Tag: #symptoms

Heat waves and their management

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Heat wave is a prolonged period of excessive heat often accompanied by excessive humidity. Heat waves occur when there are a number of consecutive days with above average temperature that the body cannot tolerate. This unusual and uncomfortable hot weather can impact on both humans as well as animals health. Heat wave is one of the major disaster for many countries. It develops slowly and kills and injures many animals and people more than any other disaster. Apart from death, everyday more and more people get admitted to hospitals suffering from sunstroke, severe dehydration, vomiting and high fever.

The symptoms heat related illness include sunburn, pale skin, heat cramps, heat stroke, weakness, fainting, nausea, headache, dizziness, rapid pulse and drowsiness. Elderly persons, outdoor workers, children and military are the ones at higher risk of getting affected by the heat wave.

Like human beings, animals also suffer from heat wave. Domestic animals and poultry birds are particularly vulnerable to heat wave. When there is unavailability of enough water or shade for animals a change is seen in their behaviors. Heat waves also damage plants, crops and vegetables. When shearing winds blow and the temperature rises to around 45°C, exotic plants perish. In the grazing field not a single blade of grass is available for the cattle.

During hot summer, water consumption also increases drastically, often causing shortage of drinking water. Lack of water in most of the wells and other water bodies during hot summer seasons has an adverse effect on human beings as well as the animal population. Occurrence of drought conditions and wildfires are often the result of heat waves.

Prevention during heat wave:

  • Control the temperature at home.
  • Avoid direct sunlight while being out of the house/ in the street.
  • Take care of pets and other animals by avoiding direct exposure to sun.
  • Keep the rooms cool by using shade cloth.
  • Limit doing any physical activity at the hottest hour of the day.
  • Drink a lot of water, about 3-4 liters per day.
  • Avoid heavy protein foods like meat, dairy products, etc.

Everything about cancer

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Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with a potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are over a hundred types of cancer that affect humans. In2015, bout 90.5 million people had cancer. About 14.1million new cases occur every year causing 8.8 million deaths. The not common types of cancer in males are lung cancer, prostrate cancer and stomach cancer whereas in females, the most common types are breast cancer, lungs cancer and cervical cancer. In children, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brain tumors are most common.

Possible symptoms of cancer include a lump ( a compact mass of a substance without a definite shape), abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss, etc. These symptoms may differ according to the type of cancer.

Causes of cancer:

  1. Environmental Factors:
    1. Tobacco: Tobacco in various forms of its usage (smoking, chewing) is the major environmental cause of cancer of lungs, pancreas and kidney.
    2. Alcohol: Excessive intake of alcohol is associated with oesophagal and liver cancer. It is estimated that 3% of all cancer deaths are caused by alcohol.
  2. Dietary factors: These factors are depended on our food consumption. For example, smoked fish is related to stomach cancer, dietary fiber is related to intestinal cancer and high fat is related to breast cancer.
  3. Occupational exposure to chemicals: Exposure to a wide variety of chemicals such as asbestos, arsenic, benzene, chromium, cadmium, etc, through work environment also causes cancer.
  4. Other factors such as unlught, radiation, water pollution and exposure to pesticides are also some causes of cancer.

Prevention of cancer:

  1. Primary prevention:
    1. Control of tobacco and alcohol consumption.
    2. Improving personal hygiene.
    3. Reducing the exposure to radiation.
    4. Protection from occupational exposure to chemicals.
    5. Immunization
    6. Consumption of healthy food
    7. Medical treatment
    8. Education and awareness
  2. Secondary Prevention:
    1. Camcer registration
    2. Early detection of cases
    3. Proper healthcare facility and treatment.

“Freedon from cancer” is now considered as the right of cancer patients.

HOW TO KNOW WHETHER YOU HAVE AN EATING DISORDER?

BY: VAIBHAVI MENON

“Eat good, feel good.” Food is an essential part of our survival and it can bring us both pleasure and harm. From the womb to the tomb, food is what gives us the nutrients and satisfaction we deserve. Yet food can have some fatal effects which varies from person to person. An eating disorder is a serious mental illness, characterized by eating, exercise and body weight or shape becoming an unhealthy preoccupation of someone’s life. Often people don’t even realize they could be suffering from a eating disorder and this where it becomes a issue.

