FROSTBITE

Frostbite usually occurs in extreme cold conditions like high altitudes, snowy areas where temperatures reach sub zero. Distal extremities (foot) and exposed skin are most often affected. It occurs due to formation of ice crystals within or between the tissues leading to freezing and then death of tissues.

Symptoms and Signs:

Frostbite in Hand

The affected area is hard, numb, cold and white. When warmed the area becomes blotchy red, swollen and painful (as seen in the pic). Within 4-6 hrs blister formation starts. Blisters with clear fluid indicate superficial injury while those with blood indicate deep injury. Gangrene may also develop. Wet gangrene which is soft, gray and edematous, suggests infection while dry gangrene is less likely to be infected. All degrees of frostbite may cause long term neuropathic symptoms.

Coca Cola may Cure Stomach Blockage-- Reasearchers Say

Many of us know the harmful effects of the coca cola e.g. they can cause the teeth to rot etc and few benefits like it can remove grease stains from cloths and can also clean your car engine but they are also beneficial in case of stomach blockages like from phytobezoars. phytobezoars are undigested food particles like cellulose, lignin and other fibers, for which we do not have enzymes in our body. Fruits, celery, raisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin ets are good source of it. These usually do not accumulate in people with normal gastric function. In people with gastric paresis and gastric surgeries the normal bowel function is not present. In that case these undigested food particles, fibers rather, get en-strangled and form a ball of fibers which block the stomach or intestine.

The management here is giving cellulase and some other enzymes which can digest these dietary fibers. If these do not work then endoscopy is done and we try to break these bezoars.

Now scientists have found that coca cola could be a very good alternative measure for treating trichobezoar. There have been research for ten years in around 46 patients in Athens University of Greece. Out of those 46 patients on coca cola therapy 19 needed extra medical treatment and four need surgical treatment. Rest were fine on the beverage.

Mechanism of action of coca cola could be due to the sodium bicarbonate present in the drink that has fiber loosening affect on the phytobezoar and also the acidity of coca cola digests the fibers.

So in conclusion coca cola decreased the need of endoscopic procedures and is also very readily available in the market and is very cost effective treatment of gastric blockage.

Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/digestive-health/coca-cola-may-be-the-best-cure-for-stomach-blockages-1302.aspx

Cracked Lips

Chapped or cracked lips are a major issue in winters. It causes pain, bleeding and the dryness also causes rough lips which usually doesn't look good. So it becomes not only medical as in risk of increased infections though the cracks in the lips, but also cosmetic problem for many guys and girls. It can be prevented by using few basic and easy methods described below. So what is cause of these cracked or chapped lips.


It is usually due to dry air in winters which causes water to evaporate from not only the lips but also the whole body. This results in cracks

HOMEMADE ORAL REHYDRATION SOLUTION

Sometimes on some bad bad day, if you get diarrhea and also you do not any other help as you are in a remote place, that would be a very bad situation. So here I thought to tell you how to make oral rehydration solution (ORS) at home. I did found the method on rehydrate.org.

You need one litre of clean water preferably boiled and then cooled. Mix in it 6 leveled teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 leveled teaspoon of salt and your ors is ready.

Make sure the mixture almost accurate. Sugar is used in this solution to help intestine absorb the salt (sodium). Too much of sugar might make the diarrhea worse or too much of salt will make your health more bad. So be sure to mix it correctly.

The juices and other such type of products usually do not help so better avoid them. Rather get a orange flavored WHO ORS and drink it over time to make up for the loss of water and electrolytes.

Ways to Check Ovulation

Well during each cycle a female body changes due to the effect of hormones that predominated during each cycle. These changes can be easily monitored with some effort. There are methods to check whether you are ovulating or not without using any ovulation kits. These changes are important to monitor if you are trying to get pregnant as accurately monitoring them will increase the chances of getting pregnant.


Here are a few methods you can use:-

1) Monitor Your Menstrual Cycle: A normal cycle is somewhere between 28days plus minus 7 days. You monitor your periods regularly then you will be ovulating at around 14th day from the beginning of the last menstruation.

2) Check your Basal Body Temperature: You can keep track of your body temperature by using a basal body thermometer. Usually after ovulation a females BBT increases to somewhere around 0.5 degrees. Usually you should measure it in the morning.

