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Health Problems & Solutions

Some Health Quaries & Answers

My heel hurts ….
Q: I had severe pain in my left heel. A doctor administered an injection to the heel. I felt better for about six months but now the pain has returned. Is there a permanent cure?

A: This pain occurs when there is constant friction and irritation to the area where the thick plantar fascia (bottom of the foot) joins the heel bone or calcaneum. After some time the irritation may be sufficient to cause extra bone formation called a calcaneal spur. The pain subsides after an injection of a long-acting steroid into that point, but will recur, necessitating a second or even third injection. To prevent a recurrence:

• Soak your feet in hot water morning and night

• Maintain ideal body weight

• Do not walk barefoot

• Wear soft supportive soles

• Exercise (stretching on the tendons) by standing on your toes and then rocking forwards and backwards, on the heel and toes

If a spur forms, you may be advised surgery.

You may click to see : Heel Pain: Symptoms and Treatment

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Cut lip :-
Q: My grandson falls down frequently and cuts his lips. Please advise.

A: Cuts on the lip and tongue can bleed profusely. First, you need to apply an ice cube wrapped in a plastic bag to the area. This will stop the blood flow and help you see the wound clearly. If it is a shallow cut with no food or tooth chip inside, just give the child a little sugar to suck. Saliva contains natural antibodies and the wound will heal by itself in four or five days.

If the wound is deep, lacerated and contains mud, food or a chipped tooth, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

To clean these deeper wounds at home use eye drops, not antiseptic solutions. The latter can irritate the wound. Also, they may contain substances that should not be swallowed.

If bad breath develops, it means an infection has set in. Consult a doctor immediately.

Teething problem :-
Q: When do I start brushing my child’s teeth and what should I use?

A: A child’s teeth should be brushed daily morning and evening soon after they appear. A soft toothbrush and toothpaste containing 1,000 parts per million of fluoride should be used. Brushing needs to be supervised till they are seven or eight years old.

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Life after surgery
Q: I had hernia surgery about two weeks ago. When can I lead a normal life? More important, when can I have sex?

A: Many patients want to know this but hesitate to ask the doctor because they are embarrassed. They then consult friends who have had the surgery and therefore double as experts.

In most cases, you may resume your sex life when the doctor says you can return to normal activity. In the case of a hysterectomy, caesarian or hernia, this may be six weeks or longer. Always listen to your body. If there is pain, particularly at the incision site, stop whatever you were doing and try again after a week.

Head spinning :-
Q: I am 19 years old. Whenever I get up from bed, I feel giddy, like I am going to fall. Sometimes, I also feel that the room is spinning around. I tried to explain this to my doctor, but he says my blood pressure and sugar levels are normal.

A: You may have postural hypotension or orthostatic hypotension. This is a fall of blood pressure that occurs when there are sudden changes in posture. The diagnosis can be proven by measuring the BP separately in sitting, lying and standing positions. It is often mild and lasts just a few seconds to a few minutes after standing. The body usually adjusts to changes in posture within a few seconds. If there is a delay, it may be due to dehydration, as in your case hypertension and diabetes (the two other common causes) have been ruled out.

Try standing up slowly from a sitting position, allowing your body time to adjust to the postural change. Some yoga exercises (such as crane, tree positions) help if done regularly. You could jog, swim, run or walk for an hour a day. Alternatively, you can take up one of the martial arts.

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Foul breath
Q: I feel I have bad breath and that this puts off people I have contact with.

A: You are right about people being repulsed by bad breath or halitosis. It is because bad odours are equated with disease, which our bodies are conditioned to avoid. To know if you really have bad breath, you may ask your parents or spouse. They are the only people who will give you a truthful answer.

Foul breath may be due to tooth decay or gum disease, as well as colds, sinusitis, indigestion and a faulty diet. You must tackle the cause and eliminate it.

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Source :The Telegraph ( Kolkata, India)

 
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News on Health & Science

New Norms to Ease Back Pain

An association of doctors has pencilled India’s first formal guidelines for pain diagnosis and treatment amid concern that Indian patients are either under-treated or over-treated for acute and chronic pain.

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The Indian Society for the Study of Pain (ISSP) will release its pain management protocols for low back pain next week, to be followed later by protocols for other conditions, from headaches and neck and joint pain to pain related to cancer or trauma.

Limited surveys suggest that one in five patients in India with chronic pain do not find relief despite being under medical treatment, specialists in the ISSP said.

