Tips to Stay Healthy in Summer | KDAH Blog

Summer is here! A change of season calls for a change in routine, a revamped diet, and of course, a new exercise regimen that suits the weather. The onset of warm weather can make your body more vulnerable to different types of diseases and certain health guidelines must be followed to ensure a healthy summer.

Here are a few tips to stay healthy this summer

1. Eat healthy and light

Eat light, small, frequent meals. Heavy meals with large amounts of carbohydrates and fats give rise to a lot of heat in the body. Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables that have high water content – such as oranges, watermelon, tomatoes, etc.

2. Treat your eyes well

Protect your vision from the harsh sunlight at work and at play, wear protective eyewear. When outdoors, wear sunglasses that block at least 99% of ultraviolet rays.

3. Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine

Alcohol, fizzy drinks and coffee all can leave you dehydrated quickly. If at all possible, try to reduce the amount of these favourite beverages, especially during hot weather. Plain or flavoured water is a good substitute.

4. Drink plenty of water

Heat and sweat in the summer months can leave your body dehydrated, causing unwanted health outcomes such as fever and chills. Keep yourself well hydrated by drinking at least 2 to 3 litres of water every day.

5. Stay indoors

Restrict outdoor activities to the cooler parts of the day – early mornings before 11. am or late evenings after 5.00 pm.

6. Avoid outside food

Roadside food can be contaminated and may lead to foodborne illnesses. Also in the summer heat if food is not stored properly it may get spoilt and lead to a stomach infection.

Summer Travels

Are you and your family travelling in summer? If you plan to travel within India than you must take a few precautions to keep you safe from the summer heat.

Here are a few tips:

Accessorize right

Wear light colours and natural fabrics like cotton and linen. When you are outside, use proper covering for your mouth, nose and ears to shield yourself from the hot winds, which can cause dehydration. Use a hat or an umbrella for shade and wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.

Wear sunscreen

Apply a good waterproof sunscreen to all exposed parts of your body and reapply it every three to four hours to ensure that your skin remains protected.

Adopt an appropriate skin care routine

Summer can wreak havoc on your skin if proper care is not taken. Excessive oil and sweat can cause troublesome irritation, rashes, prickly heat, and exacerbation of acne. Wash your face often or use tissues to wipe a sweaty face to avoid acne. Use natural face packs with aloe vera gel or sandalwood powder to soothe the skin.

Common Summer Diseases

Summer brings in a host of health problems that range from simple ones like a headache, skin rashes, sunburns, etc. to severe ones like measles, jaundice, and more. You must take necessary preventive measures against summer diseases. Here are a few tips:

Sunburn

Some of the symptoms of sunburn include red or reddish skin, mild dizziness and fatigue. To protect yourself from sunburn, apply a sunscreen lotion on the exposed areas of your body 20 minutes before heading out in the sun.

Heat stroke

Heat stroke is another common summer disease, which if left untreated can be fatal. Some of the symptoms of heat strokes include difficulty in breathing, rapid pulse, high body temperature, confusion etc. Avoid stepping out in peak afternoons.

Prickly heat

Prickly heat refers to red rashes that occur due to an excess of humidity and heat. Prickly heat may be caused by clogging of the sweat glands. You can relieve prickly heat by applying prickly heat powder on areas that show signs of prickly heat.

Food poisoning

Owing to excessive heat in summer, the food can spoil quickly. To prevent the risk of food poisoning, put the leftover food inside the refrigerator. Food must be well-cooked to ensure that it doesn’t get spoiled.

Diarrhoea

Because food gets spoilt quickly, diarrhoea is common in summer. Eating contaminated food and unsafe drinking habits can lead to diarrhoea. To keep away from diarrhoea, make sure that you drink water only after boiling it and wash vegetables thoroughly before and after slicing them.

Skin Rashes

During summers, skin rash is a common skin problem amid children and adults. This typically happens when an individual sweats too much. Bathe often, change your clothes often and avoid wearing tight clothes.

