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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Treating childhood asthma: key lies in diagnosis
Obesity and technology: can the stomach be fooled?
Ayurveda
Health Notes Soap residue in fertilizers Hormone that affects appetite Parental factor in heart disease |
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Treating childhood asthma: key lies in diagnosis
Third, although many management approaches are similar, there are significant differences in diagnosis and drug handling in the case of children. It is extremely unwise to consider them as mini-adults and half or reduce the dosage of medicine. In fact, drug doses are calculated based on the surface area of the child, the maturity of renal, liver and other metabolic systems to handle the load. Finally, the interaction between the physician and the patient’s parents is the crucial factor. It is often this relationship — the human factor on which the success or failure of treatment plan hinges. This is certainly true of all chronic illnesses but is especially true in properly managing the child with asthma and the family dynamics that result from such a disease. The treatment of each child should be individualised and requires treating the patient, the parents and the environment. Despite the antiquated health care provider attitude that “doctor knows best”, many parents are well informed through books, Internet, etc, and are keen to participate in treatment decisions. Nevertheless, clinicians have wisdom from years of experience and scientific knowledge from in-depth study. These must be used for developing a partnership approach to treat the child and the family. The definition of asthma has changed. The emphasis should be on treatment of underlying pathology that produces symptoms rather than just the treatment of symptoms. Despite the frequency with which it occurs (5 to 22 per cent), childhood asthma is unfortunately not diagnosed correctly or soon enough. There is a tendency to relate the symptoms of asthma to infectious processes and mistreat the child with antibiotics. There are many reasons for this; the main being that childhood asthma manifests differently than the case in adults and needs specially trained paediatricians to deal with it so that there is no delay. The majority of asthma cases occur before two years of age despite the fact that this is the time when attention to a child’s care and environment is at its highest. Proper treatment at such an early age may have a great impact on the outcome of treatment. Inflammation, if left untreated early, may result in irreversible changes. It cannot be overemphasised that on examination asthmatic children may have typical fancies and many peculiarities, but may not have typical features, which are found in adults. Therefore, they deserve specific attention by trained doctors. There are millions of children who have yet to receive the benefit of correct diagnosis and treatment. They are losing their childhood. Let us not make children “Therapeutic Orphans” due to our follies or gains. —
The writer, a Chandigarh-based allergy specialist, was earlier |
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Obesity and technology: can the stomach be fooled?
Minneapolis, Minnesota: The company that invented the heart pacemaker is employing the same technology to trick obese patients into thinking their stomachs are full. And Medtronic Inc., the world’s biggest maker of medical devices, is not the only medical technology company trying to tap into the $100 billion obesity market. While Medtronic is trying to develop a battery-powered gastric pacemaker that causes the stomach to contract, sending signals of satiety to the appetite centre in the brain, a small start-up also is working with the famed Mayo Clinic on a device that uses electricity to paralyse the stomach, reducing or stopping contractions that churn food as part of the digestion process. Doctors and companies across the United States are looking at various technologies to combat obesity, including brain stimulation. These methods, though not completely understood by doctors, may be preferable to bariatric surgery since device-based treatments are reversible and have fewer side effects. Despite failures so far of some devices in clinical trials, companies are pushing ahead, convinced that medical devices hold the key to battling obesity.
— Reuters
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EYESIGHT
Summer’s here and the beach beckons. You’ve detoxed, body brushed and moisturized your skin in excited anticipation. You plan your summer getaways and outdoor adventures, pull out your summer clothes, buy lots of sunscreen and slap it on ever so often. But this isn’t where safety ends this summer. It is the potentially harmful Ultra Violet (UV) rays of the sun that you need to watch out for, which can damage the long-term health of your eyes (laboratory studies have shown UV radiation as a causal factor for cataract) and the delicate skin surrounding them. UV radiation can play a contributory role in the development of various ocular disorder, including age-related cataract, pterygium, cancer of skin around eyelids and photokeratitis. In fact, the eye may be at a greater risk from the sun than the skin. The skin has the capacity to adapt to UV radiation by producing melanin (tan) that protects against UV exposure. The eye does not develop a tolerance to UV rays, but becomes more sensitive with repeated exposure, and the effect on the eye is cumulative. It is important to note that reflective UV light, or glare from water, sand, snow and even the road can also have a debilitating effect on the eye. And even on cloudy days, up to 80 per cent of UV rays can pass through. So, the importance of protecting your eyes from UV exposure should not be overlooked, whatever the weather. The natural reaction of the eye when exposed to direct or reflective light is to squint, as it tries to block out the glare, which is at best uncomfortable, and at worst squinting not only causes eye fatigue but also encourages the development of unsightly facial fine lines and wrinkles. Not particularly eye-catching! Other cosmetic UV damage to the skin around eyes, otherwise known as “photo ageing”, manifests itself as dryness, sagging or loss of elasticity and mottled pigmentation. More seriously, the WHO estimates that 20 per cent of cataracts are primarily due to sun damage, and excessive UV exposure has resulted in the development of skin cancers, of which 10 per cent occur on the eyelids. Hence appropriate eyewear and hats are not just fashion accessories but are essential. It is important to ensure that one invests good quality eyewear that blocks 100 per cent UV radiation. People who wear prescription glasses need not fret. They do not have to alternate between prescription glasses and sunglasses as they move around. Today, the market has photrochromic lenses (variable tint) which automatically adjust to the level of UV light they are exposed to, going from exceptionally clear indoors to sunglass dark outdoors. The UV rays blocking eyeglasses provide the most complete and convenient eyewear to shield the eye from the harmful effects of the UV rays of the sun. While most prescription lenses offer some UV ray protection, not all are equally effective. Use plastic photochromic lenses that block 100 per cent UV radiation and enhance visual comfort by preventing eye fatigue by reducing glare. Plastic photochromic lenses optimize visual clarity by allowing just the right amount of light to reach the eye. These lenses transition from clear to dark quickly when you move form indoor to outdoor and fade back just as fast when you move indoors from outdoors. —
The writer is Chairman and Medical Director, Centre for Sight, New Delhi.
