While most noise is just in the background for us, loud noises, either in small spurts or prolonged exposure, can cause hearing loss. This has been happening more frequently as the levels of noise in an industrialized society go further up.

Noise induced hearing loss explained
Loud noises may damage the sensitive structure of your ear, which process the sound waves into information. They eventually become nonfunctional, resulting in a loss of hearing in that range. If exposure to loud noises continues, then this might extend to the entire range of hearing and may cause total hearing loss.

What may cause noise induced hearing loss?
Some of the scenarios which may cause noise induced hearing loss are as follows:
1. Listening to music on high volume: If you constantly listen to music or watch movies at your home on very loud levels, then it may result in noise induced hearing loss. In fact, listening to music or watching movies with headphones in your ears is one of the leading causes for hearing loss. Headphones have deceptively loud levels and may result in damaged hearing overtime.

2. Noise of household tools: Household tools such as drills, mixers, grinders, mowers, and saws can expose you to loud levels of noise. Even a quick exposure for a few seconds could temporarily damage your hearing. 

3. Occupational problems: Occupations such as construction, factory work and military that require the use of power tools on a constant basis can also cause hearing loss. The sound from the resulting friction might damage your hearing very quickly. Explosions and impacts are also causes of hearing loss in the military and law enforcement departments.

Prevention and treatment
Treatment: It is difficult to treat hearing loss as in most cases; it may be permanent, except sudden shocks, when your hearing might come back to normal. The only treatments for hearing loss are hearing aids or cochlear implants which can restore hearing partially.

Prevention: Prevention is the best method to avoid hearing loss and in most cases, you should wear ear protection such as mufflers or sound level reduction devices to protect your hearing. Also, practice listening to music, watching TV or movies at lower levels, especially if you are on the headphones. 

Induced Hearing Loss - Facts You Should Be Careful about It!

Sweating is a normal and natural phenomenon, which all human beings experience. When the weather conditions are humid or if you have walked for a long duration in the sun, sweat is bound to appear. Some people sweat much more than the normal rate. If you belong to this category, some questions may come to your mind like whether is it abnormal? What can be a possible remedy? Here are some facts you must know about sweating.

1. Sweating is a natural phenomenon, and everyone sweats
It is a normal function of the human body. It involves releasing of fluids from our sweat glands present in the skin. The body maintains its temperature by means of perspiration. Sweating may make you feel uncomfortable,but performs the important cooling function of the body. Composed of water, sugar, salts and ammonia, sweat does not have any smell of its own. The unpleasant smell produced from your skin is a result of sweat mixing with bacteria.

2. The rate of perspiration varies from person to person
If you find yourself to be sweating more than normal people around you, it's natural for you to get concerned. However, do not worry because there is nothing unnatural. Some people produce more amount of sweat than others and that is completely natural. The rate just varies from person to person.

3. Overreaction of sweat glands leads to hyperhidrosis
Some people have sweat glands, which are so over reactive and over productive that they actually suffer from the disease hyperhidrosis. People having this disease sweat abnormally. The rate of perspiration is very severe. There is no such cure for hyperhidrosis. The only permanent solution to fix this disorder is by surgery where the nerves to the sweat glands are cut off.

4. Sweating is psychological in nature
The process of sweating is carried out by the sympathetic nervous system. Once it is stimulated, more sweat is produced. Although it may seem weird, thinking of sweating can lead to more sweating in individuals.

5. Nausea leads to increased sweating
Nausea or motion sickness is another reason, which accounts for increased perspiration. Nausea stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which in return produces additional sweat.

6. Sweating can be delayed at times
Suppose you are climbing up a staircase, but surprisingly you notice that even after going up five flight of stairs, there is no sweat. The sweating appears a little later and is quite intense. This is because your body takes some time to react to the thermoregulation which takes place.

Sweating is a very uncomfortable and irritating phenomenon, but it is actually helpful to the body.

Sweating: What's Normal, What's Not

The human immunodeficiency virus or hiv is a virus which causes hiv infection and leads to" acquired immunodeficiency syndrome" or aids. Hiv is transmitted by different means and ways.


