At present 3 out of the 5 people are suffering from diabetes and it is the 7th leading cause of death worldwide. Moreover, it is no more restricted just to adults and affects children as well. Diabetes is a metabolic disease resulting in increase in the level of glucose in the body. Glucose is a source of energy for the cells making up the muscles and other tissues in the body. But if the level of glucose goes up, it shows the sign of danger. Diabetes is of 2 types: 

1. Type 1: body fails to produce insulin.
2. Type 2: Body fails to produce enough insulin which is required by the body.

There are no definite signs of diabetes. It simply varies from person to person. In many of the cases it goes unnoticed. Such signs are as follows:

1. Sudden weight loss: You might experience a sudden weight loss of 5 to10 kgs within a month. This happens when sugar metabolism ceases very quickly.  Insufficient insulin prevents the body from taking in glucose in the body cells from the blood to use as energy. In such a scenario the body starts burning fat and muscle for energy. This results in weight loss.

2. Intense hunger: The cells in your body might not get enough energy either due to absence or improper functioning of insulin in your blood. This makes you hungry quite often.

3. Excessive urination and thirst: Due to diabetes, the glucose level in the body goes up. The kidneys are overloaded with the burden of working overtime for filtering and absorbing the excess glucose in your body. The excess sugar, which the kidney cannot store is excreted out of your body. This makes you urinate frequently.  Due to frequent urination the body gets dehydrated which makes you feel thirsty more often.

4. Blurred vision: Due to the high level of glucose in your body tissues gets pulled away from the lens of the eyes. This results in vision issues. If not treated on time, it may even lead to blindness.

5. Increased fatigue: The cells in your body might not get enough energy either due to absence or improper functioning of insulin in your blood. This makes you restless more often and you may even feel too weak to do your regular activities.

If you notice any of these signs, get the level of sugar in your checked and take the required remedies. It is good to get it treated as early as possible rather than facing immense trouble in future.

5 Common Signs of Diabetes That Often Go Unnoticed

Does you back hurt only when you wake up in the morning or is it a chronic problem? If yes, then you need to take immediate steps to treat it. Back pain, being the common physical anomaly for people primarily in the age range of 35-50, is one of the top causes for office absenteeism and mid-life lethargy and fatigue. Usually back pain indicates an underlying problem that involves the nerves, bones and muscles.

Here are some risk factors for back pain:

Pregnancy
Stress related to work
Leading a sedentary lifestyle
Anxiety and depression
Being overweight
Over exercising
Strenuous physical work outs
Smoking
There are varied reasons as to why back pain may occur. Discussing the causes of back pain is beyond the purview of this article; the focus is now going to be on some of the stretches one can practice to get relief from back pain: 

Downward dog: A classic yoga pose, the downward dog stretches the entire back, hamstrings and the whole of the leg. Begin the process in a classic push up pose with the palms and toes on the floor. Keeping your back straight, lift your tailbone up and straighten your legs. Push the heels to the floor and breathe to get the most out of this stretch.
Child s pose: A simple stretch, it begins with you sitting back on your buttocks and then stretching the arms in front of you. Keep your forehead on the floor and breathe slowly.
Cat cow pose: If your common complaint is that of a sore and painful back, then this is one of the best stretches for you. A very simple pose, you begin by sitting on all fours, then transitioning into the cat pose by pushing your spine upwards. Hold the pose for one breath and then go to the cow pose wherein you lift your buttocks and the head while scooping your spine.

Back Pain - 3 Stretch Exercises You Must Follow!

Ageing is inevitable, and as much as we want to escape, there is no way out. All organs, whether obvious or not, undergo gradual degeneration and deterioration. The brain is no exception, and memory being one of its main function also begins to decline with age. There are various factors which determine how quickly this ageing sets in and how rapidly it progresses. These are dictated by a person s lifestyle, activity levels, and overall body changes. Dementia also has a strong family history, and if you know someone who has a family history, there are some early signs that you could watch for. This will help in both empathizing with the person, as well as to help in arresting progression. Read on to know the signs that need to be watched out for.