3) Cervical Wetness: Some women can feel the cervical wetness which is maximum during the ovulation. You can check it by properly washing the hands and then gently feeling the cervix with one or two fingers. While doing this you can also feel the consistency of the cervix and whether it is open or not.

4) Mittle Schmerz: It is a pain of ovulation which occurs specifically during ovulation. Few women can feel that.

5) You can always use the ovulation kit with your convenience as they are pretty accurate.

Medical Causes of Poor School Performances

All the parents (or many) want to see their kids perform well in school. Sometimes they are so strict that they dont see or they do not want to understand why their child has poor school performance. They forget about some other medical causes that can cause poor school performances not only low attention. Let me list some medical causes of poor school performances here. Be sure to ask your children about some of these problems if they are not getting good marks in the class.



I am listing them according to whatever comes to my mind first...

1. Adenoids: This leads to increase size of tonsills leading to blockage of eustachian tube which in turn leads to glue ear or serous otitis media. These children have problem in hearing. They sit somewhere in the middle benches in the class, have their mouth open and try to listen to teachers. But since they cant listen what they are being taught they cant do well in exams do they...

2. Eye problems like myopia or hypermetropia. Some of these children complain of headache while reading. This happens especially in hypermetropics. Parents think that he is giving just another excuse.

3. Worm infestations and malnutrition also lead to decreases attention in class and low grades.

4. ADHD i.e. attention deficit hyperkinetic disorder

5. Some specific learning disabilities like dyslexia etc...

6. Diabetes and other hormonal problems can also lead to fatigue, memmory loss etc.

If your child is getting persistently low grades and also if he or she is trying hard to improve its time to talk to them about any problem be it medical, mental or stress or any other problem before they loose hope and stop trying.

Thank you for reading the article. Please leave your comments below.

Tomatoes Decrease Risk Of Heart Attcks

 Here is an interesting fact about tomatoes that they help in decreasing the risk of stroke or heart attack. This primarily due to the presence of large amount of lycopene in them. Lycopene is an antioxidant that is also present in other red fruits and vegetables which help in reducing reactive oxygen species also known as singlet oxygen quenching property which according to wiki is 100 times more efficient than vitamine E and 125 times more efficient than that of glutathione.



   A study performed in Finland suggested that diet rich in tomatoes could be helpful in reducing risk of stroke. Lycopene gives tomatoes its red colour and is already linked in lowering the lisk of prostate cancer in men. It also prevents blood clotting. It decreases the amount of reactive oxygen species in blood that injure the walls of artery leading to formation of atherosclerotic plaque. Thus it prevents or atleast delays the onset of a heart attack. It is also known to decrease the wrinkle formation in skin.

So eat a lot of tomatoes and stay healthy.

Reflux Esophagitis and Bad Teeth

Many people have bad teeth, mostly due to bad eating habit, poor oral hygiene etc. etc. But did you know that reflux easophagitis or gastroesophageal reflux disease can cause bad teeth and even it can lead to tooth loss. Well if you think about it, its not surprising. Let me explain you why.

Well from the time our teeth appear, they are in constant state of demineralisation and remineralisation which is usually balanced by many factors. One of such factor is pH of our mouth which is slightly alkaline and it is maintained by saliva. When this balance is disturbed then demineralisation of teeth occur leading to tooth caries.

So in people with severe reflux esophagitis the pH of mouth becomes acidic due to massive acid reflux. This leads to increased demineralisation of teeth leading to caries and ultimately leading to teeth loss if not treated in time.

Treatment of this condition would be to treat your primary condition first i.e. reflux esophagitis. Visit your dentist immediately if you notice such condition.

Health Effects of Noise Pollution

There are numerous effects of noise on health as it is one of the most influential factor of our life now a days. How much influencial?? Well read on to find out how much noise affects your daily life, your mood, your cardiovascular health, your learning capabilities. It basically affects almost every aspect of your life. Hope that we can understand these effects and do what we can decrease these problems so that we can live happier and healthier.

1. Hearing Loss: Well this is by far the most well known affect of noise on health. It usually causes high frequency hearing loss.

2. Sleep Disturbances: Yes noise can sleep disturbances which in turn leads to increased stress, leading to decreased social and household harmony as youll remain irritated if you cant get enough sleep. And stress is another factor there.

3. Dysgraphia or Learning Impairement: Noise leads to decreased attention and impairs ability to focus. These two have vital role in learning. So if it is impaired your learning ability will be impaired.