Chickenpox

Chickenpox makes one of the most common summer diseases. It starts in the form of fluid-filled, red and small rashes accompanied by high fever. This is common in children and in people with low immunity and is highly contagious.

Measles

Measles is yet another common summer disease. The paramyxovirus which causes measles breeds faster during the summers. Its initial symptoms are cough, high fever, sore throat, and reddening in eyes. At a later stage, the tiny white spots and measles rash appear all over the body.

Jaundice

Jaundice is a common water-borne disease. It can be a result of Hepatitis A and is mainly caused due to the consumption of contaminated food and water. If not treated on time, this disease can affect the functionality of the liver leading to overproduction of bile.

Typhoid

Typhoid is passed through the oral-faecal route to healthy individuals. The contaminated food and water sources become the breeding ground for the bacteria. Visible symptoms of typhoid are a weakness, loss of appetite, fatigue, pain in the abdomen, high fever.

Mumps

Of all summer diseases, mumps is another extremely contagious viral disease and affects children. It is contagious in nature and gets transmitted when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Some of the visible symptoms include swelled salivary gland, muscle ache, fever, headache, loss of appetite and weakness.

The primary reason behind the outbreak of diseases in summer is the presence of favourable weather conditions for bacteria, virus and other parasites to breed. Take prevention steps and protect your and your family’s health in summer. Please consult doctors at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital for any summer ailments. Please find website link below:

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/

Facts, Causes & Symptoms about Seizures and Epilepsy | KDAH Blog

What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder in which the normal chemical and electrical activities between nerve cells in the brain (neurons) become disturbed. This disturbance causes the neurons to fire abnormally, causing seizures. In a seizure, many neurons fire at the same time, much faster than usual — up to 500 times a second.

People often think of epileptic seizures as causing muscle spasms or loss of consciousness, but some seizures can instead cause sudden emotions, sensations, or behaviours that may seem inappropriate and may not be initially recognized as caused by epilepsy.

What happens in a seizure?

Some people with epilepsy stare off into space or make strange sounds during a seizure. Some people may undress, laugh, or walk in circles. Depending on the part of the brain affected and the severity of the disturbance in the brain, epileptic seizures can range from relatively benign events that happen rarely to recurrent, disabling, life-threatening emergencies. Regardless of the seizure type, a person generally must have had at least two “unprovoked” seizures at least 24 hours apart to be diagnosed with epilepsy. Unprovoked means the seizures have no other known medical cause apart from Epilepsy.

Epilepsy symptoms

The main symptom of epilepsy is repeated seizures. Here are a few symptoms which need medical attention:

• a convulsion with no fever.
• short spells of a blackout, or confused memory.
• intermittent fainting spells.
• for a short period, the person is unresponsive to instructions or questions.
• the person becomes stiff, suddenly, for no apparent reason.
• the person suddenly falls for no clear reason.
• for a short time the person seems dazed and unable to communicate.
• repetitive movements that seem inappropriate.
• the person becomes fearful, angry or may panic without reason.
• peculiar changes in senses, such as smell, touch, and sound.
• the arms, legs, or body jerk, in babies these will appear as a cluster of rapid jerking movements.

Seizure Triggers:

Here are some of the seizure triggers that are commonly reported by people with epilepsy:

• Stress.
• Alcohol and recreational drugs.
• Not taking epilepsy medicine as prescribed.
• Feeling tired and not sleeping well.
• Flashing or flickering lights.
• Monthly periods.
• Missing meals.
• Track your triggers and avid these situations to avoid seizures.

Causes of Epilepsy

For up to 60 percent of people with epilepsy, the cause is not known, even with a complete medical evaluation. For the rest, here are a few major reasons that may cause Epilepsy:

• Genetic mutations.
• Structural changes in the brain due to trauma, infection or stroke.
• Birth defect.
• Infections of the central nervous system.

Few Epilepsy Facts:

• Epilepsy is a neurological disorder.
• Primary symptoms commonly include seizures.
• Seizures have a range of severity depending on the individual.
• Treatments include anti-seizure medications.

Someone around you suffering an Epileptic seizure?