Symptoms of an eating disorder vary from person to person because they could be suffering from different disorders. Some examples of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. we can identify symptoms based on In general, behaviors and attitudes that indicate that weight loss, dieting, and control of food are becoming primary concerns Preoccupation with weight, food, calories, carbohydrates, fat grams, and dieting, Refusal to eat certain foods, progressing to restrictions against whole categories of food (e.g., no carbohydrates, etc.), Appears uncomfortable eating around others, Food rituals (e.g. eats only a particular food or food group [e.g. condiments], excessive chewing, doesn’t allow foods to touch), Skipping meals or taking small portions of food at regular meals, Any new practices with food or fad diets, including cutting out entire food groups (no sugar, no carbs, no dairy, vegetarianism/veganism), Withdrawal from usual friends and activities, Frequent dieting, Extreme concern with body size and shape,  Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws in appearance and Extreme mood swings.Some physical symptoms could be Noticeable fluctuations in weight, both up and down, Stomach cramps, other non-specific gastrointestinal complaints (constipation, acid reflux, etc.), Menstrual irregularities — missing periods or only having a period while on hormonal contraceptives (this is not considered a “true” period), Difficulties concentrating, Abnormal laboratory findings (anemia, low thyroid and hormone levels, low potassium, low white and red blood cell counts), Dizziness, especially upon standing, Fainting/syncope, Feeling cold all the time, Sleep problems, Cuts and calluses across the top of finger joints (a result of inducing vomiting), Dental problems, such as enamel erosion, cavities, and tooth sensitivity, Dry skin and hair, and brittle nails, Swelling around area of salivary glands, Fine hair on body (lanugo), Cavities, or discoloration of teeth, from vomiting, Muscle weakness, Yellow skin (in context of eating large amounts of carrots), Cold, mottled hands and feet or swelling of feet, Poor wound healing, Impaired immune functioning Inspite of these signs most tend to ignore it as they are so obsessed with changing themselves that they dont notice the damage they are doing to their body. Therefore these insecurities can have really fatal effects on us without our knowledge. Usually the need to change their body comes through different sources such as family media and other institutions.

It’s important to know that you should know when you have reached your limit and not overwork yourself. if you see signs of an eating disorder its important to visit a doctor or talk to your loved ones for them to help you because in the end of all this your happiness is the priority.

TYPHOID FEVER AND IT’S SYMPTOMS

Typhoid Fever or Typhoid is a systemic enteric infection caused by bacteria usually through ingestion of contaminated food or water. The disease is also referred by several other names such as Gastric Fever, Enteric Fever, Abdominal Typhus, Infantile Remittent Fever, Slow Fever, Nervous Fever, and Pythogenic Fever. The disease causes several symptoms causing mild to severe problems for the patients. The symptoms are generally seen from six to thirty days after exposure. Generally there is the gradual onset of high fever for several days, weakness, abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, and vomiting. Some people also develop a skin rash with red colored spots.
The cause of the disease is the bacterium Salmonella typhi which is also known as Salmonella enterica serotype typhi , mainly growing in the intestines and blood. Risk factors include poor sanitation and poor hygiene. Diagnosis of the disease is done by either culturing the bacteria or detecting the bacterium’s DNA in the blood, stool, or bone marrow. Culturing the bacterium is little bit difficult so Bone marrow testing is the mostly used method. It has been observed that a typhoid vaccine can prevent about 40-90% of the infection during the first 2-7 years. But this vaccine is always recommended for the people at high risk or travelling to the places where this disease is so common. Other efforts which can be done to prevent the disease are clean drinking water, good sanitation, and hand washing. The disease is usually treated with several antibiotics such as Azithromycin, Fluoroquinolones or third generation cephalosporins.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Usually, the complete course of untreated typhoid fever is divided into 4 different stages, where the each stage lasts for a week which makes the patient completely exhausted.
• In the first week, the body temperature of the patient rises slowly, and the fever fluctuations are generally seen with relative bradycardia, malaise, headache, and cough.
A bloody nose is also seen in this quarter of the disease and abdominal pain is also possible. There is also a decrease in the number of WBCs. Widal test is negative in the first week of the disease.

• In the second week, the person is often too tired to get up, with a very high fever and bradycardia is continued in this stage also with dicrotic pulse wave. In this stage, Delirium is frequent which gives the typhoid another name i.e. NERVOUS FEVER.
Rose spots also appear on the lower chest and abdomen. Rhonchi are heard in lung bases.
Diarrhea can occur in this stage : six to eight stools in a day, green, comparable to pea soup, with a characteristic foul smell. However, constipation is also frequent. The spleen and liver is enlarged and liver transaminases are elevated. Patients can still test positive.

The major symptoms of this fever is that the fever usually rises in the afternoon up to the first and second week.

• In the third week of the fever, a number of complications can occur like :
 Intestinal hemorrhage due to bleeding in congested Peyer’s patches: it can be very serious but is not usually fatal.
 Intestinal perforation in the distal ileum: this is a very serious complication and is usually fatal.
 Encephalitis.
 Respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and acute bronchitis.
 Neuropsychiatric symptoms with picking at bedclothes or imaginary objects.
 Metastatic abscesses, cholestasis, endocarditis, and osteitis.
 The fever is usually very high and oscillates very little over 24 hours. Dehydration is also caused.
 Platelet count goes down and risk of bleeding rises.