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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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eYESIGHT
PGI’s package system is helpful
Green tea heals the heart!
Ayurveda & you
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eYESIGHT A high proportion of our population today is hindered from seeing clearly by refractive errors such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism. Besides spectacles and contact lenses, there is another option to enjoy clear vision -LASIK surgery. LASIK stands for Laser In-situ Keratomileusis, which simply means " to shape the cornea by the use of the excimer laser". Over the past few years LASIK has become very popular over the earlier laser procedure like PRK and is accepted by people worldwide, including many leading celebrities and sports personalities. LASIK has made an enormous difference to people with near sight, far sight and astigmatism. It’s a difference that has changed their quality of life as well as quality of vision. LASIK is a skilled procedure that combines the state of the art computer technology with advanced precision. While the earlier laser procedure (PRK) treated the surface of the cornea, LASIK treats the tissue of the cornea and reshapes it in a manner that reduces myopia (minus power), hyperopia (plus power) and astigmatism (cylindrical power). LASIK procedure First, an instrument known as a microkeratome is used to make a thin flap of the cornea. The flap, which remains attached on one side, is then folded back. Next, the cool laser light from the excimer laser "ablates" - it removes the pre-determined amount of tissue to reshape the cornea with great accuracy and precision to correct the individual’s refractive error. The cornea is made flatter to treat near-sightedness, steeper to treat far-sightedness and/or more spherical to treat astigmatism. Finally, after the laser is given, the corneal flap is laid back in its original position, where it bounds instantly. Due to the cornea’s extraordinary natural bonding qualities, no stitches or sutures are required. Even an eye patch is not required. The entire procedure is painless takes just a couple of minutes or less and is done under topical anaesthesia (only drops are put in the eye to numb the cornea). Visual recovery is rapid and there is little or no post-operative pain. Some eye drops are required to be put for one to four weeks. Life-style benefits Any person who wants to reduce or eliminate his dependence on glasses or contact lenses will greatly benefit from the LASIK procedure. Though cosmesis is the chief reason for people to opt for this procedure, a small number of population may require it for vocational and life-style benefits particularly professionals in various outdoor sports like swimming, cricket, squash and badminton. People seeking employment in the armed forces and the merchant navy or those who have interest in acting and modelling also find great value in this procedure. l For many people LASIK treatment can mean new freedom l Freedom to change the way the world sees you l Freedom from the time consuming, day-to-day hassle of glasses or contact lenses l Freedom to play sports like water, winter and contact sports without the inconvenience of glasses or contact lenses l Freedom to go on holiday and work without worrying about your eyesight l Freedom to wake up during the night and see clearly l Are you a candidate for LASIK? All individuals above the age of 18 years can undergo this LASIK procedure. However, a thorough check-up is necessary before patient selection. The following criteria are essential before one qualifies to be a suitable LASIK candidate: l Stable refraction (no change in number) for one year l Eyes should be free of complications and diseases l One should not be pregnant l As there is an increasing number of clinics offering a variety of methods to correct your vision, it helps if you have some understanding of all the options before you can make a decision. The writer is
Chairman and Medical Director, Centre for Sight, New Delhi. E-mail:
msachder@bol.net.in
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PGI’s package system is helpful
Chandigarh: Pay once and feel free. Now you will not have to run around in the hospital. As the new package system of treatment gains momentum at the PGI, with a few more to come soon, the hospital says that packages are helping the patients in various ways. While they reduce the patients’ inconvienence of paying money at different counters, the one-time payment is easy on the pockets as it cuts down on the total expenditure that a patient incurs.
The Departments of Ophthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Cardiology at the PGI have so far taken the lead in offering packages to patients, and one-time payment in lumpsum takes care of the entire treatment. At the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the IVF procedure for childless couples is being offered at the Rs 15,000. Finding favours with the senior faculty, this package at the PGI costs less than what private practitioners charge — Rs 40,000 at least. The Department of Ophthalmology started with a package for lasik surgery, where the patient pays Rs 15,000 for getting his or her both eyes operated upon and Rs 7,500 for getting surgery done on one eye. The department was the first to offer the package to the patients. At the Department of the Cardiology, the PGI is already offering a one-time payment package for balloon valvotomy/ PTMC where Rs 15,000 is charged from the patients of the general ward and Rs 20,000 from those in the private wards. For emodomyo cardiac biopsy, Rs 4000 is being charged from the patients in general wards and Rs 6000 from those in the private wards. For RF ablations, Rs 15,000 and Rs 22,000 are charged respectively from general ward and private ward patients under the newly introduced packages. And awaiting the nod of the governing body is the introduction of the package system for open-heart surgery, coronary bypass and valve replacement in the Department of Cardiology. “Apart from these individual packages, the per day payment of Rs 50 by the patients in the general wards for carrying out diagnostic tests have also taken care of the unnecessary running around of patients and their attendants for paying separately for each test,’’ notes a senior faculty.
