The Significance of Doctors in Our Overall Health!
Our health is our greatest wealth, which we should treasure the most. To achieve the same, we need to take proper care through healthy diet and lifestyle. But, many a time even after what we do to stay healthy, we encounter situations that require medical attention, throughout our lifespan. Role of doctors in our life is irreplaceable as we depend on them for a healthier life. Let’s understand how they enhance our overall life.
Human life has been awarded an amazing mind and a capable body. Yet they need medical intervention for an illness which could be present since birth (congenital) or acquired through heredity or infected individuals (communicable) or may have occurred due to some accident/injury, or pathogen-induced.
Only a few of them, such as a common cold and sore throat generally get resolved on its own with the help of simple home remedies. However, the same does not hold true for most of the medical conditions. It makes availing quality medical treatment inevitable. A quality treatment includes proper diagnosis, treatment and follows up care.
The diagnosis includes physical observation of the symptoms, site of the discomfort, and use of invasive and non-invasive screening with the help of several diagnostic probes. The experience of the doctor adds even more value to the same. The accurate and timely diagnosis makes the entire treatment procedure more effective.
The treatment often includes oral medication, and are more effective when a particular illness is in its primary stage. As it progresses, often the need for surgery becomes crucial. Many a time, sessions of radiotherapy/ chemotherapy are required after surgery to ensure its effectiveness. Sadly, not every illness can be cured permanently. However, availing treatment contributes towards prolonging the quality of life and often the life expectancy as well.
A healthy doctor-patient relationship is a crucial factor that often acts as a positive contributing factor for treatment. It strengthens the mutual decision-making ability and develops trust. Though many doctors and hospitals are blooming these days, selecting a proper one is quite important.
As we are observing National Doctor’s Day on 1sy July. On this special day, we honor not only the doctors but also the nurses, pathologists and other medical staffs, who contribute towards our overall health and wellbeing. Let’s all perform our share of responsibility and duties to stay healthy and contribute towards making a nation by being a healthy and capable individual.
A Brief Introduction to Sickle Cell Anaemia
Sickle cell Anaemia is a rare, genetic illness. It is a form of anaemia in which the red blood cells are incapable of carrying an adequate amount of oxygen in the body. It is an extremely difficult illness that is quite challenging to live with. Only the best hospitals can provide medication and treatment for the same. Let’s understand the various aspects around Sickle Cell Anaemia.
Blood carries vital nutrients throughout the body and also facilitates the exchange of gases, namely the intake of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide. The usual shape of the blood cells is just like a donut without any cavity inside. The bi-concave surface facilitates easy transportation of oxygen molecules. In case of sickle cell anaemia, the red blood cells resemble that of a sickle or crescent moon, thereby justifying the name.
This gives rise to 2 problems, inadequate oxygen supply, and the irregular shape of the cell leads them to get stuck in thin blood vessels, causing inflammation. A patient with sickle cell anaemia is likely to suffer one or more of the following symptoms.
- Anaemia that keeps on recurring and is closely followed by fatigue, and drained out of energy.
- Painful swells on feet, knees, and hands or other areas where the blood vessels are extremely narrow.
- Delayed growth which involves both natural and reproductive growth.
- High chances of gallstones, which often required gallstone operation to resolve.
- Poor vision that is purely due to blocked blood vessels reaching eyes.
- Frequent infections as this illness damages spleen, the organ that fights infections.
- Episodes of pain, particularly in chest, abdomen, and joints that lasts anywhere between few hours to few weeks.
Sadly there is no cure for sickle cell anaemia but with proper medication, it can be managed effectively through proper timely measures. The normal RBC has a lifespan of about 120 days, but the same reduces to 15-20 days for a sickle RBC. Needless to say, some of these patients require undergoing a periodic blood transfusion. These efforts along with proper medication can help the patient to get ease from the painful symptoms and to prevent the complications associated with the same.
On this 19th June, as we witness World Sickle Cell Day, we encourage people with this illness to stay strong and seek treatment from time to time. Also, we salute the never-ending support of their family, the doctors and most important the blood donors for their contribution.
A Brief Introduction to the Types of Blood Donation
Blood transfusion is a process of supplying blood of a matching group to an individual in need of it. Even though advanced procedures such as laparoscopic surgery rarely needs a blood transfusion, it is needed for medical emergencies, life support systems, several specific diseases, such as thalassemia, or even a major pre-scheduled invasive surgery.