“We believe there is under-treatment, over-treatment, direct over-the-counter purchase of medicines by patients, and erratic treatment,” said Parmanand Jain, ISSP president and professor of anaesthesia at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. “We’re hoping these pain management algorithms will improve this situation.”

The protocols, developed primarily for the medical community, will provide a well- defined sequence of diagnostic investigations and the line of treatment for specific conditions associated with acute or chronic pain.

Pain specialists are hoping the protocols will also help keep patients away from diagnostic procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and even surgery, when they are not required.

Patients with low back pain are usually given mild painkillers and advised rest. If the pain doesn’t go away or gets worse and MRI scans show degenerative changes in the vertebral discs, it doesn’t mean surgery is required.

“Three out of four persons without any back pain may also show changes in MRI scans. So, the changes (in those with pain) may not be causing the pain at all,” said K. Jawahar Choudhury, senior pain management consultant at Apollo Hospital, Delhi.

As for over-treatment, many pain specialists believe the long-term abuse of painkillers is contributing significantly to the country’s burden of kidney disease.

But ISSP members concede that doctors in India are sometimes compelled to prescribe inappropriate treatment to cancer patients because morphine, a key pain-killer, isn’t easily available. The drug is distributed only through licensed clinics.

“We’ve been telling the narcotics control bureau to expand the distribution of morphine,” said Geeta Joshi, anaesthesiology professor at the Regional Cancer Centre, Ahmedabad. India’s per head consumption of morphine is 0.6mg, whereas the world and US figures are 5.93mg and 76mg, respectively.


Source : The Telegraph ( Kolkata, India)

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Health Problems & Solutions

Some Health Quaries & Answers

 


Exercising with arthritis :-
Q: I am 50 and have had rheumatoid arthritis for 10 years. It flares up intermittently no matter what treatment I follow. My knee joints are also affected and I am not able to go for a walk. Can I use a treadmill?

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A: Rheumatoid arthritis relapses and remits on its own, without any dietary indiscretion or obvious aggravating factor. Follow your doctor’s advice. Sometimes he may suggest low-dose maintenance therapy with medication to prevent relapses. Apply moist heat to the joints regularly and then do passive exercises. In addition, you must do some active exercises. A non-weight bearing reclining stationary exercise cycle is a good alternative.

Addicted to porn:-
Q: I am a 30-year-old man working in a multinational company. At times I am the only one there at night and on holidays. I have begun watching pornography on the Internet. I enjoy it so much that I sometimes switch to these sites even during work hours when no one is watching. Is this an addiction?

 

A: Pornography is addictive and is now classified with drugs, alcohol and the like. It can escalate like drugs and alcohol and needs to be overcome. There are several sites that offer stepwise programmes to help you. Physical activity is often therapeutic. Try running or jogging an hour a day before or after work. Addiction to exercise is something you do not have to hide or be ashamed of.

Health drinks:-
Q: I am overweight and exercise in a gym. My personal trainer has been suggesting health drinks after the workout to replace lost calories, protein and electrolytes. Is this needed?

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A: You need to replace the electrolytes lost if you sweat profusely during the exercise. This can be done cheaply, naturally and effectively by drinking lightly salted buttermilk, lime juice or tender coconut water. For the lost potassium, you can eat a small yellow banana. Don’t take health drink supplements. The ones available locally may be containing harmful chemicals.

It you are exercising to lose weight, why do you want to replace the calories you worked off?

TV all day:-
Q: My five-year-old grandson can’t recognise or remember alphabets and numbers. He is a TV addict and watches children’s programmes the whole day. He does not look in the eye while talking to strangers, but is quite articulate with relatives. He eats and sleeps normally but is thin. Is it attention deficit syndrome or something more serious?

A: Perhaps someone should take an interest in the child and make him more physically active. Heneeds to play outside in fresh air for two hours after school. It’s no use telling him to “go and play”. A parent (or grandparent) may be by his side to encourage him. Perhaps you could enroll him in a martial arts class, or coaching for football or cricket. He may do homework from 6pm to 8pm. If the school has not given any homework, you could give him some work with alphabets, colouring and numbers. Tell him firmly that the TV works only once a week, on Saturdays. I don’t think anything is wrong with him as yet. But if he continues thus, his personality may soon be permanently affected.

Vanishing voice:-
Q: I am a teacher. Sometimes, as I speak, my voice suddenly becomes softer and even disappears.

