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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Diabetes can cause blindness
Children: how to ensure healthy teeth
Osteoarthritis of fingers needs early care
Fibre-rich diet good for heart Health Notes
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Diabetic retinopathy, one of the common eye problems among diabetic patients, may be caused due to changes in retina blood vessels. In some people who have diabetic retinopathy, blood vessels may swell. These vessels, in some cases, may leak fluid. In other cases, new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes and, if not treated, it can cause blindness. Does every diabetic patient suffer from this disease? No. In our clinical experience, we have seen that 60 per cent of the diabetic patients suffer from the disease. The disease is very rare in people who have their diabetic status under control; it is mostly found in type II (Non-insulin dependent) diabetic patients. How to prevent this disease? Early detection and treatment can prevent visual impairment. Remember, retinopathy often has no symptoms. Eyes should be checked yearly for the first 10 years and then every six months. More frequent check-ups may be required in severely affected patients. What role does diet play in controlling or aggravating the situation? The diet recommended by the physician definitely helps in postponing diabetic retinopathy changes, and control of diabetic status helps in delaying diabetic retinopathy. What are the various treatments? The main and the established line of treatment is definitely laser photo-coagulation of the retina. What is laser photocoagulation? The laser light beam energy is absorbed by the ocular tissues/retina where it is directed, and it is then changed to heat energy which coagulates the tissue by burning. Thus, the laser is used to “spot-weld” the leaking points in the retina and also to destroy the areas of the retina in which blood vessels have closed and to destroy the abnormal new vessels in the retina. — As Prof Amod Gupta, opthalmologist at the PGI, told Anuja Jaiswal
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Children: how to ensure healthy teeth
Children start cutting their milk teeth at about five-six months of age. The following preventive measures can keep their 32 teeth in perfect health as they grow:
Tips for moms
During pregnancy, take care of your own teeth. Get all the cavities in own mouth filled. Brush thoroughly twice a day. This lessens the bacterial load in your own oral cavity. Children get the disease-producing bacteria from their mothers’ mouth when they share spoons while eating. It has been seen that if your own bacterial count is less, there are less chances of transmitting the disease-producing bacteria, and hence dental cavities in your child.
Tips for kids
Clean your child’s gum pads even before the child cuts teeth with the help of a clean piece of cloth at least once a day preferably at night. Let the child inculcate the habit of brushing right at a very young age. Give your child a tooth brush to play when you yourself brush. Brush your child’s teeth yourself till the time he becomes capable of brushing himself. As he grows, so does his manual dexterity. Let him first brush as much as he can, then help him to complete brushing with your own hands. Supervise the brushing of your child’s teeth thoroughly at night before going to bed. When the children are young they need to be assisted in the brushing of their teeth. Similarly, teach your child flossing as he grows. Start using fluoride tooth paste as soon as the child learns to spit out the tooth paste and not swallow during brushing. Initially, use only half pea-size of tooth paste and gradually increase to pea-size to half the length of the brush as he gradually starts spitting out thoroughly. Get your child topical fluoride applications from the dentist at least at two and a half years, 6 and 12 years of age. Six monthly topical applications of fluoride are recommended. It has been found that using the above mentioned measures will reduce the likelihood of getting dental caries by 30-35 per cent. Diet, too, plays its role in the health of children’s teeth. Do not share spoons, etc., with your children. Similarly, do not kiss the child on the lips, as bacteria are seen to travel from the mother’s/care-taker’s mouth to the child. Limit the intake of sugar in any form, including sugar in milk or any drinks, to more than three times a day. On the whole, keep the total frequency of intake of diet to not more than five times a day. More frequency than this is known to increase the cavity formations. Try to keep the sugar exposures to major meal. This also helps in lessening the dental caries. The inter-meal snacks should be sugar-free. Markedly reduce the intake of sticky sugary snacks, particularly at the inter-meal snack time. By ending meal with cheese is known to reduce the occurrence of dental caries. Chewing gums containing Xylitol as sweetener are known to protect the teeth against dental caries.
Prevent crooked teeth
It is important to show your child to the dentist early in life. He can check for any deleterious oral habits that can harm teeth. If you find that milk teeth are still standing and the permanent teeth are erupting at the same time, it is recommended to visit the dentist. If timely measures are taken, the erupting permanent teeth can be guided into the proper position. Likewise, there are many tooth anomalies/ things that can be noticed by the dentist on physical examination of teeth, and with the help of x-rays like missing teeth, additional teeth, and malformed teeth. Timely action can help. Timely placement of braces can move teeth in the cases of missing teeth into empty spaces so that the child does not have to wear a denture later in life. The writer, Head of the Dental Department, The Apollo Clinic, Chandigarh, is a former Head, Oral Health Sciences
Centre, PGI, Chandigarh.