Whether or not you have been a part of blood transfusions, you are more likely to be accustomed to only one type of blood donation. However, did you know that there are 4 types of blood donations, as per the element of the blood? Let’s have a quick look at each of them
1. Whole blood donation
The most common procedure, in which about a pint of whole blood is extracted out of the body. It may or may not be further segregated into platelets, plasma, and red cells, depending upon the need of the recipient. The procedure takes about half an hour or even less, while the patients can donate the same every 2 months.
2. Platelet Apheresis
It requires a special apheresis machine that collects blood and separates all its elements with centrifugal effect. The platelets component is kept for transfusion while the remaining elements return back to the body’s blood circulation. The process takes about 2 hours.
This type of blood is needed by patients battling cancers, undergoing organ transplant therapy and surgeries/medical emergencies that may involve massive bleeding. Moreover, while a single platelet donation can be used for multiple blood transfusion, it takes about 5-6 whole blood donations to make up for a single platelet transfusion. It can be donated every seven days, up to 24 times a year.
3. Plasma Apheresis
This type of blood donation goes simultaneously with the previous one. In this type, only the plasma is kept for the blood transfusion, while the rest is returned back to the body. The process takes about an hour and a half. It can be done after every two weeks.
4. Power Red
This one is yet another donation type involving the apheresis machine, which collects only the red cells while it returns the plasma and the platelets. Often the rare blood types have short supply as the donor need to meet few special guidelines for donating this type. It includes having higher levels of haemoglobin and specific body height and weight.
A single donation usually takes about an hour and collects two units of red cells. The donor can contribute every 120 days.
Each blood donation types has its own features. On this World Blood Donor Day, 14th June we honour every blood donor and feel our duty to pay tribute to one particular donor named James Harrison of Australia. This blood plasma donor rightfully earned the title of ‘man with the golden arm’ as he has donated blood plasma 1173 times throughout his entire life. After receiving 13 liters of blood for a surgery at the age of 14, he committed to donate blood in the future. Having a rather strong antigen against the group Rh antigen, he was able to donate blood plasma, which as per estimation, saved about 2.4 million unborn babies.
While saluting such a determined spirit, we, on behalf of ILS Hospitals, urge every healthy, capable individual to donate blood, at least once in their lifetime.
How Plastics Are Affecting Our Health
We all have plastic bags in our homes which in it has other plastic bags too, isn’t’ it?
This is a statement that is both funny and frightening. Keep in mind that these are the reusable plastics, that we decided to keep. So, can you imagine how much plastics have we thrown out there?
The excessive exposure of the plastics around us has adversely affected our health, more than ever in the recent years.
Let’s have a detailed analysis of the same.
Polythene or more commonly known as plastic was one of the most revolutionary inventions of all time. Being durable, lightweight, and inexpensive, plastics became the material for almost every domain, within an extremely short duration. In exchange for all these comforts, this non-biodegradable started claiming health and wellness of human, wildlife, and environment altogether.
The air that we breathe, the land that we live on and grow food, the water we drink, everything contains plastics. Sadly even our food chain is no longer devoid of the plastic traces in it. As a result, the overall health has begun to decade gradually. Directly or indirectly, it contributes towards health disorders and complications, but not limited to the metabolism, cardiovascular, respiratory and several forms of cancer.
According to leading gynaecologists, the rising statistics of couples unable to conceive naturally or suffering multiple miscarriages is often due to exposure to harmful elements released by plastics. Many chromosomal and congenital abnormality also arise either from the current or the successive generation. Moreover, impaired brain and neurological functions, cancer, cardiovascular system damage, adult-onset diabetes, early puberty, obesity, and resistance to chemotherapy have also been found prevalent in both men and women.
Many people do not realize the same as often the source remains discrete from plain sight. For instance, the traces of plastic can be also found in food and water, which is packed or stored in plastic containers. Moreover, the contamination of animal’s food (eg, goat, poultry, cow etc.) with plastic components also act as an entry for it in our food chains.
Sadly, solving this problem is quite challenging. The best way to start is by taking proper measure and seeking guidance from best hospitals, in case any health discomfort arises and persists.