4. Cardio-Vascular Problems, like Hypertension

5. Annoyance

6. Vertigo, speech disturbance, fatigue etc...

There are many other effects of noise which can lead to serious health problem.

Noise Induced Hearing Loss: A Major Issue in Modern World

Hi friends, in today's world where science has advanced so much, along with its pros it has given us many cons.One of the major cons is the noised pollution like from cars, aeroplanes, industries with lots of noise. Apart from deafness or hearing loss noise has many other bad affects on our health.

1. Traffic induced noise is the most common form of noise in countries like India ( from where I belong). Most of these people driving cars are so impatient that they cant even stop at the signal and also they do not obey traffic rules. Most of the time they are in hurry because they are late. Anyways these cars are major source of noise pollution along with air pollution. You can avoid these when you obey the traffic rules and may be if leave for work on time (for Indians).

2. Other source of noise pollution is the mills. There are a few mills or industries where there is a lot of noise pollution. For these type of pollutions we have some rules in India like these workers should not work more than 5 days week for max 8 hrs per day.

3. The loudspeakers which we enjoy now a days is now becoming very common source of noise pollution as they are getting better and cheaper. We like to enjoy loud music for hours without having any thoughts of what other people might be experiencing due to this noise. It is our responsibility that we control that noise so that other may live in piece.

Most of these factors are manageable by us. So should try to mange the situation. Because if we don't care for our surrounding nobody will.

Ways to Gain Weight

Now in this era of modern fast foods and obesity there are people who are trying to gain weight. The problems with obesity is so much that we forget to talk about underweight or skinny people. Now here in this article i am trying to mention some of the ways to gain weight.

To gain weight you need to make your eating habbit a bit smarter. Hmm... what do i mean by that... I mean you need to calculate the amount calories you eat, the frequency of your meal, what type of diet you are including in your meal i.e protiens, carbohydrates or fats. Are you exercising or not.

1. Frequency of meals is very important. You can divide your meals in six parts... three large meals each alternating with small meals. You should plan this in such a way that you never remain hungry for more that 4-6 hrs.

2. Exercise particulary the anaerobic ones i.e the resistant exercises help to build muscle mass... so it is very important that you do some exercises. This will help you to become muscular rather than overweight with nothing but fat which would again be a problem and youll start looking for ways to loose weight :D.

3. Do include high protien meal after the exercises which will help the muscles to get the resources to expand. Some of these food include red meat, soya, pulses like dal, fish, low fat dairy products, almonds etc.

4. Doing all these please Do Stay Away From Junk Food as they containg nothing but excess amount of trans fat which are bad for health.


Do give your feedback about the article in form of comments. Thank you for giving your valuable time in this reading this article.

Food That Burn Fat

Now a days obesity is a very big problem, with all those junk fast food around which don't do any good to health but they are certainly rich in high cholesterol and trans fats which are very bad for health and especially for heart. Fast food should certainly be avoided. There are many food that can help you loose weight and keep you fit. Some of these food are listed below:

1. Citrus Fruits and other fruits that are rich in vitamin C. Vit C is an antioxidant that helps in maintaining the lipid profile by decreasing the amount of oxidised LDL in the body. Oxidised LDL tends to get deposited in the blood vessel leading to diseases like atherosclerosis which is the basic foundation for other diseases like myocardial stroke and angina and some other diseases. It also certainly does help to reduce fat in the body. Be sure to include cirtus fruits like oranges, lemon, kiwi in your diet.

2. Vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, spinach are very low in carbohydrate content and thry also stop coversion of glucose to fats in the body.

3. Spices like turmeric, chillies and cardamom. Turmeric with its active component curcumin helps in reducing bad cholesterol and decreases blood clotting on regular intake.
Cardamom is a thermogenic herb that increases metabolism in the body and helps burn fat. It is believed that it also has soothing affect on digestive system and helps in propper digestion of food.
Chillies have capsaicin that increases metablic rate of the body and thus helps in burning fat.

4. Garlic: Garlic has a sulphur containing compound called allicin which has antibacterial actions, and also decreases unhealthy fats.

5. Nonvegetarians should avoid eating red meat as it contains a lot of fat. They should rather eat chicken, which is white meat and contains very less fat.

6. Eggs have dietary cholesterol which are important for the body as it reduces endogenous cholesterol production. It is rather good to eat one or two eggs a day than not having at all.

