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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Women too go bald Disc prolapse:
common cause of low back pain Homoeopathy
& you Books Vitamin D
deficiency can increase cancer risk Exercise prevents
pregnancy-related diabetes Pesticides raise can cause child
leukaemia
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Women too go bald Do
you notice that your hair is getting thinner and thinner? Does the top of your head seem to be balding? Do you find many strands of hair left behind in your comb? Do not neglect these signs. You could be suffering from Female Pattern Thinning. Yes, men are not the only ones who go bald, though this was earlier more common. Today trichologists are noticing an increasing number of women losing hair and that too at a very young age. How does female pattern thinning differ from male pattern thinning? In men, the pattern of hair loss is characteristically U-shaped. It starts with thinning on the crown or a receding hairline, which advances to thin the top of the head. In women, androgenetic alopecia appears as diffuse hair loss or thinning in the fronto-vortex region (i.e. on top of the frontal region) and the frontal region is spared in most cases. This hair loss happens at a slower rate than in men, and it happens at a much later time in life. But age does not make it less traumatic for a woman, especially if she has had luxuriant hair before.
When and why does it start? The problem lies with our hormones. Women have both male hormone androgen (which is responsible for hair growth all over the body) and female hormone oestrogen. In men, androgen ironically causes the destruction of the hair follicles in those who are genetically predisposed to this kind of baldness. This is known as androgenetic alopecia. Fortunately for women, hormone oestrogen counteracts and stops this negative action of androgen. However, in periods when the oestrogen level falls, androgen starts attacking the hair follicles, and as the hair follicles are destroyed, hair starts to thin. For example, before menopause, when the production of oestrogen is high, this hormone has a protective effect against the small amount of testosterone that women also produce. After menopause, when the production of female hormone oestrogen shows down dramatically or stops altogether, Female Pattern Thinning in women begins. This thinning may also be triggered off by stress, the consumption of oral contraceptives, after a hysterectomy, childbirth or hormone-replacement therapy. Abnormally high levels of the male hormone can also lead to a violent attack on the hair follicles, causing Female Pattern Thinning. Symptoms of Female Pattern Thinning caused by high androgen levels are excessive oiliness of the scalp and face, tender and painful scalp, and growth of hair on the face and skin.
How fast does the hair thin? The overall rate of hair loss varies from person to person. It is even possible to have some spontaneous but temporary hair re-growth. While some women might take 25 years to reach significant baldness, others might take just five years to go extensively bald. Moreover, hormone production varies with the season. Winter is the worst period as testosterone production increases. (Testosterone, when converted to DHT, adversely affects the hair follicles). Added to this, women have a monthly hormone cycle.
Treatment Unlike in men, where areas of skin may become completely devoid of hair, Female Pattern Thinning most often involves diffuse thinning and production of thinner hair fibres. There is less destruction of the hair follicles in specific regions of the skin. This means that regenerating your hair is easier to achieve for women. Of course, if you find that you are losing excessive hair or notice any of the above-mentioned symptoms, visit a trichologist as soon as possible. Your condition may worsen and become harder to treat. Natural treatments are always the best, as hormone-replacement therapy, which is sometimes touted as an option for hair regrowth, generally has side-effects. DONG QUAI COMPLEX, made from a plant called Dong Quai (which has natural oestrogen), has had great results when thinning is due to low oestrogen levels. High androgen levels can be treated by SERENOA COMPLEX (composed of Saw Palmetto fruit and a stem called Horsetail). Of course, it is best to get your condition and its case accurately diagnosed through a tricho-check. So, next time you look in the mirror and find your hair growing horribly thin, don’t hide behind a scarf with embarrassment. Trichology exists so that you don’t have to suffer in silence and in shame. The writer is India’s first certified woman trichologist based in Mumbai.
