14 Fun Facts About the Brain
BRAIN – An amazing internal organ of the human body. Understanding the brain is not yet fully explored till date, but plenty has been studied. A number of patients seek treatment in hospitals for some or the other condition related to the health of the brain. But instead of discussing some serious illness related to the brain, today we bring you 14 facts about the human brain that might fascinate you.
So, let’s start the countdown
- Hints of successful brain surgeries date back to the Stone Age.
- An adult human brain weighs approximately 3 pounds.
- Dreams are believed to be a contributing factor of imagination, phycological factors, and neurological factors. This proves that the brain is working even while sleeping.
- About 75 percent of the brain is composed of water. Thus, even a minor dehydration can have an adverse effect on the brain functions.
- The human brain will grow significantly in size during the first year of life until the age of about 18 years old.
- The human brain contains approximately one hundred billion neurons.
- It is a myth that an average human use only 10 percent of the brain. In practicality, human use all of it, more than 10 percent while sleeping itself.
- Alcohol adversely affects the brain which includes blurred vision, unsteady walk, slurred speaking, and more.
These usually disappear while becoming sober again. However, heavy drinking for prolong periods of time can affect the brain functions permanently and might not reverse even after becoming sober again. Long-term effects include memory issues and some reduced cognitive function. - The brain uses 20 percent of the oxygen and blood in your body.
- A brain freeze is clinically known as sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. It onsets when an individual eats or drink something that’s extremely cold. It chills down the blood vessels and arteries in the very back of the throat, this includes the ones that take blood to your brain as well. These open up again then they are warm again, however, it causes pain in the forehead.
- Phantom limb pain syndrome is a condition, when the central nervous system, including the brain, continues to feel the pain of an amputated limb.
- The brain can interpret the pain signals sent to it, but it does not feel pain on its own.
- During the mummification process, Egyptians would usually remove the brains through the nose.
- Playing computer or video games that require instant reaction may help improve cognitive abilities. However, more research is needed to learn how much they help or what types of games do help.
Sure, it was fun to learn all that. In case, you experience any discomfort regarding this fascinating organ, consult with a medical facility.
Throat Cancer: Types and Causes
What is a Throat Cancer?
Throat cancer is cancer that appears in the throat region. It usually occurs in the pharynx which is a tube that starts from your nose to your neck. A throat cancer might also occur in larynx which commonly known as the voice box. The third common is the tonsil cancer that affects the tonsils which is located at the back of the throat. As per ENT Specialists, ‘ many a times, these harmless sounding issues can turn out be life-threatening if not treated on time’.
There are several types of throat cancer which have their own reasons to occur. The different types of throat cancer are mentioned below:
Nasopharyngeal cancer: Doctors haven’t found out the actual cause of this cancer yet but they say it is strongly linked to a common virus called Epstein – Barr virus (EBV). Although, it need not be necessary to be prone to NPC if you have EBV. In India, it is rarely found in the states of Northeast region such that, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram.
Oropharyngeal cancer: Oropharyngeal cancer or oral cancer is the most common and cancer related-death of men in India. The main cause of this cancer in world-wide is mostly due to HPV that spreads through unprotected intimation and/or oral intimation. Although in India the main reason behind this cancer is excessive consumption of Weeds, tobacco, smoking, and alcohol.
Hypopharyngeal cancer: It is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the hypopharynx. Use of tobacco products and heavy drinking can affect the risk of developing Hypopharyngeal cancer.
Laryngeal cancer: This cancer affects the larynx and it is commonly known as the Vocal Cord. The main causes of this cancer are the genetic mutation of uncontrollable cell growth in the region to form tumors. This is usually forms due to long-term smoking or alcohol and sometimes HPV or exposure to toxins such as asbestos. Laryngeal Cancer comprises of three different cancers such as Glottic, Supraglottic and Subglottic Cancer. They begin at the around, upper and lower region of the vocal cord.
Irrespective of the type of throat cancer, they are common in one thing, smoking, and alcohol, which is the main cause of most of these throat cancers. These cancers if remained untreated for long period, can cost the life. If you are prone to any symptoms of throat cancer, come in and get yourself checked by certified ENT specialists with proper guidance, consultation, and health tips.
The History of Antibiotic and Its Evolution
The word antibiotic refers to two words, anti means to oppose and biotics means life. Thus, the term antibiotics refer the drugs which are against the living cell. Then why do we consume them? Well simply because the bio cells in consideration is not the host human, but instead the bacterial pathogens that cause infection and side effects.
