War against disability
Fighting for the right of the child
Dr (Brig) M.L.Kataria
If not in things to be proud of, we are on top of the world at least in disease and disability. Mother India has over sixty million disabled persons, including over ten million disabled children, the maximum in the global comity of nations, mostly in families a little above or below the poverty line.
Mr G.S. Sandhu, the healer physiotherapist.

Skin care practices: new versus old
Dr Gurinderjit Singh
IN the recent past, the Indian market has been flooded with a large variety of cosmetics product. This sudden awareness of beauty has in turn generated a new interest in alternative cosmetic products often termed as "natural," the basis of these being common household materials.

Dietetics: coping with hypertension 
Radhika Oberoi
High blood pressure or hypertension is a problem closely related to the stress and strain of modern life. Though the cause of essential hypertension is not really known, factors like heredity and obesity play a role in it. 

AYURVEDA AND TOTAL HEALTH 
Liquorice: the sweet healer
LIQUORICE was used as a medicine in many ancient civilisations and even today it continues to be a very popular herb around the globe. Called yashtimadhu in Sanskrit, Glycrrhiza glabra scientifically and mulathi in common parlance, liquorice grows wild but is also cultivated in sub-tropical and warm regions in many parts of the world including India.

War against disability
Fighting for the right of the child
Dr (Brig) M.L.Kataria

Madam Georgiane, “Mother Teresa of the disabled”

If not in things to be proud of, we are on top of the world at least in disease and disability. Mother India has over sixty million disabled persons, including over ten million disabled children, the maximum in the global comity of nations, mostly in families a little above or below the poverty line.

While the disabled girl child is utterly neglected to die early, the disabled male child is allowed to languish longer. Hardly fifty per cent of disabled children reach adulthood, and no more than twenty per cent survive to cross the fourth decade of life.

In the Union Territory of Chandigarh, with a population of ten lakhs, there are nearly fifty thousand disabled persons, including more than eight thousand disabled children, mostly in the rural areas and slums on the periphery of the metropolis.

In a house-to-house survey last year, we identified about 250 disabled children on the north-eastern rural belt of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, comprising Raipur Khurd, Raipur Kalan, Halo Majra, Ram Darbar, Karsan and slums in this area.

They were grouped in four major categories of disabilities — locomotive (60%), Ocular (15%) ear, nose and throat (10%) psychiatric (10%) and miscellaneous (5%).

The locomotor disorders included mostly paralysis of one or more limbs (mostly due to polio), spastics, muscular dystrophies and malunited fractures, resulting in shortening and limping. The ocular disabilities included congenital and traumatic cataracts, strabismus, amblyopias, retinitis pigmentosa, high myopia, optic atrophy, phthisis bulbi due to injury or infection. Psychiatric cases included mostly mental retardation, low IQ, schizophrenia, autism etc.

We made a humble beginning last year by establishing a centre for the disabled children at village Karsan, nearest to where they live, to launch a crusade against disability, and to fight for the right of the disabled child.

Each disabled child is a case by himself and requires a holistic four-fold approach to solve his/her problem:

* A medical/surgical invasive intervention to correct/mitigate the disability, where possible.

* Life-long physiotherapy, including specific gadgetry, especially for locomotive disorders to assist and support movement.

* Basic and even higher education, including vocational training of various types as per aptitude to equip the child for self-employment and self-sustenance in due course.

* Confidence-building and rehabilitation — a salaried job but preferably self-employment.

Even though we have made a beginning at Karsan in all the four directions mentioned above, within an easy reach of the disabled children, no individual group or NGO can alone undertake this gigantic commitment in toto.

Madam Georgiane, a social activist and an educationist from the USA, Mr G.S. Sandhu, a reputed physiotherapist also from the USA and Dr S. Bathla, a paediatrician, and the local Lions Club have already joined hands with us, in addition to Col. M.S. Allagh, Major A.S. Baidwan, Mr C.L. Nanda and Mr Mittal, our dedicated team members, for our crusade against disability.

On May 8, the World Red Cross Day, the Chandigarh Red Cross Society, on our invitation, held a camp for the disabled at our centre at Karsan. At the behest of the Deputy Commissioner, Mr M. Ramsekhar, the Government Medical College and Hospital and the General Hospital sent their teams of various specialities to assess the disability in about 300 disabled children and selected cases suitable for treatment in the hospitals. The Director of Social Welfare issued the disability certificates and sanctioned disability pensions, where possible, on the spot.