Unprotected sex is a primary mode of transmission of the hiv virus from an infected person to a healthy person. Unprotected sex refers to having sexual intercourse without using a condom or any other mode of protection. It leads to hiv transmission along with other sexually transmitted infections.


How does hiv occur from unprotected sex?
While having sex without protection, the hiv present in the body fluids such as blood, sperm, vaginal fluid, pre-cum or anal mucus of an hiv infected patient can pass on to the body of his/her partner. The transmission occurs through the membranes of the penis in men, vagina in women, the rectum and also through mouth and throat. It is more likely for an hiv patient to pass on the virus during the first few months after getting infected. This is because the virus spreads over body fluids during this stage.


Which types of sex are more risky?
Hiv is transmitted the most by having vaginal or anal sex. Anal sex accounts for being the riskiest because the lining present in the anus is much more delicate than the vaginal lining. It is prone to more damage, easily. There are two types of anal sex: receptive anal sex and insertive anal sex. Receptive anal sex is more risky.


Hiv can also be acquired from oral sex. This can happen in case the person giving oral sex has ulcers in the mouth, sore and bleeding gums. In case the person receiving the oral sex is already infected, the other person gets hiv.


A person who has sex with multiple partners regularly is at a high risk of getting hiv because of unprotected sex.


Prevention
Getting hiv from unprotected sex can be avoided if you use these precautions:


- condoms
Condoms offer the precaution against hiv infection from anal or vaginal sex. They should be used by men before any kind of sexual contact to restrict the passing of semen or fluid, which may be infected by hiv.


- lubricants
Sex is made easier by using lubricants and reduces the risk of tearing in the vagina or anus due to friction. The risk of a condom breaking is reduced using lubricants.


- dental dams
This is another precautionary device, which is a small sheet of plastic. It has to be placed to cover the mouth of the vagina or anus and reduce the risk of hiv transmission.
Unprotected sex is the primary cause of hiv and people who do not take precautions before sex are likely to be infected by hiv.

HIV and Sex

Exposure of hepatitis A virus can cause severe liver infection, which is usually lighter and resolves by itself. There is a considerable difference in the symptoms and duration of the disease, in which many people do not see any signs. Two of the symptoms associated with hepatitis A infections are fever and joint. If you drink water or food which has become contaminated with the stools of someone with the virus, then you can catch the disease. You may also be infected, if you:

1. Eat fruits, vegetables, or other foods that were contaminated during handling
2. Eat chopped raw shellfish with water that has a virus
3. Swallow the contaminated snow

If you have this infection, your liver may be swollen due to your virus. You do not always get symptoms, but when you do, you may have:

Jaundice
Pain in your stomach
loss of appetite
Nausea
Fever
Diarrhoea
Fatigue
Children generally have diseases with some symptoms. You can develop hepatitis A virus approximately 2 weeks before your symptoms appear and they appear during the first week, or even if you do not have any.

If you are prone to the disease:

Stay with someone who is infected
Visit the country where Hepatitis A is common
How is it detected?
Blood tests enable doctors to detect it.

Is there a prolong effect?
Usually, the virus does not cause any long term issues or complexities. But as per the CDC, 10% to 15% people with Hepatitis A will have symptoms that last for long periods or come back in the 6- to 9 month s period. In rare cases, some people may suffer liver damage or require transplantation.

Is there a Hepatitis A Vaccine?
Yes, Vaccination is suggested:

Visitors to places of the world with an increase infection in hepatitis A.
Men who had stayed with an infected person.
People with blood clotting problems
Any person with prolong liver disease
What is the treatment?
There is no treatment to cure this disease. Your doctor can take such tests to check your liver function to make sure that your body is recovering.

Receiving vaccination is your best protection. If you come in exposure with someone with hepatitis A, you can get a particular drug called immune globulin within 2 weeks.
Good hygiene is also necessary. After using the bathroom, always wash your hands with soap and water, after changing the diapers, before and after managing the food.
If you have symptoms of Hepatitis A or infection then meet your doctor. Vaccination within two weeks of contact with Hepatitis A can help against the development of infection.
Patients with preexisting liver disease should be vaccinated as occurrence of hepatitis A can lead to risk to life.