Some Do’s:

• Move any objects, such as furniture, away from them so that they don’t hurt themselves.
• Put something soft under their head to stop it hitting the ground.
• Call emergency medical help if needed.
• Try to stop other people crowding around.
• Stay with them until they have fully recovered.

Some Don’ts:

• Do not restrain (try to hold down) the person.
• Do not place anything between the person’s teeth during a seizure.
• Do not move the person unless they are in danger.
• Do not try to make the person stop convulsing. They have no control over the seizure and are not aware of what is happening at the time.

It is estimated that there are 12 million people with Epilepsy in India. The right diagnosis and treatment can help people with Epilepsy live better. Consult our Centre for Neurosciences for Epilepsy treatment. Please find below link for more details:

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/centresofexcellence/centrefor_neurosciences/epilepsy.html

World Tuberculosis Day: Protect Your Family & Friends Against TB | KDAH

World TB Day is observed on 24th March 2019 this year. The theme for this year is “It’s time”. The theme has a very strong message for everyone to take steps to prevent TB, cure TB and make the world TB-free. Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects your lungs. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes.

TB affects all age groups and all parts of the world. However, it is more prevalent in developing countries. India is the country with the highest burden of TB. The World Health Organisation (WHO) TB statistics for India for 2016 give an estimated incidence figure of 2.79 million cases of TB for India.

Fast facts on Tuberculosis

Here are some key points about tuberculosis:

• The World Health Organization estimates that 9 million people a year get sick with TB, with 3 million of these “missed” by health systems.
• TB is among the top 3 causes of death for women aged 15 to 44.
• TB symptoms may be mild for many months, and people ill with TB can infect up to 10-15 other people through close contact over the course of a year.
• TB is an airborne pathogen, meaning that the bacteria that cause TB can spread through the air from person to person.

Symptoms

Although your body may harbour the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB), your immune system usually can prevent you from becoming sick. For this reason, doctors make a distinction between:

• Latent TB: In this condition, you have a TB infection, but the bacteria remain in your body in an inactive state and cause no symptoms. Latent TB, also called inactive TB or TB infection, isn’t contagious. It can turn into active TB, so treatment is important for the person with latent TB and to help control the spread of TB.
• Active TB. This condition makes you sick and in most cases can spread to others. It can occur in the first few weeks after infection with the TB bacteria, or it might occur years later.

Signs and symptoms of active TB include:

• Coughing that lasts three or more weeks.
• Coughing up blood.
• Chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing.
• Unintentional weight loss.
• Fatigue.
• Fever.
• Night Sweats.
• Chills.
• Loss of appetite.

Many strains of tuberculosis resist the drugs most used to treat the disease. People with active tuberculosis must take several types of medications for many months to eradicate the infection and prevent the development of antibiotic resistance.

Causes

Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that spread from person to person through microscopic droplets released into the air. This can happen when someone with the untreated, active form of tuberculosis coughs, speaks, sneezes, spits, laughs or sings.

Although tuberculosis is contagious, it’s not easy to catch. You’re much more likely to get tuberculosis from someone you live with or work with than from a stranger. Most people with active TB who’ve had appropriate drug treatment for at least two weeks are no longer contagious.

Risk factors

A healthy immune system often successfully fights TB bacteria, but your body can’t mount an effective defence if your resistance is low. Here are a few conditions which increase your risk of TB:

• HIV/AIDS.
• Diabetes.
• Severe kidney disease.
• Certain cancers or their treatment.
• Drugs to prevent rejection of transplanted organs.
• Malnutrition.
• Very young or advanced age.

Complications

Without treatment, tuberculosis can be fatal. The untreated active disease typically affects your lungs, but it can spread to other parts of your body through your bloodstream. Examples of tuberculosis complications include:

• Spinal pain.
• Joint damage.
• Swelling of the membranes that cover your brain (meningitis).
• Liver or kidney problems.
• Heart disorders.

