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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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First aid for eye
emergencies
Kidney complications are preventable
Normal blood pressure could be the secret to a long life
Old people aren’t rude, but only impulsive
Dietary supplements may pose potential health risks
Deafness on the rise
Grapefruit is good for gums
Ayurveda & you
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First aid for eye
emergencies
When most people enjoy fire-crackers during the festive season, go out to mow the lawn or perform other ordinary house hold activities, the last thing they think about is their eyes. But millions of eye injuries occur each year. Knowing what to do for an eye emergency can save valuable time and possibly prevent vision loss. Here are some instructions for basic eye injuries. Be prepared
Chemical burns In all cases of eye contact with chemicals, one should do the following: Immediately flush the eye with water. Hold the eye under a basin or shower, or pour water into the eye using a clean container. Keep the eye open and as wide as possible while flushing. Continue flushing for at least 15 minutes. Do not use an eye-cup. If a contact lens is in the eye, begin flushing over the lens immediately. This may wash away the lens. Do not bandage the eye. Seek immediate medical treatment after flushing. Specks/foreign body Do not rub the eye. Try to let tears wash the speck out or use an eyewash. If the speck does not wash out, keep the eye closed, bandage it lightly, and see a doctor. Blows to the eye Apply a cold compress without putting pressure on the eye. Crushed ice in a plastic bag can be taped to the forehead to rest gently on the injured eye. Don’t apply any pressure on the eye. In cases of pain, reduced vision, or discoloration (black eye), seek emergency medical care. Any of these symptoms could mean internal eye damage. Cuts and punctures
A serious eye injury is not always immediately obvious. Delaying medical attention can cause the damaged areas to worsen and could result in permanent vision loss or blindness. So, if you sustain an eye-injury, rush to an eye-specialist or visit the nearest hospital even if the injury seems minor at first sight. The writer is Chairman and Medical Director, Centre for Sight, New Delhi. E-mail: msachdev@bol.net.in
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Kidney complications are preventable
We know that the kidneys filter waste products from the blood and add them to the urine. When waste material in the urine does not dissolve completely, crystals and kidney stones are likely to be formed. Kidney stones (calculi) are hardened mineral deposits.
The medical term for this condition is renal stone disease. A kidney stone forms when there is a high level of calcium (hypoercalciruria) in urine, a lack of citrate in urine, or insufficient water in the kidney to dissolve waste products. Urine normally contains chemicals — citrate, magnesium, pyrophosphate — that prevent the formation of crystals. However, the level of these inhibitors can contribute to the formation of kidney stones. Of these, citrate is considered to be the most important. Prevalence One person in 10 develops kidney stones during his/her lifetime in North India. Renal stone disease accounts for 7-10 of every 100 hospital admissions. Kidney stones are most prevalent in patients between the age of 30 and 45 years and the incidence declines after 50. Treatment Treatment depends on the size and type of the stone, the undelaying cause and the person suffering from urinary infection. Stones of 4mm and smaller (less than 1/4” in diameter) pass without intervention. Patients are advised to avoid becoming sedentary, because physical activity, especially walking, can help move a stone. Dietary changes may be required and fluid intake should be increased. Patient with kidney stone must increase their urinary out- put. Generally, 2000 cc of urine per day is recommended. Dietary calcium usually should not be severely restricted. Reducing intake often causes problems with other minerals (e.g. oxalate) and may result in a higher risk for calcium stone disease. Medication Over-the-counter pain relievers (e.g. Vovran, Meftal Spss, etc.) usually are not effective for severe pain caused by kidney stone. Oral analgesics may be prescribed to minimise moderate pain associated with stones. Surgery If a kidney stone does not move through the ureter within 30 days, the kidney gets dilated and surgery is considered. Urologists use several procedures to break up or remove stones. Prevention Prevention of renal stone disease depends on the type of stone produced, the underlying urinary chemical risk factors, and the patient’s willingness to undergo a long-term prevention plan. The patient may be asked to make lifestyle modifications such as increased fluid intake and changes in diet. —
The writer, a former professor at Rohtak Medical College, is associated with Pushpanjali Hospital, Gurgaon.
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Normal blood pressure could be the secret to a long life
Washington: People in their fifties who have normal blood pressure could live up to five years longer than those with hypertension (high blood pressure), an international study has found.