You can find the antibiotics drugs for a range of medical conditions and illnesses. They predominantly destroy the bacterial growth, but few of then also prohibits the growth of protozoa as well. Antibiotics for virus-related illness is mostly a misnomer as the correct term for the same would be antiviral drugs.
Antibiotic is an indispensable part of today’s medical science. But how did its journey started? Only a few are aware of. The golden era of antibiotics began in early 1909 with the successful invention of salvation to cure syphilis. But the most noteworthy invention was that of the penicillin in the year 1928 by Alexender Fleming. This was a turning point int he timeline of medicines.
The utilization of penicillin was at its peak during the year 1941, when the penicillin was processed in batch for mass production. It cured a wide range of infections in all over the world. These include minor to mild eye infection, bacterial growth, blood poisoning and lots more. Moreover, its role in treating the soldiers from the World War II is unparallel. Eventually, the oral penicillin was fabricated any produced.
However, with time, it was observed that not every individual was responding positively to the use of penicillin. Few individuals did not respond to this particular antibiotic at all, and for few others, their condition even worsened on its application. Thus came to the time of the invention of erythromycin in the year of 1949.
Gradually, several antibiotics were discovered and produced for usage over the several next decades. In the present time, there are many antibiotics available in the market. Several of these are over the counter drugs and thus, it does not need any medical prescription for buying them. However, it is always recommended to get a medical checkup before buying and using any medicine.
As we are witnessing the World Antibiotic Awareness Week in the month of November, we, the ILS Hospitals, pay our respect to all those scientists medical personals, who spend hours in researching and inventing these drugs.
Early Symptoms of Lung Cancer
Lung Cancer is the most common type of cancer that starts in lungs. It is the number one death causing cancer in both men and women than colon, ovarian or breast cancer. Through the ling, carbon dioxide is released and oxygen is inhaled. There are two types of lung cancer. They are small cell lung cancers (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC).
Cigarette smoking is the main cause of lung cancer. The more cigarette consumption per day, the greater the risk of developing lung cancer at an early age. The other factors include passive smoking, air pollution or exposure to radon gas and asbestos fibers. It is difficult to detect lung cancers at an early stage as they do not cause any symptoms initially. But it is advisable to visit the doctor as soon as you notice any signs of discomfort related to the same in order to treat it at an early stage. ILS Hospitals is one of the popular hospitals in Kolkata for lung cancer treatment. There are many specialized doctors available for the treatment of this life taking disease.
The common symptoms of lung cancer include :
- A prolonged cough or worsening of an existing chronic and painful cough
- Coughing up blood or blood in sputum
- Constant chest or shoulder pain
- Fatigue and feeling tired all the time
- Loss of appetite
- Shortness of breath or wheezing
- Weight loss
- Ongoing chest infections
- Hoarseness
- Depression and mood changes
One should immediately consult the doctor if any of the above symptoms persist for an effective treatment. The treatment should begin before cancer spreads outside lungs otherwise it can spread anywhere in the body. It may cause the following:
- Bone pain in the back or hips
- Changes in the nervous system such as a headache, weakness in arms or legs, disbalance of a body, might spread to the brain or spinal cord.
- Jaundice that might lead to the liver
- Formation of lumps due to cancer spreading to the skin like above collarbone or the neck.
Since it is difficult to diagnose lung cancer at an early stage, it is advised to consult a doctor if a similar sign is being observed or felt in the body as mentioned above.
Therefore, Lung Cancer Awareness Month takes place every November to make people aware of the earlier signs and symptoms of this life-taking disease. The main aim of this campaign is to spread awareness amongst all on how to detect this disease at the right time to save a life.
A Brief Introduction of Polio and Its Vaccine
Polio is one of the most dreadful diseases that frightens parents more than any other disease. The main being the fact that polio is uncurable, the best strategy is the prevention of the same. Several children from all over the India, seek treatment for physical disability and paralysis (partial or total) in the best hospitals. Let’s understand it in brief along with its remedy.
Polio is a generalized term for poliomyelitis. It is caused by either of the three species of poliovirus. It enters the body through the mouth and multiply rapidly and reach the digestive system. It highly contagious as it can spread through oral, nasal secretion and also through contaminated fecal materials. In several cases, it does not show any symptoms of the same. But several times, it enters the bloodstream and damages the nerve cells eventually. This results in paralysis and early death as well, if proper treatment is not provided on time.
