Yashomati Hospitals

Diabetes features as one of the most common ailments in contemporary times. Mostly assumed as a congenital disease, diabetes is growingly targeting different age groups and often the outburst of diabetes is mostly unmapped. Diabetes is mainly spurred by the presence of high blood sugar content in the patient's blood.

While you may be worried about being affected with coronary diseases just because your forefathers suffered from it, there are various factors that are absolutely in your sole control.

Polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) or syndrome (PCOS) is a condition where there are multiple cysts in the ovaries and as a result there are several symptoms in various body parts. One of the significant things to note is that there is a strong correlation between diet and PCOD/PCOS.

The specific causes of PCOD are yet to be determined. In PCOS patients, the ovaries produce excess androgens or male sex hormones, which result in an imbalance in ovulation, acne breakout and development of excess body hair. Your body faces problems using insulin and develops insulin resistance.

Allergic rhinitis is characterized by symptoms of a runny nose, congestion, itchy eyes and sneezing. This disorder is usually caused by allergens such as pollen and dust. Commonly known as hay fever, allergic rhinitis may exhibit the following symptoms:

The symptoms of allergic rhinitis are:
1. You may experience a runny nose and congestion in the nose
2. You may have allergic conjunctivitis where your eyes turn itchy and watery
3. Persistent coughing
4. Symptoms of sneezing
5. Swelling may develop underneath the eyes
6. You may have an itchy nose
7. Constant signs of fatigue

Causes
Allergic rhinitis or hay fever causes the immune system to recognize certain airborne substances as harmful. The immune system in the body starts to form antibodies to combat these irritants. The antibodies cause the body to release “histamine”, a chemical that triggers the symptoms of allergic rhinitis.

The various triggers that may cause allergic rhinitis are:
1. Dust mites
2. Tree pollen
3. Grass pollen
4. Spoors from outdoor and indoor fungi
5. Ragweed pollen

The treatment for this disorder is to avoid exposure to the triggers. Mild symptoms of this disorder may be treated with over-the-counter medications whereas severe symptoms may require prescription medications.
The various medications for allergic rhinitis are:

1. Antihistamines: Antihistamines may be administered as pills or nasal sprays; these medications can help with itching and sneezing. Antihistamines help in limiting the effects of histamine in the body.
2. Nasal corticosteroids: These prescription medications can help treat itching and inflammation in the nose. They are usually the first medications that are administered.
3. Decongestants: Decongestants are over-the-counter medications that can be used to treat congestion in the nose. You should be careful not to overuse these medicines as they can increase blood pressure.
4. Allergy shots: If medications do not relieve symptoms of allergic rhinitis, the doctor may prescribe allergy shots to treat the disorder. The injections contain allergens in small amounts which are injected over a period of time; this causes the body to get used to these allergens, resulting in a reduction of the symptoms.

Swimmer's ear is a medical condition, which involves inflammation, irritation or infection of the ear. It may affect the outer ear and also the ear canal. Swimmer's ear is called Otitis externa in medical terms. The condition may be acute to chronic in nature.

Causes:
Swimmer's ear is an infection that's usually caused by bacteria commonly found in water and soil. Infections caused by a fungus or a virus are less common. This condition is more common in teenagers and young adults. It may occur due to a middle ear infection or because of a respiratory infection such as cold.
Swimmer's ear can occur as a result of swimming in unclean or contaminated water. These waters contain pseudomonas and other harmful bacteria, which can lead to such ear infections. The infections are rarely caused by fungus.

Swimmer's ear may also result due to other reasons. They can be:

1. Scratching the inside or outside of the ear.
2. Having something stuck in the ear. When you clean ear wax with cotton swabs or small objects, damage may occur. Using headphone or ear plugs for a long period of time may also cause swimmer's ear.
3. Allergic reaction to some object or anything placed in the ear may also cause Swimmer's ear. These may be hair products or jewelry.
4. Some chronic skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis may also lead to this infection.

Risk factors:
There are several factors, which may enhance the risk of getting swimmer's ear. They are as follows:

1. Swimming in water, which has got elevated levels of bacteria. This includes lakes and ponds.
2. People having narrow ear canals are at a more risk of swimmer's ear.
3. Aggressive cleaning and scratching of the ear canal.

Symptoms:
The symptoms which indicate swimmer's ear are:

1. Itching of the ear canal. This becomes intense as the condition progresses.
2. Redness on the inside parts of the ear, which get more extensive in later stages.
3. Discomfort which worsens by pulling on the outer ear or pushing on the tragus of the front part of the ear.
4. Drainage of a fluid which is clear and odorless. As the condition worsens, there is excessive drainage of fluid along with the discharge of pus.
5. A fullness feeling in the ear and a partial blockage of the ear canal because of swelling and fluids.
6. In advanced stages, fever and swelling of lymph nodes in the neck is indicated. Hearing impairment may occur.

