Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Lagophthalmos

Synonym(s): Hare’s eye

[G. lagos, hare + ophthalmos, eye]

Definition:
Lagophthalmos is defined as the inability to close the eyelids completely. A condition in which a complete closure of the eyelids over the eyeball is difficult or impossible.

Blinking covers the eye with a thin layer of tear fluid, thereby promoting a moist environment necessary for the cells of the exterior part of the eye. The tears also flush out foreign bodies and wash them away. This is crucial to maintain lubrication and proper eye health. If this process is impaired, as in lagophthalmos, the eye can suffer abrasions and infections. Lagopthalmos leads to corneal drying and ulceration.

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Nocturnal lagophthalmos is the inability to close the eyelids during sleep. Lagophthalmos is associated with exposure keratopathy, poor sleep, and persistent exposure-related symptoms.

Detection:There are a variety of causes of lagophthalmos, grouped as proptosis/eye exposure etiologies and palpebral insufficiency etiologies. Although obvious lagophthalmos is usually detected, it is sometimes difficult to recognize obscure lagophthalmos, due either to eyelash obstruction or overhang of the upper lid anterior and inferior to the most superior portion of the lower lid in a closed position. A novel classification system and illustrations of obvious and obscure lagophthalmos for detection.

Causes:
The inability to provide function to the eyelid is typically secondary to a previous or ongoing condition, surgery, or event. This paralysis is usually isolated to just one side of the face. Lagophthalmos and facial paralysis are typically diagnosed due to:

*Bell’s Palsy
*Trauma
*Neurosurgery
*Bacterial infection
*Cerebral vascular accidents (strokes)

Pathophysiology
Lagophtalmos can arise from a malfunction of the Facial nerve. Lagopthalmos can also occur in comatose patients having a decrease in orbicularis tone, in patients having palsy of the facial nerve (7th cranial nerve), and in people with severe skin disorders such as ichthyosis.

Risk Factors:
Your eyelids play a crucial role in protecting and providing nourishment to your eyes. When blinking or eyelid closure function is lost, the health of your eyes can be at risk. Many experts have noted several complications associated with lagophthalmos:

*Severe dry eye and discomfort
*Corneal ulceration (damage to the cornea-the clear tissue covering the front of your eye)
*Decrease or loss of vision
*Unsatisfactory appearance

Diagnosis:

A diagnosis can usually be made with a focused history and slit lamp examination. Treatment is multipronged and may include minor procedures or ocular surgery to correct the lid malposition; natural, topical or oral agents; and punctal plugs to manage ocular surface effects. Correct and timely diagnosis allows greater opportunity for relief of patient suffering and prevention of severe ocular surface pathology, as well as educated planning for future ocular surgical procedures.

Treatment:
Today, lagopthalmos is most likely to arise after an inexperienced or unwise cosmetic/plastic surgeon performs an overenthusiastic upper blepharoplasty, which is an operation performed to remove excessive skin overlying the upper eyelid (suprapalpebral hooding) that often occurs with aging. This can appreciably improve the patient’s appearance, and make the patient look younger. If, however, excessive skin is removed, the appearance is unnatural and “lagopthalmos” is one of the signs of such excessive skin removal.

It all begins with your diagnosis of your condition by your ophthalmologist. Typically, if your paralysis is expected to last less than six months, your doctor will recommend the use of drops and ointments throughout the day to help maintain a well-nourished eye.

If your paralysis is deemed permanent or persists without improvement, your surgeon may want to perform surgery to control the paralysis and provide a more natural function to your eyelid. The most common surgical procedure involves the placement of a small, pure-gold eyelid weight into your eyelid. This procedure very simple and is typically performed under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting.

How Does The Gold Eyelid Weight Work?

It’s very simple. The appropriate implant ‘weight’ will be selected your physician. When implanted into your lid margin, the weight will essentially allow earth’s gravity to gently pull your eye closed when your muscles relax. However, this will not affect your ability to open your eye…. when you tense the muscle, your eyelid will open normally.