Polio is perhaps one of the oldest illness that can be found in the closet of the human history. It can be traced to as early as ancient Egypt, 1400 BC. It became an epidemic in the early 1900s and then began the hunt for its proper treatment. The anti-polio vaccine was developed using inactivated and weekend poliovirus. There are two kinds of vaccine and mode of its administration and they both are registered as WHO’s list of essential medicines.
IPV- The inactive poliovirus is administrated in the body through injection. It was first developed by Jonas Salk and it came into commercial use in the year 1955.
OPV- the weekend poliovirus is administrated in the body through oral dosage. It was first developed by Albert Sabin came into commercial use in the year 1961.
As per the guideline of WHO (World Health Organization), every child of age 5 years or less, is supposed to be given poliovirus. The polio vaccine is extremely effective and has successfully agitated polio from the most of the world population. If considered statistically, the number of cases registered for polio has reduced from 350000 to just 37 in the past three decades.
On this World Polio Day on 24th October, we encourage every parent and guardians to get their infants the adequate dosage of polio. Also, we pay our respects to all the doctors and researchers who worked hard to invent and modify the polio vaccine and healthcare facilities, government and Nonprofit institute’s initiatives which, made it possible for every child on the planet to get the dosage of the same.
Bone Health and Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a growing global problem worldwide. After the age of 50, bones become weak and fragile especially in case of women. Fractures affect both men and women with age. Strong bones are essential for overall good health. Good nutrition helps in keeping the bones stronger and healthier.
Although, there are hardly any symptoms of detecting osteoporosis at an early stage. Some earlier signs might include receding gums, weak nails, and weakened grip strength. Without a proper treatment, osteoporosis may worsen leading to the higher risk of fractures. Some common causes of osteoporosis are mentioned below:
- Physical inactivity
- Smoking
- Low body weight
- Certain medications
- Hereditary
- Being female and an older adult
- Poor nutrition
- Menopause in case of women
There are many factors which play an important role in keeping the bones healthy. Some of them are as follows:
Bone contains 99% of body calcium and therefore we need to consume foods high in calcium to keep it healthy.
- Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium and build bones.
- Enough Protein intake is essential to maintain a healthy bone.
- Other nutrients include zinc, Vitamin K, and magnesium.
- Weight-bearing exercises such as climbing stairs, push-ups etc. should be included in the everyday routine.
- Smoking should be stopped.
Apart from these, there are some natural ways to treat bone disease but should be strictly followed under your doctor’s supervision. Some people do get good results with natural treatments.
Osteoporosis can have serious effects. As already mentioned, fractures can be really painful and take a long time to heal leading to other complications. For instance, a hip fracture requires staying in bed for a longer period with other risks involved like pneumonia, blood clots, and other infections.
BMD (Bone Mineral Density) is a type of scan to diagnose the disease. It is done by using a type of X-ray known as a dual-energy x-ray(DEXA) and bone densitometry. DEXA scan includes two devises – a central device which is a hospital-based scan measuring hip and spine bone and a peripheral device which is a mobile machine measuring wrist, heel and finger bone. ILS Hospitals being a multi-specialty hospital provides the treatment for Osteoporosis.
World Osteoporosis Day takes place on 20th October, organized by International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) every year. This concept is launched by the United Kingdom’s National Osteoporosis Society in the year 1996. The main aim of this campaign is to spread awareness on bone health. This annual campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease.
History of Anesthesia
If you have ever undergone a surgical procedure in a hospital or clinic, you must have been remembering administrating a pre-calculated dosage of anesthesia, either local or general. And soon, you lose every sensation and after you regain consciousness, you find that the surgical; procedure is long over. Without the anesthesia, almost every surgical procedure would be impossible to carry out, particularly in these days.
But have you ever wondered how surgical procedures were carried out before the time when anesthesia was formulated? After all, the history of surgery goes long back in time. Let’s understand how the anesthesia came to existence.
Anesthesia performs three major functions, it enables the patient to feel any pain during the surgery, it enables the body to keep performing the vital actions, such as heartbeat, respiration etc and simultaneously, it disables the body to carry out any movements, let it be voluntary, or reflex.
