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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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COPD: a disease of
smokers
Glaucoma: a silent
vision snatcher
Meningitis: no need for panic
Ayurveda & you
A suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety
Stress is the key to longevity!
Granny’s poor diet could make you diabetic
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COPD: a disease of
smokers
When you can’t breathe, nothing else matters. We take breathing for granted. But if you have a disease called COPD, drawing a breath can be difficult, in fact, a frightening struggle. Chronic obstructive pulmonary (lung) disease - that’s what COPD means -makes it difficult to move air into and out of your lungs. Once you’ve got COPD, you can’t get rid of it. In fact, it may get worse. Simply put, it’s a disease that causes the airways of the lungs to be inflamed (swollen) and become "obstructed" or blocked. The disease has two major components - chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis is an inflammation of the airways in the lungs that leaves them irritated. Because of the irritation, the glands in the walls of airways produce an extra amount of mucus (a sticky material) that blocks the airways. This results in coughing, spitting and making it difficult to draw a breath. Emphysema damages and destroys lung tissue and large air pockets develop in lungs. Consequently, lung tissue looses its "stretch". Normal lung tissue can expand and "snap back" - like a rubber balloon. This stretch allows exhalation from the lungs after inhalation. If someone has emphysema, air becomes trapped in the lungs. This results in a struggle to catch a breath and fatigue. Most people with COPD suffer from both chronic bronchitis and emphysema, although with variable extent. What causes COPD? COPD is mainly a smoker’s disease. While there are other causes of COPD, smoking is by far the major known risk factor. About 15- 20 per cent of the smokers develop COPD. Thus, it is a "self-inflicted" disease. Many patients experience a sense of guilt. In fact, guilt, fear, anger, anxiety, depression, loneliness and frustration are as much a part of COPD as breathlessness, coughing, phlegm, fatigue, etc. You are not alone in suffering from COPD! COPD is commonly seen in adults of middle and onward age. The disease is distinctly more common in males. Five per cent males and 2.5 per cent female adults over 30 years of age suffer from this disease. How to manage your COPD? Yes, it is possible. You can gain control of COPD and relieve your symptoms by learning to manage the disease point-wise, as mentioned below. You may discuss these ideas and suggestions with your doctor / specialist/ care givers.
Smoking cessation in the single most effective way of preventing the progression of COPD. It is never too late. Although your lungs are already damaged, smoking cessation will prevent further damage. On the contrary, continued smoking, will increase the chances of infection, cough and phlegm. Breathlessness, cough, phlegm and fatigue - all these symptoms can be prevented or relieved by medications, avoiding irritants and breathing exercises. Medication cannot cure COPD but keep the symptoms controlled, and when symptoms get controlled the patients feel better. Bronchodilator drugs are the first choice; they basically open up the airways to relieve the breathlessness and wheezing. Another drug used is an anti-inflammatory drug, a corticosteroid and it reduces swelling in the airways. Although act best for asthma, they are helpful in some advanced COPD cases and during flare-ups. Antibiotics are used to treat COPD flare-ups caused by bacterial infections of the airways. Dusty or smoky air, polluted air, cold air, hot humid conditions, strong odors, etc, can cause breathlessness for many people with COPD. The patient has to figure out the sort of things as he / she lives with disease and should try to avoid them. COPD sufferers are often tired. Tiredness makes it easy to sit idle. Sitting still is tough on your body. It weakens your heart and lungs and reduces the fitness of your muscles. In the end you feel even worse - less energized, more tired and short of breath than ever. Which limit even further desire to be active and so on. So, how can you break out of this downward spiral of inactivity? You can do it by exercising regularly, eating well and keeping your weight under check and enjoying sexual intimacy with your spouse. But please consult your doctor before beginning any exercise programme. Flare-up means worsening of COPD symptoms or appearance of new symptoms. To prevent flare-ups, you should practice prevention and play it safe. You must take good care of yourself. You should eat right, get enough exercise and sleep and avoid people who are sick. Take the medicine regularly as prescribed by your doctor. Always try to identify the early warning signals of flare-ups. If you notice increased breathlessness, sore throat, cough, weakness, fever, chest pain and other symptoms of a cold, and if these symptoms continue without improvement for 24 hours and especially if phlegm turns yellow, green or brown, contact your doctor. Swelling of ankles and development of blue lips or fingers are other signs of severe flare-ups. To live your life to the fullest and for the prevention of the progression of your disease to a crippling stage, you have to manage your COPD effectively and expeditiously. To do that, you have to learn more about exercise, medication, breathing techniques, quitting smoking, early diagnosis, etc. — The writer is Head, Department of TB & Respiratory Diseases, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh.