Protect your family and friends

If you have active TB, keep your germs to yourself. It generally takes a few weeks of treatment with TB medications before you’re not contagious anymore. Follow these tips to help keep your friends and family from getting sick:

• Stay home. Don’t go to work or school or sleep in a room with other people during the first few weeks of treatment for active tuberculosis.
• Ventilate the room. Tuberculosis germs spread more easily in small closed spaces where air doesn’t move.
• Cover your mouth. Use a tissue to cover your mouth anytime you laugh, sneeze or cough. Put the dirty tissue in a bag, seal it and throw it away.
• Wear a mask. Wearing a surgical mask when you’re around other people during the first three weeks of treatment may help lessen the risk of transmission.
• Finish your entire course of medication. This is very important when you stop treatment early or skip doses, TB bacteria have a chance to develop mutations that allow them to survive the most potent TB drugs.

Vaccines

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine for children for tuberculosis (TB) disease. It is a part of infant immunizations. Make sure your child gets it as a part of his/ her healthcare program.

Are you suffering from severe cough for several weeks? It is time to investigate further and get tested for Tuberculosis. Consult doctors at our Pulmonary medicine department for more details.

Diabetes Diet: Plan your Ideal Healthy Diet | KDAH Blog

Diabetes is a condition characterised by elevated blood sugar levels. It is currently one of the leading metabolic disorders around the world. As per the Lancet report, Type-2 Diabetes is expected to rise by more than a fifth, from 406 million in 2018 to 511 million in 2030 globally. About 98 million Indians are likely to be diagnosed with diabetes by the year 2030. Type 2 Diabetes could be managed and prevented by eating a healthy diet and leading a healthy lifestyle.

Understanding how food affects your blood sugar:

Food has a direct effect on blood glucose. Some foods raise blood glucose more than others. An important part of managing diabetes is knowing what and how much to eat, and following an eating plan that fits your lifestyle while helping to control blood glucose. The 3 main nutrients found in foods are carbohydrates (carbs), proteins and fats.

Carbohydrates (carbs)

Carbs are the starches, sugar and fiber in foods such as grains, fruits, vegetables, milk products and sweets. They raise blood glucose faster and higher than other nutrients in foods: proteins and fats. Knowing what foods contain carbs and the amount of carbs in a meal is helpful for blood glucose control. Choosing carbs from healthy sources like vegetables, fruits and whole grains (high fiber) are preferred over carbs from sources with added sugars, fat and salt.

Proteins

Proteins are a necessary part of a balanced diet and can keep you from feeling hungry. They do not directly raise your glucose like carbs. However, to prevent weight gain, use portion control with proteins. In people with Type 2 diabetes, protein makes insulin work faster so it may not be a good idea to treat low blood sugar with protein shakes or mixes.

Fats

Fats are a necessary part of a balanced diet, especially healthy fats from fatty fish, nuts and seeds. They do not raise blood glucose but are high in calories and can cause weight gain.

Aim to include all 3 nutrients to balance your meals.

Planning a Diabetes Diet

A diabetic diet doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t have to give up all your favourite foods. Here are a few health tips for planning an ideal Diabetic diet:

1. Eat more

• Healthy fats from nuts, olive oil, fish oils, flax seeds, or avocados.
• Fruits and vegetables—ideally fresh, the more colourful the better; whole fruit rather than juices.
• Whole grains and millets.
• High-fiber cereals and bread made from whole grains.
• High-quality protein such as eggs, beans, low-fat dairy, and unsweetened yoghurt.

2. Eat less

• Trans fats from partially hydrogenated or deep-fried foods.
• Packaged and fast foods, especially those high in sugar, baked goods, sweets, chips, desserts.
• Foods made from refined flour – bread =, noodles or pasta.
• Processed meat and red meat.
• Low-fat products that have replaced fat with added sugar, such as fat-free yoghurt.

3. Be smart about sweets

Eating a diabetic diet doesn’t mean eliminating sugar altogether, but like most of us, chances are you consume more sugar than is healthy. If you have diabetes, you can still enjoy a small serving of your favourite dessert now and then. The key is moderation.