In the earliest stages of surgical procedures, the patient was given a dosage of alcohol, opium or cannabis, as they used to minimize the sensation, mainly the pain. But unlike, toady’s procedure, they were not up to the mark. With time acupuncture needle was substituted in place of oral anesthesia. Gradually came the time when carotid compression is used to achieve unconsciousness before surgery.
It was Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Boyle, who pioneered intravenous anesthesia.
Then came an era of hypnosurgery, in which the patient is hypnotized by a professional hypnologist before the procedure begins. This procedure was pioneered by Dr. Jules Cloquet, who carried out a hypnosurgery on women for breast surgery. Supposedly, the patient under hypnosis experience tingling like sensation instead of pain, throughout the procedure. Despite the question of its viability, several notable cases have been witnessed, which was done as hypnosurgery. However, this procedure depends on the willpower of each patient and thus, does not work well for every individual and cannot be counted as a reliable anesthetic substitute.
William Morton is a notable name who initiated the use of ether as anesthesia for surgery and created a revolutionary history. With the advancement of research and development, several new anesthetic substances were formulated from time to time, each surpassing the benefits over the previous ones. Depending upon the type of surgery, either local or general anesthesia is administrated.
In the present scenario, most anesthesia is intravenous and having an anesthesiologist or anesthetist is extremely crucial in any major surgery. Without their supervision and administration of anesthesia, the surgical procedure cannot initiate. During the operation, the anesthesiologist makes sure the patient’s body keep performing all the three crucial actions, as mentioned above.
In this, World Anesthesia Day, we at ILS Hospitals, pay our tributes to each and every one who worked hard immensely to invent the anesthesia, and made the surgical procedures, a rather comforting and bearable procedure.
A Brief Introduction of Arthritis
Arthritis is a medical term that can be used to denote any illness or disorder that incur on the joints. The Greek origin of the term literally means inflammation of joints (artho means joint and itis means inflammation). It is mainly characterized by stiffness, numbness, pain, redness, swelling, immobility in the affected joints. Occasionally, it also offers some nearby internal or external organs. Several orthopedic clinics across India provides care and treatment for the same.
Major kinds of Arthritis
There are more than 100 types of joint pain disorders that come under the umbrella term arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are the two most common types. The prior is an autoimmune disorder which affects predominantly the feets and hands. The latter one is mostly acquired with age and affects the knees, fingers, and hips. Their common types of arthritis include lupus, gout, and septic arthritis etc.
Treatment of Arthritis
To treat a minor arthritic ailment, the weakened joint is exposed to heat and ice pack alternatively. Mild medication with paracetamol and ibuprofen is used for temporary relief, but joint replacement is often the ultimate solution to address a case with severe bone decay and pain. Moreover, several times, a person experience joint pain as they gradually begin to gain body weight. It is an obvious side effect of obesity as the joint begin to endure excessive weight and pressure of excessive weight. In such cases, exercise and weight loss can help with the condition, significantly.
Symptoms of Arthritis
As already mentioned, there are over 100 types of arthritis, so the exact symptoms depend upon the particular type of consideration. However, there are few common symptoms of the same, which are as follows-
- Muscle stiffness or pain
- Difficult to move the hand or feet to full extent
- Fatigue and tiredness
- Tenderness and stiffness
- Inflammation and pain on joints
- Loss of flexibility
- Weakness of muscle
Effect of Arthritis on Daily Life
Most of the arthritis is not a life-threatening illness and gives the patient an immense time to address it. But after living with a prolonged period with an arthritis disorder influences the quality of life up to a large extent.
Thus on this World Arthritis Day, we encourage every individual to make sure to seek treatment for a persistent join pain without delaying for it to become more complex.
Small Guide to Mental Disorder – Depression and Anxiety
We can pursue a healthy and happy life not only by being physically fit but mentally as well. When we are free of depression, stress, and anxiety we live more happily. Our mind reacts differently to different courses of the event and as per which, our feeling fluctuates. People with depression and anxiety are likely to be the victim of many other physical and mental hazards of which they might not be conscious of. Physical issues such as heart disease, ulcers, colitis etc.
It was discovered that a severe mental health could be as menacing as cancer, which is strenuous to treat. To spread this information across the globe, an initiative, known as World Mental Health Day was taken by the WHO which was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health.