Hepatitis A - Cases Where Vaccination Is Beneficial!

The urethra is a thin tube that is responsible for carrying urine from the bladder. The urethra is wide enough to facilitate a free flow of urine. However, in some cases, the tube can narrow down and it can restrict urinary flow. This condition is known as a urethral stricture. It is a condition that affects mostly men.

Causes:
The inflammation of the tubular tissues or the presence of scar tissue is the number one cause for urethral stricture. In some cases, an accident or the injury to the groin area can also lead to the formation of such thin tubes. The other factors can include pelvic fractures, radiation, urinary infection and in some cases even STDs(Sexually Transmitted Disease).

Symptoms:
Most of the symptoms of Urethral stricture are mild. Only in some rare cases, the symptoms can be extreme. These can include weak or restricted urine flow, frequent urges to urinate, and feeling of heaviness in the bladder, a burning sensation during urination, swelling and pain while urinating. Sometimes your urine may discharge volts of blood and the color of urine may change.

Diagnosis:
Diagnosis is by a physical examination and by analyzing the urine samples. In most of the cases, the thickness of the walls is measured by cystoscopy. The rate of the urine passed may also be checked for identifying the symptoms.

Treatment:
Treatment depends on the severity of the condition. Nonsurgical methods aim to improve the width of the urethra. This is done by using an instrument called a dilator. This is done as an outpatient procedure. This procedure is the most common method done and is done for most of the milder cases. Surgery is another option. The surgery aims to remove the heaviness of the urethra and enlarges the size of the flow.

Urine Flow Diversion:
This is done in extremely rare cases if the bladder has to be completely removed. In those cases, hole in the abdomen is done and urine is bypassed to that hole. However, this is an extremely rare scenario.

Prevention:
Try to avoid injuries in the groin area. If you are playing sports or a fitness enthusiast, use proper protection for your abdominal and groin regions. Try to always have safe sex and if you feel that there is some discomfort or some uneasiness while passing urine, do consult with a doctor immediately. In many cases, the condition can be avoided if proper precautions are taken.

What Is Urethral Stricture?

The skin is an elastic organ (yes, it is an organ!), but only to a certain extent. It has a limit to which it can accommodate the underlying tissues. With the increase in bulk, for example, puberty, pregnancy, muscle mass building or surgical implants, the skin is made to stretch beyond its limits. What happens is this stretch causes the skin to stretch too, and these stretch marks or striae become an unpleasant thing that needs to be hidden. 

Dressing needs to be changed so that they are not showing. Dermatologists see a big demand for getting rid of these marks too. There have been conventional, time-tested methods which help in getting rid of these. However, with newer advancements in dermatology, the platelet rich plasma is being widely used for getting rid of these stretch marks.

Why stretch marks? 

In any of the scenarios above, the stretch marks appear because there is a lack of underlying supportive tissue when it is stretched out. There is a lack of collagen and connective tissue, causing stretch marks. These are most evident in fat collecting areas like breasts, abdomen, thighs, upper arms, etc.

What is platelet-rich plasma or PRP? 

The blood is composed of a liquid portion known as plasma, which contains three main types of cells i.e. white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. The white blood cells are the ones responsible for fighting infections. The red cells give blood its color and also are responsible for carrying nutrients to the various organs. The platelets are tiny fragments of cells which help in blood clotting. Platelets are also rich in what are called totipotent cells, which can grow into any type of cells. When the body is affected, due to injury, infection, trauma, etc., these get concentrated in the affected area and are produced in large numbers to help in the recovery of the particular affected area.

Technique: 

The area to be treated is isolated and prepared. Blood is centrifuged to remove other cells and obtain platelet rich plasma. This RPR is injected into the underlying layers of the skin. This induces the release of growth factors into the connective tissue space. Collagen is produced over a period of time, which causes the skin to become taut and lose the stretch marks. The injection can be repeated if required on the topmost layer. It can also be mixed with thrombin to form a gel, which is then used similarly. Using it both in the underlying and superficial layers helps in completely getting rid of the marks.

Studies have shown a reduction in both the depth and size of the stretch marks and some might require two to three repeat injections.


Stretch Marks - How PRP Therapy Can Help You?

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