The theme for this World Environment Day, 5th June 2018, is ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. Since it is being hosted in India, let’s pledge to accomplish (4‘R’s) – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and most importantly Replace. Stay away from plastic materials, and whenever possible, go for the substitutes.
Let’s try our best to save our planet!
6 Health Complications That Will Motivate You to Quit Smoking Now
How do you define a cigarette?
A pinch of tobacco wrapped in a roll, with fire on one side and a fool on the other side.
Work is stressful, for most of us, isn’t it? How often do you rely on your ‘so-called friend’ to relieve this never-ending stress? The answers will range from never, rarely, depends, often, to all the time.
The more your answer titles towards the right, the earlier and the deeper you are digging for your own grave.
Here we present 6 health complications associated with smoking that will motivate you to quit smoking –
1. Heart and Lungs diseases
Our lungs are capable of filtering the air and supplying oxygen to the bloodstream. However, over the years of smoking, both lungs and heart begin to perform inefficiently and as a result, the person develops several types of cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.
2. Diabetes Type 2
The direct impact of smoking on-setting diabetes is still a matter of conflict among research scholars, but it certainly has been found that prolonged smoking increases the complications associated with diabetes type 2. Several patients, who also happens to be chain smokers, often visits diabetes clinic to address a common complication of loss of sensation in feet/legs.
3. Reproductive Health
Let it be men or women, prolonged smoking can affect their reproductive health. As per leading gynaecologists, for women, it can lead to ectopic pregnancy and a lower rate of natural conception. Whereas, in case of men, it can lead to erectile dysfunction.
4. Poor Metabolism
The component nicotine makes people addictive of the same and as a result, many chain smokers suffer from several digestive and metabolic malfunctions. As a result, a person can either lose or gain significant body weight. People seeking liver treatment often turn out to be chain smokers.
5. Oral and Throat
Holding the cigarette between the teeth, in a long run leads to misalignment of teeth along with severe gum diseases. As per ENT specialists, several kinds of mouth/throat ulcers and cancer is a result of smoking too.
6. Bone Decay
Prolonged smoking leads to a much faster rate of bone decay as compared to non-smokers. It is often closely followed by severe orthopaedic complications and rheumatoid arthritis as well.
Despite the frightening consequences of smoking, the silver lining is the fact that putting down smoking can help significantly in damage control.
On this World No Tobacco Day, on 31st May 2018, ILS Hospitals encourages every smoker to quit smoking. Not only it affects your own health but it also causes damage to your family, friends, and colleagues, who eventually becomes passive smokers, over the years.
A Brief Introduction to Asthma
Asthma is an illness that results due to the blockage of the airways of the lungs. The severity of the Asthma ranges from mild to severe. A mild episode of asthma can be treated with an asthma pump and over the counter medicine, whereas a major one needs more professional help. It is important to threat and keep a tab on every respiratory illness, particularly Asthma. As we are observing this World Asthma Day on 1st May 2018, we present a brief overview of symptoms of asthma and how it is diagnosed and treated.
The exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide to the lungs happens through the bronchial tubes, the passage to the lungs. Having asthma leads to inflammation of the bronchial tubes to the lungs. The swollen bronchial tubes and muscle make it difficult to facilitate smooth effortless air passage in and out of the lungs.
Possible asthma can be diagnosed by looking for the symptoms of the same. The exact symptoms may vary from person to person, but the most common are as follows-
- Chronic coughing or wheezing
- Chest pain and tenderness
- Shortness of breath
- Difficulty sleeping, particularly at night
- Whistling sound while breathing out
- Fatigue upon exercise
Many of these may arise even without asthma, but seeking the opinion of a doctor is always advisable. It is particularly recommended if the symptom gets prominent right after exercise, crying, laughing, exposure to allergies and during the night. Remember the severity of asthma increases upon the time span of the same, particularly untreated time period.
The diagnosis of asthma includes factors like family history, personal history, at its basics. Then it advances to certain diagnostic tests. These include Spirometry, which estimates the capacity and fictions of the lungs. Several other tests record the effects of particular allergens and stimulants.
On this World Asthma Day, we spread awareness regarding its crucial aspects to every people out there. Asthma cannot be cured permanently once infected. However, it can be managed effectively through medication, and healthy lifestyle. The chances of managing it effectively enhances significantly if the patients seek the diagnosis and treatment at its earliest. Timely measures ensure fewer, less severe attacks in future. Needless to say, the vice versa leads to the exact opposite scenario and can even cause permanent damage to the respiratory system.