Tricks for cutting down on sugar:

• Reduce soft drinks, soda and juice.
• Don’t replace saturated fat with sugar.
• Sweeten foods yourself.
• Check labels and look for products with hidden sugar.
• Avoid processed or packaged foods.
• Reduce the amount of sugar in recipes by ¼ to ⅓.
• Find healthy ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.

3. Be careful with Alcohol

Do not underestimate the calories and carbs in alcoholics drinks including beer and wine. Cocktails mixed with soda and juice can be loaded with sugar. Liquid calories can also spike up your blood sugar levels.

4. Choose fats wisely

Some fats are unhealthy and others have enormous health benefits, so it’s important to choose fats wisely.

• Unhealthy fats. The most damaging fats are artificial trans fats, which make vegetable oils less likely to spoil. Avoid commercially-baked goods, packaged snack foods, fried food, and anything with “partially hydrogenated” oil in the ingredients, even if it claims to be trans fat-free.
• Healthy fats. The healthiest fats are unsaturated fats, which come from fish and plant sources such as olive oil, nuts, and avocados. Omega-3 fatty acids fight inflammation and support brain and heart health. Good sources include salmon, tuna, and flaxseeds.
• Saturated fats. Found mainly in tropical oils, red meat, and dairy, there’s no need to completely eliminate saturated fat from your diet—but rather, enjoy in moderation.

5. Eat regularly and keep a food diary

It’s encouraging to know that you only have to lose 7% of your body weight to cut your risk of diabetes in half. And you don’t have to obsessively count calories or starve yourself to do it. Two of the most helpful strategies involve following a regular eating schedule and recording what you eat.

Are you suffering from Diabetes? Consult our team of Nutritionists who can guide you with personalised diet plans to control your Diabetes and lead a normal life. Please find below link for more details:

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicaldepartments/nutritiontherapy.html

Robotic surgery – how does it benefit patients and surgeons?

Robotic technology in surgery allows surgeons to operate with extreme precision. It enables them to reach parts of the body which the human hand cannot reach easily or is impossible for the human hand to reach. Furthermore, there is less blood loss during the procedure, less pain after the procedure and a shorter hospital stay. The ability to recover and return to normal activities is also quicker than you think possible. The robotic arms can rotate up to 280 degrees and access the most impossible parts of the body during surgery. All of this results in a better surgical experience for both patients as well as surgeons and better surgery outcomes.

Robotic surgery is a form of Laparoscopic or minimally invasive surgery in which a computer-controlled robot assists the surgeon during the procedure. It provides the surgeon increased dexterity and enables them to operate even in the smallest areas and unreachable parts of the body with great ease. These types of surgeries might actually otherwise require open surgery. As compared to traditional open surgery, robotic surgery has benefits for both the patients as well as the surgeons.

Benefits for patients

• Precision: Very often, the surgeon needs to operate near other healthy organs or tissues or nerves. The surgeon must remove the abnormality without hurting or injuring the surrounding healthy structures. The robotic device has small parts and enough flexibility to accomplish this.
• Significantly less pain: Due to smaller incisions, you will experience less pain during and after surgery. This means significantly less pain killers during recovery, which reduces the risk of addiction.
• Less risk of infection and blood loss: Again, because the incisions are tiny, there is less blood loss and less chances of infection.
• Less scarring and shorter recovery: Recovery time, due to the smaller incisions is also small. Sometimes this recovery may last only a few days.
• Early discharge from the hospital: After a robotic surgery, patients can usually go home even the very next day!

Benefits for Surgeons

• Enhanced visual field: The surgeon views the surgical area via a console and gets a superior view of the area. The device has a high definition camera that provides a magnified, detailed view of the affected area. The surgeon can see the very small structures more clearly and this ultimately results in greater precision.
• Superior dexterity: A human hand has limitations when it comes to movements. The robotic arms have greater dexterity and range of motion.
• Greater access: The robotic arms can reach to humanly impossible places in the body and enable surgeons to treat more conditions than a normal human hand could.

Robotic surgery definitely provides greater power for surgeons to perform their surgeries with precision.