Impressed by the success of this camp, and our concept of door-delivery of medical and social welfare services, the Deputy Commissioner (also Chairman of the Red Cross Society) in getting similar camps organised every Sunday for the disabled and the public all around Chandigarh in rural and slum areas, where the medical team of our centre for the disabled children at Karsan is also fully participating, along with our mobile laboratory and ECGservices, hoping to go round the entire Union Territory of Chandigarh by the end of August 2002.

Funds are needed for medical treatment, physiotherapy equipment, vocational training and rehabilitation of the disabled children. We are receiving cheques favouring Servants of People Society (Healthcare Fund), Sector 15, Chandigarh. This is a clarion call to one and all.

Skin care practices: new versus old
Dr Gurinderjit Singh

IN the recent past, the Indian market has been flooded with a large variety of cosmetics product. This sudden awareness of beauty has in turn generated a new interest in alternative cosmetic products often termed as "natural," the basis of these being common household materials. Many people believe that household cosmetics are harmless. As the knowledge of the adverse effects of modern cosmetics increases, there is going to be increased advocation of "harmless" home remedies.

Very few women know that pimples will increase when milk products like curd, milkcream or butter will be used to clean the face.

A person having allergic skin disease will have worsening of the disease when gram flour (besan), oatmeal, fine bran, raw egg white, lime juice, orange juice or rose water will be used over the face or the body either as a mask or an astringent or a cleaning agent. Many ladies give oil massage to their babies before bath. The best results of oil application in babies as well as adults are obtained when applied on a slightly moist skin after bath. The regular use of oil massage in summers can lead to the infection of hair roots.

Skin creams and moisturisers with vitamin A, E and other plant extracts do not prevent aging and skin wrinkling. The plumping action of moisturiser per se improves wrinkles temporarily. Similarly, shampoos with various additives like pro-vitamin B5, keratin etc are not having any added advantage because they are not absorbed in the scalp and the shaft is a dead structure.

Many people still believe that the shaving of the scalp improves hair growth. This is not true because the rate of hair growth remains the same and shaving does not add new hair roots to the scalp.

The eyesight cannot be improved by applying kajal which contains carbon that can only enhance the eye appeal. On the contrary, its application can cause allergy and when applied to increase the growth of eyelashes it can lead to conjunctivitis. Similarly castor oil massage does not enhance the growth of eyelashes and eyebrows. People prefer those shampoos which produce more lather, but cleaning depends upon the detergent content whereas production depends upon foam boosters.

Premature hair greying is one condition that causes tension especially in young girls. It is genetically determined and there exist no scientific data to prove the utility of oil application for the same. Neither does oil prevent hair fall which depends upon genetic factors, a balanced diet and the state of the mind.

The teenagers must know that diet has little role in the management of acne (pimples). They can relish fried food and chocolates without feeling guilty. The crops of acne will not stop coming till they get adequate treatment. Cleansing milk and various face wash available in the market have no added advantage over the ordinary soap. Foreign cosmetics are no better than Indian ones, which are designed keeping local climatic factors and the need of the people in mind.

The appearance of the facial skin is complex and depends entirely on one’s physical and emotional element being in balance. Facial is one of the commonest cosmetic service in addition to manicure and pedicure. Its use in younger age groups leads to massive crops of pimples in either sex. Facials are soothing and relaxing procedures, more popular among the fair sex. They have both physical and psychological benefits but only after the age of thirty. During manicure and pedicure, the trimming or pushing back the cuticle results in chronic infection of the nail fold. Regular steaming should be avoided since it leads to large open pores. It also damages the elastic fibres of the skin leading to premature aging. Even in acne patients, it should be used only to extract black heads not more than once a month.

Young girls studying in colleges should refrain from beauty procedures as far as possible. Always remember that the early starting as well as the excessive use of bleaching, facial, steaming, threading and waxing leads to an "orange-peel" appearance of the skin.

Dr Singh is the Head of the Department of Dermatovenereology and Hair Transplantation at Mohan Dai Oswal Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, Ludhiana.