Swimmer's ear is a health condition, which involves the ear. The ear gets inflamed because of a certain bacterial infection. Although it is not a very severe condition, in some cases it can do significant harm.

When you have diabetes, your body does not produce enough insulin or loses the ability to utilize it. When this happens, your blood sugar level goes up. Diabetes can affect all organs of the body. Your feet are no exception.

How does diabetes affect the foot?

There are two ways in which the foot may be affected by diabetes -

1. Diabetic neuropathy: Diabetes can damage the nerves of the feet so that you lose all sensations in your extremities. So you can no longer feel any irritation or pain in your feet. If sores/cuts/blisters develop on your feet, you won’t know and they may fester and get infected.
2. Peripheral vascular disease: This disorder affects the blood vessels of your limbs. Fatty deposits clog the blood vessels that carry blood from your feet to your heart. So blood flow is cut off to the feet. This may lead to pain, numbness, swelling, slow healing of wounds or infection.
3. Ischemic foot: When blood flow to the feet is interrupted, you may develop an ischemic foot, which is characterized by cold skin, loss of hair from the legs and discoloration. In extreme cases, the affected foot may have to be amputated.

What are the symptoms of diabetic foot?
The range of symptoms depend on the intensity of the disorder and vary from one patient to another-

• Tingling sensation in the feet
• Numbness of the feet
• Blisters or wounds that refuse to heal
• Discoloration of the skin of the feet
• Stains on the inside of your socks
• Deformed feet

If an infection has set in, some symptoms that will manifest are-

• Trembling of the limbs and arms
• Spiking blood sugar
• Shock
• Redness and swelling of the feet

Complications
The complications that may arise out of diabetic foot are-

• Ulcers of the foot
• Abscesses
• Gangrene and death of tissues
• Charcot’s Foot or fractures and dislocations of the bones of the feet
• Deformity of the feet

Revascularization for diabetic foot

Chronic diabetic foot can be treated with multiple revascularization methods like synthetic conduits, endarterectomy, balloon angioplasty, arteriovenous reversal, muscle flap transfer or atherectomy. These procedures eliminate the need for limb amputation. The aim of a revascularization procedure is to fix up the blood vessels that were blocked by bypassing the affected blood vessel so that blood can normally flow to your feet.

Along with revascularization, your doctor will recommend exercises like walking to increase supply of blood to the feet as well as medicines that will deal with the pain and swelling.

Diabetic foot can be a serious health threat that could lead to the limb being amputated. But with revascularization, you can get back on your feet in no time and resume your daily activities

Gastric acids are chemicals provided by your stomach to aid digestion. But the corrosive effects they induce are counteracted by the secretion of other chemicals. It is when the secretion of these chemicals is impaired that it leads to damaged stomach lining, causing acidity, also known as acid reflux.

Ayurveda promises some easy home treatments for acidity which are quite efficient in ensuring fast recovery for you.

You can use any of these listed Ayurvedic treatments if you suffer from acidity.

1. Amla powder (Indian Gooseberry) and honey
 
Soak one teaspoonful of amla powder in half a cup of water. Add honey and stir and drink empty stomach in the morning. Repeat similarly for the evening.
 
2. Cumin seeds

You can reduce cumin seeds to their powder form, then you have to add half a spoon of it to water; presumably, one liter. Then, keep the solution boiling then filter it. You will have to make sure that you drink this solution instead of normal water. Take this water based solution everyday till recovery. This is quite an effective remedy for acidity.
 
3. Mulethi (liquorice) and honey
 
You can reduce liquorice root to powder, then to half a spoon of this powder add little honey to form paste. Lick to consume this paste twice daily after meals. Liquorice neutralizes the acids quickly to give relief.

4. White pumpkin juice
 
Take white pumpkin peel and slice it and make a pulpy juice out of it. Half a cup twice daily gives fast recovery from gastritis and acidity. Alternatively you may eat sweet made of pumpkin (peetha ki methai) after meals.
 
5. Buttermilk

You can take half a glass of buttermilk and add a pinch of each asafetida and turmeric to it. With it, also take care to add a tiny amount of fenugreek and drink it at night, to make the most of its benefits.

6. Jaggery

You can try taking boiled ash gourd with jaggery. This relieves the burning sensation in the stomach to a considerable extent.