A: Constant speech can cause thickening of the vocal cords. At times, small nodules may also form there. You need to get the condition evaluated by an ENT surgeon. In the meantime, try not to speak unless absolutely essential. You may also try steam inhalations.

Source : The Telegraph ( Kolkata, India)

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Categories
Health Problems & Solutions

Some Health Quaries & Answers

On the computer all day…

Q: I work on the computer all day and develop a terrible headache by evening. I have had an eye check up and an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan. Both are normal.

A: Computer furniture has to be ergonomically designed so that the screen, keyboard and chair are aligned correctly and placed at the correct height. The chair should be adjusted so that the eyes are on level with the screen. Also, the glare of the screen should be reduced with an antiglare filter or spectacles.
If the room is air-conditioned, take steam inhalations morning and evening to reduce nasal congestion. Try to do head and neck exercises morning and evening to reduce strain and tension in the muscles. Also, jog 40 minutes in the morning before going to work.

Cervical ribs…

Q: I have a shooting pain down my left arm. I thought it was a heart problem but the doctor said the ECG and other tests were normal. I then took an X-ray. It was diagnosed as a “cervical rib”. What should I do?

A: Ribs normally arise from the vertebrae in the chest. However, in 0.5 per cent of people, partial ribs arise from the neck vertebrae. These are called “cervical ribs”. They are usually asymptomatic and discovered incidentally on a routine X-ray. They cause symptoms if they compress nerves and blood vessels going to the arm. This can occur in middle age as a result of weight gain, poor posture or decreased muscle tone.

Physiotherapy is usually all that is required. If the pain is severe and intractable, surgery may be advised.

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Boil trouble….

Q: My son has started to develop boils all over his arms and legs. They are painful and when they burst yellow pus oozes out.

A: These superficial skin boils are usually due to a bacterium called Staphylococcus, which lives harmlessly on the skin of most people. Sometimes it manages to get a foothold in the skin (usually at the site of mild trauma), producing recurrent boils.

Your son needs a scrub bath with a medicated soap like Neko applied with a plastic or natural scrubber twice a day. No talcum powder should be used. Apply Neosporin skin cream or Mupirocin ointment.

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Primary complex

Q: My three-year-old daughter always has a runny nose. She also has a frequent cough. After a course of antibiotics for three or five days, she is better. But the cycle repeats within a few days. Could it be primary complex?

A: Primary complex classically causes “failure to thrive”. In short, the child fails to gain weight and may actually lose weight instead. Also, fever is present everyday, usually at night. Your daughter does not seem to have these symptoms.

The doctor may be prescribing the antibiotics to allay your anxiety. If the child has only a viral infection or an allergic cold, the antibiotics will not help. Check the temperature with a digital thermometer. It should be more than 100.5° F for at least three days before antibiotics are begun.

If your child has recently started school, you can expect six to eight colds a year.

It is also possible that she is allergic to something in the house like cigarette smoke, incense or a mosquito repellent.

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Frozen shoulder….

Q: I find that I cannot lift my right arm. It does not go up more than half way after which I develop severe pain.

A: It sounds like you have “adhesive capsulitis” or frozen shoulder. It occurs usually in middle age, as a result of injury or diabetes. Sometimes it can occur without any apparent reason. Treatment is with painkillers and physiotherapy. Rarely, surgery may be required.

Large tonsils…..

Q: My tonsils are very large and they seem to have yellow dots. I am 35 years old. Do I need to have them removed?

A: Tonsils usually become smaller as people grow older. They are rarely troublesome after the age of 20 years. You need to consider surgery only if they are an obstruction to swallowing, or become infected, and cause pain and fever five or six times a year.

The yellow dots may be food particles stuck in the crypts of the tonsil. Perhaps if you gargle with salt water they may disappear.

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Falling forwards

Q: My two-year-old son falls forwards for no reason at all. This occurs several times a day, even while he is sitting.

A: Children sometimes develop partial seizures with the movements you are describing. It’s very much a treatable condition. Consult a paediatrican who may order tests like an electroencephalogram (EEG) and a brain scan. You may be referred to a neurologist.

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Source : The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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Better Prescription

After open source software, it is now the turn of open source drug research. If this unique process can find a new anti-TB drug, it might well become the future of drug research. G.S. Mudur reports
In the temple town of Thanjavur, Aparna Venkatachalam, a final year engineering student, has turned into a foot soldier in a fresh scientific assault on the microbe that causes tuberculosis. After combing through some 200 research papers and spending dozens of hours searching online biological databases, she has assigned functions — biological tasks — to 60 proteins found in the TB microbe. She picked up a reward for her efforts last week — an Acer Netbook.