Mood changes: Sudden changes in mood, especially going into short periods of depression without an obvious reason, is one of the first symptoms of dementia. If it is happening repeatedly, this can help identify dementia.
Personality changes: If a shy person suddenly becomes outgoing or vice versa, this could be an early indicator of dementia. They either develop or shed inhibitions, which is a new change for them.
Memory loss: Sudden short-term memory loss for a person who had a very strong memory is a definite indicator of dementia. They might clearly remember the distant events but forget small things like where to find their medicines, where things are in the kitchen or bathroom, etc. Because of this, you might see them repeating what they just did. This could be like washing a glass again, saying or asking the same thing again, etc.
The difficulty with regular tasks: Short-term memory loss causes difficulty with regular tasks like laying out the dinner table, finding regular medicines, paying utility bills, etc. There is also difficulty in learning new tasks, which further complicates things.
Feeling lost: Due to sudden memory loss and difficulty with regular tasks, they suddenly feel lost, which in turns adds to their depression.
Apathy: This also leads to a general lack of interest in things and people around them. They could have had hobbies, which no longer interest them.
Disoriented: They find it difficult to be aligned to time and space. Directions which they clearly know could seem difficult.
Not able to connect the dots: While the elderly people are generally good at telling stories and anecdotes, with dementia setting in, this becomes difficult.
These are some symptoms which can help identify if a near one is slowly developing dementia. Identifying in the early stages can help in arresting progress and extending support.

Dementia - How To Know If Someone Is Suffering From It?

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) are infections that you can get from having sex with someone who already has the infection. The causes of STDs are bacteria, parasites, and viruses. These infections often do not cause any symptoms, and can still be passed unknowingly from the infected partner to the other. However, some common symptoms include genital itching, lesions, flu / fever like symptoms and feeling pain / pressure in the lower part of the stomach.

There are many kinds of STDs including Chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, syphilis and HIV.

The important thing to understand and know is that these STDs can be prevented.

3 ways of preventing STDS are:

1. Precautions before having sex

There are some things you can do to reduce your risk of contracting STDs before having sex. This include:

  Limiting the number of sexual partners
  Talking honestly with partners about your sexual history
  Getting tested, along with your partner, before having sex
  Getting timely vaccination against HPV and HBV

If you have been diagnosed with an STD you should tell your partner about it and also explicitly ask your partner if they have had an STD.

2. Practice safe sex

Use a latex condom every time you have sex and use a water-based lubricant. If your sex life involves intercourse, anal or vaginal, make up your mind to never have sex without a condom. If you or your partner is at a high risk of STDs, be consistent about barrier use during oral sex as well. Avoid sharing towels or underclothing to reduce the risk of an STD. Check the expiration date of the condom and make sure that it has an air bubble, which shows it has not been punctured. Dispose the condom properly and never reuse it.

3. Don't drink Alcohol or use drugs before having sex

It's impossible to make responsible choices about your sex life under the influence of drugs or alcohol. When you are under the influence of any one of them, you are not in your mind and are likelier to choose a partner you wouldn't have picked otherwise. In that case, you may be at a higher risk of contracting an STD. Also, if you are on birth control pills and you vomit, the pills could lose some effectiveness.



3 Ways You Can Prevent STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases)

Heavy menstrual bleeding, technically called menorrhagia, is one of the most common types of abnormal bleeding from the uterus. Menstrual bleeding is said to be heavy if there is so much blood that a tampon or pad remains soaked for several hours. 

