in contact lenses

The risk of developing a corneal ulcer is 10 to 15 times greater in extended-wear contact lens users than those who only wear their contacts during the day. Sleeping in contact lenses deprives your corneas of oxygen, that can cause infection and encourage bacteria to grow.

It’s fine to take a 20-minute nap in your contacts but it’s safer to take them out beforehand—just in case you oversleep! If you do wake up to realise you’re still sporting your lenses, don’t try to take them out right away; if your eyes are dried out, you could actually pull the top layer of your cornea away with them. Instead, wait 20 to 30 minutes and lubricate with artificial tears before you remove the contacts. Then stick to glasses for the rest of the day.

Use Safety Eyewear

If you use hazardous or airborne materials on the job or at home, wear safety glasses or protective goggles. Sports like ice hockey, racquetball, and lacrosse can also lead to eye injury. Wear eye protection. Helmets with protective face masks or sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses will shield your eyes.

Don’t touch and rub your eyes

Whether you wear contacts or not, you’re asking for trouble by unnecessary poking and rubbing your eyes. Sometimes your eyes itch and you have to rub, but it’s best to keep the lid closed and only touch the outside of the eye. Rubbing too hard can also lead to broken blood vessels and inflammation. Your eyes are protected by mucous membranes—moist tissue that can easily collect dirt and germs—so they’re a great place for bacteria to grow.

Give your eyes a rest

If you spend a lot of time at the computer or focusing on any one thing, you sometimes forget to blink and your eyes can get fatigued. Try the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look away about 20 feet in front of you for 20 seconds. This can help reduce eyestrain.

Get annual eye exams

Getting your overall eye health checked out is extremely important. There are no pain receptors in the eye, so if you have a broken blood vessel or a tumour, you would otherwise not know it until it starts to interfere with your vision, or worse.

Never use expired solution, lenses, or drops

Solutions have cleansers that kill bacteria on your lenses, so once expired, their ingredients cease doing their job.

The same thing goes for the lenses themselves, which sit in a sterile solution that can break down over time. Artificial tears and prescription eye drops also have expiration dates that you should pay close attention to, as well. And never rinse your contact case or store contacts in any liquid that’s not sterile, like tap or distilled water; both have been associated with Acanthamoeba keratitis, a drug-resistant corneal infection.

Wear sunglasses all year round

Failing to wear proper UV protection can result in corneal burns, skin cancer on the eyelids, and visible spots on the whites of the eyes. Make sure your glasses provide protection against UVA and UVB rays and wear them whenever you’re out in the sun.

Quit smoking or never start

Smoking is as bad for your eyes as it is for the rest of your body. Research has linked smoking to an increased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and optic nerve damage, all of which can lead to blindness.

At Kokilaben Hospital, we are committed to providing the highest quality of eye care as per international standards. From general services to the treatment of a variety of eye problems, our Ophthalmology Clinic combines cutting edge technology with professional expertise, compassion and dignity to deliver the best results.

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicaldepartments/opthalmology.html

Higher consumption of citrus fruits, sodas and juices, coupled with changes in dining hours during the summer months can induce acid reflux.

Acid reflux occurs when some of the acid content of the stomach flows up into the oesophagus, which moves food down from the mouth. The stomach contains a strong acid that helps break down food and protect against pathogens. The lining of the stomach is specially adapted to protect it from the powerful acid, but the oesophagus is not protected. A ring of muscle normally acts as a valve that lets food into the stomach but not back up into the oesophagus. When this valve fails, and stomach contents are regurgitated into the oesophagus, the symptoms of acid reflux are felt, such as heartburn.

Causes of Acid Reflux

One common cause of acid reflux disease is a stomach abnormality called a hiatal hernia. These are other common risk factors for acid reflux disease:

• Eating large meals or lying down right after a meal
• Being overweight or obese
• Eating a heavy meal and lying on your back or bending over at the waist
• Snacking close to bedtime
• Eating certain foods, such as citrus, tomato, chocolate, mint, garlic, onions, or spicy or fatty foods
• Drinking certain beverages, such as alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee, or tea
• Smoking
• Being pregnant

Symptoms of Acid Reflux

The main symptom of acid reflux is heartburn. Heartburn is a discomfort – happening in the oesophagus and felt behind the breastbone area – that takes the form of a burning sensation; it generally gets worse when the person lies down or bends over. It can last for several hours and also tends to worsen after eating food.

If heartburn occurs regularly – two or more times a week – it is termed gastroesophageal reflux disease. It can also have other symptoms, including:

• Dry, persistent cough
• Wheezing
• Asthma
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Throat problems
• Difficulty or pain when swallowing
• Chest or upper abdominal pain
• Dental erosion
• Bad breath

Foods that may help reduce your symptoms

There are specific foods you can incorporate into your diet to manage symptoms of acid reflux.

