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Health Alert

When Old, You’ll Fall

Everyone falls, but this is most frequent at the two extremes of life: under the age of three and over the age of 70. In the interim, people fall less. Even if they slip, they can recover unscathed as their reflexes are better and they can get hold of something and correct themselves. In older people, with less muscle strength and a slower reaction time, falls are complete and dangerous. Seventy per cent of the elderly die as an aftermath of the first fall. Thirty per cent suffer fractures, sprains, head injuries or painful bruising. Sixty per cent of the survivors become “recurrent fallers” with three or more potentially fatal episodes during the next year. Even if recovery is complete, 90 per cent suffer from a psychological fear of falling, leading to fear of movement, loss of independence, poor quality of life and isolation.

………………an oldman falls on ground

Poor vision is a common cause of accidents. Ageing decreases vision. Perception of objects and adaptation to light and darkness are faulty. The eyesight should be checked every year, spectacles purchased and timely cataract surgery performed, if required.

Hearing too is essential for balance and safety. With age, in addition to the loss of hearing that occurs naturally, there may be a build up of hard earwax blocking the ear and affecting balance. Applying a few drops of baby oil to the outer ear canal regularly and not using ear buds (which may accidentally push the wax in) will go a long way to preventing this.

Body weight should be maintained so that the body mass index (BMI) — the weight in kilograms divided by height in metre squared — is 23. If it is less than 20, the chances of a fracture are greater, with no protective pads of fat to cushion the bones. If it is greater than 23, the chances of osteoarthritis and loss of balance are greater.

The elderly tend to walk slowly, stooping at the head and shoulders. Arm swing is decreased and there is more side to side movement. This leads to subtle alterations in the centre of gravity and a tendency towards loss of balance. The propioceptors (sensors that respond to stimuli) also react slowly, contributing to falls. To correct this, practise walking consciously correcting these defects. Also, stand with both legs planted firmly on the ground, close both eyes for a minute, and then balance on one leg with the eyes still shut. This helps in maintaining a sense of balance.

Footwear slips if it is too large, the straps are not firm and the soles are smooth. These defects have to be eliminated.

Bathroom floors can be slippery and treacherous. The tiles should be rough, not glazed and smooth. Handrails should be fixed near the toilet and shower to aid in getting up from the squatting position. Lighting in the bathroom should be bright and the switch near the door.

With ageing come diseases like arthritis, foot deformities, stroke, Parkinson’s and other tremors, epilepsy, dementia and peripheral neuropathy (numbness of the feet). These complicate other long-standing illness like diabetes and hypertension. Multiple diseases require treatment with a “polypharmacy” of drugs. These medications can contribute to giddiness and falls. Drugs for controlling high blood pressure may cause “postural hypotension”, a condition in which the blood pressure is apparently normal and well controlled on lying down but drops on standing. This is because the body does not compensate for the postural change and bring the pressure to normal levels quickly enough. Diabetic medication may cause sugar levels to drop precipitously, causing a loss of consciousness and a fall. Sometimes, elderly patients are placed on antidepressants or sedatives. They may fall off the bed, or, if they wake up suddenly in the night, they may be confused and disoriented.

The following risk factors triple the chances of a fall. Just remember “I hate falling”.

I — Inflammation of joints (or joint deformity)

H — Hypotension (orthostatic blood pressure changes)

A — Auditory and visual abnormalities

T — Tremor (Parkinson’s disease or other causes of tremor)

E — Equilibrium (balance) problem

F — Foot problems

A — Arrhythmia, heart block or valvular disease

L — Leg-length discrepancy

L — Lack of conditioning (generalised weakness)

I — Illness

N — Nutrition (poor; weight loss)

G — Gait disturbance

To estimate you’re chances of a fall, sit on a stool, get up without assistance, walk 10 steps, return to the stool and sit again within 10 seconds. If you can do this, your muscle strength, power and coordination are good and you are not likely to fall.

To prevent falls, exercise aerobically by walking 40 minutes a day. Balance can be improved with regular yoga. Exercise improves muscle and bone strength and dissipates the force of an impact during a fall. It lessens the chance of fracture by 60 per cent.