It was found to create awareness of how important is our mental health just as our physical health. When it comes to mental health the most common problem we find is depression and anxiety, which has decoyed almost all the normal people into its clutch. Here, you are going to discover why mental health is a thing of concern. The following point listed will give light to the above context:
Mental health strengthens and supports our ability to:
- Healthy Relationships: Relationship only not only with your spouse but all also with your parents, siblings, friends, and people around you. A peaceful and happy mind always think and look forward to positive vibes. An unhappy person will feel it difficult to connect with people around him/her.
- Right Choices: When we have a healthy mood we make our decision with our full consciousness and don’t make any wrong judgment over anything. Hence, any decision taken in an unhealthy mood can bring us more trouble.
- Well-being: An unhealthy mind also leads to many physical issues. Although different people show different reactions such as severe depression may result in either in weight loss or gain, reduces hunger, and sometimes panic attacks. Therefore, a mentally fit person will be distant from these issues.
- Acceptance: A mentally fit person will accept the natural ups and downs of a physical body and as well as the fluctuating situation which life threw us in.
- Leads Addiction: Depression and anxiety can also lead a man to get addicted to smoking, drinking, drugs etc. which will further result in increasing physical health hazards.
- Workplace: A bad mental health can also have a bad impact at our workplace. An irritated and exhausted temper can create conflict among members or might make a presentation inefficient.
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Different types of mental disorders?
Depression and anxiety are the most common disorder found in almost every individual at some part of life. Now let us have a look at the other different types of mental disorders. They are given below:
- Mood disorders (such as depression and bipolar disorder)
- Psychotic disorders (such as schizophrenia)
- Eating disorders
- Trauma-related disorders (such as post-traumatic stress disorder)
- Substance abuse disorders
Tips to overcome depression and anxiety
The remedial measures may differ from person to person as every individual has their level of satisfaction. The remedies to fight depression is given below:
- Meditation
- Travel to your favorite place
- Limit your time on social media
- Set goals
- Listen to music
- Dance like an insane
- Eat healthy
- Workout regularly
- Give importance to people who deserve them and not who you want to
- Eat chocolate or have cappuccino
- Be an active volunteer
- Spend time with loved once
- Share your feeling or write it down
- Watch movies
- Live scheduled life
- Take adequate sleep
Therefore, these tips might help you get rid of depression may not at an instance but will bring changes to your current situations. Although if you have tried almost all the above-mentioned remedies but still can’t help yourself, well, then it is suggested to get yourself checked by a Psychiatrists. It is proofed that a person who has been seen from a doctor tend to visit the doctor less than those who never did. Consult a Psychiatrist for more information.
A Brief Introduction of Breast Cancer
After attaining puberty, a women’s breast develops fat, lobules, connective tissues and glands to produce milk for breastfeeding. After the onset of cancer, the cells keep multiplying uncontrollably and starts spreading after a certain point of time, to its nearby tissues as well. Breast cancer is the most common kind of cancer among women.
Men can be affected by breast cancer as well, though the count is very little as compared to that of women. Several times, the genetics plays an important role towards its prevalence, but many times, the culprit is the sedentary lifestyle. It can be addressed with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgical approach.
Types of breast cancer
There are mainly two kinds of breast cancer. Invasive and non-invasive breast cancer. In the prior case, the cancer cell breaks out from the inside of ducts and thus the risk of its spread remains significantly high. The latter condition is the opposite and is termed when the cells remain at the origin of the outbreak. If it is left untreated, over a period of time, it develops into invasive cancer anyways.
Symptoms of breast cancer
The primary symptom of a breast cancer is characterized by the developing either a thick tissue or a lump in the breast or armpit. Secondary symptoms comprise of one or more of the following-
- Pain in the breast or in an armpit, which does correlate with the monthly cycle.
- An inverted or sunken nipple.
- Redness of the breast skin
- Discharge blood or other fluid from the nipple
- Rash on the nipple, or around it
- Change of size or shape of breast irrelevant to the monthly cycle
- Scaling or flaking of the nipple or the breast skin
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Initiative on this world Breast cancer awareness month
On this breast cancer awareness month, we, at ILS Hospitals encourage every woman to step up and seek breast examination at least once annually, to keep the risks of breast cancer at bay. We also, motivate every adult women to learn and practice self-breast examination every three to six month and keep an eye on any growth on the breast or under the armpit. Women with either a personal medical history or family history of previous lumps or cancer are requested to be-be extremely cautious regarding the same. Going for a mammogram is often recommended by a gynaecologist.
Several of the lumps of the breast are not cancerous. However, in case of any doubt, it is best to get it checked by a physician as soon as possible.