Pulmonary Embolism is a blood clot in the Pulmonary arteries that usually travels from a deep vein in the legs to the lungs. This clot blocks the lungs and creates a life-threatening situation for the patient. With prompt medication and treatment, the risk can be mitigated. 

Symptoms 

The symptoms of Pulmonary Embolism vary with the size and position of the clot. The most common symptoms include pain in the chest and shortness of breath. The patient with Pulmonary Embolism suffers from chest pain occasionally, and it gets worse with physical activity. The pain is deep and feels like a heart attack.

The other common symptoms are: 

  Pain in legs or swelling 

  Fever 

  Irregular heartbeat 

  Fatigue 

  Feeling tired all the time 

  Coughing 

  Dizziness 

  Heartburn 

Causes 

Pulmonary Embolism is caused due to the formation of several clumps or blood clots that enter into the Pulmonary arteries. Typically, these clots are formed from the deep veins of the legs, also known as Deep Vein Thrombosis. The clots block the flow of blood in the lungs, which is fatal to the patients.

These clots gradually build up in the arteries. Some very common causes for the formation of these clots are the release of fats from the broken long bones, the tissue in the bloodstream or air bubble. 

Diagnosis 

The diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism is difficult in patients who are already suffering from heart or lung conditions. However, doctors look for a D-dimer level in the bloodstream to determine the clots. There are various causes for a high level of D dimer, but it gives a starting point to the doctor to investigate further. 

  Blood Test: The blood test checks the level of D dimer in the blood. If the level is high, the doctor may determine the amount of oxygen level in the blood. Generally, the blood clots lower the level of oxygen in the blood. If the oxygen level is low, doctors doubt the presence of blood clots. 

  Ultrasound: The body imaging method helps doctors to check for clots in the blood without performing any operation. This non-invasive way gives the imagery of the veins. Clumps can easily be seen in the images of the Ultrasound report. 

  CT Scan: The spiral CT scan moves around the body to look for clots in the veins. It is a high-tech method through which doctors determined the number, size, and amount of blood clots in the patients. 

Takeaway 

The treatment for Pulmonary Embolism depends upon the size and number of clots in the body. If a person is already suffering from heart or lungs condition, then he/she shall be given medication accordingly. The most common treatment entails medicines, such as blood thinners, which makes the blood thinner. These medications help in dissolving the clots.

Pulmonary Embolism - How To Detect It?

It is a common knowledge that beer has health benefits when used in masks, scrubs, as conditioners, etc. This reason is good enough for even non-drinkers to stock up their fridges with cans of beer. 
Here are a few ways by which we can use beer to make our skin and hair better:

Use beer as a conditioner - Beer happens to be an excellent conditioner. Mixing one cup warm beer with a teaspoon of jojoba oil makes a natural, non-greasy conditioner. Wash your hair with your regular shampoo and use this mix as a conditioner. The beer in it will give volume to your hair while jojoba oil will add shine and luster.
Use it for a face pack - Take two to three strawberries mash with a fork, add few drops of beer and make a paste. Rub this paste all over your face in a circular motion. Rinse after 15-20 minutes and apply moisturizer on your face.
Soak in beer laced water - Beer can be used in bubble bath too! Mix some soap with beer of your choice and add the mix to the running bath water. Soak in this water and feel your skin become soft and smooth.
Use beer as a hair-pack - Wash your hair with your usual shampoo. Now pour the mixture made of distilled water, beer, two teaspoon apple cider vinegar and few drops of essential oil (any scent), on your hair. Make sure it reaches the hair that is inside as well. Rinse this mixture with lukewarm water. You can do this once a month.
Get the beer glow - Take half a teaspoon of beer, one egg white and a drop of almond extract. Whisk them together and keep aside. On your washed and dried face, apply the mask and let it dry until your skin feels tight. Wash it off with lukewarm water.
From Lybrate: If you found this tip useful, please thank the doctor by clicking on the heart icon below. Also, spread good health by sharing this tip with your loved ones over Whatsapp, Facebook and other media.