7. Pulses like dal, jwar, bajra etc are low on fats and highly nutrtious.

8. Honey It is a home remedy for obesity. It mobilises the extra fat deposits in the body allowing it to be utilised as energy for normal functions. One should start with about 10 grams or a tablespoon, taken with hot water early in the morning.


Please do try to add these food items in your diet as they have multiple properties i.e. not only fat lowering but also most of them help in improving circulation in body. Do add suggestions in form of comments what else to added in the list make the list complete.

Stress: How It Affects Sex Life

Stress is a major problem in this modern era, especially with our hectic work environment. Stress can affect many aspects of our life and cause many illnesses like insomnias, stomach problems, mental problems. Not only these but stress has major effect on sexual life also.

How does stress affect libido:

When we are under stress our body releases different hormones like cortisol, adrenalin which prepare our body for fight or flight reaction. Cortisol has many effects on our body one of which is decreased libido that is decreased desire for sex.

Apart from physical stress there is mental stress which is more common now a days and is increasing more and more. Mental stress can be related to work, money, how to pay your monthly electricity and phone bill and more importantly your Internet and Cable Tv bills :D.These stresses lead to low mood and ultimately to depression. In this case you are not able to concentrate on what you are doing, and also you loose interest in almost everything else which you enjoyed earlier including sex.


What to do??

Hmm... this is a difficult part as there are thousands of solutions available and still remain ineffective as they entirely depend on individual ability to cope with stress. Its only you who can relieve your stress. Others can only give advices. As of me all I can say that you can relieve your stress by doing something which you like, something which cheers you up even in sad mood, whichever activity it is, it will surely make you stress free. Rest all those yoga, excercises and everything else depends on you, if you wanna do it... do it, if dont then no harm done. I hope i helped. Enjoy life..:)

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Dos and Donts

GERD gastroesophageal reflux disease, this disease is fairly common in the population particularly in obese people. This disease usually occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter tone is decreased leading to reflux of acid from stomach to esophagus. Few symptoms of this disease are heartburn, belching, asthma, acid reflux in mouth, bad teeth. I am not going to discuss about the whole disease here i am going to give a few lifestyle modification advices which will help you to reduce the symptoms.

Dos:-

• Elevate the head end of your bed to around 20-30 degrees. This helps to keep the food in the stomach due to gravity during sleeping.
• Divide your meals in several small parts during the whole day rather than taking one large meal. E.g. youcan divide your lunch into four separate meals 2hrs apart.

Donts:-

• Dont go to bed immdiately after a meal.
• Dont eat a heavy meal as it will not allow the lower esophageal shincter to close properly.
• Dont drink tea, coffee or eat chocolates too much as these affect the normal physiology of lower esophageal sphincter and reduce its force of contraction.
• Dont drink lots of water just after the meal. You should wait for atleast 45 mins to drink water after meals.
• Do not smoke or atleast try to quit as nicotine also decreases lower esophageal shincter tone.

Hope this information helps you keep yourself  heathy . Do read some other articles on the blog.

Dos and Donts in Kidney Stones

While many patients suffer from kidney stones in the world and are prescribed for medications no dietary advices are given to these patients like which food will increase the process of stone formation and will lead to recurrence of kidney stones after their removal and which diet leads to decreased stone formation even spontaneous dissolution of the stones. So here is an advice on dietary modifications in kidney stones.

Dos:-

• Drink plenty of water around 8-10 glasses per day
• Eat fruits and vegetables rich in citrate (vit C) as they lead to decrease precipitation of calcium oxalate like orange juice and coconut water rich in potassium and other electrolytes
• Drink Cranberry Juice as it decreases the chances of urinary infections due to stones which can be disastrous
• Eat fruits rich in vit B6 like banannas

Donts:-

• Avoid soyabeans and nuts
• Avoid vegetables like cauliflower, brinjal, tomatoes, beatroots, dark leafy vegetables
• Avoid nonvegetarian food like red meat, fish
• Avoid dairy products
•  Avoid carbonated drinks like coca cola, pepsi etc as they are rich in oxalates leading to stone formation

This dietery modification usually helps to reduce kidney stone formation i  patients who are prone recurrent stone formation. Also after the removal of kidney stones the contents of stones are analyzed and dietary modifications are adviced according to that.