RMV Diagnostic Centre

Loss or impairment of hearing can happen due to a variety of causes and may be temporary or permanent in nature, depending on the type and severity of the condition. One of the most common causes of hearing impairment is age. The degeneration of one's vital organs and senses becomes a reality for many people as the advancement of age happens, and the delicate insides of the ears are no different. Noise pollution, injury to the ear drum or any other part of the ear, as well as the movement of particles inside are only a few of the many reasons for loss of hearing. One of the many ways of dealing with long term hearing impairment is by using a hearing aid.

Read on to know how you can regain your hearing with hearing aids:

1. Long Forgotten Sound: A hearing aid will help you reacquaint yourself with long forgotten and subtle sounds that you may not have been able to hear for a long time. Many times, this kind of impairment also makes us forget to notice the fact that we do not hear so many normal sounds in our everyday lives - sounds that we probably did not notice even earlier. This may include the whirring of a fan, the whoosh of the air, the pitter patter of pets' feet and so much more. A hearing aid will help in bringing about an adjustment to these sounds that you will actually end up discovering again.
2. Technicalities: The hearing aid basically works by letting your hearing and ears readjust to the various volumes, intensity and vibrations that one feels when different sounds reach the ears. This helps in hearing better.
3. Amplification: A hearing aid is basically an electroacoustic device that fits in neatly behind your ear where it is tucked away from plain sight. This device helps in amplifying sounds so that you can catch them and hear them more clearly.
4. Modulation: The ENT specialist will usually prescribe a certain kind of hearing aid based on your individual condition in terms of volume, size, power and circulation. These factors help in modulating the sounds in a certain way so that they reach the nerve pathways from the inner ear and travel to the brain in a proper and effective way. This is usually done in a customised way to cater to the specific type and cause of your hearing loss.

Using a hearing aid is a matter of retraining your hearing rather than restoring it completely. These aids will be helpful in regaining a better sense of hearing within the condition you are going through, rather than reversing the condition completely.

*sinusitis - homeopathic medicine* 

Sinusitis is a common inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, the cavities that produce the mucus necessary for the nasal passages to work effectively.

There is four pairs of sinuses, hollow spaces behind the bones of the face.

Allergies, bacteria or a virus can cause inflammation of the sinuses, or sinusitis.

Symptoms

Facial pain and pressure

Blocked nose

Nasal discharge

Reduced sense of smell

Congestion

Cough

Homeopathic medicines 

*silicea: 30, 300*

1. Headache mainly on the right side. 

2. The patient is chilly and is very sensitive to cold air. 

3. Covering up warmly provides relief.

4. Nasal stuffiness. 

5. The nasal is hard crusts. 

*belladona: 30*

1. Sinus headache is due to suppressed discharge. 

2. There is violent headache. The headache better by binding the head tightly or applying pressure. 

3. The face is swollen and hot.

4. There is throat pain and cough with throat.

*kali bichrome: 30*

1. Sinusitis with discharge drops back into the throat despite coming out of the nose. 

2. The discharge is very thick and mostly yellow and ropy too 

3. There is pain and heaviness in the nose.

4. The nose can smell and is blocked with an inability to breathe through it. 

5. The headache above the eyes due to sinus infection.

6. The eyes may also get swollen up.

*merc sol: 30*

1. The nasal discharge is yellowish-green with a burning feeling. 

2. The nasal membrane gets corroded and ulcerated due to the offensive and thick acrid discharge. 

3. The headache with heat in head along with nasal discharge. 

4. Increased saliva in mouth and offensive smell.

*pulsatilla: 30, 200*

1. The green-coloured nasal discharge that is bland (without burning)

2. The patient gets general relief in open air. 

3. The discharge is horribly offensive.

4. There is headache above the eyes. 

5. There’s an absolute absence of thirst.

*spigelia 30, 200*

1. Left-side frontal sinus is infected. 

2. Severe throbbing pain over the left eye.

3. The discharge dropping back into the throat from the nose. 

*sticta 30*

1. There is nasal blockage in a person with inflamed sinus. 

2. Sticta is the remedy for patients who have no nasal discharge despite making quite an effort. 

3. There’s a constant pressure on the nose.

*ammonium carb 200*

1. There is complete blockage of nose makes breathing difficult and the patient has to breathe through the mouth. 

2. The worse time for the patient is night.

3. There is snoring due to blocked nose.

*kali iod, 30*

1. There is thin nasal discharge due to sinus inflammation. 

2. The discharge is watery in a large quantity and leads to an intense burning sensation.

*hepar sulph. 6, 30*

1. The nasal discharge is thick and yellow.

2. The nostrils become very sore from the acrid discharge, 

3. Thenasal passages become sensitive to cold air. 

4. The headache with a sense of a nail or a plug that is thrust into the head along with a boring or bursting pain. 

5. Their headache above the nose is worse from shaking the head, motion, riding in a car, stooping, moving the eyes, or simply from the weight of a hat.