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Is Gold A Safe Material?
Each weight is made from 99.99% gold (pure gold). Pure gold is an excellent material because it is biologically stable and inert. Because the gold will never break down, your surgeon can always remove it if deemed necessary. Gold has been used for decades for the treatment of lagophthalmos and is recognized by experts as an extremely safe and effective device material. If you have a known sensitivity or allergy to gold, notify your physician before surgery.

What Happens During Surgery? How Is The Gold Weight Implanted?
Gold eyelid weight surgery is usually performed under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting. Previous to the day of the surgery, your physician will have selected the appropriate gold weight size for your specific needs.

During the procedure, your physician will first make a small incision in your eyelid, just above your eyelashes. This incision will allow your physician to create a small pocket inside your lid for the gold implant to rest. The weight will be secured to your lid with sutures. Each weight contains small channels or grooves to house the sutures below the surface of the implant. The incision is closed with sutures. A protective pad will be applied to cover your eyelid.

What Happens After Surgery? What Should I Expect Regarding The Function And Appearance Of My Eyelid?

As always, your condition and progress will be closely monitored by your physician. Following the removal of your eye protection, you should be able to experience normal blinking and eyelid closure function.

Like any surgery, the incision will take time to heal. If you experience significant discomfort or swelling around the incision, contact your physician immediately.

Any questions or concerns you have about your surgery can best be answered by your surgeon. You can best insure the best outcome for your procedure by carefully following your surgeon’s instructions.

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.This is purely for educational purpose.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagophthalmos
http://www.iopinc.com/patient_link/lagophthalmos.asp
http://www.drugs.com/dict/lagophthalmos.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16671223

Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Cryptosporidiosis

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Pronounced as :KRIP-toe-spo-rid-ee-OH-sis

Other Name:Crypto

Definition:-
Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic disease caused by Cryptosporidium, a protozoan parasite in the phylum Apicomplexa. It affects the intestines of mammals and is typically an acute short-term infection. It is spread through the fecal-oral route; the main symptom is self-limiting diarrhea in people with intact immune systems. In immunocompromised individuals, such as AIDS patients, infection can cause permanent and life-threatening explosive diarrhea also known as “the Bangkok Blast” or the “Thai Fourth of July”. Despite not being identified until 1976, it is one of the most common waterborne diseases and is found worldwide. The parasite is transmitted by environmentally hardy cysts (oocysts) that, once ingested, excyst in the small intestine and result in an infection of intestinal epithelial tissue.

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Most people with crypto get better with no treatment, but crypto can cause serious problems in people with weak immune systems such as in people with AIDS. To reduce your risk of crypto, wash your hands often, avoid water that may be infected, and wash or peel fresh fruits and vegetables before eating.

Transmission:-
Infection is through contaminated material such as earth, water, uncooked or cross-contaminated food that has been in contact with the feces of an infected individual or animal. Contact must then be transferred to the mouth and swallowed. It is especially prevalent amongst those in regular contact with bodies of fresh water, whether through work or recreation. The source can be recreational water like swimming pools, contaminated water supplies, or contaminated food. Vacationers must be particularly careful about contamination. The high resistance of Cryptosporidium oocysts to disinfectants like chlorine bleach facilitates transmission of the disease.[1] Some outbreaks have happened in day care related to diaper changes.

Symptoms:-
Symptoms appear from two to ten days after infection and last for up to two weeks. As well as watery diarrhea, there is often stomach pains or cramps and a low fever. Some individuals are asymptomatic (have no symptoms) but are nevertheless infective, and thus can pass on the infection to others. Even after symptoms have finally subsided an individual is still infective for some weeks.

The most common symptom of crypto is watery diarrhea. Other symptoms include

*Dehydration
*Weight loss
*Stomach cramps or pain
*Fever
*Nausea
*Vomiting

Some people with Crypto will have no symptoms at all.