Do You Know What Beer Does To Your Hair & Skin?

Cold sores are also known as fever blisters. They are surely not something a person would want to have. These sores occur on the face of the person or even inside his or her mouth. They are lesions which appear like blisters. There is a lot of pain which is caused by cold sores. Eventually, they end by bursting and then crusting over. But, what really causes cold sores to form?

The condition of cold sores is something that is attributable to the HSV, or the Herpes Simplex Virus. The type 1 variety of this virus is said to cause cold sores in the region around the mouth. The cause of contracting this form of the virus is that a person may have shared utensils with a person who has this strain or even shared towels.

Learning about the HSV
That being said, there is a possibility that cold sores could also be caused by the HSV Type 2 virus. This would be the case if the person with cold sores has had oral sex with a person who has been infected with genital herpes.

When it comes to the Herpes Simplex Virus, it can be said that managing the consequent issue that cold sores present is something which is quite challenging. This is because of the fact that a person may not even be aware that he or she has been infected by the virus on account of it lying dormant. 

In some people, an outbreak may occur once a year while in others it may occur with a much greater frequency. The point is that the occurrence of the outbreak may vary from person to person and a generalisation cannot be made. 

One of the things that have been noticed is that the likelihood of an outbreak is increased if a person is under sustained stress.
Sadness or an injury to the area can also worsen the prospects of a person who is hoping to go for as long a period without being plagued by cold sores.
In order to manage the outbreak of cold sores, advice from a person who is a qualified medical professional is something that is required. On their own, cold sores usually do not take more than 10 days to clear out. In order to reduce the likelihood of another attack, it is important to minimise an excessive exposure to sunlight and to be very careful at the times of seasonal changes. When it comes to the contagiousness of cold sores, the threat is the most when the cold sores are oozing.

Cold Sores - What Causes Them?

Eyeglasses and contact lenses are both used for vision correction. Both of the options have their advantages and disadvantages but a number of factors like lifestyle, comfort and age etc. are important while deciding which one to choose. Here is a list of the fundamental differences between using spectacles and using contact lenses:

1. Distance from the cornea
Lenses are worn directly on the eye and are in constant physical contact with the cornea while glasses are worn over the eyes. Contact lenses may cause infections in the eye because the user has to touch the eye in order to wear them and to take them off.

2. Difference in vision
Since the lenses of spectacles are a little distance away from the eye, vision can be slightly distorted but contact lenses can provide natural and accurate vision. Also, side vision is not improved by glasses as you have to turn your head to see what is beside you. The contacts move around with your eyeballs and the peripheral vision is in focus.

3. Ease of use
Some people find eyeglasses difficult to use because of the constant weight on the face and the obstruction caused by the frames of the glasses. There may also be a constant need to adjust the frames. Often eyeglasses slip down the nose when you sweat or engage in rigorous physical activity. Contact lenses are free from all these hassles - they are not distracting or obstructive and so they are extensively used by dancers and athletes. Spectacles is very uncomfortable to wear during the rains or in humid weather because they fog up.

4. Infections and complications
Contact lenses can get displaced inside the eye and they can be difficult to reposition. They also cause the eyes to itch and water if you wear them for a very long time at a stretch or if tiny dust particles enter your eyes. The use of eyeglasses is far more flexible in this respect - they can be removed in case your eye itches or burns, but regular use of glasses causes dark circles and bags under the eyes.

5. Aesthetic differences
People often prefer contact lenses as they do not change the physical appearance - they help you look natural and you can also use colored lenses to change the color of your eyes. Glasses may look slightly unnatural but some people also prefer them for the fashion quotient.

Lens Vs Specs

Irritable bowel syndrome or IBS as it is more commonly known is a problem with the gastrointestinal tract, where, as the name suggests, the bowel is irritated. It is a syndrome, which is a group of symptoms, and not a single issue. The exact cause is still not known, but most people with IBS have higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. It is therefore considered a psychosomatic condition, where an unhealthy state of mind is reflected in body symptoms.