The study, which has been published in the current issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, tracked 3128 people who celebrated their 50th birthday while enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study, which looks at risk factors for heart disease. It was the first study of a large and continuously monitored group showing the effect of high blood pressure on life expectancy overall and on life expectancy in people with cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke. The research showed that people with normal blood pressure lived five years longer on an average than people with high blood pressure and developed cardiovascular disease (or died) 7.2 years later. The study also found that people with normal blood pressure developed cardiovascular disease later in life than people with high blood pressure. Research team member Dr Anna Peeters, from the Monash University Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, said the study provided clear evidence that preventing high blood pressure could prolong life and lead to a better quality of life in later years. “What is really surprising is the unexpectedly large number of years difference in life expectancy between those with hypertension and those without,” she said. “And while those with lower blood pressure lived longer, they also lived healthier lives.” “So, by preventing hypertension you would have a much higher life expectancy and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease,” Dr Peeters said. The study was based at Erasmus University Rotterdam, in The Netherlands and involved members from Monash University, the Federal Knowledge Center for Health Care in Belgium, and the Scientific Institute of Public Health, Belgium. The Framingham Heart Study was started in Massachusetts in 1948 to look at risk factors for heart disease.
— ANI
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Old people aren’t rude, but only impulsive
Washington:
The older you become the more likely you are to make someone blush with embarrassment in public, claims a recent research.
According to a new Australian study recently published in the journal Psychology and Aging, old people are more likely to ask their friends
embarrassing questions in front of everyone, but that doesn’t mean they are trying to get rude. In fact, the age-related changes in brain function has resulted in their lack of tact. Tests carried out by researchers at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, found that people aged 65 to 93 years were more likely to ask each other such personal questions in a public setting than younger people aged 18 to 25 . However, the study also tried to find out why older people blurt out such discomforting questions, when they were just as likely as younger ones to agree that making public inquiries about private issues was socially inappropriate and embarrassing. The ability to inhibit thoughts and actions is critical for socially appropriate discourse but that ability appears to weaken due to changes in brain function related to the normal ageing process, according to one of the authors of the report, Associate Professor Bill von Hippel, of the UNSW School of Psychology. “It’s not just that older people were more likely than younger people to ask personal questions,” said Professor von Hippel. “In fact, young people in our study were more likely to ask each other questions of a personal nature, but they usually did so in private. It seems that young adults have a greater ability to hold their tongue than older adults in contexts where it is inappropriate to discuss personal issues,” he added. Behaving badly like this also seems to have negative consequences for peer relationships, particularly for older people. “Young people weren’t too bothered when their friends were occasionally inappropriate, but older adults felt much less close to those acquaintances who asked about their private lives in public,” said Hippel. —
ANI
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Dietary supplements may pose potential health risks
Washington:
Two common weight loss supplements promoted as ephedra-free and safe for dieters can cause increased heart rate among healthy people, and could have harmful health effects in some people, according to a study by UCSF scientists.
Their placebo-controlled clinical study is the first to examine the pharmacological effects of these re-formulated dietary supplements. The research examined the effects on blood pressure and heart rate of two dietary supplements containing bitter orange extract — a substance that has rapidly replaced ephedra in weight-loss products since it was banned by the FDA in 2004 because of concerns about serious health effects. The study involved 10 healthy adults given single doses of one of the two supplements or a placebo. The two supplements tested were Advantra Z and Xenadrine EFX. Single doses of both products increased heart rate by an average of 11 to 16 beats per minute over baseline, the scientists found. This would be the equivalent of an 18 per cent increase if baseline rate is 80 beats per minute. In addition, Xenadrine EFX also significantly increased blood pressure by 7 to 12 percent (9-10 mm Hg), the researchers reported. Xenadrine EFX appears to have similar acute cardiovascular stimulant actions as banned ephedra products, according to their report. “These findings indicate that ephedra-free dietary supplements could have some of the same adverse health effects associated with previously available ephedra products, such as Metabolife 356 and Ripped Fuel,” said Christine Haller, UCSF assistant professor of medicine and lead author of the paper. The scientists call for further research on the safety and effectiveness of bitter orange — containing supplements — particularly among those most likely to take them: overweight people who may have other health conditions. The research is published in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
— ANI
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Deafness on the rise
Deafness has become the most frequent sensory defect in humans with nearly one in two persons developing a hearing defect during their life-time. Three million deaf children are in India at present and another 25,000 add up to this number every year. Since deafness leads to a major hurdle in communication, only one in 10 deaf children go to school and half of them drop out by the age of 13. Besides affecting the development of speech and language skills, deafness in newborns and young children results in their poor growth and also affects the psychological well-being of their families.