Symptoms usually last about 1 to 2 weeks (with a range of a few days to 4 or more weeks) in persons with healthy immune systems. Occasionally, people may experience a recurrence of symptoms after a brief period of recovery before the illness ends. Symptoms can come and go for up to 30 days.

While the small intestine is the site most commonly affected, Cryptosporidium infections could possibly affect other areas of the digestive tract or the respiratory tract.

People with weakened immune systems may develop serious, chronic, and sometimes fatal illness. Examples of people with weakened immune systems include:

*people with AIDS;
*those with inherited diseases that affect the immune system; and
*cancer and transplant patients who are taking certain immunosuppressive drugs.

The risk of developing severe disease may differ depending on each person’s degree of immune suppression.

Severe diseases, including pancreatitis, can occur.

Treatment is primarily supportive. Fluids need to be replaced orally. A lactose free diet should be taken as tolerated. In rare situations, intravenous fluids may be required. Antibiotics are not usually helpful, and are primarily reserved for persons with severe disease and a weak immune system. Sometimes relapses happen.

Prevention is through washing hands carefully after going to the bathroom or contacting stool, and before eating. If safety of the water supply is questionable, it can be boiled. It is not necessary to boil water for lengthy periods e.g. 15 minutes: simply bringing the water to the boil will kill any cryptosporidium oocysts in it. Suspect water supplies can also be carefully filtered before drinking, though boiling water is easier and requires no special equipment.

Causes:-
The parasite Cryptosporidium parvum is found in the feces of infected animals and people. Persons, dogs and cats become infected when they swallow this parasite. This is one reason why hands should be washed after contact with pets. Hands also should be washed after changing a child’s diaper and after using the toilet. Other activities that bring a person in contact with feces of another person can result in exposure. The parasite, which can be present in sewage or runoff from feed lots, can contaminate water sources, and several large waterborne outbreaks have occurred. Outbreaks also have occurred in child day care centers. In Illinois, 75-100 cases of cryptosporidiosis are reported annually.

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Diagnosis:
The patient’s physician can order a special test to detect the presence of Cryptosporidium in a stool specimen. Routine stool examinations will not detect this parasite.

Treatment:-
There is no reliable treatment for cryptosporidium enteritis — certain agents such as paromomycin, atovaquone, nitazoxanide, and azithromycin are sometimes used but they usually have only temporary effects. Currently, the best approach is to improve the immune status in immunodeficient individuals. The probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii sold over the counter in pharmacies and health shops (Brand name Florastor in US and DiarSafe in UK) has been found to be a helpful natural treatment in managing diarrhoea of various infectious origins including cryptosporidium.

The majority of immuno-competent individuals suffer a short (less than 2 weeks) self limiting course that requires supportive care with re-hydration and occasionally anti-diarrhoeal medication. In immuno-incompetent individuals (including some with HIV/AIDS) anti-retroviral therapy has been associated with improved outcomes. Several drug trials with high dose azithromycin look promising.

Risk Factors:
Symptoms can last for up to 30 days in persons who are otherwise healthy. In persons with weakened immune systems, including people with HIV/AIDS and cancer, transplant patients taking immunosuppressive drugs and people with genetically weakened immune systems, symptoms can persist indefinitely. Persistent diarrhea due to cryptosporidiosis in these persons can lead to death.

Prevention:
*Wash hands after handling pets or other animals.
*Wash hands after handling items that might be contaminated with the feces of other persons.
*Wash hands before preparing or handling food.
*Wash hands after gardening or other contact with soil.
*Wash produce thoroughly before eating.
*Avoid unpasteurized milk or milk products.
*Avoid exposure to calves and lambs and places where these animals are raised.
*Avoid sexual contact with other persons that involves exposure to their feces. Follow “safer sex” guidelines.
*Avoid drinking water directly from rivers, lakes and streams.