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London: A UK Institute of Child Health study has revealed that tea is a healthy drink for stroke patients, and that green tea particularly acts as a shield against damages caused by a heart attack or a stroke.
The beverage consists of a chemical compound that can actually bring down the cell death that leads to tissue death and even organ failure. A team of scientists led by Dr Anastasis Stephanou, carried out laboratory tests on heart cells and found that a major chemical component of green tea known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) can reduce cell death after a heart attack or stroke. After a heart attack, the amount of oxygen and nutrients reaching the brain and heart drastically goes down, which leads to cell death and causes irreparable harm. And in such a situation, the compound EGCG blocks the action of a protein called Stat 1, which becomes active within cells after a stressful event such as a heart attack or stroke, and plays a role in inducing cell death. It also accelerates the recovery of heart cells allowing the tissues to recover, alleviating the damage to the organs. “We’re extremely encouraged by these findings and hope to implement them in the clinical setting to minimise cell death activation levels in patients with acute coronary artery disease”, BBC quoted Anastasis Stephanou, the lead researcher as saying. Whereas more research has to be carried out before recommending green tea for a stroke patient, scientists are optimistic about it. “But hopefully we will one day be able to tell patients who are susceptible to heart disease that they can drink green tea for its therapeutic benefits”, he added. Reportedly, green tea was also known in the past for having the potential to prevent coronary artery disease, with claims that its high antioxidant properties may reduce the cholesterol level in the artery wall. — ANI
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Ayurveda & you
Headache is a common and yet very complex problem. But when we talk about migraine, it is not just the simple headache we are referring to. Migraine is a form of excruciating periodic headache which is usually temporal or unilateral and is mostly associated with nausea, vomiting and visual disturbances. It is said that migraine is hard to explain to people who don’t suffer from it.
Ayurveda sees multiple factors responsible for migraine. They include reasons ranging from dietary indiscretion to the upsetting of daily routine and confronting stressful conditions, suppression of biological urges and indulging in overwork leading to improper sleep and rest. Other notable reasons are any type of allergy, acidity, metabolic disturbances and nutritional deficiencies. Menstruation is also a reason of migraine in some women. However, this type of migraine usually abates naturally after menopause. It is usually seen that the patients who suffer from migraine have a particular type of personality, which is classified as vaatik prakriti. They are intelligent, methodical, sensitive and also more or less rigid and perfectionist persons. These traits make their mental sensors very receptive, and such patients find even mild or moderately anxious, emotional and stressful conditions difficult to cope with. Possibly, migraine’s higher prevalence among women can be seen in this light. There are well defined phases of a classic migraine attack. The poorva roopa or the premonitory signs may appear hours or days before the actual attack. These include varied symptoms like extreme psychological stages of depression or elation, neurological indicators like heightened sensitivity to light or a particular smell and various other presentations like fatigue, excessive thirst or craving for a particular food. In fact, these signs and symptoms vary from patient to patient and each person has his or her own specific indications that signal an attack of migraine. The actual phase of the disease or roopa begins with a brief period called aura which mostly precedes migraine. The patient experiences difficulty in speaking, weakness and flashing of various types of lights in the visual field. The migraine attack starts with the vitiated vata causing shooting pain in the head which gradually increases its intensity and then slowly subsides. The average duration of an attack may vary from one or two hours to one or two days. In a majority of cases this phase is accompanied by nausea, vomiting and other physical and psychological disturbances. The final or terminal phase of an attack of migraine is called vimokshavstha. When pain decreases or subsides it leaves the patient in variable conditions. Some people totally feel drained, exhausted and irritable. Many fall asleep, marking the end of the attack, whereas others feel euphoric and freshened by the feeling that the worst is over for the moment.
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