As the Indian population ages, we have to concentrate on measures to ensure that the elderly are not bed ridden and a burden to their younger caregivers. Be it at 50-60 or 80, age is no bar to exercising.

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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News on Health & Science

A Way to Measure Pain!

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Using brain scans, a team at the Oxford University has carried out a series of studies which have shown distinct differences between the brains of people in pain and others who are not.

“Pain seems to increase the blood flow to certain parts of the brain roughly in proportion to the amount of pain felt, and we can measure that activation in a brain scan,” the team’s leader Prof Irene Tracey said.

What the scientists have found is that the brain possesses what they call a “pain matrix”, with such feelings typically activating more than a dozen parts of the brain, ‘The Sunday Times‘ reported.

This is in contrast to other senses such as vision or hearing, where stimuli are generally fed to just one part of the brain for interpretation.

Source: The Times Of India

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News on Health & Science

Quick Surgery Not Helpful After Mild Heart Attack

Does rushing a patient to hospital after a mild heart attack improve his or her chances of survival? It doesn’t help much, says a new  Canadian study led by Indian-origin professor Shamir Mehta at McMaster University in Hamilton near Toronto.
…………………..
The study found that rushing patients with a mild heart attack into bypass surgery or angioplasty did not improve their chances of survival, than waiting a few days. Led by Mehta, the researchers found similar rates of death or recurrence of heart attack in patients who underwent surgery quickly after a mild stroke and those who had to wait for a day and longer.

However, patients at high risk of having another stroke or heart attack needed quick surgery, the researchers said. Calling their findings “good news for patients and physicians”, Mehta said: “While we have known for a long time that patients with a full blown heart attack benefit from receiving angioplasty as early as possible, we did not know the optimal timing of angioplasty in patients with threatened or smaller heart attacks.”

“These second group of patients represent a large burden to the health care system and outnumber patients with full blown heart attacks by about 2:1. They often respond well to initial therapy with aspirin and other anti-clotting medications.”

As part of their multi-country study, the researchers picked up 3,031 patients – from 17 countries – who underwent angiography within 24 hours of being admitted to hospital or within 50 hours of admission.

Six months after the surgery, 9.6% of patients who received early treatment suffered another heart attack or died as compared to 11.3% who received delayed surgical intervention.

The study said: “Early intervention did not differ greatly from delayed intervention in preventing the primary outcome, but it did reduce the rate of the composite secondary outcome of death, myocardial infarction, or refractory aeschemia and was superior to delayed intervention in high-risk patients.”

Mehta said: “Patients coming to hospital with small or threatened heart attacks can be treated with aspirin and other anti-clotting medications and be transferred to a catheterisation laboratory a few days later, without undue harm.

“For patients with smaller or threatened heart attacks, only those who are at high risk need to have angioplasty early. The majority can be safely treated a few days later.”

Sources:The Times Of India

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Health Quaries

Some Health Quaries & Answers

My wifw eats bricks

Q: When my wife and I visited the Taj Mahal we bought a souvenir, a replica of the Taj made of chalk. It disappeared a few days after we returned. My wife finally confessed to having eaten the whole thing! Then I discovered that she has also been eating uncooked rice and occasionally red bricks too from the housing construction next door. I realise she needs help. Should I go to a psychiatrist?

A: Your wife has “pica”, a craving to eat things not normally considered food. People eat clay, chalk, mud and brick. Pica is an uncontrollable habit, so you’ll have to watch her for some time as she might resort to hiding the fact that she’s still eating non-food items. The urge is uncontrollable even though she knows it is wrong. It is often due to mineral deficiency. It is not a psychiatric problem. Consult a physician. She probably needs antihelminthics (de-worming), and supplements of iron, calcium and zinc.

Doggy pain..

Q: I take my Labrador for a walk in the mornings. He is exuberant, poorly trained and pulls on his leash. Of late I have noticed that my right hand tingles while holding the leash and that this sensation also wakes me up at night. The fingers are often stiff in the morning.