Unani also refers to IBS as nervous indigestion, intestinal neurosis, and irritable colon.
Symptoms: 

These are worsened when there is an actual episode, which is usually during increased stress levels.
Altered bowel movement (violent episodes of diarrhoea) alternating with constipation
Severe stomach cramps, which is worsened with eating and better after passing stools
Bloated feeling (stomach full of gas)
Change in stool (flat ribbon stools or pencil stools)
Feeling of incomplete stool emptying
General fatigue and malaise
Diagnosis is confirmed with a combination of symptoms, clinical exam, and investigations including stool tests. The two common findings are altered intestinal motility and increased visceral perception to stimulus.
If a patient presents with constipation, the bowel motility is reduced, and in those presenting with diarrhoea, the movement of food through the colon is very rapid.

While there are no sure remedies for IBS in allopathy, natural medicine systems like Unani have effective remedies. Both single and compound drugs are tried, and in most studies, the results have been very encouraging. The commonly used products are listed below.

Bel (Aegle marmelos): The fruit and leaves of bel are known for their stomach-friendly properties. It is useful in chronic diarrhoea conditions and also during typhoid. Bel juice is available for ready use. Also, the leaves can be boiled in water, and this extract can be stored and consumed over a period of time.
Cumin seeds (Cuminum cyminum): This common ingredient in most curries does wonders for the stomach. It is very friendly on the stomach and soothes the stomach lining. It reduces irritation and eases bowel movement. In addition to regular usage, when IBS flares up, cumin seeds can be boiled in water, and this can be cooled and stored for use over a period of time.
Amla (gooseberry) (Embilica Oficinalis): This again is useful in treating diarrhoea and has a cooling and soothing effect on the stomach. This is used in multiple forms   raw gooseberry, boiled, and even juice forms.
These are used either as a single agent or as compound agents for treating IBS. Unani also believes that controlling anxiety and emotional symptoms can help in avoiding flare-ups of IBS.

Irritable Bowel - How Unani Medicine Can Help to Treat It?

Alzheimer's disease is a neurological problem that is characterised by a cognitive decline and memory loss. It is a type of neurodegenerative dementia. The symptoms of alzheimer's disease include not being able to absorb and retain new information, lack of reasoning and judging, not being able to take on complex tasks, impaired visuospatial abilities, problems in reading, writing and speech, among many others. If a person has at least two of these symptoms in a debilitating manner, then the diagnosis can be made in favour of alzheimer's disease. The main causes of alzheimer's are shrinkage of the brain size and death of the brain cells. The immune system is also said to trigger this neurodegenerative disease. Let us find out what medical science has found so far.

1. Connections: many a times, in alzheimer's disease, the memory and behaviour of the person changes because the brain is unable to make proper neural connections which can lead to memory loss of how a person behaved and the elements that formed the basis of the patient's cognition. Apparently, the immune system behaves in the same way within the brain and blocks the connection. This happens because there is constant communication between the brain and immune system along neurological lines, which is where the disease first emanates.

2. Inflammation: the brain is prone to inflammation or swelling that is not the normal kind. This inflammation happens as a result of the activation of the infection fighting neurotransmitters and the chemical changes that happen in the brain when an infection strikes. The inflammation usually happens in the plaques or clumps which the brain tries to protect. These clumps are made up of a protein called amyloid. The immune system is responsible for creating this inflammation in the brain of the patient.

3. Pattern recognition receptors: many of these receptors work in different manners and cooperate with each other to create a response in the brain. These prrs can be found in the brain plaques, and they develop the signs of danger which further fuels the inflammation in the brain as a matter of protection.

4. Activation of cells linked with the immune system: when the prrs begin to respond, it basically activates the immune system and the cells of the same. This is the basic reaction that causes the changes in brain which then leads to the attachment of the protein to the tissue that is diseased, in which case alzheimer's disease starts. The inflammation that we had spoken about earlier basically happens in the nervous tissue.

It is important to recognise and act on the initial signs of alzheimer's disease before it progresses beyond one's control.

Can the Immune System Trigger Alzheimer's Disease

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