Please find below link for more details:

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/centresofexcellence/centrefor_roboticsurgery.html

Struggling With Infertility? – Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital

What is Infertility?

Infertility can take a toll on your life emotionally and may hamper your relationship with your spouse too. Most people will have a strong desire to conceive a child at some point during their lifetime. Understand what defines normal fertility, this helps you know when to seek medical help. Approximately 85 % of couples will achieve pregnancy within one year of trying. Infertility is defined when couples are unable to conceive a child, even though they’ve had frequent, unprotected sexual intercourse for a year or longer. Up to 15 per cent of couples is infertile. In over a third of these couples, male infertility plays a role.

Infertility can be caused due to factors affecting the female or the male partner.

Female Infertility

Here are a few common reasons in women that lead to Infertility:

1) Advancing maternal age

2) Ovulation disorders

3) Tubal occlusion (blockage)

4) Uterine fibroids

5) Endometrial polyps

6) Endometriosis

Quick Facts About Infertility

• Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system that impairs the body’s ability to perform the basic function of reproduction.
• Infertility affects men and women equally.
• Twenty-five per cent of infertile couples have more than one factor that contributes to their infertility.
• In approximately 40 per cent of infertile couples, the male partner is either the sole cause or a contributing cause of infertility.
• Irregular or abnormal ovulation accounts for approximately 25 per cent of all female infertility problems.
• Most infertility cases — 85% to 90% — are treated with conventional medical therapies such as medication or surgery.
• It is possible for women with body weight disorders to reverse their infertility by attaining and maintaining a healthy weight.
• Men and Women who smoke have decreased fertility.
• The risk of miscarriage is higher for pregnant women who smoke.

Male Infertility:

Male infertility is due to erectile dysfunction, low sperm production, abnormal sperm function or blockages that prevent the delivery of sperm. Illnesses, injuries, hormonal imbalances, chronic health problems, lifestyle choices and other factors can play a role in causing male infertility. The semen analysis is one of the main tests to evaluate the male partner.

Factors that determine male fertility:

• You must produce healthy sperms and sufficient semen volume.
• There needs to be higher sperm concentration to increase chances of conception.
• Sperm must have the motility to be able to move for conception to happen.
• The sperm morphology or shape determines its ability to fertilize the egg.

Risk factors linked to male infertility include:

• Smoking tobacco.
• Using alcohol.
• Using certain illicit drugs.
• Being overweight.
• Being severely depressed or stressed.
• Having certain past or present infections.
• Being exposed to toxins.
• Overheating the testicles.
• Having experienced trauma to the testicles.
• Having a prior vasectomy or major abdominal or pelvic surgery.
• Having a history of undescended testicles.
• Being born with a fertility disorder or having a blood relative with a fertility disorder.
• Certain medications.

Fertility treatments for females:

• Fertility drugs and hormones to help the woman ovulate or restore levels of hormones.
• Surgery to remove tissue that is blocking fertility (such as endometriosis) or to open blocked fallopian tubes.

Here are a few assisted reproductive technology or ART treatments used for male as well as female infertility problems:

• IUI (intrauterine insemination): Sperm is collected and the placed directly inside the woman’s uterus while she is ovulating.
• IVF (in vitro fertilization): The sperm and egg are collected and brought together in a lab. The fertilized egg grows for 3 to 5 days. Then the embryo is placed in the woman’s uterus.
• GIFT (gamete intrafallopian transfer) and ZIFT (zygote intrafallopian transfer): The sperm and egg are collected, brought together in a lab, and quickly placed in a fallopian tube. With GIFT, the sperm and eggs are placed into the fallopian tube. With ZIFT, a fertilized egg is placed into the tube at 24 hours.

Are you getting sleepless nights due to your infertility issues?

Are you waiting for your parenting journey to start?

Consult our Reproductive Endocrinologists for in-depth knowledge of your medical condition and how best it can be overcome. Our team offers the latest fertility treatments along with counselling support. Please find below link for further details:

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicaldepartments/reproductiveendocrinologyfertility/reproductiveendocrinologyandinfertilityrei.html