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Glaucoma: a silent
vision snatcher
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness. It is fairly common in adults over 35. When diagnosed early, blindness from glaucoma is almost always preventable. When we look at an object, the image is carried from the retina to the brain by the nerve of sight (the optic nerve). This nerve is like an electric cable. It contains a million wires, each carrying a message to the brain, which join together to provide side vision as well as sharp, central reading vision. Glaucoma can produce damage to these "wires", causing blind spots in areas of vision to develop. How glaucoma is caused? The human eye produces a fluid which provides nutrition to the inside of the eye. This fluid keeps moving out of the eye through channels in the angle of the eye. In a normal eye , the amount of fluid produced balances out the amount of fluid flowing out of the eye. That keeps the pressure inside the eye (intraocular pressure) stable. With advancing age, these channels get blocked and the fluid drainage becomes less. This results in raised pressure within the eye. The raised pressure then starts affecting the optic nerve. The damage thus caused to the optic nerve leads to a decrease in the field of vision and sight. This condition is called glaucoma or kala-motia. What are the types of glaucoma? There are three major categories of glaucoma. 1. Primary open angle or chronic glaucoma: This is the most common form of glaucoma. Damage to the vision in this type of glaucoma is gradual and generally painless. 2. Closed angle or acute glaucoma: In this type of glaucoma, the intraocular pressure increases very rapidly due to a sudden and severe blockage of fluid drainage within the eye. Significant symptoms indicating the presence of acute glaucoma appear immediately. This condition has to be treated quickly by an ophthalmologist otherwise blindness may occur. 3. Other types of glaucoma such as congenital glaucoma and secondary glaucoma. What are the symptoms of glaucoma? Glaucoma in early stages generally does not show any noticeable symptoms. Chronic glaucoma progresses too slowly to get noticed. Some common symptoms of chronic glaucoma could be:
In the case of acute glaucoma resulting from a rapid increase in the intraocular pressure, there could be severe symptoms. These include feeling of a blind area in the eye; seeing rainbow coloured halos around lights; severe eye pain, facial pain; red eye; cloudy vision with halos around light; nausea and vomiting. Which are the high risk groups that can get glaucoma?
Is glaucoma curable? Glaucoma cannot be cured. But it can be controlled and further damage to the optic nerve can be slowed down or halted. This control can only be sustained through very disciplined and regular treatment as advised by the ophthalmologist. It is a life-long process. One must remember the following facts about glaucoma:
— The writer is Chairman and Medical Director, Centre for Sight, New Delhi. E-mail: msachdev@bol.net.in.
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Meningitis: no need for panic
Chandigarh: After keeping Delhi in the grip of fear for more than two weeks meningococcal meningitis has begun to surface in Chandigarh and its vicinity. Even as isolated cases of this dreaded bacterial infection are keeping doctors on their toes, the medical fraternity believes that there is nothing to be scared of. “The disease is, after all, 100 per cent curable and very sensitive to antibiotics,” insists the Head of the Department of Community Medicine at the PGI, Prof Rajesh Kumar. According to the doctors, despite 15 deaths and more than 150 positive cases of meningococcal meningitis in Delhi, the situation cannot be termed as epidemic in the national capital. “We get such cases on a routine basis during this time of the year at the PGI, and the majority of the cases are cured also. It’s only that the infection has spread widely in Delhi that the people here are scared of the disease,” says the Head of the Department of Neurology, PGI, Prof S. Prabhakar. What is meningococcal meningitis? Meningitis means inflammation of the lining membrane of the brain and it can be caused by bacteria or viruses. Meningococcal meningitis, caused by meningococcus bacteria, is considered a serious infection and needs to be treated urgently. Sensitive to antibiotics, the disease is common among children and older people and is curable if the treatment begins at an early stage. Strain A meningococcus is currently infecting people in Delhi and Chandigarh. How does it spread? Being an infectious disease, it spreads through close contacts like overnight stay, or the care of patients. It, however, does not spread through casual contact. “It cannot be picked up through casual contacts or from buildings or factories or water supplies or swimming pools. Even in hospitals, general nursing duties and transporting an infected patients are not enough for bacteria to be passed on. But the infection can pass on through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of patients or prolonged contact over several hours,” adds Prof Prabhakar. What are its symptoms? Headache, high fever, vomiting, stiffness or neck pain, bluish or purple body rashes, seizures, altered senses or impaired senses and cold and dry skin with a weak pulse. Treatment for meningococcal meningitis: Persons with symptoms should be taken immediately to a qualified doctor. Isolation of the patients is required for the initial 24 hours. However, after that the bacteria dies. Close family members and siblings have to be given preventive treatment (chemoprophylaxis) for two days.
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Ayurveda & you
For most people dining out is a favourite way to relax and socialise. According to the ayurvedic viewpoint, one should always take special care regarding food, and give due consideration to its quality, quantity and timings and the place of eating. Summer season is the time when the digestive power is at its low and the risk of food-borne diseases is high. No wonder, the eruption of most of the gastrointestinal troubles takes place during these hot and humid months only.