6. Relieved by the firm pressure of a tight bandage. 

7. The scalp is so sensitive that simply combing the hair may be painful.

TYPES

• Traumatic Brain Injury - Happens due to trauma 
• Anoxic/Hypoxic brain injury - Happens due to decreased blood or oxygen supply to the brain. 
• Ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident (commonly referred to as stroke) - Happens due to clots occluding the blood vessels in the brain or due to bleeding of blood vessels in the brain  
• Brain tumors and metastasis (spreading of cancer) to the brain 
• Vascular malformations of the brain such as Arteriovenous malformation, aneurysm etc - 
• Brain infections
• Autoimmune conditions such as  Multiple Sclerosis and auto-immune encephalitis - 
• Toxic/metabolic causes such as post transplantation, sepsis, liver failure and kidney failure
• Basically any injury or illness that affects your brain function for a prolonged period of time causing temporary or permanant damage 

SYMPTOMS

Usually individuals affected by these conditions can have a number of symptoms directly related to the brain injury such as

• One-sided or both sided weakness and numbness of the arms and legs
• Pain and tightness of the arms and legs
• Difficulty with speech
• Impaired consciousness (i.e. impaired arousal)
• Cognitive impairment such as memory problems, slow thinking skills, problems with attention
• Changes in their behavior such as aggression
• Changes in their mood such as depression and anxiety
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Bladder and bowel incontinence
• Visual problem
• Hearing problem

MEDICAL COMPLICATIONS

There are medical complications that can be noted a few weeks or months after a brain injury. Some common ones include

• Pneumonia
• Urinary tract infection
• Deep vein thrombosis – blood clot in the veins of your arms and legs
• Pulmonary embolus – blood clot in your lungs
• Pressure ulcers
• Heterotopic ossification – a condition which causes stiffness of your joints
• Seizures
• Post-stroke shoulder pain – shoulder pain in the weak arm
• Spasticity – tightness of the muscles of the affected arm and leg
• Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity – a condition which causes fluctuations in your blood pressure, heart rate, and also causes abnormal stiffness of the arms and legs
• Headache
• Hydrocephalus – a condition where fluid builds up in your brain

HOW REHABILITATION CAN HELP?

A comprehensive, interdisciplinary team approach (i.e. care being provided by various disciplines in a coordinated fashion) with   Physician (Physiatrist), Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist,  Speech and Language Therapist, Neuropsychologist,  Nutritionist and a  Nurse can help reduce your symptoms directly related to the injury as well as prevent and treat common medical complications post brain injury. Not all patients will require all services and usually, a combination of these services is required for an individual patient. 

PHYSICIAN (PHYSIATRIST)

Patients can be evaluated by the Physician first to determine the nature and severity of the medical condition then come up with a treatment plan that best suits them. Depending on the patient’s symptoms and medical complications (listed above), the treatment plan will include recommending therapy services, prescribing medications and performing injections. Medications are commonly  prescribed for medical complications as well as to reduce symptoms directly related to brain injury such as arm and leg weakness, muscle tightness, speech impairment, mood and behavior issues, cognitive impairment and impaired arousal. The physician  performs injections such as tendon injections, joint injections for joint or muscle pain as well as Botulinum toxin (commonly referred as Botox injections) and nerve block injections to help relieve muscle and tendon tightness.

PHYSIOTHERAPIST

A Physiotherapist will  focus on various physical exercises to improve weakness in the arms and legs, improve their walking and balance and to reduce muscle tightness. They might use physical modalities to reduce pain and inflammation, muscle and tendon tightness and prevent muscle atrophy. They can also fit you with an orthosis to reduce muscle tightness as well as improve your walking and arm function.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST

An Occupational Therapist will focus on various physical activities required for daily living for patients with severe physical and/or cognitive impairment and also teach cognitive exercises thereby compensating the cognitive deficits.  Visual Training exercises are provided to individuals with visual impairment due to the neurological problem. The final phase of treatment involves patient training for successful community integration (education, employment etc).

SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST

A Speech Language Pathologist (commonly referred to as a Speech and Language Therapist), will evaluate the patient’s speech, communication and swallowing skills.  The treatment plan is broken down after an initial evaluation. The program will vary depending on the extent of the injury, the stage of recovery, and the individual’s particular areas of difficulty. Specific retraining and compensatory exercises are taught to improve the above skills. However, the major focus is on helping the individual gain back his/her quality of life.

NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST

A Neuropsychologist evaluates  patients  with depression and anxiety, that is commonly seen after any major  life-changing illness or injury and guides them through the process of rehabilitation  thereby improving their quality of life through motivation and counseling.  Performing an in-depth cognitive assessment and planning cognitive re-training exercises and compensatory strategies is also a major treatment aspect of a Neuropsychologist.

NUTRITIONIST

Malnutrition or undernourishment is a common problem in this population. For optimal recovery,  a Nutritionist recommends an appropriate intake of nutrition.

REHABILITATION NURSE

A Rehabilitation Nurse  trains patients with central nervous system injury to manage their bowel and bladder independently.  Performing and training wound care management for patients with pressure ulcers are also handled by a Rehabilitation Nurse.

EXPECTATIONS OF RECOVERY

Depending on the severity and chronicity (time duration since injury/illness) of the injury/illness, your recovery time may differ. Complete neurological recovery is often possible if the injury is mild to moderate. In the case of a moderate to severe injury, a complete neurological recovery may not be possible and therefore the goal will be to help you be as independent as possible and integrate you into the community despite your physical and/or cognitive limitation. If the injury is too severe, then the goal would be to improve your quality of life by helping you be as independent as possible with your day to day living, decrease pain and prevent complications.

Hemorrhoids, popularly called ‘piles’, refers to the swollen, inflamed tissue that accumulates in the anal canal. These tissues consist of muscles, elastic fibers, support tissues and blood vessels.

As piles is a disease with conspicuous symptoms (bloody stools, anal rashes and reddening), and extremely common (more than 75% of the population will suffer once in their lifetime), there are numerous myths surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. If you want to separate your facts from the chaff, this article will help you to do just that.

1) Myth: The probability of getting piles increases with age.

Fact: This isn’t necessarily the case. Piles is caused due to strain and pressure applied on the area of the anus. This strain can come from a variety of sources, including diseases (diarrhea), physiological conditions (constipation) and unrelated processes (pregnancy).

2) Myth: Eating hot, spicy things like green chili will increase your chances of piles or exacerbate its symptoms.

Fact: Piles occurs due to strain on the anus, more specifically on the blood vessels near that area. This happens due to the body’s blood pressure (BP) being unusually high, and not due to digestion/diet specialties.

3) Myth: Your diet has absolutely nothing to do with your piles risk.

Fact: Piles has many factors that are either directly causal or increase the risk of it substantially in a person. Among them, constipation is an ever-present entity. Therefore, a diet rich in food that fights constipation is beneficial in combating/reducing risk for piles. Such a diet comprises high fiber (skins of fruits etc.) content, high levels of hydration and low calorie/fat intake.

4) Myth: You are more likely to have piles if you are exposed to the cold.

Fact: There is no scientific evidence to support this claim, even though it has gained popularity with time. To the contrary, application of cold materials on the surface can help relieve pain and irritation related to piles. You can apply cold compresses on the surface of the buttocks to relieve itch, pain and burning sensations from the piles rashes.

5) Myth: You should not work out when you have been diagnosed with piles.

Fact: This claim is also an unfounded one, and you definitely shouldn’t freak out if you’re a fitness freak. There are only some variants of exercise that can exacerbate your piles – like if you’re lifting too-heavy weights, twisting your body, or are holding your breath while lifting weights. Apart from that, exercise also helps reduce the risk of piles by help you lose weight and facilitating smooth bowel movement.

6) Myth: Piles is a recurrent disease. Recurrence of piles is known to happen but now good painless treatment options are available.

Piles or hemorrhoids are the formation of dense tissue in the anal canal, which causes obvious and painful symptoms. However, you should not lose your sleep over piles – it is treatable and easily diagnosable.