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Disc prolapse: common cause of low back pain Disc
prolapse is a common source of low back pain, especially in lower back vertebrae. More than 90 per cent of the cases have disc prolapse at a L4-L5 or L5-S1 level. Acute disc herniation is often a source of agonising and debilitating low back pain with or without radiation in the leg. Most commonly it occurs in males in the age group of 20-40 years. Discs are soft rubbery pads found between the vertebrae that comprise the spinal column and act as shock absorbers. The outer edge of the disc is like a cartilage with a jelly like substance in the centre. Discs have a high water content, but as age progresses the water content decreases and the disc begins to shrink and hence less flexible. The common causes of herniated disc are :
The usual symptoms are pain, numbness and weakness of legs. The patient may experience local pain at the back, but usually it radiates to one leg. This pain shooting down the legs is also called SCIATICA wherein the disc presses the sciatic nerve. This pain is aggravated on coughing, prolonged sitting, posture changing, etc. An accurate diagnosis can only be reached with proper clinical examination. The present trend seems to be over-reliance on X-rays, MRI, etc, rather than on clinical assessment — history and physical examination. Even asymptomatic patient (with no back pain) can also have MRI or CT findings suggestive of abnormal lumbar disc. Proper treatment and rehabilitation can markedly reduce the period of treatment and discomfort. More than 70-75 per cent of disc herniation cases resolve within six months. Conservative Treatment includes short periods of bed rest and medication in the form of analgesics. The rationale behind bed rest is to reduce the inter-disc pressure and minimise nerve root irritation. It is ideal for such patients to lie down supine with lower half of the body slightly elevated with a pillow under the knees/ or lying on the side on position with knees bent. Physical activity is to be increased slowly, avoiding movements that aggravate pain. When conservative treatment fails, epidural injection of cortisone can be given to decrease pain and nerve irritation so that the patient can initiate physical therapy. A maximum of three epidural injections can be given in a year with a gap of at least
two weeks. Surgery is indicated if disc fragment lodges in the spinal canal and presses on a nerve causing loss of function. The usual surgery done is called LAMINECTOMY and involves removing a portion of the vertebral bone. Newer surgical techniques are fast emerging and are more popular as they are minimally invasive and use a local anaesthetic. This can be performed on an out-patient basis, and the patient can return to work in two to six weeks. The aim of lumbar disc surgery is to release pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots. Surgery should only be undertaken if the following symptoms are present:
Patients undergoing disc surgery have 10 times higher risk of developing subsequent disc herniation as compared to other patients. Only 5-10 per cent patients with persistent sciatica require Extension and isometric exercises are advised for pain relief. Flexion exercises are not advised initially as they exert a greater load on the intervertebral disc.
The writer is a former doctor/physiotherapist, Indian cricket team.
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Homoeopathy & you It
might sound a bit odd, but it is true. Winter can cause depression or depression-like symptoms in some individuals. This is also called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Symptoms of depression and unexplained tiredness might occur during the winter months and end during spring or when summer starts. December to February (when the daylight hours are short) are the months in which it becomes severe. This seasonal disorder affects the mood and the energy level. It is related to seasonal variations of light. A person is said to be suffering from this disorder when he or she shows a marked change in behaviour for at least two weeks during the winter months. The following changes or a part of them may be noted: feeling of sadness and/or increased irritability, inability to enjoy and do certain things that would be a source of enjoyment otherwise. There may also be feelings of guilt or dissatisfaction. Energy levels fall down considerably and there is an unexplained fatigue (feeling of tiredness). One of the prominent symptoms during SAD is the desire to eat excessive simple carbohydrate foods (sugary and starchy substances). There is a marked tendency to overeat and put on weight very easily. SAD can also cause one to sleep more than normal. Concentration levels decline during this period and one may have difficulties completing one’s work. Social behaviour also gets affected and one tries to avoid interaction with friends, co-workers, relatives and family members. The exact cause remains unclear. However, it is thought to be linked with daylight levels. The symptoms of depression are a result of the brain’s response to decreased daylight levels. Sunlight regulates two chemicals in our body i.e. melatonin and serotonin. These chemicals regulate sleep-awake cycle, energy and mood levels in our body. Melatonin is linked with sleep and is produced during dark hours. Thus when the days are shorter and the periods of dark are more than the daylight hours this is produced more which results in decreased energy levels, lethargy and excessive sleepiness. On the other hand, levels of serotonin (a chemical which is responsible for the stability of mood) go down during the winters as it is produced during the daylight hours and the symptoms of depression occur. For the treatment of SAD, homoeopathy would individualise patients based on three conditions: symptoms of depression, causation, and the mental makeup of the patient. For example, a highly emotional and sensitive female suffering from depression during winter would require a different medicine from a female who is not so sensitive but suffers from depression during the same weather. This high degree of individualisation gives homoeopathy an edge over other systems of medicine. By individualising the treatment the disease can be annihilated from its root. The conventional system of medicine while treating depression, uses psychotropic drugs to alter the behaviour of the neurotransmitters (a chemical messenger that enables the nerve cells to pass signals and communicate with each other and thus allow the body to function properly), whereas homoeopathy goes a step ahead and tries to understand and treat as to why these neurotransmitters have started to behave in this manner. In other words, homoeopathy tries to rectify the situation that caused these transmitters to go haywire. According to homoeopathic philosophy, we cannot cure the end stage if we are overlooking the most essential part of the disease — the root cause. The writer is a Chandigarh-based homoeopath.