Venkatachalam is one of a group of 120 students and researchers scattered across India, Dubai, Japan and Germany, who have put together the most detailed map constructed so far to describe the biochemistry of a living organism. The 18-month science project, spearheaded by India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), is seeking new drugs against the TB microbe in a manner never attempted before.

“When you want to destroy an enemy, it’s good to identify vulnerabilities,” said Samir Brahmachari, director general of the CSIR. “This map will provide us unprecedented insights into the biochemistry of the TB micro-organism.”

The search for new drugs against TB is the first project of the CSIR’s Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) programme, a Rs 150 crore effort to solve complex problems by breaking them into smaller “work packets” open to virtually anyone across the scientific community to solve. The challenges are posed on the OSDD website, and researchers wishing to try and tackle them need only to register and join the effort.

An international consortium of scientists had sequenced the genome of the microbe Mycobacterium TB [MTB] nearly 12 years ago. And over the past decade, scientists have identified 3,998 genes, and assigned biological functions to all but nine of them.

The OSDD effort has now generated a map that places about 3,700 MTB genes and their protein products into a network of biochemical pathways. The network, a web of biochemical reactions, shows how these genes and proteins allow MTB to carry out its myriad life-cycle activities — from invading human cells to evading the human immune system to routine housekeeping.

“It’s a very big and a very complex circuit,” said Hiraoki Kitanu, director of the Systems Biology Institute in Japan, who leads a research team that has contributed significantly to the development of a computer-readable format to display models of biological processes, and who has joined the OSDD effort. “This is a new approach for drug discovery,” Kitanu said.

Scientists believe MTB is an appropriate organism to pit innovative ideas against. This killer microbe claims about 1,000 lives across India each day. The four best anti-TB drugs that make up the first line of therapy were developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Secondary drugs are toxic and expensive. There are now drug-resistant versions of MTB, which pose a new challenge. While clinical trials are under way, a new drug is not expected to be ready for use until 2012.

All previous efforts at finding drugs to fight MTB involved a laborious trial-and-error method in which researchers exposed the organism to compounds and picked the ones that appeared most effective in killing bacteria or suppressing their growth. Researchers believe that the map of biochemical pathways will now allow them to choose specific regions of the pathway as targets for future drugs. “Instead of shooting in the dark, we’ll be searching for targets in a rational way,” said Anshu Bharadwaj, a scientist at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, who, among other roles, also assigns work packets to OSDD researchers.

Some 800 researchers — most of them students — joined the effort, but only some 120 who succeeded in assigning functions to at least 40 genes — Venkatachalam among them — were picked to receive the reward. One of them was a homemaker from Dubai who had used her skills in bioinformatics to help build the pathways map. All those who won a reward, however, did not attend the meeting in Delhi — a software engineer from Germany told the OSDD that he doesn’t travel as he is wheelchair bound.

Venkatachalam, a bioinformatics student at SASTRA University in Thanjavur, and her colleague Ahalyaa Subramanian scanned published scientific literature to tell the stories of 60 MTB genes. In all, Brahmachari estimates, the consortium of researchers scanned at least 12,000 research papers on TB and compiled the information in a standardised format to build the map.

Some biologists caution people not to expect a new drug too soon. “I’m very optimistic this is going to have an impact,” said Richard Jefferson, a molecular biologist based in Australia and chief executive officer of Cambia, a non-profit institute seeking to promote innovation. “But it’s important we do not expect too much too soon. It’s going to be a long fight,” Jefferson said at the OSDD meeting last week.

In the drug discovery process, scientists will have to look for “vulnerabilities” in MTB pathways that can be exploited to design a new drug. Researchers say that one of the biggest challenges will be to find compounds that act exclusively on MTB. “We’ll need to find a vulnerability exclusive to MTB that leaves the human system alone,” said Bharadwaj.

Brahmachari himself has ventured to suggest that the effort could lead to a new candidate drug ready for clinical trials within two years. If that happens, said Brahmachari, the OSDD will invite five drug companies to invest four per cent of drug development costs, while the CSIR will provide the remainder 80 per cent. Each company would then get an opportunity to produce inexpensive generic versions of the drug.

If the OSDD does indeed deliver a new and effective drug for TB, it might trigger a paradigm change in drug research.

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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