Street vendors who sell open eatables and hotels, restaurants and fast food centres with poor hygienic conditions are the potential source of spreading infectious diseases like gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, dysentery and the enteric fever. There are reports that in big cities many of the juice bars, chaat corners and eateries selling mouth-watering golgappas and chane-bhature, etc are found to be selling food-items contaminated with salmonella, feacal coliform bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms. It is not only the seasonal or the hygienic problems that matter while eating out. Different age groups like children, teenagers, pregnant women and old people have different dietary needs and there is a lot of variations about their choice and suitability to various food items. Similarly, persons suffering from chronic ailments like heart trouble, high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, obesity, raised lipids and uric acid need to take more care regarding their food. Practitioners of all medical specialities find that most of the diseases from which daily travellers suffer are the fallout of eating outside their homes. There are three basic points which should be kept in mind while eating out. These are what, how much and when we are eating. The first one deals with the quality of food which includes the hygienic aspect also. Every food item should not only be essentially fresh and wholesome but also be prepared, served and consumed with clean manners. Temptations and tantrums should not come in the way of selecting an eatable. It is better not to choose the food which seems to be reprehensible at the first sight. Eatables made with milk or dairy products, meat preparations, salads, open and cut fruits, ice cubes, stale, heavy and late-to-digest food items and desserts sold outside carry more risk of contamination than normal food prepared at home. Apart from the quality, it is the quantity and the timing which should also be taken into consideration while eating out. The food should be taken in the required quantity and at no time should one give in to the temptation to overeat. Always choose those eatables as mid-time snacks which are easy to digest and one should not lose one’s appetite for a proper lunch or dinner. Frequent partying and food taken at wrong timings spoil the next principal meal and this factor is responsible for most of the gastrointestinal troubles such as acidity, excessive gas formation and indigestion. Always remember that, contrary to the nomenclature, the process of digesting all fast-foods is slow and sluggish, and their regular consumption gives rise to many health problems. One should, therefore, always exercise one’s discretion in choosing food-items while eating out. The writer is a Ludhiana-based ayurvedic physician.
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A suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety
WASHINGTON: A brain scan study by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has shown that a suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety and depression by weakening a circuit for processing negative emotion.
In the online edition of Nature Neuroscience, Dr. Daniel Weinberger and colleagues report on their brain imaging genetics study. They said that people with the depression-linked gene variant showed less gray matter and weaker connections in the mood-regulating circuit. “We discovered the mood-regulating circuit by using the gene to interrogate the imaging data. The brain handles information much like an orchestra. So, we asked questions akin to ‘Are the violin and the clarinet playing the same tune and to what extent might this gene account for it?’” said Weinberger. Amygdala, a fear-processing hub deep in the brain and the cingulate, an emotion-dampening centre located near the front of the brain, were playing a duet under the baton of the depression- linked gene. Since the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants act by blocking serotonin transporter protein in brain cells, researchers focused on possible functional consequences of a slight variation in its DNA sequence across individuals.
— ANI
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Stress is the key to longevity!
LONDON: In a new revelation, researchers at an an anti-ageing conference in London have reaveled that short bursts of stress can help people stay young.
According to The Telgraph, Dr Marios Kyriazis who led the conference said that such exposure to stress will prolong life and help prevent chronic illnesses such as arthritis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Kyriazis, the medical director of the British Longevity Society, argued that moderate stress increased the production of proteins that help to repair the body’s cells, including brain cells, enabling them to work at peak capacity. “Research shows that cells subjected to stress repair themselves, allowing us to live longer. As the body ages, this self-repair mechanism starts to slow down. The best way to keep the process working efficiently is to ‘exercise it’, in the same way that you would exercise your muscles to keep them strong,” he added. Other stressful activities he recommended included giving a best man’s speech, following the instruction manual for a new DVD recorder, volunteering to help at a youth club and redecorating a room over a weekend.
— ANI
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Granny’s poor diet could make you diabetic
LONDON: A new study conducted by researchers at The University of Texas suggests that children may be at increased risk of diabetes if their grandmothers had a poor diet while pregnant and breastfeeding.
According to the BBC, the team led by Prof Peter Nathanielsz found that insulin resistance — which can lead to diabetes — may be programmed across two generations. Grandchildren of rats denied proper nutrition during pregnancy were found to be at greater risk of obesity and insulin resistance. “These new findings stretch the unwanted consequences of poor nutrition across generations.,” Nathanielsz said. The study showed that granddaughters were particularly vulnerable if their grandmothers’ diet was not up to scratch during pregnancy. However, boys seemed to be more affected if their mothers failed to get sufficient nutrients when being breastfed.
— ANI
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