ILS Hospitals Agartala Improves Lives in the North Eastern Region of India
Medical tourism is a concept when people of one part of the geographical location, moves to others to avail treatment. This is either due to less availability of reliable treatment in their own province or having the high expense in doing so. Either way, it causes a burden on the patient and their family because of several reasons.
Let’s understand how the establishment of ILS Hospitals Agartala in the state of Tripura helped the regional people to avail better quality treatment.
Mr. Subhash Deb Burman a permanent resident of Tripura and a businessman, keeps on moving from place to place throughout the country. Whenever any of his family member or friend falls sick with something severe, he was the person-in-charge to accompany them for their treatment.
As Tripura or Northeast India did not have any state of the art healthcare facility, many a times, he had to travel all the way to the nearest metropolitan city, Kolkata. This extended journey was necessary as several crucial diagnosis and treatment are possible in high-end treatment provider only. However, this journeys used to leave the patients ever more tired and drenched out of energy. Not to mention that it used to lead to extra expenditure, on travel, accommodation and food.
Things finally changed for good, when ILS Hospital Agartala was established in the state of Tripura. Being a multispecialty hospital, it offers extensive diagnosis and treatment of multiple domains. This helped Mr. Deb Burman to access better healthcare facility within proximities.
To his surprise, the facility of ILS Hospitals Agartala was not only one of the best infrastructures in Northeast India but also was equipped with the best equipment and specialized doctors. He could rely on the healthcare facilities entirely. He was so satisfied with the services that he mitigated the thought of traveling out of state ever again.
He not only sought medical help for his family members and friends at ILS Hospitals Agartala but also recommended his clients and other colleagues. After seeking treatment from the same, everyone shared their views as well. The fact that ILS Hospitals in Agartala was a unit of the prestigious ILS Hospitals group, helped to establish trustworthy relation.
ILS Hospitals Agartala stands proud in the state of Tripura and keeps up the good work of ensuring the health and recovery of people of Northeast India and nearby countries such as Bangladesh. It is the heart of the healthcare among the people of this region, as it offers some of the latest treatment for several medical complications.
5 Most Common Gynecological Disorders
Living with a healthy body and a sound mind is more like a wishful thinking than a reality. There are many illnesses that affect both the genders, but a lot of medical conditions affects the health of women exclusively. Here we present 5 common illnesses, listed by Gynaecologists, that are most prevalent among women.
1. Dysmenorrhea
It is familiar to women as the painful periods. It is often termed the same when the pain reaches to the extent that it interferes the daily life activities. It is of 2 types. The primary dysmenorrhea is a result of disrupted ovulation and menstrual cycle. The secondary dysmenorrhea occurs as a result of some other underlying pelvic illnesses, infections or placement of certain contraceptive means such as copper T etc.
2. PCOS
It stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and is most prevalent among young women these days. It results in the formation of one or more, often recurring cysts in the ovary. It is due to high hormone production from the ovary and majorly caused by unhealthy lifestyle and stress rather than the influence of family or personal history.
3. Amenorrhea
It is the medical term for the absence of periods in the reproductive age. It is of two types, namely the pathological and physiological. During the pathological amenorrhea, the reason is due to some underlying disease or complications. The physiological Amenorrhea, on the other hand, is termed before the onset of menarche, after menopause and during pregnancy and lactation.
4. Vaginitis
It is the condition that onset due to inflammation and infection in the vagina. It is often seen among young girls having a high rate of infection, usually due to low production of oestrogen. However, it is also found in women of reproductive age group having infections due to microscopic organisms.
5. Fibroids
It is the condition of having single or multiple tumors in the uterus. It is the most common tumor in the female body. Fortunately, most of them are non-malignant is nature and does not cause any threat to the life of the patient. However, it might cause associated conditions like painful menstruation, persistent miscarriages, pelvic diseases, preterm labors etc. Often it is addressed by surgery, depending upon the nature of the tumor.
On this International Women Day’s, we, at ILS Hospitals, encourage every woman out there to take care of their body and seek medical help of gynecologists in time of need.