Here are all the possible causes of heavy menstrual bleeding:
1. Hormonal imbalance
Estrogen and progesterone levels are the primary control mechanism for periods. If the ovaries have a problem in functioning, hormonal imbalances may occur. Heavy menstrual bleeding is most common in females who are at the start of menopause. Puberty menorrhagia can occur in adolescents who are experiencing their first menstrual period. 
2. Fibroids
Fibroids most commonly occur around the age when women can get pregnant. Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous growth on the uterus.
3. Ectopic pregnancy
An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilized egg stays in the fallopian tube, but does not reach the uterus.
4. Blood thinners
These are medicines, which are usually anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs.
5. Problems with iud
A non-hormonal intrauterine device is a t-shaped device used for birth control which is inserted into the uterus.
6. Adenomyosis
This is a condition in which the muscular wall of the uterus also gets the lining of the uterus intermingled with it. However, this condition is rare and only happens in middle aged women with several children.
7. Pid
Pid stands for pelvic inflammatory disease and refers to any infection within the organs of the reproductive system.
8. Cancer
Uterine, ovarian and cervical cancer are just some of the cancers, which may cause heavy menstrual bleeding.
9. Other diseases
Liver, kidney and thyroid diseases are all included.

Possible Causes of Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

In general, fatty liver is considered synonymous with alcoholic liver disease. However, in reality it is not so. Fatty liver just indicates the presence of fat in the liver. It may or may not be harmful for the patient. Fatty liver is harmful only when it starts to damage the liver cells. Simple fatty liver does not cause inflammation, but when it starts doing so, it does not remain a simple fatty liver anymore.

Types of Fatty Liver Disease

There are two types of Fatty liver disease: Alcohol Related Fatty Liver Disease and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Alcohol Related Fatty Liver Disease

Fatty liver does not always beget symptoms, although the liver may be enlarged. One may also feel discomfort or pain in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen. However, one can prevent alcoholic liver disease, since fatty liver owing to alcohol consumption usually gets better after stopping alcohol abuse. However, if a person doesn t do that, ALD can progress to more serious stages, like alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis.

Alcoholic Cirrhosis
Alcoholic Cirrhosis occurs when there is formation of scar tissue in the liver. It can cause symptoms like bleeding, confusion, changes in mood and enlargement of spleen. Scar tissue formation can even lead to fatal liver failure.

Alcoholic Hepatitis
Alcoholic Hepatitis occurs when there is a swelling of the liver. It can precipitate nausea, fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, jaundice etc.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

This is of two types: Simple Fatty Liver and Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis.

Simple fatty liver just indicates the presence of fat in the liver without inflammation. On the other hand, Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is a much worse form of fatty liver. This indicates that there is fat as well as inflammation in the liver. Even some of the liver cells may have become damaged. It can cause the following problems:

Formation of scar tissue in the liver, called fibrosis.

Severe fibrosis can lead to cirrhosis in advanced stages. Cirrhosis can lead to liver failure

Liver cancer

Causes of Fatty Liver

In alcoholic fatty liver disease, the prime cause is consuming too much alcohol. Alcohol may precipitate fatty liver by promoting obesity, malnourishment and even chronic hepatitis.

For non-alcoholic fatty liver disease there may be a number of factors:

Obesity

Insulin resistance

High levels of LDL cholesterol or low levels of HDL cholesterol

Diabetes

Conditions that may precipitate Type 2 diabetes 

High blood pressure

High blood sugar

Symptoms of Fatty Liver

There is hardly any symptom of fatty liver disease. At most, one can feel pain or tiredness in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. However, if fatty liver has advanced to cirrhosis, fibrosis or hepatitis, there can be a number of symptoms. Some of these symptoms are:

Swollen abdomen

Enlarged blood vessels under the skin

Abnormal breast size in men

Redness in palms

Yellowing of skin and eyes.

Treatment

For alcoholic fatty liver disease, the best treatment is cessation of drinking when the fatty liver has still not progressed to more serious forms. For non-alcoholic fatty diseases, weight loss is an effective treatment. If there is Cirrhosis or Liver Failure, liver transplant is the only option.

As the treatment may vary from patient to patient, it is important that one should always consult a doctor before going for any option.

Fatty Liver - Types & Treatment Of It!

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