Though children born with deafness make up the most common type of deafness, it can affect people at any age. Deafness in adults is generally due to the exposure to excessive noise, infection, drugs and advancement in age. However, deafness among children is mainly hereditary in nature. Population studies have shown that half of the children born deaf have predominantly genetic causes without any other abnormalities. This form of deafness (termed non-syndromic hearing loss, NSHL) is an inherited disorder and can even affect the children of parents with normal hearing. Sometimes inherited deafness may be sex-linked or it may show maternal inheritance only — a mother can transmit the disease to her children (both males and females), but only daughters can further pass it to their children. Several mutations in various genes (GJB2, GJB6, MYO15A, TMIE and TMC1) have been identified in NSHL patients. Screening of the people with a family history of deafness for these mutations can help in the identification of parents whose newborns may be at a higher risk for the development of deafness. Genetic counselling of carrier parents is common in many Western countries and has helped in the reduction in the number of children born with deafness. Genetic studies in Indian families have also shown the prevalence of mutations in various deafness genes, some of them being more common in South Indian population and consanguineous families. Screening for these mutations is being done in families and children born with deafness in PGI, Chandigarh, under a project funded by the Indian Council for Medical Research. —
The writers are associated with the PGI, Chandigarh.
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Grapefruit is good for gums
London:
A new study published in the British Dental Journal has claimed that just two grapefruit a day pushes up vitamin C levels in the body and stops bleeding gums.
According to researchers at the Friedrich-Schiller University in Germany, the antioxidant effect of vitamin C appears to increase healing in the gums. The researchers looked at grapefruit’s effect on 58 people, both smokers and non-smokers, and found that all those eating grapefruit each day for a fortnight after a main meal had higher levels of vitamin C in the blood by the end of the two-week study. In non-smokers, vitamin C levels rose by 50 per cent and almost doubled in smokers, while levels remain unchanged in volunteers who did not eat grapefruit. There was also a significant reduction in bleeding from the gums among those who ate grapefruit. “Because vitamin C promotes the healing of wounds and boasts antioxidant properties, it contributes to the therapy and prevention of gum disease,” the Daily Mail quoted a spokesperson for the British Dental Association as saying.
— ANI
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Ayurveda
& you
Of the many gynaecological disorders, the premenstrual syndrome, or the PMS, has nowadays gained greater attention of medical practitioners. It is a clustre of many symptoms that women experience each month preceding the start of menstruation. According to rough estimates, PMS affects about one-third of the female population between 20 and 50 years of age.
Though experts are busy finding the exact reason for the premenstrual syndrome, it is believed that the fluctuation of hormones during the menstrual cycle may be accountable for this condition. According to ayurvedic physiology, the “doshic” imbalance, more commonly of the “vata” accompanied by inequities of the “pitta” and the “kapha” is responsible for this uncomfortable phase. This imbalance is triggered by following a wrong daily routine and adhering to an unsuitable diet plan. Usually, PMS symptoms can be divided into two parts: the physical and the psychological. Starting from distension and pain in the abdomen and tenderness in the breasts, the physical symptoms include headache, dizziness, diarrhoea and a feeling of heaviness and fatigue. The psychological symptoms comprise of mild depression, forgetfulness and difficulty in concentration, irritability and inclination towards anger, restlessness and increased craving for a particular taste. It is seen that PMS symptoms gradually taper off with menstruation and recur after two or three weeks. The discomfort felt as a result of impending menstruation is usually mild-to-moderate in nature. But in some cases its severity can interfere with a woman’s day-to-day activities. Usually, the women who suffer from pre-existing anxiety and depression find that the intensity of their problem is increased before the start of menses. Similarly, many other diseases like acidity, gas trouble, migraine and arthritic pains are more often aggravated during an episode of PMS. Ayurveda believes that women are far more sensitive to the rhythms and cycles of nature. PMS is less troublesome for those who ensure healthy eating and adopt a lifestyle which synchronizes with the master cycle of nature. A light but nutritious and easily digestible food with more focus on smaller and frequent meals is very beneficial for women who are undergoing a phase of PMS. Cutting out caffeine and alcohol, reducing excessive use of tea, sugar and salt and avoiding fried and junk food is the recommended diet plan for such cases. Regular exercise promotes blood circulation, checks disorders pertaining to the endocrine system, reduces obesity and brings a lot of relief to the patients suffering from premenstrual syndrome. Any type of routinely physical effort like simple walking, jogging and swimming helps keep body fit and active. Adopting easy yoga postures and meditation techniques help control psychological symptoms like irritability, anger and depression. However, one should not indulge in any strenuous activity during the period of menstruation. Classic Ayurveda offers a number of medicines which, if taken regularly for a few cycles, ease the problems of PMS. Chandra Prabha Vati is the most famous medicine which cures the symptoms of heaviness and fatigue. Kumaryasava facilitates proper digestion and helps regualrise the periods, and Ashokarishta and Shatavari Ghrita are the best uterine tonics. The psychological symptoms of PMS can be taken care of with Brahmi Vati, Kamdoodha Rasa (Mukta Yukta) and by using single herbs of ahwagandha and jatamansi. —
The writer is a Ludhiana-based senior ayurvedic consultant.
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Kidney-related complications are on the increase because of lifestyle changes, sedentary habits, lack of easiness and an unhealthy dietary plan. There is need for new strategies to control the problem.