Correct Way of Washing Hands:
*Use a running stream of warm water.
*Lather hands vigorously with soap for at least 15 seconds.
*Rinse hands under running warm water so that the water flows from the wrist to the fingertips.
*Dry hands.
*If in a public place, turn off water faucet with a disposable paper towel after drying hands.

Choices if doctor advises not to drink regular tap water for infected areas:-

*Boil water before drinking or before using it for cooking by bringing it to a rolling boil for three minutes.

*Use a “point-of-use” (personal use, end-of-tap, under sink) filter. Only point-of-use filters that remove particles one micrometer or less in diameter should be considered. Filters in this category that provide the greatest assurance of Cryptosporidium removal include those that use reverse osmosis, those labeled as “absolute” one micrometer filters, or those certified by NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) International under Standard 53 for “cyst removal.” The “nominal” one micrometer filter rating is not standardized and many filters in this category may not reliably remove Cryptosporidium. As with all filters, people should follow the manufacturer’s instructions for filter use and replacement. (“Point-of-use” filters meeting the above criteria may not necessarily remove organisms other than Cryptosporidium that could pose a health hazard for severely immunocompromised individuals.)

*Use bottled water. Water sources (wells, springs, municipal tap water) and bottled water treatment processes vary considerably. Therefore, individuals should not presume that all bottled waters are absolutely free of Cryptosporidium. Bottled waters derived from protected well and spring water sources are less likely to be contaminated by Cryptosporidium than bottled municipal drinking water because municipal drinking water is typically derived from less protected sources, such as rivers and lakes. Cryptosporidiosis has been acquired from contaminated well water, but water treated by distillation or reverse osmosis before bottling assures Cryptosporidium removal. Water passed through a filter that meets the above criteria for a “point-of-use” device before bottling will provide nearly the same level of Cryptosporidium removal as distillation or reverse osmosis. Bottled waters meeting the above criteria may not necessarily be free of organisms other than Cryptosporidium that could pose a health hazard for severely immunocompromised individuals.

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.This is purely for educational purpose.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptosporidiosis
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cryptosporidiosis.html
http://www.cdc.gov/crypto/disease.html
http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbcrypto.htm

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Categories
Positive thinking

Avoiding Negative Vibrations

They Said We Could Raise The Energy Level Any ...
Image by Scott Robbin via Flickr

Taking on the Energy of Others
There are times when you may find that being around certain individuals or groups of people leaves you with feelings of discomfort. It may be that spending time with a particular friend feels draining or that dealing with a specific coworker exhausts you. Being around toxic or angry people is also draining. And you may even find that being surrounded by a crowd of people lowers your energy levels rather than perks you up. This is not that unusual. Each of us radiates energy and is capable of being influenced by the energy of other people. It is important to learn how to shield yourself, so you don’t unknowingly take on someone else’s energy. While some people know how to instinctively protect themselves from being adversely affected by energy, most of us need to discover and practice the technique that works best.

There are a number of ways to avoid being affected by people’s energy. Shielding is one preventative technique you can use. Center yourself and envision being enveloped in a cocoon of loving and protective light. This protective layer should allow you to consciously regulate the energy around you. The intent to shield oneself is all you need for this technique to work. You can even create a trigger word to assist you in quickly creating a shield. Say this word each time you create a new shield, until the word and the shield become automatically associated in your mind. If you run into a person whose energy you find draining, you may want to cleanse your own energy field after your encounter. Sage, cold showers, singing, mineral water baths, spending time in nature, and a simple break to recharge are all ways to accomplish this.

While it is important to know how to shield yourself from energy, there are those energies that you may not want to shut out. The energy of laughter from a newborn baby, the feeling of joy radiating from someone in love, and the frequency of calm emanating from an enlightened teacher are just some of the energies coming from others that you may want to have around you.

Sources: Daily Om

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