There’s a two-way connection between stress and sex. While it has been proven that sex can be a good stress buster, the reverse is true too. Someone who is stressed may not be able to enjoy a happy sex life. Delving deeper into the subject you can find that sex has a lot of ramifications and many physiological aspects that are often overlooked. It is a well-known fact that people who are stressed have a poor sex life and some of the reasons for the same are listed hereunder:

1. Overall lifestyle: A person who is stressed obviously has a poor lifestyle. There could be harmful effects of binge eating, smoking, excessive drinking all of which can affect a person’s wellbeing. So, when a person is stressed and has such a poor lifestyle, there cannot be a healthy sex life. Also, these lifestyle changes leave a person with a poor image – both physically and emotionally. While physically the person could be obese and have low physical appeal, the emotional aspects can also take a toll on their sex life. The person may have a low self-image, poor esteem, and be anxious or depressed. There could be frequent outbursts, temper tantrums, and fits of rage all of which do not create a happy and peaceful environment which is so essential for a happy sex life. All this leads to a poor personality, which on the other hand affects sex life.
2. Hormonal changes: These chemicals, which are present in small amounts, determine almost all actions of the body, including sex life. A happy person secretes more of serotonin which contributes to a happy feeling. When a person is stressed, the secretion of this hormone gets reduced. Also, the secretion of pituitary hormone is reduced to smaller amounts. The pituitary hormone, known as a master hormone, is essential for proper functioning of all the other hormones. Thus, Sex hormones, testosterone, and estrogen are not produced adequately, leading to sexual problems like erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation, leading to poor sex life. Other key hormones like thyroid and adrenals are also affected, which have a great effect on ovulation, fertility, and sperm production.
3. Circulation: Sex requires a good blood supply. Stress causes vasoconstriction, which sort of reduces blood supply to any part. Therefore, those who are stressed have a poor sex life.
4. Social effects: When we look around, it is common to see people who are stressed to have poor social relationships in terms of friends and family relationships. There could be issues relating to trust and love and there could be unhealthy relationships like infidelity and lack of freedom. These again, due to stress, can lead to poor sex life.

So, if you intend to have a better sex life, work on stress management. A good relationship can further help reduce stress levels.

Tuberculosis is a respiratory disease that is very infectious and usually affects the lungs. It is one of the deadliest diseases that have killed millions of people worldwide. According to WHO, 9 million people get infected with tuberculosis in a year. It is one of the top reasons for death among women aged between 15 to 44 years. Symptoms can range from cough, fever, weight loss and night sweats. Moreover, it is an airborne disease meaning that people having tuberculosis can infect many others around them through coughing, sneezing or sharing a glass or cup.

The main cause of tuberculosis is a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, there are two types of tuberculosis-

1. Latent TB- In this condition, the bacteria causing TB is present in the body and is inactive. It is not contagious or results in any symptoms.
2. Active TB- The bacteria causing TB is active and the person carrying it can infect others as well.

Diagnosis
The most common diagnostic test for tuberculosis is a skin test where an injection of PPD tuberculin which is an extract of the TB bacterium is injected into the skin. After 2 to 3 days, the doctor checks the injected site and if there is red swelling, it means that person has TB. Along with this the doctor also uses a stethoscope to gauge the condition of lungs. However, the skin test is not very accurate to know whether a person has TB or not.

Therefore, doctors also use blood tests, x-rays and sputum tests to find out whether a person has TB or not.

Treatments
Tuberculosis can be cured with medications. However, the correct medicines will depend on the type of TB you have and the period of treatment. If you have latent TB, then taking a single TB drug may be enough. But if you have active TB then you need to have proper medicines prescribed by a doctor for at least 6 months. Some common medicines used to treat TB (active) are:

• Isoniazid
• Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane)
• Ethambutol (Myambutol)
• Pyrazinamide

Also, antibiotics and injections are used to treat drug-resistant TB that may take longer to cure.
When taking medications or any sort of drugs for TB, one needs to be careful and look out for any side effects that can occur due to TB medications. As medicines taken for TB can cause:

1. Dark Urine
2. Loss of Appetite
3. Nausea or Vomiting
4. Jaundice

For people suffering from Tb, it is important to follow the full course of medications and not to skip taking any drugs that have been prescribed your doctor. There is a program called Directly Observed Therapy (DOT), where the heath care helper administers and look after a TB patient to ensure that the correct course and medicines are given to the patient.