Importance of Skin Care During Holi
Holi is a festival of colors and celebrated with the full spirit in India. These days, it is being celebrated in many places all over the world as well. However, the ill effects of poor grade colors on the skin is a very common scenario these days. Dermatologists advise taking special precaution during Holi.
Let’s understand the importance of skin care for Holi season with the help of a case study.
Miss Sayantani Mitra, a second-year college student had an unpleasant incident last Holi. Miss Mitra had a sensitive skin since an early age. Her parents always encouraged her to stay away from color ever since. However, after she moved to the residential academy, the scenario changed. Her friends and peers encouraged her to get involved in the Holi party.
After playing for about 3 to 4 hours outdoors, she washed off most of the colors while bathing. However, during the evening, she started experiencing itching, burning sensation, and irritation of the skin. A friend asked her to use a moisturizer to soothe the discomfort. But it did very little to improve the condition, in contrast, things worsen overnight. She was brought to a dermatologist the next day. After examining her, the doctor found her skin was severely damaged.
It became dry, scrubbed, cracked and also had early symptoms of eczema. The scrubbing of skin in the attempt of removing color also contributed to excessive damage to the skin. As she had pre-existing skin issues, her condition became quite severe. After getting extensive treatment of 2 weeks, the primary signs of skin allergy was resolved, but regular medication was prescribed for 2 more months to negate any more ill effects of the chemicals.
Dermatologists confirm that several such cases are registered each year following the day of Holi. Many of such patients even complain severe allergy in scalp and eyes as well. Moreover, apart from the ill effects of chemicals present in colors, spending long hours in direct exposure to sunlight also damages the skin simultaneously. It causes pigmentation, sunburn and also acts as a catalyst to skin damage caused by chemicals.
During this festival season of Holi, we, at ILS Hospitals, wish you all happy and prosperous moments with your family and friends. But stay in charge of your health amidst enjoyment and happiness. In case of any skin allergies, instead of trying homemade remedies and making things worse, get in touch with a dermatologist.
4 Must-Have Health Screening for Every Woman Above 35 in the New Year
Women always walk the extra mile to ensure the well-being of her family. But unfortunately, they often don’t give the same priority towards their own health. Especially in India, most women seek medical treatment in hospitals helps only when the illness progress to an advanced stage. But by this time, the treatment of the illness becomes somewhat complicated.
Read more – 4 must-have screening every man in his early 40s should have
To address this problem, we are enlisting these 4 crucial screening that every woman above 35 should do in order to ensure that they can avail the best treatment at the best time.
1. Pelvic screening including PAP smear
As the cervical cancer is one of the leading cause of death, it is important to have regular screening. Even though one should start as young as the mid-20s, or as soon as being sexually active, it is recommended to get screen regularly is compulsory after hitting 30s. The purpose of these tests is to look out for any possible lump, abnormal growth, and any abnormal discharge, that could indicate the possible occurrence of tumor in later stages.
2. Breast screening
Apart from cervical cancer, breast cancer torments the health of women as well. Thus a regular screening of breast is highly recommended to take note of any pain, lump, tenderness or discharge from the breast, namely the nipple. This includes an ultra-sonogram and mammogram. Also, a monthly self-breast examination proves to be very helpful as well. The ideal age is early to mid-30s, however, for women with a family history of any breast-related illness, should start even earlier.
3. Thyroid test
It is very common for women to experience unexplainable weight gain along with other symptoms such as brittle nails, hair loss/thinning and severe fatigue with aging. Though it could be a result of other factors as well, often it is due to hypothyroidism. Events of life cycle such as menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and menopause make women more prone to these consequences as compared to men. Thus, a regular screening can help to deal with the same.
4. Bone mineral density screening
Most of the women, particularly after menopause, suffer from osteoporosis, a common illness of low bone density. It results in mild to severe bone weakness and injury that often requires supportive probes or surgery to correct it. The loss of component calcium from the bone makes them brittle and susceptible to damage and injury. Thus, a specialized test DEXA scan, an advanced X-ray diagnosis is advised that estimates the bone strength of the crucial skeleton structure namely the hip, spine, knees, and wrists.
Each of these tests has a unique role to ensure the overall well-being of a woman’s health. Most of these screening are available at a reasonable price in several hospitals. Thus, every woman above the age of 35 is highly recommended to undergo the above-mentioned screenings.