A: Your regular walk probably keeps you fit and provides you with the required amount of exercise. However, if the dog’s personality is as described, you need to take some precautions to prevent injury. Keep the dog on a short leash — holding it firmly at the distance of about one and a half feet, even if the leash is longer. Wear wrist guards and elbow guards. This will prevent injury due to sudden pulls and tugs.

The symptoms you describe sound like “carpal tunnel syndrome” where one of the nerves to the hand is trapped in the ligaments and bones at the wrist. It may have occurred due to injury while controlling the dog. It is better to see an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in hand injuries.

Measles rash?

Q: My one-year-old son developed fever and the doctor prescribed amoxicillin. After three days of he developed red rashes all over the body. My mother says it is measles but he is immunised.

A: Measles immunisation is given at the age of nine months. At that time antibodies, transferred from the mother through the placenta, are present but waning. If there is a high level of maternal antibodies, the vaccine may not produce a satisfactory response. This is the reason for a booster, which is given as the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine at 15 months. Once this is also given the immunity is almost 100 per cent.

All rashes are not due to measles. Other viral infections can also lead to rashes. Amoxicillin causes non-specific red rashes in some people. Allergies can also cause rashes, in which case there will be associated itching.

Ulcer baby…..

Q: My baby is 10 months old and has developed severe ulcers in the mouth. My doctor says it is due to herpes infection. I always thought that herpes was a sexually transmitted disease.

A: Herpes is the name given to a group of viruses. Different viruses from this group can cause various diseases like chicken pox, ulcers in the mouth or herpes progenitalis. These ulcers are painful. So the baby may find it difficult to swallow. The doctor will usually prescribe some local treatment and antiviral medication.

Although this infection occurs in a large number of children, it is less common in those who are not bottle fed or given pacifiers.

Chikungunya

Q: I had a chikungunya infection about six months ago but my ankles still hurt. I find locomotion difficult as there are sudden attacks of excruciating pain.

A: Unfortunately a chikungunya infection has a long lasting impact in some people. The joint pain either persists or keeps flaring up unexpectedly intermittently for as long as two years. When there is pain apply a capsaicin-containing ointment locally, then place ice on the joint as a cold compress, alternate it with heat from a hot water bottle, have physiotherapy and use analgesics for pain relief.

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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Herbs & Plants

Eruca Sativa

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Botanical Name:Eruca Sativa
Family:Brassicaceae

Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Brassicales
Genus: Eruca
Species: E. sativa
syn. :   E. vesicaria subsp. sativa (Miller) Thell., Brassica eruca L

Common Names:Rocket or Arugula, Roquette
Vernacular Names : Garden Rocket, Rocket (British English), Eruca, Rocketsalad, jarj?r (Arabic), Arugula (American English), Rucola (Italian), Rukola (Serbian, Slovenian, Polish), Rugola (Italian), Rauke (German), Roquette (French), Rokka (Greek), Roka (Turkish), Ruca (Catalan), Beharki (Basque), Voinicic (Romanian) Rúcula, Oruga and Arúgula (Spanish), Rúcula (Portuguese), Ruchetta (Italian)  and Rughetta (Italian). The term arugula (variations of Italian dialects) is used by the Italian diaspora in Australia and North America and from there picked up as a loan word to a varying degree in American and Australian English, particularly in culinary usage. The names ultimately all derive from the Latin word eruca, a name for an unspecified plant in the family Brassicaceae, probably a type of cabbage.

Habitat : Arugula is native to western Asia and the Mediterranean region. It is standard table fare in Italy, the South of France, Greece and Little Italy in New York City. In recent years Californians and other Americans have discovered this tangy salad green and it can now be found in upscale supermarkets throughout most of the United States. Arugula has naturalized in waste places, road shoulders and fallow fields in northern and western Europe, well beyond its original range.


DESCRIPTION:
Arugula is an annual salad green that has leaves similar in taste and appearance to its relative, the radish (Raphanus sativus). The leaves are 3-7 in (7.6-18 cm) long and deeply lobed, like those of dandelions. Arugula is best used as a salad green when it’s young, just 1 ft (0.3 m) or so tall. It will eventually produce stems 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) in height, topped with white cross shaped flowers that are very similar to those of radish. Several cultivars are offered in the specialty seed catalogs.
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CULTIVATION:
Light: Full sun. If grown in summer, provide shade from midday sun.
Moisture: Arugula appreciates regular watering.
Hardiness: Arugula can be grown in all zones. It is an annual that can tolerate temperatures down to 25ºF (-3.9 C). It goes quickly to seed in hot weather.