Dietetics: coping with hypertension 
Radhika Oberoi

High blood pressure or hypertension is a problem closely related to the stress and strain of modern life. Though the cause of essential hypertension is not really known, factors like heredity and obesity play a role in it. Before you start a drug treatment, try a non-drug, behviour-modification programme. Improve your life-style, reduce weight, cut down on the salt intake, and have an exercise programme.

In the obese, weight reduction should be the first line of treatment to normalise high blood pressure. Avoid high calorie foods like sugars, sweets, cream and fats, roots and tubers, starches, dried fruits and nuts. (Stress on low-sodium diet).

Avoid

Table salt and minimise salt in cooking. Daily allowance should not exceed 3-5 gm.

All bakery products eg cakes, pastries, biscuits including bread.

All quick breakfast cereals - oats, cornflakes, rice puffs.

Tinned foods, preserved and processed foods like processed cheese, salted butter, sauces, ketchups, pickles and papads.

Carbonated drinks, preserved fruit juices, ready to serve soups.

Chocolates, coca products, horlicks, bournvita, excess tea or coffee.

Fatty products like cream, khoya, saturated fats and oils.

Fried and salted products like chips, namkeen mixtures and nuts.

Ham, seafood, bacon, eggyolk, red meat, organ-meat.

Fruit like litchi and kharbuja are rich in sodium, and should be preferably avoided.

Vegetables like palak, methi, bathua, cauli-flower, beetroot, lotus-stem (kamalkakri) should be taken in restricted amounts.

Smoking and alcohol should be completely avoided.

Question: Does garlic have any effect in lowering blood pressure?

Answer: Yes. Many studies have shown that garlic helps to lower blood pressure. Both fresh garlic and garlic supplements are effective.

Q: Bananas are said to be good for BPpatients. How far is it true?

A: Fruits like bananas, apricots, chikus, oranges, prunes and raisins, as well as vegetable soups and juices are rich sources of potassium. Potassium depletion causes the body to retain more sodium which can also increase blood pressure. So potassium supplementation helps lower blood pressure.

Q: I'm 40 years old man, slightly on the heavier side. For the last two years, I take BPmedication Idon't take much of salt but why do I need to cut down on my sugar intake? My sugar levels are absolutely fine.

A: Since you are already on the heavier side, extra sweets and sugars are adding to your daily calorie intake. It may lead to further weight gain which is not recommended. Besides sugars give you only the empty calories with no significant nutrition. Whenever you have a craving to eat something sweet, opt for a fruit. Fruits like pears, chikus, oranges, phalsas, anars, papayas and peaches should be preferred as they are very low in sodium.

Q: Breads and cakes are "absolutely no" for hypertensives. Is it true?

A:Yes, all bakery products — cakes, pastries, biscuits as well as bread should be avoided by hypertensive patients as they contain baking powder i.e sodium bicarbonate. Moreover they are quite rich in calories and as absolute no for the obese. Not only this, all food items that contain sodium in any form should be avoided eg. sauces, margarines that contain sodium benzoate as a preservative, chocolate milks and ice-creams that have sodium alginate. Avoid using products like disodium phosphate that shorten the cooking time of cereals or sodium citrate that enhances the flavour of gelatin deserts & beverages or monosodium glutamate (MSG) widely used as seasoning and in food processing.

Q: Why are fats and oils to be avoided?

A: Atheroschlerosis (hardening of heart vessels due to deposition of lipid materials in the intimal layers of the arteries) is not an unusual accompaniment of high blood pressure. Hence it is advisable to avoid a high intake of animal fats or hydrogenated oils especially vegetable ghee, vanaspati, margarines.

Radhika Oberoi is a well-known dietician based at Mohali.

AYURVEDA AND TOTAL HEALTH 
Liquorice: the sweet healer

LIQUORICE was used as a medicine in many ancient civilisations and even today it continues to be a very popular herb around the globe. Called yashtimadhu in Sanskrit, Glycrrhiza glabra scientifically and mulathi in common parlance, liquorice grows wild but is also cultivated in sub-tropical and warm regions in many parts of the world including India. It is the root of the plant which constitutes the drug.

Dr. R. Vatsyayan, is an ayurvedic consultant based in Ludhiana.