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Osteoarthritis of fingers needs early care
Osteoarthritis of the fingers of the hand is an extremely common condition; perhaps, as common as osteoarthritis of the knee. However, it is not treated as seriously as knee arthritis because it does not hinder day-to-day activities severally. Osteoarthritis of the fingers does have a familial and gender prediction. This condition is commonly encountered among females and does run in families. It commonly occurs at the stage of menopause. Small, bony knobs called Heberden’s nodes appear on the distal joints of the finger. Similarly, knobs called Bouchard’s nodes appear on the middle joints of the fingers. The fingers become enlarged; gnarled and affected individuals may experience pain, stiffness and numbness. The face of the thumb (proximal joint of the thumb) is also usually afflicted. These nodes are sometimes, but not always, associated with local pain and tenderness. The symptoms:
Treatment: The goal of treatment for finger arthritis is to reduce pain and stiffness, allow for greater movement, and slow the progression of the disease. It is advisable to consciously reduce the force and duration of fine manual or pinching grip activities in order to lessen strain on the muscles. Individuals using ball-point pen should use a flowing felt-tip pen which involves using a lighter touch. Exercises done on a regular basis help reduce tension of the muscles and ensure continued recovery. Exercises improve flexibility, strengthen the muscles that support the joints. Finger flutter exercise: While sitting on a chair, drop the hands to the side of the body. Relax the arms and move them while shaking hands and fingers. This not only increases blood circulation in the hands but also relaxes the muscles. Finger extension exercise: The affected hand elbow is placed on the side of the chair. The fingers of the affected hand are passively placed into extension with the help of the other hand. Finger stretch exercise: Raise both hands with wrists and fingers fully extended. Move the hands in a screw-type motion with the fingers closed in a smooth continuous movement, starting with the little finger. Finally, the hand is flexed as the fist is closed forcibly with the thumb overlapping the index finger. Initiating a regular exercise regime at the onset of osteoarthritis is the key to preventing long-term pain and disability. Osteoarthritis can be treated but it cannot be cured. The writer is a former doctor/physiotherapist of the Indian cricket team.
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Fibre-rich diet good for heart
London:
Nutrition experts have launched a new campaign to promote the health benefits of the world’s “original supernutrient” — fibre. According to health experts, consumers should go for fibre instead of so-called “superfoods”. They warned that Britons are not eating anywhere near the daily recommended amount. Guidelines recommend that adults should eat 25g of fibre per day, but seven in 10 men, and almost nine in 10 women, do not get enough. “The health benefits of making sure we have enough fibre in our diet really can’t be ignored any longer. It’s not difficult to incorporate more fibre-rich foods into our daily routine, whether it’s through starting the day with a bran cereal or swapping from white to wholemeal bread. A high-fibre diet can help with everything from your weight to your heart health,” Scotsman quoted Dr Sarah Jarvis, a GP, as saying.
— ANI
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Health Notes Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) said that although feeling listless is an expected part of aging, there are reasons people are tired, reports Xinhua. They conducted a study of more than 2,100 New York City residents, aged from 65 to 104, and found that almost one in five reported so little energy and they spent most of the day sitting on the sofa.
— ANI Turmeric-derived molecules effective against cancer
Washington: Synthetic molecules derived from curcumin, main ingredient of Indian spice turmeric, can help kill cancer cells and stop them from spreading, say researchers at Ohio State University. Curcumin has long been known for its multiple disease-fighting features, including anti-tumour properties. “Newer evidence describes how curcumin interacts with certain proteins to generate anti-cancer activity inside the body. We’re focusing on the pathways that are most involved in cancer and trying to optimise for those properties,” said James Fuchs, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy at Ohio State University and principal investigator.
— ANI Taking antidepressants may impair driving ability
Washington: A new study has found that taking prescription antidepressants while still highly depressed could impair driving ability. For the study, psychologists Holly Dannewitz and Tom Petros from the University of North Dakota recruited 60 people to participate in a driving simulation in which participants had to make a series of common driving decisions, such as reacting to brake lights, stop signs or traffic signals while being distracted by speed limit signs, pylons, animals, other cars, helicopters or bicyclists.
— ANI |
Diabetic retinopathy is a disease which affects most people with diabetes mellitus. Loss of vision caused by this complication is preventable provided it is detected and treated at the right time. 
New
Delhi