It is now cultivated in various places, especially in Veneto, Italy, but is available throughout the world. It is also locally naturalised away from its native range in temperate regions around the world, including northern Europe and North America. In India, the mature seeds are known as Gargeer.

PROPAGATION : From seed. Plant seeds thickly in rows, bands or patches in early spring and again in autumn. Summer plantings go quickly to flower and seed, and the leaves are tougher and more bitter than those from plants grown in cool weather. Arugula will self seed in the garden if allowed.

USES:
Arugula is one of the new darlings among “in” salad lovers in America, but it has been a popular salad green and “seasoning leaf” in southern Europe for centuries. It’s stronger tasting than most leafy greens, but not quite strong enough to be called an herb. The flavor of arugula has been likened to mustard greens (Brassica juncea), radish (Raphanus sativus) and cress. It adds a pleasant peppery “bite” to fresh green salads. Larger, more mature leaves, and those grown in the hot summer, are stronger tasting, almost bitter, and used in salads with discretion. The small younger leaves may be used freely. Toss arugula with radicchio and a mild lettuce (Lactuca sativa). Arugula is a standard component in mesclun, a toss of young leaves of various lettuces, chicories (Cichorum intybus), endives (Cichorium endivia) and mild herbs. It adds a nice tangy bite to potato salads. Arugula can be cooked like spinach (Spinacea oleracea) or wilted in hot olive oil and garlic and served with pasta or potatoes. Use the older, more tangy leaves in soups and sauces. Add arugula to leek and potato soup near the end of the simmering. Use arugula in vegetable stir fry. The seeds of arugula are sometimes used as a flavoring substitute for mustard, and they are pressed to yield an edible oil known as jamba oil. The seeds are also sprouted for use in salads.

It is used as a leaf vegetable, which looks like a longer leaved and open lettuce. It is rich in vitamin C and potassium[9]. It is frequently cultivated, although domestication cannot be considered complete. It has been grown in the Mediterranean area since Roman times, and is considered an aphrodisiac. Before the 1990s it was usually collected in the wild and was not cultivated on a large scale or researched scientifically. In addition to the leaves, the flowers (often used in salads as an edible garnish), young seed pods and mature seeds are all edible.

On the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples, a digestive alcohol called rucolino is made from the plant, a drink often enjoyed in small quantities following a meal. The liquor is a local specialty enjoyed in the same way as a limoncello or grappa and has a sweet peppery taste that washes down easily.

Grow arugula in the fall and early spring garden. Usable leaves should be ready in 4-6 weeks. The best leaves are from plants grown fast in cool weather. Use nitrogen fertilizer to insure rapid growth. Pick off leaves as needed, leaving the plant to grow more.

Features:–
According to ancient traditions, eating arugula will bring you good luck. The oil extracted from the seeds was considered to be an aphrodisiac. Since it also tastes good, it seems like everyone might want to grow this talented green.

MEDICINAL USES:
Herbal medicine : Medicinal notes  It is sharp, spicy and pungent. Eruca sativa is most often used cooked or fresh.

RECENT RESEARCH study conducted by Saudi Arabian researchers has confirmed that the herb  Rocket “Eruca sativa L.” (EER), a member of the   Brassicacae family, has potential anti-ulcer medicinal properties.
Click to see:->Herb Medicine ‘Rocket’ has Gastric Anti-ulcer Properties :

Traditional uses:
Parts used  Traditional uses  Contemporary uses  Fragrance  Fragrance parts  Fragrance intensity    Fragrance category    Dye parts  Dye color .

Other Uses: The seed yields a semi-drying oil which is a substitute for rapeseed oil[46]. It can also be used for lighting, burning with very little soot.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruca_sativa
http://www.floridata.com/ref/E/eruc_sat.cfm

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