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Ayurveda World Asthma Day, observed on May 2, reminds us of the need to augment our efforts to provide better health care to patients suffering from this vexatious disease. Asthma is a disease of the respiratory system, where the airways get obstructed due to muscle spasm and swelling within the airways which may be with or without secretions. Ayurvedic texts have it that wrong and unsuitable diet and subsequent digestive impurities are a potent cause for respiratory allergy leading to asthma. A combination of other allergic or non-allergic factors, including air pollution, vagaries of the weather, emotional stress and heredity predispositions, can also be responsible for the genesis of asthma in susceptible persons. In recent years a number of scientific studies have come to the conclusion that certain foods and nutrients exacerbate asthmatic inflammation and bronchial hyperactivity while others reduce such pathology and promote easier breathing. Due to the advanced and effective emergency management of asthma available these days its reasons are often overlooked. But it is a fact that an asthmatic attack in the case of young patients is mostly precipitated by wrong food. According to ayurveda, asthmatic reactions to food can vary widely as both the whole and the processed foods are known to precipitate such attack. Diet, the chemicals added to food items these days and individual susceptibility supported by seasonal discrepancies and other environmental factors are found to set off allergic reactions in the body. It is widely documented that several commonly used food items like milk, yoghurt, ice-cream and other dairy products cause coughing and wheezing in many asthmatics. Any unsuitable food can lead to a respiratory spasm, or cause irritation or inflammation that will then overreact with environmental triggers like virus, pollens, smoke and dust. Apart from any ordinary fruit and vegetable, this may include even common foods like cereals such as wheat, rice and maize, poultry products and bakery items or eatables made of yeast. Many modern foods consumed occasionally or as part of our daily diet have preservatives, flavours and colours which are considered a potential prompters of respiratory or other allergies. It is seen that in some patients even an attack of hyperacidity sets into motion an episode of asthma. This factor highlights the ayurvedic dictum of maintenance of post- digestive purity also. Asthmatics are advised to choose a food that suits their ‘prakriti’ and should keep their digestion in perfect order. It is better to scan one’s diet and evolve a food plan carefully as many times the reactions occur hours after a particular food has been eaten. —
The writer is a Ludhiana-based senior ayurvedic consultant.
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Health Notes Washington: A high dietary intake of polyunsaturated fat found in fish oil and vitamin E seems to halve the risk of developing motor neurone disease, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. Polyunsaturated fats include omega 3 found in certain vegetable oils and omega 6, found in fish and green leafy vegetables. The authors base their findings on 132 patients with potential or definite amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), one of the disabling conditions known as motor neurone disease. Motor neurone disease is thought to be caused by genetic and environmental factors, and diet has been previously implicated in its development.
— ANI
Soap residue in fertilizers
Washington: Agricultural researchers at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found out that, triclocarban, the anti-bacterial ingredient of antiseptic soap, when washed down in the drains, and ending up in agriculture fertilizer, can be a health risk. Senior author Rolf U. Halden, assistant professor and co- founder of the Johns Hopkins Center for Water and Health, said that it was ironical that we use a toxic chemical which has no benefit, and then recycle it for agriculture and food. “The irony is twofold. First, to protect our health, we mass- produce and use a toxic chemical which the Food and Drug Administration has determined has no scientifically proven benefit. Second, when we try to do the right thing by recycling nutrients contained in biosolids, we end up spreading a known reproductive toxicant on the soil where we grow our food. The study shows just how important it is to consider the full life cycle of the chemicals we manufacture for use in our daily life”, said Halden.
— ANI
Hormone that affects appetite
London: Here’s good news for all those people who want to shed those extra pounds as a new research has shown how topping up the levels of a hormone found in the gut could help reduce the appetite and increase activity in overweight and obese people. The study, now being pre-published online in the International Journal of Obesity, shows how the team from Imperial College London gave injections of oxyntomodulin to 15 overweight but healthy volunteers from Hammersmith Hospital, and monitored how this affected their food intake, and levels of activity. “The discovery that this hormone has a double effect, increasing energy expenditure as well as reducing food intake, could be of huge importance. When most people diet, this produces a reduction in activity, which is probably an adaptive trait to conserve energy during times of famine. However this does make it especially difficult for obese individuals trying to loose weight.”
— ANI
Parental factor in heart disease
Washington: A new study has found that men and women whose mothers have coronary heart disease (CHD) have a higher risk of developing the disease than if their fathers suffered from CHD. The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Kristina Sundquist, assistant professor at the Karolinska Institute’s Center for Family Medicine in Stockholm, Sweden. The study found that men had a 55 percent greater risk of developing disease if they had a maternal history of CHD and a 41 percent greater risk if they had a paternal history of CHD. They also found that the risk more than doubled if both parents had the disease. |
EYESIGHT
Why a separate title “Childhood asthma”? First, the majority of asthma cases begin in childhood, making it the number one chronic paediatric illness. Second, asthma is more of a syndrome than a disease that affects adults and children differently. General physicians often fail to diagnose it in early stages and in variant forms resulting, in mismanagement, indiscriminate use of antibiotics, antitussives, and antihistamines, etc, that further complicate and prolong the illness.