• Green leafy vegetables
• Ginger
• Oatmeal
• Non-citrus fruits
• Egg whites
• Healthy fats (walnuts, olive oil, sesame oil etc)

Lifestyle changes to treat acid reflux

One of the most effective ways to treat acid reflux disease is to avoid the foods and beverages that trigger symptoms. Here are other steps you can take:

• Eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day
• Quit smoking
• Put blocks under the head of your bed to raise it at least 4 inches to 6 inches
• Don’t eat at least 2 to 3 hours before lying down
• Don’t wear tight clothes or tight belts
• If you’re overweight or obese, take steps to lose weight with exercise and diet changes

Common trigger foods for people with reflux

Certain foods tend to cause problems for many people with the disease. To control your symptoms, you could start by eliminating the following foods from your diet.

• High-fat foods like:
  • french fries and onion rings
  • full-fat dairy products such as butter, whole milk, regular cheese, and sour cream
  • high-fat desserts or snacks such as ice cream and potato chips
  • cream sauces, gravies, and creamy salad dressings
• Citrus fruits like:
  • oranges
  • grapefruit
  • lemons
  • limes
  • pineapple
  • tomatoes
• Chocolate
• Garlic, onions, and spicy foods
• Caffeine
• Mint

Treatment of Acid Reflux

It’s time to see your doctor if you have acid reflux symptoms two or more times a week or if medications don’t bring lasting relief. Working with your doctor can also help you develop a diet to control or lessen your symptoms.

Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital’s Centre for Diabetes & Obesity has a host of facilities to deal with acid reflux and its associated problems.

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/centresofexcellence/centrefor_diabetesobesity.html

Eight hours in a chair in front of a computer, five days a week can take a serious toll on your body. From avoiding eye strain and back pain to reducing calorific snacks, here are tips that will help you stay healthy and in shape at work.

Snack Smart

Take a break, get a breath of fresh air, and skip the fried, or sugar-loaded snacks. Smart snacks would include dry fruits, fruits, nuts and seeds etc. or you can carry a homemade salad or granola too.

Posture Perfect

Slouching while working is very bad because, over a period, it can cause a musculoskeletal disorder. This can further lead to recurring pain, numbness, tingling and stiffening of various body muscles. In order to avoid this problem, follow these steps:

• Maintain the 90-90-90 (neutral) posture.
• Adjust chair height to make thigh parallel to the ground.
• Adjust armrest height to maintain relaxed shoulder position and ensure wrists are straight.
• Lock chair back in the upright position.

Water Wins

Drinking an adequate amount of water, eight to 10 glasses every day can help keep you hydrated. Many foods are also good sources of water; fruits like oranges, grapefruit, grapes, watermelon, and apples can help keep you healthy and hydrated. The 3 o’clock lull that you may feel at work can be due to dehydration.

Laptop Level

Though laptop stand raises the laptop screen to your eye level, you may end up bending your wrist upwards, which can cause wrist problems in the future. To maintain a straight wrist position:

• Use an external keyboard: While using a laptop stand, use an external keyboard for typing. It helps in keeping your wrist in the correct position.
• Take support of the desk: Keeping the external keyboard on the edge of the desk leaves your arm with support. Hence, move the keyboard slightly in front, bringing your chair closer and rest your arm on the desk.
• Increase chair height appropriately: Adjust your chair height in such a manner that your arm rests completely on the armrest, maintaining the 90-90-90 rule.

Exceptional Exercise

One of the most important things you can do during the day to stay healthy and in shape is to exercise. Walking during lunch is a great idea. Not only are you burning calories, but you’re de-stressing and refreshing. If you really can’t get out during lunch, park farther away than you normally do so you have a short walk to work in the morning and evening or make it a habit of taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

Super Stretches

Take periodic health-breaks, because if you get too focused on a task, this will lead to a still posture, which can reduce blood flow to muscles and can increase fatigues. Over time, it can also lead to numbness and pain. Hence, to avoid this problem, keep varying your task during the day, regularly adjust your position and flex your body to improve blood circulation. This will help to keep you energetic and active all day long.

Clean the Clutter

Your keyboard, mouse and phone can harbour thousands of germs that are just waiting to make you sick. So get out the disinfectant. Viruses can survive for hours to days on a hard surface … if a virus such as a rotavirus were on the surface of a telephone receiver, infectious doses could easily be transferred to persons using the telephone.

Recent studies have indicated that sitting for long periods of time does not have a positive impact on your health. However, following these tips can give your health a good boost!

Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital’s Pain Management and Palliative Care Clinic helps in reducing pain and restoring the quality of life. Our skilled team of doctors excel in managing any kind of pain. Click here for more:

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicaldepartments/painmanagementpalliativecare.html