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Books Rupa
& Co. has brought out a useful paperback, entitled “Bedroom Exercises for Busy People”, written by Dr.
B. S. Aggarwal, a Chandigarh-based orthopaedic surgeon. The book will be useful for all, though the author has especially recommended it for 30-plus busy people. The book is written in a simple and readable language and is free from unnecessary medical jargon. The good get-up of the book, simplicity of the exercises and illustrations of fit and beautiful models have enhanced its appeal and acceptability. The message is that exercises should become a way of life. Unfortunately, we are caught in a web of excessive eating and sedentary life-style. The rich also indulge in the use of intoxicants, besides high-sugar and high-salt foods as a symbol of luxury or glamour. With plenty of mutton and chicken and a variety of paranthas and little exercise, fitness has taken a severe beating and obesity has come as an epidemic for people of all age groups. This book will be useful for all these people, especially for the busy executives, bureaucrats, politicians and others who complain of being ‘too busy to find time for exercise’. We put too much stress on material gains without finding enough time to plan right food, exercise, relaxation and entertainment. This haste and over-ambition can drain out our energy. Most will develop protruding tummies, wrinkled faces and distended intestines while still in their 30s or 40s. To prevent the problems, give attention to your fitness and diet requirements. The book attempts to offer you a feeling of total fitness of the body and mind. If you maintain fitness you can remain cheerful and ward off diseases like obesity and its consequences hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and so on. While taking care of the physical attributes, the exercises take care of emotional health as well, which is equally essential to remain fit. Dr. Aggarwal say that for achieving a high degree of fitness you have to make constant efforts, and spare only a few minutes daily in your bedroom for simple exercises of your limbs, spine and joints. The author could also emphasise that if the exercises were performed while inhaling fresh air in one’s lawn/ compound/ terrace the benefits would be even more. Similarly, busy executives and others, who are constantly stressed, may find an outlet in fitness centres to perform exercises, at a price they can well afford. Some easy ways to ensure physical activity:
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Vitamin D deficiency can increase cancer risk
NEW YORK: Correcting vitamin D deficiency could significantly lower the risk of several types of cancer, investigators report. “The cost of a daily dose of vitamin D3 (1000 IU) is less than 5 cents, which could be balanced against the high human and economic costs of treating cancer attributable to insufficiency of vitamin D,” they point out. Vitamin D can reduce the risk of many types of cancer by blocking the growth of new blood vessels that allow cancer to thrive, a process known as angiogenesis. It can also stimulate cell adherence and “enhance inter-cellular communication through gap junctions, thereby strengthening the inhibition of cancer cell growth that results from tight physical contact with adjacent cells within a tissue,” Dr Cedric F. Garland and colleagues note in their article, published in the current issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
— Reuters
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Exercise prevents pregnancy-related diabetes
NEW YORK: Results of a study provide more evidence that engaging in regular physical activity before and during pregnancy reduces a woman’s risk developing pregnancy-induced diabetes (a.k.a. gestational diabetes). A lack of exercise may be one of the few modifiable risk factors for gestational diabetes, which affects upwards of 7 per cent of pregnancies and is associated with harmful effects on the foetus and mother-to-be, according to the authors of the study in the medical journal Epidemiology. Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes may be abnormally large, may suffer from jaundice, low blood sugar and low calcium, and may experience traumatic births, they explain.
— Reuters
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Pesticides raise can cause child
leukaemia
LONDON: Exposure to pesticides in the womb or as a child can double the risk of developing acute
leukaemia, French scientists said. They discovered that children born to women who used insecticides in the home while pregnant and after the birth were nearly twice as likely as other youngsters to develop
leukaemia. Even insecticidal shampoos to kill head lice raised the odds of the disease.
— Reuters |
